Put each of the following in the correct order. Then use them appropriately to fill the blanks in the paragraph that follows. Use correct punctuation marks.

(i) English and Hindi/both/in/he writes

(ii) and only/a few short stories/many books in English/in Hindi

(iii) is/my Hindi/than my English/much better.

Ravi Kant is a writer, and .............Of course, he is much happier writing in English than in Hindi. He has written.............. I find his books a little hard to understand ..............

Encircle the correct article.

Nine was looking for (a / the) job.

After many interviews she got (a / the) job she was looking for.

A : Would you like (a/an/the) apple or (a/an/the) banana?

B : I’d like (a/an/the) apple, please.

A : Take (a/an/the) red one in (a/an/the) fruit bowl. You may take (a/an/the) orange also, if you like.

B : Which one?

A : (A/An/The) one beside (a/an/the) banana.

Do you remember an anecdote or a story about a greedy or jealous person and the unhappy result of his/her action? Narrate the story to others in your class. Here is one for you to read.

Seeing an old man planting a fig tree, the king asked why he was doing this. The man replied that he might live to eat the fruit, and, even if he did not, his son would enjoy the figs. “Well,” said the king, “if you do live to eat the fruit of this tree, please let me know.” The man promised to do so, and sure enough, before too long, the tree grew and bore fruit. Packing some fine figs in a basket, the old man set out for the palace to meet the king. The king accepted the gift and gave orders that the old man’s basket be filled with gold. Now, next door to the old man, there lived a greedy old man jealous of his neighbour’s good fortune. He also packed some figs in a basket and took them to the palace in the hope of getting gold. The king, on learning the man’s motive, ordered him to stand in the compound and had him pelted with figs. The old man returned home and told his wife the sad story. She consoled him by saying, “You should be thankful that our neighbour did not grow coconuts.”

Are you fond of reading stories? Did you read one last month? If not, read one or two and then write a paragraph about the story. Use the following hints.

Discuss these questions in small groups before you answer them.

(i) When is a grown-up likely to say this?

Don’t talk with your mouth full.

(ii) When are you likely to be told this?

Say thank you.

(iii) When do you think an adult would say this?

No one thinks you are funny.