English Grammar Class: Mrs. Adis-Sheila Kaye Smith

1.Read the following extract and complete the activities given below it.

ln north-east Sussex a great tongue of land runs into Kent. It is a land of woods - the old hammer-woods of the Sussex iron industry and among the woods gleam the hammerponds. Owing to the thickness of the woods, the road that passes Mrs. Adis's cottage is dark long before the fields beyond. That night there was no twilight and no moon, only a few pricks of fire in the black sky above the trees. But what the darkness hid the silence revealed. In the absolute stillness of the night, windless and clear, every sound was distinct, intensified. The distant bark of a dog at Delmonden sounded close at hand, and the man who walked on the road could hear the echo of his own footsteps following him like a knell.

Every now and then he made an effort to go more quietly, but the roadside was a mass of thorns, and their crackling and rustling were nearly as loud as the thud of his feet on the road. Besides, they made him go slowly, and he had no time for that. When he came to Mrs. Adis’s cottage he paused a moment. Only a small patch of grass lay between it and the road, and he looked in at the lighted, uncurtained window. He could see Mrs. Adis stooping over the fire, taking some pot or kettle off it. He hesitated and seemed to wonder. He was a big, heavy, working man, not successful, judging by the poverty of his appearance. For a moment he made as if he would open the window, then he changed his mind and went to the door instead.

He did not knock, but walked straight in.

The woman at the fire turned quickly round.

‘What, you, Peter Crouch !’ she said.

‘I didn't hear you knock.’ ‘I didn’t knock ma’am. I didn’t want anybody to hear.’

‘How’s that?’

‘I’ m in trouble.’ His hands were shaking a little. 'What have you done?’

I shot a man, Mrs. Adis.

‘You?’

‘Yes - I shot him.

‘You killed him?’ ‘I don’t know.’

A1. Global Understanding

State whether the following statements are true or false.

a. Mrs. Adis came to the cottage of Peter Crouch

b. Peter Crouch heard the echo of his own footsteps.

c. Peter Crouch opened the window to enter the cottage.

d. The atmosphere was dark with silence.

A2.Complex factual

The writer describes Peter Crouch as...........

1...............2...........3............4............

A3. Interpretation-Explain:

Peter Crouch was in trouble.

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

A4. Personal Response

If you meet any stranger who has villainous look, you feel.........

1............................................................................................

2............................................................................................

3............................................................................................

4............................................................................................

A5. Language Study

1. When he came to Mrs. Adis's cottage, he paused a moment.

(Make compound sentence)

2. He was big, heavy, working man, not successful, judging by the poverty of his appearance.

(Choose and write the adjectives used in this sentences)

A6. Vocabulary

Match the words given in 'A' with their meanings in 'B'

'A' 'B'

1. Revealed a. Bend over

2. Pricks of fire b. Very near

3. Close at hand c. Showed

4. Stooping over d. Stars

2.Read the following extract and complete the activities given below it.

For a moment there was silence in the small, stuffy kitchen. Then the kettle boiled over and Mrs Adis mechanically put it at the side of the fire

She was a small, thin woman with a brown, hard face, on which the skin had dried in innumerable small, hair like wrinkles. She was probably not more than forty-two, but life treats some women hard in the agricultural districts of Sussex, and Mrs. Adis life had been harder than most.

‘What do you want me to do for you Peter Crouch?’ she said a little sourly.

‘Let me stay here a bit. Is there nowhere you can put me till they’ve gone?’

‘Who’s they?’

‘The keepers.’

‘Oh you’ve had a quarrel with the keepers, have you?’

‘Yes. I was down by Cinder Wood seeing if l could pick up anything, and the keepers found me. There were four to one, so I used my gun.’

‘‘Then I ran for it. They’re after me; they can’t be far off now.’’

Mrs Adis did not speak for a moment. Crouch looked at her beseechingly.

‘You might do it for Tom's sake,’ he said.

‘You haven't been an over-good friend to Tom’, snapped Mrs. Adis.

‘But Tom’s been a very good friend to me; he would want you to stand by me tonight.’

‘Well, I won’t say he wouldn’t, for Tom always thought better of you than you deserved. Maybe you can stay till he comes home to-night, then we can hear what he says about it.’

‘He’ll be up at work for an hour yet, and the coast will be clear by then - l can get away out of the country.’

‘Where’ll you go?’

‘I don’t know. There is time to think of that.’

‘Well! You can think of it in here, she said dryly, opening a door which led from the kitchen into the small shed at the back of the cottage. They’ll never guess you’re there, specially if I tell them I haven’t seen you tonight.’

‘You’re a good woman, Mrs. Adis. I know I’m not worth your standing by me, but may be l’d have been different if I’d a mother like Tom’s.’

She did not speak, but shut the door, and he was in darkness save for a small ray of light that came through one of the cracks. By this light he could see her moving to and fro, preparing Tom’s supper. In another hour Tom would be home from lronlatch Farm, where he worked every day. Peter Crouch trusted Tom to help him, for they had been friends when they went together to the National School at Lamberhurst, and since then the friendship had not been broken by their very different characters and careers.

A1. Write down the words that describe Mrs. Adis:

1.................................

2.................................

3.................................

4................................

A2. Find out

Find the reasons that forced Peter to shoot down a person.

A3. Conclusion:

Mrs. Adis asks Peter Crouch whether he has had quarrel with the keepers. This shows that:.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

A4. Personal Response

What will you do if your friend has done something wrong and wants you to help him/her.

A5.Language Study

1. You haven't been an over-good friend to Tom.

(Identify the tense)

2. There were four to one, so I used my gun.

(Use 'because' and rewrite the sentence)

A6. Vocabulary

Give antonyms of-

1. hard

2. small

3. good