SESSION 2024–25

CLASS – 10 ENGLISH HOLIDAY HOMEWORK

Dear Students
• Summer Vacation is the best and the most fruitful time for learning and
nurturing creativity. Keeping this objective in mind we have planned a small
worksheet that will enhance your knowledge and boost your creativity.
• “Knowledge is Power”. Therefore, read lots and lots of books to cultivate
the reading habit and develop your vocabulary, language skills, increase your
attention span and improve your spellings.
• “A healthy mind lives in a healthy body”. So play the sport of your choice
INDOORS. It will help to instil discipline, generate sporting spirits and channelize
your energies constructively.
• Get up early in the morning and see the rising sun. Do indoor exercises /
yoga and stay healthy and fit. Spend quality time with your elders and share your
thoughts and ideas with them.
• Eat healthy food and drink lots of water during summer.

WORKSHEETS FROM LITERATURE

TOPIC: THE THIEF’S STORY
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ruskin Bond is an eminent contemporary Indian writer of British descent.
He prolifically authored inspiring children’s books and was awarded the
Sahitya Akademi Award to honor his work of literature. Ruskin Bond (born
19 May 1934) is an Indian author . His first novel, The Room on the Roof,
was published in 1956, and it received the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize in
1957. Bond has authored more than 500 short stories, essays, and novels
which includes 69 books for children.
SUMMARY
The story is centred around a 15-year-old boy who is a small-time thief who
keeps on changing his name to conceal his identity and avoid being caught
by the police and his previous employers. He continues to execute small
robberies and trick people until he meets Anil. He introduces himself as
Hari Singh while Anil is watching a wrestling match. Hari Singh is
desperate to rob someone as he hasn’t tricked anyone for the past few
days. Anil seems an easy target for Hari Singh as Anil was a simple man.

Hari asks Anil whether he can employ him or not and Anil says that he
cannot employ him and pay him but he does assure that he can feed him if
he knows how to cook and to that Hari Singh lies that he knows how to
cook as he has an ardent desire to rob Anil.

Hari began his job that included making tea for Anil in the morning, buying
groceries, and cooking dinner. On his first day, he cooked tasteless and
bland food which Anil fed to the stray dogs instead of rebuking Hari. When
Hari used to go to buy groceries he used to keep the leftover balance
amount of 1 or 2 rupees with himself and Anil didn’t mind that as well.

This spoke volumes louder about the letting go attitude and easy-going
nature of Anil. Anil also taught Hari how to read, write and cook. Hari was
on cloud 9 because of it as he thought that now something great would
happen in his life. Anil didn’t have a stable source of income and his way of
earning was erratic and irregular as he would borrow money from someone
and lend it to the other person and when he earned a huge chunk of money
he would go and celebrate with his friends.

One day Anil came up with a huge amount of 600 rupees and that is the
moment for which Hari was waiting desperately and one night when Anil
was asleep, Hari stole 600 rupees and went to the nearest railway station
to board the train but his conscience pricked him and didn’t allow him to
proceed further and he came back. He knew no one in the town apart from
Anil whom he had robbed and hence, with no alternative he slept on a
bench in the park and at that time it was drizzling, so all the notes were
wet now.

In the morning he returned back to Anil’s home and slid the notes under
his pillow where they were earlier kept. Out of 600 rupees, Anil gave him 50
rupees and that note was wet which clearly implies that Anil had figured
out the misdemeanor of Hari but there wasn’t a strong reaction towards it.
Seeing the genuineness of Anil’s nature, Hari melted and decided to amend
his ways and start a new life afresh.

CHARACTERS
ANIL:
Anil was a kind , simple and easy-going man. He was tall and of lean
stature and interested in sports like wrestling. He was not a rich man and
could not afford to employ Hari and pay him. However he could feed him ,if
he would cook for him.
He had the patience and goodness to not only teach Hari to cook but also
to read, write and add numbers.Though he knew that Hari was stealing
little bits of money from him, he ignored this fact.
Anil was a writer and wrote for magazines and made money in fits and
starts. He was a very trusting person. Even when he earned a large amount
of money, he kept the money under his mattress and not under lock and
key.
He was generous and paid Hari when he got some money. Although he
could make out that Hari had tried to steal the money, yet he did not utter a
word. Through his forgiving nature, Hari was able to make amends in his
life.

HARI SINGH :
Hari was a 15 year old boy and a successful thief. He was clever and
intelligent. He carefully planned everything before choosing his victims. He
went to places where people would not suspect him and win their
confidence to get job.
After sometime he would run away stealing money from there. Thus he
used to change his name to fool the police and his former employers. He
was a liar. He was cruel enough to rob a simple man like Anil. He managed
to steal six hundred rupees from his house.
Later there is a transformation at the end of the story ,where he decides to
come back to Anil and keep his trust alive. He wanted to mend his ways
and become a clever and respected man and earn his livelihood honestly
without stealing.
I. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow.

Anil was watching a wrestling match when I approached him. He

was about 25 – a tall, lean fellow – and he looked easy-going, kind
and simple enough for my purpose. I hadn’t had much luck of late
and thought I might be able to get into the young man’s
confidence.
“You look a bit of a wrestler yourself,” Isaid. A little flattery helps in
making friends.

1. According to the extract, the young boy was watching the

wrestling match because he
a. had been invited there by the wrestlers.
b. was supposed to meet someone there.
c. was looking for simple people to dupe.
d. loved wrestling and followed it very closely.

2. ‘I hadn’t had much luck of late’ means that the boy hadn’t
a. ever conned people successfully.
b. been successful in duping people lately.
c. understood the consequences of thievery till date
d. considered the role of fate in deceiving others.

3. Anil looked easy-going, kind and simple to the narrator. Which

of the given characteristics would not fit in with this
description?
a. compassionate
b. suave
c. uncomplicated
d. carefree

II. Answer the following MCQs by choosing the correct option.

1. What did Anil promise Hari to teach?

 a. write his name
b. cook
c. write full sentences
d. all of the above.

2. How was the meal cooked by Hari on the first night?

a. delicious
b. mouth watering
c. finger-licking
d. terrible

3. Anil lived in a room in a shop named

a. Jumna sweet shop
b. Ganesh sweet shop
c. Ganga sweet shop
d. Shah sweet shop

III. Answer the following questions in 30-40 words.

1. What was the thief’s reaction when he took Anil’s money?

2. Why did Hari Singh decide to come back to Anil?

IV. Answer the following question in 100-120 words.

1. ‘A thief in Hari Singh changed into a good human being.’ How

far was Anil’s considerate nature responsible for this
transformation?

A TIGER IN THE ZOO- BY LESLIE NORRIS

INTRODUCTION :
The poem written by Leslie Norris explains the agony and
helplessness of a caged tiger that lives in a zoo. The poet explains
what his life could be if he had been a free animal. The poet has
tried to explain the condition of animals that are caged by human
beings for their own fun.
SUMMARY :
The poem begins with a description of a tiger that is very beautiful
and is walking in his little cage. He has beautiful stripes on his skin
and has velvet like soft paws. But the tiger is not happy and is quite
angry about being confined in the cage. The poet says that if the
tiger was not confined to the zoo cage, he would have been hiding
himself behind the long grass near some water body, in order to
catch its prey that is the deer. Also he would have terrorized the
residents of the villages around the forest area. But the reality is
totally opposite to this. He was confined in a cage which was made
up of strong building material and he was helpless there. He could
not show his power to the visitors, therefore, never tried to terrorize
them. The tiger is described as being powerless and agonized. The
poet says that during night also he is alone, hearing the voice of the
patrolling vehicles of police and looking at the stars. The cage life
has changed the tiger’s personality totally. The poet is trying to say
that the animal which is known for its fearlessness and freedom, is
confined and sad due to the human beings who want to derive
pleasure by looking at him in the zoo cage.

LITERARY DEVICES:
1. PERSONIFICATION: The tiger is personified, as the poet refers to
him as ‘he’.
2.METAPHOR : Tiger’s paws are compared with velvet. (pads of
velvet)
3. IMAGERY : Poet tries to create an image of the tiger. (he stalks in
his vivid stripes. The few steps of his cage)
4. OXYMORON : ‘ quiet rage ‘ (juxtaposed words)
5. ASSONANCE : use of ‘ i ‘ sound (vowel) in series. (WiTH HiS
BRiLLiANT)
6. ONOMATOPOEIA : use of words which denote sound. (snarling)
7. ALLITERATION : use of consonant sound at the start of two or
more words. (Plump Pass) P sound
 (Behind Bars) B sound
(He Hears) H sound

1. Answer with reference to the context by choosing the

correct option.
He stalks in his vivid stripes
The few steps of his cage,
On pads of velvet quiet,
In his quiet rage.
A. Who is ‘he’ in the above lines?
a. the poet b. the tiger
c. the zoo keeper d. the deer
B. The tiger is seen in a quiet rage because
a. he is confined to a small cage
b. he is hungry
c. he is asked to move a few steps in the cage
d. he is missing his family members.
C. What figure of speech is used in the fourth line of the above
stanza?
a. personification b. metaphor
c. assonance d. oxymoron
2. Answer the following:
a. What message does the poet want to convey through the poem?
(30-40 words)
b. How does the poet contrast the tiger in the cage with the tiger in
its natural habitat? (80-100 words)
3. Answer the following in 100-120 words.
a. When there is a natural habitat for tigers and other wild animals,
is it justified for humans to shift them from there to other
locations? Justify.