Class 6 English Chapter 1.1 Don’t Give Up! Textbook Questions and Answers
1. Have you ever given up on something good? Share your story.
Question 1.
Have you ever given up on something good? Share your story.
Answer:
I was a very good cricketer. But on a couple of occasions, I got a feeling that my team failed due to my poor performance. I stopped pursuing the game, but today I regret my decision. I realised very late that: ‘A quitter never wins and a winner never quits’.
2. Your friend fell down learning to ride a bicycle and now has given it up altogether. What do you think will be the poet’s advice?
Question 1.
Your friend fell down learning to ride a bicycle and now has given it up altogether. What do you think will be the poet’s advice?
Answer:
‘Rise each time you fall, never give up’ would be the advice the poet would give my friend. While riding a bicycle or acquiring any new skills, we are bound to fall or face disappointments. The poet would advise him to be patient and rise stronger and achieve what he has set out to achieve with determination and resilience.
Class 6 English Chapter 1.1 Don’t Give Up! Additional Important Questions and Answers
Answer the following questions.
Question 1.
What should we not do if we have tried but not won?
Answer:
If we have tried but not won, we should never stop for crying or feel dejected about the same.
Question 2.
Name two elements of nature mentioned in the poem which display determination and strength.
Answer:
‘Young birds’ and the ‘oak tree’.
Question 3.
Pick out two describing words used in the poem.
Answer:
Young, sturdy
Question 4.
Circle the odd word. great good patient (blast)
Answer:
Blast, the rest are describing words.
Question 5.
Name any one personality from the pages of history who didn’t give up till he succeeded. Justify your answer.
Answer:
Our Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, did not give up or buckle under pressure in our struggle for independence. Finally, due to his relentless efforts and determination, we became free from the British rule and became an independent nation.
Question 6.
Explain the line: “If by easy work you beat, who the more will prize you?”
Answer:
The above lines from the poem ‘Don’t Give Up’ written by Phoebe Cary convey the message that if success comes to us easily it will not be considered as our achievement. Rising above challenges and failures, and emerging a winner is true success, according to the poet.
Reading Skills, Poetic Device
Read the following stanza and answer the questions that follow.
Question 1.
Pre-reading activity:
Complete the web diagram with action words from the poem.
Answer:
Question 2.
What is the central idea of the poem?
Answer:
The central idea of the poem is that we should never give up and be patient in the face of failures as we continue to keep trying. Failures are bound to occur. We should not lose heart and stop trying but gain victory from defeat with our willpower and our determination.
Question 3.
According to the poet, how has the great and good been done in this world?
Answer:
According to the poet, all that’s great and good is done just by trying, with patience and determination till we achieve our goal.
Question 4.
What happens to the young birds while they try to fly?
Answer:
The young birds fall as they try to fly.
Question 5.
Pick out lines to prove that the oak has survived many blows of stormy winds.
Answer:
‘She has risen again and grown, Loftier and prouder’.
Question 6.
Pick out a contraction from the extract.
Answer:
You’ve (It stands for you have)
Question 7.
Do you agree with the maxim: ‘Try, try, till you succeed’?
Answer:
Yes. I agree with the maxim: ‘Try, try till you succeed’. We should remember that ‘A quitter never wins and winner never quits’.
People like Mahatma Gandhi, Sachin Tendulkar, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and others have proved the above maxim to be right, with their life and work.
We should remember that disappointments and failures are bound to occur in our journey to succeed, but we should never lose heart. We should keep trying patiently till we accomplish our goal.
Poetic Device/Appreciation:
Question 1.
Find the meaning of the following expressions.
Answer:
- All that’s great and good: All the great achievements and accomplishments we see around us.
- Has known many a blast: The tree has survived many blows of stormy weather.
- The test that tries: A situation which is challenging, and which tests our endurance, our resilience and our willpower.
Poetic Devices:
Question 1.
Pick out two pairs of rhyming words from the poem.
Answer:
- won – done
- stronger – longer
- known-grown
Question 2.
Name the rhyme scheme used in the first four lines of the poem.
Answer:
abab
Question 3.
Name and explain the figure of speech used in the line.
‘That’s the test that tries you’.
Answer:
The figure of speech used in the above line is Alliteration as the sound of the alphabet’t’ is repeated for a better poetic effect.
Student’s Activity:
Question 1.
Find real life stories of some indians, abled and disabled, who have beaten all odds to become great achievers. You can also make a power point presentation with the help of your teacher.
Don’t Give Up! Summary in English
‘Don’t Give Up’ written by Phoebe Cary has a beautiful message for each one of us. The poet advises us never to be disheartened or dejected by failures. We are reminded that all the great and good things in this world is done just by patience and relentless efforts of the concerned people.
The poet gives the example of young birds who in their initial flights, fall but rise higher and stronger each time, thus proving that resilience and determination can help scale great heights.
The sturdy oak too has withstood challenges of time before rising up taller, stronger and prouder. Our achievements and our accomplishments may not be celebrated by others if it had come to us easily. But despite all odds, overcoming all challenges, rising above defeats when we achieve our goal and gain victory, that will be our true test, our real victory.
Introduction:
‘Don’t Give Up’ written by Phoebe Cary conveys the message that failures should not discourage us from achieving what we have set out to do. In a nutshell, the poet is conveying the message that we should never quit, however hard the situation and emerge a winner.
Glossary:
- patient (adj) – a person with calm endurance
- sturdy (adj) – strong
- oak (n) – a deciduous forest tree
- victory (n) – success achieved
- test that tries (phr) – something done to discover/test our ability
- give up (phr) – lose heart and stop trying
- has known many a blast (phr) – has survived many blows of stormy winds
- loftier (adj) – taller and stronger
- you beat (phr) – you win (here)
- resilience (n) – able to recover quickly from difficult conditions.