1.2 Odd One In
Complete textbook exercise solutions — Maharashtra State Board (Balbharati), Grade Seven English.
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This is a reading activity. Students should read the conversations aloud in class with proper expression and voice modulation.
| Points | Malti | Rima |
|---|---|---|
| Appearance | Simple appearance; puts oil on her hair, wears a bindi and long plaits. | Stylish and modern. |
| Studies | A bright child, studious, and intelligent. Her forte is mathematics. | Smart and confident, but her Hindi is atrocious. |
| Singing | Has a melodious and well-trained voice; sang beautifully and won the first prize in the Hindi song category. | Participated in the English song category and came first, but felt no joy. |
| Attitude to others | Respectful, cheerful, readily helps others with math, and politely asks for help to improve her English. | A snob, forms a clique, and uncharitably makes fun of others (especially Malti). |
| Weak points | Her English pronunciation is weak (says "aks" instead of "ask"), and she gets easily hurt and cries. | Proud, behaves horridly with others, has a bad attitude, and refuses to admit her mistakes. |
From Malti's point of view:
Today was a very difficult day. When I mispronounced the word "ask" as "aks" in class, Rima and her friends mocked me mercilessly. I felt so bad that my voice started trembling. Gathering my courage, I politely asked Rima to help me improve my English, as hers is so good. Instead of helping, she replied with an exaggerated accent, calling me "countrified" and rudely refused. I couldn't find the right words to retort, so I just burst into tears and ran away. I really wish they would try to understand me instead of making fun of my background.
| Actions | Always | Sometimes | Never |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ask others for help | ✓ | ||
| Refuse help | ✓ (only if I am genuinely unable to) | ||
| Judge others by their appearance | ✓ | ||
| Judge others by their accent | ✓ |
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(a) My strengths:
- I am always ready to help my friends when they need me.
- I am very good at drawing and creative activities.
- I am honest and try to speak the truth.
(b) My weaknesses:
- I am shy and get nervous when speaking in front of a large crowd.
- I get angry quickly when things don't go my way.
- I am sometimes lazy and delay doing my chores.
(c) Changes I would like to see in myself:
- I want to participate in stage activities to overcome my stage fear.
- I want to learn to control my anger and be more patient.
- I want to develop a habit of reading books daily.
It is not necessary to develop a "foreign" or artificial accent, but it is very important to have clear and correct pronunciation so that others can understand us easily without confusion. Incorrect pronunciation can change the meaning of a sentence.
We can improve our pronunciation by listening to English news, watching educational English programs, and conversing regularly in English. Using online dictionaries is a great way to learn; most digital dictionaries have a small audio button (a speaker icon) next to the word. We can click it to hear the exact and correct pronunciation of any new word.
The adverbs ending with '-ly' in the passage are:
- quietly
- specially
- cattily
- correctly
- uncharitably
- sharply
- sadly
- snidely
- beautifully
- abundantly
- readily
- cheerfully
- stubbornly
- particularly
- mercilessly
- roundly
- badly
Common Nouns: girl, school, skirt, song, prize.
Proper Nouns: Malti, Rima, Shahnaz, Clare, Neha.
Proper nouns that include two or more words:
- Mr Sen
- Mrs Sen
- The Times of India
- Seva Hospital
- Mahatma Gandhi
- State Bank of India
- Arabian Sea
- Gateway of India
- Indian Ocean
- Mount Everest