HOLIDAY HOMEWORK CLASS II I. Instructions: Practice reading the passage till you are able to read them within the specified time. Can Birds Fly Backwards? The humming bird gets its name from the humming sound made by its fast beating wings. The speed is so great that the tiny bird can move like a helicopter while drinking nectar from a flower. It can fly right, left, up and down, backwards and even upside down. The humming bird moves its wings about fifty times a second. And the speed of the wings allows it to fly backwards whenever it feels like it. Most humming birds are bright in colour. They eat every ten minutes. They eat insects. There is a line on the side of the tongue, which helps them to catch insects. The beak of the humming bird is very long and pointed. It licks about thirteen licks a second, of nectar. If a humming bird needs to get clean, it uses a shallow pond, or rain or a sprinkler that may be watering flowers. It dips its chin and belly into the shallow pond. If it is raining, it gets soaked and gets clean everywhere easily. Humming - (huhm-ing) Helicopter - (hel-i-kop-ter) Nectar Sprinkler - (nek-ter) - (spring-kler)
Snake Charmer Most snake charmers live in India and in countries of the Far East. Generally crowds come to watch them do many interesting acts at fairs, or at the market place. A snake charmer carries his snake, usually a cobra, in a large basket. He places the basket on the ground, takes off the lid and then starts to play a special kind of tune on his bin or pungi. The snake slowly uncoils itself, puts its head out of the basket and moves from side to side, in front of the charmer. Most people think that the snake is happy to hear the music. But a snake may not hear most sounds in the air like we do. It mainly picks up the movements on the ground through the bones in its head. So what probably happens is this: the snake picks up this movement and moves in the same way as the snake charmer does. But experts are still not too sure about why the snakes actually move. Most people think that a snake charmer is a very brave man - if he makes one wrong move as he performs, he could be seriously hurt or killed by a bite from his snake. But this is not the case as the snake charmers actually remove the poison glands from these snakes much earlier. Charmer Generally - (chahrm-er) - (jen-er-uh-lee) Movement - (moov-muh-ut) Probably Expert Actually Perform Serious Poison - (prob-uh-blee) - (ek-spurt) - (ak-choo-uh-lee) - (per-fawrm) - (seer-ee-uh-s) - (poi-zuh-n)
Red Curtains There was a furnishings shop outside my window. A variety of curtains, sofa covers and bed sheets were displayed outside it and in its window. People were attracted to the colorful mix of the shop and one could often see a big crowd there. There was a red curtain hanging on its window for quite sometime. It was very beautiful with bold yellow roses and little fairies painted on it. People saw the curtain and seemed to be appreciating it very much, but the curtain still hung there. I wondered why nobody took it. Then one day I showed the curtain to my mother and asked if we could buy it. I was thrilled when she agreed and immediately got ready to get that for me. I stood at the window watching her go inside the shop and waited impatiently. But to my surprise, when she came out, the curtain was still hanging there and she returned empty handed. Furnishing - (fur-ni-shing) Curtain Display - (kur-tn) - (dih-spley) Appreciate - (uh-pree-shee-eyt) Thrilled - (thril-d) Immediate - (ih-mee-dee-it) Impatient - (im-pey-shuh-nt)
Panda Pair In 1972, Americans fell in love with two giant pandas named Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling. The pandas came to the United States from China. The National Zoo in Washington, D.C., became the pandas new home. On their first day there, 20,000 people visited the two pandas. The crowds kept coming year after year. Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling were just cubs when they got to the United States. As the years passed, many hoped the pair would have cubs of their own. Ling-Ling gave birth several times. But none of the babies lived more than a few days. Each time a cub died, people around the world felt sad. Both pandas lived to an old age. Ling-Ling was 23 when she died in 1992. Hsing-Hsing died in 1999 at the age of 28. But the pandas were not forgotten. At the National Zoo, the glass walls of their home were covered with letters from children. The letters expressed the children s love for the pandas and told how much they were missed. Washington - (wosh-ing-tuh-n) Express - (ik-spress)
II. Using the link given below read the story and write a book review. The book review format is attached below. http://www.magickeys.com/books/pirate/index.html Book Review Name: Title of the book: Author of the book: Published by : No: of pages: Price: Genre: Over view of the book: Characters: Summary of the book:
Message /value of the book: Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why? Why not?
Instructions: i.)look and read the web, develop each idea. ii) Frame appropriate sentences. iii) Journal should be written in 3 paragraphs. iv) Do not forget to write the title. v) Avoid using personal pronouns while describing the journey. vi) Personal pronouns can be used in introductory and concluding paragraphs. Body of the journal 2) Description of the journal (narrative tone) i) Duration of the travel. ii) Description of the people and things seen while travelling. iii) Description of the sounds noticed / heard. 1) Introductory paragraph 3) Concluding paragraph i) Destination and purpose of the journey. ii) Name of the train. iii) Other members of the family / friends travelled along. My train journey i) Personal experience on the entire journey. ii) Value / values learnt