UNIT 3C
BEAUTY OF THE UNIVERSE
WHEN I HEARD THE LEARN'D ASTRONOMER, Walt Whitman
C.2 From the Text
What do
you think the charts and diagrams were used for?
The chart
and diagrams were used for demonstration, addition, division, measurement and various
calculation which the learn’d astronomer presented with proofs. This helps us in
our better understanding.
Ex. C.4 (Page: 88)
When I heard the learn’d astronomer.
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before
me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add,
divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured
with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
a. Which line from the extract tells us
where the speaker was?
iv. line 4
b. Which of the following did the
astronomer NOT use in his lecture?
ii.
telescopes
c. Which of these sentences can be
inferred based on the information provided in the extract?
Sentence
1: The astronomer was quite learned.
Sentence 2: The astronomer was very
famous and had received many awards.
Sentence 3: The people
in the hall linked the lecture and applauded it.
Sentence 4: The speaker was finding it
difficult to understand the mathematical concepts that the astronomer was
using.
ii.
Sentences 1, 3 and 5
d. Choose
the options that describes how the speaker felt when he heard the lecture.
iii.
tired and sick
e. When the proofs, the figures, were
ranged in columns before me… What does the word figures mean here?
iv.
pictures, diagrams or numbers, often used to explain concepts or ideas.
Ex. C.5 (Page: 89)
a. Which of the following means the same
as the expression from time to time?
iii. once in a while
b. Based on your understanding of the
poem, select a title that is unsuitable for it.
i.
The Funny Professor
c. When
we say that something is unaccountable, we mean it is …………………………
ii.
impossible to understand or explain
C.6 Answer these questions briefly.
a. Describe how the speaker felt when he looked at the stars silently.
Did he feel the same when he heard the astronomer lecture about stars?
The
speaker was calm and relaxed when we looked up at the stars silently. No, he
did not feel the same when he heard the astronomer’s lecture about stars. His
proofs, figures, charts and diagrams had made him tired and sick.
b. What did the speaker do when he felt tired and sick? Did
he continue to feel the same way?
The
speaker left the room and went out in the mystical moist night-air and looked
at the perfect silence stars to relax himself. No, the speaker did not feel
tired and sick after looking at the stars.
C. Analyse why the speaker uses the words rising and gliding to
describe how he left the lecture-room.
The
speaker could not understand the lecture and was feeling tired and sick. So, he
left the room with slow movements so that he did not disturb others. This is
what he meant by the words rising and gliding.
d. Why do you think the poet has used the word mystical to describe
the moist night-air? Does this word contrast with the mood shown in the first
part of the poem where the poet is talking about the lecture? Why/Why not?
Mystical
is a term used to refer something magical and spiritual. The poet used this
term to describe the beautiful moment of moist night-air and perfect silence at
the stars.
Yes, it
is a contrasting term because the mood of the lecture room does not involve
anything mystical. The astronomer is dealing with facts and figures.
C.7 Answer the following questions in
detail.
a. Do you agree with the poet’s assertion that science leaves no
room for the wonder that we feel for the nature around us? Or, do you think
that science finds new ideas and concepts that give rise to wonder and awe in
our minds? Discuss.
I think science finds new ideas and concepts that give rise to wonder and awe in our minds because if there were no ideas, we would not be able to know how things work in the beautiful nature around us.
b. Imagine that the astronomer had a conversation with a member of
his audience who found lecture to be dull and boring. Write the dialogue.
DO BY SELF
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