Written as per the latest syllabus prescribed by the Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook

Production and Curriculum Research, Pune.

PERFECT

STD. IX

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(English Medium)

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Salient Features

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 Based on the latest Board paper pattern
 Extract-based format with different types of questions
 Covers ‘Warming Up!’ Activities for chapters and poems
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 Contains Glossaries, Summaries and Paraphrases
 Includes Textual and In-text Questions (modified at places to suit the activity-based format)
 Contains Language Study (Vocabulary and Grammar) Questions
 Covers Activity-based (Speaking and Writing) Questions
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 Includes Additional Questions for exhaustive coverage of chapters and poems

 Covers Integrated Questions for better preparation and deeper understanding
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 Includes Language Study: Practice Questions at the end of chapters for additional practice
 Contains separate section on Unseen Passages for Comprehension and Summary Writing
 Includes separate sections on Grammar and Writing Skills with guidelines
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Printed at: Prabodhan Prakashan Pvt. Ltd., Navi Mumbai

© Target Publications Pvt. Ltd.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, C.D. ROM / Audio Video Cassettes or electronic, mechanical
including photocopying; recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the Publisher.

Balbharati Registration No.: 2018MH0022 P.O. No. 13604

TEID: 3626
 PREFACE

In the case of good books, the point is not how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get
through to you.
Target’s ‘PERFECT English Kumarbharati: Std. IX’ is a well-designed guide that has been efficiently
drafted to help the students coast through this milestone year of their educational journey in a well-prepared
and carefree manner.
Through this book, we aim to make learning easy for students by segregating each chapter into different
extracts based on the pattern followed by Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum

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Research, Pune. A Glossary containing meanings of all the difficult and uncommon words is provided at the
beginning of each chapter. Paraphrases of the poems and Summaries of the lessons are provided for quick

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understanding along with answers to all the textual questions. Language Study section includes grammar and
vocabulary topics explained in each chapter along-with vital practice. A Language Study: Practice Questions
section (with solutions) at the end of all the lessons will give the students a thorough practice for the
examination. Activities, Study Skills and Project sections include reading and writing activities as well as

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questions which require external reference or research. These questions have either been answered in their
entirety or through guidelines to ensure students can continue to study in a seamless manner.
Exhaustive practice of Grammar and Vocabulary as provided in this book would enhance the language skills of
the students. The book also covers a separate section on Unseen Passages along with the Summaries. A
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dedicated section on Grammar with explanation of concepts has been made available to build a strong
language base for the students. A separate section on Writing Skills which include applied and creative
writing activities has been provided for additional practice towards the end of the book.
We hope students find this book purposeful and enjoy using it as much as we enjoyed making it.
A book affects eternity; one can never tell where its influence stops.
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Publisher
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Edition: Second

The journey to create a complete book is strewn with triumphs, failures, and near misses. If you think we’ve nearly
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missed something or want to applaud us for our triumphs, we’d love to hear from you.
Please write to us at: [email protected]
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Disclaimer
This reference book is transformative work based on ‘English Kumarbharati’ published by the Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research,
Pune. We, the publishers, are making this reference book which constitutes as fair use of textual contents which are transformed by adding and elaborating, with a view to
simplify the same to enable the students to understand, memorize and reproduce the same in examinations.

This work is purely inspired upon the course work as prescribed by the Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research, Pune. Every care has
been taken in the publication of this reference book by the Authors while creating the contents. The Authors and the Publishers shall not be responsible for any loss or
damages caused to any person on account of errors or omissions which might have crept in or disagreement of any third party on the point of view expressed in the reference
book.
© reserved with the Publisher for all the contents created by our Authors.
No copyright is claimed in the textual contents which are presented as part of fair dealing with a view to provide best supplementary study material for the benefit of
students.
 KEY FEATURES

Glossary: Each chapter begins with a glossary containing the meanings of all the difficult
words and phrases from the chapter.

Paraphrase and Summary: The Paraphrases of all the poems and the Summaries of all the
chapters have been provided for easy understanding of the lessons.

Extracts: All the chapters have been segregated into extracts to enable better understanding.

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Appreciation of the Poem: The Appreciation of all the poems has been provided as per the
new Paper Pattern. A Mnemonic has been created for the figures of speech in all the poems to
enable quick recall.

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Integrated Questions: The textual questions requiring holistic answers have been covered
under this header in each chapter.
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Language Study: The grammar and vocabulary concepts explained in each chapter have been
included under ‘Language Study’ inside all the chapters. For ensuring ample practice, practice
questions which extensively cover all the language study activities, are provided at the end of
each chapter.
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Study Skills and Activities: Activities focussing on the students’ understanding of the
chapter and their ability to present information in English are included under ‘Study Skills’ head.
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Activities aimed at improving the students’ spoken and written English are included under ‘Activities’

Project: Projects help the students to attempt activities related to the themes in the various
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lessons in the textbook by taking some external reference.

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Unseen Passages: A separate section on Unseen Passages for Comprehension and Summary
has been provided to ensure substantial practice.

Grammar: This dedicated section on Grammar explains all the essential grammar concepts and
contains ample solved examples and practice questions, which ensure a thorough understanding
of the fundamentals of English.

Writing Skills: This section towards the end of the book includes the Applied Writing and
Creative Writing activities prescribed for the students, with the explanation of concepts.

Internal Assessment: The break-up of the 20 Marks for Internal Assessment, weightage allotted
to the different types of questions and guidelines for attempting the questions have been provided.
 Section-wise Weightage of Marks

No. Skills / Testing Items Marks No. Internal Assessment Marks

1. Section I – Language Study 10 Marks 1. Listening Skill 05 Marks
2. Section II – Textual Passages 20 Marks 2. Speaking Skill 05 Marks
3. Section III  Poetry 10 Marks 3. Assignment 1 05 Marks
4. Section IV – Non-textual Passage 15 Marks 4. Assignment 2 05 Marks
5. Section V – Applied Writing 15 Marks Total 20 Marks
6. Section VI – Creative Writing 10 Marks
Total 80 Marks

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[Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, Pune - 04]

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CONTENTS
No. Topic Name Page No.
Unit One

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Let’s Begin! 1
1.1 Life 2
1.2 A Synopsis – The Swiss Family Robinson 7
1.3 Have you ever seen …? 17
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1.4 Have you thought of the verb ‘have’ … 21
1.5 The Necklace 23
Unit Two
2.1 Invictus 36
2.2 A True Story of Sea Turtles 40
2.3 Somebody’s Mother 51
2.4 The Fall of Troy 57
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2.5 Autumn 71
2.6 The Past in the Present 76
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Unit Three
3.1 Silver 86
3.2 Reading Works of Art 90
3.3 The Road Not Taken 99
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3.4 How the First Letter was Written 104

Unit Four
4.1 Please Listen! 115
4.2 The Storyteller 122
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4.3 Intellectual Rubbish 132

4.4 My Financial Career 142
4.5 Tansen 149
● Unseen Passages for Comprehension and Summary Writing 155
● Grammar 160
● Writing Skills
1. Letter Writing 185
2. Information Transfer 191
3. Speech Writing 194
4. Views and Counterviews 195
5. Expansion of Theme 196
6. Report Writing 197
7. Developing a Story / Narrating an Experience 199
Internal Assessment 200
Note: Textual questions are represented by * mark.
In text questions are represented by # mark.
 1.1 Life  Charlotte Bronte

Glossary The poet further says that even if we are consumed

by grief over the loss of a loved one and sadness
Word Meaning seems to engulf us, defeating all the hope around;
buoyant (adj) that which can rise upward we must try to remain optimistic. In the poem,
flit (v) to fly lightly ‘hope’ is compared to a bird with golden wings that
foretells (v) predicts the future or future has fallen, but has not been defeated. It still has
events wind under its bright wings and it can still steer us
lament (v) express grief or regret through all the sorrow and lead us to happiness.
Hope is the strongest of all feelings that can get us
manfully (adv) bravely

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through the worst trials of our lives. The poet
oft (adv) archaic form of often
concludes by saying that if we hold on to hope and

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o’er (prep) archaic form of over courage in our lives, they can suppress pessimism
quell (v) end; suppress and we can emerge victorious despite all obstacles
sway (n) a strong, controlling influence that pull us down.
transient (adj) temporary
Warming Up!

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About the Poet
*1. There are many popular lines like:
Charlotte Bronte (1816 – 1855), an English poet and • ‘Life is a game  play it well.’
novelist, wrote under the pen-name Currer Bell. She • ‘Life is a journey  keep going ahead.’
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was one of the famous Bronte sisters, who are well- Discuss and write down a few such
known for their contribution to English literature. metaphorical lines about ‘life’.
Her life was filled with difficulties and miseries. You can make them up yourselves.
Many of her novels, including ‘Jane Eyre’ and Ans:
‘Shirley’ are considered as classics and have been i. Life is a ball  dance till you drop.
widely acclaimed. She critically analysed the gender ii. Life is a stage and we all have our parts to
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and social roles of her times. play.

Paraphrase iii. Life is a roller-coaster  sometimes we go up,
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sometimes we go down.
The poem ‘Life’, composed by Charlotte Bronte, iv. Life is a mirror and your actions are your
conveys her thoughts about ‘life’. The poet has reflection.
optimistically reversed pessimistic thoughts and v. Life is a melody; play it well.
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attitudes.
*2. Prepare as many ‘acrostics’ using the word
In the beginning of the poem, she says that life is
LIFE, as you can. Two examples are given
not as gloomy or as painful a dream as some wise
below.
men portray it to be. A few problems in the
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beginning should be taken as a sign of a pleasant i. Live ii. Liberty

path ahead. Sometimes, sadness or dilemmas may In Integrity
blur the clarity in our lives, but we should remember Freedom Fraternity
that like the grey clouds in the sky, they do not stay Ever Equality
for long. The poet then goes on to say that we
[You can turn it into a game, using a time-limit.
should not feel sad when we are in difficult
Make sure your acrostics are related to ‘life’.]
situations because the rain will bloom a new rose.
The blooming of a rose is a metaphor for achieving Ans:
success in life. It is important to not get upset with i. Listen ii. Lead
failures as they are the stepping stones to success. Imbibe Inspire
We should remember to pick ourselves up and move Feel Foster
ahead. We should not forget to enjoy the small Empathise Empower
moments of joy and happiness because they pass by
swiftly. [Note: The above answers are for reference.]
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Chapter 1.1: Life

*3. Listen carefully and write the word in the #2. What does the rain often foretell?
appropriate column. Ans: The rain often foretells a pleasant and happy
Positive Feelings Negative Feelings day.
#3. What should we do during joyful times in
hopeful, lonely, happy, jealous, surprised,
life?
shy, loving, proud, cheerful, anxious,
nervous, excited, embarrassed, scared, silly, Ans: During the joyful times in life, we should
comfortable, peaceful, depressed, cheerfully and gratefully enjoy each and every
enthusiastic, motivated, inspired, moment.
threatened, crushed, angry
*4. Pick out from the extract one line each that
Ans:
reflects an optimistic (positive) attitude and
Positive Feelings Negative Feelings pessimistic (negative) attitude.
cheerful, comfortable, angry, anxious,

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enthusiastic, excited, crushed, depressed, Optimism Pessimism

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happy, hopeful, embarrassed, jealous,
inspired, lonely, nervous, proud,
loving, motivated, scared, shy, silly, Ans:
peaceful, surprised threatened Optimism Pessimism
*4. Note that it is possible to have both kinds of “Oft a little morning “Life, believe, is not

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emotions (positive and negative feelings) at rain a dream,”
the same time. Have you experienced it? Foretells a pleasant
Try to describe the situation in short. day:”
Ans: It is quite true that at times, our mind is
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equally occupied with both positive and A3. Vocabulary / Poetic Devices
negative feelings. I often have this feeling
during my exams. I feel both nervous and *1. Give other ‘-ly’ adverbs of similar meaning
excited when I start attempting a question. I for the following from the poem. Use a
think I feel nervous because of the thesaurus if needed.
unpredictability of the questions and I feel i. rapidly - quickly
excited because I get to test my knowledge. ii. merrily - cheerfully
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Comprehension Q.3 (A) – 5 Marks iii. gratefully - thankfully

iv. cheerily - happily
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Extract I 2. List the rhyming words from the extract.

A1. Simple Factual Ans:
i. say – day ii. gloom – bloom
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1. Complete the following sentences: iii. all – fall iv. merrily – cheerily
i. A little morning rain foretells a _______.
v. by – fly
ii. Clouds of _______ are transient.
iii. The shower will make the _______ bloom. *3. Explain the metaphor in the following
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iv. Life’s _______ rapidly and merrily flit by. lines:

Ans: i. Oft a little morning rain
i. pleasant day ii. gloom Foretells a pleasant day
iii. roses iv. sunny hours Ans: In the above lines, ‘morning rain’ is the
metaphor which means small difficulties and
Read the extract from line 1 to 12 on page 3 of the word ‘day’ is a metaphor for a journey /
your textbook and answer the following endeavour.
questions.
[“Life, believe, is ......................... as they fly.”] ii. Sometimes there are clouds
Ans: Here, ‘clouds’ as a metaphor stands for
A2. Complex Factual dilemmas and difficult times.

#1. What do sages say? iii. ...the shower will make the roses bloom
Ans: Sages say that life is a dark and gloomy Ans: ‘Roses’ as a metaphor signifies new
dream. opportunities and success.
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Std. IX: Perfect English Kumarbharati

iv. Life’s sunny hours flit by *3. Pick out from the extract, one line each
Ans: ‘Sunny hours’ is used as a metaphor for happy that reflects an optimistic (positive) attitude
and joyous moments. and pessimistic (negative) attitude.

4. Identify the figures of speech used in the Optimism Pessimism

following lines.
i. “Life, believe, is not a dream” Ans:
Ans: Inversion  The words have been rearranged
for poetic effect. The correct order of words Optimism Pessimism
should be, “Believe (that) life is not a dream”. “Still buoyant are her “And calls our Best
golden wings,” away?”
ii. “So dark as sages say”
Ans: Alliteration  The sound of the letter ‘s’ has A3. Vocabulary / Poetic Devices

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been repeated for a poetic effect. *1. Give other ‘-ly’ adverbs of similar meaning

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for the following from the extract. Use a
iii. “But these are transient all”
thesaurus if needed.
Ans: Inversion  The words have been rearranged
i. manfully - bravely
for poetic effect. The correct order of words
ii. fearlessly - boldly
should be, “But all these are transient”.
iii. gloriously - charmingly

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iv. “Oh, why lament its fall?” iv. victoriously - successfully
Ans: Interrogation  A rhetorical question has been 2. List the rhyming words from the extract.
asked to suggest that one should not feel sad
Ans:
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about a little rain (difficult situations).
i. in – win ii. away – sway
iii. springs – wings iv. fell – well
Extract II v. fearlessly – victoriously vi. bear – despair
A1. Simple Factual *3. Pick out four examples of personification.
Write what is personified in each:
1. Read the extract and match the following:
Ans:
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i. steps in a. buoyant i. “What though death at times steps in,”

ii. elastic springs b. death Here, ‘death’ is personified and given the
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animate quality of ‘stepping in’.

iii. golden wings c. courage
ii. “What though Sorrow seems to win,”
iv. quell despair d. hope Here, ‘sorrow’ is personified and given the
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Ans: (i – b), (ii – d), (iii – a), (iv – c) animate quality of ‘winning’.
iii. “Yet Hope again elastic springs,
Unconquered, though she fell,”
Read the extract from line 13 to 24 on page 3
Here, ‘hope’ is personified and given the
of your textbook and answer the following
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animate quality of ‘springing’.

questions.
[“What though ........................quell despair!”] iv. “For gloriously, victoriously,
Can courage quell despair!”
Here, ‘courage’ is personified and given the
A2. Complex Factual animate quality of ‘quelling’.
#1. What does ‘our Best’ refer to? 4. Identify the figures of speech used in the
Ans: ‘Our Best’ refers to our loved ones, including following lines.
our parents, family members and friends. i. “What though Sorrow seems to win,”
Ans: Alliteration  The sound of the letter ‘s’ has
#2. Why are the wings of hope ‘golden’?
been repeated for a poetic effect.
Ans: The wings of hope are ‘golden’ because they
are bright and of exceptional value. The poet ii. “Still strong to bear us well”
has used this expression to highlight the Ans: Alliteration  The sound of the letter ‘s’ has
positive worth of ‘hope’. been repeated for a poetic effect.
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Chapter 1.1: Life

iii. “Manfully, fearlessly, The day of trial Ans:
bear,”
Ans: Tautology – Two words having similar Interrogation Explanation
meanings, ‘manfully’ and ‘fearlessly’ have i. If the shower will One should not
been used in the same line. make the roses weep over the gloom
bloom, Oh, why of rain when it can
Appreciation of the Poem Q.3 (B) – 5 Marks lament its fall? make roses bloom.
1. Write an appreciation of the poem ‘Life’ in ii. What though death We should not lose
about 12 to 15 sentences. You may use the at times steps in, hope even if death
following points to write the appreciation: And calls our Best takes away our dear
away? ones far from us.
i. Title ii. Poet
iii. Rhyme Scheme iv. Figures of Speech iii. What though We should not

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v. Theme/ Central Idea (At least 2 to 3 lines) Sorrow seems to worry even if sorrow
win, defeats hope

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Ans: Appreciation of the poem ‘Life’ O’er hope a heavy because hope has the
The title of the poem is ‘Life’ and it is sway? potential to rise up
written by Charlotte Bronte. again.
The rhyme scheme of the first stanza of
the poem is ‘abcb’, after which the poem *2. “And calls our Best away?” is a gentle way

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follows the rhyme scheme ‘abab’. The poet of expressing the unpleasant idea of a loved
uses figures of speech like Interrogation, one dying. It is an example of euphemism.
Inversion, Tautology, Metaphor, Alliteration, Think and write down three or four ways in
and Personification. An example of which we can express the idea of ‘death’ in
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Personification from the poem is “What though a tactful and gentle manner.
Sorrow seems to win,” where ‘sorrow’ is Ans:
personified and given the animate quality of i. he / she rests at peace
‘winning’. ii. angels carried him or her
The central idea of the poem is that life iii. passing away
is not full of sorrow and gloom, because the
iv. faded away
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moments of pain do not stay for long and thus

we should never lose hope in life. The poem 3. Do you think that keeping a positive
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aims to encourage us to face the problems in attitude helps in dealing with problems in
life with courage. life? Explain.
[Mnemonic: A mnemonic, known as a memory Ans: Yes, I think that keeping a positive attitude
device, is a learning technique that helps one to helps in dealing with problems in life. If we
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remember a large amount of information with the have a positive attitude, we are able to look at
help of acronyms, rhymes, or a pattern of letters. the brighter side of things. In the face of
We have formed mnemonics for all the poems to difficulties, being optimistic helps us stay
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help the students remember the figures of speech inspired and motivated.
given in all the poems. The mnemonic for this poem 4. The poet describes hope as a strong bird
is IIT MAP.] with golden wings. How would you define
Integrated Questions (based on the entire text) hope? What are the things which give you
hope?
*1. Pick out three examples of interrogation Ans: According to me, hope is an abstract idea or a
(rhetorical questions) from the poem. thought, which makes us believe that
Explain in your own words the point that something good will surely happen. Hope
each one makes. helps one in dealing with the torments of life.
I get hope from my friends, my parents and
Interrogation Explanation the books that I read. Sometimes, reading
i. poems can make us feel hopeful too, for
ii. instance, this poem can be a source of hope
iii. for someone.
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 

Std. IX: Perfect English Kumarbharati

5. Is the tone of the poem optimistic? Let us, then, be up and doing,
Ans: Yes, the tone of the poem is optimistic. With a heart for any fate;
Though the poet has used some expressions Still achieving, still pursuing,
which sound pessimistic, the notion of hope Learn to labor and to wait.
recurs throughout the poem. In other words, - H.W. Longfellow
we can say that the poet wants to Writing
optimistically deal with the negative
*1. ‘..... and that’s how I realised that courage
experiences of life. The poem elaborates that
and hope can help me overcome any major
the good things in life overshadow the bad
mishap / problem in life.’ Write an episode
ones. She seems to believe in the idea that
/ experience from your own life that leads
‘tomorrow is another day’ and rejects those
to the above conclusion.
notions which say that ‘tomorrow never
Ans: When I was in eighth standard, I fell off the
comes’.

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roof of my house and broke my right hand. I
Activities had to wear a cast for two months and my

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exams were just around the corner. A writer
Reading was assigned to me, so that I could appear for
*1. Read: ‘The Psalm of Life’ – a poem by my exams. I was uncomfortable with the idea
H.W. Longfellow. of a writer writing whatever I would dictate to
him/her. My parents and school teachers kept

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A Psalm of Life
on encouraging me. I did not let the accident
TELL me not, in mournful numbers,
affect my studies. I prepared well and
Life is but an empty dream!–
For the soul is dead that slumbers, appeared for the exams. After two months,
when the result was out I was pleasantly
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And things are not what they seem.
surprised to see that I had passed the exams
Life is real! Life is earnest! with flying colours. And that’s how I realised
And the grave is not its goal; that courage and hope can help me overcome
Dust thou art, to dust returnest, any major problem in life.
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
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Is our destined end or way;

But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.
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Art is long, and Time is fleeting,

And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
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Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
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Be not like dumb, driven cattle!

Be a hero in the strife!
Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act, – act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead!
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
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