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NCERT Solutions Poorvi Chapter 2 Verghese Kurien — Let us speak

Book page 94 & 95 Updated on2026-09-05

Q1.
Read the highlighted word in the following sentence from the text: “That common good will present itself to you in many forms every day.” The highlighted word is pronounced with the stress on the second syllable. PreSENT (verb) the stress is on the second syllable. PREsent (noun) the stress is on the first syllable. Now, read aloud the given words with the correct syllable stress according to the part of speech given in the brackets. PROduce (noun) proDUCE (verb); conTRACT (verb) CONtract (noun); PROject (noun) proJECT (verb); conTENT (verb) CONtent (noun); REfuse (noun) reFUSE (verb)
Answer

The rule behind all five pairs: when a two-syllable word works as both a noun and a verb, the noun is usually stressed on the first syllable and the verb on the second.

Noun (stress 1st)MeaningVerb (stress 2nd)Meaning
PROduceFarm goods — vegetables, fruitproDUCETo make or bring out
CONtractA legal agreementconTRACTTo shrink; to catch an illness
PROjectA planned piece of workproJECTTo throw forward; to display on a screen
CONtentWhat is inside somethingconTENTTo satisfy (as an adjective, conTENT = satisfied)
REfuseRubbish, wastereFUSETo say no

Read these aloud, one pair per sentence:

  • The PROduce from our field is sold at the mandi. / Our field proDUCes two crops a year.
  • She signed the CONtract yesterday. / Metal conTRACTS when it cools.
  • Our science PROject is on solar cookers. / The teacher will proJECT the slides on the wall.
  • Check the CONtents of the parcel. / A small meal conTENTS him.
  • The REfuse is collected on Mondays. / I reFUSE to give up.
Why the rule exists: English keeps the same spelling for the two words and lets stress do the distinguishing. This is why a sentence can be misunderstood over the telephone if the stress is misplaced. Notice, too, that “CONtent” (what is inside) and “conTENT” (satisfied) are not even related in meaning — the poem Somebody's Mother uses the second: “His young heart happy and well conTENT.”
More pairs to practise: REcord / reCORD, OBject / obJECT, PERmit / perMIT, INcrease / inCREASE, SUSpect / susPECT, REbel / reBEL, DEsert / deSERT.
Q2.
Read the highlighted words in the following sentence from the text: “…but it becomes a possession that can be treasured and re-read over the years, with great, abiding pleasure.” treasure [treh-Zhuh]; pleasure [pleh-Zhuh]. In the highlighted words, -sure has a ‘Zhuh’ sound. There are some words which end in -sure, but have a ‘shuh’ sound as in pressure [preh-shuh]. Now, read aloud the words given below with the ‘shuh’ or ‘zhuh’ sound. (measure, leisure, reassure, enclosure, exposure, ensure, seizure, fissure, composure, unsure)
Answer
‘zhuh’ sound /ʒə/ — as in pleasure‘shuh’ sound /ʃə/ — as in pressure
measure, leisure, enclosure, exposure, seizure, composurereassure, ensure, fissure, unsure

The pattern, and it is very nearly a rule:

  • When -sure follows a vowel, the s is voiced and you get zhuh — mea-sure, lei-sure, plea-sure, trea-sure, enclo-sure, expo-sure, sei-zure, compo-sure.
  • When -sure follows a consonant, or when the word is built on sure itself, the s stays voiceless and you get shuh — pres-sure, fis-sure, and the sure-family: en-sure, re-assure, un-sure.
Test it with your throat. Place two fingers on your throat and say “pleasure”: you will feel a buzz. Now say “pressure”: no buzz. That buzz is voicing, and it is the whole difference between the two columns — exactly the same distinction that decides the /d/ and /t/ endings of “-ed” on page 79.
Careful with seizure: the letter is a z, not an s, but it belongs firmly in the zhuh column — see-zhuh. And note that leisure is leh-zhuh in British English and lee-zhuh in American English; the ending is the same in both.
Q3.
Pausing and chunking are techniques used when speaking, to organise information for the listener. Speakers can split what they say into smaller segments—either individual words or groups of words—to convey ideas or emphasise key points clearly. 1. Read aloud the following lines from the poem “Don't Quit” by Edgar Albert Guest. Now, read the lines of the poem once again by taking a shorter pause (/) or a long pause (//). Notice which version is easier for a listener to follow and understand. Have you listened to this song in Hindi or in your language? Share with your classmates and teacher.
Answer

The chunked version printed in the book is this:

When things go wrong,/as they sometimes will,//
when the road you're trudging/seems all uphill,//
when the funds are low/and the debts are high,//
and you want to smile/but you have to sigh,//
when care is pressing you down a bit/—rest if you must,/ but don't you quit.//

Which version is easier to follow, and why

  • The single slash (/) falls where one idea ends and its partner begins — “when the funds are low / and the debts are high”. It gives the listener a moment to take in the first half before the second arrives.
  • The double slash (//) falls at the end of each complete line of thought. It is the spoken equivalent of a full stop.
  • Read without pauses, the poem becomes one long list of troubles and the listener loses track. Read with them, each difficulty lands separately — and the final short chunk, “but don't you quit”, arrives with the whole weight of the poem behind it.
Where to place a pause when nobody marks it for you: pause at punctuation, between a long subject and its verb, and before the word you most want the listener to remember. Never pause in the middle of a phrase — “when the road / you're trudging seems all uphill” would break the sense.
About the last question in the item — “Have you listened to this song in Hindi or in your language?” The idea of Don't Quit is a common one in Indian songs of encouragement. Many students will think of “Ruk jaana nahin, tu kahin haar ke” from the film Imtihan, or of “Kar har maidan fateh”, or of a regional song their family sings. Bring the words to class, read the two side by side, and see whether the images are the same — a road, a climb, a load — even though the languages are not.
Q4.
2. Chunk the stanzas with (/) or (//) and read it aloud. “Life is queer with its twists and turns. As everyone of us sometimes learns. And many a fellow turns about when he might have won had he stuck it out. Don't give up though the pace seems slow— you may succeed with another blow. Often the goal is nearer than it seems to a faint and faltering man.”
Answer

One good chunking — read it aloud and you will hear why the breaks fall where they do:

Life is queer/with its twists and turns.//
As everyone of us/sometimes learns.//
And many a fellow turns about/when he might have won/had he stuck it out.//
Don't give up/though the pace seems slow—/
you may succeed/with another blow.//
Often the goal is nearer/than it seems/to a faint and faltering man.//

The reasoning behind each choice

  • “Life is queer / with its twists and turns” — the statement first, then what it rests on. Pausing after queer makes the listener wait for the explanation.
  • “And many a fellow turns about / when he might have won / had he stuck it out” — three chunks, because the sentence has three parts: what he does, what he could have had, what it would have cost. Running them together loses the sting of the third.
  • “Don't give up / though the pace seems slow” — the instruction comes first and gets its own chunk, because it is the point of the whole stanza.
  • “Often the goal is nearer / than it seems / to a faint and faltering man” — the last chunk carries the two alliterating words faint and faltering, and a pause just before them lets the listener hear the alliteration.
There is no single correct chunking. Two good readers will differ, and both may be right — because chunking is an interpretation, not a rule. What is not negotiable is that a pause must never split a phrase: “Often the goal is / nearer than it seems” is simply wrong, because it separates the adjective from what it belongs to.
Practise like this: mark your chunks in pencil, read the stanza aloud to a partner, then ask them to tell you back what it said. If they can, your chunking worked.
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