BEFORE YOU READ PAGE 1
The following words and phrases occur in the play. Do you know their meanings? Match them with the meanings given, to find out.
Answer:
|
cultured |
sophisticated; well
mannered |
|
count on |
depend on; rely on |
|
engaged |
occupied; busy |
|
melodramatic |
exaggerated |
|
to be smart |
(American English) an
informal way of saying that one is being too clever |
|
inflection |
here, a tone of voice |
|
wise guy |
(American English) an
informal way of saying that one is being too clever |
|
a dandy bus |
an informal expression
for a fashionable vehicle |
|
tradespeople |
merchants |
|
gratuitous |
unnecessary and
usually harmful |
|
lucky break |
an unexpected
opportunity for success |
|
Sunday-school teacher |
a Christian religious
teacher who teaches on Sundays in Church |
|
frame |
trap |
THINKING ABOUT THE TEXT PAGE 144
I. Answer these questions.
1. “At last a
sympathetic audience.”
(i) Who says this?
(ii) Why does he say
it?
(iii) Is he sarcastic or serious?
Answer:
(i) Gerrard says this.
(ii) He says it as the intruder tells him to talk about himself.
(iii) He is sarcastic.
2. Why does the intruder choose Gerrard as the man whose identity he wants to take on?
Answer: The intruder chooses Gerrard since Gerrard happens to be a man whose life is shrouded in mystery. Not only does he live in a secluded cottage, but he also never interacts with merchants. The intruder wants a life like that to escape the police.
3. “I said it with
bullets.”
(i) Who says this?
(ii) What does it mean?
(iii) Is it the truth? What is the speaker’s reason for saying this?
Answer:
(i) This is said by
Gerrard.
(ii)He means that he
shot someone while in trouble.
(iii) It is a lie that is said to fool the intruder so he may not kill him.
4. What is Gerrard’s profession? Quote the parts of the play that support your answer.
Answer: Gerrard is a theatre artist.
This is supported
by:
(i) In most melodramas the villain is foolish enough to delay
his killing long enough to be frustrated.
(ii)Sorry I can’t let you have the props in time for rehearsal.
(iii) I think I’ll put it in my next play.
5. “You’ll soon stop
being smart.”
(i) Who says this?
(ii) Why does the
speaker say it?
(iii) What according to the speaker will stop Gerrard from being smart?
Answer:
(i) This is said by
the intruder.
(ii) He says so to
frighten Gerrard and get to know more about him.
(iii) The speaker wants Gerrard dead. He wants to shoot him and steal his identity.
6. “They can’t hang me
twice.”
(i) Who says this?
(ii) Why does the speaker say it?
Answer:
(i) The intruder says
this.
(ii) He says so as he has killed someone already. So killing another person is not going to be a big deal for him. Even if he gets caught, he will be hanged only once.
7. “A mystery I propose to explain.” What is the mystery the speaker proposes to explain?
Answer: The mystery that Gerrard, the speaking, in this case, wishes to explain is why he should be considered a mystery man and what led him to become one. Gerrard tells the intruder that he is trying to escape the police after having shot him. He doesn't meet any merchants only because of this.
8. “This is your big
surprise.”
(i) Where has this been
said in the play?
(ii) What is the surprise?
Answer:
(i)
This statement appears twice in the play. It is once uttered by the intruder
when he is trying to frighten Gerard and get to know more about him and the
second time by Gerrard, who is trying to explain why he can’t be killed for a
good reason.
(ii)
The intruder expresses his intention to kill Gerrard and thinks that this might
surprise the latter.
The second time, the intruder is made to understand by Gerrad that he, being a criminal himself, is on the run, and hence, even if his identity were stolen, the one with the identity would have to be on the run.
THINKING ABOUT LANGUAGE PAGE 145
I. Consult your dictionary and choose the correct word from the pairs given in brackets.
1. The (site, cite) of the accident was
(ghastly/ghostly).
2. Our college (principle/principal) is very
strict.
3. I studied (continuously/continually) for
eight hours.
4. The fog had an adverse (affect/effect) on
the traffic.
5. Cezanne, the famous French painter, was a
brilliant (artist/artiste).
6. The book that you gave me yesterday is an
extraordinary (collage/college) of science fiction and mystery.
7. Our school will (host/hoist) an
exhibition on cruelty to animals and wildlife conservation.
8. Screw the lid tightly onto the top of the bottle and (shake/shape) well before using the contents.
Answers:
1. The site of the accident was ghastly.
2. Our college principal is very strict.
3. I studied continuously for eight hours.
4. The fog had an adverse effect on the
traffic.
5. Cezanne, the famous French painter, was a
brilliant artist.
6. The
book that you gave me yesterday is an extraordinary collage of science fiction
and mystery.
7. Our
school will host an exhibition on cruelty to animals and wildlife conservation.
8. Screw the lid tightly onto the top of the bottle and shake well before using the contents.
II. Irony is when we say one thing but mean another, usually the opposite of what we say. When someone makes a mistake and you say, “Oh! that was clever!”, that is irony. You’re saying ‘clever’ to mean ‘not clever’.
Expressions we often
use in an ironic fashion are:
•
Oh, wasn’t that clever!/Oh that was clever!
•
You have been a great help, I must say!
•
You’ve got yourself into a lovely mess, haven’t you?
• Oh, very funny!/ How funny!
We use a slightly different tone of voice when we use these words ironically.
Read the play carefully and find the words and expressions Gerrard uses in an ironic way. Then say what these expressions really mean. Two examples have been given below. Write down three more such expressions along with what they really mean.
|
What the author says |
What he means |
|
Why, this is a
surprise, Mr—er— |
He pretends that the
intruder is a social visitor whom he is welcoming. In this way, he hides
his fear. |
|
At last a sympathetic
audience! |
He pretends that the
intruder wants to listen to him, whereas actually, the intruder wants to find
out information for his own use. |
Answer:
|
What the author says |
What he means |
|
You have been so
modest. |
Gerrard says this to
express how immodest the intruder has been by not talking about himself at
all. |
|
At last a sympathetic
audience! |
Gerrard says this
sarcastically as the intruder is asking about Gerrard while holding a gun. |
|
You won’t kill me for
a very good reason. |
Gerrard says this as
if he has some 'very good reason' to be spared by the intruder. He says this
to create a doubt in the intruder about killing him. |
DICTIONARY
USE PAGE
146
A
word can mean different things in different contexts. Look at these three
sentences:
•
The students are taught to respect different cultures.
•
The school is organising a cultural show.
•
His voice is cultured.
In
the first sentence, 'culture' (noun) means way of life; in the second,
'cultural' (adjective) means connected with art, literature and music; and in
the third, 'cultured' (verb) means sophisticated, well mannered. Usually, a
dictionary helps you identify the right meaning by giving you signposts.
Look
at the dictionary entry on ‘culture’ from Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary,
2005.
(Noun,
verb, adjective, adverb, synonyms, etc. are signposts which help you locate the
right meaning and usage, and give information about the part of speech that the
word is.)
Look up the dictionary entries for the words sympathy, familiarity, comfort, care, and surprise. Use the information given in the dictionary and complete the table.
|
Noun |
Adjective |
Adverb |
Verb |
Meaning |
|
Sympathy |
||||
|
Familiarity |
||||
|
Comfort |
||||
|
Care |
||||
|
Surprise |
|
Noun |
Adjective |
Adverb |
Verb |
Meaning |
|
Sympathy |
sympathetic |
sympathetically |
sympathise |
To feel pity for
someone |
|
Familiarity |
familiar |
familiarly |
familiarise |
To know someone/
something |
|
Comfort |
comfortable/comforting |
comfortably |
comfort |
To make someone feel
relaxed |
|
Care |
caring/ cared |
carefully |
care |
To be concerned about
someone |
|
Surprise |
surprising/ surprised |
surprisingly |
surprise |
To amaze someone |
SPEAKING PAGE 147
1. Imagine you are Gerrard. Tell your
friend what happened when the Intruder broke into your house.
[Clues: Describe (i) the intruder — his appearance, the way he spoke, his plan, his movements, etc., (ii) how you outwitted him.]
Answer: You won't believe what happened last night. While I was on the phone, one shabby-looking guy broke into my house, and he started showing his gun right off the bat. I soon learnt that he was a murderer trying hard to evade the police. He had wanted to steal my identity after having killed him. He asked me questions, but I tried my best to get as much information from him as possible. He didn't seem like a professional criminal, for all he did was threaten me, asking me to tell him more about myself. I dodged most of his questions and fooled him by saying that I am a criminal on the run. I also explained how killing me would serve him no purpose. And then, I locked him up in the cupboard. The police were called. Phew! Thank god I used my brains!
2. Enact the play in the class. Pay special attention to words given in italics before a dialogue. These words will tell you whether the dialogue has to be said in a happy, sarcastic or ironic tone and how the characters move and what they do as they speak. Read these carefully before you enact the play.
Answer: To be done by the students.
WRITING PAGE 147
I. Which of the words below describe
Gerrard and which describe the Intruder?
Smart humorous clever
Beautiful cool confident
Flashy witty nonchalant
Write a paragraph each about Gerrard and the Intruder to show what qualities they have. (You can use some of the words given above.)
Answer: Gerrard
Gerrard is not only a humorous guy with a good presence of mind but he is smart as well and knows to tackle even the most difficult of situations. Being clever and confident, he hardly panics and knows well to handle all situations with an awe-inspiring calm. He could have lost his cool and tried running or doing something that might have killed him, but he was calm and cooked up a story to save himself. No doubt he is intelligent, witty, and mindful.
Intruder
The intruder only tries being smart; however, he is foolish. He falls victim to the story that is told to him by Gerrard without even realising that it might be a trap. He comes unplanned and is pathetic at his job. He ends up losing his gun and fails at what he had thought he would succeed in.
II. Convert the play into a story (150–200 words). Your story should be as exciting and as witty as the play. Provide a suitable title to it.
Answer: To be done by the student.
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