English

Chapter 14: Stealing And Atonement Textbook Solutions

NIOS Class 10 English Chapter 14 Question Answer

INTEXT QUESTIONS 14.1

1. Tick the correct answer.

a. Who did Gandhiji try to imitate as a child?

i his father

ii. his friend

iii. his servant

iv. his uncle

Ans: iv. his uncle

b. From where did Gandhiji first get money to smoke Indian cigarettes?

i. he earned it

ii. from his father

iii. he stole it

iv. from his friend

Ans: iii. he stole it

c. Why did he and his friend go to Ramji Mandir?

i. to pray

ii. to make an offering

iii. to ask for cigarettes

iv. to calm themselves

Ans: iv. to calm themselves

2. Why did their courage fail them when they wanted to swallow the dhatura seeds?

Ans: Their courage failed them because they feared they would not die instantly and also because they were not sure whether killing themselves would solve their problem.

3. When did Gandhiji give up the idea of smoking?

Ans: Gandhiji and his friend gave up the idea of smoking after they had given up the idea of suicide.

4. How did Gandhiji regard the habit of smoking when he grew up?

Ans: When he grew up he regarded smoking as barbarous, dirty and harmful.

LET US LEARN NEW WORDS 14.1

a. Write the opposites of the following words from the text using the prefixes ‘un-’ or ‘in’

auspicious, available, dependence, decided, effective

Ans: inauspicious, unavailable, independence, undecided, ineffective.

b. Make sentences with the new words you made by using prefixes.

Ans: Individual responses

INTEXT QUESTIONS 14.2

1. How much was Gandhiji’s brother’s debt?

Ans: Gandhiji’s brother had run into a debt of about twenty-five rupees.

2. Why did Gandhiji take out a bit of gold from the armlet?

Ans: Gandhiji took the bit of gold as he had a plan/idea to use it to clear his brother’s debt.

3. What do you think Gandhiji did with the bit of gold?

Ans: Gandhiji sold a bit of gold and used the money he got by selling it to clear his brother’s debt.

He gave away a bit of gold in exchange for ending his brother’s debt.

4. Why did Gandhiji decide to confess to his father?

Ans: Gandhiji felt disturbed and unhappy after he took the gold from his brother’s armlet. He realised he had done something wrong, but he felt this was not enough. He felt that a real and complete cleansing was possible only if he confessed.

5. Have you ever done something wrong to help someone close to you? How did you feel afterwards? Write about it in approximately 100 words.

Ans: Individual responses.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 14.3

Answer the following questions.

1. How did Gandhiji’s father react on reading his letter of confession?

Ans: Gandhiji’s father was overwhelmed and wept when he read his letter of confession.

2. Who taught Gandhiji the lesson on ‘Ahimsa’?

Ans: Gandhiji’s father taught him the lesson on ‘Ahimsa’.

3. ‘Ahimsa’ in the story means____________________________________________

Ans: In the story, ‘Ahimsa’ means to avoid causing pain, being violent and to bring about change in a peaceful and loving manner.

4. What according to Gandhiji is the purest type of repentance?

Ans: According to Gandhiji the purest type of repentance is a clean confession with a request for an adequate punishment for it, and a promise never to commit the wrong again.

14.3 LET US LEARN GRAMMAR

Exercise 1

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate form (present participle) of the words given in brackets:

a. ___________ dogs seldom bite. (bark)

Ans: barking

b. Detergents are ___________powders. (cleanse)

Ans: cleansing

c. Mala showed me her _______ doll. (dance)

Ans: dancing

d. The king wanted a __________bird. (sing)

Ans: singing

e. ______ beings need air, water and food. (live)

Ans: living

Exercise 2

Fill in the blanks using the suitable form of the verbs in brackets.

a. Please open the __________ (lock) cupboard.

Ans: locked

b. We should try to use _________ (recycle) products as they are eco-friendly.

Ans: recycled

c. It was a ___________ (plan) holiday.

Ans: planned

d. Kamla comforted the __________ (frighten) child.

Ans: frightened

e. Please submit the ________ (complete) assignments.

Ans: completed

TERMINAL QUESTIONS

1. Gandhiji and his friend smoked cigarette stubs and stalks of some plants. Do you think they were right in doing so? Give your opinion.

Ans: Gandhiji and his friend should not have smoked cigarette stubs because smoking is injurious to health.

2. Why did Gandhiji and his friend want to commit suicide? Do you think suicide is a solution to problems?

Ans: Gandhiji and his friend wanted to commit suicide as they felt unhappy that they needed permission from their elders to do anything. They wanted to be independent. They wanted to be able to act without taking permission from their elders. Committing suicide is definitely not a solution to any problem. We should rather face problems with courage.

3. Gandhiji took gold from his brother’s armlet. Do you think his action was correct or incorrect? Give reasons for your answer, in 20 – 30 words.

Ans: Gandhiji was wrong to have taken the gold from his brother’s armlet because he took it without telling his brother. This act was the same as stealing. Stealing is not justified, even if it is for a good cause.

4. Why did his father weep when he read Gandhiji’s confession?

Ans: Gandhiji’s father was angry and sad that his son had stolen something, but pleased that he had shown honesty and courage and confessed his wrongdoing.

5. You see your friend stealing. How will you deal with the situation? What will you say or do? Answer in 20 – 30 words.

Ans: Individual responses