TS 6th Class English Guide Unit 6A Rip Van Winkle

Telangana SCERT TS 6th Class English Study Material Pdf Unit 6A Rip Van Winkle Textbook Questions and Answers.

TS 6th Class English Guide Unit 6A Rip Van Winkle

Look at the picture and discuss the questions that follow:

Question 1.
Who do you think this old man is?
Answer:
I think this old man is a wanderer. There is no home for him or none to look after him.

Question 2.
What does the creeper around his leg suggest?
Answer:
The creeper around his leg suggests that he always lies at the same space for long.

Question 3.
What do his clothes convey?
Answer:
His clothes convey that he wears the same clothes for a long time. They are very dirty and ragged.

Oral Discourse:

Description – Describe the person in the picture.
Answer:
The person in the picture is looking like an old man. He seems to be tall. He has torn clothes. His shoes are dirty. He has a worn out hat. He has a foot long grey beard. A creeper has grown around his body. He is sleeping on the ground. He seems to be sleeping for a long period. He is looking like a lazy person. Spiders have also woven their webs around him. He looks like an untidy person.

Comprehension:

Question 1.
Why did people like Rip Van Winkle ?
Answer:
People liked Rip Van Winkle because he was a kind neighbour and ready to help anyone. He was a simple and good-natured man.

Question 2.
How was Rip Van Winkle helpful to children ?
Answer:
Rip Van Winkle played with the children, taught them to fly kites and shoot marbles and told them long stories.

Question 3.
List the things that surest Rip Van Winkle was lazy.
Answer:
Rip Van Winkle did no work on his own farm and just idled away his time. His fences were falling to pieces. His cow was going astray. Weeds grew on his farm. To avoid work, he would walk away into the forest with his dog. These things suggest that Rip Van Winkle was lazy.

Question 4.
What is daydreaming ? What kind of people daydream ?
Answer:
Daydreaming is a series of pleasant thoughts that make us forget about the present. The persons who are not interested at any kind of work daydream.

Question 5.
Which lines in the story suggest that Rip Van Winkle went far away from the village?
Answer:
“He began to descend the mountain to go back to his village. As he neared the village, he met a number of people but he didn’t know any of them.”, These lines in the story suggest that Rip Van Winkle went a long way from the village.

Question 6.
What was strange about the men Rip met ?
Answer:
The men Rip met were odd looking and short fellows. They were all dressed the same way and all of them had beards of various shapes and colours. Their faces were serious and there was silence.

Question 7.
The short men stopped their play and gazed at Rip Van Winkle. Why ?
Answer: The short men had not seen Rip Van Winkle till then. He was very tall. So, they stopped their play and gazed at Rip Van Winkle.

Question 8.
What was it that Rip Van Winkle drank ?
Answer:
Rip Van Winkle drank some kind of alcoholic content or magic water.

Question 9.
Rip Van Winkle drank more glasses than was offered. Was that a right thing to do ? Why ? What would you do if you were in his place ?
Answer:
Rip Van Winkle drank more glasses than was offered. It was not the right thing to do. He drank that magic water and slept for twenty years at a stretch. So, it was not the right thing to do. If I were in his place I wouldn’t do what he did. I would drink only a little of the magic water.

Question 10.
When do you think Rip Van Winkle realized that he had slept for 20 years ?
Answer:
I think Rip Van Winkle realized that he had slept for 20 years when the old woman asked him where he had been those twenty years.

Vocabulary:

I. Circle the correct meaning of the words as used in the story shown in bold print.

Question 1.
idled away = ___________
a. wasted
b. rested
c. admired
Answer:
a. wasted

Question 2.
constant = ___________
a. Continuous
b. construct
c. steady
Answer:
a. Continuous

Question 3.
companion = ___________
a. dog
b. stranger
c. partner
Answer:
c. partner

Question 4.
realise = ___________
a. understand
b. to set free
c. real
Answer:
a. understand

Question 5.
descend = ___________
a. not to send
b. be decent
c. to move down
Answer:
c. to move down

Question 6.
barrel = ___________
a. a wooden container
b. a musical instrument
c. a bag
Answer:
a. a wooden container

Question 7.
contents = ___________
a. to be happy
b. the ingredients
c. the index of a book
Answer:
b. the ingredients

II. Match the words in the box with their meanings. Write the words in the blanks. You may take the help of a dictionary.

Question 1.
near the lower part of a mountain ________________
Answer:
foothills

Question 2.
with grey hair ________________
Answer:
grizzled

Question 3.
to rub gently ________________
Answer:
stroked

Question 4.
to be very surprised ________________
Answer:
astonished

Question 5.
known to you ________________
Answer:
familiar

III. Sometimes we join two words to make a describing word. For example, Rip was a good-natured man. Here are some more describing words. Use them to complete the given paragraph.

Mrs. Das has a __________ (1) job in a clothes shop. Yesterday, an __________ (2) woman walked into the shop. She was wearing __________ (3) shoes. A __________ (4) dog was with her. “I want a __________ (5) shirt for my dog, please,” she said. “For your dog?” asked Mrs.Das, __________ (6) in surprise. “Yes,”
replied the woman. “I want him to be __________ (7) for my next party.”
Answer:

1. part-time
2. odd-looking
3. high-heeled
4. sweet-looking
5. long-sleeved
6. open-mouthed
7. well-dressed.

Grammar:

I. The Passive Voice:

1. Everyone in the village liked Rip Van Winkle.
2. Rip Van Winkle was liked by everyone in the village.

Compare the two sentences. They convey the same message. In the first sentence , ‘Everyone in the villagers the subject, ‘liked’is the verb, and ‘Rip: Van Winkle’ is the object. Here, the verb ‘liked’ is said to be in ‘active voice.’

In the second sentence, the subject and the object have exchanged their positions and “by” is added to the object. The verb “liked” is changed into “was liked” (be + past participle of the verb). Here, the verb is said to be in passive voice.

So, there are two kinds of voice namely

• Active voice and
• Passive voice

1. Active Voice : The verb is said to be in the Active Voice when the subject repre¬sents the doer.

Eg:

2. Passive Voice :
The verb is said to be in the passive voice when the subject repre¬sents the person or thing that something has been done to him or it.
Eg : 1) Songs are sung by Sita.
2) The dinner has been cooked by mother.

The rules to be observed when we change the sentence from Active Voice to Passive Voice:

Note 1 :
Subject is changed into object and object is changed into subject.
Eg:

Note 2 :

When we transform a sentence in active voice into passive voice, we use by + the agent (if the agent is prominent). Otherwise, the agent, is not mentioned.
Eg:

Eg : 1) Someone has stolen my purse. (Active voice)
My purse has been stolen. (Passive voice) The Agent is not prominent here.
2) Somebody has picked my pocket. (AV)
My pocket has been picked. (PV)

Note 3 :
The tense of the verb does not change when we transform a sentence in active voice into passive voice or vice versa. (Observe the above examples and the ones given below.)

Eg : 1) I am writing a letter. (AV)
A letter is being written by me. (PV)

2) She will sing a song. (AV)
A song will be sung by her. (PV)

3) They have painted the house. (AV)
The house has been painted. (PV)

4) Umesh is planting a tree. (AV)
A tree is being planted by Umesh. (PV)

5) John paints portraits. (AV)
Portraits are painted by John. (PV)

Note 4 :
If a verb has two objects, any one of the two objects may become the subject in the passive.
Eg : 1) I taught Ravi English.
English was taught to Ravi by me. / Ravi was taught English by me.

2) He will give you the money. (AV)
You will be given the money by him. (PV)
(Or)
The money will be given to you by him. (PV)

1. Read the following passage and underline all the verbs in passive voice.

We watched a film and returned home late yesterday. We unlocked the door and entered our apartment. We were shocked to find the whole place in disarray. Clothes were thrown everywhere. The cupboard was opened and my three new suits were missing. The handle of the iron safe was broken. We were surprised at how anyone could have got in when the door was locked. My wife found that the backdoor was left open. Evidently we had forgotten to close it when we left the house. An inventory of the missing property was prepared and a complaint was lodged with the Town Police Station. My wife and I were taught the lesson of our life.
Answer:
We watched a film and returned home late yesterday. We unlocked the door and entered our apartment. We were shocked to find the whole place in disarray. Clothes were thrown everywhere. The cupboard was opened and my three new suits were missing. The handle of the iron safe was broken. We were surprised at how anyone could have got in when the door was locked. My wife found that the backdoor was left open. Evidently we had forgotten to close it when we left the house. An inventory of the missing property was prepared and a complaint was lodged with the Town Police Station. My wife and I were taught the lesson of our life.

2. Change the following sentences into their corresponding passive forms.
i. Rip Van Winkle helped the short man.
ii. The short men were playing ninepins.
iii. Rip tells stories to children.
iv. Rip has taught games.
v. The children liked Rip.
vi. Nobody recognised Rip.
Answer:
i. The short man was helped by Rip Van Winkle.
ii. Ninepins was being played by the short men.
iii. Stories are told to children by Rip. / Children are told stories by Rip.
iv. Games have been taught by Rip.
v. Rip was liked by the children.
vi. Rip was not recognised.

II. Adverbs of frequency (revision).

1. Given below are the students’ responses to the question “How often do you walk to school?” Read them carefully and write the names of the students in order, starting with the student who walks to school most often.

Narasimha Murthy : I don’t usually walk to school. I often go on a cycle.
Apparao : I never walk to school. I live very far away.
Satyanarayana : I always walk to school. I live right opposite the school.
Krishna Murthy : I sometimes walk to school. At times I take the bus too.
Venkata Rao : I usually walk to school. It’s a nice way to start the day.
i. __________
ii. __________
iii. __________
iv. __________
v. __________
Answer:
i) Satyanarayano
ii) Venkata Rao
iii) Krishna Murthy
iv) Narasimha Murthy
v) Apparao

2. Write as many sentences as you can about yourself using the following adverbs of frequency.

You may talk about how often you;

play in the park
go to bed late
fuss over food
study hard, etc.
Answer:
Eg. I often play in the park.
I rarely go to bed late.
I sometimes fuss over food.
1 usually study hard.
I frequently play cricket.
I always get up early.
I rarely write stories.
I sometimes go to church.
1 often read story books.
I frequently go by bus.
I always stand first in the class.

Editing :

Read the following passage. There is an error in each sentence. Identify and edit it.

It were a hot summer day. Many animal of the forest assembled in and near the pond. All of them were relaxing and talk. Just then, a crow came flying and sat to a branch. An rabbit saw it.
Answer:
It was a hot summer day. Many animals of the forest assembled in and near the pond. All of them were relaxing and talking. Just then, a crow came flying and sat on a branch. A rabbit saw it.

Writing:

Imagine you are Rip Van Winkle and narrate what had happened to you 20 years ago.
Answer:
Twenty years ago, I went into the forest along with ‘Wolf’. There I saw a strange looking old man with thick hair and a grizzled beard. He called me and asked me to help him to carry the barrel. I helped him and we both carried the barrel to a place where some odd looking short men playing ninepins. They were all dressed the same way and they had beards of various shapes and colours.

They were serious and silent. They looked at me seriously and I was very much frightened. My companion gave me the contents of the barrel and I drank more glasses of it and fell into a deep sleep. I woke up and found that I was at the place where I had first met the old man. I looked around my ‘Wolf but it was not there. I started climbing down the mountain to go back to my village.

When I entered the village, I understood that I couldn’t know any of them. They too started at me as I was a strange person. I was astonished to find that I had a foot long white beard. Then an old woman recognised me and asked me where I had been all those twenty years. Then I realised that I had left the village twenty years ago.

Study Skills:

I. Look at the picture and read the details given below.

Now, answer the following questions.

Question 1.
Who are these children?
Answer:
These children are missing children.

Question 2.
Name the organisation issued this alert about missing children.
Answer:
National Centre for Missing Children.

Question 3.
Mention few instances where children go missing.
Answer:
Children will miss from their parents in temples, exhibitions, fares, tours, pilgrimages, etc.

Question 4.
What are the details required to trace the missing child?
Answer:
Child’s photograph, details of the child such as height, weight, colour, dress type of the child worn at the time of missing and where and when the child has missed are needed to trace the missing child. The child’s where-abouts like mother’s name, father’s name, address and contact number are also needed to trace the missing child.

Question 5.
What is our duty if we find missing children?
Answer:
If we find missing children, we have to report to the nearest police station.

Listening and Speaking:

I. Your teacher will read the story “The Magic Spring.” Listen carefully and answer the following questions :

The Magic Spring

Once in a small village near the mountains lived an old farmer and his wife. They had no children. They were very old. One morning the old farmer woke up early. He took his axe and went to the mountains. He wanted to cut some firewood. He climbed the mountain very slowly. The sun was up. It was hot. The old man felt tired and slept under the tree. A small animal touched the old man’s right foot.

He jumped up in fear and looked around. He saw a squirrel running towards a small hole. “Please stop”,cried the old man: “Please come back.” But the squirrel had disappeared. The olcbrqsfn was afraid. Suddenly he felt thirsty. “Oh! How thirsty I am!” said the old man. “How I wish I could get a mouthful of cold water!” But there was no water anywhere. “Mr.Squirrel, my friend, I’m very thirsty,” the old man cried out. “Give me something to drink. Please give me some water.” Suddenly he heard a bubbling noise: a spring of water was coming from the squirrel’s hole! “How wonderful!” said the old man. He knelt down by the spring, took some water in his hands, and drank it. “How sweet!” said he. “How cool!” Suddenly he felt very sleepy. He lay down on the grass. “What a strange place!” said he and soon fell asleep.

After some time the old man woke up. It was late in the evening. “What a long sleep it was!” said the old man. He jumped up and started running home. “Is the old woman worrying about me?” he asked himself. On his way he picked up the bundle of firewood. It was a heavy load. But he carried it easily. He felt young and strong. “How young I feel!” he said. He ran home quickly. His wife was waiting for him at the gate. “Hello, old woman,” he called out to her. “I’m hungry. Give me something to eat.”

But the old woman was puzzled. “Who is this young man speaking as if he was my husband?” she said to herself. “What’s wrong with you?” said he. “Don’t stare at me like that. I”m your husband.” The old woman could not believe her eyes. It took some time for both the husband and the wife to understand what had happened. Then the wife said, “Tell me the exact place. I want to drink from the magic spring and be young like you.”

The next day, the old woman got up early in the morning and set out for the spring. The farmer stayed at home. “Come back soon,” he told his wife. “Don’t be late.” He was very happy. He was once again young and strong. “Now my wife is going to drink at the magic spring. How young she will be!” he said to himself. It was late afternoon. The wife did not come back. The farmer waited and waited. Still she did not come. So he too set out for the mountains. He ran as fast as he could. He called out her name. “Please answer me”, he cried. “Come back to me.” But there was no answer. “O, how unhappy I am!” cried the farmer.

At last he reached the magic spring. “Where are you?” he shouted. “Don’t hide from me.” Then he heard a tiny cry. He turned round. There, on the grass, he saw a tiny baby. It waved its tiny hands and made some baby noises. The farmer looked closely at the baby. His wife’s clothes were wrapped around her. And she had his wife’s face! Then he knew what had happened. She drank too much water from the spring. “What a pity!” he said. He took his baby-wife in his arms, carried her home, and looked after her lovingly.

Questions & Answers :

Question 1.
Why did the old man go to the mountains?
Answer:
The old man went to the mountains to cut some firewood.

Question 2.
Who touched his feet?
Answer:
A squirrel touched his feet.

Question 3.
How did the old man turn into a young man? Who helped him?
Answer:
The old man was very thirsty. He drank a spring of water that came from a squirrel’s hole. He felt sleepy and lay down on the grass. He fell asleep. When he woke up, he turned into a young man. The magic spring helped him.

Question 4.
The old woman could not recognise her husband. Why?
Answer:
The old woman could not recognise her husband because he turned into a young and strong man.

Question 5.
Why do you think the old woman went to the spring very early in the morning?
Answer:
I think the old woman went to the spring very early in the morning to drink the magic spring and become a young woman.

Question 6.
Why did the old woman turn into a small baby? What would you do if you were in her place?
Answer:
The old woman drank too much water from the spring. So, she turned into a small baby. If I were in her place, I would drink only a little.

Question 7.
Do you believe in such magic pools? Talk about them to the members of your group.
Answer:
Yes, I believe in such magic pools. Two years ago, I watched a movie in which this kind of incident took place. In that movie a man drank the magic water and became a frog.

Oral Activity:

I. Imagine you are a villager thinking about the sudden disappearance of Rip Van Winkle. Guess what may have happened to Rip and tell the members of your group using one of the following expressions :

Answer:

1. I think Rip Van Winkle must have lost his way in the mountains.
2. In my opinion, the strange looking men must have kidnapped Rip Van Winkle.
3. I’m sure that the short men killed Rip Van Winkle.
4. I don’t think that Rip Van Winkle is alive.
5. As far as I know, the contents of the barrel made Rip Van Winkle mad.
6. I believe Rip Van Winkle was killed by some wild animals.
7. I feel Rip Van Winkle died because of excessive liquid he drank.
8. I suspect some robbers murdered Rip Van Winkle.

II. Lots of things may have happened in the village when Rip was away. Imagine you ‘ lire the neighbour who greets Rip after 20 years. One student should act as Rip. Tell Rip about all that had happened in the village after he left.
(Talk about what happened to his family, to his friends, to the other villagers, to the children he placed with, the changes in the village.. .etc. Take the help of your teacher.)
Answer:

Dear Rip,
How are you ? Where have you been all these twenty years ? Why do you wear such dirty and ragged clothes ? After you had left our village there were many changes in our village. Your wife died recently. Your daughter married to a man from the city. Now, they are in a big city. Your house has been decayed. Our best friend, John died five years ago. Ram went to the USA where his son has been living.

Our other friends are all safe. Rip, do you. remember the children whom you used to play with ? Now, they are all grown-ups. Some of them even got married and had babies. They always tell about you. If they see you, they will all be happy. Now, there is a high school in our village. There are transport facilities for all of us. A hospital has also been set up. The doctor is a good person. He gives us treatment free. Sometimes he provides us free medicines too. Now, you tell me about yourself. I want to know about your disappearance.

Rip Van Winkle Summary in English

Long ago a simple and good natured man named Rip Van Winkle lived in a small village at the foothills of the Kaatskill mountains. All the villagers liked him because of his kindness and helping nature. The children too liked him because he played with them, he taught them to fly kites and shoot marbles and told them long stories. But Rip was very lazy and did not want to work on his own farm. He idled away his time.

One day he walked into the forest along with his dog, ‘Wolf to avoid work. At that time a strange looking old man with thick hair and grizzled beard called him and asked him for his help to carry the barrel. Both of them carried the barrel to the place where some more odd looking men playing ninepins. They all dressed the same way and had beards of various shapes and colours. They were serious and silent. They stared at Rip and he was frightened.

Rip’s companion gave him the contents of the barrel and he drank it. He drank more and more and went into a deep sleep. When he woke up, he didn’t find his ‘Wolf and he started descending the mountain. When he reached the village, the villag¬ers stared at him and he stared at them too. Not even a single person recognised him. Then an old woman came there and recognised him. She declared that he was Rip Van Winkle. She asked him where he had been all those twenty years.

Glossary:

1) idled (v) : not worked hard.
Mr. Rao idled away all his valuable time.

2) astray (adv) : away from the correct path
My belongings went astray.

3) weed (n) : any wild plant which grows in a garden
There are so many weeds in Ramayya’s garden.

4) avoid (v) : to prevent something bad from happening
She narrowly avoided defeat in elections.

5) grizzled (adj) : having grey coloured hair
My grandfather has a grizzled hair.

6) echoed (v) : the sound is reflected
The thunder sound echoed all around.

7) thunder (n) : the loud noise we hear after a flash of lightning
Thunder crashed in the sky when it rained yesterday.

8) stare (v) : to look at somebody for a long time
He stared at me when I screamed.

9) gaze (n) : a long steady look
He stared at her with a fixed gaze.

10) mutter (v) : to speak quietly in a low voice
He muttered something to himself.

11) descend (v) : come down from a higher to a lower level
He descended the stairs quickly.

12) wrinkled (adj) : with a lot of small lines of folds in the skin caused by old age
The old man has a wrinkled body.

13) stroke (v) : to move one’s hand gently over something
She is stroking her dog.

14) astonishment (n) : a feeling of very great surprise
She stared at him in astonishment.