A Day in the Country

 Reading 1 (Page 44 and 45)

On the basis of your understanding of the text, answer the following questions.

a. Why was Fyokla looking for Terenty?

i. The weather has changed.

ii. She was scared of the storm.

iii. Her brother had an accident.

iv. all of the above.

b. Why did the little girl came looking for Terenty?

i.. He knows a lot about nature.

ii. He was tall and sturdy.

iii. He could run very fast.

iv. He was kind and helpful.

2. What was the effect of the change of weather on the following?

a. the sky: The sky became dark with clouds. There was lightning. There was a rumbling sound faraway.

b. the grass and trees: The grass was moving as the wind blew playfully. The wind forced the trees to bend.

c. the people of the village: The people of the village became busy as the rain was coming. They took shelter in their huts.

3. What happened to Danilka? What caused the accident? How did Terenty help him?

Danilka had an accident. His hand had stuck in a hole in a tree trunk. Terenty had snapped off the broken piece of the tree trunk which obstructed Danilka’s hand.

4. What had Terenty learnt about Ants and Bees?

Terenty had learned that the downpour had damaged the ant heap and the ants had learned not to settle on low grounds another time. He also learned that the swarm of bees had settled on a branch of a tree as the rain started while they were flying looking for a home.

5. Danilka looks at Terenty and greedily drinks in every word.

a. What is Danilka’s mood here?

Danilka was very curious to know everything about nature.

b. Where were they?

They were walking about the fields and talking about nature.

c. What was Terenty telling him?

Terenty was telling Danilka about thunders ants, bees Spanish flies healing herbs stream engine and answers all his questions.

6. Describe the change in Fyokla’s mood in the story.

In the beginning of the story she was worried about the safety of her brother Danilka. He had an accident. She searched for Terenty. She felt relieved when she saw him and requested him to help her brother Danilka. The man and the boy started moving around fields and talking about nature. She was bored as the two did most of the talking. She followed them. She was tired and slept peacefully on the straw in the community barn.

7. The story reflects Terenty’s love for the children. Give three reasons to prove this.

The story shows Terenty’s love for the children. Here are the three reasons to prove this point. 1. Terenty talks with Fyokla tenderly and agrees to help her brother. 2. He answers all the questions asked by Danilka and patiently tells him about nature. 3. He leaves bread secretly under the children’s heads while they were sleeping on the straw in the community barn.

8. The children were impoverished but joyful. Justify this statement.

It is clear that the children were impoverished as Terenty secretly leaves bread under their heads while they were sleeping. But they were joyful because they could move freely in the countryside enjoying all the natural wonders. They had people like Terenty to protect them and teach them about nature.

Reading 2

1. Describe the setting of this 20th century Russian village.

This 20th century Russian village was surrounded by fields and woods. It had a river running by. The villagers knew many things about nature. There was a railway track nearby the village. The villagers used to store their crops in the community barn. There was a church in the village.

2. Terenty was unschooled but nature had been his greatest teacher. What lessons had Terenty learnt from nature?

Though Terenty was unschooled he learned that we should not settle in low ground. If we want to make a bee to be still, we have to sprinkle some water. He knew about the power of steam. He knew the names of wild flowers animals and stones. He knew the herbs that cure people.