Solution of English Grade IX || Unit 9 || The Ant and the Grasshopper || Work and Leisure || Reading I

Unit 9

Reading I

The Ant and the Grasshopper

A. Choose appropriate words given below to replace the underlined words in the given sentences.

[industry, hilarious, qualm, enticements, obliged, amendments, expostulations]

a. If your talent combines with diligence, you can excel in your field.

industry

b. The dessert menu has a lot of delicious temptations.

enticements

c. The house passed the bill without listening to the public objections.

expostulations

d. Knowledge of the ill effects of tobacco has led to modifications in smoking behaviour.

amendments

e. Without any regret, Yule started spending his father's inheritance.

qualm

f. Mr. Smith read a humorous story which matched his real life.

hilarious

B. Put the following sentences from the story in the correct order.

The correct order is:

a. The Ramsays were perfectly respectable people.

b. Tom left his wife and his office.

c. When his money was spent, he borrowed it from friends and spent it on luxuries.

d. George continued to pay for his brother's expenses.

e. Tom promised to make a fresh start.

f. Tom bought a motor-car and some very nice jewellery.

g. Tom never settled down.

h. Tom began to blackmail his brother for money.

i. Tom took the help of Cronshaw to cheat his brother, and left for Monte Carlo.

C. Answer the following questions.

a. Why is Tom described as the ‘black sheep’ of the Ramsay family?

Tom was a black sheep in Ramsays' family because he always created problems. /Tom is described as the 'black sheep' of the Ramsay family because he abandoned his respectable life, left his wife and job, and engaged in a reckless and irresponsible lifestyle, which included constantly seeking money from his brother George and engaging in dishonest activities.

b. What was a respectable profession for Tom?

To serve in a bar or to drive a taxi was a respectable profession to Tom.

c. Why was George Ramsay staring into space?

George Ramsay was staring into the space because his only brother, Tom, troubled him very much./ George Ramsay was staring into space with an expression of deep gloom because he was likely troubled by the actions of his troublesome brother Tom, who had once again caused problems.

d. Why did Tom leave his work and wife?

Tom left his work and wife because he wanted to enjoy himself. / Tom left his work and wife because he decided he didn't like work and wasn't suited for marriage. He wanted to enjoy a carefree and luxurious life.

e. How did Tom manage his life when he ran out of money in the beginning?

Tom managed his life when he ran out of money at first by borrowing from friends.

f. How did Cronshaw and Tom cheat George?

Cronshaw and Tom cheated George by creating a fake case at the court./Cronshaw and Tom cheated George by taking a substantial sum of mone from him to settle a fake dipute between Tom and Cronshaw.

g. What made George realise that his brother would never settle down?

George gave Tom considerable sums for amendment which Tom spent to buy a car and jewellery. Such situations forced George to realise that his brother would settle down. / George realized that his brother Tom would never settle down because Tom repeatedly engaged in reckless and irresponsible behavior, including blackmailing his own brother for money and showing no intention of reforming his ways.

h. What is the moral of the story ‘The Ant and Grasshopper'?

The story writer reverses the moral of the traditional fable. The story presents the truth that all those who are honest, and work hard do not gain success. The story reveals the darker aspect of life. At the same time it encourages to be optimistic even in hard times.

D. Read the story again and write a brief summary.

Ramsays were respectable people. George Ramsay had a brother, Tom, who was not labourious but problematic. Though he started a business, he left thinking that it was boring. He not only left his business, but also his wife and two children and went for travelling. He borrowed money from friends when he had none and George continuously helped him with the money thinking that he would start a new business and settle one day. But with the money George gave, he bought a car and some jewellery. He never settled down and when he did not get money from his brother, George, he started blackmailing him. Lastly, he sued a fake case with the help of Cronshaw, and got five hundred pounds, and as soon as they cashed the cheque, they both went to Mont Carlo and remained there for months.

Grammar I

Causative Verbs

B. Fill in the gaps with the correct form of have, get or make.

a. Did they ……….. you give a speech on behalf of the group?

make

b. Instead of buying a new car, why don't you …… the old one fixed?

get

c. I ……… my hair cut tomorrow morning.

will get

d. The teacher ………. every one of us to write an essay yesterday.

gets

e. Ms Shrestha usually …………. her hair dried at the hairdresser’s.

gets

f. My mum always ……….. me clean my room on Saturdays.

makes

g. I ………. my landlord to fix the broken windowpane this morning.

got

h. Suman ………. all the Maths problems solved by the teacher.

had

C. Rewrite the sentences with have, get or make.

a. She will ask her sister to light the lamp.

She will have her sister light the lamp.

b. I am going to ask the dentist to fill my teeth.

I am going to have the dentist fill my teeth.

c. Will you ask the barber to cut your hair?

Will you have the barber cut your hair?

d. I can’t design my house myself. So I am going to ask an architect to do it.

So I am going to have an architect do it for me.

e. The girl asked her mechanic to repair her moped.

The girl had her mechanic repair her moped.

f. The landlady asks the gardener to cut the grass.

The landlady has the gardener cut the grass.

D. Choose the best alternatives and complete the sentences.

a. Mina got Shambhu ……………… (carry/to carry/carried) her suitcase.

to carry

b. Rita had Ankit ………………… (wash/to wash/washed) her clothes.

wash

c. They got me ……… (dance/to dance/danced) at my brother's wedding.

to dance

d. Kumari was made………….(turn on/to turn on/turned on) the television.

to turn

e. Barsha got new books …………… (buy/to buy//bought) her last week.

bought

f. Upendra got Mukesh ………… (watch/to watch/watched) his house.

to watch

g. My father is very kind. He never makes us …...… (do/to do/done) heavy work.

do

h. The film was very humorous. It made us all………………… (laugh/to laugh/laughed) throughout the film.

laugh

i. His hair was too long. So he had it ………………… (cut/to cut/cutting) yesterday.

cut

j. The manager……………..(made/got/make) his secretary attend the conference.

made

k. Mathew made the mechanic ………………… (overhaul/to overhaul/overhauling) his car.

overhaul

l. Smith had Jacque ……………… (fetch/to fetch/fetched) a pail of water.

to fetch

m. My maths teacher asked us to remember all the theorems. In other words, we were made ……… (remember/remembered/to remember) all the theorems.

to remember