Oral Comprehension Check - NCERT

1 WHILE the class was circling the room, the monitorfrom the principal s office brought Miss Mason a Mason read it several times and studied itthoughtfully for a while. Then she clapped her hands. Attention, class. Everyone back to their seat. When the shuffling of feet had stopped and theroom was still and quiet, Miss Mason said, I have aletter from Wanda s father that I want to read to you. Miss Mason stood there a moment and thesilence in the room grew tense and expectant. Theteacher adjusted her glasses slowly and manner indicated that what was coming thisletter from Wanda s father was a matter of greatimportance. Everybody listened closely as MissMason read the brief Teacher:My Wanda will not come to your school any more. Jakealso. Now we move away to big city. No more holler Pollack .No more ask why funny name. Plenty of funny names inthe big truly,Jan PetronskiA deep silence met the reading of this Mason took off her glasses, blew on them andwiped them on her soft white handkerchief.

2 Thenshe put them on again and looked at the she spoke her voice was very low. I am sure that none of the boys and girls inRoom Thirteen would purposely and deliberatelyhurt anyone s feelings because his or her namehappened to be a long, unfamiliar one. I preferlistened closelylistened withattention74 First Flightto think that what was said was said inthoughtlessness. I know that all of you feel the wayI do, that this is a very unfortunate thing to havehappened unfortunate and sad, both. And I wantyou all to think about it. The first period was a study period. Maddie triedto prepare her lessons, but she could not put hermind on her work. She had a very sick feeling in thebottom of her stomach. True, she had not enjoyedlistening to Peggy ask Wanda how many dresses shehad in her closet, but she had said nothing. She hadstood by silently, and that was just as bad as whatPeggy had done.

3 Worse. She was a coward. At leastPeggy hadn t considered they were being mean butshe, Maddie, had thought they were doing could put herself in Wanda s ! Wasn t there anything she could do?If only she could tell Wanda she hadn t meant tohurt her feelings. She turned around and stole aglance at Peggy, but Peggy did not look up. Sheseemed to be studying hard. Well, whether Peggyfelt badly or not, she, Maddie, had to do had to find Wanda Petronski. Maybe she hadnot yet moved away. Maybe Peggy would climb theHeights with her, and they would tell Wanda shehad won the contest, that they thought she wassmart and the hundred dresses were Comprehension Check1. What did Mr Petronski s letter say?2. Is Miss Mason angry with the class, or is she unhappy and upset?3. How does Maddie feel after listening to the note from Wanda s father?

4 4. What does Maddie want to do?75 The hundred dresses IIWhen school was dismissed in the afternoon,Peggy said, with pretended casualness, Hey, let sgo and see if that kid has left town or not. So Peggy had had the same idea! Maddie was really all two girls hurried out of the building, up thestreet toward Boggins Heights, the part of town thatwore such a forbidding air on this kind of aNovember afternoon, drizzly, damp and dismal. Well, at least, said Peggy gruffly, I never didcall her a foreigner or make fun of her name. Inever thought she had the sense to know we weremaking fun of her anyway. I thought she was toodumb. And gee, look how she can draw! Maddie could say nothing. All she hoped was thatthey would find Wanda. She wanted to tell her thatthey were sorry they had picked on her, and howwonderful the whole school thought she was, andplease, not to move away and everybody would be and Peggy would fight anybody who was not two girls hurried on.

5 They hoped to get tothe top of the hill before dark. I think that s where the Petronskis live, saidMaddie, pointing to a little white house. Wisps ofold grass stuck up here and there along the pathwaylike thin kittens. The house and its sparse littleyard looked shabby but clean. It reminded Maddieof Wanda s one dress, her faded blue cotton dress,shabby but was not a sign of life about the knocked firmly on the door, but there was noanswer. She and Maddie went around to the backyard and knocked there. Still there was no and dismalwet and sad (here,expressing a state ofhopelessness)76 First FlightThere was no doubt about it. The Petronskis weregone. How could they ever make amends?They turned slowly and made their way backdown the hill. Well, anyway, said Peggy, she s gone now, sowhat can we do? Besides, when I was asking herabout all her dresses , she probably was getting goodideas for her drawings.

6 She might not even havewon the contest, otherwise. Maddie turned this idea carefully over in herhead, for if there were anything in it she would nothave to feel so badly. But that night she could notget to sleep. She thought about Wanda and her fadedblue dress and the little house she had lived in. Andshe thought of the glowing picture those hundreddresses made all lined up in the classroom. Atlast Maddie sat up in bed and pressed her foreheadtight in her hands and really thought. This was thehardest thinking she had ever done. After a long,long time, she reached an important was never going to stand by and saynothing she ever heard anybody picking on someonebecause they were funny looking or because theyhad strange names, she d speak up. Even if it meantlosing Peggy s friendship. She had no way of makingthings right with Wanda, but from now on she wouldnever make anybody else that unhappy Comprehension Check1.

7 What excuses does Peggy think up for her behaviour? Why?2. What are Maddie s thoughts as they go to Boggins Heights?3. Why does Wanda s house remind Maddie of Wanda s blue dress?picking onsomeonetreating someoneunkindly, unfairlycriticising them(to) make amendsto show that one issorry by doingsomething good77 The hundred dresses II4. What does Maddie think hard about? What important decisiondoes she come to?On Saturday Maddie spent the afternoon withPeggy. They were writing a letter to Wanda was just a friendly letter telling about the contestand telling Wanda she had won. They told her howpretty her drawings were. And they asked her ifshe liked where she was living and if she liked hernew teacher. They had meant to say they were sorry,but it ended up with their just writing a friendlyletter, the kind they would have written to any goodfriend, and they signed it with lots of X s for mailed the letter to Boggins Heights, writing Please Forward on the passed and there was no answer, but theletter did not come back, so maybe Wanda hadreceived it.

8 Perhaps she was so hurt and angry shewas not going to answer. You could not blame went by and still Wanda did not had begun to forget the whole business, andMaddie put herself to sleep at night making speechesabout Wanda, defending her from great crowds ofgirls who were trying to tease her with, How manydresses have you got? And before Wanda could pressher lips together in a tight line, the way she didbefore answering, Maddie would cry out, Stop! Then everybody would feel ashamed the way sheused to it was Christmas time and there was snowon the ground. Christmas bells and a small treedecorated the classroom. On the last day of schoolbefore the holidays, the teacher showed the class aletter she had received that Flight You remember Wanda Petronski, the gifted littleartist who won the drawing contest? Well, she haswritten me, and I am glad to know where she lives,because now I can send her medal.

9 I want to readher letter to you. The class sat up with a sudden interest andlistened Miss Mason,How are you and Room Thirteen? Please tell the girls theycan keep those hundred dresses , because in my new houseI have a hundred new ones, all lined up in my closet. I dlike that girl Peggy to have the drawing of the green dresswith the red trimming, and her friend Maddie to have theblue one. For Christmas, I miss that school and my newteacher does not equalise with you. Merry Christmas toyou and truly,Wanda PetronskiOn the way home from school Maddie and Peggyheld their drawings very carefully. All the houses hadwreaths and holly in the windows. Outside the grocerystore, hundreds of Christmas trees were stacked, andin the window, candy peppermint sticks andcornucopias of shiny transparent paper were air smelled like Christmas and light shiningeverywhere reflected different colours on the snow.

10 Boy! said Peggy, this shows she really likesus. It shows she got our letter and this is her way ofsaying that everything s all right. And that s that. I hope so, said Maddie sadly. She felt sadbecause she knew she would never see the littletight-lipped Polish girl again and couldn t ever reallymake things right between went home and she pinned her drawingover a torn place in the pink-flowered wallpaper inthe bedroom. The shabby room came alive fromthe brilliancy of the colours. Maddie sat down onher bed and looked at the drawing. She had stoodby and said nothing, but Wanda had been nice toher, (usuallyfull of flowers andfruits)79 The hundred dresses IITears blurred her eyes and she gazed for a longtime at the picture. Then hastily she rubbed hereyes and studied it intently. The colours in the dresswere so vivid that she had scarcely noticed the faceand head of the drawing.