Written as per the new syllabus prescribed by the Maharashtra State Board

of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, Pune.

STD. VI
English Balbharati

Printed at: Repro India Ltd., Mumbai

Target Publications Pvt. Ltd.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, C.D. ROM/Audio Video Cassettes or electronic, mechanical
including photocopying; recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the Publisher.

P.O. No. 27491

10380_10900_JUP
 PREFACE
Our Std.VI English book comes equipped with Summaries, Paraphrases, Formative and Summative Questions
and Answers and of course Grammar. The goal of this English book was to simplify the Text Book and break
it into smaller bites so as to make it easier for the students to understand.

Every chapter in the book begins with a Glossary section that explains the meaning of difficult words. It
moves ahead with a paraphrase/ summary that gives the readers a snapshot of the poem/ chapter.

The section that follows consists of Summative Assessment which includes Questions and Answers based
upon the poems and chapters. We have deliberately broken the poems and chapters into smaller extracts for
an easy understanding. The Summative Assessment section also includes Language Study and Open Ended
Questions that compel the students to think out of the box and ignite their imagination.

The Formative Assessment part of the poems and chapters includes Speaking, Reading and Writing Activities
along with Project Work. Here, we've answered as many Questions as we could and deemed necessary. To be
judicious towards the exercise, we've left a few Questions unanswered and have expected the students to
answer them on their own. However this was done either based on the nature of the questions or to prod the
students to dig deeper into the given topics.

The Grammar section which is included towards the end of the book consists of eight chapters. It focuses on
all the topics as mentioned in the syllabus and is packed with solved and practice exercises. The final section
of the book includes the Model Test Papers. Every Model Test Paper is based on a Single Unit as it appears in
the Text Book. It gives students a chance to test their knowledge quotient based on what they've learned so
far.

We hope this book turns out to be a guiding angel for the students of Std.VI and helps them prepare aptly for
their examination.

The journey to create a complete book is strewn with triumphs, failures and near misses. If you think weve
nearly missed something or want to applaud us for our triumphs, wed love to hear from you.

Please write to us at : mail@targetpublications.org

A book affects eternity; one can never tell where its influence stops.

Best of luck to all the aspirants!

From,
Publisher
No. Topic Name Page No.

Voyage One

1.1 Dont Give Up! 1

1.2 Whos the Greatest? 4

1.3 Autobiography of a Great Indian Bustard 11

1.4 Children are going to school ... 19

1.5 A Kabaddi Match 24

1.6 The Peacock and the Crane 33

1.7 Param Vir Chakra : Our Heroes 39

Voyage Two

2.1 The Clothesline 44

2.2 The Worth of a Fabric 48

2.3 A Wall Magazine for your Class! 57

2.4 Anak Krakatoa 61

2.5 The Silver House 68

2.6 Adwise Customers 72

2.7 Yonamine and Bushi 75

Voyage Three

3.1 It Can Be Done 81

3.2 Seven Sisters 86

3.3 Stone Soup 93

3.4 Sushruta (A Peep into the Past) 100

3.5 The Donkey 108

3.6 The Merchant of Venice 112

3.7 At the Science Fair 120

 Voyage Four

4.1 Sleep, My Treasure 126

4.2 The Story of Gautamas Quest 130

4.3 Mr Nobody 136

4.4 A Mad Tea Party 139

4.5 If I can stop one heart from breaking ... 144

4.6 The Phantom Tollbooth (A Book Review) 147

4.7 The Sword in the Stone 153

4.8 An Autumn Greeting 162

Grammar

01 Main Parts of Speech 165

02 Types of Verbs 168

03 Degrees of Comparison 170

04 Wh-Questions 173

05 Polar Questions 174

06 Prefix and Suffix 176

07 Rhyming Words 178

08 Alliteration 180

Model Test Paper

Model Test Paper - I 182

Model Test Paper - II 183

Model Test Paper - III 184

Model Test Paper - IV 185

Note: Textual Questions are represented by * mark.

 Std. VI
Chapter 1.1: Dont Give Up!
1.1 Dont Give Up!

Glossary

bowed her (phrase) pulled her down

defeat (n) failure
give up (phrase) lose heart and stop trying
has known many a blast (phrase) has survived many blows of stormy winds
loftier (adj) taller and stronger
patient (adj) to be calm and uncomplaining
prouder (adj) feeling good about oneself
stronger (adj) physically powerful
sturdy (adj) strong
victory (n) success
you beat (phrase) you win

Paraphrase
In the poem Dont Give Up!, the poet is asking the readers to never give up. She says that
even if one has tried and failed, one should never stop there. She says that having patience
helps one achieve great things in life.
For example, she talks about the little birds that fall while learning to fly. But they still do
not stop trying. Through a continuous effort, they finally learn to fly and grow stronger.
The poet gives us an example of an oak tree that has survived many storms and has grown
taller and stronger with time.
She concludes by saying that if one wins by easy means, it would be of no value. Hence,
winning, after facing defeat is the real achievement.

Summative Assessment

Extract I

Read the extract from line (1 to 16) on page (1) of your textbook and answer the following questions.
1. What is the poet trying to teach us?
Ans: The poet is trying to teach us to never give up in life. She wants us to keep trying until we succeed.
2. What difficulties does the young bird face while learning to fly?
Ans: The young bird keeps falling while learning to fly for a longer period of time. However, it never stops
trying and eventually grows strong and learns to fly.
3. How does the oak tree become loftier and prouder?
Ans: The oak tree becomes loftier and prouder only after surviving countless blows of stormy winds.
4. Choose any four pairs of Rhyming Words from the poem.
Ans: The four pairs of Rhyming Words are:
i. won - done ii. crying - trying
iii. stronger - longer iv. known - grown
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Std. VI
Chapter 1.1: Dont Give Up!
5. Give two examples of Alliteration.
Ans: Alliteration is a figure of speech where a repetition of sound or letter in the beginning of words, gives a
musical quality to the line.

Examples of Alliteration:
i. Up a little longer.
ii. Thats the test that tries you!
Here, the words that, the, test begin with the same sound and letter t.

Open Ended Questions

*1. Your friend fell down learning to ride a bicycle and now has given it up altogether. What do you
think will be the poets advice? Write it down.
Ans: I think, the poet will advise my friend to keep trying until he learns to ride the bicycle.

2. You have failed a class test and now you lack the confidence to face any class test again. What do
you think will the poet advise you? Write it down.

[Note: Students are expected to attempt the above question on their own.]

Formative Assessment

Speaking Activity

*1. Have you ever given up on something good? Share your story with your friend.
Ans: Yes, I did give up on something good when I was in class XI. I was selected to take part in a singing
contest. However, I was afraid to go up on the stage and perform in front of the crowd. I, therefore,
asked my music teacher to withdraw my name from the competition, giving up on my dream of
winning the singing contest.

2. Recite your favourite motivational poem in class.

Ans:
Your Best

If you always try your best

Then youll never have to wonder
About what you could have done
If youd summoned all your thunder.
And if your best
Was not as good
As you hoped it would be,
You still could say,
I gave today
All that I had in me.

-Barbara Vance

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 Std. VI
Chapter 1.1: Dont Give Up!

Reading Activity

1. Read the following quotes and guess the names of the speakers.

Arise, Awake and stop not until the Failure is only the opportunity to
goal is reached. begin again, this time more
Swami ____________ intelligently.
____________ Ford

Many of lifes failures are people who did

not realize how close they were to success
when they gave up.
Thomas____________

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Std. VI
Chapter 1.2: Whos the Greatest?
1.2 Whos the Greatest?

Glossary

agitated (adj) disturbed

compete (v) to take part in a competition
courtier (n) a person who is present in the court of a king
curious (adj) eager to know
emperor (n) king, ruler
exclaimed (v) to say or shout with strong emotions
expression (n) the look on someones face
extends (v) to stretch
favours (n) to give someone things they desire
flog (v) beat someone hard, especially with a whip
in a proper fix (phrase) in a tight corner, in a difficult situation
incur displeasure (phrase) make someone angry
interesting (adj) something that catches attention
moustache (n) hair that grows on the upper lip of a man
nobleman (n) a man born into high class of rank or title
occasion (n) a particular time or event
offending (adj) upsetting, causing a problem
opportunity (n) chance
patron of art and culture (phrase) a person who appreciates, supports and encourages art and culture
pose (v) to put across
scholar (n) an intelligent and learned person
stunned (adj) shocked, surprised
sweetmeats (n) sweet food
thoughtfully (adv) with a careful thought
whip (v) to hit someone
word of mouth (phrase) passing information orally from one person to another

Summary
Emperor Akbar is known as one of the greatest ruler in the world. Moreover, he was also a
good human being. He had great respect for scholars, writers, poets and artists of various
religions. Birbal was his favourite among the nine gems or nav-ratnas in his court. Akbar
liked to ask questions to his courtiers and Birbal was usually the one to come up with witty
answers.
One day the Emperor asked his courtiers in a very serious manner as to what should be the
punishment extended to the person who pulls his moustache. This question surprised some
courtiers and left some disturbed. Only Birbal was witnessing the scene calmly and had a
smile playing on his lips.
Akbar, suddenly, threw the question at Birbal to which he cleverly replied that the offender
should be given his favourite sweets. The courtiers looked at Birbal with a question mark on
their face. Birbal explained that it could only be the Emperors grandson, who would have the
courage to pull his moustache. Upon hearing this Emperor Akbar burst out laughing. The
exact incident had taken place earlier that day.
On another occasion, when Akbar was relaxing with his courtiers, they began to flatter him to
gain favours. He was called the greatest of kings by one of them. They even compared his

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 Std. VI
Chapter 1.2: Whos the Greatest?

greatness to God. Akbar wasnt foolish to believe them, so he decided to test them on their
word. He asked them to point out one thing that he could do but God Almighty couldnt. He
warned them that if they failed to come up with an answer by the next day, they would have to
face his displeasure. Everyone was puzzled. They could not find any solution other than to ask
Birbal for his help.
The next morning, in a court full of people, the Emperor asked the courtiers for their answer.
Birbal stepped forward to answer the question in his usual witty form. According to him, there
was certainly one thing that Akbar could do, but God Almighty could not. He said that
Emperor Akbar could banish a person from his kingdom, but God could not. This is because
Gods kingdom extends everywhere.
Akbar, once again, praised Birbal for his wit and forgave the courtiers for their foolishness.

Summative Assessment

Extract I

Read the extract from line (1 to 16) on page (2) of your textbook and answer the following questions.

I. Do as directed.

1. Name the courtier closest to the Emperors heart.

Ans: Birbal

2. King Akbar was a patron of _____ and _____. (Fill in the blanks)
Ans: art and culture

3. Choose the verb form of the word belief from the extract.
Ans: believe

II. Give the meaning of the following words and phrases.

*1. untold wealth - a large quantity of wealth

*2. closest to the Emperors heart - Emperors favourite
3. pose interesting questions - to ask exciting questions

III. Answer of the following questions in 2-3 sentences.

1. Why was Akbar known as one of the greatest rulers in the world?
Ans: Akbar was known as one of the greatest rulers in the world because along with having a vast
empire, a very strong army and untold wealth, he was a good human being.

2. What did Akbar love to do?

Ans: Akbar loved to pose interesting questions to his courtiers in his court.

3. How have the stories of Akbar and Birbal handed down over generation?
Ans: The stories of Akbar and Birbal have been handed down over generations mostly by word of
mouth.
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