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Old Blockhead repairs his House
In a little village, there lived a man and his wife. The man was called Old
Blockhead, and his wife was called Ma Blockhead.
They lived happily in a little wooden house far away from other people.
The roof of their house was full of holes and the walls were rotten. Ma Blockhead
planned to repair the house.
One day, Ma Blockhead said to Old Blockhead, ‘‘Let us repair this house.
Look at the roof. It leaks. And the walls they've got holes in them.’’
‘‘A good idea,’’ said Old Blockhead readily.
‘‘My dear husband,’’ said Ma Blockhead sweetly, ‘‘I think you should
repair this house.’’
‘‘Me ? Did you say .. me ?’’ asked Old Blockhead. He was shocked.
Old Blockhead did not want to repair the house, so he made all kinds of
excuses. First he told Ma Blockhead that he had a lot of work to do. Then he
told her that he was tired. And finally he told her he was sick.
Ma Blockhead replied, ‘‘This is our house, isn't it ? Then we should repair
it.’’
‘‘Actually,’’ said Old Blockhead, ‘‘I don't want to do it. And I don't know
how to do it.’’
Ma Blockhead shook her head. She thought, ‘‘How can I persuade Old
Blockhead to repair the house ? If he does, we can save some money.’’
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Suddenly, she had an idea. She dug a winding road which started from their
garden and, passing through bushes and undergrowth, led back to their garden.
A few days later, Ma Blockhead said to Old Blockhead, ‘‘My dear husband,
we have very little food left. I think it will be a good idea if you go out and look
for work. If you work, we shall have money. When we have money, we can buy
the things we need.’’
Old Blockhead asked Ma Blockhead if she knew where he could get a job.
She replied, ‘‘I've heard that the owner of the house at the end of this road is
looking for someone to work there. Why don't you try there ? If you are lucky,
you might get the job.’’
Old Blockhead then set out to look for the house at the end of the road. He
followed the winding path through the bushes and undergrowth. After walking
for some time, he finally reached the end of the road. Old Blockhead saw a little
wooden house.
‘‘Is anybody home ?’’ he asked.
A woman came out.
‘‘Yes. What is it you want ?’’
Old Blockhead could not believe his eyes. He thought to himself. ‘‘This
woman looks a lot like my wife. Even the house looks like my house. Ah, no,’’
he told himself, ‘‘I must be mistaken.’’
The woman asked him what he wanted. Old Blockhead told her that he was
looking for a job. The woman asked Old Blockhead to repair her house. ‘‘The
roof must be replaced.’’ she said. ‘‘The walls too. All the materials will be
provided by the owner of the house. You will be the carpenter.’’
Old Blockhead agreed to work at the house that looked exactly like his.
The next day, he started repairing the house. He pulled down the rotten walls.
He also brought down the leaky roof. Both the roof and the walls were to be
replaced. While he worked, Old Blockhead was well looked after. His food and
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drink were taken care of by the woman who looked like his wife. In the evening,
Old Blockhead went home. This happened everyday. At the end of the week,
Old Blockhead had finished his work. He had repaired the woman's house who
lived at the end of the road. He had replaced the old roof, and had replaced the
rotten walls. The woman paid him well for the job.
Old Blockhead then went home with the money. He was very happy. He
sang softly as he walked along the winding road through the bushes and undergrowth. He stopped short when he reached his house.
‘‘Ma ! Ma !’’ he shouted as loudly as he could.
Ma Blockhead came out, beaming. She took the money her husband gave
her.
‘‘Thank you, my dear husband. Now we can buy lots of delicious food,’’
she said happily.
But Old Blockhead was still bewildered. He stared at his house without
blinking.
‘‘Our house has been repaired, Ma ?’’ asked Old Blockhead, surprised.
‘‘Oh yes,’’ replied Ma Blockhead smiling.
Old Blockhead asked again, ‘‘Who did it ?’’
‘‘Oh ,..... Let's see... His name is Old Blockhead,’’ replied his wife, shaking
with laughter.
‘‘No, no. That cannot be true. I repaired the house at the end of this road,’’
said Old Blockhead.
Ma Blockhead told him the real story.
‘‘So, all this while, I was repairing my own house !’’ exclaimed Old Blockhead, scratching his head.
(a folk talk of Malaysia)
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Glossary
persuade
/pJ'sweId/
to make someone willing to do
something
undergrowth
/'VndJgrJUT/
bushes small trees and other plants
growing around and under trees
set out
/set aUt/
start on a journey
mistaken
/mI'steIkJn/
wrong
winding
/'waIndIN/
having a twisting turning shape
blinking
/'blINkIN/
open and close the eyes quickly
scratching
/skr&tSiN/
an act of scratching a part of the
body
blockhead
/'blQkhed/
a very stupid person.
Exercises
Vocabulary
A.
Use the following in your sentences :
far away, let, suddenly, a few, looking for set out, a lot, pull down, look after,
take care of, at the end.
B.
Give the meanings of :
look, look into, look ahead, look at, look down,
upon, look up, look here.
C.
Match the words given under 'A' with their meanings given under 'B'.
A
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look for, look in, look
B
owner
suffering from decay
mistaken
smile radiantly
rotten
one who owns something
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D.
beaming
very pleasant to the taste
delicious
wrong in one's opinion or judgement
Write different meanings of the following words and use them in your
own sentences.
call, idea, save, like, short
E.
What is common in the pronunciation of the following words :
man, back, sad, have, thank
Comprehension
A.
B.
Answer each of the following questions in about 25 words.
1.
Describe the condition of the house as narrated by Ma Blockhead.
2.
Why was the repair of the house urgent ?
3.
Why did Ma Blockhead dig the road ?
4.
After walking the dug road, where did old Blockhead reach ?
Answer each of the following questions in about 50 words.
1.
How was old Blockhead persuaded to work ?
2.
What excuses did old Blockhead make ?
3.
Describe the reaction of old Blockhead when he came to know that he
repaired his own house.
Grammar
A.
Read the following extracts of conversation :
•
‘‘My dear husband’’ said Ma Blockhead sweetly, ‘‘I think you should
repair this house.’’
•
‘‘Me ? Did you say --- me ? ’’ asked old Blockhead.
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•
‘‘Actually’’ said old Blockhead, ‘‘I don't want to do it. And I don't know
how to do it.’’
The above sentences are in Direct Naration.
We can give the exact meaning without using the speaker's words.
•
Ma Blockhead told her husband politely that she thought he should repair that house.
•
Old Blockhead asked if she had said ..... him.
•
Old Blockhead said that actually he did not want to do that. And he did
not know how to do that
The above sentences are in Indirect Speech.
Now, convert the following into indirect speech :
1.
Ma Blockhead replied, ‘‘This is our house, isn't it ? Then we should repair
it.’’
2.
A few days later, Ma Blockhead said to old Blockhead, ‘‘My dear husband,
we had very little food left. I think it will be a good idea if you go out and
look for work. If you work, we shall have money. When we have money, we
can buy the things we need .’’
Old Blockhead asked Ma Blockhead if she knew where he could get a job.
She replied, ‘‘ I've heard that the owner of the house at the end of this road is
looking for someone to work there. Why don't you try there ? If you are
lucky, you might get the job.’’
Speaking Activity
A.
Following are the events from the story. Discuss the order of the events
among yourselves rearrange them and narrate it :
•
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Old Blockhead had finished his work.
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•
She dug a winding road.
•
No, no I repaired the house at the end of this road.
•
The roof of their house is at the end of this road.
•
Old Blockhead agreed to work at the house.
•
She took some money from her husband.
•
If you are lucky, you might get the job.
•
This is our house, isn't it ? Then we should repair it.
Writing Activity
A.
How can an idle person be motivated to work hard? Elaborate. (50 words)
B.
‘A stitch in time saves nine’ justify the statement.
(150 words)
Think it over
A.
A man, who is in the habit of postponing his work, is not liked by people.
Why ?
B.
Ma Blockhead managed to draw best out of Old Blockhead. Putting such
people into work is a witty idea. Think of some other ideas like this ?
Things to do
Arrange your study room systematically everyday.
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