Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
Activity IV (Profile)
Using the responses you received from the person you
interviewed, prepare his/her profile.
Activity v (Speech)
Read the following statements from the profile of Stephen
Hawking.
'Shortly after I came out of hospital, I dreamt that I was
going to be executed. I suddenly realized that there were a
lot of worthwhile things I could do.
Can you find out similar incidents that happened in the lives of other
great people (such as Helen Keller, Wilma Rudolf, Valentina
Tereshkova, etc.). Prepare a short speech on any one of them so as
to deliver it before the school assembly.
Answers
Answer:
4. Mehboob Saithu was born on 10 May 1963. His parents were Mrs. Saithu and Mrs. Khadeeja. When he was 5, he was sent to Little Flower Convent School Irinjakaluda. There he studied until class IV. Then he was sent to Don Bosco School, Irinjalakuda. From there he completed his SSLC in 1982. Later he went to Christ College, Irinjalakuda. He completed his Pre Degree Course there.
After his education, he joined his father in the Electrical Shop to assist him in the business. The shop did well for some years. When he was 27, he married Kunjumol, who comes from a wealthy family from Ernakulam. Their first child was born in 1990 and their daughter in 1992.
By the time Mehboob was 40, the shop ran into problems because of the grave illness of his father. His father had to be shuttled from hospital to hospital for better treatment. It took away a lot of time and also money. In the absence of proper supervision, the shop went into problems as those who got things on credit refused to pay up. Finally the shop had to be closed down.
It was then Mehboob turned his attention to farming. He had some agricultural fields which were lying uncultivated. He started cultivating them and now he is fully into farming. He derives satisfaction in two ways. He is producing food for many people and at the same time he is able to give jobs to some people. This way he is doing his bit in the development of the nation.
Mehboob is not a very ambitious man. Soon his daughter will complete her MBA. He wants to get her married. His son will have his engineering degree and he will have, hopefully, a good job. Then he also should marry. Then it would be time for Mr. Mehboob to rest a little and spend his time with grandchildren.
5. Shortly after I came out of hospital, I dreamt that I was going to be executed. I suddenly realized that there were a lot of worthwhile things I could do.’ Can you find out similar incidents that happened in the lives of other great people (such as Helen Keller, Wilma Rudolf, Valentina Tereshkova, etc.). Prepare a short speech on any one of them so as to deliver it before the school assembly.
My dear teachers and students,
Sometimes people lose their faith because they have some handicaps and they feel they can’t become famous because of their handicaps. But we have so many examples in history which prove that handicaps need not make people desperate. They can excel in some fields and become more famous than even normal people. Today I will talk to you about Helen Keller, who achieved international fame although she was deaf and blind. But she served as an inspiration for other people with disabilities.
Helen Keller (1880-1968) was born on June 27, 1880, in Tuscumbia, Alabama, the daughter of well-to-do parents. When 19 months old, Helen was stricken with an acute illness that left her deaf and blind. In a short time she forgot the few words she knew and became silent. She made use of signs to get what she wanted. On the advice of Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor, who was also a teacher of deaf people, Keller’s paints got a teacher named Anne Mansfield Sullivan (later Macy). Helen and Anne worked together until Anne’s death in 1936.
Anne taught Helen to read and write using the Braille system. When Keller was ten, she began to relearn how to speak. At first this seemed impossible, but Anne discovered that Keller could learn sounds by placing her fingers on her teacher’s larynx and sensing the vibrations. The moving account of how Anne taught her to speak is told in Helen Keller’s The Story of My Life (1902).
In 1900, Keller entered Radcliffe College. Four years later Keller graduated with honors to worldwide acclaim and decided to devote her life to helping blind and deaf people. Through her essays and articles in major magazines and newspapers, Keller explained the problems encountered by people who are deaf and blind and the responsibilities of society. In addition to The Story of My Life, she published Optimism, or My Key to Life (1903), The World I Live In (1908), and Out of the Dark (1913). Helen Keller achieved fame in spite of severe handicaps and she should be an inspiration to all of us.
Hope It helps!