Text Book Exercise 1
Q. Read the poem silently and answer the following questions.
01. Was the king happy or unhappy?
Ans: The king was unhappy because after the English repeatedly defeated his armies, the famed King of Scots was forced into hiding.
02. What attracted his attention as he was thinking?
Ans: As he was thinking, a spider attracted his attention by attempting to reach its web. The spider tried and failed over and over.
03. What lesson did he learn from what he saw?
Ans: The spider wanted to reach its destination, so it kept trying. The King learned from it that hope should never be dashed, and a man should keep up his struggle till he succeeds.
Text Book Exercise 2
Q. Column A has words from the poem, underline words in the poem. Column B has the meanings of these words, but they are jumbled up. Work in pairs and try and find the correct meaning of each word and write the answer in the Answer column. The first one has been done as an example.
| S No | Column A | Answer | Column B |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | flung | c | (a) fall with arms and legs spread out |
| 2 | monarch | m | (b) challenged |
| 3 | deed | h | (c) threw |
| 4 | despair | k | (d) climbed |
Text Book Exercise 2 (Continued)
| S.No | Column A | Answer | Column B |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | pondered | n | (e) fall suddenly |
| 6 | divine | i | (f) walk carefully |
| 7 | endeavour | l | (g) work hard continuously |
| 8 | sprawl | a | (h) an action |
| 9 | tread | f | (i) work out an answer |
| 10 | mounted | d | (j) prepared to do something difficult |
| 11 | toil | g | (k) hopelessness |
| 12 | tumble | e | (l) attempt |
| 13 | defied | b | (m) king |
| 14 | braced | j | (n) thought |
Text Book Exercise 3
Q. Read the poem and find out which of the following statements are correct and which are not. For correct statements put a tick (✔) for true, and for incorrect ones put a cross (✘) for false. After completing, compare your answers with your partner.
| Statements | True/False |
|---|---|
| (a) The poem is about a war. | ✔ True |
| (b) King Bruce cared for his people. | ✔ True |
| (c) He was in a happy mood. | ✘ False |
| (d) When he saw the spider, he decided to kill it. | ✘ False |
| (e) The spider stayed on the ground when it slipped down. | ✘ False |
| (f) After trying for some time, the spider felt weak. | ✘ False |
| (g) As soon as it felt better, it went up again. | ✔ True |
| (h) It made more than twenty attempts. | ✘ False |
| (i) It moved up very slowly when it was near its home. | ✘ False |
| (j) It did not succeed in reaching its home. | ✘ False |
| (k) The king decided to follow the spider’s example and try again. | ✔ True |
02. Before he saw the spider, what did he decide to do?
Ans:
Before he saw the spider, he decided to give up his efforts.
03. Why did King Bruce think that the spider would not be able to reach its home?
Ans:
King Bruce thought that the spider would not be able to reach its home because the spider tried to go home many times but failed. The spider would fall down again and again. Bruce thought the spider was tired and could no longer get home.
04. Did the spider climb at the same speed all the time or at a different speed?
Ans:
No, the spider’s speed was not the same all the time. Each time she made a new attempt, her speed changed.
05. How did the spider finally reach its home?
Ans:
The spider kept rising inch by inch. At the last moment, she ran bravely and went home.
06. Why did the king decide to try again?
Ans:
While lying in the cave, the king saw a spider on the wall climbing to its home. The spider climbed a little but fell down. The spider made nine attempts, but each time it failed. As he was thinking, the king saw the spider making another attempt. This time the spider was successful in reaching its home. This successful attempt of the spider gave a ray of hope to the king. Therefore, he decided to try again.
