English

Chapter 13: The Last Stone Mason Textbook Solutions

NIOS Class 10 English Chapter 13 Question Answer

INTEXT QUESTIONS 13.1

A. Based on your understanding of Part I answer the following questions.

1. What was the old man’s profession? What was his attitude to his work?

Ans:

Carving stone and making statues,
He was dedicated to his work. For him work is worship.

2. The young man threw his hammer and the chisel to the ground. Why do you think he did so?

Ans: He was angry/dissatisfied with his work and his life, as it didn’t pay enough.

3. How did the old man learn carving? What did he expect from his son?

Ans:

He learnt carving from his father.
He expected his son to carry forward his traditional craft.

4. Tick, þ the suitable option to complete the statement given below.

The young man decided to leave his father and his work because:

a. he was not good at carving.

b. he did not love his father.

c. he wanted to earn more money.

d. he wanted to enjoy city life.

Ans: c. He wanted to earn more money.

5. What was the young man’s opinion about his father’s work? Do you think he was right?

Ans: He thought his father’s work didn’t fetch money. Individual responses with reasons.

6. What did Gopal suggest to his father? What was his father’s response?

Ans: He suggested that his father should shift to Agra and change his profession. The old man’s response was that it was a service to God and that he wanted to keep the 100 year old tradition and continue to do his work.

B. Use suitable words / phrases from the box to replace the italicized part of the sentences given below.

tradition, came off, heaps, stacked up

1. Piles of old and discarded things lay in the courtyard for a number of days after Suman’s house was whitewashed. This marred the beauty of the house.

Ans: heaps

2. The dowry system in Indian society is a bad custom. It must be abolished.

Ans: tradition

3. When we visited the construction site of our new house, we found a lot of bricks piled up neatly near the fence.

Ans: stacked up

4. The salesman could not tell us the price of the shirt I liked because its price tag got removed when he was arranging the new stock on the shelves.

Ans: came off

C. Suppose you are the old stone mason. Your son has left you and the family business and has gone away. Express in 50-60 words what sort of thoughts came to your mind at his behaviour?

Ans: Individual responses

INTEXT QUESTIONS 13.2

I. On the basis of your understanding of Part 2 answer the questions given below:

1. When Salim came to the old man to serve him tea, “his voice was filled with concern.” What do you think Salim was concerned about?

Ans: His concern was about the old man’s physical condition.

2. Who was Salim? What was his relation with the old man?

Ans: Salim was a boy who worked in the stone mason’s house, served him tea and took care of him. He was a servant boy, and the old man was his master.

3. What was the old man worried about?

Ans: He was worried about how he would finish the statue all by himself.

4. Why did he wish Gopal was with him?

Ans: He was not good at carving the faces and hands of statues. He wished Gopal were with him to help him to finish the statue, because he himself was too weak to use the hammer vigorously.

5. Salim said “….. it comes from somewhere deep inside you.” Explain the meaning of the plans in your own words in 2-3 sentences.

Ans: “It” refers to the ability to master the skill.

II. 1. Which word in para I of Part 2 means the same as ‘worry’?

Ans: concern

2. Which word in para 3 of Part 2 means the same as ‘job’?

Ans: work

3. Pick out the word from para 4 of Part 2 which means the opposite of ‘spoke loudly’.

Ans: whispered

4. Which word in para 6 of Part 2 means the opposite of ‘weakness’?

Ans: strength

III. Imagine you are Salim. You served the old man after his son left him. What inspired you to help him? Express yourself in 50-60 words.

Ans: Individual responses

INTEXT QUESTIONS 13.3

I. On the basis of your understanding of Part 3 of the story answer the following questions.

1. ‘When the old man opened his eyes he found himself on the cot in his room’. Who do you think put him on the cot?

Ans: Salim

2. The old man heard the sound of ‘strong blows of hammer on chisel’. What was the first thought that came to his mind?

Ans: He thought his son Gopal had come back.

3. Why did the old man admire Salim?

Ans: Salim’s concern for the old stone mason, his timely help in carving the statue, and his skill in carving made the old man admire Salim.

4. Why did the old man believe that there was nothing that he could teach Salim?

Ans: Salim was carving the face of the statue like an expert craftsman.

II. Based on your understanding of Part 3, complete the following sentences:

1. The old man was stunned to see Salim working on the statue because ______.

Ans: Because he had expected to see Gopal, and because Salim was working on the face of the statue like a perfect sculptor, because he had not expected that Salim could carve stone.

2. Salim was able to help the old man in finishing the sculpture because______.

Ans: Because he had been practising carving secretly at the quarry.

III. 1. Pick out the word in para 1 Part 3 which means the same as ‘surprised’.

Ans: stunned

2. Which word in para I Part 3 means the opposite of ‘heavy’?

Ans: light

3. Look at the word ‘admiration’ in para I Part 3. Different meanings of this word are given in the box below. Tick the most suitable meaning in the given context.

praise, appreciation, respect, adore, think highly of somebody

Ans: think highly of somebody

IV. If you were in Salim’s place what would you do to improve the relationship between the old stone mason and his son? Express yourself in 50-60 words.

Ans: Individual responses

LET US LEARN NEW WORDS 13.1

Read the following sentence:

• The one who carves a statue is a ‘sculptor’ (the profession or work of a sculptor is to carve statues)

I Complete the following sentences appropriately.

1. A person who treats patients is a _ _ _ _ _ _ .

Ans: doctor

2. A person who writes poems is a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .

Ans: poet

3. A person who teaches is a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .

Ans: teacher

4. A person who works on clay pots is a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .

Ans: potter

5. A person who makes wooden furniture is a _ _ _ _ _ .

Ans: carpenter

6. A person whose job is to weave cloth or carpets is a _ _ _ _ .

Ans: weaver

13.3 LET US LEARN GRAMMAR

Exercise 1

1. Fill in the blanks in the following sentences with the present perfect form of the verbs given in brackets.

a. Meena _______(purchase) from Dastkar Bazaar a beautiful lamp shade to gift to her friend.

Ans: has purchased

b. I cannot accompany you because I ______ not______ (finish) my home work yet.

Ans: have (not) finished.

c. He ______ (give) me a beautiful pen.

Ans: has given

d. Saina Nehwal ___________ (bring) glory to India by her thrilling victory in the commonwealth games 2010.

Ans: has brought

e. The Prime Minister________ (announce) that the victims of the recent floods shall be given all the necessary help for their rehabilitation.

Ans: has announced

Exercise 2

1. Write a question against each sentence keeping in mind the underlined words. Choose the appropriate interrogative words below.

what, which, how much, where, who, why, when, how many

The first sentence is done as an example for you.

Statement: I have bought a new cane chair in the Defence Colony.

Question: Where have you bought this cane chair from?

a. Statement: Seema has brought a pair of jeans for you from Mumbai.

Question: ____________________________________________

Ans: What has Seema brought for you from Mumbai?

b. Statement: They have visited the Golden Temple in Amritsar four times.

Question: ______________________________________________

Ans: How many times have they visited the Golden Temple in Amritsar?

c. Statement: He has gone to Mumbai to study engineering.

Question: _______________________________________________

Ans: Where has he gone to study engineering?

d. Statement: Ramesh has given you a shirt for your birthday.

Question: ________________________________________________

Ans: Who has given you a shirt for your birthday?

e. Statement: My father has spent three hours in writing the story.

Question: ________________________________________________

Ans: How much money has your father given you for Diwali ?

Exercise 3

1. Read the following sentences and circle the ‘-ing’ words which are not main verbs.

a. When I went to see him he was reading the ‘Bhagvad Gita’.

Ans:

b. He likes reading detective stories.

Ans: Reading- object

c. Reading is a very good hobby.

Ans: Reading – subject

d. He starts meditating when he is under stress.

Ans: Smoking – object

e. We relaxed in the waiting room at the railway station when the train was late.

Ans: waiting – Describing word

2. Add ‘ing’ to the words given in the box and use them in the sentences given below.

travel, cross, work, prepare, read, play

a. They are ____________ seriously for their Board exams.

Ans: preparing

b. I like __________ by train.

Ans: travelling

c. He spends two hours _______ reading books.

Ans: watching

d. We should always look at left right and left _________ the road

Ans: crossing

e. The manager was not happy about the _________ conditions in his office.

Ans: working

f. He is good at _________cricket.

Ans: playing

Exercise 4

I. Some adverbs of manners are given in the box below. Select suitable adverbs from the box and complete the given sentences.

quickly, quietly, fast, angrily, easily, loudly, patiently, beautifully

1. I ran ________ to catch the bus.

Ans: fast

2. We could cross the road ________ as there was no traffic congestion at that time.

Ans: easily

3. The thief entered the bedroom _________ and stole the keys from under the pillow.

Ans: quietly

4. Mother asked Raju to finish his homework ________ if he wanted to go out to play.

Ans: quickly

5. The teacher said to Satish, “Speak______ so that all of us can hear you.”

Ans: loudly

6. The doctor listened to me _________ and said, “There is nothing seriously wrong, you’ll be alright if you take your medicine regularly.”

Ans: patiently

7. Geeta has decorated her children’s room very_________.

Ans: beautifully

8. He was frightened when his father spoke to him __________.

Ans: angrily

TERMINAL QUESTIONS

I. Read the following statement and write ‘true’, ‘false’ or ‘not sure’ against each one.

1. The old man was committed to his work.

Ans: True

2. Salim was an orphaned boy.

Ans: True

3. Salim lived with the old man in his room.

Ans: False

4. Gopal was an ambitious boy and wanted to earn more.

Ans: True

5. The old man fainted because of Gopal’s behaviour, not only physical exhaustion.

Ans: False

6. Gopal had requested Salim to look after his father during his absence.

Ans: False

7. The old man trained Salim in the art of carving.

Ans: False

II. Write your impression of the old stone mason as an artist in about 100 words.

Ans: Focus on love for his work, commitment, dedication, work is worship, money is not important for an artist.

III. Imagine you are the old stone mason. You are stunned to see Salim working on the statue. The sight makes you compare Salim with your son Gopal. Express your thoughts on how Salim is different from Gopal. Write your answer in 100 words.

Ans:

Gopal	Salim
lacks spirit of an artist	orphaned boy but more human and helpful
ambitious to earn money	feels concern for the old man’s health.
inconsiderate to parents	urge for learning
no a good sculpture	practises carving secretly
no dedication and commitment	no formal training in skills
towards his traditional work	humble and considerate, sense of responsibility