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NCERT Solutions Poorvi Chapter 2 Verghese Kurien — Let us learn

Book page 88 to 92 Updated on2026-09-05

Q1.
Replace the underlined words in each sentence with the correct synonym from the box. You may refer to a dictionary. (essential, swift, lifelong, momentary, useful, splendid) 1. He received the award in a magnificent ceremony.
Answer

splendid

He received the award in a splendid ceremony.
Why: magnificent means grand and impressive to look at. Splendid carries the same idea of brightness and grandeur — it comes from the Latin splendere, to shine. None of the other five words in the box describes appearance.
Q2.
2. I felt a fleeting joy when I received the appreciation for my song.
Answer

momentary

I felt a momentary joy when I received the appreciation for my song.
Why: fleeting comes from flee — something that runs away almost as soon as it arrives. Momentary means lasting only a moment, which is the same idea measured in time. This is the exact word Dr. Kurien uses of a telephone call.
Q3.
3. With today's instant communication, we can share information across the world in seconds.
Answer

swift

With today's swift communication, we can share information across the world in seconds.
Why: instant and swift both describe great speed. The rest of the sentence — “in seconds” — confirms that speed is what is being described.
Careful: the two are close but not identical. Instant means with no delay at all; swift means very fast. Of the six words offered, swift is the only one about speed, so it is the answer here.
Q4.
4. Our school focuses on the core values—collaboration, innovation, and unity.
Answer

essential

Our school focuses on the essential values—collaboration, innovation, and unity.
Why: the core of anything is its centre — the part without which the rest cannot exist. Essential says the same thing in the language of necessity: what is of the essence, what cannot be left out.
Q5.
5. My teacher's advice on time management is a valuable reminder of the importance of planning.
Answer

useful

My teacher's advice on time management is a useful reminder of the importance of planning.
Why: valuable here does not mean expensive — advice has no price. It means worth having because it does you good, and that is useful. The context (advice, a reminder, planning) rules out any money sense of the word.
Q6.
6. Reading books and listening to music can give abiding pleasure that will last forever.
Answer

lifelong

Reading books and listening to music can give lifelong pleasure that will last forever.
Why: abide means to stay or remain, so abiding pleasure is pleasure that stays. The phrase “that will last forever” at the end of the sentence tells you the word must be about duration, and lifelong is the only such word left in the box.
Notice the pair the exercise has built: fleeting → momentary in question 2 and abiding → lifelong here. Those are the two poles of Dr. Kurien's whole argument about the telephone and the letter, and the exercise is quietly making you handle both.
Q7.
Match the expressions from the text in Column 1 with their meanings in Column 2. Column 1: 1. in all humility 2. hold their heads high 3. to be quite honest 4. to the best of your ability 5. looked at in awe 6. somewhere deep down. Column 2: (i) to speak in a truthful way (ii) doing something using all your skills, talents, and knowledge (iii) observed with great respect and wonder (iv) being humble and having no feeling of self-importance (v) in the innermost part of the self (vi) be confident and have a positive feeling
Answer
ExpressionMeaningWhere it occurs in the letter
1. in all humility(iv) being humble and having no feeling of self-importance“It was then that I realised, in humility, that choosing to lead one kind of life means putting aside…”
2. hold their heads high(vi) be confident and have a positive feeling“a nation where our people would not only hold their heads high in freedom…”
3. to be quite honest(i) to speak in a truthful way“To be quite honest, service to our nation's farmers was not the career I had envisioned…”
4. to the best of your ability(ii) doing something using all your skills, talents, and knowledge“always use your talents to the best of your ability…”
5. looked at in awe(iii) observed with great respect and wonder“you slipped the medal around your neck, looked at it in awe…”
6. somewhere deep down(v) in the innermost part of the self“because somewhere, deep down, I knew I could make a more meaningful contribution…”
The pair students most often reverse is 1 and 2. Both use the body — a bowed head and a raised head. But they are not opposites of each other: in all humility is about not overrating yourself, while hold their heads high is about self-respect and dignity. A person can, and should, be both at once — which is precisely the combination Dr. Kurien describes in himself.
Word note: awe is not the same as fear or as admiration. It is the feeling of being small in front of something great — which is exactly what a child feels holding a medal he did not earn.
Q8.
Make as many words as you can out of the following words. One example has been done for you. 1. community — city, toy, tune, unity, mutiny, cot. 2. important
Answer

important → i, m, p, o, r, t, a, n, t

3 letters4 letters5 letters and more
ant, art, rat, tap, tan, pot, top, rot, map, arm, pan, opt, ramport, part, tram, ramp, atom, trap, riot, into, pint, rain, main, torn, ironpaint, print, point, trait, ratio, minor, prima, import, matron, patron
A method that beats random guessing: take one letter as a fixed beginning and run through the rest. Start with p: pot, pan, part, port, paint, print, point, patron. Then t: tan, tap, top, trap, tram, trait. Working alphabetically finds twice as many words in half the time.
One rule to remember: you may use a letter only as many times as it appears. Important has two ts, so trait is allowed — but only one r, so portrait is not.
Q9.
3. magnificent
Answer

magnificent → m, a, g, n, i, f, i, c, e, n, t

3 letters4 letters5 letters and more
man, gem, ice, fan, tin, net, cat, act, fig, ant, age, canface, mice, mint, gain, magi, cane, mane, fine, name, item, nice, tame, centmagic, giant, magnet, action, manic, facing, cement, finance, imagine
Note: magnificent has two is and two ns, which is what allows longer words such as finance and imagine. Always count the repeated letters first — they are where the long words come from.
Q10.
4. satisfied
Answer

satisfied → s, a, t, i, s, f, i, e, d

3 letters4 letters5 letters and more
sat, sit, aid, ate, tie, fit, sad, ads, its, die, eat, teasaid, side, safe, seat, east, fast, fist, diet, date, fate, fade, aids, tiesfades, deist, staid, tidies, sifted, fiesta, satisfy (with a y)
Look for the vowels first. Satisfied gives you a, i, i, e — four vowels out of nine letters, which is unusually generous. Words with many vowels (aids, diet, fiesta) come easily from such a word, while consonant-heavy words do not.
Q11.
5. generation
Answer

generation → g, e, n, e, r, a, t, i, o, n

3 letters4 letters5 letters and more
age, ant, art, ear, eat, era, net, one, ore, rat, ten, tin, ton, iongate, gear, gone, grin, iron, near, note, rain, rate, tear, tone, tore, tornanger, grate, great, green, range, train, ration, nation, region, orange, integer
Two words worth noticing: nation and generation share almost all their letters — which is a happy accident for a chapter in which one man writes to the next generation about the nation. Green is possible because there are two es.
Q12.
6. achievement
Answer

achievement → a, c, h, i, e, v, e, m, e, n, t

3 letters4 letters5 letters and more
ace, act, ate, cat, eat, hat, hen, ice, men, net, ten, the, vet, vancave, chat, chin, chime, each, have, heat, hive, item, mice, mint, teach, then, time, vaincheat, teach, chime, event, cement, machine, achieve, vehicle (no second l — not allowed)
Three es make this word generous. That is what allows event, cement and achieve itself. Note the last entry in the table: vehicle looks tempting but needs an l, which achievement does not contain — always check every letter before you write a word down.
Q13.
Let us play a word game—antakshari. 1. Write the synonym of the word according to the clues given below. 2. For example, the synonym of the first word, ‘IMPORTANT’ ends with the letter ‘T’. The synonym of the second word begins with ‘T’, ‘TROUBLE’. Then write the synonym of the third word starting with the letter ‘E’. 3. Now, continue with the word game. Clues: (i) major (synonym) (ii) problem (synonym) (iii) uneven (antonym) (iv) related to post office (v) our moral duty (vi) related to time (vii) prosperous (synonym) (viii) related to being alive
Answer

The eight words run on continuously through the grid, each one beginning with the last letter of the one before it.

#ClueWordLettersStarts with
(i)major (synonym)IMPORTANT9— (given)
(ii)problem (synonym)TROUBLE7T (given)
(iii)uneven (antonym)EQUAL5E
(iv)related to post officeLETTER6L
(v)our moral dutyRESPONSIBILITY14R
(vi)related to timeYEARS5Y
(vii)prosperous (synonym)SUCCESSFUL10S
(viii)related to being aliveLIFE4L
How the printed grid confirms every answer. The grid has three rows of eighteen boxes, and the words overlap by one letter, as IMPORTANTROUBLE does in the first row. Counting boxes: the L printed at the start of row 2 is the last letter of EQUAL; the R in box 6 of row 2 is the last letter of LETTER; the Y at the start of row 3 is the last letter of RESPONSIBILITY; the S in box 5 of row 3 closes YEARS; and the E near the end of row 3 closes LIFE. Every printed letter lands exactly where these eight words put it.
Strategy for a puzzle like this: use the printed letters as length checks. Once you know a word must be fourteen letters long, must start with R and must mean “our moral duty”, only one word will do — and RESPONSIBILITY unlocks everything after it.
Q14.
Study the highlighted punctuation marks in the following sentences from the text. The highlighted punctuation is a long dash that can be used to link words or numbers or to create a pause in a sentence. There are two main types: the shorter en dash (–) and the longer em dash (—). Read the sentences below and insert either an em dash (—) or an en dash (–) suitably. (i) The conference will be held from March 15 March 20.
Answer

En dash (–): The conference will be held from March 15–March 20.

Why an en dash: the two dates mark the two ends of a span, and a span of numbers or dates is precisely what the en dash is for — “the train operates June–September”, “refer to pages 50–75”.
Better still, if you were writing this yourself: either “from March 15 to March 20” or “March 15–20”. Careful writers do not use from and a dash together, because the dash already means “to”. The exercise, however, is drilling the dash, so insert it as shown.
Q15.
(ii) I have lived in Kanpur Raipur for five years now.
Answer

En dash (–): I have lived in Kanpur–Raipur for five years now.

Why an en dash: besides ranges of numbers, the en dash joins two places that form a pair or a route — the Kanpur–Raipur line, the Delhi–Mumbai corridor. Compare sentence (vi) in the same exercise, “the train journey from Belagavi–Bengaluru”, which uses it for exactly this purpose.
A fair observation: this sentence reads oddly, because one does not usually live in a route. It makes sense if the writer means the Kanpur–Raipur area, or has divided the five years between the two cities. Recognising when a drill sentence is awkward is part of reading well.
Q16.
(iii) The artist known for her vibrant paintings will be showcasing her work in Guwahati.
Answer

Em dashes (—), a pair of them: The artist—known for her vibrant paintings—will be showcasing her work in Guwahati.

Why a pair: “known for her vibrant paintings” is extra information dropped into the middle of the sentence. Remove it and the sentence still stands: “The artist will be showcasing her work in Guwahati.” Whenever extra material is inserted inside a sentence, it needs a dash on both sides, exactly as Dr. Kurien writes “Writing—even if it is a letter—not only conveys…”.
Alternatives: commas or brackets would also work here. Dashes give the strongest break and the most emphasis; brackets give the weakest.
Q17.
(iv) The scores for the final match were 2 3.
Answer

En dash (–): The scores for the final match were 2–3.

Why: the en dash is used to show scores, as the book's own explanation says — “India won the series 2–1”. Here it separates the two teams' scores. No spaces on either side.
Q18.
(v) My favourite snacks samosas, pakoras, and jalebis are all from India.
Answer

Em dashes (—), a pair: My favourite snacks—samosas, pakoras, and jalebis—are all from India.

Why dashes rather than commas here: the inserted list already contains commas of its own. If you used commas to fence it off as well, the reader could not tell which comma was doing which job. Dashes make the boundaries unmistakable — a genuinely useful rule, not a decorative one.
Q19.
(vi) The train journey from Belagavi Bengaluru takes less than ten hours.
Answer

En dash (–): The train journey from Belagavi–Bengaluru takes less than ten hours.

Why: the two cities are the two ends of a route, and the en dash is the mark for “from one point to another”. As in (i), a careful writer would prefer “from Belagavi to Bengaluru”, since from and the dash are doing the same work twice.
Q20.
(vii) I just finished reading the book it was absolutely amazing!
Answer

Em dash (—), a single one: I just finished reading the book—it was absolutely amazing!

Why one and not two: the extra material comes at the end of the sentence, not in the middle, so there is nothing after it to close off. A single em dash here creates a pause and then a burst — which is exactly the effect an excited speaker produces. Compare the book's example: “I bumped into someone unexpected—my old teacher.”
Q21.
(viii) The event will take place on September 1 September 5.
Answer

En dash (–): The event will take place on September 1–September 5.

Why: a range of dates, exactly like sentence (i). Written more neatly it would be “September 1–5” or “from 1 to 5 September”.
Summary of the whole exercise: the en dash (shorter) joins two endpoints — dates, numbers, scores, places. The em dash (longer) marks a break in thought — one at the end of a sentence, a pair in the middle. Learn the two jobs, and you will never have to guess.
Q22.
Study the highlighted words in the following sentences from the text. In the given sentences, ‘yours’ and ‘theirs’ indicate possession—something belonging to you and them, respectively. But, ‘it's’ does not indicate possession rather is the contracted form of ‘it is’. Fill in the blanks by choosing the correct word from the options given in the brackets. (i) Please remember to bring ___________ (your/you're) assignment book.
Answer

your

Please remember to bring your assignment book.
Why — and the test that always works: expand the contraction and read the sentence again. “Please remember to bring you are assignment book” is nonsense, so it cannot be you're. What is needed is the possessive your — the book belongs to you.
Q23.
(ii) The team celebrated ___________ (their/they're) victory after the match.
Answer

their

The team celebrated their victory after the match.
Why: expand it — “celebrated they are victory” is impossible. The victory belongs to the team, so the possessive their is needed.
Remember the third member of this family: there, which refers to a place — “Put it over there.” Three words, one sound, three different jobs.
Q24.
(iii) ___________ (its/it's) important to stay hydrated during the hot summer days.
Answer

It's

It's important to stay hydrated during the hot summer days.
Why: expand it — “It is important to stay hydrated” reads perfectly, so the contraction it's is right. The apostrophe here marks a missing letter (the i of is), not possession.
The exception worth memorising: its is the one possessive that takes no apostrophe — because the apostrophe has already been reserved for the contraction. This single rule accounts for most of the its/it's mistakes in English.
Q25.
(iv) I can't believe ___________ (your/you're) going to the mango festival today.
Answer

you're

I can't believe you're going to the mango festival today.
Why: expand it — “I can't believe you are going to the mango festival” is correct English. Nothing here belongs to anyone, so the possessive your would be wrong. Notice the clue: the word after the blank is a verb (going), and a possessive must be followed by a noun.
Q26.
(v) The students said ___________ (they're/their) excited for the field trip tomorrow.
Answer

they're

The students said they're excited for the field trip tomorrow.
Why: expand it — “the students said they are excited”. The word after the blank is the adjective excited, describing the students themselves, not something they own.
Q27.
(vi) The tree lost ___________ (its/it's) leaves in the winter.
Answer

its

The tree lost its leaves in the winter.
Why: expand it — “the tree lost it is leaves” is nonsense. The leaves belong to the tree, so the possessive its is right, and it takes no apostrophe.
One test for all six questions: replace the blank with the expanded form (you are, they are, it is). If the sentence still makes sense, use the apostrophe form. If it does not, use the possessive. You never need to remember anything else.
Q28.
Read the following phrases from the text: In today's fast-paced world; On the telephone; With great, abiding pleasure; In the chapters that follow; At a certain time; With equal respect and love. The given phrases are Prepositional Phrases. Prepositional phrases are groups of words that begin with a preposition and include a noun or pronoun as the object of the preposition. These phrases provide additional information about time, place, manner, cause, direction, or relationship. Now, complete the following sentences with suitable prepositional phrases. (i) The children played happily in ___________________________.
Answer

The children played happily in the park behind our school.

What makes it a prepositional phrase: it begins with the preposition in and ends with a noun — the park — which is the object of that preposition. Here the phrase tells us where, so it is a phrase of place.
Other good completions: “…in the courtyard after the rain”, “…in the shade of the old banyan tree”, “…in the lane outside their houses”. Add a second detail, as these do, and the sentence becomes a picture rather than a fill-in-the-blank.
Q29.
(ii) Nisha placed the vase on ___________________________.
Answer

Nisha placed the vase on the wooden table near the window.

Why on and not in: the preposition is already fixed by the sentence, and on means resting upon a surface. So the noun that follows must be something with a surface — a table, a shelf, a windowsill — not an enclosed space.
Q30.
(iii) We discussed the project in ___________________________.
Answer

We discussed the project in the school library after the lunch break.

Note that in can do two jobs. It can mark a place (“in the library”) or a time (“in the evening”) or even a manner (“in great detail”). All three would complete this sentence correctly — which is a useful reminder that the same preposition changes meaning with its object.
Q31.
(iv) Preethi found the lost book under ___________________________.
Answer

Preethi found the lost book under a pile of old newspapers in the storeroom.

Why under suits a “lost” book: the preposition tells the reader why the book was not found earlier — it was beneath something. A good prepositional phrase does more than fill a gap; it explains.
Q32.
(v) The cat slept on ___________________________.
Answer

The cat slept on the warm windowsill in the afternoon sun.

Two phrases, not one. This answer contains on the warm windowsill (place) and in the afternoon sun (place again, adding warmth and time of day). English happily stacks prepositional phrases one after another, and that is how a plain sentence acquires atmosphere.
Tip: a prepositional phrase never contains the main verb of the sentence. That is why, in subject–verb agreement (page 65), the verb can never agree with a noun inside one.
Q33.
Rearrange the following jumbled words and phrases into meaningful sentences. 1. barked/at the strangers/the dog/loudly/the house/walking by
Answer

The dog barked loudly at the strangers walking by the house.

How to unjumble in three steps. First find the verb — barked. Then ask who did it: the dog, the subject. Then attach the rest in the natural English order — subject + verb + adverb + object/prepositional phrase. “Walking by the house” describes the strangers, so it must sit immediately after them.
Careful: if you write “The dog barked at the strangers loudly walking by the house”, the word loudly attaches itself to walking — and the strangers, not the dog, become the noisy ones. Word order in English is meaning, not decoration.
Q34.
2. wrote/my classmate/during the/a story/summer vacations
Answer

My classmate wrote a story during the summer vacations.

The pattern: subject (my classmate) + verb (wrote) + object (a story) + prepositional phrase of time (during the summer vacations). Phrases of time normally come last in a simple English sentence.
Q35.
3. enjoyed/under the trees/they/by the lake/a picnic
Answer

They enjoyed a picnic under the trees by the lake.

Two prepositional phrases, and the order matters. Put the narrower place first and the wider one after it: under the trees (exactly where they sat) → by the lake (the general area). Reversing them — “by the lake under the trees” — is not wrong, but it reads less naturally, because English usually zooms out rather than in.
Q36.
4. in his/grandfather's room/hung/he/the painting
Answer

He hung the painting in his grandfather's room.

The clue is in the fragments themselves. “in his” and “grandfather's room” are two halves of a single prepositional phrase and must be joined: in his grandfather's room. Once you see that, the rest is the ordinary pattern — subject, verb, object, place.
Q37.
5. studied/with great determination/for/students/the/exam
Answer

The students studied for the exam with great determination.

Two phrases again, of different kinds: for the exam tells us the purpose, and with great determination tells us the manner. The usual English order is purpose before manner when the manner phrase is the longer of the two, so this arrangement reads best.
Also acceptable: “With great determination, the students studied for the exam.” Beginning with the manner phrase throws emphasis on to it — a small choice that changes what the sentence is really about.
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