Chapter 4.6
1. ‘Gifts’ need not be material gifts. They can be abstract and yet priceless. For example, favours, kindness, help in times of need etc.
Think of and enlist such unforgettable gifts given to you by :
(1) Parents/ Grand parents : ………………………………………..
Answer: (1) love, kindness, etc.
(2) Siblings/ relatives : ………………………………………..
Answer: (2) support, empathy, etc.
(3) Friends : ………………………………………..
Answer: (3) loyalty, sympathy, etc.
(4) Strangers : ………………………………………..
Answer: (4) courtesy, help, etc.Textbook solut
2. Say whether the words underlined are infinitives/ participles or gerunds.
(1) The athletes wanted to take part in the running race.
(a) ………………………………………..
(b) ………………………………………..
Answer: (a) to take – infinitive:
(b) running – participle
(2) Would you like to eat at the dinning table?
(a) ………………………………………..
(b) ………………………………………..
Answer: (a) to eat – infinitive;
(b) dining – participleGift basket
(3) Reading is good for the mind and soul. So take up reading books.
(a) ………………………………………..
(b) ………………………………………..
Answer: (a) Reading – gerund;
(b) reading – gerund
(4) I like to eat fruits rather than eating sweets.
(a) ………………………………………..
(b) ………………………………………..
Answer: (a) to eat – infinitive;
(b) eating – gerundBuy bestselling books online
(5) Listening and speaking sharpen your language skills.
(a) ………………………………………..
(b) ………………………………………..
Answer: (a) Listening – gerund;
(b) speaking-gerund
3. (a) Della had saved ………………………………………..
Answer: (a) one dollar and eighty-seven cents.
(b) Della wanted to buy ………………………………………..
Answer: (b) a Christmas present for Jim
(c) Della’s beautiful hair tell about ………………………………………..
(c) her rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters.Gift
Answer: (a) one dollar and eighty-seven cents.
(b) a Christmas present for Jim
(c) her rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters.Gift
(a) How much did Della save for Christmas ? What does it show ?
Answer: (a) Della saved one dollar and eighty-seven cents for Christmas. It shows that she was very poor.
(b) Why did Della take pride in the beauty of her hair?
Answer: (b) because Jim thought that she was pretty because of her hair.
(c) Why and how did Della sell her hair? Do you think she did well ?
Answer: (c) Della sold her lovely long hair to get money to buy a Christmas present for Jim.
(d) Why did Jim sell his gold watch? Do you think he did well ?
Answer: (d) She sold it to a woman who dealt in hair goods of all kinds. Yes, she did it willingly even though it was her prized possession.
(e) Why did Jim and Della want to present the gifts?
Answer: (e) it was Christmas Eve, a time for giving gifts.
(f) Why did Della feel sad on losing her hair?
Answer: (f) it was very beautiful and her prized possession.
(g) What did Jim bring out from his coat? Describe the scene.
Answer: (g) Jim brought out a package from his coat.
(h) How beautiful was the gold watch chain? Would you have liked to own it?
Answer: (h) The watch chain was very beautiful. It was made of platinum, and simple and chaste in design.
(i) How did the Magi want to celebrate their Christmas (OR) Who were the first people to give Christmas gifts ?
Answer: (i) The Magi wanted to celebrate their Christmas by exchanging gifts. They werejhe first people to give Christmas gifts.
(j) What is the moral of the story?
Answer: (j) The moral of the story is that unselfish love is the greatest of all gifts, and those who realize this fact are the wisest.Gift baskets
4. Read the following and answer.
(A) Say WHAT
(a) ……………………………….. troubled Della on Christmas Eve?
Answer: (a) The next day was Christmas Day and Della had only one dollar and eighty-seven cents with which to buy Jim a present. She had spent a lot of time thinking about a good present for him. But with the money she had saved she would not get anything worthy of him. Hence, she was feeling disturbed.
(b) ……………………………….. was the current family income?
Answer: (b) $20 per week.
(c) ……………………………….. could have outshone Queen of Sheba’s jewels?
Answer: (c) Della’s beautiful hair.
(d) ……………………………….. was the cost of the fob chain?
Answer: (d) Twenty-one dollars.
(e) ……………………………….. sent Jim into a trance, on his return?
Answer: (e) Jim saw that Della had cut off her beautiful hair. It was seeing this that sent him into a trance.
(B) Say WHY
(a) ……………………………….. did Della sell her lovely long hair ?
Answer: (a) to get money to buy a Christmas present for Jim.
(b) ……………………………….. was Della a bit apprehensive after she had sold her hair ?
Answer: (b) she was afraid of Jim’s reaction.
(c) ……………………………….. did Jim avoid checking the time in his gold watch, in a public place?
Answer: (c) the leather strap he used in place of a chain was old.
(d) ……………………………….. did Della’s scream of joy change to loud wails ?
Answer: (d) Jim’s gift to Della was the set of tortoise shell combs that she had adored. She had craved and yearned for them, so that they could adorn her beautiful hair. When she opened the package and saw them, she was first ecstatic with joy that she had got what she had coveted; but her scream of joy turned to wails when she remembered that the beautiful hair they would have adorned was now cut off. The gift was hence useless.
(e) ……………………………….. in the end, did Jim ask Della to put the chops on?
Answer: (e) Jim knew that neither of them could use their Christmas gifts for the time being. Hence, he wanted to put them away and keep them for some time. He wanted to get back to daily life. Hence, he asked Della to put the chops on.
(C) Say WHEN
(a) ……………………………….. had Jim added ‘Dillingham’ as his middle name ?
Answer: (a) a former period of prosperity, when he was earning $30 per week.
(b) ……………………………….. did a tear or two drop on the old red carpet ?
Answer: (b) Della made up her mind to cut off her beautiful hair.
(c) ……………………………….. did Della go through goods in the stores ?
Answer: (c) she was searching for a suitable present for Jim.
(d) ……………………………….. did Della say a silent prayer to God ?
Answer: (d) she heard Jim’s step on the stairway down on the first flight.
(e) ……………………………….. did Jim try to divert their attention for ten seconds, at least?
Answer: (e) Jim realized that Della was afraid of his reaction to her short hair. In order to console her, he probably hugged her and the narrator tries to divert our attention to something else, to give them privacy. It could also mean that the narrator is asking us to think about the importance of riches-how important is it to happiness.
5. Pick out from the story words that mean the following.
Against each consumer write (N) if it is a Noun (V) for Verb and (Adj) for Adjective.
(1) reluctance to spend money …………………………….. ( )
Answer: (1) reluctance to spend money …………………………….. ( )
(2) relating to …………………………….. ( )
Answer: (2) relating to …………………………….. ( )
(3) urge …………………………….. ( )
Answer: (3) urge …………………………….. ( )
(4) reduce in value …………………………….. ( )
Answer: (4) reduce in value – depreciate ( Verb )
(5) wisdom …………………………….. ( )
Answer: (5) wisdom – prudence ( Noun )
(6) very huge …………………………….. ( )
Answer: (6) very huge – mammoth ( Adjective )
(7) foolishness …………………………….. ( )
Answer: (7) foolishness – idiocy (Noun)
6. Think and answer on your own in a few sentences, in your notebook.
(a) What would you do if you ran short of money, to buy a birthday gift for one of your parents/siblings?
Answer: If I ran short of money to buy a gift for one of my parents/siblings, I would borrow from someone else close to me. For example, if I wanted to buy a bag for my sister and fell short of money, I would ask my mother to lend it to me. If I wanted to buy something for Mom and did not have the money for it, I would borrow from dad.
(b) Think of two alternatives that could have prevented Della as well as Jim from selling their most precious possessions.
Answer: Both knew that they were poor and couldn’t afford expensive gifts. So they could have just given each other small token gifts of flowers or cards. This would have prevented them from selling their most precious possessions.
(c) Justify the title of the story, ‘The Gift of the Magi’.
Answer: The Magi were three wise men who brought gifts for baby Jesus during Christmas. They knew how to give and gave unique gifts with special emphasis. In the same way, Della and Jim gave each other unique gifts. The author compares their giving to the gifts the Magi gave to baby Jesus, ffe calls them tire ‘Magi’ because of their wisdom in realizing that unselfish love is the greatest of all gifts.
(d) Gifts that you buy have fixed prices/ rates. How can the buyer increase the value of a gift bought for someone very dear in the family?
Answer: The buyer can increase the value of a gift bought for someone very dear in the family by giving it with words of love and gratitude. He /She can also write something loving on a card and attach it to the gift.
(e) What situation is the climax of the story ? How does it end up as an Anticlimax?
Answer: The climax should have been the happiness and joy on the faces of Jim and Della when they see their gifts. It ends up as an anti-climax because though they had got what they coveted, neither of them could now use the gifts.
(f) If you share this story with some friends in a junior class, how would they react in the end?
Answer: They would probably just feel that all the sacrifice was wasted. They would not have realized the deeper meaning of the story.
(g) Who were the very first people to give Christmas gifts? What had inspired them to do so?
Answer: The Magi visited Jesus after his birth to give gifts to honour him. The Magi wanted to celebrate their Christmas by exchanging gifts. They werejhe first people to give Christmas gifts.
(h) At the end of the story, O Henry remarks that of all who give gifts, Della and Jim were the wisest. Think and explain this paradoxial remark.
Answer: Jim and Della were initially foolish enough to believe th at they needed to give material gifts in order to show their love for one another and that they had to sacrifice their most precious possessions to do so. However, they were also wise enough to know later that unselfish love is the greatest of all gifts.
7. .Pick out and rewrite the exact sentence which indirectly imply the following :
(a) Della was not too happy about bargaining for grocery etc.
Answer: Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one’s cheeks burned.
(b) The flat was in a dilapidated condition.
Answer: It did not actually beggar description, but certainly had that word on the look out for the mendicancy squad.
(c) King Soloman would express his jealousy of Jim.
Answer: Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his treasures piled up in the basement, Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed, just to see him pluck at his beard with envy.
(d) Della spent a joyful time, for two hours.
Answer: The next two hours tripped by on rosy wings.
(e) Della’s elated mood underwent a change as she opened her gift.
Answer: An ecstatic scream of joy; and then alas! A quick feminine change to hysterical tears and wails.
(f) The weekly income amount does not matter.
Answer: Whenever Mr. James Dillingham Young came home and reached his flat above he was called ‘Jim’ and greatly hugged by Mrs. James Dillingham Young.
8. (1) Life is made up of sobs, sniffles and smiles.
Answer: What is life made up of?
(2) Many a happy hour she had spent planning for something nice for him.
Answer: Who had spent many a happy hour planning something nice for him?
(3) Her hair reached below her knee.
Answer: Where did her hair reach?
(4) She was ransacking the stores for Jim’s present.
Answer: She has been ransacking the stores for Jim’s present.
(5) At 7 o’clock the coffee was made.
Answer: When was the coffee made?
(6) The magi were wise men.
Answer: Who were the magi?
9. (A) Add appropriate question tags.
(1) Della leaped up, …………………….?
Answer: (1) Della leaped up, didn’t she?
(2) You’ll have to look at the time, ………………….?
Answer: (2) You’ll have to look at the time, won’t you?
(3) They were expensive combs, ………………..?
Answer: (3) They were expensive combs, weren’t they?
(4) I just had to do it, ……………………..?
Answer: (4) I just had to do it, didn’t I?
(5) I am still pretty, ………………………..?
Answer: (5) I am still pretty, aren’t I?
(6) Give it to me quick, …………………?
Answer: (6) Give it to me quick, won’t you?
(7) There was clearly nothing to do,…………..?
Answer: (7) There was clearly nothing to do, was there?
(8) My hair grows so fast, …………………?
Answer: (8) My hair grows so fast, doesn’t it?
(9) Let’s put our Christmas presents away, ………………….?
Answer: (9) Let’s put our Christmas presents away, shall we?
(10) She had a habit for saying a silent prayer, ………………….. ?
Answer: (10) of saying a little silent prayer about the simplest everyday things.
10. (B) Supply short answers (Pronoun + Auxiliary Verb)
(1) Don’t you like me ? Yes, ……………….
Answer: (1) Yes, I do.
(2) Have you cut off your hair ? Yes, ………………..
Answer: (2) Yes, I have.
(3) Shall I put the chops on ? Yes, ………………..
Answer: (3) Yes, you shall/can.
(4) Isn’t it a dandy ? Yes, ………………..
Answer: (4) Yes, it is.
(5) Does it make difference ? No, ………………..
Answer: (5) No, It doesn’t.
(6) Will you buy my hair ? No, ………………..
Answer: (6) No, I won’t.
(7) Can you afford it ? No, ………………..
Answer: (7) No, I can’t.
(8) Are you fooling me ? No, ………………..
Answer: (8) No, I’m not.
Answer by Dimpee Bora
