Two Memorable Speeches
Prose Lesson :
the common man, to the peasants and workers of India,
to fight and end poverty and ignorance and disease;
to build up a prosperous, democratic and progressive
nation, and to create social, economic and political
institutions which will ensure justice and fullness of life
to every man and woman.
“We have hard work ahead. There is no resting for one
of us till we redeem our pledge in full, till we make all
the people of India what destiny intended them to be.
We are citizens of a great country, on the verge of bold
advance, and we have to live up to that high standard ...”
New Words / Phrases and their Use
1. tryst (a secret meeting) – This park has become a place for lovers to make
a tryst.
2. redeem (fulfil) – It you make a promise, you must redeem it.
3. pledge (a serious promise) – He took a pledge not to touch wine in future.
4. slumber (sleep) – She was in deep slumber when a thief entered her room.
5. vital (important) – Heart is a vital organ of the human body.
6. cherished (loved deeply) – The most cherished possession of parents are their
children.
7. beckon (to give a signal) – He beckoned to the waiter to bring the bill.
8. ignorant (lacking knowledge) – He is still ignorant about our plan.
9. prosperous (rich and successful) – We can’t as yet call India a prosperous nation.
10. verge (edge) – The old man was on the verge of death.
11. endeavour (effort) – It will be my endeavour to save him from any big loss.
12. advance (progress) – India has made great advances in the field of industry and agriculture.
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One of the best speeches by any Indian ever is the one made by
Swami Vivekananda. He made this speech in 1893. The occasion was the World Parliament of Religions at Chicago (USA). He began his speech like this :
“Brothers and sisters of America,
We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept
all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which
has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions
and all nations of the earth. I fervently hope, that the bell
that tolled this morning in honour of this convention may
be the death knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions with
the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings
between persons wending their way to the same goal ...”
On the concluding day, he said :
“The Parliament of Religions has proved that holiness, purity
and charity are not the exclusive possessions of any church
in the world .... if anybody dreams of an exclusive survival
of his own religion ... I pity him from the bottom of my
heart ...”
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New Words / Phrases and their Use
1. universal (relating to all people) – Love is a universal feeling of the human
heart.
2. toleration (the quality of respecting different views) – We should all believe
in religious toleration.
3. persecuted (treated cruelly) – The Nazis persecuted the Jews.
4. refugees (those coming from a different land to seek shelter) – India has given
shelter to refugees from Bangladesh.
5. fanaticism (extreme faith) – Fanaticism never does anyone any good.
6. fervently (strongly, forcefully) – I fervently hope that he will overcome his
difficulties.
7. exclusive (of very high quality) – This shop sells exclusive designer clothes.
8. convention (a very large meeting) – Publishers from all over India are
holding a convention next month.
Textual Comprehension
I. Who said these words and on what occasion?
1. The future beckons us.
2. We accept all religions as true.
3. Brothers and sisters of America.
4. We are citizens of a great country.
5. It is a fateful moment for us in India.
6. I pity him from the bottom of my heart.
II. Answer the following questions in your own words:
1. When did Nehru address the nation and where?
2. What appointed day does Nehru talk of?
3. What does Nehru refer to as ‘a long slumber’?
4. Nehru says, “May the star never set.” Which star?
5. What does Nehru say ‘shall be our endeavour’?
6. Why did Swami Vivekananda go to Chicago in 1893?
7. How did Swami Vivekananda begin his speech?
8. What did the Swami say he was proud of?
9. What did he want to end from the the earth?
10. What did he say the Parliament of Religions had proved?
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III. Choose suitable words from the box to complete each sentence:
1. India shall wake to freedom
2. Nobody should dream of an
3. India stands forth again after
4. The time has now come for us to
5. Holiness, purity and charity are not the
6. We believe not only in universal toleration
7. Our endeavour shall be to ensure justice and
8. We have sheltered the persecuted and refugees
• redeem our pledges.
• at the stroke of midnight.
• a long slumber and struggle.
• but we accept all religions as true.
• exclusive survival of his own religion.
• fullness of life to every man and woman.
• of all religions and all nations of the world.
• exclusive possessions of any church in the world.
Vocabulary Enrichment
I. Match the words in column ‘A’ with their opposites in column ‘B’:
A B
awake top
purity rare
bottom noon
survival death
freedom asleep
common slavery
midnight pollution
ignorance prosperity
backwardness knowledge
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II. There is something wrong with each spelling. Can you put it right?
1. destny
2. strugle
3. sirvival
4. apointed
5. holyness
6. endevour
7. oportunity
8. indpendent
III. Use each pair of words in sentences of your own to show the
difference in their meanings:
1. made:
Maid:
2. way :
Weigh:
3. one :
won :
4. accept :
except :
Grammar in Use
I. Choose a suitable particle for each blank:
in on to of off into for with
A Particle is a preposition or an adverb that can combine with a verb.
1. I am not used such cold weather.
2. We went to the airport to see him.
3. What are you going to the market?
4. It looks nice, but what do you eat it?
5. He left early, complaining a headache.
6. I can’t get these shoes – they are too small.
7. He is not the sort of person we can count.
8. She looks on her elderly neighbour every evening.
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II. Fill in the blanks with suitable linking words:
who what which where why how
1. Ask him to put this box.
2. He told me book to buy.
3. I don’t know that man is.
4. He has forgotten her name is.
5. Do you know to make coffee?
6. I can’t understand you are so angry.
III. Write questions to which the words in italics are the answers:
1. Misha drinks milk in the morning.
What
2. We buy stationery from this shop.
What
3. I reach school at 9 a.m.
When
4. She visited us during the holidays.
When
5. I got late because the train was late.
Why
6. We dislike him because he is dishonest.
Why
7. He became rich by working hard.
How
8. A man becomes happy by helping others.
How
9. He wants to sell his old house.
Which house
10. She wanted the room on the first floor.
Which room
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Pronunciation Practice
A syllable is a phonic unit into which a word can be divided.
A word can have one or more syllables.
For example, the word child has one syllable and the word
children has two syllables.
Each syllable has a vowel sound and one or more consonants.
Rule : If a one-syllable word has two vowels, the first vowel usually
has a long sound, and the second vowel is silent. And if the first
vowel is ‘a’, in that case the word has the long ‘a’ sound; as ––
Tick all the words having a long vowel sound:
1. mail maze make man ban brain rake rail
2. stay stamp stray spray trade trail train tray
3. sail say sad safe cape lame case can
4. plant plate plane pain ray raft rain cane
5. tape tap slate trap may mane train man
Composition Writing
I. Write a short paragraph on any well-known personality of your country.
Your person can be ––
a poet a painter a social worker
a singer a novelist a film producer
an actor a musician a religious teacher
II. Think of some important days and dates and also say what they are known
for; as ––
1. 14 November 1889
2. 26 January 1950
3.
4.
5.
6.
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s birthday
The Republic Day of India
