A Letter to God
By G. L. Fuentes
Question Answer
Let’s understand the text
1) Where did Lencho live?
Ans: Lencho lived in the house which was on the crest of a low hill.
2) What did he hope for?
Ans: Lencho hoped for rain to water his corn fields.
3) What did he say about the raindrops?
Ans: Lencho expected it to rain. He thought of the raindrops as new coins as it could bring more harvest and more money. He compared the big raindrops with ten cent and the little ones with the five.
4) How did the rain change?
Ans: When it was raining, suddenly a strong wind began to blow and along with the rain very large hailstones began to fall.
5) What happened to Lencho’s corn fields?
Ans: For an hour the hail rained. The corn was totally destroyed. The flowers were gone from the plants.
6) Who did Lencho have faith in?
Ans: Lencho had faith in the God.
7) Who did he write a letter to?
Ans: Lencho wrote letter to the god.
8) Who read the letter?
Ans: The postmaster read the letter written by Lencho.
9) What did the postmaster do?
Ans: The postmaster was a generous person. When he read Lecho’s write he came with an idea of collecting money from the employees, friends. He himself gave a part of his salary.
10) Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?
Ans: No, Lencho was not at all surprised to find a letter for him with money in it. He was confident that god would send him money that he needed.
11) What was Lencho’s reaction after getting the letter?
Ans: When he got the letter and the coins, he counted them. He found that there were only 70 pesos, and this made him angry.
Let’s read between the lines:
(a) (i) Why did Lencho keep on looking at the sky throughout the morning?
Ans: Lencho kept looking at the sky because he expected that it would rain that day. The only thing the earth needed was a downpour or at least a shower.
(ii) Why was the field white after the storm?
Ans: For an hour, the hail rained and it destroyed the field of Lencho. The white balls/ice balls from the hail made the field white after the storm.
(iii) Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like ‘new coins’?
Ans: Lencho compared the raindrops with new coins because he believed that the rain would fetch them good harvest which in turn give them money. He compared the big rain drops with ten percent pieces and the little ones with the five.
(iv) Why did Lencho prefer locusts to the storm?
Ans: Lencho preferred locusts to the storm because it would not have damaged so much as it was caused by the hailstorm.
(v) Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why / Why not?
Ans: No, Lencho didn’t find out who had sent the money to him because he was confident that god would listen to his wish and send him money. He had deep faith in god.
(vi) What would be the reaction of the post office employees when they read the second letter?
Ans: The post office employees would be angry with Lencho as it was because of them Lencho got at least 70 pesos and instead of thanking them, Lencho blamed them for taking the money.
(b) Read the passage from the text and answer the questions that follow:
(i) Who does Lencho have complete faith in?
Ans: Lencho has deep and complete faith in the god. He knew that the god would listen to his wish and complete it.
(ii) ‘Lencho was an ox of a man’ – what does the line mean?
Ans: The line means that Lencho was a strong and was willing to do anything to make his field harvest once again. He was a hardworking man.
(iii) What was the postmaster like?
Ans: The postmaster was a kind and generous man. It was because of his idea of collecting money from his friends and office employees and from his own salary that he managed to give to Lencho. He didn’t let the faith of Lencho shake in god, so took the humble step.
(iv) Why did the postmaster send money to Lencho?
Ans: When the postmaster read the letter of Lencho written to god, he first laughed then he became serious and his appreciated Lencho’s faith in god. The postmaster was a kind man and didn’t want to shake Lencho’s faith in God, so he sent money to Lencho by part from his salary and collecting from office employees and his friends.
(v) What does the expression ‘an act of charity’ mean?
Ans: ‘An act of charity’ giving money to the needed ones without expecting anything in return.
Let's learn some new words:
i) There are different names in different parts of the world for storms, depending on their nature. Try to match the names in the box with their descriptions below, and fill in the blanks. You may take the help of a dictionary.
1) A violent tropical storm in which strong winds move in a circle : Cyclone
2) An extremely strong wind : Gale
3) A violent tropical storm with very strong winds : Typhoon
4) A violent storm with strong winds, especially in the Western Atlantic Ocean: Hurricane
5) A violent storm whose centre is a cloud in the shape of a funnel : Tornado
6) A very strong wind that moves very fast in a spinning movement and causes a lot of damage : Whirlwind
ii) Match the sentences in Column A with the meanings of ‘hope’ in Column B.
Ans:
(iii) Now read the story and make a list of words used as verbs and nouns. Make sentences of your own using them as verbs and nouns in your own words.
Ans:
1.) Promised-
i.) He promised me that he would marry me. (Verb)
ii.) There is no promise that he will recover. (Noun)
2.) Feeling-
i.) I am feeling great today. (Verb)
ii.) She had a feeling of happiness. (Noun)
3.) Following-
i.) She was following me. (Verb)
ii.) He had large number of following. (Noun)
4. Surprise-
i.) He surprised me. (Verb)
ii.) I liked my birthday surprise. (Noun)
5.) Effort-
i.) My efforts were paid off. (Verb)
ii.) I love people who take efforts. (Noun)
Let's listen and speak:
Read the text and prepare a dialogue like the one given above and play the roles.
Ans:
Lencho : Now we’re really going to get some water, woman.
Lencho’s wife : Yes, God willing.
Lencho : These aren’t raindrops falling from the sky, they are new coins. The big drops are ten cent pieces and the little ones are fives. It’s really getting bad now. I hope it passes quickly.
Lencho’s son: All our work, for nothing.
Lencho : There’s no one who can help us.
Lencho’s Son : We’ll all go hungry this year.
Let's learn language:
A.) Non-defining Relative Clause usually has a comma preceding and following it. Some writers use a dash (-) instead (as in the story). If the relative clause comes at the end, we just put a full stop.
(i) My mother is going to host a T.V. show on cooking.
She cooks very well.
Ans: My mother, who cooks very well, is going to host a T.V. show on cooking.
(ii) Our institution is highly popular.
It works for public welfare.
Ans: Our institution is highly popular, which works for public welfare.
(iii) Satish scored a goal in the last minute.
He was fortunate.
Ans: Satish, who was fortunate, scored a goal in the last minute.
(iv) Mother Teresa is revered as a saint.
She served mankind.
Ans: Mother Teresa, who served mankind, is revered as a saint.
(v) I often go to Mumbai.
Mumbai is the commercial capital of India.
Ans: I often go to Mumbai, which is the commercial capital of India.
(vi) These sports -persons are going to meet the President.
Their performance has been excellent.
Ans: These sports –persons, whose performance has been excellent,are going to meet the President.
Find sentences in the story with negative words, which express the following ideas emphatically :
1) The trees lost all their leaves. The flowers were gone from the plants.
2) The letter was addressed to God himself. It was nothing less than a letter to God.
3) The postman saw this address for the first time in his life. Never in his career as a postman had he known that address.
Let’s write
(1) Now imagine that you are a reporter of ‘The Indian Express”. You have received the news about the recent cyclone that hit Odisha. Using the guidelines given in the box above, complete a similar report for the newspaper.
The Hindu Times,
Odisha, 24th July
It was night time, when there was a severe cyclone near coast of Odisha. It came with winds gusting up 1225 kms per hour. It was so severe that it made everyone stay awake the whole night. Heavy tidal waves lashed nearby towns and villages of Odisha.
Approximately 5 thousands villages have been affected by the cyclonic storm. It is considered to be one of the most severe cyclones that took place that killed 7,000 people. More than a million people were moved to safer areas. The cyclone affected industries, agriculture, transport and electricity.
Number of disaster management teams was sent for the rescue operation. The central government has announced 50 crores package to the victims. The state government has announced help of 25 crores package to the victims. Also food and water was supplied to the affected people and rupees 10 lakh was given to the causality.