Reading

Down the Rabbit Hole

Ways with words

A. Find the meanings of the following words and phrases from a dictionary and make sentences by using them.

Words	Meaning	Sentence
peep into	to get a quick look into something	I peeped into the oven to see what was being cooked for dinner.
pop down	to go somewhere quickly	I popped down to the shop to get some coffee.
remarkable	unusual, surprising, excellent or worthy of notice	The interior of the house is remarkable for its beauty.
hedge	a row of bushes or small trees planted close together along the edge of a garden, field or road	My sister kicked the ball so powerfully that it flew over the hedge.
wonder	desire to know something	I wonder why she left the job.
tumble	to fall quickly without control	She has lost her footing and tumbled down the stairs.
doze off	to sleep, especially during the day	He was just beginning to doze off when the telephone rang.
earnestly	seriously	She earnestly hopes to come back in summer.
tiny	very small	Look at her tiny fingers, aren’t they cute?
creep	to move slowly, quietly and carefully in order to avoid being heard or noticed	She crept up the stairs, trying not to wake up them.

B. Match the words below with their opposites.

a. beginning  =  ending

b. stupid  =  clever

c. natural  =  artificial

d. disappointment  =  happiness  

e. ignorant  =  educated

f. anxiously  =  calmly

Comprehension

A. Answer these questions.

a. What did Alice do while her sister was reading a book?
Ans: While her sister was reading a book, she fell asleep.

 

b. Why did Alice run across the field after the Rabbit?
Ans: Alice ran across the field after the Rabbit because she was very much curious to know about the rabbit which she had never seen before.

 

c. Why didn’t she like to drop the jar? What did she do with it?
Ans: She didn’t like to drop the jar because she was fear of killing somebody underneath. She put it onto one of the cupboards. 

 

d. What idea came to her mind when she saw a tiny golden key?
Ans: When she saw a tiny golden key, the idea of opening one of the doors of the hall came to her mind.

 

e. What was written on the bottle that she found? Did she follow what it said?
Ans: “DRINK ME” was written on the bottle that she found. Yes, she followed what it said.

 

f. Alice was fond of pretending to be two people. Who were they?
Ans: Alice was fond of pretending to Alice and herself.

 

g. Why did she want to eat the cake that she found?
Ans: She wanted to eat cake that she found because it may make her grow bigger.

 

B. Put these sentences in the right order as they happen in the story.

1. Alice saw a White Rabbit and ran after him.

2. Alice fell down a rabbit hole.

3. Alice found a small key and unblocked a very small door.

4. Alice drank something from a bottle and got very small door.

5. Alice tried to climb a table leg to get the key again.

6. Alice ate a small cake, which said “Eat Me”.

Critical Thinking

a. “Down the rabbit hole” is a sort of writing called fantasy. On the basis of your reading of the story point out some special elements of this kind of writing?

Ans: Fantasy is a genre of fiction. It includes characters and events that couldn’t exist in real life. For example, someone isn’t likely to encounter a wizard penguin in real life. Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Charlie and Chocolate Factory. The Lord of the Rings are some of the fine fantasy.

Most fantasy uses magic or other supernatural elements as a main plot, theme and setting. Plot of a fantasy includes a battle between good and evil, the cycle of the seasons, the cycle of life-birth, growth and death, a hero’s journey, a heroine being rescued by a charming man and battling a make-believe monster.

In a fantasy, witches, wizards, fairies, prince and princess, kings and queens, knights, dragons, talking animals, angels and devils, elves, gnomes, unicorns, etc. are chosen as characters. A fantasy is set in faraway land, in  an enchanted kingdom, in a magical forest, during medieval times, in an imaginary world in heaven or during the afterlife. The fantasy authors rely on the theme of defending honor, loyalty, finding a mysterious object, completing a quest, sacrificing something, etc.

 

b. Is it good to imagine of things which are not possible to achieve in reality? Explain.

Ans: Most people believe that imagination has nothing to do with reality. They don’t relate it with success, achievement and reality. They consider it as impractical. But imagination shapes the way which influence our hopes, actions and behaviors.

Imagination is one of the mast significant keys to success. It is mostly connected with daydreaming, wishing and illusion. A person’s ambition, goal and plan begins with the imagination, and only later, turns into reality. Thomas Edison dreamt of electric bulbs and made it happen. Despite severe insult, Walt Disney imagined being the head of the world’s largest animation empire and made it possible.

Various facts show that a successful person creates a mental image of his goal and make it real with suitable steps. When somebody imagines something they really wants and proceeds with proper actions, things never become impossible. Things always seem important until they are done.

Grammar

B. Express your wishes in the following situations in three different ways. Use I wish/If only…….

a. You don’t have a mobile phone (You need one).
Ans:

1. I wished I talked to my father about it.

2. I wished I could buy one myself.

3.  I wished somebody would gift me one.
   

b. You don’t know the answer of a question from the lesson.
Ans: 

1. I wish my friend told me the answer.

2. I wish I could read the lesson properly.

3. I wish my teacher would help me.

c. You can’t play the guitar.
Ans: 

1. I wish I could go to the guitar’s expert.

2. I wish I brought a guitar lesson book.

3. I wish someone would teach me guitar chords.

d. It’s cold.
Ans: 

1. I wish I drank hot water.

2. I wish I could stay inside then house.

3. I wish my mother would burn some firewood.

e. You are feeling sick.
Ans: 

1. I wish I could go to hospital.

2. I wish I were healthy. 

3. I wish somebody would call a doctor.

f. You live in a crowded city.
Ans: 

1. I wish the city would be peaceful.

2. I wish I could spend a couple of weeks far from the city.

3. I wish I lived in the country.

g. You feel lonely.
Ans: 

1. I wish I could do the household works.

2. I wish my friend would phone me.

3. I wish I listened to my favorite music.

 

C. Rewrite the following sentences making correction if necessary.

a. I wish my father bought me a bike.
Ans: I wish my father bought me a bike.

 

b. I wish I would write poems.
Ans: I wish I could write poems.

 

c. I wish I could remember her name.
Ans: I wish I could remember her name.

 

d. I wish I had a god job.
Ans: I wish I had a god job.

 

e. I wish I would be rich.
Ans: I wish I were rich.