TS 7th Class English Guide Unit 3A Puru, the Brave

Telangana SCERT 7th Class English Government Textbook Answers Telangana Unit 3A Puru, the Brave Textbook Questions and Answers.

TS 7th Class English Guide Unit 3A Puru, the Brave

Pre – Reading:

Look at the picture and answer the questions that follow :

Question 1.
What do you see in the picture ?
Answer:
The picture shows us that a severe battle is going on. Two armies are fighting with each other, men on elephants are trampling the rival soldiers to death. The soldiers are fighting with swords, spears, clubs and other weapons.

Question 2.
What do you think may be the causes of this war ?
Answer:
The causes of this war must be rivalry between two kings and kingdoms due to lack of natural resources, poverty etc. Each king wants to defeat the other king.

Oral Discourse:

Question.
Talk on – Impact of wars on human life.
Answer:

IMPACT OF WARS ON HUMAN LIFE

The twentieth century has seen the fierciest World Wars I & II. The atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II made human race taste the severity of wars.

The wars result in an enormous loss of humans and material. The loss can not be estimated by even the experts in mathematics, economics and statistics. Crores of rupees are spent on armies and weapons leading to economic crisis. People are taxed heavily. Crores of people get injured or killed. Scarcity of essential commodities, severe unemployment and rise in the prices of commodities all lead to burden common man. The air and water pollutions are other problems which affect generations to generations.

Wars are disasters of human life.

Comprehension:

I. Answer the following questions.

Question 1.
Who is Alexander ?
Answer:
Alexander is the king of Macedonia who conquered Greece, Persia etc., and invaded India. When he invaded India, he fought with the Indian King Puru or Purushotham.

Question 2.
Why did the generals and Alexander think that the battle of Jhelum will go down in the history of the world ?
Answer:
The generals and Alexander thought that the battle of Jhelum will go down in the history of the world because they had never fought such a battle before. Every Indian soldier fought like a tiger. They were amazed by Puru’s fighting in the battle.

Question 3.
What do you think is the reason for Indian soldier’s defeat ?
Answer:
The reason for the defeat of Indian soldiers was that they were still following the old methods of warfare. Their battle plans were faulty and they depended too much upon their elephants.

Question 4.
Do you think that Indian generals were not as brave as the Greek generals ?
Answer:
No, the Indian generals fought like devils. But their methods were age old. So they got defeated.

Question 5.
Do you believe that Puru was really proud ? Give reasons. Do you justify his pride ? How ?
Answer:
No, King Puru was not really proud. “A soldier is not a soldier if he is not proud.” Indeed it was his self-pride. He did not want to yield himself to a foe. He wanted to safeguard his mother land from the invasion of a foreigner.

Question 6.
If you were Alexander, what would you do with Puru ?
Answer:
If I were Alexander, I would do the same with Puru as what exactly Alexander did with king Puru. Alexander was really great.

II. Tick (✓ ) the correct answers.

Question 1.
Alexander asked his generals to remove the chains of Puru because ( )
a) he was sympathetic to Puru
b) he did not like a brave man like Puru in chains
c) Puru requested Alexander to remove his chains.
d) Alexander did not dare see Puru in chains.
Answer:
b) he did not like a brave man like Puru in chains

Question 2.
Puru did not accept Alexander’s proposal to be a vassal because, ( )
a) he was very proud.
b) he was very brave and patriotic.
c) he was not very wise
d) he did not have respect for Alexander.
Answer:
b) he was very brave and patriotic.

Question 3.
Alexander made friends with Puru because, ( )
a) Puru accepted that Alexander was really great.
b) Alexander wanted to make use of Puru’s services.
c) Alexander liked Puru’s bravery and self-respect.
d) Alexander was very king.
Answer:
c) Alexander liked Puru’s bravery and self-respect.

Question 4.
Alexander was really great because, ( )
a) he defeated Puru.
b) he made friends with a brave king like Puru.
c) he defeated Puru, set him free, respected, and made friends with him.
d) he was the conqueror of the world.
Answer:
c) he defeated Puru, set him free, respected, and made friends with him.

Vocabulary:

I. Pick out antonyms from the text for the words given below.

victory x defeat
accept x refuse (or) reject
timid x brave
dependent x independent
humble x proud

II. Fill in the blanks in the following paragraph with the words given in the box.

I know that you are very ________ (a) and ________ (b) of the position you hold. But I am really ________ (c) to know that you feel as though you have ________ (d) the world. These days nobody is being ________ (e) by the other. I would like to make a ________ (f) so that you will ________ (g) humble and ________ (h). I hope my words ________ (i) your imagination and you ________ (j) me as your teacher.
Answer:
a) skillful
b) worthy
c) amazed
d) conquered
e) frightened
f) proposal
g) remain
h) lawful
i) capture
j) respect

Grammar:

1. Let’s have a look at the following sentences from the text.
1. My kingdom should remain independent.
2. You should treat me as your equal.
3. I must say every Indian soldier fought like a tiger.
In sentence 1, should indicates obligation whereas in 2, it indicates condition.
In sentence 3, must is used to indicate insistence on the part of the speaker/ necessity.
It is also used when the speaker has authority over the listener.
It is important to understand how the modals ‘should’ and ‘must’ are used. (People sometimes use should to indicate something that is desirable and must to indicate obligation. However, some people use them interchangeably)

Now fill in the blanks in the following paragraph with ‘should’ or ‘must’.

I ________ (a) say that you ________ (b) come to school regularly because you cannot miss important lessons. You ________ (c) attend extra classes in time tomorrow. Otherwise I will punish you. You ________ (d) return my book which I gave you a month ago. You ________ (e) change your habits otherwise you will not come up in life.
Answer:
a) should
b) must
c) must
d) must
e) should

Now read the conversation between a doctor and a patient and fill in the blanks with should (should not) and must (must not) (Text Page No. 46)

Doctor : Mr. Rao, what exactly is your problem ?
Patient : I’ve been suffering from gastric problem for a long time.
Doctor : Mr. Rao, I ________ (a) say you ________ (b) eat non – vegetarian or spicy food for some time.
Can I eat boiled eggs or omelette, doctor ?
Doctor : Isn’t an egg non-vegetarian ? You ________ (c) eat any non – vegetarian food for quite some time. In fact, you. have stopped eating it long ago. You ________ (e) consult me in a week.
Patient : I am sorry doctor. I won’t eat non-vegetarian food any longer. You are quite correct, Doctor. I ________ (f) take your advice and eat non-vegetarian and spicy food. Thank you very much, doctor.
Doctor : You are welcome. I think you ________ (g) remember my advice.
Answer:
a) must
b) must not
c) should not
d) should
e) must
f) should
g) must

II. Look at the following sentences from the text:

1. But their generals are not as good as ours.
2. The Indian generals are not as skillful as the Greek generals.
3. It has been a great battle – perhaps the greatest of my life.

In the above sentences 1 & 2, the Indian generals are compared with Greek generals. The third sentence means that it was the greatest or the best battle of all his (Alexander’s) battles. When we want to compare one thing with the other, we use degrees of comparison-positive, comparative and superlative forms of adjectives.

If we compare two things or two sets of things, we use positive or comparative forms of adjectives. If we compare more than two things or two sets of things, we use the superlative form of adjectives. We can transform positive, (comparative and superlative degrees) into comparative and superlative and vice versa.

Let us observe the sentences 1 and 2 above.
1. Their generals are not as good as ours.
2. The Indian generals are not as skilful as the Greek generals.
The underlined words in the above sentences are adjectives. These are the positive forms of adjectives. The other forms of these adjectives are given below.

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
good	better	best
skillful	more skillful	most skillful

The two sentences are said to be in the positive degree since the adjectives are in the positive degree.
They can be transformed comparative degree by changing the adjectives into comparative degree and making certain other changes.

Sentences 1 and 2 can be changed into comparative forms as shown below :
1. Our generals are better than their generals.
2. The Greek generals are more skilful than the Indian generals.
Now look at the third sentence.
It is the greatest battle of my life.

The above sentence can be turned into the comparative and positive degrees as shown below.
It is greater than any other battle of my life.
No other battle of my life is so great as this.

Now look at the following sentence in the superlative degree of comparison :

Puru is one of the bravest kings in the world.

This sentence means that there are a few kings in the world who are as brave as Puru. It also means that Puru is not the only bravest king in the world. Let’s see how the above sentence can be transformed into comparative and positive degrees of comparison.

Puru is braver than many other/most of the other kings in the world (Comparative) Very few kings in the world are as brave as Puru (Positive Degree)

Observe the following forms of comparison of some adjectives.

Change the following sentences into other forms of comparison as indicated in brackets.

Question 1.
Rahul Dravid is one of the greatest batsmen in the world. (comparative degree)
Answer:
Rahul Dravid is greater than many other batsmen in the world.

Question 2.
Alexander was the greatest soldier in the world (positive degree)
Answer:
No other soldier in the world was as great as Alexander.

Question 3.
India is one of the fastest developing countries in the world. (comparative degree)
Answer:
India is faster than many other developing countries in the world.

Question 4.
No other river in the world is as long as the Nile (superlative degree)
Answer:
Nile is the longest river in the world.

Question 5.
Hindi is one of the most popular languages in India (positive degree)
Answer:
Very few languages in India are as popular as Hindi.

Question 6.
Lara is not as great as Tendulkar.
Answer:
Tendulkar is greater than Lara.

Question 7.
Rekha is one of the most beautiful girls in the class.
Answer:
Very few girls in the class are as beautiful as Rekha.

Question 8.
Very few metals are as expensive as platinum.
Answer:
Platinum is more expensive than most other metals.

Question 9.
Shimla is colder than all hill stations in Himachal Pradesh. (superlative degree)
Answer:
Shimla is the coldest hill station in Himachal Pradesh.

Question 10.
Delhi is one of the most crowded cities of India (positive degree).
Answer:
Very few cities of India are as crowded as Delhi.

Writing:

I. Given below are some jumbled sentences. Rearrange them in the right order and write a meaningful paragraph by using appropriate connectives.

1. Alexander asked Puru why he had rejected his offer.
2. Alexander defeated many kings besides Puru, became the world conqueror, and was called Alexander, the Great.
3. Alexander was bom in Greek and he was the disciple of the greatest Greek philosopher, Aristotle.
4. Puru lost the battle though his generals and soldiers fought very bravely.
5. Alexander asked his generals to remove the chains and bring Puru to him.
6. Puru killed more than one hundred soldiers but he was gravely injured and chained in the battle.
7. Puru lost the battle as he had used the oldest methods of warfare and elephants.
8. Puru said that he was the lawful owner of his kingdom.
9. Puru was a brave king and a great soldier of Northern India.
10. Alexander liked Puru’s bravery and self respect. So he became his best friend.
11. There was a great battle between Alexander and Pum on the banks of Jhelum.
12. Alexander asked Puru to be his vassal but he refused.
Answer:
Correct Order: 3, 2, 9, 11, 4, 7, 12, 6, 5, 1, 8, 10

Rearranging the jumbled sentences.

1. Alexander was bom in Greece and he was the disciple of the greatest Greek philosopher, Aristotle.
2. Alexander defeated many kings besides Puru, became the world conqueror, and was called Alexander the Great.
3. Puru was a brave king and a great soldier of Northern India.
4. There was a great battle between Alexander and Pum on the banks of Jhelum.
5. Puru lost the battle though his generals and soldiers fought very bravely.
6. Pum lost the battle as he had used the oldest methods of warfare and elephants.
7. Alexander asked Puru to be his vassal but he refused.
8. Puru killed more than one hundred soldiers but he was gravely injured and chained in the battle.
9. Alexander asked his generals to remove the chains and bring Puru to him.
10. Alexander asked Puru why he had rejected his offer.
11. Pum said that he was the lawful owner of his kingdom.
12. Alexander liked Puru’s bravery and self respect. So he became his best friend.

II. Rewrite the playlet ‘Puru, the Brave’ as a short story. You may follow the steps given below:

Read the drama script as many times as necessary.
1. Identify the major events depicted in the drama.
2. Take turn and share the major events in the order they occur.
3. Expand each event in terms of
• The location where it takes place.
• The characters involved.
• What they say / think / feel
4. Write the first draft.
5. Edit and refine the draft.

Story :

Alexander the king of Macedonia who conquered Greece and Persia wanted to conquer India. He reached the north western frontier of India. He invaded the Kingdom of Purushothama, who was also known as king Puru or Poras. The kingdom of Puru was situated on the banks of river Jhelum.

An historic battle took place between Alexander and king Puru. According to Alexander, this battle will go down in the annals of the history of the world, because he or his generals had never fought such a great battle. The armies of Puru fought like devils. But the methods of warfare followed by the generals of Puru were age-old and not skillful. As a result they were defeated in the hands of King Alexander.

Alexander was amazed by the valour of King Puru. Meanwhile, his soldiers captivated Puru in chains. When Alexander, heard that Puru had been put in chains, he ordered them to remove the chains and bring him in. He did not want to see a brave man in chains.

When King Puru was brought before Alexander, he and his generals rose from their chairs and wished King Puru. In return, King Puru also greeted them with folded hands. When Alexander proposed Puru to be his vassal, Puru refused. It was his self pride, but not his arrogance. Alexander asked Puru how should he be treated. Puru replied to treat him like another king. Alexander was pleased with this answer. Alexander and Puru became friends.

Study Skills:

There are many words which can function as more than one part of speech. For instance ‘talk’ can be used as a verb as well as a noun.

She talks at length about her dress.
Her talk is boring

Refer to the dictionary and say whether the following words can different parts of speech like a noun, a verb, an adjective, etc. The first for you.

Answer:

Listening & Speaking:

I. Your teacher will read the passage “Nepal and the Himalayas.” Listen carefully and answer the questions given below :

Nepal and the Himalayas

Nepal lies between India and Tibet, among the Himalayan mountains. It is a country of mountains and valleys. The tallest mountain in the world, Mount Everest, is in Nepal. And there are several other mountains nearly as high as Mount Everest. When mountaineers try to climb Mount Everest, they take the help of the Sherpas, who live in these mountains, to carry heavy loads and to act as guides.

A long time ago, the Sherpas crossed over the mountains from Tibet and made their homes along the slopes of the Himalayas in Nepal. So, they are rather like the people of Tibet to look at. Here, life is hard, and the entire family, including the children, have to work to get enough to eat.

The Sherpas grow potatoes, barley, garlic and other vegetables. They also graze their yaks on the higher moutain slopes in summer and on the lower slopes in winter. The Sherpas use them for almost everything they need. They ride them, plough with them, and use them to carry their goods. The hairy wool of these animals is made into cloth and their skins into leather boots and tents. The yaks also provide milk, fat and meat. Their dung is dried and used as a fuel instead of wood or coal.

There are hardly any roads in the Himalayas, and everything has to be carried either on animals like yaks and donkeys or on human backs. Even children learn to carry heavy loads in large baskets which are tied to them. The baskets are big enough to carry a person.

The highest mountain tops of the Himalayas are cold, cheerless and covered with snow, but lower down one can find flowers in the spring and summer, and fir trees too. There are colourful butterflies, kites and eagles in the skies, and black and red Himalayan bears hiding in the rocks.

Though the Sherpas lead a tough life in their beautiful country, these small, dark – haired people are always cheerful, and like most Buddhist people, they are friendly and kind.

Choose the right answer from the choices given below:

Question 1.
The passage is about ( )
a) Nepal
b) The Himalayas
c) The Himalayas and Sherpas
d) none of these
Answer:
c) The Himalayas and Sherpas

Question 2.
The Sherpas came from ( )
a) Nepal
b) Tibet
c) China
d) none of these
Answer:
b) Tibet

Question 3.
Lower down the Himalayas we can see ( )
a) colourful butterflies
b) kites
c) eagles
d) all of these
Answer:
d) all of these

Question 4.
The most useful animals for Sherpas are ( )
a) cows
b) buffaloes
c) yaks
d) none of these
Answer:
c) yaks

II. Read the following sentences and say whether they are true or false.

Question 1.
Mount Everest is in India. ( )
Answer:
False
True Statement – Mount Everest is in Nepal.

Question 2.
There are many roads in the Himalayas. ( )
Answer:
False
True Statement – There are hardly any roads in the Himalayas.

Question 3.
Even the children of Sherpas carry heavy loads. ( )
Answer:

Question 4.
One can find flowers on the top of the Himalayas. ( )
Answer:
False
True Statement – Lower down the Himalayas one can find flowers.

III. Work in groups. Ask and answer the following questions :

Question 1.
What are the modes of transport in the Himalayas ?
Answer: The modes of transport in Himalayas are either human beings or animals like yaks and donkeys. Heavy loads can be carried on human backs. Even the children learn to carry loads in large baskets which are tied to them.

Question 2.
Why do Sherpas look like the people of Tibet ?
Answer:
A long time ago, Sherpas crossed over mountains from Tibet and made their homes along the slopes of the Himalayas in Nepal. So, they are rather like the people of Tibet to look at.

Question 3.
What interesting things would you find in the Himalayas ?
Answer:
The colourful flowers in spring and summer, fine trees, colourful butterflies, kites and eagles in the skies, black and red Himalayan bears hiding in the rocks.

Listen to the following conversation :

Teacher : Good morning Meghana! Have you ever been to the Himalayas ?
Meghana : No, Sir. I have never been to the Himalayas.
Teacher : Do you have any idea about the Himalayas ?
Meghana : Yes, I do.
Teacher : Tell me whatever you know about them.
Meghana : Sir, the Himalayas are the highest mountains in the world.
Teacher : Oh! Are they ? Then tell me which is the highest peak among them?
Meghana : Mount Everest, Sir.
Teacher : What sort of help is available to the climbers in the Himalayas?
Meghana : Sir, there are plenty of sherpas.
Teacher : Who are these sherpas ?
Meghana : Sir, they are helpers in the mountains. They carry our luggage to earn their living.
Teacher : Thanks, Meghana.
Meghana : Welcome, Sir.

Work in groups and share your experiences about the place you have visited. You may talk about the following :

• The place you have visited.
• How you travelled ?
• Where was it ? Where did you stay ?
• Who went with you ?
• The places you visited. The places you liked and disliked.
• Any memorable experience or anecdote.

Answer:
I had been to Kodaikanal along with my friends. My teachers organized a trip in the summer holidays. We travelled by a fine T.S. Tourism Bus. After reaching Kodaikanal, at the starting point itself, there was a big 4 star hotel. We stayed in that hotel, freshed up ourselves with lukewarm water and had our meals. We went for sight seeing in the evening.

First we went to Kodai Botanical Park. It was quite beautiful with finest variety of flora. After that we got back to the hotel where we had a delicious supper. Next day we went for sight seeing by a private cab. The nature was very cool and pleasant even in the month of May. As it is a hill station we found rocks and hills. The rocks were surrounded by fog.

There were water streams and many water falls. Juicy carrots in coral red were available. They were tasty. One central shopping bazar was there where we found Eucalyptus oil, dry flowers, fine coloured scarfs etc., The whole trip was a very very memorable one.

Puru, the Brave Summary in English

Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia, conquered Puru, a king of North India, at the Jhelum War. Puru fought very bravely and was badly injured. He was captured in the war. His generals told Alexander that Puru was a proud man. But Alexander said that he had a great respect for Puru. Alexander unchained him. He asked Puru how he should be treated. Puru said that his kingdom should be independent and he should be treated as an equal to Alexander. Alexander agreed and both became good friends.

Glossary:

go down = to be recorded
Usage: The acts of good men go down in the history of the world.

your highness = a title of respect used when talking to or about a member of the Royal family
warfare = the act of fighting a war
Usage: There is a kind of warfare called Guerilla warfare.

your majesty = the way of addressing Royal people
Usage: Your Majesty, the culprit is a criminal.

vassal = A man promising to fight for a king in return for the right to hold land
Usage: When a king conquers another king, the other king is said to be a vassal.

skilful = clever
Usage: There are many skilful artists in India.

faulty = defective
Usage: Your procedure seems to be faulty.

amazed = wondered
Usage: I was amazed to find that you stood as a topper in your school.

capture = catch
Usage: The police at last captured the criminal.

coward = without bravery
Usage: Don’t be a coward, face any problem bravely

reject = refuse
Usage: He rejected my offer

pleased = felt happy
Usage: My father was pleased with my behaviour.

battle = a prolonged fight between two armies at war
Usage: The battle of Kalinga was a turning point in the life of Emperor Ashoka.

injury = physical damage
Usage: Sachin injured his wrist in the cricket practice.

brave = able to face or endure danger
Usage: Lakshmi is a brave girl.

frightened = feeling of sudden fear
Usage: I was frightened at the sight of a snake in the garden.