π Life and Love
π Ways with Words
A. Match the words with their meanings.
| Words | Meanings |
|---|---|
| a. exhausted | tired |
| b. apparent | clear |
| c. vista | vision |
| d. undulating | wavy |
| e. destined | predetermined |
| f. stuffy | suffocating, airless |
| g. restrain | prevent, hinder |
B. Write the meaning and word class of the following words. Then use them in sentences of your own.
1. implore (verb): beg someone earnestly or desperately to do something.
I regretfully and respectfully implore you to help us.
2. despair (noun): the complete loss or absence of hope.
A few positive words can turn despair into hope.
3. beseech (verb): ask (someone) urgently and fervently to do something.
I will fall at his feet and beseech him.
4. eloquent (adjective): able to express a feeling.
He made an eloquent plea for peace.
5. whirl (noun): a state of confusion.
My head is starting to whirl.
6. egoism (noun): the fact of being excessively conceited in oneself.
His egoism stopped him from loving anyone but himself.
7. agony (noun): extreme physical or mental suffering.
She screamed again in agony as pain seared through her shoulder.
8. delirious (adjective): in a state of wild excitement or ecstasy.
The patient may be somewhat confused and delirious.
9. delusive (adjective): giving a false or misleading impression.
They were only coquetting a little with us, or bent on kindling delusive hopes.
10. compensate (verb): reduce the bad effect of loss.
His enthusiasm compensates for his lack of skill.
11. mortgage (noun): convey a property to a creditor as security on a loan.
She didnβt have enough money to pay the mortgage.
12. brood (noun): a large family of children.
He grew up among a lively brood of brothers and sisters.
13. prelude (noun): an action or event serving as an introduction to something more important.
A ceasefire had been agreed as a prelude to full peace negotiations.
D. Choose the correct word.
| Question | Correct Answer |
|---|---|
| a. Sarita was shocking/shocked to hear about earthquake. | Answer: shocked |
| b. I think that rainy days in winter are depressing/depressed. | Answer: depressing |
| c. The football match was very exciting/excited. I enjoyed it. | Answer: exciting |
| d. The meals at Delight CafΓ© are satisfying/satisfied. | Answer: satisfying |
| e. I've got nothing to do. I'm boring/bored. | Answer: bored |
| f. Tanka is very good at telling funny stories. He can be very amusing/amused. | Answer: amusing |
| g. The teacher's explanation was confusing/confused. Most of the students didn't understand it. | Answer: confusing |
| h. He is such a boring/bored person. He never wants to go out. | Answer: boring |
| i. I will be surprising/surprised if she does well in her test. | Answer: surprised |
| j. Are you interesting/interested in politics? | Answer: interested |
E. Write the correct form of the adjective in the blanks as in the example.
a. They frustrate me but they don't bore me. I never get bored when I study grammar.
b. If teachers want to interest the students, they must use interesting materials.
c. Certain stories interest almost everybody. For example, most students are interested in fairy tales.
d. Certain things frighten me, but I never get frightened when I speak English.
e. If I get a good grade, that excites me. And if I get more than ninety percent, I am really excited.
π Understanding the Text
a. Who was Nellie? What did she use to dream of?
=> Answer: Nellie was a young and attractive woman who came from the family of a landowner and a general. She had a strong desire to experience married life and regularly dreamed about getting married.
b. What was she doing with the looking glass?
=> Answer: Nellie was looking deeply into the mirror while feeling extremely tired. Her exhausted eyes were partly closed as she gazed at her reflection.
c. Why did she go to the doctor on one winter night?
=> Answer: She went to the doctor late on a winter night because her husband was sick and needed medical attention.
d. What was Stepan Lukitch doing when she reached his bedroom?
=> Answer: When Nellie reached the doctorβs bedroom, she found Stepan Lukitch lying on his bed.
e. Why was the doctor not ready to go to see her husband?
=> Answer: Stepan Lukitch was unable to visit Nellieβs husband because he was himself exhausted and unwell. He had been treating typhus patients continuously for the last three days, leaving him too sick and tired to make the journey.
f. Why did Stepan Lukitch suggest Nellie to go to the Zemstvo doctor?
=> Answer: The doctor directed Nellie toward the Zemstvo doctor because his own illness prevented him from going anywhere. Since her husband required prompt medical care, she was advised to find another available doctor.
g. Nellie said, βCome, perform that heroic deed! Have pity on us!" What was that pity to be done?
=> Answer: Nellie wanted the doctor to show compassion by going to her husband and treating his illness.
h. When Nellie said, "I must have fallen asleep." What does it mean?
=> Answer: Her words indicate that she had fallen asleep and later awakened. The realization brought her back from her sleeping experience to conscious awareness.
i. What is the main theme of the story?
=> Answer: The story explores devotion, loneliness, escape, fear, love, dedication, hope, defeat and independence.
π§ Critical Thinking
a. βThe looking glass (mirror)β is used as a symbol in the story. What does it symbolise?
Answer: The looking glass serves as a reflection of Nellieβs private wishes and imaginative nature. Her greatest romantic desire is to be married, and the mirror allows her thoughts to move away from the ordinary life around her and into a world created by her imagination. While gazing at the mirror, she imagines her βdestined oneβ with remarkable clarity, almost as though he were physically present. Therefore, the mirror stands for Nellieβs longing for marriage and her tendency to escape an unsatisfying reality through romantic fantasy.
b. Chekhov employs the magic trick in the story, using a very elegant transition from reality to imagination to reality sequence. Discuss its relevance to life of young people.
Answer: Chekhovβs The Looking Glass is notable for the smooth way in which it shifts between the real world, Nellieβs imagination, and reality once again. This structure gives the story a magical and fairy-tale-like character. Nellie appears almost like a princess caught in distress, while her suffering husband resembles the kind of prince commonly found in fairy tales. His lack of a personal name adds to this impression because fairy-tale love interests are often presented simply as princes. The prince in Cinderella, for example, is not given a personal name.
The movement between reality and imagination can also be connected with the experiences of young people. Youth is often associated with powerful emotions, dreams, expectations, and an active imagination. Because of this, young people may sometimes turn ordinary experiences into dramatic stories in their minds. Love may be imagined as perfect and extraordinary, while pain and suffering may also be given a more romantic or dramatic appearance than they possess in real life. Nellie reflects this tendency through the elaborate fantasy that develops around her romantic expectations.
Her eventual awakening is important because it breaks the illusion. The frightening world she has experienced exists only within her dream, and waking up immediately brings her back to reality. This shows how convincing imagination can become while a person is immersed in it.
At the same time, Chekhovβs observation applies beyond youth. People of every age can become attracted to exaggerated stories, fantasies, and emotional interpretations. Adults also encounter dramatic novels, films, television programmes, social media posts, and news reports that may present situations in sensational or one-sided ways. Thus, the boundary between imagination and reality can sometimes become unclear for anyone.
Chekhovβs technique is therefore relevant to young people because it captures their tendency to dream, idealize, and intensify emotions, while also reminding readers that imagination and exaggeration are natural human tendencies rather than qualities limited to one particular age group.
π Grammar
B. Match the expressions with their functions.
| Expressions | Functions |
|---|---|
| a. A: What do you want to take? B: Iβll have tea, please. | Deciding |
| b. A: Are you free this evening? B: No, Iβm going to meet my uncle. | Expressing a prior plan |
| c. The day will be lovely tomorrow. | Predicting a future action |
| d. There is no cloud in the sky. Itβs going to be a lovely day. | Predicting with evidence |
| e. Donβt worry. I wonβt tell anyone. | Promising |
| f. I'll take you to the movies if you like. | Offering |
| g. Iβll tell your parents what you did. | Threatening |
C. Choose the correct answer.
**a. A: Are you busy this evening?
B: Yes, I am going to the movies. (will go/am going to)**
=> Answer: am going to
**b. A: Where are you going for holiday this summer?
B: Not sure yet. Maybe I will go to Ilam. (will go/am going to)**
=> Answer: will go
c. I think you will like this movie. (will /are going to)
=> Answer: will
d. I canβt join you at the party, I am going to be away for two weeks. (will /am going to)
=> Answer: am going to
e. This exercise looks really hard. I will help you. (will/am going to)
=> Answer: will
**f. A: Hello. Can I speak to Sima, please?
B: Just a minute. I will get her. (will/am going to)**
=> Answer: will
g. Perhaps she will pass the exam. (will/is going to)
=> Answer: will
h. βI havenβt got my phone.β βThatβs OK. I will lend you mine.β (will/am going to)
=> Answer: will
D. Complete the sentences using will or be going to with the verbs.
**a. Hari: Did you call Bina?
Prem: Oh, I forgot. I will call her now. (call)**
=> Answer: will call
**b. Sunita: Have you got a ticket for the play?
Hema: Yes, I am going to watch it on Saturday. (watch)**
=> Answer: am going to watch
c. βThe alarm is ringing. Itβs making an awful noise.β βOK, I will switch it off.β (switch)
=> Answer: will switch
d. Do you think they will like the presents we got for them? (like)
=> Answer: will like
e. βLok is starting university tomorrow.β βWhat is he going to study?β (he/study)
=> Answer: is going to study
f. If I meet him, I will tell him the news. (tell)
=> Answer: will tell
g. The phone is ringing. I will answer it. (answer)
=> Answer: will answer
h. If you donβt stop bullying her, I will tell the teacher. (tell)
=> Answer: will tell