Kerala Plus One English Textbook Going Out For A Walk Questions and Answers Unit 5 Chapter 3 (Essay)
Going Out For A Walk (Essay) Textual Questions and Answers
Question 1.
What does the author consider as the drawbacks of London?
Answer:
The drawbacks of London are its endless noise and hustle, its smoky air and its squalor.
Question 2.
What is the author’s excuse to avoid walking?
Answer:
The author’s excuse to avoid walking is to tell the people who call him for a walk that he has many letters to write.
Question 3.
Why is the author’s excuse ineffective?
Answer:
The author’s excuse is ineffective in three ways: i) it is not believed; ii) it forces you to rise from your chair, go to the writing table and pretend to be writing a letter until the walk monger goes out of the room; iii) it won’t work on Sunday mornings because there is no post out till the evening.
Question 4.
What makes the author say that walking for walking’s sake stops one’s brain?
Answer:
The author says that walking for walking’s sake stops one’s brain because then a person’s power to instruct or to amuse when he is sitting on a chair or standing on a hearth-rug leaves him.
Question 5.
‘Trespassers will be prosecuted’ – Write down two more such wall notices.
Answer:
i) ‘DRIVE SLOWLY’
ii) ‘CAUTION, SHARP CURVE’
Question 6.
What, according to the author, is the thought process taking place in the brain during a walk?
Answer:
A man is not urged by his reasoning faculties to go for a walk. He is urged by something that surpasses reason, by his soul. His soul tells his body to go for a walk. The brain asks the soul where to go and for what purpose. The soul then replies that there is no definite destination or any particular mission.
Question 7.
What is the author’s opinion of having a vehicle for every destination?
Answer:
The author does not take a vehicle to every destination. He never goes out of his way to avoid exercise. When a vehicle is essential he takes one.
Question 8.
What holds the author back from going out for a walk?
Answer:
People wanting to see him and work in his own premises hold the author back from going out for a walk.
Activity – I (Write-up)
Question 1.
Do you usually go out for a morning walk or evening stroll?
Answer:
Yes, I do. I usually go out for a morning walk.
Question 2.
Who do you usually go out with?
Answer:
I usually go out with my friends.
Question 3.
What do you enjoy the most while walking?
Answer:
While walking I enjoy the sights along the street most.
Question 4.
How do you feel after the walk?
Answer:
After the walk I feel energetic and happy.
Question 5.
Make a distinction between going for a walk and being taken out for a walk.
Answer:
Going out for walk means you go out because you want to go out. Being taken out for a walk means you don’t go because you are keen on going, but somebody, whom you can’t refuse, forces you to go with him. If a very dear person comes and tells you to go for a walk with him, you can’t refuse.
Question 6.
Now prepare a write-up on walking and your preferences.
Answer:
Walking:
Walking is an excellent form of exercise and it is good for our health. A person who walks for about three kilometres a day can maintain his physique very well. Walking gives exercise not only to the body but also the mind. As our muscles and body shake up, increasing the blood circulation, we see new things forcing our mind to think. Staying inside all the time makes one bored with life. Walking brings variety into our lives. Variety is the spice of life.
Doctors say that large numbers of people suffer from back pain due to lack of exercise. They say walking reduces back pain. When we walk, the fat accumulated in our body burns up. Then carbohydrates are burnt. Thus we clear our body from extra fat and carbohydrates.
Walking is an exercise which does not cost anything extra. You may need a good pair of walking shoes. These days there are many people who jog every morning or evening for health reasons. Jogging is walking at a greater speed, less than running. Walking is especially good for people who do sedentary jobs, which force them to sit down for long periods.
I like to go for walking with friends. When we walk, talking with friends, walking becomes doubly enjoyable. We forget the bodily exertion of walking and at the same time we exchange views on so many things. I prefer to walk early in the morning when the streets are not crowded. The airthen will be fresh and without much dust. My advice to all the young boys and girls is to go to their schools on foot, if the distance is not much. Walking will make you healthy, wealthy and wise.
Activity – II (Personal Essay)
Read the note and tips on Personal Essay given on page 152 and 153 of the text.
Attempt to write a personal essay on a topic of your choice, e.g. (swimming, jogging etc.)
Answer:
The other day I was walking with my friend when I saw a gruesome sight. Two young boys were working at a construction site. They were carrying heavy loads of bricks on their heads. They were about 10 years old. They wore rags and poverty was writ large on their faces. Although child labour is banned in India, may people still make children do a lot of hard work. I felt sorry for them.
Child labour refers to the employment of children in any work that deprives them of their childhood and interferes with their ability to attend regular school. It also refers to any employment of children in jobs that are mentally, physically, socially or morally harmful. Employing children in jobs which are supposed to be done by the adults is considered exploitative by many international organizations. Legislations across the world prohibit child labour. No country wants its children to spend their childhood in working at jobs which the adults are supposed to do.
Child labour was employed to varying extents through most of history. Before 1940, many children between the ages of 5-14 were made to work in Europe, the USA and the various colonies of European powers. These children worked in agriculture, home-based assembly operations, factories and even in mining. Some worked night shifts lasting 12 hours. With the rise of household income, availability of schools and passage of child labour laws, the incidents of child labour rates fell.
In developing countries, where there is high poverty and less opportunities for schooling, child labour is still prevalent. In 2010, sub-Saharan Africa had the highest incidence oftmild labour, with several African nations witnessing over 50% of children aged between 5-14 working. Agriculture is the largest employer of child labour. Vast majority of child labour is found in rural areas and informal urban economy. Even parents make their children labour hard at homes and in the fields. Poverty and lack of schools are the main causes for child labour.
In Kerala, which is called God’s own country, we see children from other States employed in the homes of the well-to-do to work as servants, to do household chores. Making the children work like a servant is a sin against God and man. When the rich people send their own children to school, these poor boys and girls stand looking helplessly at their miserable plight. You can try to prevent child labour by reporting such cases to the police or to some other authorities.
God has given us childhood to enjoy and to learn. It is gross injustice to deprive the children of their childhood and learning opportunities. In the novels of Charles Dickens we see how boys like Oliver Twist suffered because of child labour. Remember each child has a dream. Don’t deprive him of it. God will never forgive you if you are the cause to deprive a child of his dream.
My friend and I went to the nearest police station to report what we saw at the construction site. The policeman sitting there took down our complaint. But will the police take any action against those who employed the boys to work there? We could only hope they will.
Activity – III (Survey)
The survey is to be carried out by the student themselves. Do it following the questionnaire and the suggestions given in the text on p. 153 and 154.
Activity – IV (Read and Practise)
Read the notes on the use of would rather and would prefer on page 154 and 155.
Let’s practise:
Answer the following questions using ‘would rather’:
1. What did you have for breakfast today?
2. How would you like your coffee, with some cream or milk?
3. How are you going to the doctor’s?
4. Where do you like to go on vacation?
5. Whom do you like to go out with?
Answers :
1. I would rather have bread and jam for breakfast today.
2. I would rather like my coffee with some milk.
3. I would rather go in a car to the doctor’s.
4. I would rather go to Singapore on vacation.
5. I would rather go out with Kareena.
Expressing Wishes:
a) For wishes about the future we use would or could. I wish I could get a better bike.
b) To talk about wishes in the present we use the past tense forms.
I wish the dress was not so expensive.
c) For past wishes we use the past perfect tense.
I wish I hadn’t wasted my money on that silly movie.
Activity – V (Make a start)
Read the notes on p. 156 and discuss your plans with your friends.
Activity – VI (Project)
Read the notes and tips given on page 156-158 and see how a good survey report is made.
Extended Activities
Activity – I : (Discussion)
Discuss the points given on page 158-159.
Activity – II : (Write-up)
Question 1.
Do you think that there should be physical education in schools? Prepare a WRITE-UP saying why or why not.
I think there should be physical education in schools. I have many reasons to say so.
In Latin there is a saying ‘Mens sana in corpore sano’. In English it means ‘A sound mind in a sound body.’A . sickly body will not have a healthy mind. Physical education helps in the formation of a healthy and active life style. Such a life style makes the body and the mind sound.
Physical education helps in the development of leadership qualities. To be a leader one should have the capacity to organize, take initiative, guide and control his mates. He should be fearless and just. By taking part in physical education, one develops confidence, cooperation, and team spirit. Work is done in teams. Although individual excellence counts, it is the group work that makes a project successful. Any big event is the result of team work. Games are lost and won based on the team spirit. We all know that ‘United we stand, divided we fall’ and ‘Unity is strength’.
A positive attitude is very essential for success. An optimistic attitude keeps one cheerful and prepared to work hard. Perseverance is essential for any important work. Physical education helps one to build a positive attitude to life and things. When we keep our bodies in shape, our mind also gets shaped with the right attitudes. Physical education brings confidence and self-esteem. Only if we believe in ourselves, others will believe in us. Dr. Abdul Kalam said that each person is unique and he should try to remain he and no one else. We should feel that we are unique. We don’t have to imitate and copy others. Self-confidence and self-esteem grow by our being active in physical education.
Physical education also helps us to learn better. A fit body keeps the mind fit and alert. An alert mind grasps things fast and physical exercises help the brain to retain things for a long time. Physical education also instils civic virtues in us. We become more compassionate and loving. We become ready to help others. Physical education is a group activity and so group welfare, social welfare, becomes an important aspect of our training. Man is not an island. He is a social being and physical education drives into our mind this significant concept. In all schools all over the world physical education is compulsory because it has such a big roldto play in the life of an individual and also in the life of the society.
Activity – III (Speech)
Read the notes given on page 159.
The newspaper headlines below may remind you of some of your friends who are addicted to junk food, energy boosters, computers, bike racing, etc. You are worried about how these habits will affect them mentally, physically and academically. Being the Health Officer of your school, you decide to make a speech in the morning assembly on the adverse effect of such a lifestyle and the need to take charge of oneself.
Draft the script of the speech.
Answer:
My dear students,
Today I am going to talk to you about some of the things that bring a lot of harm to the youth of today. Being part of the youth, you should know some of the dangerous things that have gripped the young minds. First of all, many youngsters think that homemade food is not cool. They go after fast food and fizzy drinks. They are fond of eating hamburgers, pizzas, KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken), noodles, pasta and such others things. They forget that these use a lot of dangerous additives and colours. Recently we heard how the broiler chicken which we consume so much is injected with all sorts of antibiotics and hormones.
A hectic life style leads to ill-health and anxiety related illness. Hurry brings worry. Many of you like speed. Speed thrills but it kills. So slow down! Slow and steady wins the race. Haste makes waste.
Many of you are tech-savvy. You are addicted to all sorts of latest gadgets mobiles, i-pad, i-pod, and all such devices. Once you are denied these things you suffer from gadget withdrawal syndrome. You feel as if they are essential in life. Did your parents use them? Did they not live well? And happily? So don’t think these are essential for a good life.
You like to spend your nights before the TV or the computer screen watching your favourite programmes or playing your favourite games. Scientists have established that just on night of sleep deprivation can lead to weight gain and related illnesses. “Early to bed and early to rise – Makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”
Instead of drinking clean water, you prefer energy drinks or fizzy drinks which contain alarming rate of caffeine. Large amount of caffeine adversely affect your body and mind. So avoid them. Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Fanta and Sprite taste good. But their excessive use can bring you harm.
Don’t remain indoors all the time. Play vigorously. Let your bodies get proper exercises. Enjoy eating nuts, fruits and vegetables. They will help you to keep your body trim and healthy. Nuts and buttermilk help to cut flab.
It would be a good idea to keep pets to beat stress. Spend some time with them. Watch them. If you don’t have pets, watch Nature. The trees, flowers, creepers, the birds, the butterflies, the bees, etc. will make you marvel at the variety of life. Sunrise and Sunset can fill your life with colourful thoughts. Is there anything more beautiful than a beautiful night with the queen moon surrounded by the stars? Or the waves kissing the sandy shore on a breezy evening?
Activity – IV (Role play)
“Last year, I went to pay him a visit. I thought I would go and see what it was like” – Ivan goes on to narrate his meeting with his brother. Attempt a role-play of the narration. (Read the notes on page 159).
Answer:
Nicholai: Welcome Ivan! Nice to see you after such a long time.
Ivan: Niholai, you’ve changed a lot! You have become fat and old!
Nicholai: Yes, Ivan. I’ve become fat. I spend much of my time inside the house. Ivan, you too have become old!
Ivan: I can’t help. Time runs. Remember how young we were! Good old days!
Nicholai: Okay, Ivan, let’s go and look around my estate.
Ivan: How are you getting on, brother?
Nicholai: I’m doing very well. I am a landowner now. I am not the old official in the treasury. I’ve become a man of importance. Ivan : Good to hear that! You are happy, aren’t you?
Nicholai: I’m happy. When the peasants in my estate become sick they come to me and I treat them with soda and castor oil. On my birthday, a thanksgiving service is held in the middle of the village. I then give the peasants half a bucket of vodka. Okay, Ivan, let’s now go back to the house. It’s tea time. (They go back to the house and are having tea. There are gooseberries on the table.)
Nicholai: Ivan, look at those gooseberries. They are from my estate. They are so nice. Ivan : Gooseberries. I don’t think I like them. They are too sour for me.
Nicholai: Sour? No man, they are so delicious. I can eat a whole lot them.
Ivan: Sorry Nicholai, I can’t eat them. You may eat. Maybe, you enjoy them so much because they grew in your estate. My idea of happiness is quite different.
Nicholai: Well, I know. But for me they are so , delicious.
Ivan: Enjoy them, Nicholai.
Activity – V (Essay)
“Satisfaction, self-sufficiency and piety are the characteristics of a happy life.’’ Do you agree? Keeping in mind all the texts that you have read in this unit, prepare an essay on your idea of a happy life.
Answer:
Happiness differs frojn person to person. That is why we say ‘One man’s*meat is another man’s poison’ and ‘One man’s religion is another man’s madness’. Happiness, like beauty, is non-definable in precise terms. Still, there are some common ingredients, some characteristics that constitute a happy life. I definitely agree with the view that satisfaction, self-sufficiency and piety are some of the characteristic. Satisfaction comes when our desires are fulfilled. Desires are of various kinds. Some love adventure. Climbing the Himalayas, swimming across seas, flying into space, etc. are things some people enjoy and such things give them great satisfaction. For some satisfaction comes when they behold things of beauty. Sights, sounds and movements of nature and even people make them happy and satisfied. Standing on a hill and watching the sunset might satisfy the lovers of nature. Walking through the forest, watching the wild life might be a thrilling experience to some.
Self-sufficiency is an important characteristic of a happy life. If a person does not have the essential requirements like food, dress and shelter, he can’t be happy. He should have self-sufficiency in these matters. Depending on others for our needs is demeaning especially for an adult. Even birds and animals train their young to be self-sufficient when they grow up.
Piety is another important characteristic of a happy life. Piety does not mean mere religious piety. Piety also includes the love and- respect for our parents, elders, teachers, brethren, relatives, neighbours and people at large. We saw that piety of Mahatma Gandhi did not limit itself to some rituals and religious worship. His piety went much beyond that. A real pious man will also think of the welfare of his fellow beings. He will not do anything that brings pain and sorrow to others because he feels that all human beings are the children of the same God. “Ishwar”, “Allah” and “God” are synonyms of that Great Power that created us and that nourishes us.
There are many more characteristics of a happy life, but satisfaction, .self-sufficiency and piety seem to be most important. Once we have all these we definitely will be happy people.
Activity – VI (Comparative1 analysis)
There is a poem ‘Ode on Solitude’ by Alexander Pope. What is the poet trying to convey through the poem? Make a comparative analysis of this poem with Wordsworth’s ‘To sleep’.
Answer:
In his poem ‘Ode on Solitude’, Alexander defines a happy man. A happy man has a lot of land. He does not have to go out looking for any job. He has milk from his cattle, bread from his fields and dress (wool) from his sheep. The trees give him shade in the summer and in the winter he makes fire with the wood from those trees. He has health in body and peace in mind. He sleeps soundly at night. He uses his life for study and recreation. He is a good man and spends time in meditation. The poet wants to live like him. He does not want to be famous. He wants to quietly go away from life unlamented. He does not even want any memorial stone raised on his tomb.
The poem To sleep’ by William Wordsworth, who is known as the high priest of Nature, is an exquisite poem that presents to us some of the finest sights, sounds and movements of Nature. We can see a flock of sheep leisurely passing by one after one; we can the sound of rain and the murmuring of bees. We can hear the fall of rivers, winds and seas. We can see the smooth fields, white sheets of water and pure sky. We also hear the melodies of small birds coming from the orchard trees. We hear the cuckoo’s melancholy cry. The poet can’t sleep. Maybe he is worried about the bad things happened during the past. In fact he has not slept for a couple of days and this makes him all the more worried. If he does not sleep he won’t be able to enjoy the wonderful signs and sounds of the morning. Sleep brings fresh thoughts and joyous health.
Both are exquisite poems. While Pope describes the things needed for a man to be happy, Wordsworth is more interested in presenting the beautiful sights, sounds and movements of Nature. In both poems ‘Sleep’ is an essential element for happiness. Only a happy man can have a sound sleep. The reverse is also true. Only a sound sleep can make a man happy. Sleep and happiness are complementary.
Between the two I prefer the poem by Wordsworth. The imagery there is far better. Both poems have good rhythm and rhyme. There are instances of alliterations and assonances in both and they increase the melodious quality. There are excellent figures of speeches, especially personification. Both poems have a grave mood. Nothing funny, nothing light¬hearted. Both are philosophical poems. I do not agree with the idea of Pope of a man going away from this world quietly, unknown, not even leaving behind him a tombstone for posterity to remember him.
Going Out for a Walk (Essay) About the Author
Sir Henry Maximilian Max Beerbohm (1872-1956) is an English writer and caricaturist. He is remembered for the gentle humour of his essays. In the present essay he challenges the idea that walking is a productive mental exercise, especially if one is accompanied by a talkative companion.
Going Out for a Walk (Essay) Summary in English
Page 149:1 have not gone out for a walk all my life. But I have been taken out forwalfor walks while I walked by my nurse’s side I felt nostalgic for the old days when I had a perambulator. When I grew up I felt that one advantage of living in London was that nobody ever wanted me to come out for a walk. The endless noise and hustle of London, its smoky air and its squalor were unsuitable for walks.
Page 150: When I was in the country and if there was no actual rain somebody might come any time and ask me to go out for a walk with him. People think there is something noble and virtuous in the wish to go for a walk. A person with such a desire feels that he has a right to impose his will on somebody sitting in an armchair and reading and ask him to accompany him. It is easy to say ‘No’ to an old friend. In the case of a mere acquaintance, one wants some excuse like ‘I wish I could, but …’. I always have just one excuse: “I have some letters to write.” This excuse is unsatisfactory in three ways: i) it is not believed; ii) it forces you to rise from your chair, go to the writing table and pretend to be writing a letter until the walk monger, who does not dare to call you a liar and a hypocrite, goes out of the room; iii) it won’t work on Sunday mornings. There is no post out till this evening’, the walk monger will tell you and you will have to go with him quietly.
Walking for walking’s sake may be laudable and exemplary for those who practise it. My objection to it is that it stops the brain. Some people have told me that their brains work well when they walk along the high road or over hill and valley. Experience tells me that a person’s power to instruct or to amuse when he is sitting on a chair or standing on a hearth-rug leaves him when he takes one out for a walk. Plenty of ideas come to him when he is in a room. But when he is out for a walk all those ideas evaporate. His encyclopaedic knowledge goes away. His imagination dries up. The man’s face becomes hard. Light goes from his fine eyes. He says that A (our host) is a thoroughly good fellow. Fifty yards further on, he adds that A is one of the best fellows he has ever met. We go for another furlong and then he says that Mrs. A is a charming woman. Then he adds that she is one of the most charming women he has ever known.
Page 150: We pass an inn. He reads quickly to me, “The King’s Arms. Licensed to sell Ales and Spirits’. I foresee that during the rest of the walk he will read aloud any description that occurs. We see a milestone. He points to it with his stick and says, ‘Uxminster. 11 miles.’ We turn a sharp corner at the foot of a hill. He points at the wall and reads, ‘Drive Slowly’. Far ahead there is a small notiCe-board. He sees it. He looks at it carefully and in due course he says, Trespassers will be prosecuted.’ Poor man – he has become a mental wreck.
Luncheon at the A.S, brings his mind back. Once again he is the life and soul of the party. I think he will never go out for another walk after the bitter lesson of this morning. But an hour later I see him walking with a new companion. I watch him out of sight. I know what he is saying. He is saying that I am a rather dull man to go for a walk with. He will then say I am one of the dullest men he ever went for a walk with. Then he will start reading the inscriptions.
It is surprising how this deterioration happens in those who go for walking for walking’s sake. A man is not urged by his reasoning faculties to go for a walk. He is urged by something that surpasses reason, by his soul. His soul tells his body ‘Quick march!’ The brain then says, ‘Halt! Stand at ease!’ and sweetly asks the soul ‘To what destination and on what mission are you sending the body?’The soul replies saying that ‘On no mission at all and to no destination’.
Page 151: People are always on the look-out for some Ulterior motive. The body goes out because it is a sure indication of nobility, probity and rugged grandeur of character. But the brain says it won’t be mixed up with the foolishness of the body and it would go to sleep till the walk is over. It will wake up again only when the body is safely placed inside the house.
Even if you go to some definite place, for a definite purpose, the brain wants you to take a vehicle. It does not insist on that and it will serve you well unless you are going out for a walk. While your legs are competing with each other, the brain will not do any thinking for you, but it will do any number of odd jobs for you. Even this the brain will do only if it is sure that the legs are making themselves useful and not merely fooling you about to gratify the pride of the soul.
This essay was composed in the course of a walk this morning. I do not take a vehicle to every destination. I never go out of my way to avoid exercise. I don’t despise the exercise of a walk because the sickly people are always talking about it or practising it to excess. I think in moderation it is good, physically. I will never go out for a walk until no people want me to see them or there is nothing for me to do in my own premises.
Going Out for a Walk (Essay) Vocabulary
