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The Chimney Sweeper Exercise Class 10 Solved
1. Vocabulary in use
Find out the single words in boldfaced from the poem for the following definitions.
a. a pipe or structure through which smoke or steam is carried away from a fire furnace = chimney
b. black powder in the smoke of wood, coal = soot
c. make (a house, etc.) secure by locking the doors and windows = locked up
d. naked, uncovered = bare
e. box in which dead body is buried or cremated = coffins
f. a divine or supernatural messenger from deity =angel
1. Read the poem again, and answer these questions.
a. Who composed the poem?
Ans: William Blake composed the poem.
b. Why did the speaker cry?
Ans: The speaker cried because his mother died early, and his father sold him into a chimney sweeping business.
c. What does the expression 'That curled like a lamb, back' mean?
Ans: The expression "That curled like a lamb's back" means the curly fur of the lamb.
d. How did the angel open the black coffins?
Ans: The angel opened the black coffins by using a bright key to unlock them.
e. At what condition would Tom get joy?
Ans: Tom would get joy if he would be a good boy.
f. What do you think there might be in their bags?
Ans: There might be chimney sweeping tools in their bags.
g. What did the angel tell to Tom?
Ans: The angel told Tom to be a good boy and he would send a god for his father.
h. How was the morning?
Ans: The morning was dark and cold.
i. At the end of the poem what message was given to Tom?
Ans: At the end of the poem, the message given to Tom was to fulfil our duty at any cost.
ii. Use the words in the box to complete the summary of the poem
chimney-sweeping, shaved, dream, locked, fellow
field, tools, boy, paradise key.
The speaker of the poem is a small boy, who was sold into the chimney-sweeping business when his mother died. He recounts the story of a fellow chimney sweeper, Tom Dacre, who cried when his hair was shaved to prevent vermin and soot from infesting it. The speaker comforts Tom, who falls asleep and has a dream or vision of several chimney sweepers all locked in black coffins. An angel arrives with a special key that opens the locks on the coffins and sets the children free. The newly freed children run through a green field and wash themselves in the river, coming out clean and white in the bright sun. The angel tells Tom that if he is a good boy, he will have this paradise for his own. When Tom awakens, he and the speaker gather their tools and head out to work, thinking that one day they would have a better life.
Have you seen a child-like Tom Dacre in your locality? If yes, when and where? What does he/she do for his/her living?
Ans: Yes, I have seen a child-like Tom Dacre when I was on the way to my uncle's house. He was wearing ragged clothes and begging for money nearby the bridge. I saw him sleeping at a corner where there was little space under the bridge while returning back after three days.
Fill in the blanks with appropriate words from the text.
Once upon a time, there was a king who lived in a palace. He had three beautiful daughters but no sons. He wanted his daughters to get married before he died. He found three princes. But his daughters didn't like them. They refused to marry the princes, so the king became very angry. He said they had to get married when they were twenty years old. The three daughters ran away during the night and found work on a farm. They fell in love with the farmer‟s sons while they were working there. They married the farmer‟s sons as soon as they were twenty.
Read the above story and add two more paragraphs narrating what happened afterwards. Some clues are given to you.
Clues:
- Did the king accept his daughters and sons-in-law when they returned home after his marriage?
- What about the queen?
- How did his people react?
- How did the farmer's sons feel when they went to the palace for the first time?
- Were they able to convince the king and queen? If yes, how?
After some days of marriage, all three daughters went to the palace along with their husbands. When the king knew that his daughters married the sons of farmers, he could not stand it. He was so angry that he did not want to see their daughters‟ faces. But the queen requested him to spit the anger, and welcome their daughters and sons-in-law.
Slowly the news spread in the kingdom about the princesses‟ marriage with the sons of a farmer. Some of them liked it, while some started to backbite. Some of them even talked about the curse on King. But the farmer‟s sons were unknown about the case. They were amazed to see the beautiful palace with dazzling chambers. They could not trust their eyes that they were inside the palace as king‟s sons-in-law.
At last, the daughters were able to convince the king. He also realized whatever had happened, it had happened for the good. After that, all of them lived happily ever in the same palace.
Develop a story with the help of the pictures above. Supply a suitable title and a moral to the story.
There was a man who always used to ride a bike. One day he got an urgent call from his friend, so he set out from his home quickly. He was speeding his bike ignoring the turns on the road. Suddenly, he realized that there was a bend on the road and a van was also approaching very near from the opposite direction. He failed to control the bike due to his over speed. He collided with the van and he was badly injured. Some people gathered at the spot, someone in the crowd called the ambulance and took him to hospital.
C. Follow Up Activity
Write a story from the following outlines. Give it a suitable title.
A Brave Little Parrot
Long ago, a little grey parrot lived in a green forest. She was a happy bird and loved to fly. One day, a dark storm hovered over the forest. It was a stormy time. There was a big thunder and lightning. The lightning struck an old dead tree. Soon the forest caught fire.
The parrot, smelling smoke, flapped her wings and rose up. As she flew, she cried out, “Fire! Fire! Run! Run to the river!”. She flew to the river and dipped her body and wings in the cool water. Then she flew back over the raging fire. Suddenly an eagle appeared and said “Stop, little parrot! Turn back before it‟s too late. Turn back and save yourself, lest you will fall into the flames!” But the little parrot only panted, “I don‟t need such advice. All I need is help!” And she flew. Seeing the parrot's deed, the eagle realized how great the parrot‟s opinion was, so he also joined in. After a while, all the birds joined the parrot and the eagle. They extinguished the forest fire. All the creatures praised the parrot and other birds for their great patience and heroic deed.
Moral: Nothing is impossible to accomplish if you devote yourself to work.