Lesson 7 Sympathy by Charles Mackay all questions and answers | SCERT

Lesson 7: Sympathy by Charles Mackay all Questions and Answers | SCERT | ENGLISH

Poem Sympathy By Charles Mackay

Sunbeam English Reader Class 8 Chapter 7 Sympathy by Charles Mackay all questions answers

1. Read the poem and choose the correct options to complete the sentences.

a)The poet was in deep sorrow. A proud man came and helped him by

i.    offering him kind words
ii.    ignoring him
iii.    giving him gold
iv.    giving him pleasant company
Answer: (iii) giving him gold 

b)When the poet lay in want and grief, the one who helped him was
i.    a rich man
ii.    a poor man
iii.    a proud man
iv.    a holy man
Answer: (ii) a poor man 

c)    The poor man gave the poet

i.    a cold look
ii.    sympathy
iii.    gold
iv.    not a kind word
Answer: (ii) sympathy 

d)    When the poet’s sorrow passed, he went to the proud man and

i.    gave him back the gold
ii.    ignored him
iii.    didn’t give back the gold
iv.    helped him
Answer: (i) gave him back the gold 

e)    The poet refers to sympathy as ‘heavenly’ because of sympathy
i.    is a feeling found in proud people
ii.    is found only in rich people
iii.    is an ordinary human feeling
iv.    is a blessing from God
Answer: (iv) is a blessing from God 

Sunbeam English Reader Class 8 Chapter 7

2.(a) Here are some questions to help you find out how much you have understood the poem:

i. How did the proud person help the poet when the poet was unhappy?
Answer: The proud person helped the poet with money when he was unhappy.

ii. What did the poor man do when he found the poet lying in pain and sadness?
Answer: When the poet was laying in pain and sadness, the poor man saw him and took care of him. He also offered him food to restore the poet’s health. He took great care of the poet until the poet regained his health.

iii. Why does the poet think that he cannot help the man back in the same way?
Answer: The poet wonders how to repay an act of selfless kindness. He realises that having money to repay a debt is a great thing, but kindness is a heavenly act that cannot be easily repaid.

iv. Why is the poor man’s help greater than gold?
Answer:The poor man’s help greater than gold because his way of help was a heavenly act where the proud man offered him money, but did not offer any words of sympathy.


(v).“Oh, gold is great but greater far
Is heavenly sympathy.”
Why does the poet think so?
Answer: The poet think so because he realises that having money to repay a debt is a great thing,


b)Find in the poem lines that match the meaning of the following sentences.

i) I was sad and unhappy. – I lay in sorrow, deeply distressed.

ii) I was in need and was sad and hurt. – I lay in want, and grief, and pain.

iii) He fed me and took care of me. – He bound my head, he gave me bread, He watched me night and day.

iv) Gold is valuable but sympathy and love are far more valuable. - Oh, gold is great but greater far
Is heavenly sympathy.

c) Make sentences with the following phrases:

i) look were cold: Rich man looks were cold.
ii) night and day: Ram is very hard working he works night and day.
iii) pay him back: He shall pay him back his money.

3. Below are some lines from the poem with some words underlined. Choose the correct meanings of the words from the options given in brackets.

a)    I lay in sorrow, deep distressed (tired/unhappy/angry)
Answer: distressed – unhappy 

b)    He gave me gold (money/jewelry/sheets)
Answer: gold – money 

c)    And blessed his charity (money/kind help/pride)
Answer: charity – kind help

d)    A poor man passed my way (to move past/stopped me)
Answer: passed – to move past

e)    Is heavenly sympathy (selfishness/godly goodness/pride)
Answer: heavenly – godly goodness

f)    Greater far is heavenly sympathy (the feeling of being sorry at another’s sadness/the feeling of pain/a superior feeling)
Answer: sympathy – the feeling of being sorry at another’s sadness

4. Let's have fun with words!
The jumbled words below have been taken from the poem. Spell the word correctly. List their antonyms (if any) alongside. mention whether the words are nouns or adjectives. One has been done for you.

 

Sympathy Questions and answers

5. As you know, the lines of a poem are not always written like prose. Here are some of the main ideas of the lines of the poem, but in a jumbled order. Rearrange each set of words to get a complete sentence. Remember to start the sentence with a capital letter and end it with a full stop.

(a) deeply/distressed/was/he
Answer: He was deeply distressed.

(b) heard/a proud man/of/his grief
Answer: A proud man heard of his grief.

(c) looks/cold/were/his
Answer: His looks were cold.

(d) didn't offer/he/a/kindly word
Answer: He didn't offer a kind word.

(e) the gold/him/back/paid/to/he
Answer: He paid the gold back to him.

(f) even/thanked/him/I
Answer: I even thanked him.

(g) gave him/bread/the poor man/and/him/looked after
Answer: The poor man looked after him and gave him bread.

(h) than/the poor man's/is/gold/greater/sympathy
Answer: The poor man's sympathy is greater than gold. 

6. Read the paragraphs and then match them to the appropriate stanzas of the poem:

Stanza 1. 
I lay in sorrow, deep distressed;
My grief a proud man heard;
His looks were cold, he gave me gold;
But not a kindly word.

Answer: Once the poet was full of grief and very depressed. A rich and proud man heard about the poet's problems and came to help him. The proud man offered him money but did not offer him any words of sympathy.

Stanza 2.

 My sorrow passed -  I paid him back
The gold he gave to me;
Then stood erect and spoke my thanks
And blessed his charity.

 When the poet recovered, he went back to the man and repaid all the gold. He also stood straight, offered the man thanks, and blessed him for this help.

Stanza 3. 

I lay in want, and grief, and pain;
A poor man passed my way;
He bound my head, he gave me bread,
He watched me night and day.

The poet was lying in sorrow and in pain. A poor man saw him and took care of him. He also offered him food to restore the poet's health. He took great care of the poet until the poet regained his health.

Stanza 3. 

How shall I pay him back again
For all he did to me?
Oh, gold is great, but greater far
Is heavenly sympathy.

The poet wonders how to repay an act of selfless kindness. He realizes that having money to repay a debt is a great thing , but kindness is a heavenly act that cannot be easily repaid. 

COMPREHENSION

Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow.
I lay in sorrow deep distressed:
My grief a proud man heard,
His looks were cold, he gave me gold.
But not a kindly word.
My sorrow passed I paid him back,
The gold he gave to me,
Then stood erect and spoke my thanks
And blessed his charity.
I lay in want and grief, and pain,
A poor man passed my way,
He bound my head, he gave me bread;
He watched me night and day;
How shall I pay him back again
For all he did to me?
Oh, Gold is great, but greater far,
Is heavenly sympathy.
—Charles Mackay
i.) One day the poet was in............................ 1
Ans: deep distressed
 

ii.) The proud rich man offered the poet.................... 1
Ans: gold
 

iii.) The word that means opposite to 'sorrow' is................ 1
Ans: joy
 

iv.) The word ‘distressed’ means ……………………………. 1
Ans: unhappy
 

v.) Who bound the poet’s head and gave him bread? 2
Ans: A poor man
 

vi.) What did the poet realise in the last? 2
Ans: When once the poet was in sorrow, a rich man offered him gold. He later returned back the gold to the rich man with a word of gratitude. But when the poet was in want, grief and pain, a poor man looked after him with great care and sympathy. The poet understood that heavenly sympathy is far greater than gold.
 

vii.)"He watched me night and day" Who is 'he' and 'me' here in this line.?
Ans: In the line, 'he' refers to the poor man and 'me' refers to the poet.
 

7. (a) Look up the dictionary to find out what is meant by the word ‘values’.
(b) Discuss what is meant by the term ‘human values’.
(c) Make a list of different types of human values. Taking the help of the dictionary, write the meaning of each of the human values you have listed. Also, write at least one stnoonym and antonym for each human value yu have selected. One example has been worked out for you.

8. In groups, turn the theme of the poem “Sympathy” into a story. You can write about four men in a village – one who is very rich, one who is very poor and two who are neither too rich nor too poor.

Hints: One man fell into deep distress (describe the type of distress)
Approached a rich man; rich man gave money.
He repaid the rich man’s when he recovered from his problems.
Later he fell sick; was nursed back to health by a poor man.
Conclusion

9. Let’s learn some grammar:

Read the following sentences
(a) Give me some bread
(b) Take me to the doctor.

 We can say these sentences in a polite way by using could and would as shown below:

(a) (i) Could/would you give me some bread?
(ii) I wonder if you could give me some bread.
(iii) Would you mind giving me some bread?

(b) (i) Could/would you take me to the doctor?
(ii) I wonder if you could take me to the doctor.
(iii) Would you mind taking me to the doctor?

Now let’s practise saying these sentences. Divide the class into two groups and give them names. Let one group ask questions beginning with will/would/can/could. The other group will give answers.