The Best Christmas Present in the World
This is a story told by the author, he went to a junk shop in Bridport, he spotted a room top table over there made from oak but it was costly, then he found another table but its condition was bad. It had stains of water and burnt up marks. Due to this condition, it was cheap and he bought it and on Christmas Eve, he started repairing it.
He took out all the drawers from the table but the last drawer stuck badly and he pulled it forcefully. It opened and he found a small tin box. He was hesitant to open the box, as his curiosity arose he opened the box and he found an envelope with the address read: “Mrs Jim Macpherson, 12 Copper Beeches, Bridport, Dorset." and was a letter and he unfolded it. It was written in pencil and dated at the top — “December 26, 1914”.
यह लेखक द्वारा बताई गई कहानी है, वह ब्रिडपोर्ट में एक कबाड़ की दुकान पर गया, उसने वहां ओक से बनी एक कमरे की टॉप टेबल देखी, लेकिन वह महंगी थी, फिर उसे एक और टेबल मिली लेकिन उसकी हालत खराब थी। उसमें पानी के धब्बे और जले हुए निशान थे। इस हालत के कारण यह सस्ता हो गया और उन्होंने इसे खरीद लिया और क्रिसमस की पूर्व संध्या पर उन्होंने इसकी मरम्मत शुरू कर दी।
उसने मेज से सारी दराजें निकाल लीं लेकिन आखिरी दराज बुरी तरह फंस गई और उसने उसे जबरदस्ती खींच लिया। वह खुला और उसे टिन का एक छोटा डिब्बा मिला। वह बॉक्स खोलने में संकोच कर रहा था, जैसे ही उसकी जिज्ञासा पैदा हुई, उसने बॉक्स खोला और उसे एक लिफाफा मिला जिस पर लिखा था: "मिसेज जिम मैकफर्सन, 12 कॉपर बीचेस, ब्रिजपोर्ट, डोरसेट।" और एक पत्र था और उसने इसे खोल दिया। यह पेंसिल में लिखा गया था और शीर्ष पर दिनांकित था - "26 दिसंबर, 1914"।
It was a letter from an army officer of Britain to his wife. He was describing the scene of Christmas day. When soldiers of the German army wish them a merry Christmas.
They both came forward to no man's land to enjoy Christmas in between the wars of two countries. They both smiled, talked and shook hands. They also shared their rationed rum and excellent sausage.
यह ब्रिटेन के एक सैन्य अधिकारी का अपनी पत्नी को पत्र था। वह क्रिसमस के दिन के दृश्य का वर्णन कर रहा था। जब जर्मन सेना के जवानों ने उन्हें क्रिसमस की शुभकामनाएं दीं।
वे दोनों दो देशों के युद्ध के बीच क्रिसमस का आनंद लेने के लिए नो मैन्स लैंड में आगे आए। वे दोनों मुस्कुराए, बात की और हाथ मिलाया। उन्होंने अपनी राशन की रम और बेहतरीन सॉसेज भी साझा किए।
Now they have started sharing little personal information from where they both belong, their favourite books and writers like Bathsheba and Gabriel Oak and Sergeant Troy and Dorset. A German army man told him that He had a wife and one son, born just six months ago.
A British army man shared his remaining cake with a German man and he said-marzipan was the best he had ever tasted. Now all men from both armies started playing football matches in no man's land area. Their coats were their respective goal posts. Both sides were laughing, smoking and cheering each other on.
अब उन्होंने अपनी पसंदीदा पुस्तकों और लेखकों जैसे बतशेबा और गेब्रियल ओक और सार्जेंट ट्रॉय और डोरसेट से छोटी व्यक्तिगत जानकारी साझा करना शुरू कर दिया है। जर्मन सेना के आदमी ने उसे बताया कि उसकी एक पत्नी और एक बेटा है, जिसका जन्म अभी छह महीने पहले हुआ था।
एक ब्रिटिश सेना के आदमी ने अपना बचा हुआ केक एक जर्मन व्यक्ति के साथ साझा किया और उसने कहा- मार्जिपन सबसे अच्छा था जिसे उसने कभी चखा था। अब दोनों सेनाओं के सभी पुरुष नो मेंस लैंड क्षेत्र में फुटबॉल मैच खेलने लगे। उनके कोट उनके संबंधित लक्ष्य पद थे। दोनों पक्ष हंस रहे थे, धूम्रपान कर रहे थे और एक दूसरे की जय-जयकार कर रहे थे।
Then they were saying besides having war, the countries can have game’s match like football, cricket. The German army won this game by 2 goals . All end too soon, the game has finished, the schnapps, the rum and the sausage had run out long since, and we knew it was all over.
Both armies returned to their respective trenches, they greeted each other before returning and passed warmed smiles. That night they all sang Carol and went silent after some time.
तब वे कह रहे थे कि युद्ध करने के अलावा, वे चाहते हैं कि फुटबॉल, क्रिकेट जैसे देशों के बीच मैच हों। जर्मन जीते, एक को दो गोल। बहुत जल्द, जब खेल समाप्त हो गया, तो श्नैप्स और रम और सॉसेज लंबे समय से समाप्त हो गए थे, और हम जानते थे कि यह सब खत्म हो गया था।
दोनों सेनाएं अपने-अपने खाइयों में लौट आईं, लौटने से पहले उन्होंने एक-दूसरे का अभिवादन किया और गर्मजोशी से मुस्कुराईं। उस रात सभी ने कैरल गाया और कुछ देर बाद चुप हो गए।
The British army man wished next Christmas, this war may be over, it is bad and creates distance and they would all meet again.
This was the whole letter, the author found in the last drawer and he kept this letter back in an envelope and he was not able to sleep the whole night. He knew what he had to do. He drove into Bridport, just a few miles away. The house of the same address was burnt up, because Mrs Macpherson used to use candles for light in the house, while this was not the reason for the burning of the house. This whole information was told by her neighbour. Now Mrs Macpherson was in a nursing home.
ब्रिटिश सेना के आदमी ने अगले क्रिसमस की कामना की, यह युद्ध समाप्त हो सकता है, यह बुरा है और दूरी बनाता है और वे सभी फिर से मिलेंगे।
आखिरी दराज में उसे यही पूरा पत्र मिला और उसने इस पत्र को वापस लिफाफे में रख दिया और वह पूरी रात सो नहीं पाया। वह जानता था कि उसे क्या करना है। वह कुछ ही मील दूर ब्रिजपोर्ट में चला गया। उसी पते का घर जला दिया गया था, क्योंकि श्रीमती मैकफेरसन घर में रोशनी के लिए मोमबत्तियों का इस्तेमाल करती थीं, जबकि यह घर जलाने का पक्का कारण नहीं था। यह पूरी जानकारी उसके पड़ोसी ने बताई। अब श्रीमती मैकफेरसन नर्सिंग होम में थीं।
Now the author went to the nursing home to visit Mrs Macpherson, and the place was decorated for Christmas. Matron was happy to know someone came to meet Mrs Macpherson because she doesn't have any family members to visit and on Christmas day she was confused,so matron sent her to conservatory.
Then the author greeted her and talked to her. He talked about tables,tin boxes and letters. She recognised the box and her eyes were filled with joy and face started glowing. Now she found the author as Jim and she started crying with joy, she asked him to read the letter again to hear Jim's voice again. She also offered to make a cake with marzipan all around. She knew how much Jim loved the marzipan cake.
अब लेखक श्रीमती मैकफर्सन से मिलने नर्सिंग होम गए, क्रिसमस के लिए जगह को सजाया गया था। मैट्रन यह जानकर खुश हुई कि कोई श्रीमती मैकफेरसन से मिलने आया है क्योंकि उसके पास परिवार का कोई सदस्य नहीं है और क्रिसमस के दिन वह भ्रमित थी, इसलिए मैट्रन ने उसे कंजर्वेटरी में भेज दिया।
तब लेखक ने उसका अभिवादन किया और उससे बात की। उन्होंने टेबल, टिन बॉक्स और लेटर के बारे में बताया। उसने बॉक्स को पहचान लिया और उसकी आँखें खुशी से भर गईं और चेहरा चमकने लगा। अब उसे जिम के रूप में लेखक मिल गया और वह खुशी से रोने लगी, उसने जिम की आवाज फिर से सुनने के लिए उसे फिर से पत्र पढ़ने के लिए कहा। उसने चारों ओर मार्जिपन के साथ केक बनाने की भी पेशकश की। वह जानती थी कि जिम को मार्जिपन केक कितना पसंद है।
Comprehension Check para-1
1. What did the author find in a junk shop?
Ans 1- the author found a roll-top table, it was of the 19th century and made of oak.
2. What did he find in a secret drawer? Who do you think had put it in there?
Ans 2- he found a small black tin box, in which a letter he found. The owner of the table would have kept the letter.
Comprehension Check para-2
1. Who had written the letter, to whom, and when?
Ans 1- the jim English army man wrote this letter to his wife, It was written in pencil and dated at the top — “December 26, 1914”.
2. Why was the letter written — what was the wonderful thing that had happened?
Ans 2- the letter written in happiness on the occasion of Christmas, when British army men and German army men celebrated Christmas together despite the war situation.
3. What jobs did Hans Wolf and Jim Macpherson have when they were not soldiers?
Ans 3- Hans wolf was from Dusseldorf and he used to play the cello in the orchestra. Jim's Marcpherson was a school teacher from Dorset.
4. Has Hans Wolf ever been to Dorset? Why did he say he knew it?
Ans 4- No, Hans Wolf had never been to Dorset. He said it because he knew English very well.
5. Do you think Jim Macpherson came back from the war? How do you know this?
Ans 5- I think Jim Macpherson never came back from the war, because it was last letter sent by him to Mrs Macpherson as told by her to author.
Comprehension Check last part.
1. Who did Connie Macpherson think her visitor was?
Ans 1- Connie Macpherson thought her visitor was his husband Jim Macpherson.
2. Which sentence in the text shows that the visitor did not try to hide his identity?
Ans 2- . “I found this. I think it’s yours.” this was the line which showed the visitor did not try to hide his identity
Question and answer
1. For how long do you think Connie had kept Jim’s letter? Give reasons for your answer.
Ans 1-Connie had kept Jim’s last letter till January 25, 1915. The letter was dated Dec. 26, 1914.
2. Why do you think the desk had been sold, and when?
Ans 2- They have been sold due to the house in which Connie Macpherson lived had caught fire. She was taken to a nursing home.
3. Why do Jim and Hans think that games or sports are good ways of resolving
conflicts? Do you agree?
Ans 3- Jim and Hans thought that games or sports are good ways of resolving conflicts because nobody dies in matches. No children are orphaned and no wives become widows. Wars only lead to death and devastation.
4. Do you think the soldiers of the two armies are like each other, or different from each other? Find evidence from the story to support your answer.
Ans 4- The soldiers of the two armies are similar to each other as per the following reasons derived from the story:
Both the armies celebrated Christmas together by eating, laughing, drinking and talking with each other.
Both played a football match and accepted the winner without conflicts.
They agreed about the consequences or negative impact that war has on families.
5. Mention the various ways in which the British and the German soldiers become friends and find things in common at Christmas.
Ans 5- The British and the German soldiers belonged to different camps. They were enemies in war time. But after all they were human beings and therefore they had similar feelings. They shared. They got over hatred and played games, feasted and drank like good friends. Both hated war. Both were anxious to go back to their families at the end of war.
6. What is Connie’s Christmas present? Why is it “the best Christmas present in the world”?
When the narrator came to see Connie and gave her the box, she mistook him for her husband Jim. She thought that Jim had come home for Christmas. This was Connie’s Christmas present. It was the best Christmas present in the world for her because Jim had written in the letter that he would come home on Christmas. She had read that letter several times everyday to feel that he was near her. Now that he was finally there with her, she was extremely happy.
7. Do you think the title of this story is suitable for it? Can you think of any other title(s)?
Ans 7- Yes, the title of this story is suitable for it because Mrs Macpherson received the best gift on Christmas. Someone visited her and she thought he was his loving husband Jim and came to meet her after a long time. It can be "friends in war"
Working with language
Look at these sentences from the story.
Answer:
A man got on the train and sat down. The compartment was empty except for one lady. She took her gloves off. A few hours later the police arrested the man. They held him for 24 hours and then freed him.
(ii) Fill in the blanks using the correct form of the verbs in brackets.
Answer:
My little sister is very naughty. When she came back from school yesterday, she had torn her dress. We asked her how it had happened. She said she had quarrelled with a boy. She had beaten him in a race and he had tried to push her. She had told the teacher and so he had chased her, and she had fallen down and had torn her dress.
(iii) Underline the verbs and arrange them in two columns, Past and Earlier past.
Answer:
Past Earlier past
set out, stayed. had seen
arrived, came had left, had gone
sat, ate had packed
returned had fallen
Question 4:
The table below contains a list of nouns and some adjectives. Use as many adjectives as you can to describe each noun. You might come up with some funny descriptions!
Answer:
Nouns Adjectives
elephant- enormous, large, cheerful, wild, medium-sized
face- round, cheerful, chubby,
building- multi-coloured, blue, red, medium-sized
water-blue, cold
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