The Weightlifting Princess In the year 1821, in the kingdom of Bidisha, there lived a brave princess named Nila who liked weightlifting. The princess was worried because the Surya Championship, the famous weightlifting contest in her kingdom, was only a month away, and according to the rules, for her to take part in the competition she had to weigh 55 kilos and not 53 kilos that she currently was. She still had two kilos to gain! The Surya Championship had been named after the greatest athlete in all the seven kingdoms of the East. When she was a child, she had heard stories about Surya and how he had become the greatest athlete. She wanted to be like him, and this had motivated her to lift weights. Soon she began to love lifting anything heavy. As a child, she would lift dogs, tables, chairs, and even cupboards! Nila had waited all her life to participate in the Surya Championship and be like Surya. One day, while she was having her lunch, Nila remembered the last championship that had taken place four years ago when she was just 12. Prince Vikram of Nethil had won it that year, and he had been far ahead of everyone else. Nila knew that when she was old enough, her father, the King, had planned to get her married to Prince Vikram, but she had other plans. Nila wanted to visit Taibar, the majestic land of snow, that boasted of the best sports school in the entire kingdom. “May I have another boiled egg?” she asked and waited for the Queen to answer in the affirmative. The Queen laughed and looked at her daughter fondly. Many years ago, she had been just like Nila — wanting to run, swim, ride horses, and win the championship but that had been a long, long time ago. As the days passed, Princess Nila trained hard, she ran up and down the mountain, she swam in the river, she ate meat, vegetables, and nutritious fruits. Her skin soon turned golden brown, the colour of sunset, but she kept on training. The week before the championship, she weighed herself on a scale — fifty-five kilos at last! On the day of the championship, Nila was ready to give her best in the competition. Nila marked out the strong weightlifters, her strongest opponents: the boy with the yellowturban, the girl with the tight plait, and of course, Prince Vikram. The judges watched, was the arm shaking and the leg steady? Was the stance correct? Nila clenched her teeth; she could feel every muscle in her body and every drop of sweat. Vikram was in the lead, but Nila was right behind him. The final round began, and they had to lift the ancient iron throne. The others were good, but Nila was better. She applied every ounce of her strength, she grunted, biting back the pain and stayed focused. Just when she had almost given up, she thought of Surya, the greatest athlete and Taibar that had the best sports school. The iron throne rose in the air! When the final scores were displayed, Princess Nila had won, defeating even Prince Vikram! “Now you’re worthy of being a champion’s wife,” said the King proudly. Princess Nila smiled at her father, “No,” she said, “Now, I am the champion.) (a)Why has the author used the phrase ‘clenched her teeth’ in the fourth paragraph? (1 mark) b) What is the main idea of the story ‘The Weightlifting Princess’? (1 mark) c) What impact did stories about Surya have on Nila? (1 mark) d) Describe the context in which the story has been written”
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Answer:
The Weightlifting Princess In the year 1821, in the kingdom of Bidisha, there lived a brave princess named Nila who liked weightlifting. The princess was worried because the Surya Championship, the famous weightlifting contest in her kingdom, was only a month away, and according to the rules, for her to take part in the competition she had to weigh 55 kilos and not 53 kilos that she currently was. She still had two kilos to gain! The Surya Championship had been named after the greatest athlete in all the seven kingdoms of the East. When she was a child, she had heard stories about Surya and how he had become the greatest athlete. She wanted to be like him, and this had motivated her to lift weights. Soon she began to love lifting anything heavy. As a child, she would lift dogs, tables, chairs, and even cupboards! Nila had waited all her life to participate in the Surya Championship and be like Surya. One day, while she was having her lunch, Nila remembered the last championship that had taken place four years ago when she was just 12. Prince Vikram of Nethil had won it that year, and he had been far ahead of everyone else. Nila knew that when she was old enough, her father, the King, had planned to get her married to Prince Vikram, but she had other plans. Nila wanted to visit Taibar, the majestic land of snow, that boasted of the best sports school in the entire kingdom. “May I have another boiled egg?” she asked and waited for the Queen to answer in the affirmative. The Queen laughed and looked at her daughter fondly. Many years ago, she had been just like Nila — wanting to run, swim, ride horses, and win the championship but that had been a long, long time ago. As the days passed, Princess Nila trained hard, she ran up and down the mountain, she swam in the river, she ate meat, vegetables, and nutritious fruits. Her skin soon turned golden brown, the colour of sunset, but she kept on training. The week before the championship, she weighed herself on a scale — fifty-five kilos at last! On the day of the championship, Nila was ready to give her best in the competition. Nila marked out the strong weightlifters, her strongest opponents: the boy with the yellowturban, the girl with the tight plait, and of course, Prince Vikram. The judges watched, was the arm shaking and the leg steady? Was the stance correct? Nila clenched her teeth; she could feel every muscle in her body and every drop of sweat. Vikram was in the lead, but Nila was right behind him. The final round began, and they had to lift the ancient iron throne. The others were good, but Nila was better. She applied every ounce of her strength, she grunted, biting back the pain and stayed focused. Just when she had almost given up, she thought of Surya, the greatest athlete and Taibar that had the best sports school. The iron throne rose in the air! When the final scores were displayed, Princess Nila had won, defeating even Prince Vikram! “Now you’re worthy of being a champion’s wife,” said the King proudly. Princess Nila smiled at her father, “No,” she said, “Now, I am the champion.) (a)Why has the author used the phrase ‘clenched her teeth’ in the fourth paragraph? (1 mark) b) What is the main idea of the story ‘The Weightlifting Princess’? (1 mark) c) What impact did stories about Surya have on Nila? (1 mark) d) Describe the context in which the story has been written”
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