Active and Passive Voice - Worksheet 1

 Active and Passive Voice: Worksheet (Checking Prior Knowledge)

What is a ‘subject’?

A subject is a person or a group of people or the main topic of the sentence who performs an action. It is also called as ‘do-er’ of the action.

For example:

·        Om visits a Church. (Subject: Om)

·        Radha and Raina passed the examination. (Subject: Radha and Raina)

·        Students filled the forms. (Subject: Students)

 

What is an ‘object’?

An object is a word on which the action is performed.

For example:

·        Rahul meets a friend. (Object: a friend)

·        Mother is cooking dinner. (Object: dinner)

·        Suhasini has been solving Maths problems. (Object: Math problems)

 

What is an ‘active voice’ sentence?

An active voice sentence is a sentence where ‘subject’ is given importance by placing it at the beginning of the sentence.

For example:

·        Shaam is playing cricket.

·        Rupa was repairing a mobile phone.

 

What is a ‘passive voice’ sentence?

An active voice sentence is a sentence where ‘object’ is given importance by placing it at the beginning of the sentence.

For example:

·        Cricket is being played by Shaam.

·        A mobile was being repaired by Rupa.

 

Main Verb and Helping Verbs:

A main verb is a word that shows action. For example: Run, Dance, Swim, Sit, Come, Go, etc.

A helping verb is a word that doesn’t show an action but shows a state

For example: am, is, are, was, were, will, shall, have, has, had, do, does, did, etc.

Identify subjects and objects from the following sentences:

Sentence	Subject	Object
Pravin broke the glass.
Students disturbed the class very often.
The sweeper cleans the floor every day.
The police inspector wore a helmet during rally.
The teacher took the students' attendance.
A doctor is operating a patient.
They are producing generic medicines in every country.

 

Identify the helping verb and the main verb from the following sentences:

Sentence	Helping Verb	Main Verb
Sudha Murthy has written many novels.
Narendra Modi is working as the Prime Minister of India.
Snehal and Sudha are toiling in the field.
They will be distributing books to the poor students.
Rahul has been completing his homework.
The housekeeping staff had cleaned the room.

 

Download Active and Passive Voice Worksheet 1 here. 

CLASS 10 NCERT CBSE ENGLISH THE HACK DRIVER NOTES

 THE HACK DRIVER

About the story:

The story is about the narrator - a junior assistant clerk - who is sent to a village New Mullion to serve summon to Oliver Lutkins who is a witness in a law case and has ignored all the previous summons. In New Mullion, the narrator meets Bill - the hack driver - who helps him in finding Oliver, but in vain. In the end, the narrator realizes that it was Bill who was Oliver Luatkins.

Summary:

Part 1: The narrator and his job

The narrator is a law graduate but is working as a junior assistant clerk in a law firm where his only job is to go and serve notices and summons to criminals in the shadowy corners of the city. He is beaten up by people for doing such things. He is so fed up that he thinks of leaving the job and going to his village where he would actually work as a lawyer.

Part 2: Visiting New Mullion and meeting Bill, the Hack Driver

Once, he is given the task of serving summon to Oliver Lutkins in countryside, New Mullion. He is happy to have this break from the regular shadowy city corners, but his expectations for country side fail when he sees the muddy, raw roads. However, he meets Bill, the hack driver who decides to help him in finding Oliver Lutkins.

Part 3: Search for Oliver Lutkins

In Oliver Lutkin's search, Bill takes the narrator to different places. He takes him to Fritz, then to Gustaff, then to Gray's barber shop, then Wade's Hill to enjoy the lunch, then to Oliver's mother. But everywhere they inquire, Oliver is not to be found.

Part 4: Contemplation of Life Philosophies

While relishing the lunch on Wade's hill watching the meadows and woods, Bill talks a lot about people in New Mullion, and the narrator is impressed by him and by the life of the people in New Mullion so much, that he feels that staying in a country side like this is better than struggling in cities. He feels that the life in New Mullion is honest and happy. He discovers a new way of life.

Part 5: Bill is Lutkins

The other day, the narrator is sent with a companion who knew Oliver and to his surprise, the narrator realizes that Bill, the hack driver, was Lutkins. When he serves Lutkins summon, Lutkins and his mother has the decency to invite the narrator for a coffee.

Characterization:

The Narrator:

The narrator is a newly graduated lawyer, who wants to work as a lawyer, but he is given the post of Junior Assistant Clerk. Instead of working in the office (that is what clerks are supposed to do) he has to work like a private detective, going on searching for criminals in the shadowy corners of the city to serve summons. On some occasions, big men beat him. He feels like running away to his native village, where, at least, he would get to practice law. His happiness finds no bound when he is given the task to go to countryside to serve summon to Oliver Lutkins.

The narrator, an inexperienced person is not smart in his words and actions, and there he falls prey to the smartness of an experienced person like Bill, who takes him for a ride, in real and metaphorically as well. Bill, who is the actual Oliver Lutkins, fools him throughout the day.  However, he is impressed by the knowledge, simplicity and warmth of Bill.

Bill aka Oliver Lutkins:

Bill, who is the hack driver, is actually Oliver Lutkins. He is an old man who has experienced life and men like no other man in the village. He is good with his words and practicality. At a first glance, he realizes the innocence of the narrator. While searching Oliver in different shops, Bill is smart enough to tell narrator to stay outside and let himself handle the situation, so that the people would come to know that he is fooling the narrator. Bill know about people, about the lives more than anyone else. He talks a lot of his neighbours and entertains the narrator. He is decent enough to offer the narrator a cup of coffee.

QUESTION - ANSWERS:

1)   'I even considered fleeing to my hometown'. Why does the narrator say so?

2)   How does the narrator describe the hack driver?

3)   What different places does Bill take the narrator to? What are people's reactions when they are asked about Oliver Lutkins?

4)   'On that day, I came to know New Mullion better than I did the city.' What makes the narrator say so?

5)   How has Bill created the image of Lutkin's mother? What was the narrator's actual experience of her?

6)   The narrator was impressed with Bill. Make a list of sentences or instances that support this statement.

7)   Did Bill aka Lutkins enjoy playing prank on the narrator? Why or why not?

8)   How must the narrator have felt when he realized that Lutkins was the one who pranked on him?

 

 

 

PERFECTION AND FAILURES

As a child, I had been told that Math is a very challenging subject. My siblings too would hardly pass in Math. I have seen my siblings and their friends getting failed in board exams in Math only. The fear of Math was injected so much that I too got scared of this subject.  Now, I have realized that people were not afraid of Mathematics. They were scared of the perfection required in Mathematics. 

Mathematics is subject where the answer can either be right or wrong. Unlike other subjects, Math and Science have no scope of giving your opinions. The very thought of achieving perfection creates the fear of failure. 
The same principle is applicable in real life as well. We are scared of risks because we are scared of failure. The definition of 'perfection' engraved on our minds is scary and dangerous because it is somebody else's definition. 'The world believes' has killed millions of 'I believe'. Perfection isn't Maths or Science that has to be universal. It is an opinion that needs flexibility and acceptance. Perfection isn't a fact, it is a fictional phenomenon hypothesized by individuals. The fear of failure enables us to make wrong and uncomfortable choices. The fear of failure leads to a lack of vision or a compromised vision. 

It happens in a career as well. We are stuck in a job that thinks more of details and less of vision. All of us have a vision about our careers while joining the organization. However, the vision gets sidelined as we work more on details and perfection expected by the organization. We work more on achieving data than achieving wisdom. We work more on a fictional thing called 'perfection'. The fear of failure in achieving this professional perfection leads to disinterest and regret. 

Before leaving a comfortable, high-paying job in the 90s, Jezz Bezos posed a self-inquiry, "At the end of my life will I regret not having done this?" We should ask ourselves the same question and if the answer is 'Yes', it is not worth doing. 

- Amit Kharat

WIND

 Wind

Textbook Exercise:

1)    What are the things the wind does in the first stanza?

Answer: The wind is destructive in the first stanza. It throws the books off the shelves, tears the pages of the books and brings rain.

 

2)    What does the poet say the wind god winnows?

Answer: The wind god winnows the crumbling houses, doors, rafters, wood, bodies, lives and hearts.

 

3)    What should we do to make friends with the wind?

Answer: To be friends with the wind, you should become as strong as the wind. We should make strong houses, strong body and strong hearts.

 

4)    What do the last four lines of the poem mean to you?

The last four lines mean the following:

Answer: If you are weak, the bigger problems may make you miserable, but if you are strong, you enjoy dealing with bigger problems. The more you deal with such problems, the more develop you become. 

The Lost Child

The Lost Child

About the story:

'The Lost Child' is a story about a family who goes to a village fair to visit a holy shrine. On the way, the child in this family find so many things and gets fascinated by them same, but his parents cannot buy those things for him. Unfortunately, the child is separated from his mother and father. The person who finds the child crying tries to offer him things the child wanted, but the only thing the child wants is his parents.

Question-Answer:

What are the different things the child sees on his way to the fair? Why does he lag behind?

The child, on his way to the fair, sees many things including toys, different coloured balloons, garland made up of Gulmohar flowers, a swing and a snake charmer playing the flute. He gets mesmerized while watching these things as they are attractive and interesting, and because of that, he lags behind.

In the fair, the child wants many things. What are they? Why does he move on without waiting for an answer?

In the fair, many things interest the child and he wants them. Things such as toys, different coloured balloons, garlands made up of Gulmohar flowers and the enjoyment of the roundabouts. However, he moves on without waiting for an answer because he knows that his parents would not buy it for him. Whenever he stops to see those things, his parents would give him a cautionary call, "Come, child, come."

THE SHEHNAI OF BISMILLAH KHAN - TEXTBOOK EXERCISE

 

The Shehnai of Bismillah Khan

Textbook Exercise:

Q.A) Answer the following questions: (2 Marks each)

1)     Why did Aurangzeb ban the playing of the pungi?

The pungi had a shrill unpleasant sound and Aurangzeb did not like it. So, he banned the playing of the pungi in the royal residence.

 

2)     How is a shehnai different from a pungi?

The shehnai has a longer and broader stem than the pungi and it sounds melodious comparatively.

 

3)     Where was the shehnai played traditionally? How did Bismillah Khan change this?

Traditionally, the shehnai was played in temples and weddings as the sound of the shehnai is considered auspicious.

Bismillah Khan's made the sound of the shehnai so popular on the classical stage that it is now played almost in every auspicious function.

 

4)     When and how did Bismillah Khan get his first break?

In 1938, Bismillah Khan got his first break with the launch of All India Radio in Lucknow where he became an often-heard shehnai player on the radio.

 

5)     Where did Bismillah Khan play the shehnai on 15th August 1947? Why was the event historic?

On 15th August 1947, Bismillah Khan played the shehnai at the Red Fort. This event was historic as it was the day when India got independence.

 

6)     Why did Bismillah Khan refuse to start a shehnai school in the U.S.A.?

When one of the students of Bismillah Khan invited him to open a shehnai school in the USA, and was ready to recreate the atmosphere of Benaras, Bismillah Khan refused with a reason that bringing the river Ganga would be impossible.

 

7)     Find at least two instances in the text which tell you that Bismillah Khan loves Indian and Benaras?

The following are the two instances that show that Bishmillah Khan loves Benaras:

First: Bismillah Khan refused his student's invitation of starting a shehnai school in the USA as the Ganga river could not be brought there.

Second: Once he said that whenever he was in a foreign country, he used to yearn to see Hindustan, and while in Mumbai, he used to think of only Benaras and the holy Ganga.

 

THE SHEHNAI OF BISMILLAH KHAN

About the story:

The chapter 'The Shehnai of Bismillah Khan' is like a short biography of Bharat Ratna Bismillah Khan that features the discovery of shehnai, his childhood in Benaras and on the bank of Ganga, his love and dedication for music, his popularity in India and overseas and the accolades he earned during his lifetime.

Summary in stages:

The Discovery and the popularity of Shehnai:

Due to its shrilling sound, Emperor Aurangzeb banned the playing of the pungi in the royal court. In order to revive the instrument, a barber from a family of musicians, modified this instrument into a new instrument that was smooth and distant sounding. As this instrument was invented by a nai (barber) and was first played in Shah's court, it was called as Shehnai.

The sound of the shehnai is considered auspicious that is why it is always played in temples and weddings. It was part of the naubat i.e. the traditional ensemble of the nine musical instruments at a royal court.

Bismillah Khan's Childhood and his growing passion for music:

Bismilla, born on 21 March 1916, was from a family of musicians. His grandfather Rasool Bux Khan was the shehnai nawaz of the Bhojpur King's court. His father and paternal ancestors were the shehnai players.

The three-year-old Bismillah would go to his uncles' place to Benaras and would accompany his uncle Ali Bux who used to play the shehnai in Vishnu temple. Bismillah got lessons from him and practice throughout the day while sitting at the temple of Balaji, Mangala Maya and on the banks of Ganga. The flowing water of Ganga inspired him to improvise and invent ragas that were earlier considered beyond the shehnai's range.

The 5-year-old Bismilla would go to Bihariji temple to sing 'Chaita' and would earn a 1.25 kg laddoo from the local Maharaja.

Bismillah Khan's Popularity:

·         on 15th August 1947, he became the first person to greet the nation with his shehnai by playing Raag Kaafi for the audience including Pandit Nehru.

·         King Zahir Shah of Afganistan was so taken away by Bismillah's shehnai that he gifted him priceless Persian carpets and other souvenirs.

·         He was the first Indian to perform at the prestigious Lincoln Centre Hall in the USA, and he also participated in World Exposition in Montreal, Cannes Arts Festival and Osaka Trade Fair.

·         An auditorium in Tehran is named after him 'Tahar Mosiquee Ustaad Bismillah Khan'.

His career as Movie Music Director:

·         Movie director Vijay Bhatt was fascinated too much with Bismillah Khan's shehnai that he named his film as 'Gunj Uthi Shehnai' and Bismillah composed the song 'Dilka Khilona hai toot gaya' for this film.

·         Vikram Srinivas's Kannada movie 'Sanadhi Apanna' was also composed by Bismillah Khan. He didn't work much in the movie the industry as 'he couldn't come to terms with the artificiality and glamour of the industry'.

Awards and Recognition:

·         Padmashree

·         Padma Bhushan

·         Padma Vibhushan

·         Bharat Ratna (Year 2001)

His advice to Indian Parents:

"Teach your children music, this is Hindustan's richest tradition; even the west is now coming to learn Hindustani music".

His refusal to start a music school in the USA:

One of his students wanted him to start a shehnai school in The USA and also promised to recreate the atmosphere of Benaras temples as he knew Bismillah ji's emotional connection with the place. But Bismillah ji refused by saying that a replica of Benaras could be created but not of the Ganga river.