KSEEB Karnataka SSLC Solution Class 10 English First Language – Consumerist Culture
Board |
KSEEB (Karnataka Board) |
Exam |
SSLC (Class 10) |
Subject |
English |
Language |
1st Language |
Part |
2 |
Chapter |
9 |
Chapter Name |
Consumerist Culture |
Topic and Notes |
Solution of Question Answer/ Study Material |
Consumerist Culture Class 10 English SSLC Study Material / Notes/ Question Answer
LESSON 9
Consumerist Culture
II.) COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS :
A.) Answer the following questions briefly :
1.) The writer refers to the catchy phrase, “shop till you drop” in an advertisement.
a.) What is the meaning intended by the advertisers?
Answer: The meaning is that a consumer should shop until he/she gets tired.
b.) Why does the writer call this apt and ironic?
Answer: The writer calls so because it sums the media-driven mania of mindless consumption that shows our lives in this modern age.
c.) Which word shows that the writer is condemning consumerism?
Answer: The word ‘posh’ shows that the writer is condemning consumerism
2.) In the very first paragraph, the writer makes it clear that
a.) he supports shopping and shopping malls.
he is very critical of them.
3.) The writer puts Pepsi, Coca Cola and other “artificially coloured, flavoured and sweetened water” under absolutely unessential to human health and happiness.
a.) Do you agree with his view?
Answer: Yes, I agree with is view.
b.) List any five such articles/gadgets/food items which your family has been using at home and which are not absolutely essential for your health and happiness.
Answer: Packaged food items, ice-cream, junk food, packaged juices, cosmetics are some of the things that are used at home and which are not really essential for your health and happiness.
4.) What is the success story of Pepsi and Coca-Cola?
Answer: The bottles of Pepsi and Coca-Cola are sold in even remotest nook and corner of the world have made them successful by having maximum reach.
5.) The second paragraph ends with “a seemingly never ending list.” What ‘list’ is the writer talking about?
Answer: The writer is talking about the list of non-so-essential things.
6.) a.) What phrase does the writer use in paragraph 3 to refer to an advertisement?
Answer: Equally unprecedented in the world’s history is the size of the machinery of persuasion that has been set up in order to generate demand for this profusion of consumables.
b.) What does an advertisement aim to do?
Answer: An advertisement aims to make profit.
7.) In the writer’s opinion, shopping has become more than a need. (complete the sentence)
8.) What thrills the present-day Indian shoppers?
Answer: A wide range of choice thrills the present-day Indian shoppers.
9.) What was the “dream come true” for the US returned Indian?
Answer: The US returned dreamt to have 83 different flavors of ice-cream in India just like America had.
10.) In the sentence, “And they take to it like ducks to water” (paragraph 5)
a.) Who do “they” refer to?
Answer: Upper- middle class people
b.) What does “it” refer to?
Answer: marketing
c.) What does “like ducks to water” mean?
Answer: It is their natural ability to do so
11.) Does the writer approve of the attitude of the Indians spoken of in paragraph 5?
Answer: Yes
12.) a. What is the “deep irony” referred to in paragraph 6?
Answer: The deep irony referred to in paragraph 6 is that while pockets of private prosperity are growing, there is an inexorable impoverishment of the resources that belong to the public realm.
b.) Substantiate your answer with any one example from the paragraph.
Answer: There is a large variety of new car models to choose from but on the other hand the roads on which they are supposed to be driven are in bad condition.
13.) a.) What is the trend referred to in paragraph 6?
Answer: The trend is to push even the most essential services into the private realm so that some company or other can make a profit on them.
b.) Who does the trend benefit?
Answer: It benefits the private realms.
c.) What is the impact of the trend on the poor?
Answer: The impact is such that the poor are being pushed into becoming consumers of increasingly expensive goods and utilities.
14.) a.) What are the advertisers and marketing professionals working hard at?
Answer: Advertisers and marketing professionals are working hard to see that even people who live at the subsistence level in remote rural pockets are lured and entranced into becoming passive consumers of everything from cola drinks to shampoos.
b.) How will it affect our villagers?
Answer: There will be commercial exploitation.
c.) What impact will it have on our environment?
Answer: There will be increase in rural garbage.
15.) a.) What kind of vision do the enthusiasts of free market economy have for India?
Answer: Enthusiasts of this vision of development are dreaming of a day when all of India will look like the United States.
b.) Do you like India to become another US? Why? Why not?
Answer: No, I would not like India to become another US as it will have sheer tonnage of the garbage we throw.
c.) What negative impact will the free-market economy have on our country?
Answer: The negative impact will be that our country will have sheer tonnage of the garbage.
16.) Why does the writer say that the model of development based on consumerism is suicidal?
Answer: The price paid in ecological terms will make it the most suicidal enterprise the human race has ever embarked upon.
17.) What, according to the writer, is the only way to restore sanity?
Answer: The only way to restore sanity is for local communities, cooperatives, civil societies and democratic governments everywhere to take back the autonomy and the initiative for their own development, which they recently traded away to the giant global business corporations.
18.) As one of the remedies to the mess we have created, the writer suggests a re-awakening. What does he want to re-awaken?
Answer: He wants to re-awaken the numerous enabling spiritualities and wisdom traditions of the various people of the world.
19.) Go back to the advertiser’s catchy phrase, “Shop till you drop” in the first paragraph.
a.) What was the intended meaning of the advertisers?
Answer: A consumer should shop so much that he would get tired and drop his/her shopping bags.
b.) How does the writer interpret its meaning in the last paragraph?
Answer: All human beings have a right to the basic material requirements for a life of dignity. We should have sustainable and meaningful life by having minimum needs.
c.) Now, explain why the writer calls this apt and ironic.
Answer: The writer calls this apt and ironic because the trend or habits of buying unnecessary things as superfluous which ultimately lead to destruction of soul.
20.) Do you like this article? Why? Why not?
Answer: Yes, I like this article. This article sums the idea of how consumer should shop. It also gives us the message of protecting our mother earth.
21.) Read paragraph 4 carefully and match the statements under A with the examples given under B.
1.) Shopping has become more than a need – I was so impressed by this latest version of the smart phone that I bought it using my credit card.
2.) It has become an obsessive compulsion over which we have no control – Buying additional pairs of branded shoes because they are on 50% off sale.
Shopping is an end in itself
Shopping is an end in itself
3.) Shopping is an end in itself – I enjoy shopping
4.) It has become a form of entertainment – I spend my weekend evenings in the nearby Mall
B.) Close Study
Read the following extracts carefully. Discuss in pairs and then write the answers to the questions given below:
1.) It is to actualize this vision that millions of our youth are rushing to get their MBA degrees.
a) What is the vision referred to here?
Answer: The vision referred here is advanced west.
b) When the vision is actualized, what will India be referred to as?
Answer: India will be referred to as a developed country.
c) Is the writer critical of or admiring our youth who are rushing to get their MBA degrees?
Answer: The writer is critical of our youth who are rushing to get their MBA degrees.
2.) It is not a wise thing to hand over the task of ruling the world to businessmen as we have just done today.
a) Why shouldn’t the businessmen be given the task of ruling the world?
Answer: The businessmen would think only about their profit and wouldn’t be wise in ruling the world.
b) What are they mainly trained for?
Answer: They are mainly trained for making profit.
c) According to the writer, what is the way to restore sanity?
Answer: The only way to restore sanity is for local communities, cooperatives, civil societies and democratic governments everywhere to take back the autonomy and the initiative for their own development, which they recently traded away to the giant global business corporations
III.) PARAGRAPH WRITING :
Discuss in pairs/groups of four each, the answers to the following questions. Note down the important points for each question and then develop the points into one-paragraph answers:
1.) Man today is an unstoppable buying machine. Elucidate with examples.
Answer: From the article the writer wants us to ponder over buying habits. Buying more than necessary would be definitely be a waste of money and also time. We are indulging in unessential things that are not even useful to us. By doing such waste of money, we are not doing wrong to ourselves but also we are harming our nature. Due to his habit of man’s unstoppable buying even the companies are producing such unessential things which are harmful. One such example is of package drinks that have nothing nutritious in them but still cover maximum market due to man’s psychology of buying unnecessary things.
2.) Write a short note on the views expressed by the writer on the tragic comedy of ‘development’. Why does he call it tragic comedy?
Answer: Development refers to the overall growth of a country, be it economical or in other terms. But in modern consumerism we only focus on the looking at the shallow side of the development and not at the deep side. In country likes ours, we focus on buying new cars but what we forget is that we still have many roads that are not developed.
3.) Do you personally share the concerns raised by the writer here? If ‘yes’, what individual initiative can you take about this matter?
Answer: Yes, I personally share the concerns raised by the writer here. When we as consumers are given wide range of choice, then we often end up wasting money and buying unnecessary things. At an individual level, we should get immediately attracted by things that are unnecessary and we should also try to think about protecting our mother earth.
IV.) VOCABULARY
A.) Select from the box, two synonyms for the words given below:
1.) lure : tempt, attract
2.) abundant : plentiful, excessive
3.) sprout : come up, develop
4.) diverse : different, varied
5.) advertise : display, broadcast
6.) bewildering : perplexing, confusing
7.) unprecedented : unheard of,singular
8.) subsistence : existence, survival.
9.) aggressive : forceful, pushing
10.) sustain : bear, support
B .) Find out from the lesson, one word for the following definitions.
1.) the preoccupation of society with buying goods Consumerism
2.) goods for saleMerchandise
3.) borderless economic orderGlobal economy
4.) foreign trading companies which export capital along with their products International trade
5.) anything that is meant for the public Commodities
C.) Fill in the blanks with the opposites of the words given in brackets.
In a largely uncertain(certain) world, even with gold prices moving upwards, the craze for the yellow metal remains unabated (abated). A key reason is the repulsion(enchantment) with other investments. A large percentage of savings are held in unproductive(productive) gold assets and a lot of banks and non-banking(banking) companies are offering loans against gold. But the supply is sadly inadequate (adequate), in spite of unbridled(bridled) mining. Gold attracts unwanted (wanted) attention and is its major disadvantage (advantage). So, do you feel that gold is non-essential? (essential).
D.) Bring out the difference in meaning between the words in pairs, by using each of the following in sentences of your own.
1.) present (n) – This year I received many books as presents.
presence – Her presence made me happy.
2.) cloth – The king didn’t have a piece of cloth.
clothes – I love wearing new clothes every day.
3.) later – I will call your later.
latter – Chocolate and strawberries are quite yummy. I prefer the latter one.
4.) alternate – He has to visit doctor every alternate day.
alternative – I didn’t choose the right alternative.
5.) decent – I love decent makeup not too heavy.
descent – His family has a royal descent.
6.) lonely – Don’t ever feel lonely here.
alone – The kid was all alone in his home.
7.) career – Sangita has a bright career.
carrier – You should have a safe carrier on your bicycle.
8.) advice – I always listen to my mother’s advice.
advise – My doctor advised me to lose my weight.
E.) Fill in the blanks with the appropriate idioms given in the box.
1.) All his relatives made fun of Charles when his grandmother left him only her old wooden box, but he had the last laugh It contained all her savings.
2.) We have been trying all day to find a solution to this problem, but we just keep a level head.
3.) Sriram seems to have fully recovered from his illness. When I saw him, he was full of beans.
4.) He has had a successful career, partly because he always go around in circles at the correct time.
5.) Even in the middle of the fire, he left no stone unturned, and saved many lives.
6.) The minister said he would jump on the bandwagon in his attempts to improve the standard of education.
F.) “These sellers of coloured, sweetened water are giant multinational corporations…”
“multinational” means foreign manufacturing and trading companies. The prefix “multi” – means many, more than one. With the help of a dictionary, find out the meaning of the following “multi”-words.
1.) multimedia – using a combination of moving and still pictures, sound, music, and words, especially in computers or entertainment
2.) multicultural – including people who have many different customs and beliefs
3.) multifaceted – having many different parts or sides
4.) multilingual – (of people or groups) able to use more than two languages for communication, or (of a thing) written or spoken in more than two different languages
5.) multifarious – of many different types
6.) multilateral – involving more than two groups or countries
7.) multimillionaire – a person who has money and property worth several million dollars, pounds, euros, etc.
A.) Combine each sequence of sentences below into a complex sentence by using at least one noun clause. The first one is done for you. Your teacher will help you with the rest.
i) He tells me.
ii) He distrusts his own sons.
iii) It is difficult to understand his reason.
He tells me that he distrusts his own sons, which is difficult to understand.
2.) i) Someone said this.
ii) History is a record of dates and battles.
iii) This ignores most of history’s significance.
iv) This makes history merely a list of selected events.
Answer: Someone said that history is a record of dates and battles, which ignores its significance, making it merely a list of selected events.
3.) i) A restaurant becomes a five star restaurant.
ii) This means the restaurant has consistently maintained superior standards.
iii) The standards are of quality in food and service.
Answer: A restaurant becomes a five star restaurant when its superior standards of quality in food and service are consistently maintained.
4.) i) The earth’s climate changes.
ii) The earth’s climate even now may be changing rapidly.
iii) This is widely recognized.
Answer: It is widely recognized that the earth’s climate is changing rapidly.
5.) i) He pretended to be one of us.
ii) He took part in all our pranks.
iii) This helped hide his identity.
iv) He was a policeman.
Answer: The policemen, pretending to be one of us, took part in our plans, which helped him to hide his identity.
B.) Combine each sequence of sentences below into a complex sentence by using at least one adjective/relative clause. The first one is done for you. Your teacher will help you with the rest.
1.) i) Walden Pond is now the site of many tourist stands.
ii) Walden Pond was once admired by Thoreau for its natural beauty.
iii) Henry David Thoreau built himself a solitary hut on the shore of Walden.
iv) He lived there for two and a half years.
Walden Pond, which is now the site of many tourist stands, was once admired by Henry David Thoreau who built himself a solitary hut on its shore where he lived for two and a half years.
2.) i) Alcohol, a drying agent, is frequently used in cosmetics.
ii) The drying agent evaporates rapidly.
iii) The drying agent therefore has a cooling effect.
Answer: Alcohol which is a drying agent is frequently used in cosmetics as it evaporates rapidly and therefore gives a cooling effect.
3.) i) The roller-coaster is still one of the most exciting rides.
ii) The rides are in an amusement park.
iii) The roller-coaster made its appearance in 1884.
Answer: The roller-coaster which made its appearance in 1884 in an amusement park is still one of the most exciting rides.
4.) i) The man shoved the woman into a car.
ii) The man was fat.
iii) The man had a nasal voice.
iv) The woman was startled.
v) The man mistakenly thought the woman was about to have a baby.
Answer: A man with a nasal voice who mistakenly thought of a fat woman was pregnant, startled her by shoving her into a car.
5.) i) A cottager and his wife had a hen.
ii) The hen laid an egg everyday.
iii) They were lucky.
iv) The egg was golden.
Answer: A cottager and his wife were lucky as they had a hen which laid a golden egg every day.
Combine each sequence of sentences below into a complexsentence by using at least one adverbial clause. The first one is done for you. Your teacher will help you with the rest.
i) Suppose there isn’t any cake.
ii) Suppose there aren’t any friends around.
iii) A birthday cannot really be fun.
iv) His birthday is on 4th
If there is no cake and if there are no friends, his birthday on 4th January cannot really be fun.
i) The experiences were sung about in poems.
ii) The poems were written by the pupils.
iii) The pupils were between the ages of 70 and 90.
iv) The pupils were residents in a nursing home.
Answer: The experiences were sung about in poems written by pupils between the ages of 70 and 90 residing in a nursing home.
i) Poet Kenneth Koch would teach folk poetry.
ii) He hoped to free them from bonds.
iii) The bonds were cruel.
iv) The bonds were of growing old.
v) He hoped to free them for moments, at least.
Answer: Kenneth Koch would teach folk poetry and hope to free them from the cruel bonds of growing old for a moment at least.
i) “Good evening. I am Count Dracula.”
ii) Bela Lugosi’s voice chilled theatre goers.
iii) His voice is now famous.
iv) Then, it ushered in the modern Dracula era.
v) He did this 70 years ago.
Answer: Bela Lugosi’s famous voice “Good evening, I am Count Dracula,” chilled the theatre goers 70 years ago when he ushered in the modern Dracula era.
i) The train arrived at the station.
ii) A man sprang out of one of the carriages on to the platform.
iii) His clothes were torn.
iv) They were stained with blood.
v) The policeman saw this.
Answer: When the train arrived at the station, the policeman saw a man spring out of one of the carriages on to the platform wearing clothes that were torn and stained with blood.
COORDINATION: Simple to Compound
Note: We use coordination to suggest that the two clauses are logically related but neither has more weight than the other.
Combine each sequence of sentences below into a compound sentence using at least two main clauses. The first one is done for you. Your teacher will help you with the rest.
i) Some species of whales are nearing extinction.
ii) Many countries refuse to accept even a partial ban on whale hunting.
Some species of whales are nearing extinction and yet many countries refuse to accept even a partial ban on whale hunting.
i) In private life he was kind.
ii) In private life he was even generous.
iii) In public life he was severe.
iv) In public life he administered strict justice.
Answer: In his private life, he was kind and generous but in his public life, he was severe and administered strict justice.
i) He does not study.
ii) He does not allow his friends to study.
iii) That’s why many of his friends avoid him.
Answer: Many of his friends avoid him because not only does he not study but also he doesn’t allow his friends to study.
i) You may not care for wealth.
ii) You may not care for fame.
iii) You shall have to care for truth.
iv) Life without truth is a degraded life.
Answer: You may neither care for wealth nor care for fame but you shall have to care for truth because life without truth is a degraded life
i) I shall not oppose your plan of action.
ii) I cannot approve of it.
Answer: I shall neither oppose your plan of action nor approve of it.
FUN WITH LANGUAGE: Punctuation Puzzles
What intonation is to speech punctuation is to writing. Any slight variation in intonation or punctuation will completely change the meaning of an utterance or a sentence. Look closely at the following pairs of sentences. Same words, same syntax, yet the meaning is so different! All because of a change in the punctuation.
a) I left him convinced he was a fool.
b) I left him, convinced he was a fool.
Which sentence shows extraordinary powers of persuasion?
a) Shall I stick the stamps on myself?
b) Shall I stick the stamps on, myself?
Which of the two will require a lot of postage?
a) A clever dog knows its master.
b) A clever dog knows it’s master.
In which case has the dog the upper hand?
a) He ate a half – fried chicken.
b) He ate a half – fried chicken.
Which would be followed by stomach disorder?
a) Go slow – children.
b) Go slow, children.
Which is a warning to drivers?
a) The officers ate chicken, their wives, vegetables.
b) The officers ate chicken; their wives, vegetables.
Which would suggest cannibalism?
a) Students’ protest gains.
b) Students protest gains.
Which of the two suggests that the student force is becoming strong?
a) The dictator, who was recently ousted by the citizens and his wifearrived in Hawaii yesterday.
b) The dictator, who was recently ousted by the citizens, and hiswife, arrived in Hawaii yesterday.
In which of the two cases is the dictator feeling worse?
a) The film ended, happily.
b) The film ended happily.
In which case was the audience apparently bored?
a) My wife, who lives in Hong Kong, is arriving tomorrow.
b) My wife who lives in Hong Kong is arriving tomorrow.
Which of the two suggests that the speaker is a polygamist?