Reading

The Looking Glass

Ways with words

A. Match the words with their meanings.

1. exhausted   —   tired

2. apparent   —   clear

3. vista   —   vision

4. undulating   —  wavy 

5. destined   —   predetermined

6. stuffy   —   suffocating, airless

7. restrain   —   prevent, hinder

 

B. Write the meaning and word class of the following words. Then use
them in sentences of your own.

Words	Meaning	Word Class	Sentences
implore	beg earnestly, request earnestly	transitive verb	My uncle implored me to stay.
despair	feeling of hopelessness	intransitive verb	Difficult question paper despairs the students.
beseech	pray	transitive verb	I beseech you to forgive me.
eloquent	speaking forcefully	adjective	He is eloquent. He can be an actor.
whirl	spinning	verb, noun	Whirls of dust filled the air.
egoism	one’s welfare	noun	Her egoism separated her friends.
agony	physical or mental pain	noun	The injured soldier died in agony.
delirious	excited	adjective	After winning the game, he became delirious.
delusive	misleading	adjective	The delusive shopkeeper didn’t tell about the quality.
compensate	make amend	verb	Labor got compensate for his injury.
mortgage	loan suspended by property	noun	The mortgage loan is secured by the property.
brood	worry	verb, noun, adjective	It is the new brood of the chicken.
prelude	introductory event or music	noun, verb	Apple preluded iPhone 12 in October 2020.

 

D. Choose the correct word.

1. Sarita was shocked to hear about earthquake.

2. I think that rainy days in winter are depressed.

3. The football match was very exciting. I enjoyed it.

4. The meals at Delight Cafe are satisfying.

5. I’ve got nothing to do. I’m bored.

6. Tanka is very good at telling funny stories. He can be very amusing.

7. The teacher’s explanation was confusing. Most of the students didn’t understand it.

8. He is such a boring person. He never wants to go out.

9. I will be surprised if she does well in her test.

10. Are you interested in politics?

 

E. Write the correct form of the adjective in the blanks as in the example.

1. They frustrate me but they don’t bore me. I never get bored when I study grammar.

2. If teachers want to interest the students, they must use interesting materials.

3. Certain stories interest almost everybody. For example, most students are interested in fairy tales.

4. Certain things frighten me, but I never get frightened when I speak English.

5. If I get a good grade, that excites me. And is I get more then ninety percent, I am really excited.

Comprehension

Answer these questions:

a. Who was Nellie? What did she use to dream of?

Ans: Nellie was the daughter of a landowner and general. She was a young and pretty girl.

b. What was she doing with the looking glass?

Ans: She was gazing into the looking glass with exhaustion. She used to look in the mirror with half-closed eyes.

 

c. Why did she go to the doctor on one winter night?

Ans: She went to the doctor one night because her husband was ill.

 

d. What was Stepan Lukitch doing when she reached his bedroom?

Ans: Stepan Lukitch was lying on his bed when she reached his bedroom.

 

e. Why was the doctor not ready to go to see her husband?

Ans: The doctor wasn’t ready to go to see her husband because he had been away for the last three days. The doctor was seeing typhus patients and was exhausted.

 

f. Why did Stepan Lukitch suggest Nellie to go to the Zemstvo doctor?

Ans: Stepan Lukitch suggested Nellie to go to the Zemstvo doctor beacuse he was in a fever and his head was in a whirl.

 

g. Nellie said, “Come, perform that heroic deed! Have pity on us!” What was that pity to be done?

Ans: The doctor had to treat Nellie’s husband.

 

h. When Nellie said, “I must have fallen asleep.” What does it mean?

Ans: Nellie stopped dreaming and was ready for facing the realities of life.

 

i. What is the main theme of the story?

Ans: In the Looking- Glass by Anton Chekhov, there is the theme of devotion, loneliness, escape, fear, love, dedication, hope, defeat and independence. 

Critical Thinking

a. “The looking glass (mirror)” is used as a symbol in the story. What does it symbolize?

Ans: The Looking Glass symbolizes Nellie’s imagination and her desire to be married. In the story, the mirror remains to be instrumental because it serves as a window to her sub-consciousness. The major part of the story revolves around the dream of Nellie. Her dream goes on to scare because of her inability.

The Looking-Glass offers Nellie an outlet to escape from the life that she is living. She is a single and unattached woman who desires to find a man who will love her. In fact, she is seeking happiness through marriage. Using her dream, the story writer exhibits her internal conflict within herself and her challenges to relate her problems with others. Chekhov exposes Nellie’s inner feelings, her fears and the manner she continues to feel helpless. The use of looking glass makes the story successful as it brings together its goals and objectives to readers.

 

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 ofyoung people.

Ans: In the story, the writer has used the magic trick using a very elegant transition from reality to imagination to reality sequence. It moves systematically explanations from the beginning of the story to the dream of the main character described until the character wakes up. The transition from reality to imagination occurs in the introductory part of the story.

The story begins with a young woman named Nellie who always wants to get married, staring into the mirror. She drifts into her imagination and encounters a terrifying glimpse of the future. She attempts to save her husband from typhus. The action becomes more specific, the readers can safely assume they have been transitioned completely into the realm of the imagination. This is a wonderful trick of the writer Chekhov. Most young people dream of their life as in the fairy tales. It is full of happiness and perfection. They compare themselves to comfortable characters of the fanciful movies. The character in the story begins with naïve hoper and high expectations. Nellie imagines romance and marriage through the mirror. At first, she sees love and the caring husband in her dreams. Then she sees the transitory nature of this happiness. She believes that romance is the gateway to her happiness in life but is her illusion only. In real life, there are painful realities. 

Grammar

B. Match the expressions in column A with their functions in column B.

A	B
a. A : What do you want to take? B : I’ll have tea. b. A : Are you free this evening? B : No, I’m going to meet my uncle. c. The day will be lovely tomorrow. d. There is no cloud in the sky. It’s going to be a lovely day. e. Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone. f. I’ll take you to the movies of you like. g. I’ll tell your parents what you did.	Deciding Expressing a prior plan Predicting a future action Predicting with evidence Promising Offering Threatening

C. Choose the correct answer.
a. A: Are you busy this evening?
    B: Yes, I am going to the movies. 

b. A: Where are you going for holiday this summer?
    B: Not sure yet. Maybe I will go to Ilam. 

c. I think you will like this movie.

d. I can’t join you at the party, I am going to be away for two weeks.

e. This exercise looks really hard. I will help you. 

f. A: Hello. Can I speak to Sima, please?
   B: Just a minute. I will get her. 

g. Perhaps she will pass the exam. 

h. ‘I haven’t got my phone.’ ‘That’s OK. I will lend you mine.’ 

 

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.

b. Sunita  :  Have you got a ticket for the play?
   Hema  : Yes, I am going to watch it on Saturday.

c. ‘The alarm is ringing. It’s making an awful noise.’ ‘OK, I will switch it off.’

d. Do you think they will like the presents we got for them?

e. ‘Lok is starting university tomorrow.’ ‘What is he going to study?’ 

f. If I meet him, I will tell him the news.

g. The phone is ringing, I will answer it.

h. If you don’t stop bullying her, I will tell the teacher.