Grade 10 English Unit 7, Reading I- Parents Exercise

 Grade 10 English Unit 7, Reading - Parents Exercise

Parents

Dad! I'm going to meet my fakebook friend."

"When?" I asked.

"Now."

"I'm coming with you."

"No, I'm going alone."

"Look, Anuja..."

"You are obsessed dad. Nothing is going to happen to me."

 

Anuja, my daughter is only 13. She spends most of her time on computer chatting with her friends and sending messages. She has many e-friends. A couple of days ago she told me about her new e-friend. She is 12 and Anuja is very fond of her. And now she is going to meet her. I warned her about bad people who fake themselves as teenager, chat with girls like her and seek opportunities to take advantage of innocent girls. But she doesn't listen to me. She thinks I am an old man who is overprotective of his daughter, a man who sees ghosts in every dark corner.

 

"Look, honey. I'm not saying you can't meet your friend. All I'm saying is let me come with you. I will not get out of the car first and if I see a girl of 12 waiting, I'll do some window shopping and you can go and meet her. But if there is no girl, we will wait for 10 minutes and then come back. OK?" "This is ridiculous." She stamped her feet.

 

"Why? Is it because I'm 60 years old? Or is it because I've a big belly? Or because there is no hair on my head that you're ashamed of going out with me?" I tried to joke,

 

"Oh Dad, you're impossible."

"You look like a boy in your new outfit." On the way, I commented on her dress.

 

"Dad! I think I must tell you something."

 

"I'm listening."

 

"I'm not a girl... I mean I'm not a girl for the girl... I mean the friend I am going to meet.'

 

"You lost me."

 

"Sorry. What I want to tell you is that I chatted with her as a boy." "You mean you pretended to be a boy to this girl?" I stared at her and the car swerved a little which I controlled. "Yes, she knows me as a boy."

 

"God!" I tried to digest this new information. When we reached the place, I got out of the car and walked around. There was no girl in sight. Some hundred meters away, a car with dark windows was parked on the other side of the road. On the nearby playground, some boys were playing cricket and a couple of cows were munching dried hay. I looked at my watch and started pacing up and down the road. I looked at the car and started walking again. The car started and sped away. I again consulted my watch. Ten minutes up: no sign of any girl. I walked to my car, got into it and said, "You see, I was right. There is no one here. The girl you chatted on the internet must have been fake."

 

Next day, at lunch time I retold the whole event to my colleague, Dhurva. "So you think that some bad guy was trying to approach your daughter?" He smiled.

"Why are you laughing?"

 

"Let me tell you why the girl friend of your daughter didn't appear at the meeting place. It was because her mother came with her in a car before you reached there. The mother was watching if there was really a boy of 13. But all she could see was an old man with a big stomach and a bald head lurking around the meeting place. So she didn't let her daughter get out of the car. She just drove the car back home."

 

"You mean... You mean she saw me and..." I stammered. "Yes, she saw you. Do you know what she said about you?" He laughed. "She said that she saw a lecherous old man with an evil leer on his face..."

 

(Adapted from: Vishnu Singh Rai's Martyr and other Stories)

 

A. Choose the words/phrases given below and write against the correct definitions.

munching      ridiculous      window shopping         stammer

obsessed      lurking           outfit                           leer

Swerve         stamp

 

a. remaining hidden so as to wait for somebody secretly lurking

b preoccupied with something continually to a troubling extend obsessed

c. the act of looking at goods displayed in shop windows without intending to buy them window shopping

d. bringing down one's feet heavily down on the ground stamp

e. deserving or inviting disapproval; absurd ridiculous

f. a set of clothes worn for a particular occasion or activity outfit 

g. to turn aside abruptly from a straight line or course swerve

h. eating something hard, steadily and noisily munching.

i. look or gaze in an unpleasant and offensive way leer

j. speaking with difficulty, repeating sounds or words and often stopping stammer

 

B. Rewrite the following sentences in a chronological order.

a. Her father accompanied her to meet the friend.

b. They saw a car on the other side of the road.

c. Anuja told father that she wanted to see her new friend.

d. She revealed of her secret e-identity with her father.

e. She told her father about her new e-friend.

f. Anuja's father shared the incident with his friend.

g. He observed that Anuja was looking like a boy in her new dress.

h. They waited for Anuja's friend for ten minutes.

 

In correct Order:

1.c. Anuja told father that she wanted to see her new friend.

2.e. She told her father about her new e-friend.

3.g. He observed that Anuja was looking like a boy in her new dress.

4.a. Her father accompanied her to meet the friend.

5.d. She revealed of her secret e-identity with her father.

6.b. They saw a car on the other side of the road.

7. h. They waited for Anuja's friend for ten minutes.

8.f. Anuja's father shared the incident with his friend.

 

C. Read the story again and answer these questions.

a. Why do you think Anuja was unwilling to take her father along with her to meet her new friend?

Ans:-  Anuja was unwilling to take her father along with her to meet her new friend because she wanted to assert her independence and felt that her father's presence would be unnecessary and embarrassing.

 

b. How does she criticize her father?

Ans:- Anuja criticizes her father by calling him obsessed and stating that nothing will happen to her, implying that he is overprotective and overly concerned about her safety.

 

c. Describe Anuja's e-friend.

Ans:- The story does not provide other details about Anuja's e-friend, except stating that she is 12 years old.

 

d. What did Anja's father propose to go with her?

Ans:- Anuja's father proposed to go with her to ensure her safety and to verify the authenticity of her e-friend by checking if a 12-year-old girl was present at the meeting place.

 

e. What was the shocking news for her father?

Ans:- The shocking news for Anuja's father was when Anuja revealed that she had been chatting with her friend pretending to be a boy.

 

f. Why did they return without meeting Anuja's friend?

Ans:- They returned without meeting Anuja's friend because her friend's mother had already arrived at the meeting place and observed Anuja's father's presence, assuming him to be an older man lurking around. The mother decided not to let her daughter get out of the car and drove back home.

 

g. Why do you think Dhurva laughed at the story of Anuja's father?

Ans:- Dhurva laughed at the story of Anuja's father because he found it amusing that the mother perceived Anuja's father as a lecherous old man with an evil leer on his face, based solely on his appearance and behavior at the meeting place.

 

h. How did the girl's mother see Anuja's father? Why didn't they talk to each other?

Ans:- The girl's mother saw Anuja's father as an old man with a big stomach and a bald head lurking around the meeting place. They didn't talk to each other because the mother decided not to let her daughter meet Anuja based on her judgment of Anuja's father.

D. What can be the consequences of faking your identities and bullying other people on the social media and the internet?

Faking our identities and bullying on social media and the internet can lead to serious consequences. If we do such act It can hurt people emotionally, causing anxiety, sadness, and low self-esteem. Our victims even think about hurting themselves. We may also feel guilty and isolated.

Fake identities and bullying can harm a person's reputation. False information and mean behavior online can ruin someone's personal and professional life. It can also create a negative and unfriendly online environment, which is bad for everyone using the platform. To prevent these consequences, we need to promote good behavior online. This means being kind and respectful to others. Platforms should have ways to report bullying and take action against it. We should support and help those who are being bullied. By working together, we can make the internet a safer and friendlier place for everyone.