Oral Comprehension (Page 74)
Question 1. What did Mr Petronski’s letter say?
Answer 1 Mr Petronski’s letter said that Wanda not come to school any more as she is shifting to another city. They were going to a bigger place where nobody would make fun of their last name.
Question 2. Is Miss Mason angry with the class, or is she unhappy and upset?
Answer 2 Miss Mason was unhappy and upset rather than angry because she had never expected such a behaviour from the students and the way they treated Wanda. She wants everyone to think about it and asks them not to do look down anyone in the class. She was disturbed by the humiliation of a child just because her dress, name and house.
Question 3. How does Maddie feel after listening to the note from Wanda’s father?
Answer 3 Maddie feels guilty and ashamed for the behaviour. She feels as a coward because she never tried to stop Peggy to make fun of Wanda. She could not concentrate in her studies.
Question 4. What does Maddie want to do?
Answer 4 Maddie wants to apologies for her behaviour as she didn’t want to hurt Wanda’s feeling. She also wanted to convey that all was meant in good humour and people really love her. She decides to find Wanda at her house at Boggins Heights.
Oral Comprehension (Page 76)
Question 1. What excuses does Peggy think up for her behaviour? Why?
Answer 1 The excuse that Peggy thought up for her behaviour was that she never called Wanda a foreigner or made fun of her name. She never thought Wanda had even the sense to know that they were making fun of her. Peggy tries to defend herself by saying that her behaviour towards Wanda inspired her to explore her drawing skills as she sketches a hundred dresses and that makes her win the drawing contest.
Question 2. What are Maddie’s thoughts as they go to Boggins Heights?
Answer 2 Maddie was feeling ashamed and guilty for being a silent spectator while Peggy humiliated Wanda. She was feeling sad for not getting a chance to say sorry to Wanda. She also thought of requesting her not to leave the school.
Question 3. Why does Wanda’s house remind Maddie of Wanda’s blue dress?
Answer 3 Wanda’s blue dress was old and faded but neat and clean. Similarly her house was old and shabby but clean. Therefore, it reminded Maddie of Wanda’s blue dress.
Question 4 What does Maddie think hard about? What important decision does she come to?
Answer 4 Maddie thinks about not to be mute spectator anymore and not letting injustice happen to anyone. She makes a decision that she would protest if anyone misbehaves with anybody. She didn’t even mind losing Pegg’s friendship over it.
Oral Comprehension (Page 79)
Question 1. What did the girls write to Wanda?
Answer 1 Maddie and Peggy wrote a friendly letter to Wanda telling her that she won the contest. They wanted to apologise for their behaviour but they ended up asking her whether she liked her new school and teacher. They praised her drawing skills and also told how much other students liked her art.
Question 2. Did they get a reply? Who was more anxious for a reply, Peggy or Maddie? How do you know?
Answer 2 No, they didn’t get a reply from Wanda. Maddie was more anxious for a reply than Peggy because she was very upset and feeling guilty because she did not stop Peggy and other girls from teasing Wanda.Maddie used to have sleepless nights and saw frightful dreams about Wanda.She had assumed that Wanda was deeply hurt so she was not replying and blamed herself for everything.
Question 3. How did the girls know that Wanda liked them even though they had teased her?
Answer 3 The girls know that Wanda liked them even though they had teased her because she asked Miss Mason to give her two beautiful dresses, a green one with red trimmings to Peggy and the blue one to Maddie. When Maddie looked at the drawing carefully, she realised that the dress had a face and a head, which looked like her own.
Thinking about the Text (Page 79)
Question 1. Why do you think Wanda’s family moved to a different city? Do you think life there was going to be different for their family?
Answer 1 Wanda’s family moved to a different city due to the insulting behaviour of students towards Wanda and her brother. They were teased by other students for their funny name and blue dress. Life there in a different city was going to be different because people there did not have such a narrow mind and would not tease them because of their name or status.
Question 2. Maddie thought her silence was as bad as Peggy’s teasing. Was she right?
Answer 2 Maddie thought that her silence was as bad as Peggy’s teasing because she was a mute spectator and her silence encouraged Peggy to tease her. It is often said that turning a blind eye to a crime is worse than committing a crime. Maddie was too afraid to say anything because she did not want to lose Peggy’s friendship.
Question 3. Peggy says, “I never thought she had the sense to know we were making fun of her anyway. I thought she was too dumb. And gee, look how she can draw!” What led Peggy to believe that Wanda was dumb? Did she change her opinion later?
Answer 3 Peggy thought that Wanda was too dumb because she never replied to Peggy ‘s misbehaviour and pranks that she faced everyday. Wanda said she had hundred dresses , even when everybody knew that she was poor. Her facial expression and normal behaviour led Peggy think that She is dumb. Peggy changed her opinion later when she saw the drawing of hundred dresses Wanda talked about. She saw the drawing and was impressed.
Question 4. What important decision did Maddie make? Why did she have to think hard to do so?
Answer 4 The important decision that Maddie made was that she will no longer be a mute spectator and if she heard anyone teasing anybody because of their looks and names, she will surely speak up in protest. She did not even mind losing Peggy’s friendship. Maddie decided to go to Wanda’s house with Peggy to apologise and amend for all that had happened. Maddie felt very bad because she thought of herself as a coward who did not stop Peggy from teasing Wanda. She thought about Wanda feeling, blue dress and small house she lived in.
Question 5. Why do you think Wanda gave Maddie and Peggy the drawings of the dresses? Why are they surprised?
Answer 5 Wanda requested Miss Mason to give two of her drawings to Maddie and Peggy to taught them a lesson of life. Maddie and Peggy were surprised because they always make fun of her dresses and insulted her but she gifted them with the most beautiful drawings with their similar faces.
Question 6. Do you think Wanda really thought the girls were teasing her? Why or Why not?
Answer 6 Wanda was aware that the girls teased her everyday but she remained calm. She knew that the children make fun of her poverty and will never understand how she feels. To keep them mum she fabricated a story of having a hundred dresses and sixty pairs of matching shoes in her closet. She taught them a lesson of life by the drawings of the hundred beautiful dresses she claimed to have.
Question I. Here are thirty adjectives describing human qualities. Discuss them with your partner and put them in the two word webs (given below) according to whether you think they show positive or negative qualities. You can consult a dictionary if you are not sure of the meanings of some of the words.
You may also add to the list the positive or negative ‘pair’ of a given word.
kind, sarcastic, courteous, arrogant, insipid, timid, placid, cruel, haughty, proud, zealous, intrepid, sensitive, compassionate, introverted, stolid, cheerful, contented, thoughtless, vain, friendly, unforgiving, fashionable, generous, talented, lonely, determined, creative, miserable, complacent
Answer I Positive : creative, kind, courteous, placid, zealous, intrepid, sensitive, compassionate, cheerful, contented, friendly, fashionable, generous, talented, determined.
Negative : miserable, complacent, sarcastic, arrogant, insipid, timid, haughty, proud, zealous, introverted, stolid, thoughtless, vain, unforgiving.
Question II. What adjectives can we use to describe Peggy, Wanda and Maddie? You can choose adjectives from the list above. You can also add some of your own.
1. Peggy __________
2. Wanda __________
3. Maddie __________
Answer II. Peggy : Sarcastic, thoughtless, zealous, unforgiving arrogant, cruel, haughty, proud, vain
2. Wanda : Kind, courteous, introverted, talented, lonely, determined, complacent, contented, generous, friendly, intrepid, sensitive, compassionate, creative.
3. Maddie: Insipid, timid, placid, stolid
Question III. 1. Find the sentences in the story with the following phrasal verbs
lined up thought up took off stood by
Answer III 1. Lined up : She thought of the glowing picture of those hundred dresses all lined up in the classroom.
2. Thought up: Peggy who had thought up this game and Maddie her inseparable friend, were always ‘the last to leave.
3. Took off : Miss Mason took off her glasses, blew on them and wiped them on her soft white handkerchief.
4. Stood by : She had stood by silently and that was just as bad as what Peggy had done.
Question IV. Colours are used to describe feelings, moods and emotions. Match the following ‘colour expressions’ with a suggested paraphrase.
(i) the Monday morning – feel embarrassed/angry/ashamed blues
(ii) go red in the face – feel very sick, as if about to vomit
(iii) look green – sadness or depression after a weekend of fun
(iv) the red carpet – the sign or permission to begin an action
(v) blue-blooded – a sign of surrender or acceptance of defeat; a wish to stop fighting
(vi) a green belt – in an unlawful act; while doing something wrong
(vii) a blackguard – a photographic print of building plans; a detailed plan or scheme
(viii) a grey area – land around a town or city where construction is prohibited by law
(ix) a white flag – an area of a subject or a situation where matters are not very clear
(x) a blueprint – a dishonest person with no sense of right or wrong
(xi) red-handed – a special welcome
(xii) the green light – of noble birth or from a royal family
Answer IV
1. The Monday morning blues : sadness or depression after a weekend of fun
2. To go red in the face : feel embarrassed /angry/ashamed
3. Look green : feel very sick, as if about to vomit
4. The red carpet : a special welcome
5. Blue – blooded : of noble birth or from a royal family
6. A green belt : land around a town or city where construction is prohibited by law
7. Black guard : a dishonest person with no sense of right or wrong
8. A grey area : an area of a subject or a situation where matters are not very clear.
9. A white flag : a sign of surrender or acceptance of defeat; a wish to stop fighting
10. A blue print : a photographic print of building plans; a detailed clan or scheme
11. Red-handed : in an unlawful act; while doing something wrong
12. The green light : the sign of permission to begin an action
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