Marco Polo

 Ch. 12. Marco Polo

ACTIVITY 2: Make sentences of the idioms you have studied.

1. Beat around the bush (avoiding the main topic, not speaking directly about the problem) – 

Do not beat around the bush; come to the point.

2. Every cloud has a silver lining (be positive, even difficult times will lead to better days) – You

must try again because every cloud has a silver lining.

3. Actions speak louder than words (people‟s intentions can be judged better by what they do than

what they say) – Don‟t tell me how to do it, show me. Actions speak louder than words.

4. Add insult to injury (to further add to a loss with mockery or indignity; to worsen an unfavourable

situation) – We were losing the match. To add insult to injury, opposition scored another goal.

5. The ball is in your court (it is up to you to take the next decision or step) – I have decided to go on

the tour. My friend, the ball is in your court now.

6. Blessing in disguise (something good that isn‟t recognized at first) – The lockdown proved to be a

blessing in disguise. The pollution reduced.

7. Cry over spilt milk (when you complain about a loss from the past) – Do not cry over spilt milk; try

again and you will succeed.

8. Kill two birds with one stone (to achieve two things with one action) – „Dictation‟ will kill two

birds with one stone. It will improve listening and vocabulary.

9. Once in a blue moon (happens very rare) – Opportunity comes once in a blue moon.

10. Turn over a new leaf (to change one‟s behaviour usually in a positive way) – She promised to turn

over a new leaf and study harder.

ACTIVITY 3: Read the lesson and answer the following questions.

Q.a. Who was Marco Polo?

Ans. He was a merchant and an adventurer.

Q.b. Whenand wherewas Marco Poloborn?

Ans. Marco Polo was born in Venice in 1254.

Q.c. Why did Marco Polo visit so many cities?

Ans. He wanted to know about different places and people.

Q.d. Who accompanied Marco Polo during his visits?

Ans. His father, Niccolo and his uncle, Maffeo accompanied him.

Q.e. Which features of the Chinese citiesimpressed Marco Polo?

Ans. The wealth and luxury of the Chinese cities impressed him.

Q.f. How did he serve the Chinese Emperor?

Ans. He served as a messenger and spy.

Q.g. After how many years did Marco Poloreturn toVenice?

Ans. He returned to Venice after twenty-four years.

Q.h. Whatwasthe effect of the war between Venice and Genoa upon MarcoPolo?

Ans. He was captured and put in a prison.

Q.i. Name the book that contains detailed stories about Marco's journeys.

Ans. The book is „The Travels of Marco Polo‟.

Q.j. Who carried the book, 'TheTravels of Marco Polo'along with him on his travels?Why?

Ans. Christopher Columbus carried the book with him because he was greatly inspired by the book.

ACTIVITY 4: Read the story and fill in the blanks.

a. Marco Polo set out on his first voyage at the age of __17__.

b. He visited the holy city of __Jerusalem__.

c. He was released from the prison in__1299__.

d. He was married to __Donata Badoer__.

e. Marco Polo passed away on __8 January 1324__ at the age of __70__.

ACTIVITY 5: Imagine that you are a traveller. Write the experience of your visit to any place in five

sentences.

Answer: Last year, I visited Amritsar, the historic and second largest city of Punjab. The people of

Amritsar are hardworking and lively. I felt blessed to visit Shri Darbar Sahib. I also visited

Wagha Border and watched the Retreat Ceremony. It was a wonderful visit.

ACTIVITY 6: Change the voice of the following sentences.

a. The leader is making a speech.

A speech is being made by the leader.

b. They are playing hockey.

Hockey is being played by them.

c. Sudhir is telling a story.

A story is being told by Sudhir.

d. Randhir is cleaning his kitchen.

His kitchen is being cleaned by Randhir.

e. The girls are making chairs.

Chairs are being made by the girls.

f. The workers are not repairing the road.

The road is not being repaired by the workers.

g. We are not taking orders.

Orders are not being taken by us.

h. I am not favouring you.

You are not being favoured by me.

i. Are they knocking at the door?

Is the door being knocked at by them?

j. Is he serving his country?

Is his country being served by him?

ACTIVITY 7: Change the voice of the following sentences.

a. They were chasing the thief.

The thief was being chased by them.

b. The boys were making a noise.

A noise was being made by the boys.

c. I was preparing my lesson.

My lesson was being prepared by me.

d. We were helping the poor.

The poor were being helped by us.

e. She purchased a book named „The Patriot‟.

A book named „The Patriot‟ was purchased by her.

f. The children were not reading books.

Books were not being read by the children.

g. He was not closing his shop.

His shop was not being closed by him.

h. The servant was not cleaning the room.

The room was not being cleaned by the servant.

i. They were stealing our books.

Our books were being stolen by them.

j. Who was insulting the beggar?

By whom was the beggar being insulted?

ACTIVITY 8: Change the voice of the following sentences.

a. She has torn my book.

My book has been torn by her.

b. You have cheated everybody.

Everybody has been cheated by you.

c. We have said our prayers.

Our prayers have been said by us.

d. Seema has written a poem.

A poem has been written by Seema.

e. Kavita has missed the bus.

The bus has been missed by Kavita.

f. She has not stolen my camera.

My camera has not been stolen by her.

g. The teacher has not scolded us.

We have not been scolded by the teacher.

h. I have not told the entire story.

The entire story has not been told by me.

i. Have you seen a zoo?

Has a zoo been seen by you?

j. Has the teacher marked you absent?

Have you been marked absent by the teacher?

ACTIVITY 9: Change the voice of the following sentences.

a. Abdul had lost his bag.

His bag had been lost by Abdul.

b. He had posted the letter.

The letter had been posted by him.

c. She had made a frock.

A frock had been made by her.

d. I had learnt my lesson.

My lesson had been learnt by me.

e. The gardener had watered the plants.

The plants had been watered by the gardener.

f. We had not plucked the flowers.

The flowers had not been plucked by us.

g. He had not killed the snake.

The snake had not been killed by him.

h. I had not seen a lion before.

A lion had not been seen by me before.

i. Had you hidden the books?

Had the books been hidden by you?

j. Had our team won the match?

Had the match been won by our team?

ACTIVITY 10: Change the voice of the following sentences.

a. Radha will have said her prayers.

Her prayers will have been said by Radha.

b. You will have bought a new house.

A new house will have been bought by you.

c. Gurpreet will have painted the doors.

The doors will have been painted by Gurpreet.

d. They will have caught the train.

The train will have been caught by them.

e. Nobody will have betrayed you.

You will not have been betrayed.

f. The tiger will not have killed the deer.

The deer will not have been killed by the tiger.

g. I shall have taken my lunch.

My lunch will have been taken by me.

h. Will the letter have been posted by him?

Will he have posted the letter?

i. Will they have checked the accounts?

Will the accounts have been checked by them?

j. Will you have received the money?

Will the money have been received by you?

ACTIVITY 13: Study the figure below. It is a conversation between a travel agent and his client.

Read all the sentences given in the bubbles and mark them with numbers from 1to 18 in the order

they should occur in a conversation.

1. Travel agent: Good morning. What can I do for you?

2. Client: Good morning. Well, I‟d like to book a holiday in Venice.

3. Travel agent: I see. Are you interested in a holiday package?

4. Client: Oh, a package would be good. What would you suggest?

5. Travel agent: If you‟re travelling alone, I recommend “Tulip Inn”.

6. Client: What does “Tulip Inn” have?

7. Travel agent: They have got a special offer for single people. 10 days in Venice for Rs. 72000.

8. Client: For ten days?

9. Travel agent: Yes, that‟s right. For ten days.

10. Client: That sounds reasonable. What does the price include?

11. Travel agent: It includes airfare, stay with breakfast and dinner.

12. Client: Is it a nice hotel?

13. Travel agent: Oh yes, very nice. On the Grand Canal, with a restaurant and pool.

14. Client: It‟s just what I‟m looking for! All right. I‟ll take it.

15. Travel agent: Certainly. When would you like to go?

16. Client: From 1 to 10 August.

17. Travel agent: And for how many people?

18. Client: Oh, just one. For me. I would be going alone.