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🏺 Chapter 2: The Pot Maker • Critical Reflection

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Check Your Understanding 3Critical Reflection 2Answer the Following Questions 7All Exercises 12
Q1
I Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

1. Pounding the stubborn clay inside bamboo cylinders to soften it, is also tedious. So many times I've dropped the mould out of sheer exhaustion and have had to start all over again. It takes months to bring out a batch of pots after so much labour. And the reward? A few rupees. But if Sentila learns weaving, she can make much more money besides providing enough cloth for the family. Weaving is not messy like pot making and can be done indoors in all seasons. Also, the time spent on weaving one shawl is much less and the return is handsome.

(i) Choose the correct reason for the given assertion.
(A): The effort in making pots is far greater than the returns.
A. The process of pot making is quite tiresome and long, and one hardly earns much.
B. The process of pot making is exhausting, takes a long time, yet gives a sense of satisfaction.

(ii) Why does Arenla want Sentila to learn weaving?
(iii) State one advantage that weaving has over pot making, as per the extract.
(iv) Choose the sentence that uses the word 'handsome' in the same way as in the extract.
A. My father is a handsome man.
B. They will make a handsome profit selling this property.

(v) 'And the reward?' What is the author's purpose of using a question mark here?
(i) Answer: A. The process of pot making is quite tiresome and long, and one hardly earns much.
(ii) Answer: Arenla wants Sentila to learn weaving so she can earn a good income, avoid the back-breaking exhaustion of pottery, and provide cloth for the family.
(iii) Answer: Weaving is not messy, can be done indoors in all seasons, takes much less time, and yields a handsome financial return.
(iv) Answer: B. They will make a handsome profit selling this property.
(v) Answer: It is used as a rhetorical question to highlight the bitter contrast between months of exhausting physical labour and the meagre pay of just a few rupees.
Q2
2. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.

Onula saw her taking out some clay and the implements from her basket quietly. She watched Sentila's clumsy efforts to make a pot and noticed that Sentila was too tense. As a result, the clay seemed unable or unwilling to yield the right shape. When Sentila wearily let the misshapen lump fall flat on the ground, Onula went to her and said, "Don't worry, little one, I shall teach you how to make a perfect pot." Sentila watched in amazement as Onula fashioned a beautiful pot and asked her to try again.

(i) Complete the sentence with an appropriate reason.
Onula feels Sentila's effort at making a pot is clumsy because ________________.
(ii) Choose the correct option to complete the following sentence.
'Don't worry, little one, I shall teach you how to make a perfect pot.' This shows that Onula was ________________.
A. sincere and generous
B. forgiving and thoughtful
C. thoughtful and generous
D. forgiving and sincere

(iii) Which among the following is the effect of a cause?
A. As a result, the clay seemed unable or unwilling to yield the right shape.
B. Onula saw her taking out some clay and the implements from her basket quietly.

(iv) 'Onula fashioned a beautiful pot.' Here, the word 'fashioned' means ________________ (created/styled).
(v) How might Sentila have felt when she saw 'the misshapen lump fall flat on the ground'?
(i) Answer: Sentila was too tense and anxious, which prevented her hands from shaping the clay smoothly.
(ii) Answer: C. thoughtful and generous
(iii) Answer: A. As a result, the clay seemed unable or unwilling to yield the right shape.
(iv) Answer: created
(v) Answer: She must have felt deeply frustrated, exhausted, helpless, and disappointed in herself.