"What is the secret you are whispering?" asked Ramanatham.

The loss of the jewel had to be admitted. Soon the whole village knew about it. The
maid-servant Kuppayi was suspected to have stolen it by everyone.
The police came and searched her hut, but could find nothing.

Ramayya's heart was in a flutter. Ramayya's wife put the stud away in her box. She
soon developed a severe fever and was confined to bed. No one thought of searching
their house.
The he-sparrow said, "Look at the
fun, my dear, the lady of this house is
scared and is down with fever."
"Nice fun indeed!" said the she-
sparrow. "The poor woman is in a panic.
The fever may be the end of her."
"And a good thing too," said the
cruel male sparrow.
"It is all your doing you brought
and threw it here and tempted her," said
the female bird.
The male bird answered gravely, "Did I tell her to steal the thing? This is bound
to happen when humans are greedy.”
4

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 “Rightly said, we should never be greedy for what belongs to others". "Come, let
us go now and bring some worms for the young ones.” And the two flew out.
Ramayya and his wife spend the rest of life in fear of being caught. The diamond
nose-jewel may still be with them, but the fear of getting caught was ever lasting.

About the Author

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (1878-1972)
informally called Rajaji, was an Indian politician,
independence activist, lawyer, writer, historian and
statesman. Rajagopalachari was born in the village of
Thorapalli in the Krishnagiri district. Rajagopalachari
was the last Governor- General of India, as India soon
became a Republic in 1950. Furthermore, he was the
first Indian-born governor- general, since before him
the posts were held by British nationals. He also served
as leader of the Indian National Congress, Premier
of the Madras Presidency, Governor of West Bengal,
Minister for Home Affairs of the Indian Union and Chief
Minister of Madras state. He was one of the first recipients of India's highest civilian award,
the Bharat Ratna.

Glossary

self-centred (adj) – concerned with the self

disdain (n) – feeling of contempt or scorn
muck heap (n) – a pile of dung, soil or refuse
grub (n) – food
magistrate (n) a judicial officer with limited authority to administer
–
and enforce the law
disgrace (n) – the state of being dishonoured, or covered with same
ignorant (adj) – unaware
consoled (v) comforted (someone) in the time of grief or
–
disappointment
suspected (v) – believed to be a cause or at fault
flutter (v) – to flap or wave quickly but irregularly
confined (v) – restricted, kept in a limited space or area
panic (adj) – frightened
cruel (adj) – merciless or heartless
gravely (adv) – in a grave or serious manner

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 Read and Understand

A) Choose the correct synonyms for the italicized words.

1. Nice fun indeed!
a. infact b. doubtedly c. fine
2. The poor woman is in a panic.
a. fear b. grid c. crash
3. The mother consoled her little girl.
a. pretended b. comforted c. left
4. You are always self-centred.
a. egostic b. generous c. heroic
5. What is the secret you are whispering?
a. rumouring b. murmuring c. shouting
B) Find the antonym for the following words.
1. delight ×
2. disgrace ×
3. careless ×
4. secret ×
5. confine ×
C) Fill in the blanks.
1. The sparrows built their nests in the _________.
2. The diamond jewel was lying in the _______.
3. The diamond jewel belonged to _______ .
4. __________ was the maid-servant at Meenakshi Ammal's place.
5. Ramayya and his wife lived with the fear of __________ .

D) Say the following statements are True or False.

1. Two sparrows built a nest on a tree top.

2. Kuppayi swept out the diamond jewel.

3. Ramayya gave the diamond jewel to the magistrate.

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 4. Ramayya's wife put the stud away in her box.

5. The Police searched Rammaya’s home.

E) Answer the following questions

1. Where did the sparrows build the nest?
2. Where did the bird drop the diamond stud?
3. What did Meenakshi Ammal tell her daughter?
4. Who was suspected of stealing the diamond nose stud?
5. What did Ramayya’s wife do with the stud?
6. What happened to Ramayya’s wife at the end?
F) Answer the following in about 100 words.
1. Why did the sparrow throw the nose-jewel into Ramayya's house?
2. Explain how Ramayya's wife reacted when she saw the nose-jewel?

Vocabulary

Homophone
Homophones are words with same pronunciation but different meanings, origins,
or spelling.

For example:

new – knew

hole – whole

knight – night

see – sea

a. Pick out the correct homophone.

1. I am not ______ to drink soda. (aloud,allowed)

2. The wind ________ the leaves. (blue,blew)

3. I will __________ my friend. (meat,meet)

4. He will play the _________ in the second play. (role,roll)

5. I have _________ the movie already. (scene,seen)

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 b. Choose the correct homophone.
1. Every morning my father likes to look at the ________ on the grass.
a) due b) dew

2. Chennai is the ________ of Tamilnadu.

a) capitol b) capital

3. I was very ________ last weekend because my friends went to the village
without informing me.
a) bored b) board
4. The cat caught the _______ of a mouse.
a) scent b) cent

5. The _______ rises in the east.

a) son b) sun
Abbreviation and Acronyms
a. Abbreviation:
An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase.
Example: PM - Prime Minister
Example:

ATM Automated Teller Machine

GB Giga Byte
PC Personal Computer
CEO Chief Educational Officer
EMIS Education Management Information System
IAS Indian Administrative Service
NMMS National Means cum Merit Scholarship
SBI State Bank of India
OTP One Time Password
IFSC Indian Financial System Code
PDF Portable Document Format
LED Light Emitting Diode
UPS Uninterruptible Power Supply
GST Goods and Services Tax

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 b. Acronyms:
An acronym is a shortened form of a phrase and is usually made up of the initial
letters of that phrase. For example: NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Example:

AVADI Armoured Vehicles and Ammunition Depot of India

RAM Random Access Memory
ROM Read-Only Memory
NEET National Eligibility cum Entrance Test
UDISE Unified District Information System for Education
PAN Permanent Account Number
WHO World Health Organization
NEWS North, East, West and South.
SIM Subscriber Identification Module
LAN Local Area Network
VAT Value Added Tax

Expand the following:

ECG

ILO

SCERT

IIT

ISRO

FIR

UNESCO

UNICEF

NASA

AIDS

ADHD

UFO

FAQ

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 Listening

c) Listen to the passage carefully and choose the right answer.

1) Why do birds sing?
a) To locate one another b) To warn other birds
c) To find a mate d) All of the above
2) Birds perch very high so that ......
a) other birds can hear them b) other birds can see them
c) they can hide there d) both A and B are correct.
3) The health of a bird can be determined…
a) by the length of its song b) by the complexity of its song.
c) by the volume of its song d) both A and B are correct.
4) Shorter bird vocalizations are …
a) territorial songs b) mating songs
c) warnings d) shorter song verses
5) Young birds perfect their songs by …
a) natural instinct b) listening and interaction
c) practice d) both B and C are correct
6) Fitness is …
a) health b) danger
c) a song d) a warning
7) How do variations in the basic song help the birds?
a) recognize other members b) maintain health
c) increase the length of their song d) communicate with one another.

Note: The listening passage is given on page 226.

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 Speaking

Greetings

There are a number of greetings we use when we meet people. Here are some
ways of greeting people.

Meeting People for the First Time

When introduced to someone for the first time, use the following greetings:

Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you.

How do you do?

Example Dialogues

Fatima : Ameera, this is Fatima.

Ameera : Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you.

Fatima : How do you do?

Ameera : How do you do?

Note: The reply to 'How do you do?' is 'How do you do?' This is appropriate when
you meet someone for the first time.

Meeting People
When meeting people during the day, use the following phrases.

Formal Informal

Good morning / afternoon / evening! Hi!

How are you? Hey, how's it going?

It's good to see you. What's up?

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 Example
Bhuvana : Good morning Roshini.

Roshini : Good morning. How are you?

Bhuvana : What's up?

Roshini : Nothing much. You?

Formal Greetings: Arriving

• Good morning / afternoon / evening!

• Hello (name), how are you?

• Good day Sir / Madam (very formal)

• Good morning Mr. Raju.

• Hello Ms. Sherlyn. How are you today?

Informal Greetings: Arriving

Hi / Hello! How are you? / How are you doing?

How are you? Very well, thank you. And you? (formal)

How are you doing? Fine / Great (informal)

Not much.
What's up? (very informal)
I'm just (watching TV, cooking dinner, etc.)

Informal Greetings After a Long Time

If you haven't seen a friend or family member for a long time, use one of these
informal greetings to mark the occasion.

• It's great to see you!

• How have you been?

• Long time, no see.

• How are you doing these days?

Formal Greetings: Departing

Use these greetings when you say goodbye at the end of the day. These greetings
are appropriate for work and other formal and informal situations.

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 Formal Informal

Good morning / afternoon / evening. Nice seeing you!

It was a pleasure seeing you. Goodbye / Bye.

Goodbye. See you later.

Goodnight. (Note: Use after 8 p.m.) Later (very informal)

Practice Dialogues

Greetings in Informal Conversations:

Amala: Sanjay, what's up?

Sanjay: Hi Amala. Nothing much. I'm just hanging out. How are things with you
Today?

Amala: It's a good day. I'm feeling fine.

Sanjay: How is your sister?

Amala: Oh, fine. Not much has changed.

Sanjay: Well, I have to go. Nice seeing you!

Amala: bye! bye!

Greetings in Formal Conversations

Cecily: Good morning.

Prabu: Good morning. How are you?

Cecily: I'm doing great, thank you. And you?

Prabu: I'm fine. Thank you.

Cecily: Do you have a meeting this morning?

Prabu: Yes, I do. Do you have a meeting as well?

Cecily: Yes! Well, It was a pleasure meeting you.

Prabu: Goodbye.

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 Writing

Formal letter
There are many situations in which we write formal letters. The formal letter has a
specific format. The formal letter should be accurate and presented in an organised manner.

A formal letter includes:

¾ Sender's address

¾ Date

¾ Name/designation and address of the receiver

¾ Subject

¾ Salutation

¾ Body of the letter

¾ Closing Paragraph

¾ Complimentary close

¾ Subscription

¾ Sender’s Name
Designation (if applicable)

Informal letter
An informal letter includes:
¾ Sender's address
¾ Date
¾ Salutation
¾ Body of the letter
¾ Closing Paragraph
¾ Complimentary close
¾ Subscription
¾ Sender’s Name

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