Workbook Unit 4 - From the Diary of Anne Frank

Let’s Begin:

The World Wars fought in the past stand testimony to the fact that fighting wars brings severe human suffering. The sufferers, including women and ✓ children are left behind with trauma and indelible impressions on their minds. You have read in the Class X English textbook the account of one such war in the diary of Anne Frank who captured the miseries of war in her diary. Discuss how you may relate to Anne Frank’s feelings of alienation and isolation.

Reading Comprehension:

Text – I

The following excerpt is from the diary of Lena Mukhina, a teenage girl who had undergone the atrocities of Germans when they fortified the city of Leningrad. The siege of Leningrad is an important landmark in the history of Russia. The siege of Leningrad lasted from September 1941 to 1944. The city was cut off from the rest of Russia. The Germans continuously bombarded the city which resulted in death, destruction, and starvation of the people. However, the resolute Russians were warned in the beginning that the enemy was at the gate and it was a question of life and death. They fought bravely and failed the Germans in their evil designs.

Read the excerpt and answer the questions that follow:

Foreword from The Diary of Lena Mukhina:

No one could possibly have known that the city would remain in the grip of siege for 872 days and nights. But Leningrad’s citizens had begun to feel the breath of war as early as September. Daily air raids and artillery bombardment of residential neighbourhoods drove the city’s inhabitants into bomb shelters, several times a day, and for hours at a time. People’s initial curiosity in the aftermath of the first bomb attacks soon gave way to fear and then, in conditions of appalling hunger and cold, to apathy.

Leningraders welcomed inclement weather for the reduced visibility it brought. They came to dread sunny days and moonlit nights, when the Germans would be sure to bomb their city. Cloud cover, however, offered no protection from artillery fire: in just over six months from the start of the siege there were only thirty-two days when shells did not explode on the city’s streets.

Hunger soon set in. Between September and November 1941 the bread rations that had been announced in July were reduced five times, reaching their lowest point on 20 November – 125 ‘blockade grams’ for children, dependents and white-collar workers and 250g for manual workers, technicians and engineers. Rations of meat, butter, sugar and other food items were severely reduced. The summer months and the beginning of autumn, when it was still possible to buy food without ration cards in ordinary shops and canteens were no more than a distant memory.

1. Infer the meanings of the following expressions. The first has been done for you as an example.

(a) to feel the breath of war: there were indications that war was going to start soon

(b) appalling hunger and cold: ___________.

(c) start of the siege: ___________.

(d) blockade grams: ___________.

Answer:

(b) the extreme conditions of hunger and inclement weather.

(d) during the seige food for people had been stipulated; no more than the stipula ted was allowed.

2. List the words from the: passage which are related to the war, for example ‘bombardment’.

List of words is – raid, attack, appal siege, shells, explode.

3. Answer the following questions:

(a) Who were the captives as stated in the above passage?
(b) Why did the people under siege welcome the bad weather conditions?
(c) What were the fears in the mind of the people?
(d) Have the people lost hope or reconciled to the existing situation?

(a) The captives were the Leningraders, (the citizens of Leningrad)

(b) People welcomed the bad weather conditions because it brought with it reduced visibility which did not allow the Germans to locate them to bombard.

they would be bombarded to death.
they would be starved to death as the food supply was insufficient.

(d) People neither lost hope nor reconciled to the existing situation; they fought and liberated Leningrad from the clutches of the Germans.

4. Tick the correct answer

‘…when it was still possible to buy food without ration cards in ordinary shops and canteens were no more than a distant memory.’ It means:

(a) There was hope of getting ration soon. ✖

(b) Citizens under siege had to show their ration cards for buying food.

✖

(d) The possibility of buying the food without a ration card as in the past, was no more than a memory now. ✔

Text – II

There are many ways of recording the events, news, and personal experiences. Diary writing, logbook, daybook, journal, etc. are a few to name. The journal writing is about writing the everyday record of an event or writing about an event, activity or experience, etc

The following is an excerpt from the beginning of A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe.

A Journal of the Plague Year:

It was about the beginning of September, 1664, that I, among the rest of my neighbours, heard in ordinary discourse that the plague was returned again in Holland; for it had been very violent there, and particularly at Amsterdam and Rotterdam, in the year 1663, whither, they say, it was brought, some said from Italy, others from the Levant, among some goods which were brought home by their Turkey fleet; others said it was brought from Candia; others from Cyprus. It mattered not from whence it came; but all agreed it was come into Holland again.

We had no such thing as printed newspapers in those days to spread rumours and reports of things, and to improve them by the invention of men, as I have lived to see practiced since. But such things as these were gathered from the letters of merchants and others who corresponded abroad, and from them were handed about by word of mouth only; so that things did not spread instantly over the whole nation, as they do now.

But it seems that the Government had a true account of it, and several councils were held about ways to prevent its coming over; but all was kept very private. Hence, it was that this rumour died off again, and people began to forget it as a thing we were very little concerned in, and that we hoped was not true; till the latter end of November or the beginning of December 1664 when two men, said to be Frenchmen, died of the plague in Long Acre, or rather at the upper end of Drury Lane.

The family they were in endeavoured to conceal it as much as possible, but as it had gotten some vent in the discourse of the neighbourhood, the Secretaries of State got knowledge of it; and concerning themselves to inquire about it, in order to be certain of the truth, two physicians and a surgeon were ordered to go to the house and make inspection. This they did; and finding evident tokens of the sickness upon both the bodies that were dead, they gave their opinions publicly that they died of the plague. Whereupon, it was given in to the parish clerk, and he also returned them to the Hall; and it was printed in the weekly bill of mortality in the usual manner, thus – 1. Plague 2. Parishes infected.

1. The above passage is written in the English that was prevalent in the eighteenth century. Find some words and phrases from the text which seem different as compared to the English language usage at present. List them and find an appropriate substitute for each. Look at the example given below:

Example : whence – when

whither – where

candia – crete

practiced – practised

2. Answer the following questions:
(a) What is being talked about in the first paragraph of Daniel Defoe’s journal?

That plague was returned again to Holland.

(b) How was news about important events circulated during those days?

News about important events were circulated through word of mouth during those days. Such things were gathered from the letters of merchants and others who corresponded abroad.

(c) Why did the rumour about the plague die off?

The Government had a true account of plague coming over to Holland. Several councils were held about ways to prevent it but all was kept very private. Thus the rumour about it died off with passage of time.

(d) How was the news about the plague confirmed ?

When two French men died off in 1664 in Long Acre; two physicians and a surgeon inspected their bodies and confirmed that they had died of plague.

3. Tick the correct answer.‘… the weekly bill of mortality’ means:

(а) The weekly payment of dues ✖

(b) The weekly news about the deaths ✖

(d) The list which was issued weekly, of persons who died due to plague ✔

Vocabulary:

1. Choose a word or expression that completes each of the following sentences. One has been done for you.

(а) I can’t tell you the plan because I don’t know about it.

(him her it them)

(b) One should learn to defend ___________ against bullies.

(herself itself himself oneself)

(which who that they)

(d) These dresses belong to you. I am sure they are ___________.

(yours your yours’ theirs)

(e) The fire caused serious ___________ to the group of houses.

(damage damages injuries injury)

(f) The board was ___________ plans for the tournament.

(concerned to concerned at concern about concerned with)

Answer:

(b) oneself

(d) yours

(e) damage

(f) concerned with

Grammar:

Idiomatic expressions:

1. Refer to the lesson ‘From the diary of Anne Frank’ in your Class X textbook. There are some idiomatic expressions in the text.

For example:

(a) Our entire class is quaking in its boots.

Quake in (one’s) boot: to tremble with fear or nervousness

(b) Until then we keep telling each other not to lose heart.Not to lose one’s heart: not to lose hope or not to feel demoralised.

Now, look at the idiomatic expressions given below.

Use a dictionary to find out the meanings. Make sentences using the expressions.

all’s fair in love and war
icing on the cake
call the shots
chalk and cheese
raining cats and dogs
breaking the ice

Answer:

all’s fair in love and war: In the game of love and war, no step whatsoever inhuman or cruel, can be considered improper.
icing on the cake : an attractive but inessential addition or enhancement.
call the shots : to take initiative in deciding how something should be done.
chalk and cheese : fundamentally different or incompatible.
raining cats and dogs : to rain heavily; torrential rain.
breaking the ice : relieve tension or get conversation going at the start of a party or between strangers.

2. Fill in the blanks using the contracted forms of the verbs. One has been done for you.

This is a beautiful flower. Is not it? Isn’t it?

(а) You should not eat so much. You eat so much.

(b) They have written the story. written the story.

(d) He did not play tennis. He play tennis.

(e) I could not find my friend in the crowd.

I ___________ find my friend in the crowd.

(f) Here is your bag. your bag.

(g) I would guide him. guide him.

(h) They are not rich. They rich.

Answer:

(a) shouldn’t

(b) They haven’t

(d) didn’t

(e) couldn’t

(f) Here’s

(g) I’d

(h) aren’t

3. Fill in the blanks with the phrasal verbs given below. Change the tense of the verbs wherever required.

(breakdown, find out, look for, go out, check cut)

Suhasini wanted to ___________ with her mother to the book shop. Her mother came back home very late. She said that her car ________on the way back. She had to _________ a mechanic. She ___________ several apps for roadside assistance but then ___________ that her internet was not working.

Answer:

go out, had broken down, look for, checked out, found out.

Editing:

Question 1.

Read this quote from Max Muller. There are errors in the text. Find out the errors and write the correct word in the space provided

“If I was asked under what sky the human mind ___________ has most fully developed some for its choicest gifts, has most deeply pondered on the greatest problems ___________ of life, and has find solutions of some of them which ___________ well deserve the attention even of them who have studied Plato and Kant, I should pointed to India. And if I were to ask me from what literature ___________ we who has been nurtured almost exclusively ___________ on the thoughts of Greeks and Romans, and of the Semitic race, the Jewish, may draw the corrective which is most wanted in order to make our inner life more perfect, ___________.

more comprehensive, more universal, in fact most truly human a life… ___________

again I should point to India.”

by Max Muller

Answer:

what – which
some – itself
on – over
find – found
deserve – deserves
kant – kent
what- which
has – have
more perfect – perfecter
human – a human

Listening:

1. Listen to the following YouTube link on ‘The Siege of Leningrad’ and make notes in the first box. Then write a narrative account of it in the second box.

1st Box

(I) Leningrad, now known as Saint Petersberg:

a significant Soviet city
a centre of industrial production
had military base for the Baltic.

(II) Operation Barbarossa’s invasion on 22nd June 1941.

goal was to capture Leningrad.
Field Marshal Von Leeb reached south and
Finnish army approached North.
Civilian prepared fortifications
Leningrad was surroundeed; communication lines severed.
Hitler ordered the city be starved.
One million civilians died.
Siege lasted for 870 days.
The Red army repelled the Germans.
Lifted siege in Jan 1944.

2nd Box:

Leningrad, now known as Saint Petersberg was invaded on 22nd June 1941 and captured by operation Barbarossa’s invasion. Field Marshal Von Leeb captured South and the Finnish Army, north. Civilians prepared fortifications. Leningrad was surrounded and communication lines were severed. Owing to Hitler’s order to starve the city to submission, over one million people died. The siege lasted for 870 days. In January 1944, the Red Army repelled the German forces.

Speaking:

1. The following poem is taken from The Diary of Lena Mukhina.

(a) Ask your teacher to recite the poem. Listen to the poem attentively and identify the qualities mentioned.

(b) Discuss these qualities with your partner.

(c) Think of a person who has some of these qualities and talk about them to your partner. You can highlight the incidents and actions of the person that reflect these qualities.

Lena Mukhina’s Diary

22 May 1941 – 25 May 1942

‘Remember My Sad Story : Lena Mukhina’s Siege Diary’

Consider any day on which you do not discover anything new or learn anything useful a lost day!

Anyone can become strong, smart and steadfast. There is only one essential requirement – will power!

Will power can conquer anything.

A strong-willed person is persistent and determined.

People are not born brave, strong and smart.

These qualities must be acquired through perseverance and with determination, like the ability to read and write.

Answer:

(a) Qualities mentioned in the poem are : strong, smart, steadfast, strong will-power, strong willed person, persistent, determined, perseverance, determination.

(b) Discuss with partner

(c) One such person who has some of these qualities is known to me. In my childhood; baby- stealer used to move around. A culprit attempted to kidnap me giving me lolly-pop to be engaged with. As soon as that person saw from a distance that I was being made to sit on a cycle of his; he raised the alarm and started chasing us. He succeeded; caught us. I was handed over to my parents; and the baby stealer, to the police.

Writing:

1. You have read in the passage ‘A Journal of the Plague Year’ by Daniel Defoe about how the news of plague was reported in those times. What are the means of reporting today?

e-mail, SMS, twitter, Whatsapp, hike, telegram, facebook, instagram, linkedin, telegraph, messenger, mobile phone, landline phone, gmail.

2. Write a report on any one of the following – conservation of environment, plantation of trees, waste disposal, water harvesting, and the cleanliness drive under Swaehh Bharat Abhiyan carried out in your locality.

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is a nationwide cleanliness campaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It started on October 2, 2014, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, who always dreamed of a clean India. The mission aims to achieve a clean India by Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary. For this to succeed, everyone in India needs to participate and take responsibility for keeping their surroundings clean. The campaign is supported by many famous personalities. To promote cleanliness, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath banned paan, gutka, and other tobacco products in government offices since March 2017.

Project:

1. Work in groups of four. Find out about ‘The Bengal famine of 1943’. It was a major famine in the Bengal province in India during World War II. Collect information on the following points on The Bengal famine of 1943 for the project:

(а) Affected area(s)

(b) Reasons of famine

(c) Relief measures

(d) Pictures, films, etc.

Prepare a poster using pictures and highlighting the information you have collected. Give a title of your choice to the poster and display it in the class.

The Bengal famine of 1943 was a catastrophic event that affected the Bengal province in British India during World War II.

Affected Areas:

The famine primarily impacted the Bengal region, including present-day West Bengal in India and Bangladesh. The worst-affected districts were Midnapore, Chittagong, and 24 Parganas.

Reasons of Famine:

The causes of the famine were multifaceted. A significant factor was the destruction of rice crops due to a cyclone and flooding in 1942. Wartime inflation, hoarding, and panic buying exacerbated food shortages. Additionally, the British colonial government's policies, including the "Denial Policy," which destroyed food and transport resources to prevent Japanese forces from using them, further worsened the situation. Inefficient distribution and mismanagement of relief efforts also contributed to the crisis.

Relief Measures:

Relief measures were slow and inadequate. The British government eventually provided some aid, but it was too little and too late. Various voluntary organizations, including the Indian National Congress and Mahatma Gandhi's followers, organized relief efforts, distributing food and medicine. Despite these efforts, an estimated 2-3 million people perished due to starvation and disease. The famine highlighted the need for better disaster management and reforms in agricultural policies.

This tragic event remains a stark reminder of the devastating impact of administrative neglect and wartime policies on vulnerable populations.