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  Treasure Trove Story - 6 An Angel in Disguise   (Workbook Answers: Extracts 4 & 5) Extract 4 Answer 1: Mrs. Thompson saw her husband, Joe Thompson, approaching. Maggie is the "precious burden". She is called ‘a precious burden’ because Mr. Thompson felt fatherly feelings for Maggie when he lifted her in his hands. Answer 2: Seeing a child in her husband's arm, Mrs. Thompson asked her husband what he had there in his arms.   Joe did not reply immediately but pleaded and cautioned his wife with his looks, asking her to be gentle. Joe spoke to his angry wife only after comfortably placing Maggie on a bed. Joe formed a bond with the child as soon as he lifted her in his arms.   Answer 3: Usually Joe Thompson kept silent in front of his wife but that day he displayed a firmly-set countenance and a resolute pair of eyes. He also answered his wife with real indignation for Maggie, something which he never did before. Answer 4: Joe told his wife that he had brough...

Treasure Trove Chapter 2 Old Man at the Bridge (Workbook Answers) Extract 1 Answer 1: A bridge that is made up of large hollow containers filled with air, is called a Pontoon bridge.   The story is set during the Spanish civil war and the people are crossing the bridge to save themselves from the attack by the enemy troops. Answer 2: The old man is sitting by the side of the road at a pontoon bridge.   The old man was too tired to go any farther because he had already walked 12 kilometres since he left his hometown of San Carlos. Answer 3: The narrator, who is an army scout, is the speaker. He was on a mission to cross the bridge and find out how far the enemy had advanced. Answer 4: The narrator asked the old man where he had come from.   The old man replied, "from San Carlos". He smiled because the mention of his native town gave him pleasure. Answer 5: The old man was the last to leave because he was taking care of his animals. The old man wore dusty clothes and s...

Treasure Trove Poem 2 The Cold Within Extract 1 Answer 1: The figure of speech used is Alliteration. The adjectives 'bleak and bitter' define 'cold'. The coldness of the surroundings is compared to the coldness in the hearts of the six people, because they were not friendly to one another. Answer 2: The people referred to here are the six people who are trapped in a cold place by some accident. They need logs to renew the fire to protect themselves in the cold. Answer 3: The 'first one' is a prejudiced white woman who hates people of other races. The 'next man' is a religious fanatic and a bigot who hates people not belonging to his religion. Answer 4: The first one held back her log. She does this because she was a racist. She didn't want the black man to be saved by the warmth provided by her log. Answer 5: Literally, this line refers to the fire that is dying and needs to be kept alive with the use of a log. Metaphorically, it can be understo...

Treasure Trove Story - 6 An Angel in Disguise   (Workbook Answers: Extracts 1 to 3)    Extract 1   Answer 1: The mother died of intoxication. When she was drunk, she fell upon the threshold of her door and died. "Death touches the spring of our humanity" means that death evokes kindness in the hearts of people and they tend to help them who have lost their beloved ones.   Answer 2: The woman did not have good relations with others. The men, women and even the children in the village hated her. The villagers hated her because of her behaviour and drinking addiction.   Answer 3: Some neighbours took clean grave clothes for the woman's burial while others took food for the children.   Answer 4: The woman and her children were subjected to pitiful conditions. Their hut was small and old. They didn't have many items in their hut. They didn't even have decent clothes.   Answer 5: John, the oldest child was adopted by farmer Jones. The middle child...

Treasure Trove Poem 1 The Heart of the Tree (Workbook Answers)   Extract 1 Answer 1: The poet is asking the question to the readers. By planting trees,the man plants a friend of sun and sky, and a flag of breezes free. Answer 2: The tree is suggested as a friend of sun and sky because one day it will grow tall and appear to reach the sky. The tree is a friend of the sun as the tree depends on sunlight to carry out photosynthesis, to make its food.   The tree is again compared to a flag of free breeze. Like a flag flutters freely in the breeze, the leaves of the tree flutter and provide a soothing, cool breeze to us. Answer 3: Same as Answer 2 Answer 4: The shaft of beauty means "the pillar of beauty". The tree is compared to the shaft. Answer 5: Beginning the poem with a question creates curiosity in the minds of the readers. The figure of speech used here is known as Hypophora or Antipophora.   Extract 2 Answer 1: The soft song that a mother bi...

A Horse and Two Goats Treasure Trove (Short Stories) Extracts 11 to 14 Extract XI. 1. Same as the answer of Extract IX (iii) 2. Kaliyuga is the last of the four stages the world goes through as part of the cycle of the ages. At the end of the Kaliyuga, this world and all other words will be destroyed and a saviour will appear in the shape of a horse named Kalki, and save all the good people, while all the evil people will die. 3. The language barrier provides humour in the story. Muni and the foreigner could not understand each other. When Muni asked the foreigner how many children he had, the foreigner, assuming that Muni had asked the price he was ready to pay, replied hundred. Later, the foreigner handed Muni a hundred rupee note, which Muni thought was in exchange for his goats. 4. The living room of the foreigner has a large bookcase filled with volumes of books. There are books piled up to the roof. 5. Muni told the story behind the horse statue. He said that the horse would com...

A Horse and Two Goats Treasure Trove (Short Stories) Extracts 6 to 10 Extract VI. 1. The statue referred to in the extract is a life-sized statue of a horse, situated beside the highway outside Kritam. The statue was made of brightly coloured burnt clay. It stood with its head high and its forelegs in the air. 2. The statue of the warrior was a life sized statue of a man. The warrior is depicted as a man of strength through his appearance as a warrior with scythe like mustachios, bulging eyes and aquiline nose. 3. The villagers or the vandals didn't notice the splendour of the horse statue because they didn't notice its existence. 4. Muni didn't go back home early because he wanted to give his wife time to cool off her temper. He knew his wife would arrange food for him if he didn't make her angry. 5. The American was a wealthy man. He was rich enough to travel around a foreign country. He smoked expensive cigarettes, lived and worked in air-conditioned buildings. On th...

A Horse and Two Goats Treasure Trove (Short Stories) Extracts 1 to 5 Extract I. 1. Microscopic dot means something very small. In the extract it is said that Kritam was probably the smallest among the seven hundred thousand villages in India. 2. A map gives the location of the village and the routes towards it. It serves as a guide to travellers, boundary of village for the administrators. 3. According to the author, Kritam probably was the tiniest of seven hundred thousand villages in India. It was a village that consisted of less than thirty houses, only one of them built with brick and cement. 4. 'Kritam' in Tamil meant 'coronet' or 'crown' . Muni lived in the last house in the fourth street in the village, beyond which stretched the fields. 5. The Big House, was built with brick and cement. It was painted yellow and blue all over with carvings of gods. The other houses were of bamboo thatch, straw, mud and other materials. Extract II. 1. Muni would take hi...

Chief Seattle's Speech Treasure Trove (Short Stories) Extract III . George Washington is referred to as “our father in Washington”. He has become “Our father and your father”, since King George has moved his boundaries further north The ‘good father’ promised to protect the natives only if they do as he desires. “Bristling wall of strength” refers to the soldiers that would be sent to protect the natives by the President. The Haidas are the indigenous people of North America. The Tsimshians are North American Indians of the North-west coast of America. The Haidas and Tsimshians will cease to frighten the natives when the President sends his soldiers and his ships to protect the natives. The God of the Whites protects only the White people and ignores the Red Indians. God is partial to the white people and doesn’t help the natives at all. Chief Seattle says the given phrase to show the revengeful actions performed by young men because they think it is helpful. They even sacrifice th...