THE WORTHY SUCCESSOR (Exercise Material)
WORD MEANING
1. famous – well known
2. suitable – right, worthy
3. steep – not straight, climbing up
4. exhausted – tired
5. recite – say, speech
6. courtyard – ground
7. thorny – full of thorn
8. bushes – jungles
9. deserves – fits, suites
10. worthy successor – a suitable person to continue the good
work done by the person before
11. take charge – be responsible for, run the show
12. caretaker – a person who looks after someone or some place
13. breathed his last – died; passed away
14. interview – meeting, discussion before getting selected for
a job
15. limped – walked with difficulty
16. filled with wonder – surprised
A. CHOOSE THE RIGHT OPTIONS.
1. What
kind of a priest did the famous temple on the hill have?
a. greedy, young and rich
b. greatly respected (√)
c. young, king and cunning
d. old
2. What
was the request the priest made to the caretaker?
a. After my death, make sure that my son is chosen to be the priest.
b. After my death, I want you to be the priest.
c. After my death, make sure that only a humane person is chosen to be the priest. (√)
d. After my death, tell the king to appoint a priest.
3. What
did the caretaker see from the top most point of the hill?
a. He saw people pushing others and rushing up for the interview.
b. He saw many young men making a steep and dangerous climb. (√)
c. He saw three old men climbing the thorny bushes along the way.
d. He saw one man clearing the thorny bushed along the way.
4. What
was the question asked by the people who came for the interview to the
caretaker when he chose the young man as the successor?
a. Why do you choose a personally known to?
b. Why do you choose a man whose clothes are torn?
c. Why do you choose a young man who is late for the interview? (√)
d. Why do you choose a man who is limping?
B. SAY WHETHER THESE STATEMENTS ARE TRUE
(T) OR FALSE (F).
1. The
old priest looked for a successor who could take charge of the temple but could
not find a single person. (T)
2. The old
priest was not concerned about who would take charge of the temple after him. (F)
3. The
need for a new priest became urgent because the old priest died. (T)
4. When
the caretaker referred to the ‘Wise One’ he meant God. (F)
5. The young
man who came late for the interview was a simple. (T)
C. THINK AND ANSWER.
1. In this story, you read about how the young man cleared the
mountain path. Describe how the path looked before and after he cleared it.
Use these hints.
·
Full of sharp stones
·
Neat pathway
·
Thorny bushes
·
Trimmed branches
The young
man found the path full of sharp stones and thorny bushes. So he decided to
clear it. He trimmed branches and made it a neat pathway. Now people could to
temple without getting hurt.
2. Can you say that the old priest and the caretaker were very
sincere people and gave a of importance to their jobs? Give reasons for your
answer.
Yes, both,
the old priest and the caretaker were very sincere people and gave a lot
importance to their jobs.
The old
man wanted to find out the most suitable person to serve the temple even after his
death. On the other hand the caretaker was very loyal towards his own work and did the same as the old priest wished; and found the most suitable young priest for the temple.
D. ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS
1. Who is Gopan? What do you find good about his character?
Gopan is
the caretaker of the temple.
He is
very loyal and honest. He always remembers what his master, the priest has told
him and tries his best to get the most suitable candidate for the temple. He does
not know what the old priest has meant; but trusts the ‘Wise One’ and his words.
2. How is the tired young mand different from the other young
man?
The tired
young man provides selfless service. On his way to interview he finds the path
in mess. So he begins to clean it so that anyone who takes that path are not harmed.
In one work he is a true humane.
Others,
they too are not bad but they lack this approach of serving selflessly.
3. According to you, what would you prefer to have the most knowledgeable
man or humane person?
I value a
humane person the most; although I do not deny the preference of the most knowledgeable
person. When knowledge and humanity go hand in hand, we get the most suitable
outcome. But knowledge without a proper
character cannot promote harmony, sympathy, love and peace.
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