“The Story of Proserpine” is a lesson of Textbook “Blossom” approved by West Bengal Board of Secondary Education for the Students of Class 7. Here all the Activity Questions are done by English teachers.
Activity 1
Fill in the blanks with suitable words from the passage above:
(a) Goddess Ceres lived in the beautiful island of Sicily.
(b) Pluto was the king of the land of the dead.
(c) Everyone said that Proserpine was the Spring herself.
(d) Pluto was charmed when he saw Proserpine.
(e) Pluto struck the ground with his sceptre and it opened instantly.
Activity 2
Identify which of the following statements are True and which are False. Give a supporting statement for each of your answers.
(a) Ceres had little role to play in the lives of the people on earth. [False]
Supporting Statement: She was the goddess of crops, plants and trees; so on she depended on the health and happiness of all the people of this wide world.
(b) Ceres was extremely fond of her fair daughter. [True]
Supporting Statement: Ceres had a fair daughter, Proserpine, whom she loved more than her life.
(c) When Pluto first saw Proserpine, she was helping her mother in the field. [False]
Supporting Statement: There he saw Proserpine laughing and playing with her companions who formed a circle round her.
(d) Pluto thought Proserpine’s beauty would brighten his dark kingdom. [True]
Supporting Statement: He looked at Proserpine and thought, “I must make her my queen. Her bright face will make even my dark kingdom look bright and beautiful.”
(e) Proserpine threw away her girdle because she did not require it in Pluto’s kingdom. [False]
Supporting Statement: She thought that the girdle might reach Ceres, and her mother would be able to trace her lost daughter.
Activity 3
Fill up the following chart with information from the text:
| Cause | Effect |
| 1. No goddess was willing to live with him. | Pluto led a lonely life. |
| 2. Pluto heard voices and laughter behind some bushes. | He was curious. |
| 3. Pluto stepped into the circle and carried Proserpine to his chariot. | The companions of Proserpine got frightened and ran away. |
| 4. Pluto was afraid that Proserpine’s mother Ceres would soon appear there in search of her daughter. | Pluto drove his chariot very fast. |
| 5. The river was full to the brim. | With his scepter Pluto struck the ground. |
Activity 4
Some words or phrases are given below. Find words from the text having meanings similar to these:
(a) a young unmarried girl: maiden
(b) a horse driven carriage or car: chariot
(c) eager to know: curious
(d) flowers: blossoms
(e) grasped or caught tightly: captive
(f) a waistband: girdle
Activity 5
Fill in the blanks with suitable words from the list below. Change the form of the words where necessary. There are some extra words. (One is done for you):
plunged, departed, trace, lovely, bank, drove, curls
(a) The rose is said to be the loveliest of all flowers.
(b) Kolkata is situated on the bank of river Hooghly.
(c) I could not trace the advertisement in yesterday’s newspaper.
(d) When it rains, driving a car is not easy.
(e) Please note the time of his departure from office last Saturday.
Activity 6
Complete the following sentences with information from the text:
(a) From the fires of a volcano Ceres lighted a torch.
(b) People thought of praying to Jupiter because Ceres could not take care of the earth until I got her lost daughter back.
(c) The nymph of the fountain lived in the dark depths of the earth.
(d) Jupiter said that Proserpine might return to earth if she had not tasted any food in Pluto’s kingdom.
(e) Ceres would begin to grieve for six months when the time came for Proserpine to rejoin Pluto in his dark underground kingdom.
Activity 7
Fill up the following chart with information from the text:
| WHO | DID WHAT | WHEN |
| Ceres | searched for Proserpine in all the rooms | Ceres did not find her daughter in the evening. |
| People | They came to Ceres and implored her to bring back plenty, and save their lives. | they were starving |
| Ceres | found the girdle of her daughter | she was passing by a river, waves carried something to her feet. |
| Proserpine | had eaten six pomegranate seeds | She was destined each year to spend six months in the realm of the dead. |
| The earth | flowers bloomed, birds sang and the earth smiled to welcome the young queen | Proserpine would come back to her mother for six months. |
Activity 8
Answer the following questions:
(a) Why did Ceres feel very sad in the morning?
Answer: Ceres felt very sad in the morning because throughout the night she had searched for her lost daughter but could not find her.
(b) Why was there a severe famine all over the world?
Answer: When Cere’s daughter was lost, she started to neglect all her work on the earth and went on searching for her daughter. The crops failed everywhere and the ground became dry and barren. So famine broke out all over the earth.
(c) Briefly narrate what the nymph of the fountain told Ceres.
Answer: The Nymph of the fountain addressed Cares as the mother of earth and informed her that she had seen Proserpine on a throne in the kingdom of Pluto. Her cheeks were pale and her eyes were heavy with weeping. She also advised her to go to Jupiter and pray to send her back to her.
(d) Why was Proserpine bound to live for six months in the underground kingdom?
Answer: Proserpine was bound to live for six months in the underground kingdom because she ate six pomegranate seeds.
Activity 9
Rearrange the following sentences and make a paragraph on how Proserpine returned from the underworld to her mother on earth:
(a) Suddenly one day Ceres picked up Proserpine’s girdle by the riverside. [4]
(b) Ceres visited Jupiter and sought his help to get back her daughter. [6]
(c) Pluto took away the beautiful maiden Proserpine to his underground kingdom. [1]
(d) Ceres went underground to find that Proserpine had already eaten six pomegranate seeds there. [8]
(e) Ceres, her mother, was very surprised not to find her at home in the evening. [2]
(f) The nymph of the fountain told Ceres about her daughter’s whereabouts. [5]
(g) Jupiter said that Proserpine might return to earth if she had not eaten any food in the land of the dead. [7]
(h) The mother searched for her daughter everywhere in vain. [3]
(i) Proserpine was destined to spend six months every year in Pluto’s underworld and the remaining six months on earth with her mother. [9]
Activity 10
Match the words in Column A with their meanings in Column B:
| A | B |
| (1) realm | (a) deep sorrow [4] |
| (2) ceaseless | (b) dull or whitish in colour [3] |
| (3) pale | (c) dark or depressing [6] |
| (4) grief | (d) begged [5] |
| (5) implored | (e) kingdom [1] |
| (6) gloomy | (f) endless [2] |
Activity 11
Make sentences with the following pairs of words to show the difference in their meanings:
a) meet: I’ll meet him tomorrow.
meat: I love to eat meat.
b) wandered: They hadn’t wandered that far today.
wondered: She wondered about El-Dorado.
c) whole: I didn’t play the whole day.
hole: There is a hole on the wall.
d) leap: The boys leaped over the stream.
lip: Her lip began to tremble.
e) cease: The factory will cease operations this autumn.
seize: He tried to seize the gun from him.
f) throne: The princess is next in line to inherit the throne of the kingdom.
thrown: He’d thrown down the gauntlet.
g) prey: The lion stalks its prey.
pray: Always pray to God.
h) tested: He tested her foot for circulation.
tasted: I’ve tasted the food.
Activity 12
Solve the word puzzle by putting suitable letters in the blank boxes. You will find the words in the text :
Activity 13 (a)
Fill in the blanks with appropriate modals from the list given below. One modal may be used more than once.
[may, would, will, should, must, can, could]
(a) I must finish my homework before going to school.
(b) He may give you a solution.
(c) Rajesh planned that he would make a kitchen garden.
(d) He could help me if he wished.
(e) We should save trees for a better future.
(f) The teachers expect that all the students will pass the examination.
(g) Students should treat their teachers with respect.
(h) It may rain today.
Activity 13 (b)
Fill in the blanks with the negative forms of appropriate modals:
(a) I cannot help you. I am sorry.
(b) Your bed is ready. would not you lie down now?
(c) One must not go for swimming when the sea is rough.
(d) The student got poor marks because he could not solve a few sums.
(e) They could not be able to supply the materials on time.
Activitie 16 answer please!!!!!!!
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