Q1.
Write the opposite of the following word taken from the poem: 1. up x _____________
Answer
up × down
Both appear in the poem: “Up, up it ran” and “He flung himself down in low despair.”
NCERT Solutions Poorvi Chapter 1 –24Try Again (Eliza Cook) — Let us learn
Book page 22 Updated on2026-09-05
Q2.
Write the opposite: 2. fast x _____________
Answer
fast × slow
The poem itself puts the pair together: “Till up and down, now fast, now slow, / Nine brave attempts were counted.”
Q3.
Write the opposite: 3. glad x _____________
Answer
glad × sad
Both are in the second stanza: “To make his people glad… And so he became quite sad.”
Q4.
Write the opposite: 4. win x _____________
Answer
win × lose
The poet uses them side by side: “Oh say, will he lose or win it?”
Q5.
Write the opposite: 5. succeed x _____________
Answer
succeed × fail
Again both are in the poem: “He had tried and tried, but couldn't succeed” and, at the end, “that time did not fail.”
Tip: Notice that Eliza Cook builds the whole poem out of opposites — up/down, fast/slow, glad/sad, lose/win, succeed/fail. That is how a poem about struggle keeps its balance.
Q6.
Choose the correct meaning of the underlined word from the box given below and frame a sentence of your own. Box: 1. work very hard and/or for a long time; 2. prepared themselves for something difficult; 3. an attempt to do something new or difficult; 4. to try very hard to achieve something. — (i) Please make every endeavour to arrive on time.
Answer
endeavour = 3. an attempt to do something new or difficult
“Make every endeavour” means “make every possible attempt”. In the poem: “It soon began to cling and crawl / Straight up with strong endeavour.”
Your own sentence: Our class made a real endeavour to plant a hundred saplings before the monsoon.
Q7.
Choose the correct meaning of the underlined word: (ii) Ants toil tirelessly to save food for rainy season.
Answer
toil = 1. work very hard and/or for a long time
In the poem: “When it toils so hard to reach and cling, / And tumbles every time.”
Your own sentence: The farmers of our village toil from dawn to dusk during the harvest.
Q8.
Choose the correct meaning of the underlined word: (iii) We encourage all students to strive to do their best.
Answer
strive = 4. to try very hard to achieve something
In the poem: “‘Sure,' cried the King, ‘that foolish thing / Will strive no more to climb.'”
Your own sentence: She strives to improve her handwriting a little every day.
Q9.
Choose the correct meaning of the underlined word: (iv) The sailors braced themselves against the strong wind.
Answer
braced = 2. prepared themselves for something difficult
In the poem: “And Bruce of Scotland braced his mind” — that is, he steadied and prepared his mind for one more attempt.
Your own sentence: We braced ourselves for the long climb up to the temple.
Q10.
The poem uses words that show distance. For example: a long way up, inch by inch, higher and higher, half-yard higher. Classify the words or phrases in the box given below based on the distance (far or near) and write in the space provided. You may take the help of a dictionary. Box: proximity, middle of nowhere, vicinity, adjacent, remoteness, yonder, afar, a stone's throw, light year, hairline, farther.
Answer
| Far | Near |
|---|---|
| middle of nowhere | proximity |
| remoteness | vicinity |
| yonder | adjacent |
| afar | a stone's throw |
| light year | hairline |
| farther |
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| proximity | nearness; the state of being close by |
| middle of nowhere | a place far away from any town or village |
| vicinity | the area near or surrounding a place |
| adjacent | next to, adjoining |
| remoteness | the state of being far away and hard to reach |
| yonder | over there, at a distance but within sight |
| afar | from or at a great distance |
| a stone's throw | a very short distance away |
| light year | the distance light travels in a year — an enormous distance |
| hairline | extremely narrow; a gap as thin as a hair |
| farther | at or to a greater distance |
Tip: ‘Yonder' can feel like a middle case — the thing is at a distance but still visible. Put it under Far, because the word always points away from the speaker.
Q11.
Read the following line from the poem: ‘Twas a delicate thread it had to tread. Now repeat the line five to six times. Are you able to say it clearly? Create more tongue twisters of your own.
Answer
The line is hard to repeat because “thread” and “tread” differ by only one sound — /θr/ against /tr/ — and the mouth keeps slipping from one to the other. Say it slowly first, exaggerating the th, then speed up.
Why it happens: A tongue twister works by placing two sounds made in almost the same place in the mouth very close together. Your tongue has to switch position faster than it comfortably can, so it substitutes one sound for the other.
Tongue twisters of your own — build them on pairs like th/t, s/sh, b/p, r/l:
- Three thin threads on a thick tin tray.
- Six shy spiders spun sixty silken strings.
- Bruce's brave brown spider braced and bravely climbed.
- The rural jeweller's really lovely yellow lorry.
- Kaka kaki ko kekada khilata hai.