ICSE

The Princess September ICSE Class 10 English

THE King and Queen of Siam had many daughters, and the Queen said that it confused her to have to remember so many names. One day the King decided to call them January, February, March (though of course in Siamese) till he came to the youngest whom he called September.

The King of Siam had a peculiar habit. Instead of receiving gifts on his birthday he gave them. One year on his birthday, not having anything else handy, he gave each of his daughters a green parrot in a golden cage. The princesses were very proud of
their parrots and they spent an hour every day in teaching them to talk. Presently all the parrots could say ‘God save the king’ and some of them could say ‘Pretty Polly’ in no less than seven Oriental languages.

But one day when Princess September went to say good morning to her parrot she found it lying dead at the bottom of its golden cage. She burst into a flood of tears, and nothing that her Maids of Honour could say comforted her. She cried so much that the Maids of Honour, not knowing what to do, told the Queen, and the Queen said it was stuff and nonsense and the child had better go to bed without any supper. The Maids of Honour wanted to go to a party, so they put Princess September to bed as quickly as they could and left her by herself. And while she lay in her bed, crying still even though she felt rather hungry, she saw a little bird hop into her room. She wiped her tears and sat up. Then the little bird began to sing and he sang a beautiful song all about the lake in the King’s garden and the willow trees that looked at themselves in the still water and the goldfish that glided in and out of the branches that were reflected in it. When he had finished, the Princess was not crying any more and she quite forgot that she had had no supper. “That was a very nice song,” she said. The little bird gave her a bow. “Would you care to have me in place of your parrot?” said the little bird. “It’s true that I’m not so pretty to look at, but on the other hand I have a much better voice.” Princess September clapped her hands with delight and then the little bird hopped on to the end of her bed and sang her to sleep. When she awoke next day the little bird was still there, and as she opened her eyes he said, “Good morning!” The Maids of Honour brought in her breakfast, and he ate rice out of her hand and he had his bath in her saucer. He began to sing again so beautifully that the Maids of Honour were quite surprised, for they had never heard anything like it, and Princess September was very proud and happy.

“Now I want to show you to my eight sisters,” said the Princess. She stretched out the first finger of her right hand so that it served as a perch and the little bird flew down and sat on it. Then, followed by her Maids of Honour, she went through the palace and called on each of the Princesses. And for each of them the little bird sang a different song. But the parrots could only say ‘God save the king’ and ‘Pretty Polly’. At last she showed the little bird to the King and the Queen. They were surprised and delighted.

“I knew I was right to send you to bed without any supper,” said the Queen. “This bird sings much better than the parrots,” said the King. “I should have thought you got quite tired of hearing people say ‘God save the king’,” said the Queen. “I can’t think why those girls wanted to teach their parrots to say it too.” “The sentiment is admirable,” said the King, “and I never mind how often I hear it. But I do get tired of hearing those parrots say ‘Pretty Polly’.”
“They say it in seven different languages,” said the Princesses.
“I dare say they do,” said the King, “but it reminds me too much of my Councillors. They say the same thing in seven different ways and it never means anything in any way they say it.”

The Princesses were vexed at this, and the parrots looked very glum indeed. But Princess September ran through all the rooms of the palace, singing like a lark, while the little bird flew round and round her singing like a nightingale.

Things went on like this for several days and then the eight Princesses put their heads together. They went to September and sat down in a circle round her. “My poor September,” they said, “we are sorry for the death of your beautiful parrot. It must be dreadful for you not to have a pet bird as we have. So we have all put our pocket-money together and we are going to buy you a lovely green and yellow parrot.”

‘‘Thank you for nothing,” said September. “I have a pet bird which sings the most charming songs to me and I don’t know what on earth I should do with a green and yellow parrot.”

“Well, my dear,” they said, “it’s absurd to talk of your bird when the little fellow flies in and out just as he likes.” They looked round the room and raised their eyebrows.
“Do you mind our asking where your bird is now?” they said. “He has gone to pay a visit to his father-in-law,” said Princess September.

“And what makes you think he’ll come back?” asked the Princesses.
“He always does come back,” said September.
“Well, my dear,” said the eight Princesses, “if you’ll take our advice you won’t run any risks like that. If he comes back, and mind you, if he does you’ll be lucky, pop him into the cage and keep him there. That’s the only way you can be sure of him.”

“But I like to have him fly about the room,” said the young Princess September.
“Safety first,” said her sisters ominously. They got up and walked out of the room, shaking their heads, and they left September very uneasy

Language Practice Set 7 ICSE Class 10, 9 English

A . Fill in the blanks with appropriate words.

Religion is as old as a man .It is based on the ————-of a man .It ———————him solace and contentment. It is a food for soul .Every religion ——————-a set of beliefs and a code of customs, rituals and ceremonies. The followers look upon religion with reverence. In fact they ————-a blind faith for these beliefs .Though the progress of science —————–made people——————- the relevance of religion yet the protagonists of religion —————not desirous to give up .They———– to it more firmly .The religion continues to survive in the world side by side with science.

B. Fill in the blanks with the most suitable word.

a) There is no use ——————–going there.
b) I am writing this essay ————-blue ink.
c) I jumped ————-the river.
d) My wife is good————-French.
e) He will have to account ———————his strange behavior.
f) She was accused ————————–murder.
g) The servant is attending ——————him

C. Join the following sentences without using ‘and’, ‘but’ or ‘so’.

a) My sister is a doctor .She has gone to the United States.
b) The dead body of the thief is found today. The police had chased him last night.
c) The man was selected the president .He was voted the most.
d) The girl won the prize .Her hard work was the key to success.

D. Transform the following as directed.

a) Being innocent, he never thought of running away. (Begin –He was…)
b) He is rich .Yet he is not happy. (Begin –In spite of)
c) By his pleasant manner, the boy became popular (Begin-The boy.)
d) I have informed him of his success. ( use- that)
e) When he saw the police. He ran away. ( Begin –On seeing )
f) He does not have enough money to buy the computer. (Use -too)
g) The teenagers were stealing my car when I arrived. ( Use –being )
h) The last time john came to my house was in 2009.

Language Practice Set 6 ICSE Class 10, 9 English

A. Fill in the blanks with appropriate words (4)

Religion is as old as man. It is based on the _____________of man. It _____________ mini solace and contentment. It is a food for soul. Every religion ____________ a set of beliefs and a code of customs, rituals and ceremonies. The followers look upon
religion with reverence. In fact they ______________a blind faith for these beliefs . though the progress of science ________________ made people ____________the relevance of religion yet the protagonists of religion ______________not desirous to give up. They ___________ to it more firmly. Thus religion continues to service in the world side by side with science.

B. Fill in the blanks with more suitable words. (4)

a) There is no use ________________going there as this time.
b) I am writing this essay ________________bull ink.
c) I jumped _________________the river.
d) My wife is good _________________French.
e) He will have to account ________________his strange behaviour.
f) She was accused murders.
g) The servant is attending ______________him.
h) His terms are not acceptable __________________my father.

C. Join the following sentences without using ‘and’, ‘but’ or ‘so’

a) My sister is a doctor. She has gone to United States.
b) The dead body of the thief is found today. The police had chased him last night.
c) The man was selected the president. He was voted the most.
d) The girl won the prize. Her hard work was key to success.

D. Transform the following as instructed. (8)

1) Being innocent, he never thought of running away. (Begin – He was……………)
2) By un pleasant manner, the boy became popular. (Begin – The boy )
3) He is rich. Yet he is not happy. (Begin – In spite of )
4) I have informed him of his success. (use – that)
5) When he saw the police, he ran away. (Begin – On seeing)
6) He does not have enough money to buy the computer (use – too)
7) The teenagers were stealing my car when I arrived (use – being)
8) The last time john came to my house was in 2009 (use – since)

Language Practice Set 5 ICSE Class 10, 9 English

A. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate form of the words given in the blank. (4)

Once an ant who _______________(has) come to drink at a stream ______________ (fall) into the water and _________________(be) carried away by the swift current. He ________________(be) in great danger of ___________(drown). A dove perched on a nearby tree, __________________(see) the ant’s danger and ____________ (drop) a leaf into the water. The ant ________________(climb) on to this, and was carried to safety.

B. Fill in the blanks with appropriate words. (4)

a) Put _______________the light.
b) You should refrain _________________hurting her feelings.
c) He has given ______________________– smoking completely.
d) You must believe ___________________ God.
e) She provoked him _______________________anger.
f) You should not try to pry ___________her secrets.
g) The bandits fell _______________the lonely traveller.
h) Beware ______________pick-pockets.

C. Combine the following pair of sentences without using ‘and’, ‘but’ or ‘so’ (4)

a) He solved the problem. Its solution took him no time.
b) He has some bills. He must pay them.
c) I speak the truth. I am not afraid of it.
d) He felt tired. He laid his work aside.

D. Do as directed.

a) We admire the brave (Begin – The brave)
b) No other metal is as useful as iron (use – more )
c) Brutus loved Caesar. (change into negative without changing the meaning)
d) If only, I were young again. (Begin – I wish)
e) I see him every day (use – daily)
f) It is a horrible night. (Begin with – what)
g) My friend arrived and we went for a walk (Turn into a simple one)
h) I saw a wounded bird. (use – which)

Language Practice Set 4 ICSE Class 10, 9 English

A. Fill in the blanks with appropriate words.

His death __________________(bring) more tributes than have been paid as the
_____________(pass) of any other human being in the history. Perhaps what could
__________________(please) him best ________________(be) the spontaneous
tributes that ________________(come ) from the people. On the morrow of the tragedy, all of us ________________ (forget) for a while the bitterness that
________________(has )crept in, the estrangement and conflict of these past
months and Gandhi ji _____________ (stand) out as the beloved champion and
leaders of the people of India.

B. Fill in the blanks with appropriate words.

1) He abstains _________________liquor.
2) I am not satisfied ____________________your explanation
3) We should all aim _______________________excellence.
4) I prefer tea ___________________coffee.
5) He is prompt ___________________ carrying out orders.
6) He is proficient __________________Mathematics.
7) Alcohol is injurious __________________health.
8) I insisted ______________going.

C. Join the following pair of sentences without using ‘and’, ‘but’ or ‘so’.

a) I mended my watch this morning. It has stopped.
b) He finished the work. Just then clock struck five.
c) We have been deceived. That is the truth.
d) A certain number of enemies escaped. We do not know this number.

D. Re-write the following sentences as directed.

a) “Call the first witness”, said the judge (Begin – the judge ordered ………….)
b) You will but I reap the fruits of your sowing. (Begin – As ……………)
c) I was unable to say what you were saying (Change into simple sentence)
d) Tell me where you live (- Remove where)
e) It was much regretted that he was absent (Turn ‘absent’ into absence’ )
f) His silence proves his guilt. ( Rewrite using ‘that’)
g) I am not a little tired. (use very)
h) My watch has been stolen. (Turn into active voice)

Language Practice Set 2 ICSE Class 10, 9 English

A. Fill in the blanks with appropriate words given in brackets.

It _______________(be) very hot in the courtroom. Everybody ________________ (feel) sleep. After a tiring morning, the clerks were ___________________(anxiety) to get off to lunch. Even the judge seemed ____________________(relief) when the last case came up before the court. A short middle aged man with grey hair and small blue eyes was now standing before him. The man ____________________ (has) a foolish expression on his faced and he _____________________(keep) looking stupidly as if he was trying hard to understand what __________________ (go) on. The man __________________(accuse) of breaking into the house and stealing a cheap watch.

B. Fill in blanks with appropriate words.

1) The beggar is blind ____________________one eye
2) I have not met my sister __________________long
3) He used the gun to shoot ________________________.
4) I have dispensed ______________the services of my driver.
5) Our college is affiliated ______________ your university.
6) Nobody has prohibited him ________________leaving the country.
7) The principal was accused of being partial ____________some teachers.
8) You must not jeer _________________others.

C. Combine the following without using ‘and’ but’ as ‘so’

1) The president failed to explain the cause of the crisis. He did not offer any solutions.
2) He was my teacher. I shall never forget him.
3) Sabina used a dandruff shampoo. She still had dandruff.
4) I ate too quickly. My stomach became upset.

D. Transform the following sentences as directed.

1) I cannot understand very easily what he says. (Begin – He is )
2) It is not necessary for you to work until 6 pm (Begin – You…)
3) It would be a good idea to buy a dictionary. (you’d better)
4) Whose fault was it? (Begin – who…)
5) London is bigger than oxford (Begin – Oxford is …)
6) “Sebastian is the one who stole the video recorder” , said the man. (The man accused…)
7) As soon as she arrived home the telephone rang. (No sooner…)
8) The train is full of people (There ….)

Language Practice Set 1 ICSE Class 10, 9 English

A. Read the passage carefully and use the right verb forms used in brackets. 4 marks

A fundamental problem for pigmy people (be) the lack of recognition of land rights for hunter gathers (couple) with the denial of their ‘indigenous’ status in many African states. Without (national) recognised rights to the forest lands on which they (depend), outsiders or the state can (take) over their lands with no legal barrier and no (compensate). That community who (has) lost their traditional livelihoods and lands (find) themselves at the bottom of mainstream society.

B. Fill in the blanks with appropriate words. 4 marks

i) You must comply _________________the rules.
ii) You are hopeless __________________ English.
iii) I always insist _____________whole meal bread.
iv) He has an itch ________________adventure.
v) I knocked __________________ two chapters in one hour.
vi) We shall lean _______________them.
vii) Don’t meddle _______________ my papers.
viii) I marvel ________________your boldness.

C. Combine the following without using ‘and’, ‘but’ or ‘so’. 4 marks

i) I met up with her. We met up at the airport.
ii) He is married to his work. She is married to a writer.
iii) The plane made for Tokyo. It is getting late.
iv) He lost the match. She was mad at him.

D. Do as directed. 8 marks

i) I do not like this house. I think is haunted. (use, because)
ii) Could you pass the box to me, please? (Begin, you….)
iii) He said, “I will help you to clean the room.”
iv) These earrings have lost the shine. They must not be gold. (use-which)
v) What a wonderful day. (Begin…. It was….)
vi) Petrol is almost seventy rupees a litre.(Begin- A litre)
vii) My opinion is that he is innocent.(Remove ‘That’)
viii) He is a liar. It is true.( join as Noun clause)

Language Practice Set ICSE Class 10, 9 English

A. Fill in the blanks with the proper form of words given.

One of the worst evils that ____________(eat) into the vitals of our society is the dowry system. Though the system is strongly _______________(criticise), it is widely
______________(prevail) throughout India with the _______________(except) of some tribal people and a few North-Eastern states. It ________________(be) a scare on our social life and _______________(degrade) the womanhood. Human greed _____________ (Know) no bounds and dowry system has now ______________ (become) a naked commercial transaction.

B. Fill in the blanks with appropriate words.

a) He is very weak _________________mind.
b) I do not wish __________________riches.
c) I warned him _______________________his neighbour.
d) He tyrannised _____________________the people.
e) Think carefully _______________________his advice
f) He supplied us _______________________food.
g) He has no taste _______________________music.

C. Give the differences in the meaning of the following.

a) He is a little boy. He is little liked by the people.
b) You have no right to do it. Show me your right hand.
c) The night is still. He was weak, still he went.
d) Who is that boy? The books that I bought have been stolen.

D. Transform the sentences as directed.

a) Only a rogue can act thus (Begin – None but)
b) He acted prudently (use – prudence)
c) Though he is poor, he is happy (turn into simple sentence)
d) His honesty is known to all. (Begin – ‘That ….)
e) He left after I had come. (end with – ‘Arrival’)
f) He kept the promise. (change into – complex sentence)
g) He won’t show me his papers; he won’t tell me who he is. (use – neither ….nor)
h) He could not but do so (use – help)

Where The Mind Is Without Fear ICSE Class 10, 9 English Poem Analysis

Rabindranath Tagore

Born – May 7, 1861, Calcutta, British India.

Died – August 07, 1941, Calcutta British India

He was a man with multifarious abilities. He was a true scholar who contributed extensively to poetry, short story, song composition, novel writing as a playwright, essayist, and painter.

Notable Works Of Rabindranath Tagore

• Gitanjali
• Gora Ghare Baire
• Jana Gana Mana
• Rabindra Sangeet.
• Amar Sonar Bangla

and many more….

Awards

• Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913.
• Knighthood by the British in 1915.

Where The Mind Is Without Fear Poem

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

About Where The Mind Is Without Fear Poem

“Where the Mind is Without Fear” is one of the most celebrated poems of Tagore.
Tagore. The poem takes us to a different realm where the poet acquaints us with Tagore’s dream of India. His dream is about a new and awakened India. He tells us
about being free not only from foreign rule but also from dogmatic coercion. He asks his countrymen to get nourished by true freedom which enables one with many positive qualities like fearlessness, broad-mindedness, liberal state of mind, dignity simplicity, and sincerity.

Source Of This Poem

This poem was first composed in 1900 and first appeared in the volume of ‘Naivedya’
in the month of July 1901. Later it was recorded as the poem no. 36 in Tagore’s world famous work “Gitanjali” in 1912.

Poetic Devices And Anaphora

1. Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high

Where knowledge is free

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments

2.  Where the words came out from the depth of truth

Where the less striving stretches its arms towards perfection.

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way.

3. Into ever widening thought and action

Into that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake.

Alliteration

1. Held high
2. been broken
3. where words
4. striving stretches
5. dreary desert.

Metaphor

1. Clear stream of reason
2. dreary desert of dead habit

Personification

1. “A tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection”.

Where The Mind Is Without Fear – A Poem Of Prayer

We find this very poem in the volume of “Naivedya”. And the title of the original poem is “Prarthana”. Tagore here prays to the Almighty with some innate desires. He wishes that the motherland must achieve freedom, progress, and happiness free from fear and all kinds of pessimistic aspects. Prayer to God is to bestow true knowledge to all individuals, to unite all the religions. Above all the prayer is to awaken India to its heavenly state.

Total Freedom Without Freedom

This poem was written during the British Rule in India. Common people of India were under suppression. Tagore aspired his countrymen to attain total freedom. He did not only aspire free from the rule of the British, rather he wanted his countrymen to be free in all aspects such as political, intellectual, religious, moral, and so on.

The Old Man At The Bridge By Ernest Hemingway ICSE Short Stories English Literature New Syllabus

An old man with steel
rimmed spectacles and very dusty clothes sat by the side of the road. There was
a pontoon bridge across the river and carts, trucks, and men, women and
children were crossing it. The mule- drawn carts staggered up the steep bank
from the bridge with soldiers helping push against the spokes of the wheels.
The trucks ground up and away heading out of it all and the peasants plodded
along in the ankle deep dust. But the old man sat there without moving. He was
too tired to go any farther.
It was my business to
cross the bridge, explore the bridgehead beyond and find out to what point the
enemy had advanced. I did this and returned over the bridge. There were not so
many carts now and very few people on foot, but the old man was still there.
“Where do you
come from?” I asked him.
“From San
Carlos,” he said, and smiled.
That was his native
town and so it gave him pleasure to mention it and he smiled.
“I was taking
care of animals,” he explained.
“Oh,” I
said, not quite understanding.
“Yes,” he
said, “I stayed, you see, taking care of animals. I was the last one to
leave the town of San Carlos.”
He did not look like
a shepherd nor a herdsman and I looked at his black dusty clothes and his gray
dusty face and his steel rimmed spectacles and said, “What animals were
they?”
“Various
animals,” he said, and shook his head. “I had to leave them.”
I was watching the
bridge and the African looking country of the Ebro Delta and wondering how long
now it would be before we would see the enemy, and listening all the while for
the first noises that would signal that ever mysterious event called contact,
and the old man still sat there.
“What animals
were they?” I asked.
“There were
three animals altogether,” he explained. “There were two goats and a
cat and then there were four pairs of pigeons.”
And you had to leave
them?” I asked.
“Yes. Because of
the artillery. The captain told me to go because of the artillery.”
“And you have no
family?” I asked, watching the far end of the bridge where a few last carts
were hurrying down the slope of the bank.
“No,” he
said, “only the animals I stated. The cat, of course, will be all right. A
cat can look out for itself, but I cannot think what will become of the
others.”
“What politics
have you?” I asked.
“I am without
politics,” he said. “I am seventy-six years old. I have come twelve
kilometers now and I think now I can go no further.”
“This is not a
good place to stop,” I said. “If you can make it, there are trucks up
the road where it forks for Tortosa.”
“I will wait a
while,” he said, “and then I will go. Where do the trucks go?”
“Towards
Barcelona,” I told him.
“I know no one
in that direction,” he said, “but thank you very much. Thank you
again very much.”
He looked at me very
blankly and tiredly, and then said, having to share his worry with someone,
“The cat will be all right, I am sure. There is no need to be unquiet
about the cat. But the others. Now what do you think about the others?”
“Why they’ll
probably come through it all right.”
“You think
so?”
“Why not,”
I said, watching the far bank where now there were no carts.
“But what will
they do under the artillery when I was told to leave because of the
artillery?”
“Did you leave
the dove cage unlocked?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Then they’ll fly.”
“Yes, certainly
they’ll fly. But the others. It’s better not to think about the others,”
he said.
“If you are
rested I would go,” I urged. “Get up and try to walk now.”
“Thank
you,” he said and got to his feet, swayed from side to side and then sat
down backwards in the dust.
“I was taking
care of animals,” he said dully, but no longer to me. “I was only
taking care of animals.”
There was nothing to
do about him. It was Easter Sunday and the Fascists were advancing toward the
Ebro. It was a gray overcast day with a low ceiling so their planes were not
up. That and the fact that cats know how to look after themselves was all the
good luck that old man would ever have.

The Heart of the Tree by Henry Cuyler Bunner English Literature ICSE English

What does he plant who plants a tree?
He plants a friend of sun and sky;
He plants the flag of breezes free;
The shaft of beauty, towering high;
He plants a home to heaven anigh;
For song and mother-croon of bird
In hushed and happy twilight heard—
The treble of heaven’s harmony—
These things he plants who plants a tree.
What does he plant who plants a tree?
He plants cool shade and tender rain,
And seed and bud of days to be,
And years that fade and flush again;
He plants the glory of the plain;
He plants the forest’s heritage;
The harvest of a coming age;
The joy that unborn eyes shall see—
These things he plants who plants a tree;
What does he plant who plants a tree?
He plants, in sap and leaf and wood,
In love of home and loyalty
And far-cast thought of civic good—
His blessings on the neighborhood,
Who in the hollow of His hand
Holds all the growth of all our land—
A nation’s growth from sea to sea
Stirs in his heart who plants a tree.