3. Read the passage and answer the following questions. (4)
The old man pulled the boy’s head against his shoulder and whispered, “There’s nothing I can teach you,
my son. Go ahead. You have it in your hands and in your heart. I know you will be one of the country’s
finest stonemasons.
A. Who is the boy referred to here?
B. What does the boy have in his hands and in his heart?
C. Write a synonym of ‘nothing’?
D. According to the old man ________ will be one of the finest stonemasons of the country.
Answers
Answer:
20.1 Objectives
At the end of this lesson you will be able to:
z read and understand a story
z use adverbs of time
z form new words by adding – ing.
z present your point of view – agree and disagree
z write a report
20.2 Let’s read
An artist, a sculptor, loves to carve beautiful statues. Although he is a Muslim, he still
carves statues of Hindu Gods and goddesses. The author meets this young man and is
greatly inspired by him. It is the artist’s inspiration which makes the author write this story.
Section I
Let us enter into the small world of an old artist and see what his son has to say to his father.
The young man threw the hammer and the chisel to the ground and cried: “I’m leaving you, father,
I’m leaving you and your work. Look what it has brought us.” He spread out his arms, looked at
the small, congested dark–room, the slabs of stone and marble stacked up in one corner, the cot
covered with heaps of used clothes. The paint of white – washed walls has come off. “Look whatit has brought us – nothing, nothing!” the young man repeated in anger. “this kind of work just
doesn’t pay.”
The old man stared at his son. His voice, though trembling, hadn’t lost its usual gentleness. “It is
not the money alone that matters, son. It is the service, our service to God.”
“Father, times have changed, and so has the stone mason’s work. You can’t live carving sculptures
for temples only. Come on, father! You have to mass produce like all the other people in Agra.”
The lines around the old man’s mouth tightened. He said, “No, my son. This is the work I have
learnt from my father and he had learnt from his father. We have kept up this tradition for hundreds
of years. And I hoped you would continue our work.”
“No, father, there is so much more money in candle stands, paper–weights, ashtrays and plates
for tourists.” The young man walked out of the room angrily. The old man sat before the half-
finished marble statues of Radha and Krishna. He dropped his hands into his lap and closed his
eyes. He was praying. He didn’t seem to listen to the hesitant, “goodbye”, the son called out
from the door. He sat still.
20.1 Read, Think and Answer I
1. Who is the young man? Why is he angry?
__________________________________________________________________
2. What did the old man do for his living?
__________________________________________________________________
3. How did the old man learn carving statues?
__________________________________________________________________
4. Which statue was the old man carving when his son left him?
__________________________________________________________________
5. We know that the old man was poor because –
(a) _________________________________
(b) _________________________________
20.3 Section II
Let’s read on to see what happens to the old man when his son leaves him and goes off to Agra“Masterjee, Masterjee” Salim, the servant boy entered the workshop. His voice was filled with
concern. He held a cup of tea in his hand. The old man lifted his head. He had a pale face and
looked old and tried. He said, “Salim, soon I’ll be the last stone mason here, as everyone has
gone to Agra. Look, Gopal my son has gone too. Now I’ll have to finish this sculpture all by
myself.” The old man looked at the orphaned boy Salim and said, “I have very little strength. I
can’t work with the chisel the way I used to. Carving takes too long a time. I have to finish the
work and I will.”
The boy offered tea to the man and said, “please drink this. It will do you good. Yes, I know you
will finish this work.”
The old man sighed and picked up the chisel and