Class 10 English – Words and Expressions 2 Unit 7

📝 Section 1 — Language Notes

Story in Short — Madam Rides the Bus

Valli is an eight-year-old girl who loves watching buses.
She saves money by avoiding small pleasures like sweets.
She secretly plans and takes a bus ride to the town.
She is excited and confident — she calls herself "Madam".
On the return journey she sees a dead cow — reality strikes.
She realises that life and joy can end suddenly and unexpectedly.

Valli's Exciting Journey — What She Saw

The green fields and trees along the road
A canal with palm trees and mountains in the distance
A young cow running playfully in front of the bus
The busy town, shops, and crowds
On her return: the same young cow, now dead on the road
This sad sight changes her mood completely.

Reading Text 1 — Pedalling through Uttarakhand

Vishav (65) and Kamal Jeet (69) took up cycling in retirement.
They live in Dehradun and know Uttarakhand's roads well.
They participated in cyclothons and then cycled across the state.
Their 100-km route went from Ghanta Ghar to George Everest Point.
They loved the sal forests, steep slopes, and cool mountain air.
Key message: Adventure knows no age limit.

Grammar — Reported Speech (Indirect Speech)

When we report what someone said, the tense usually changes.
Direct: He said, "I am happy." → Reported: He said he was happy.
Direct: She said, "I will come." → Reported: She said she would come.
Direct: He said, "I have eaten." → Reported: He said he had eaten.
The pronoun also changes: "I" → he/she; "you" → I/we/they

Tense Shift in Reported Speech

Simple Present → Simple Past
Present Continuous → Past Continuous
Present Perfect → Past Perfect
Simple Past → Past Perfect
Will → Would | Can → Could | May → Might

Key Vocabulary from the Cycling Passage

Acclimatised — adjusted to a new climate or environment
Strenuous — requiring great effort or exertion
Cyclotrons — cycling events or races
Daunting — seeming difficult or intimidating
Encapsulates — sums up or contains perfectly
Inexplicable — impossible to explain

Reading Text 2 — Going Down Hill on a Bicycle

A poem about the joy and speed of cycling downhill.
The poet feels free and excited rushing down the hill.
Wind, speed, and the natural world all blur together.
Theme: simple pleasures in nature give great joy.

Adventure and Courage — Key Themes

Valli showed courage to travel alone at age eight.
Vishav and Kamal Jeet showed courage to cycle at age 65+.
Both stories show that the spirit of adventure matters more than age.
Planning, saving money, and being prepared are important.

✏️ Section 3 — Solved Exercises

Exercise 1 — Comprehension: Cycling in Uttarakhand

1 "Peers were slowing down, watching sunsets from the porch" means: most people their age were resting and relaxing in retirement. The author uses this to contrast their own active choice to take up cycling.

2 They were confident because they had lived in Dehradun all their lives, were acclimatised to the cold winds and narrow roads, and knew almost all the scenic mountain trails.

3 The strong passion was cycling — starting with short daily rides, then longer ones, then participating in cyclothons.

4 The most thrilling way to enjoy Uttarakhand is cycling — because the sunlight, cool breeze, sal forests, and steep curves create an inexplicable experience.

5 The trail they loved most started from Ghanta Ghar (Dehradun) and went through Kimadi, Hathi Paon, Mussoorie, Chaar Dukaan up to George Everest Point — a 100-km route.

Exercise 2 — Reported Speech: Convert to Indirect

1 Direct: Valli said, "I want to ride the bus." → Reported: Valli said that she wanted to ride the bus.

2 Direct: The conductor said, "You must buy a ticket." → Reported: The conductor said that she must buy a ticket.

3 Direct: Vishav said, "We will cycle across the state." → Reported: Vishav said that they would cycle across the state.

4 Direct: He said, "I have never felt so free." → Reported: He said that he had never felt so free.

5 Direct: She said, "I can manage it alone." → Reported: She said that she could manage it alone.

Exercise 3 — Valli's Story Questions

1 Valli saved money by not buying things like peppermints, toys, balloons, and other tempting things — she saved every coin for the bus fare.

2 On the way to town she saw: green fields, a canal, palm trees, distant mountains, and a young playful cow running in front of the bus.

3 The return journey was not the same because the playful young cow she had seen earlier was now lying dead on the road. This sadness replaced her earlier excitement.

4 The theme of the story: life and joy are fragile. What makes you happy can change suddenly. Even a simple journey teaches a child about the world.

📋 Section 4 — Word Power

Word	Part of Speech	Meaning	Example Sentence
acclimatised	verb (past)	got used to a different climate or environment	They were acclimatised to the cold mountain weather.
strenuous	adjective	requiring great effort and physical energy	Cycling uphill is a strenuous activity.
daunting	adjective	seeming difficult or impossible to do	Cycling 100 km seemed daunting at first.
venture	verb / noun	to go somewhere despite risk	They decided to venture into the mountains.
encapsulates	verb	contains or summarises perfectly	The route encapsulates all that cycling in Uttarakhand offers.
inexplicable	adjective	impossible to explain	The beauty of the mountain ride was inexplicable.
picturesque	adjective	visually attractive like a picture	Mussoorie is a picturesque hill town.
caressing	verb	touching gently and lovingly	A cool breeze was caressing their faces as they rode.
cyclotrons	noun	organised cycling events or races	They participated in cyclotrons before the big trip.
suppressing	verb	stopping yourself from doing or feeling something	Valli saved money by suppressing her temptation to buy sweets.
conductress	noun	a female bus conductor	The conductress smiled at the young girl's confidence.
diversion	noun	something that turns attention away from the main thing	The cow on the road was a diversion for the passengers.

📄 Section 5 — Practice

Practice 1 — Fill in the Blanks: Reported Speech

Convert to reported speech. Change tense and pronouns.

1. He said, "I am going to school." → He said that ________.
2. She said, "I will finish the work." → She said that ________.
3. They said, "We have won the match." → They said that ________.
4. He said, "I can run fast." → He said that ________.
5. She said, "I may come tomorrow." → She said that ________.

Practice 2 — True or False

1. Valli was ten years old when she took the bus ride. ___
2. Valli saved money by not buying sweets and toys. ___
3. Vishav and Kamal Jeet were from Kerala. ___
4. The return journey made Valli more excited than before. ___
5. In reported speech, "will" becomes "would". ___

Practice 3 — Match Words and Meanings

1. daunting A. touching gently
2. caressing B. seeming very difficult
3. strenuous C. visually attractive
4. picturesque D. requires great physical effort
5. encapsulates E. contains or sums up perfectly

Practice 4 — Grammar: Identify Tense Change

Identify the tense change in each example:

1. "I eat rice" → She said she ate rice. Change: _______ → _______
2. "I will help" → He said he would help. Change: _______ → _______
3. "I have seen" → She said she had seen. Change: _______ → _______
4. "I can swim" → He said he could swim. Change: _______ → _______

Practice 5 — Writing Prompt

Write about a journey you took that taught you something important. Use 5–6 sentences. Describe what you saw, how you felt, and what you learnt.

Answers to Practice Exercises

Practice 1 Answers: 1. he was going to school 2. she would finish the work 3. they had won the match 4. he could run fast 5. she might come the next day

Practice 2 Answers: 1. False (she was eight) 2. True 3. False (Dehradun, Uttarakhand) 4. False (she became sad) 5. True

Practice 3 Answers: 1 – B 2 – A 3 – D 4 – C 5 – E

Practice 4 Answers: 1. Simple Present → Simple Past 2. will → would 3. Present Perfect → Past Perfect 4. can → could

🃏 Section 6 — Word Flashcards

reported speech

Telling what someone said without quoting them directly. Tenses shift back by one step.

daunting

Seeming very hard to do. "The 100-km cycle ride seemed daunting at first."

strenuous

Needing great effort. "Cycling uphill is a strenuous activity for most people."

acclimatised

Adjusted to the local climate. "They were acclimatised to Uttarakhand's cold winds."

picturesque

Beautiful like a picture. "Mussoorie is a picturesque hill station in Uttarakhand."

inexplicable

Cannot be explained. "The peace of cycling through mountains was inexplicable."

suppressing

Stopping an urge. "Valli kept suppressing her desire to buy toys and sweets."

encapsulates

Contains perfectly. "The 100-km route encapsulates every joy of cycling in Uttarakhand."

Unit 7 — Madam Rides the Bus Words and Expressions 2 • Class 10 • Different Learner Friendly Notes