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There was a considerable contrast between the two sisters. Rucha was very protective of her younger sister. She was overprotective with her. Rucha herself had been overprotected. She seldom did things rashly. Even in running and playing, she would be conscious of her movements. Seema, on the other hand, was bold and prone to taking risks.
Next week, inter-house badminton matches were to be held in the school. Rucha was in the senior team. She gave up other activities and practised with her friends. “Rucha, hit harder,” they told her on the day of the match.
Aruna, a very good player of their house, was expected to win. And she did. Rucha and her opponent were almost evenly matched and Rucha lost the game by a couple of points.
Their house stood second in the overall tally. “I can’t seem to win,” said Rucha remorsefully. “You played all right,” Aruna consoled her. “The time when your opponent was at the net, if you had hit just a little harder over her head, you could have won that point.”
“I know, I know,” replied Rucha, “but somehow I always make such mistakes."
"You must practice more. That is all,” Aruna told her.
”I suppose so,” Rucha replied gloomily.
“Cheer up now,” Aruna told her. “At least you tried. I say, the inter-school sports meet is coming up. You are in the school’s relay team, aren’t you?”
“I will probably make everyone lose the race,” Rucha said, still gloomy.
“Don’t think that way,” Aruna pleaded with her. "You run fast. We need you.”
Explanation:
The sisters Rucha and Seema had strikingly different characters. Rucha always tried to protect her younger sister because she had been overprotected when she was younger. She did not do anything without thinking of the consequences. She was very alert and self-aware about herself when she ran and played. She made sure she was always very careful. But Seema was totally different; she was brave and always used to taking risks.
There was a considerable contrast between the two sisters!
In Rucha's school, there were some badminton matches to be held the following week. Rucha was a member of the senior team. She stopped all her other activities and practised badminton with her friends. On the day of the match, her friends told her to hit harder. Aruna was Rucha's mate, and everyone thought she would win because she was a good player in their team. Like everyone's expectation, Aruna won the game. Rucha was very close to her opponent's score but finally lost the game by two points. In the overall final results, Rucha's team came in second place. Rucha said with regret and guilt that she was not able to win any game. Aruna tried to comfort her by saying she played well. She added that if Rucha had hit a bit harder over her head, she could have scored the winning point. Rucha agreed and said that she was somehow always making some mistakes.
Aruna told her to practise more. Rucha agreed with a depressed state of mind. Aruna asked her to cheer up because she had at least tried her best. The inter-school sports meet was coming up, and she asked if Rucha was there in the relay team. Still depressed, Rucha replied she was going to make others also lose the race. Aruna convinced her and motivated her that the team needed her, as she was a fast runner.
A relay race!
Meanings of difficult words:
No. | Words | Meanings |
1 | contrast | the state of being strikingly different from something else |
2 | rashly | without careful consideration of the possible consequences |
3 | remorseful | filled with regret; feeling sorry and guilty |
4 | consoled | comfort (someone) at a time of grief or disappointment |
5 | gloomily | depressed, dejected |
6 | relay race | a race between two or more teams of contestants, each contestant being relieved by a teammate after running part of the distance |
Reference:
State Council of Educational Research and Training (2019). Term-2 English Standard-6. Think to Win (pp. 101-108). Published by the Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation.
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