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Activity

Q1. Do you keep a diary? Given below under ‘A’ are some terms we use to describe a written record of personal experience. Can you match them with their descriptions under ‘B’?

Answer:
(i) Journal → A full record of a journey, a period of time, or an event, written every day
(ii) Diary → A book with a separate space or page for each day, in which you write down your thoughts and feelings or what has happened on that day
(iii) Log → A written record of events with times and dates, usually official
(iv) Memoir(s) → A record of a person’s own life and experiences (usually, a famous person)

Q2. Here are some entries from personal records. Use the definitions above to decide which of the entries might be from a diary, a journal, a log or a memoir.

Answer:
(i) I woke up very late today and promptly got a scolding from Mum! I can’t help it – how can I miss the FIFA World Cup matches? → Diary
(ii) 10:30 am. Went to the office of the Director… → Log
(iii) The ride to Ooty was uneventful. We rested for a while every 50 km or so… → Journal
(iv) This is how Raj Kapoor found me – all wet and ragged – outside R.K. Studios… → Memoir(s)

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Oral Comprehension Check 

Q1. What makes writing in a diary a strange experience for Anne Frank?
Answer: It’s a strange experience for Anne because she has never written anything before and she doesn’t think anyone would be interested in her thoughts as a thirteen-year-old girl.

Q2. Why does Anne want to keep a diary?
Answer: Anne wants to keep a diary because she feels she doesn’t have a true friend she can talk to. She wants to get all her thoughts and feelings off her chest.

Q3. Why did Anne think she could confide more in her diary than in people?
Answer: Anne thought she could confide more in her diary because it has more patience than people and she felt she couldn’t get close enough to her friends to talk about her deepest thoughts.

Oral Comprehension Check 

Q1. Why does Anne provide a brief sketch of her life?
Answer: Anne provides a brief sketch of her life so that anyone who reads her diary later, or her “friend” Kitty, can understand the context of her stories.

Q2. What tells you that Anne loved her grandmother?
Answer: Anne’s love for her grandmother is shown when she mentions that no one knew how often she thought of her and that she still loved her. She also mentions that her grandmother’s candle was lit on her birthday.

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Oral Comprehension Check

Q1. Why was Mr Keesing annoyed with Anne? What did he ask her to do?
Answer: Mr Keesing was annoyed with Anne because she talked too much in class. He asked her to write an essay on the subject, ‘A Chatterbox’, as a punishment.

Q2. How did Anne justify her being a chatterbox in her essay?
Answer: Anne justified it by arguing that talking is a student’s trait and that she inherited it from her mother.

Q3. Do you think Mr Keesing was a strict teacher?
Answer: Mr Keesing seems like a strict teacher at first because he gave Anne extra homework. However, he also has a good sense of humor, as he appreciated her witty poem and even shared it with other classes.

Q4. What made Mr Keesing allow Anne to talk in class?
Answer: Mr Keesing was impressed and amused by Anne’s third essay, which was a poem. The poem, a joke on him, was so creative and witty that he saw the humor in the situation.

Thinking about the Text

Q1. Was Anne right when she said that the world would not be interested in the musings of a thirteen-year-old girl?
Answer: Anne was not right. Her diary became one of the most widely read books in the world because it provides a unique and intimate look at life during the Holocaust.

Q2. There are some examples of diary or journal entries in the ‘Before You Read’ section. Compare these with what Anne writes in her diary. What language was the diary originally written in? In what way is Anne’s diary different?
Answer: Anne’s diary was originally written in Dutch. It is different because she writes to her diary as a friend and confidant, sharing her deepest thoughts, feelings, and frustrations. The other entries are more like simple records of events.

Q3. Why does Anne need to give a brief sketch about her family? Does she treat ‘Kitty’ as an insider or an outsider?
Answer: Anne needs to give a brief sketch so that anyone who reads her diary can understand the context. She treats ‘Kitty’ as a close insider, which is why she feels the need to introduce her family.

Q4. How does Anne feel about her father, her grandmother, Mrs Kuperus and Mr Keesing? What do these tell you about her?
Answer: Anne feels great affection and love for her father and her grandmother. She was also close to Mrs Kuperus and Mr Keesing, showing that she was a loving, emotional, and social person who was able to form strong relationships.

Q5. What does Anne write in her first essay?
Answer: In her first essay, ‘A Chatterbox’, Anne argues that talking is a student’s trait and that she inherited it from her mother.

Q6. Anne says teachers are most unpredictable. Is Mr Keesing unpredictable? How?
Answer: Mr Keesing is unpredictable. He seemed strict at first but changed his attitude after reading her witty poem, showing he was not as rigid as he appeared.

Q7. What do these statements tell you about Anne Frank as a person?
Answer:
(i) We don’t seem to be able to get any closer, and that’s the problem. Maybe it’s my fault that we don’t confide in each other. → This shows that Anne is a reflective and self-aware person.
(ii) I don’t want to jot down the facts in this diary the way most people would, but I want the diary to be my friend. → This shows that Anne is creative and has a rich inner life.
(iii) Margot went to Holland in December, and I followed in February, when I was plunked down on the table as a birthday present for Margot. → This is a playful and humorous statement. It shows that Anne has a good sense of humour.
(iv) If you ask me, there are so many dummies that about a quarter of the class should be kept back, but teachers are the most unpredictable creatures on earth. → This shows that Anne is very observant and has strong opinions.
(v) Anyone could ramble on and leave big spaces between the words, but the trick was to come up with convincing arguments to prove the necessity of talking. → This shows that Anne is intelligent and witty.

Thinking about Language

I. Match the compound words under ‘A’ with their meanings under ‘B’. Use each in a sentence.

Answer:

1. Heartbreaking → producing great sadness
2. Homesick → missing home and family very much
3. Blockhead → an informal word which means a very stupid person
4. Law-abiding → obeying and respecting the law
5. Overdo → do something to an excessive degree
6. Daydream → think about pleasant things, forgetting about the present
7. Breakdown → an occasion when vehicles/machines stop working
8. Output → something produced by a person, machine or organisation

II. Phrasal Verbs – Now find the sentences in the lesson that have the phrasal verbs given below. Match them with their meanings.

Answer:

• Plunge in → go straight to the topic
• Kept back → not promoted
• Move up → go to the next grade
• Ramble on → speak or write without focus
• Get along with → have a good relationship with
• Calm down → make (them) remain quiet
• Stay in → stay indoors
• Make up for → compensate
• Hand in → give an assignment (homework) to a person in authority (the teacher)

III. Idioms

Q1. Here are a few sentences from the text which have idiomatic expressions. Can you say what each means?

Answer:
(i) Our entire class is quaking in its boots. → The whole class is shaking with fear or nervousness.
(ii) Until then, we keep telling each other not to lose heart. → Not to give up or to become discouraged.
(iii) Mr Keesing was annoyed with me for ages because I talked so much. → Mr Keesing was annoyed for a very long time.
(iv) Mr Keesing was trying to play a joke on me with this ridiculous subject, but I’d make sure the joke was on him. → Anne was going to turn the tables and make Mr Keesing the subject of the joke instead.

Q2. Here are a few more idiomatic expressions that occur in the text. Try to use them in sentences of your own.

Answer:

• Caught my eye: The beautiful painting at the art gallery caught my eye.
• He’d had enough: After listening to the loud music, he’d had enough and went home.
• Laugh ourselves silly: We watched a funny movie and laughed ourselves silly.
• Can’t bring myself to: I can’t bring myself to throw away my old teddy bear.

IV. Now find out the meanings of the following expressions using the word ‘heart’. Use each of them in a sentence of your own.

Answer:

1. Break somebody’s heart → to make someone feel very sad or disappointed.
   Sentence: It would break his heart if his team lost the final match.
2. Close/dear to heart → very important and special to someone.
   Sentence: The cause of helping animals is very close to my heart.
3. From the (bottom of your) heart → with sincere and deep feeling.
   Sentence: She thanked him from the bottom of her heart for his kindness.
4. Have a heart → to show kindness or pity to someone.
   Sentence: “Please, have a heart, and let me have a turn with the toy.”
5. Have a heart of stone → to be cold, cruel, and without pity.
   Sentence: You must have a heart of stone to not feel sympathy for that poor family.
6. Your heart goes out to somebody → to feel great sympathy for someone.
   Sentence: My heart goes out to all the people who lost their homes in the fire.

V. Contracted Forms

Q1. Make a list of the contracted forms in the text. Rewrite them as full forms of two words.

Answer:

• I’ve → I have
• Don’t → Do not
• Won’t → Will not
• I’d → I had / I would
• It’s → It is
• I’m → I am
• You’re → You are
• Couldn’t → Could not
• Didn’t → Did not

Q2. We have seen that some contracted forms can stand for two different full forms: I’d = I had or I would. Find in the text the contracted forms that stand for two different full forms, and say what these are.

Answer:

• I’d = I had (as in “I’d nearly exhausted my ingenuity”)
• I’d = I would (as in “I’d make sure the joke was on him”)