English Knowledge

Strike Against War 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁 1. Helen Keller's Motivation and Message for the Workers : Ans. In her speech at Carnegie Hall, New York city, Helen Keller expresses her righteous indignation against statesmen and governments, sympathizing with pitiable conditions of the workers. She says that she has entered the fight against preparedness and against the economic system under which they live. Statesmen keep on misleading them, in the name of their country and consequently their liberties being in danger. They trap the workers emotionally and provoke them to join the army. She brings to the notice of the workers that toil and live and die for other people's country and for other people's happiness.They do not have liberties of their own.They have to work for about twelve hours a day and still they are ill-paid.Their children have to labour in mills and factories or they will starve. Their women driven by poverty have to live the lives of shame. Still their demand of raising wages is always curtailed with the growth of more and more civilization, the workers are more and more enslaved. In such condition she asks them to strike against all ordinances and laws and peace slaying institutions. She aggressively asks them to strike against preparedness that earns death and misery to millions of human beings. She asks them not to be dumb, obedient slaves in army or destruction but be heroes in the army of construction. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 2. Helen Keller's Message for the Editors Ans. Helen Keller wanted to say about the editors that they were an overworked and misunderstood class. Helen Keller clearly tells the editors and others that they should not feel grieved thinking that she is in the hands of unprincipled persons who persuade her to adopt unpopular causes and make her the mouthpiece of their propaganda. She doesn't want their pity and she would never like to change places with one of those editors. She explains that her sources of information are good and reliable. She has papers and magazines from England, France, Germany and Austria. She reads those papers and forms and has her own opinion. She said that all the editors whom she had met could not do that. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 3. Helen Keller's Speech and its Meaning Ans. Here are some statements of Helen Keller's speech: 🔹1. All I ask, gentlemen, is a fair field and no favour. Addressing the Editors Helen tells them that she is unable to understand if they would achieve success at the end of their hard work. On the other hand she feels that they are unable to comprehend their efforts to give justice to the workers. She demands fair fight without any favour. 🔹2. The clever ones, up in the high places know how childish and silly the workers are. The people at the helm (સુકાન) of affairs know that the workers are not very clever. They are innocent and will do everything in the name of their country. The clever take advantage of their blind faith in those clever ones. 🔹3. Be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction. Be heroes in an army of construction. She advises the workers to avoid being foolish and refrain from being slaves following the dictates of the clever ones. She encourages the workers to be heroes and fight bravely for the reconstruction (પુનઃરચના) of the values of the workers. 🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼 std. 12 Short Notes

Ants 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁 1. Ants have Great Adeptness - Illustrate: Ans. Now science has found out that the intelligence of ants is very close to human intelligence. Ants work unitedly with team spirit and with great adeptness. A scientist observed their following behaviour: A number of ants were down in a pit. They had killed some flies and other insects there. The bits of these insects were to be fetched to their anthill. The sides of the pit were steep and the loads were heavy. Immediately they organised the work. While some were carrying up the bits of insects, the others went in front clearing away the obstructions in the way. At some points, where it was difficult to get a foothold, these other ants positioned themselves in such a way that the load-bearing ants could easily climb over them. Near the top of the pit, there was a small part of the way which was completely smooth and steep. Only one ant could reach the top. She called many other ants from the anthill and made an ant-chain. The ants at the top began climbing down into the pit backward, each holding the tail end of another ant in front. When the ant-chain reached the ants waiting with their loads, the load-bearing ants easily climbed up the chain and came out at the top. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 2. The Driver Ants: Ans. The 'driver ants of Africa' are the most ferocious kind of ants. They are also called Army ants. They have no fixed home but are always on the move. They are completely blind, but they march in long lines, many millions along, and they devour any animal that happens to be in their path. Even large animals like tigers and elephants live in fear of them. They can even devour a python with its prey in its stomach. There are a number of stories about these ants of eating up babies with the African Villagers. When an army of the driver ants enters a house, the people flee into the forest and stay there until the ants have passed. When the people come back, they find that every insect and spider in their houses has been cleared away. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 3. Different kinds of Ants and their specialties Ans. There are ants that do 'farming'. The umbrella ants of South America are so called as they are often seen carrying large pieces of leaf over their heads like umbrellas. They take pieces of leaf to their nests, chew them up nicely and make beds of these chewed up leaves. On these beds grows a kind of fungus, which is the food of ants. Then there are ants that domesticate 'cows' and 'milk' them. They take greenflies to their nests, nourish them and 'milk' them, pressing their sides gently and making them give out their honey. There are red ants that keep black ants as their slaves. The red ants attack the nests of black ants and abduct some of their eggs and take them to their nests. When the eggs are hatched, the black ants that come out are treated as slaves and compelled to do drudgery - they have even to carry about their masters on their backs. The most ferocious kind of ants are the 'driver' ants of Africa. They are completely blind, still they march on in long lines, and they devour any animal that comes in their way. Even large animals like tigers and elephants live in fear of them. If a python happens to come in their way, they devour both the python and the animal in its stomach. When an army of the driver ants enters a house, the people flee into the forest and stay there until the ants have passed. 🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼 std. 12 Short Notes

4. Nana's Bonding with Nani Ans. Nana had lived with Nani for over 50 years. Nana was about eighty-five, yet he would find something to grumble at everything Nani did. He would keep quibbling with her. At times they had petty quarrels and they stopped talking with each other. After Nani's death, Nana became more irritable. For a few days he took out his anger on his food. He imprisoned himself in the bedroom. He started behaving like Nani. Dr Kamble said that Nana did not perceive Nani as dead. He was suffering from a sort of dissociative personality disorder and there was no sure cure for it. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 5. Nana's behaviour after Nani passed away Ans. When Nani's dead body was being taken away for cremation. Nana did not join. He asked his grand children to take her away. He whispered in the ears of Nani's dead body that he too was on the way, not far behind. He also said that he would see her in the beyond. When her bier was being carried away, he stepped away from the balcony into the room. He pulled the door shut after him.Nana saw himself as Nani. On the day of immersion Nana stayed locked in the room. When the writer went in, he was sitting on her bed. He just touched the urn and said, "Take him away......all my life he just kept fighting with me." He imprisoned himself in the bedroom. The family members removed a few of Nani's belongings, but Nana did not let them cart away Nani's bed. He did not want to get his haircut short. He had made his adjustments with Nani. When he was found dead, he was sleeping in Nani's bed wearing Nani's dhoti and blouse. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 6. Trifle Clashes between Nana and Nani Ans. Nana used to grumble at everything Nani did. He would keep quibbling with her. At times a petty quarrel would push them into a long silence.They would stop talking to each other for days together. Nani, sometimes, being irritated told him. "Be grateful that I gave you two grandsons." When it comes to leaving the house when their daughter's husband got remarried, Nana was not ready to leave. At that time Nani was not ready to leave. At that time Nani used very harsh words which might compel him to live. Sometimes, they also had a hot discussion, 'who would die first'. 🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼 std. 12 Short Notes

The Adjustment 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁 1. Interaction Between Nana and Nani as Observed by the Writer Ans. The Writer observed that even if Nana and Nani, each found something to grumble at the other, there was a strong emotional bond between them. Even at the age of eighty-five, Nana would keep quibbling with Nani, as if they had just married in the first flush of love and were still discovering each other. At times, a petty quarrel would push them into long silence. The writer says it was fun listening to Nana talk. Nani would soon react to him, something asking him to shut up. When their son-in-law married second time and brought a new wife, Nani soon left their daughter's house with grand children; while Nana would stuck up there. At that time Nani uttered very harsh words to Nana. Thus, it was only Nani who got her way with Nana. Nana would say, that he was older than she and she would just wait and watch who died earlier. In reply, Nani said that she would definitely see and asked him just to watch. Thus, most of the time, they did not agree to each other over a number of points, but the bond between them never weakened. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 2. The Title 'Adjustment' Ans. In this story by Gulzar, an adjustment is shown between a typical old couple. Apparently the eighty-five years old Nana hardly agrees to his wife- Nani on any point, and the same is the case with Nani, still there is a hidden emotional bond between them. Many a time they quarrel and stop talking with each other for days together. Yet, Nana takes it as 'it happens'. This is adjustment. Nani dies earlier than Nana and Nana asks to take her away. He does not join in cremation. Yet, at home he keeps confined to Nani's room. He does not let Nani's bed carted away. When Nani's ashes were taken to him before going for the immersion, Nana just touched the urn and asked to take them away with apparent indifference. But by and by, he starts doing everything that Nani used to do - slept in her bed, spoke in her voice and so on. Continuing adjusting himself to Nani, Nana becomes victim of a sort of dissociative personality disorder. At the end of the story, Nana is found sleeping dead on Nani's bed in Nani's dhoti and blouse. Thus, the title 'The Adjustment' seems to be the most appropriate. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 3. The Narrator's Relief after Meeting Dr K.D. Kamble Ans. The narrator was greatly disturbed, when he saw Nana behaving strangely after Nani's death. He did everything as Nani had been used to do. Then he met his friend Dr K. D. Kamble, a psychiatrist. Dr Kamble visited Nana and talked to Nana at length - for hours. He observed Nana keenly and told the narrator that he did not perceive Nani as dead. He had begun to live a double life - more of her and less of him. He had begun to think himself as Nani. He even swallowed the pills on her behalf. He was suffering from a sort of dissociative personality disorder. He also told the narrator that at his age, the recovery of Nana was nearly impossible. Dr Kamble advised the narrator "Let him live his life any way he wanted to." After hearing this from Dr Kamble, the narrator felt greatly relieved. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

4. How do you release stress? Ans. The main cause of stress is mental disturbance. The mind is unable to think in a normal way. So to bring about normalcy it is very necessary that stress is released. In the initial stage, we have to make ourselves comfortable. This is possible through short meditation. Choose a word that symbolise 'calmness'. Meditate on the chosen word. Visualise scenes that tie up with the word. Secondly take some material. Close your eyes and explore its texture. Doing this, some stress will be released. Stress is also caused when the brain does not receive sufficient oxygen. This can be done when we rub our hands together and create energy. Place palms on the area below the naval and breathe into your belly. These are some ways how stress will be released. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 5. Stress and its Effects on you Ans. Mind, emotions and body work together. Our mental capacities help us to concentrate, to gather information and think logically to make rational decisions. Stress is created if the mind is unable to think logically. Emotions bar the way to clear thinking. You take longer to do a task. This is where we come to know that stress has gained control over us. We also realize that memory fails us. We are unable to finish the task on hand. Eventually we realize that stress has been created in us. Stress is a situation where mind, body and emotions do not work together. The result is that our mental capacities fail to work. We are unable to concentrate, remember old and new information and think logically. A constructive and workable order cannot be imposed. Rational day-to-day decisions cannot be taken. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 6. How would life be without stress? Ans. Many times stress acts a source to success. We develop anxiety when we are unable to solve a problem which comes in the way of our success. Our mind is not at peace till some solution to the problem is found. On one hand, solution is found, which on the other, stress is removed. Thus stress is a stepping stone to success. Deep breathing has always proved more effective. It is easy to practise and does not need particular kind of knowledge in physiology. It also gives instant relief. If we don't breathe deeply, our brain does not get enough supply of Oxygen. Therefore, when we get stressed, we tend to hold our breath or only breathe in a swallowed way, using only the top part of our lungs, and for the lack of sufficient Oxygen, we feel stressed and unable to concentrate properly. The crown pull allows the cerebrospinal fluid to move freely, through the spinal column and the skull. It influences the flow of cerebrospinal fluid in a positive way. It helps calm our nervous system. It can also take away a headache or stress-induced stomach ache, as well as helps us think clearly. 🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼 std. 12 Short Notes

Stress Control Exercises 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁 1. Short Meditation - A Stress Control Exercises Ans. For short meditation, there are two stages. In the first stage, one has to sit comfortably closing one's eyes. He has to choose a word for calmness from 'harmony', 'tranquillity' , 'serenity' , 'peace' or 'relax' and meditate on the chosen one. One has to visualise scenes that tie in with the word or build up mental images illustrating the word, and feel 'harmony' or 'tranquillity' within oneself. In the second stage, one has to choose an object like a fabric, a stone, etc. that appeals one, and start thinking about its texture with closed eyes. Spending two minutes over it would lead one to meditation. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 2. Giving Brain Oxygen Hit and the Crown Pull Ans. Usually we don't breathe enough to supply sufficient oxygen to brain. Stress makes us breathe only in a shallow way, therefore for making oxygen reach our brain, we need to do these exercise : we have to curb our hands together for a moment to create energy. We have to place our palms one on the other below our naval. Breathing into belly is important. With every breath we have to imagine that we are breathing oxygen into our brain. The crown pull influences the flow of cerebrospinal fluid in a positive way. It helps calm our nervous system and can take away a headache or stress-induced stomach and helps us thinking clearly. In this exercise we have to firmly press down our fingers like combs onto our scalp and keep it on from front to back repeatedly. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 3. Mental Quick-fixes Ans. It is very important to carry out mental quick fixes to bring our stress down. The following are the ways to do so : - Dance on music. It helps exercise the right brain and rebalance it. - Watch a fish swimming around in a fish tank to let the mind calm down. - Write down worries on a piece of paper to take them out of head. - Get into nature and walk. - Concentrate on present rather than on coming events. - Sing in the bath. - Take mistakes for granted. - Remove 'I can't' from our thinking, and think of possible solutions. - Write a few lines with the other hand. It rebalances the two hemispheres of the brain. - Expect to be lucky. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

3. The Techniques to Reduce Stress Ans. In this present day hectic world, stress has been common. People would like to do away with it at any cost. For this purpose, the following techniques could be useful: We should stop being emotional. We should stop over-thinking. One should repeatedly say to himself 'I have no expectations and I will deal with whatever happens when it happens.' We should learn 'self-hypnosis' to relieve mental stress. Sitting in a quiet place, concentrating on something, discarding all the annoying thoughts can help a lot to remove stress. The screen exercise is also a useful technique. It helps us to step back and emotionally detach ourselves from our current situation. We can also anticipate success to win over stress. Besides, all these, there are certain stress control exercises, too. They can help us to remove stress. They could be Short Meditation, The Crown Pull and Mental Quick Fixes. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 4. Exercises to Deal with Mental Stress Ans. The following are the exercise to help build better stress resilience and rebalance oneself if one's mental capacity has already started to suffer due to stress : 🔹1. Stop over thinking : One has to say oneself repeatedly , "I have no expectations and I will deal with whatever happens when it happens" and constantly anticipates stressful tasks to be done. If one works with these thoughts or not with relaxed mind, he simply wastes away his energy. Over thinking does not keep one calmer mentally and emotionally as a consequence. 🔹2. Self-hypnosis : The exercise - sitting comfortably in a chair counting 1 to 100 and vice-versa, and imagining some beautiful picture will help one come out of stress. 🔹3. The Screen Exercise : One has to think about the situation that is currently causing stress. Then he has to project it onto a screen of mind, observe it as a third person replacing oneself with the one on the screen and advise him to come out of that difficult situation. 🔹4. Anticipating Success : One has to open a source of optimism against pessimism one has occurred. One has to sit calmly and experience one's own imaginary achievements. It will lead one to optimism. 🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼 std. 12 Short Notes

Manage Your Stress 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁 1. Benefits of 'Screen exercise’, 'Self-hypnosis' and 'Anticipating success' techniques Ans. When you are taken over with emotions clear thinking is dimmed. Process of decision taking is endangered. Screen exercise helps detach yourself emotionally from the current situation and settle in clear thinking. Here you have to imagine what another person would do in your situation. This will help you to evaluate the problem more clearly. If we close our eyes and think on the current situation causing stress. We project a picture on the screen of our mind as if it were a film. You have to imagine what really happened and not what might happen. After some time you will be relieved of stress. Self-hypnosis helps to relieve mental stress. It helps to divert your thinking to self-imagination. It is done till you feel rested and refreshed. The concentration is fully imposed on the mind. We count numbers in a reverse order while relaxing in a chair. The counting should correspond with breathing. The gradually reduces mental stress. When life becomes hectic and nothing seems easy, we develop pessimistic ideas. They dominate our mind. We can overcome this situation by Anticipating success. This is a result of optimistic thinking. To remedy the situation, close your eyes and mediate. This helps to clear the current crisis. You experience a great relief. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 2. Mental Capacity of Man Ans. Mind, emotions and body are all closely interlinked and always work together. Man's mental capacities are his abilities to concentrate, to take in new information, to remember old and new information and to be in a position to think logically. One needs one's mental capacity to study, to work, to impose a constructive and workable order on one's life and to make rational day-to-day decisions. Man's mind to the rational, logical part of him. It helps him to make unemotional choices, to store and retrieve information and to the emotions. The emotional disturbance causes stress. The better one deals with stress, the less one's mental capacity will be affected. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Unforgettable Walt Disney 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁 1. Walt's Mickey Mouse and Disneyland Ans. Walt made a cartoon film Mickey Mouse in 1928.On reaching its 40th year, the cartoon made a history. 100 million watched a Disney TV show, nearly a billion read a Disney book or magazine and almost ten million visited Disneyland. Mickey was the first successful product of Walt's matchless imagination and ability to make his dreams become reality. The story of Disneyland illustrates Walt's vision and his stubborn determination to realise an idea he believed in. For years Walt had quietly nursed the dream of a new kind of amusement park. In July, 1955 Disneyland opened. Since that first day, millions of people have flocked to see the unique creation of Walt's imagination. As Walt had dreamt Disneyland proved to be "like nothing else on the earth". 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 2. Walt's Childhood and Beginning of his Career Ans. Walt was a tall, country-boy figure. He could be found with head bowed in thought all the time. In his childhood Walt sketched animals at the apple orchard and weeping willows at their old farm. Walt was greatly fond of trains. The money Walt had made was a nickel for a sketch of a neighbour's house. He studied cartooning in Chicago, and then he started a little animated cartoon company in Kansas City. It flopped. Walt, just 21, decided to try his luck in Hollywood and came to Los Angeles. He was carrying a cheap suitcase that contained all his belongings. Walt and his brother Roy Disney borrowed $500 from an uncle, and Walt started a cartoon series called Alice in Wonderland. It did not click. Then he made a better one-Oswald the Rabbit. The distributor copy-righted Oswald and took over the series himself. This is how he began his career full of struggle. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 3. Journey of Walt Disney's success Ans. Walt was a common child like others but he was different from others too. Walt earned his first nickel by drawing a sketch of his neighbour's horse. He studied cartooning in Chicago. He started an animation company in Kansas City, which flopped. At the age of 21, he borrowed $ 500 from his uncle and started a cartoon series called Alice in Wonderland. It did not succeed. Then he made a better one - Oswald the Rabbit. The distributor copy-righted Oswald and took over the series himself. Walt ignored all the problems and continued his work. Walt made a cartoon film Mickey Mouse in 1928. In 1955 Disneyland opened. On reaching its 40th year, the cartoon made a history. 100 million watched a Disney TV show, nearly a billion read a Disney book or magazine and almost ten million visited Disneyland. Mickey was the first successful product of Walt's matchless imagination. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 4. Walt's Nature and his other Ventures Ans. Even the overwhelming success of Disneyland could not change Walt. He remained the simplest man. He hated parties, and his idea of a night-out was a burger and chilli at some little restaurant. His only luxurious thought was a miniature railroad that ran around the grounds of his home. Walt invested his money in his studio. He turned solvent at one time. He developed other ideas. He developed Mineral Kind (an alpine-like valley high in the Sierra Mountains), a California Institute of Art and most ambitious of all. A 100 million dollar Disney World and City of Tomorrow in Florida. 🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼 std. 12 Short Notes

Can You Install LOVE ? 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁 1. The Error Occurred while Installing LOVE to other HEARTS and its Rectification : Ans. While installing 'Love', an error occurred which showed that 'ERROR421-PROGRAM' would not run on internal computers. Then the Customer Service Representative explained that LOVE programme was set up to run on external HEARTS but it should be brought to find 'SELF-ACCEPTANCE'. Then she would copy FORGIVESELF.DOC, SELFSTEEM.TXT, REALIZEWORTH.TXT, and GOODNESS.DOC. The system would overwrite any conflicting files and begin patching any faulty programming. She would also need to delete SELFCRITIC.EXE from all directories and empty the recycle bin. With great filling up with really neat files like SMILE.MPG, WARMTH.COM, PEACE.EXE and CONTENTMENT.COM. The customer made a point that LOVE was a freeware and she could share it with other people they would return some really neat modules back to her. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 2. Customer Service Representative's Help to install 'Love' : Ans. A customer approaches a Customer Service Representative and seeks his help to install love. The CSR suggests the lady to open Heart. Some interrupting programmes like PASTHURT.EXE, LOWESTEEM.EXE, GRUDGE.EXE and RESENTMENT.COM are running at the time. The CSR says that LOVE will automatically erase PASTHURT.EXE and overwrite some more with other modules. Then the CSR suggests her to go to 'Start Menu', invoke FORGIVENESS.EXE and erase off GRUDGE.EXE and RESENTMENT.COM. Then LOVE will start installing itself automatically to HEART. If she wants upgradation, she needs to connect to other HEARTS. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 3. Conditions for Making Love: Ans. The first and foremost condition of making 'Love' is one must have an open heart. While making love, we should do away, with certain negative feelings like 'past hurt' , 'low esteem' , 'grudge' , 'resentment', etc. We should discard grudge and forgive the one who has hurt us in past. We must have a feeling of 'high esteem', for ourselves. We should learn 'self acceptance' for ourselves. We should always realize which negative feelings are there in our way. They should be discarded or put aside and accept or develop positive feelings. Goodness in heart and smile on lips can help us a lot to make love. Our heart should be full of warmth, peace and contentment. With these positive attributes in our heart, we can make love removing all negative feelings that come our way. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 4. Describe the installation process of LOVE Ans. First of all, one should locate and open HEART in computer. There may be several problems like PASTHURT.EXE, LOWESTEEM.EXE, GRUDGE.EXE and RESENTMENT.COM. LOVE will automatically erase PASTHURT.EXE from the current operating system. It will remain in the permanent memory. It will no longer disrupt other programmes. Love will eventually overwrite LOWESTEEM.EXE with its own module called HIGHSTEEM.EXE. While installing LOVE, GRUDGE.EXE and RESENTMENT.COM need to be turned off. After installing the base programme of LOVE, it is needed to begin connecting to other HEARTS in order to get the upgrades. Still if any difficulty is found, one has to find the directory called ' SELF-ACCEPTANCE '. Then one should copy certain files to the ' MY HEART' directory. These files are FORGIVESELF.DOC, SELFESTEEM.TXT, REALIZEWORTH.TXT, and GOODNESS.DOC. The system will overwrite any conflicting file and begin patching any faulty programming. One also needs to delete SELFCRITIC.EXE from all directories. 🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼 std. 12 Short Notes

Strike Against War 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁 1. Helen Keller's Motivation and Message for the Workers : Ans. In her speech at Carnegie Hall, New York city, Helen Keller expresses her righteous indignation against statesmen and governments, sympathizing with pitiable conditions of the workers. She says that she has entered the fight against preparedness and against the economic system under which they live. Statesmen keep on misleading them, in the name of their country and consequently their liberties being in danger. They trap the workers emotionally and provoke them to join the army. She brings to the notice of the workers that toil and live and die for other people's country and for other people's happiness.They do not have liberties of their own.They have to work for about twelve hours a day and still they are ill-paid.Their children have to labour in mills and factories or they will starve. Their women driven by poverty have to live the lives of shame. Still their demand of raising wages is always curtailed with the growth of more and more civilization, the workers are more and more enslaved. In such condition she asks them to strike against all ordinances and laws and peace slaying institutions. She aggressively asks them to strike against preparedness that earns death and misery to millions of human beings. She asks them not to be dumb, obedient slaves in army or destruction but be heroes in the army of construction. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 2. Helen Keller's Message for the Editors Ans. Helen Keller wanted to say about the editors that they were an overworked and misunderstood class. Helen Keller clearly tells the editors and others that they should not feel grieved thinking that she is in the hands of unprincipled persons who persuade her to adopt unpopular causes and make her the mouthpiece of their propaganda. She doesn't want their pity and she would never like to change places with one of those editors. She explains that her sources of information are good and reliable. She has papers and magazines from England, France, Germany and Austria. She reads those papers and forms and has her own opinion. She said that all the editors whom she had met could not do that. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 3. Helen Keller's Speech and its Meaning Ans. Here are some statements of Helen Keller's speech: 🔹1. All I ask, gentlemen, is a fair field and no favour. Addressing the Editors Helen tells them that she is unable to understand if they would achieve success at the end of their hard work. On the other hand she feels that they are unable to comprehend their efforts to give justice to the workers. She demands fair fight without any favour. 🔹2. The clever ones, up in the high places know how childish and silly the workers are. The people at the helm (સુકાન) of affairs know that the workers are not very clever. They are innocent and will do everything in the name of their country. The clever take advantage of their blind faith in those clever ones. 🔹3. Be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction. Be heroes in an army of construction. She advises the workers to avoid being foolish and refrain from being slaves following the dictates of the clever ones. She encourages the workers to be heroes and fight bravely for the reconstruction (પુનઃરચના) of the values of the workers. 🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼 std. 12 Short Notes

Ants 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁 1. Ants have Great Adeptness - Illustrate: Ans. Now science has found out that the intelligence of ants is very close to human intelligence. Ants work unitedly with team spirit and with great adeptness. A scientist observed their following behaviour: A number of ants were down in a pit. They had killed some flies and other insects there. The bits of these insects were to be fetched to their anthill. The sides of the pit were steep and the loads were heavy. Immediately they organised the work. While some were carrying up the bits of insects, the others went in front clearing away the obstructions in the way. At some points, where it was difficult to get a foothold, these other ants positioned themselves in such a way that the load-bearing ants could easily climb over them. Near the top of the pit, there was a small part of the way which was completely smooth and steep. Only one ant could reach the top. She called many other ants from the anthill and made an ant-chain. The ants at the top began climbing down into the pit backward, each holding the tail end of another ant in front. When the ant-chain reached the ants waiting with their loads, the load-bearing ants easily climbed up the chain and came out at the top. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 2. The Driver Ants: Ans. The 'driver ants of Africa' are the most ferocious kind of ants. They are also called Army ants. They have no fixed home but are always on the move. They are completely blind, but they march in long lines, many millions along, and they devour any animal that happens to be in their path. Even large animals like tigers and elephants live in fear of them. They can even devour a python with its prey in its stomach. There are a number of stories about these ants of eating up babies with the African Villagers. When an army of the driver ants enters a house, the people flee into the forest and stay there until the ants have passed. When the people come back, they find that every insect and spider in their houses has been cleared away. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 3. Different kinds of Ants and their specialties Ans. There are ants that do 'farming'. The umbrella ants of South America are so called as they are often seen carrying large pieces of leaf over their heads like umbrellas. They take pieces of leaf to their nests, chew them up nicely and make beds of these chewed up leaves. On these beds grows a kind of fungus, which is the food of ants. Then there are ants that domesticate 'cows' and 'milk' them. They take greenflies to their nests, nourish them and 'milk' them, pressing their sides gently and making them give out their honey. There are red ants that keep black ants as their slaves. The red ants attack the nests of black ants and abduct some of their eggs and take them to their nests. When the eggs are hatched, the black ants that come out are treated as slaves and compelled to do drudgery - they have even to carry about their masters on their backs. The most ferocious kind of ants are the 'driver' ants of Africa. They are completely blind, still they march on in long lines, and they devour any animal that comes in their way. Even large animals like tigers and elephants live in fear of them. If a python happens to come in their way, they devour both the python and the animal in its stomach. When an army of the driver ants enters a house, the people flee into the forest and stay there until the ants have passed. 🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼 std. 12 Short Notes

4. Nana's Bonding with Nani Ans. Nana had lived with Nani for over 50 years. Nana was about eighty-five, yet he would find something to grumble at everything Nani did. He would keep quibbling with her. At times they had petty quarrels and they stopped talking with each other. After Nani's death, Nana became more irritable. For a few days he took out his anger on his food. He imprisoned himself in the bedroom. He started behaving like Nani. Dr Kamble said that Nana did not perceive Nani as dead. He was suffering from a sort of dissociative personality disorder and there was no sure cure for it. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 5. Nana's behaviour after Nani passed away Ans. When Nani's dead body was being taken away for cremation. Nana did not join. He asked his grand children to take her away. He whispered in the ears of Nani's dead body that he too was on the way, not far behind. He also said that he would see her in the beyond. When her bier was being carried away, he stepped away from the balcony into the room. He pulled the door shut after him.Nana saw himself as Nani. On the day of immersion Nana stayed locked in the room. When the writer went in, he was sitting on her bed. He just touched the urn and said, "Take him away......all my life he just kept fighting with me." He imprisoned himself in the bedroom. The family members removed a few of Nani's belongings, but Nana did not let them cart away Nani's bed. He did not want to get his haircut short. He had made his adjustments with Nani. When he was found dead, he was sleeping in Nani's bed wearing Nani's dhoti and blouse. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 6. Trifle Clashes between Nana and Nani. Ans. Nana used to grumble at everything Nani did. He would keep quibbling with her. At times a petty quarrel would push them into a long silence.They would stop talking to each other for days together. Nani, sometimes, being irritated told him. "Be grateful that I gave you two grandsons." When it comes to leaving the house when their daughter's husband got remarried, Nana was not ready to leave. At that time Nani was not ready to leave. At that time Nani used very harsh words which might compel him to live. Sometimes, they also had a hot discussion, 'who would die first'. 🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼 std. 12 Short Notes

The Adjustment 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁 1. Interaction Between Nana and Nani as Observed by the Writer Ans. The Writer observed that even if Nana and Nani, each found something to grumble at the other, there was a strong emotional bond between them. Even at the age of eighty-five, Nana would keep quibbling with Nani, as if they had just married in the first flush of love and were still discovering each other. At times, a petty quarrel would push them into long silence. The writer says it was fun listening to Nana talk. Nani would soon react to him, something asking him to shut up. When their son-in-law married second time and brought a new wife, Nani soon left their daughter's house with grand children; while Nana would stuck up there. At that time Nani uttered very harsh words to Nana. Thus, it was only Nani who got her way with Nana. Nana would say, that he was older than she and she would just wait and watch who died earlier. In reply, Nani said that she would definitely see and asked him just to watch. Thus, most of the time, they did not agree to each other over a number of points, but the bond between them never weakened. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 2. The Title 'Adjustment' Ans. In this story by Gulzar, an adjustment is shown between a typical old couple. Apparently the eighty-five years old Nana hardly agrees to his wife- Nani on any point, and the same is the case with Nani, still there is a hidden emotional bond between them. Many a time they quarrel and stop talking with each other for days together. Yet, Nana takes it as 'it happens'. This is adjustment. Nani dies earlier than Nana and Nana asks to take her away. He does not join in cremation. Yet, at home he keeps confined to Nani's room. He does not let Nani's bed carted away. When Nani's ashes were taken to him before going for the immersion, Nana just touched the urn and asked to take them away with apparent indifference. But by and by, he starts doing everything that Nani used to do - slept in her bed, spoke in her voice and so on. Continuing adjusting himself to Nani, Nana becomes victim of a sort of dissociative personality disorder. At the end of the story, Nana is found sleeping dead on Nani's bed in Nani's dhoti and blouse. Thus, the title 'The Adjustment' seems to be the most appropriate. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 3. The Narrator's Relief after Meeting Dr K.D. Kamble Ans. The narrator was greatly disturbed, when he saw Nana behaving strangely after Nani's death. He did everything as Nani had been used to do. Then he met his friend Dr K. D. Kamble, a psychiatrist. Dr Kamble visited Nana and talked to Nana at length - for hours. He observed Nana keenly and told the narrator that he did not perceive Nani as dead. He had begun to live a double life - more of her and less of him. He had begun to think himself as Nani. He even swallowed the pills on her behalf. He was suffering from a sort of dissociative personality disorder. He also told the narrator that at his age, the recovery of Nana was nearly impossible. Dr Kamble advised the narrator "Let him live his life any way he wanted to." After hearing this from Dr Kamble, the narrator felt greatly relieved. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

4. How do you release stress? Ans. The main cause of stress is mental disturbance. The mind is unable to think in a normal way. So to bring about normalcy it is very necessary that stress is released. In the initial stage, we have to make ourselves comfortable. This is possible through short meditation. Choose a word that symbolise 'calmness'. Meditate on the chosen word. Visualise scenes that tie up with the word. Secondly take some material. Close your eyes and explore its texture. Doing this, some stress will be released. Stress is also caused when the brain does not receive sufficient oxygen. This can be done when we rub our hands together and create energy. Place palms on the area below the naval and breathe into your belly. These are some ways how stress will be released. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 5. Stress and its Effects on you. Ans. Mind, emotions and body work together. Our mental capacities help us to concentrate, to gather information and think logically to make rational decisions. Stress is created if the mind is unable to think logically. Emotions bar the way to clear thinking. You take longer to do a task. This is where we come to know that stress has gained control over us. We also realize that memory fails us. We are unable to finish the task on hand. Eventually we realize that stress has been created in us. Stress is a situation where mind, body and emotions do not work together. The result is that our mental capacities fail to work. We are unable to concentrate, remember old and new information and think logically. A constructive and workable order cannot be imposed. Rational day-to-day decisions cannot be taken. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 6. How would life be without stress? Ans. Many times stress acts a source to success. We develop anxiety when we are unable to solve a problem which comes in the way of our success. Our mind is not at peace till some solution to the problem is found. On one hand, solution is found, which on the other, stress is removed. Thus stress is a stepping stone to success. Deep breathing has always proved more effective. It is easy to practise and does not need particular kind of knowledge in physiology. It also gives instant relief. If we don't breathe deeply, our brain does not get enough supply of Oxygen. Therefore, when we get stressed, we tend to hold our breath or only breathe in a swallowed way, using only the top part of our lungs, and for the lack of sufficient Oxygen, we feel stressed and unable to concentrate properly. The crown pull allows the cerebrospinal fluid to move freely, through the spinal column and the skull. It influences the flow of cerebrospinal fluid in a positive way. It helps calm our nervous system. It can also take away a headache or stress-induced stomach ache, as well as helps us think clearly. 🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼 std. 12 Short Notes

Stress Control Exercises 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁 1. Short Meditation - A Stress Control Exercises Ans. For short meditation, there are two stages. In the first stage, one has to sit comfortably closing one's eyes. He has to choose a word for calmness from 'harmony', 'tranquillity' , 'serenity' , 'peace' or 'relax' and meditate on the chosen one. One has to visualise scenes that tie in with the word or build up mental images illustrating the word, and feel 'harmony' or 'tranquillity' within oneself. In the second stage, one has to choose an object like a fabric, a stone, etc. that appeals one, and start thinking about its texture with closed eyes. Spending two minutes over it would lead one to meditation. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 2. Giving Brain Oxygen Hit and the Crown Pull Ans. Usually we don't breathe enough to supply sufficient oxygen to brain. Stress makes us breathe only in a shallow way, therefore for making oxygen reach our brain, we need to do these exercise : we have to curb our hands together for a moment to create energy. We have to place our palms one on the other below our naval. Breathing into belly is important. With every breath we have to imagine that we are breathing oxygen into our brain. The crown pull influences the flow of cerebrospinal fluid in a positive way. It helps calm our nervous system and can take away a headache or stress-induced stomach and helps us thinking clearly. In this exercise we have to firmly press down our fingers like combs onto our scalp and keep it on from front to back repeatedly. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 3. Mental Quick-fixes Ans. It is very important to carry out mental quick fixes to bring our stress down. The following are the ways to do so : - Dance on music. It helps exercise the right brain and rebalance it. - Watch a fish swimming around in a fish tank to let the mind calm down. - Write down worries on a piece of paper to take them out of head. - Get into nature and walk. - Concentrate on present rather than on coming events. - Sing in the bath. - Take mistakes for granted. - Remove 'I can't' from our thinking, and think of possible solutions. - Write a few lines with the other hand. It rebalances the two hemispheres of the brain. - Expect to be lucky. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

3. The Techniques to Reduce Stress Ans. In this present day hectic world, stress has been common. People would like to do away with it at any cost. For this purpose, the following techniques could be useful: We should stop being emotional. We should stop over-thinking. One should repeatedly say to himself 'I have no expectations and I will deal with whatever happens when it happens.' We should learn 'self-hypnosis' to relieve mental stress. Sitting in a quiet place, concentrating on something, discarding all the annoying thoughts can help a lot to remove stress. The screen exercise is also a useful technique. It helps us to step back and emotionally detach ourselves from our current situation. We can also anticipate success to win over stress. Besides, all these, there are certain stress control exercises, too. They can help us to remove stress. They could be Short Meditation, The Crown Pull and Mental Quick Fixes. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 4. Exercises to Deal with Mental Stress Ans. The following are the exercise to help build better stress resilience and rebalance oneself if one's mental capacity has already started to suffer due to stress : 🔹1. Stop over thinking : One has to say oneself repeatedly , "I have no expectations and I will deal with whatever happens when it happens" and constantly anticipates stressful tasks to be done. If one works with these thoughts or not with relaxed mind, he simply wastes away his energy. Over thinking does not keep one calmer mentally and emotionally as a consequence. 🔹2. Self-hypnosis : The exercise - sitting comfortably in a chair counting 1 to 100 and vice-versa, and imagining some beautiful picture will help one come out of stress. 3. The Screen Exercise : One has to think about the situation that is currently causing stress. Then he has to project it onto a screen 🔹of mind, observe it as a third person replacing oneself with the one on the screen and advise him to come out of that difficult situation. 🔹4. Anticipating Success : One has to open a source of optimism against pessimism one has occurred. One has to sit calmly and experience one's own imaginary achievements. It will lead one to optimism. 🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼 std. 12 Short Notes

Manage Your Stress 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁 1. Benefits of 'Screen exercise’, 'Self-hypnosis' and 'Anticipating success' techniques Ans. When you are taken over with emotions clear thinking is dimmed. Process of decision taking is endangered. Screen exercise helps detach yourself emotionally from the current situation and settle in clear thinking. Here you have to imagine what another person would do in your situation. This will help you to evaluate the problem more clearly. If we close our eyes and think on the current situation causing stress. We project a picture on the screen of our mind as if it were a film. You have to imagine what really happened and not what might happen. After some time you will be relieved of stress. Self-hypnosis helps to relieve mental stress. It helps to divert your thinking to self-imagination. It is done till you feel rested and refreshed. The concentration is fully imposed on the mind. We count numbers in a reverse order while relaxing in a chair. The counting should correspond with breathing. The gradually reduces mental stress. When life becomes hectic and nothing seems easy, we develop pessimistic ideas. They dominate our mind. We can overcome this situation by Anticipating success. This is a result of optimistic thinking. To remedy the situation, close your eyes and mediate. This helps to clear the current crisis. You experience a great relief. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 2. Mental Capacity of Man Ans. Mind, emotions and body are all closely interlinked and always work together. Man's mental capacities are his abilities to concentrate, to take in new information, to remember old and new information and to be in a position to think logically. One needs one's mental capacity to study, to work, to impose a constructive and workable order on one's life and to make rational day-to-day decisions. Man's mind to the rational, logical part of him. It helps him to make unemotional choices, to store and retrieve information and to the emotions. The emotional disturbance causes stress. The better one deals with stress, the less one's mental capacity will be affected. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Unforgettable Walt Disney 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁 1. Walt's Mickey Mouse and Disneyland Ans. Walt made a cartoon film Mickey Mouse in 1928.On reaching its 40th year, the cartoon made a history. 100 million watched a Disney TV show, nearly a billion read a Disney book or magazine and almost ten million visited Disneyland. Mickey was the first successful product of Walt's matchless imagination and ability to make his dreams become reality. The story of Disneyland illustrates Walt's vision and his stubborn determination to realise an idea he believed in. For years Walt had quietly nursed the dream of a new kind of amusement park. In July, 1955 Disneyland opened. Since that first day, millions of people have flocked to see the unique creation of Walt's imagination. As Walt had dreamt Disneyland proved to be "like nothing else on the earth". 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 2. Walt's Childhood and Beginning of his Career Ans. Walt made a cartoon film Mickey Mouse in 1928.On reaching its 40th year, the cartoon made a history. 100 million watched a Disney TV show, nearly a billion read a Disney book or magazine and almost ten million visited Disneyland. Mickey was the first successful product of Walt's matchless imagination and ability to make his dreams become reality. The story of Disneyland illustrates Walt's vision and his stubborn determination to realise an idea he believed in. For years Walt had quietly nursed the dream of a new kind of amusement park. In July, 1955 Disneyland opened. Since that first day, millions of people have flocked to see the unique creation of Walt's imagination. As Walt had dreamt Disneyland proved to be "like nothing else on the earth". 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 3. Journey of Walt Disney's success Ans. Walt was a common child like others but he was different from others too. Walt earned his first nickel by drawing a sketch of his neighbour's horse. He studied cartooning in Chicago. He started an animation company in Kansas City, which flopped. At the age of 21, he borrowed $ 500 from his uncle and started a cartoon series called Alice in Wonderland. It did not succeed. Then he made a better one - Oswald the Rabbit. The distributor copy-righted Oswald and took over the series himself. Walt ignored all the problems and continued his work. Walt made a cartoon film Mickey Mouse in 1928. In 1955 Disneyland opened. On reaching its 40th year, the cartoon made a history. 100 million watched a Disney TV show, nearly a billion read a Disney book or magazine and almost ten million visited Disneyland. Mickey was the first successful product of Walt's matchless imagination. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 4. Walt's Nature and his other Ventures Ans. Even the overwhelming success of Disneyland could not change Walt. He remained the simplest man. He hated parties, and his idea of a night-out was a burger and chilli at some little restaurant. His only luxurious thought was a miniature railroad that ran around the grounds of his home. Walt invested his money in his studio. He turned solvent at one time. He developed other ideas. He developed Mineral Kind (an alpine-like valley high in the Sierra Mountains), a California Institute of Art and most ambitious of all. A 100 million dollar Disney World and City of Tomorrow in Florida. 🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼 std. 12 Short Notes

Can You Install LOVE ? 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁 1. The Error Occurred while Installing LOVE to other HEARTS and its Rectification : Ans. While installing 'Love', an error occurred which showed that 'ERROR421-PROGRAM' would not run on internal computers. Then the Customer Service Representative explained that LOVE programme was set up to run on external HEARTS but it should be brought to find 'SELF-ACCEPTANCE'. Then she would copy FORGIVESELF.DOC, SELFSTEEM.TXT, REALIZEWORTH.TXT, and GOODNESS.DOC. The system would overwrite any conflicting files and begin patching any faulty programming. She would also need to delete SELFCRITIC.EXE from all directories and empty the recycle bin. With great filling up with really neat files like SMILE.MPG, WARMTH.COM, PEACE.EXE and CONTENTMENT.COM. The customer made a point that LOVE was a freeware and she could share it with other people they would return some really neat modules back to her. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 2. Customer Service Representative's Help to install 'Love' : Ans. A customer approaches a Customer Service Representative and seeks his help to install love. The CSR suggests the lady to open Heart. Some interrupting programmes like PASTHURT.EXE, LOWESTEEM.EXE, GRUDGE.EXE and RESENTMENT.COM are running at the time. The CSR says that LOVE will automatically erase PASTHURT.EXE and overwrite some more with other modules. Then the CSR suggests her to go to 'Start Menu', invoke FORGIVENESS.EXE and erase off GRUDGE.EXE and RESENTMENT.COM. Then LOVE will start installing itself automatically to HEART. If she wants upgradation, she needs to connect to other HEARTS. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 3. Conditions for Making Love: Ans. The first and foremost condition of making 'Love' is one must have an open heart. While making love, we should do away, with certain negative feelings like 'past hurt' , 'low esteem' , 'grudge' , 'resentment', etc. We should discard grudge and forgive the one who has hurt us in past. We must have a feeling of 'high esteem', for ourselves. We should learn 'self acceptance' for ourselves. We should always realize which negative feelings are there in our way. They should be discarded or put aside and accept or develop positive feelings. Goodness in heart and smile on lips can help us a lot to make love. Our heart should be full of warmth, peace and contentment. With these positive attributes in our heart, we can make love removing all negative feelings that come our way. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 4. Describe the installation process of LOVE Ans. First of all, one should locate and open HEART in computer. There may be several problems like PASTHURT.EXE, LOWESTEEM.EXE, GRUDGE.EXE and RESENTMENT.COM. LOVE will automatically erase PASTHURT.EXE from the current operating system. It will remain in the permanent memory. It will no longer disrupt other programmes. Love will eventually overwrite LOWESTEEM.EXE with its own module called HIGHSTEEM.EXE. While installing LOVE, GRUDGE.EXE and RESENTMENT.COM need to be turned off. After installing the base programme of LOVE, it is needed to begin connecting to other HEARTS in order to get the upgrades. Still if any difficulty is found, one has to find the directory called ' SELF-ACCEPTANCE '. Then one should copy certain files to the ' MY HEART' directory. These files are FORGIVESELF.DOC, SELFESTEEM.TXT, REALIZEWORTH.TXT, and GOODNESS.DOC. The system will overwrite any conflicting file and begin patching any faulty programming. One also needs to delete SELFCRITIC.EXE from all directories. 🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼 std. 12 Short Notes