Q. Turn the theme of the poem "Sympathy" into a story. You can write about four men in a village - one who is very rich, one who is very poor and two who are neither too rich nor too poor. Hints: One man fell into deep distress (describe the type of distress) Approached a rich man; rich man gave money. He repaid the rich man's money when he recovered from his problems. Later he fell sick; was nursed back to health by a poor man. Conclusion
Answers
Answer:
Sunbeam English Reader Class 8 Chapter 7 Sympathy by Charles Mackay all questions answers
1. Read the poem and choose the correct options to complete the sentences.
a)The poet was in deep sorrow. A proud man came and helped him by
i. offering him kind words
ii. ignoring him
iii. giving him gold
iv. giving him pleasant company
Answer: (iii) giving him gold
b)When the poet lay in want and grief, the one who helped him was
i. a rich man
ii. a poor man
iii. a proud man
iv. a holy man
Answer: (ii) a poor man
c) The poor man gave the poet
i. a cold look
ii. sympathy
iii. gold
iv. not a kind word
Answer: (ii) sympathy
d) When the poet’s sorrow passed, he went to the proud man and
i. gave him back the gold
ii. ignored him
iii. didn’t give back the gold
iv. helped him
Answer: (i) gave him back the gold
e) The poet refers to sympathy as ‘heavenly’ because of sympathy
i. is a feeling found in proud people
ii. is found only in rich people
iii. is an ordinary human feeling
iv. is a blessing from God
Answer: (iv) is a blessing from God
Sunbeam English Reader Class 8 Chapter 7
2.(a) Here are some questions to help you find out how much you have understood the poem:
i. How did the proud person help the poet when the poet was unhappy?
Answer: The proud person helped the poet with money when he was unhappy.
ii. What did the poor man do when he found the poet lying in pain and sadness?
Answer: When the poet was laying in pain and sadness, the poor man saw him and took care of him. He also offered him food to restore the poet’s health. He took great care of the poet until the poet regained his health.
iii. Why does the poet think that he cannot help the man back in the same way?
Answer: The poet wonders how to repay an act of selfless kindness. He realises that having money to repay a debt is a great thing, but kindness is a heavenly act that cannot be easily repaid.
iv. Why is the poor man’s help greater than gold?
Answer:The poor man’s help greater than gold because his way of help was a heavenly act where the proud man offered him money, but did not offer any words of sympathy.
(v).“Oh, gold is great but greater far
Is heavenly sympathy.”
Why does the poet think so?
Answer: The poet think so because he realises that having money to repay a debt is a great thing,
b)Find in the poem lines that match the meaning of the following sentences.
i) I was sad and unhappy. – I lay in sorrow, deeply distressed.
ii) I was in need and was sad and hurt. – I lay in want, and grief, and pain.
iii) He fed me and took care of me. – He bound my head, he gave me bread, He watched me night and day.
iv) Gold is valuable but sympathy and love are far more valuable. - Oh, gold is great but greater far
Is heavenly sympathy.
c) Make sentences with the following phrases:
i) look were cold: Rich man looks were cold.
ii) night and day: Ram is very hard working he works night and day.
iii) pay him back: He shall pay him back his money.
3. Below are some lines from the poem with some words underlined. Choose the correct meanings of the words from the options given in brackets.
a) I lay in sorrow, deep distressed (tired/unhappy/angry)
Answer: distressed – unhappy
b) He gave me gold (money/jewelry/sheets)
Answer: gold – money
c) And blessed his charity (money/kind help/pride)
Answer: charity – kind help
d) A poor man passed my way (to move past/stopped me)
Answer: passed – to move past
e) Is heavenly sympathy (selfishness/godly goodness/pride)
Answer: heavenly – godly goodness
f) Greater far is heavenly sympathy (the feeling of being sorry at another’s sadness/the feeling of pain/a superior feeling)
Answer: sympathy – the feeling of being sorry at another’s sadness
5. As you know, the lines of a poem are not always written like prose. Here are some of the main ideas of the lines of the poem, but in a jumbled order. Rearrange each set of words to get a complete sentence. Remember to start the sentence with a capital letter and end it with a full stop.
4.As you know, the lines of a poem are not always written like prose. Here are some of the main ideas of the lines of the poem, but in a jumbled order. Rearrange each set of words to get a complete sentence. Remember to start the sentence with a capital letter and end it with a full stop.
(a) deeply/distressed/was/he
Answer: He was deeply distressed.
(b) heard/a proud man/of/his grief
Answer: A proud man heard of his grief.
(c) looks/cold/were/his
Answer: His looks were cold.
(d) didn't offer/he/a/kindly word
Answer: He didn't offer a kind word.
(e) the gold/him/back/paid/to/he
Answer: He paid the gold back to him.
(f) even/thanked/him/I
Answer: I even thanked him.
(g) gave him/bread/the poor man/and/him/looked after
Answer: The poor man looked after him and gave him bread.
(h) than/the poor man's/is/gold/greater/sympathy
Answer: The poor man's sympathy is greater than gold.