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Thinking about Language

Question I: Study the sentences given below.

(a)    They looked like black mountains.

(b)   Inside the clouds, everything was suddenly black.

(c)    In the black clouds near me, I saw another aero plane.

(d)   The strange black aero plane was there.

The word 'black' in sentences (a) and (c) refers to the very darkest color. But in (b) and (d) (here) it means without light/with no light.

'Black' has a variety of meanings in different contexts. For example:

(a)    'I prefer black tea' means 'I prefer tea without milk'.

(b)   'With increasing pollution the future of the world is black' means 'With increasing pollution the future of the world is very depressing/ without hope'.

Now, try to guess the meanings of the word 'black' in the sentences given below. Check the meanings in the dictionary and find out whether you have guessed right.

1. Go and have a bath; your hands and face are absolutely black. _

2.     The taxi-driver gave Ratan a black look as he crossed the road when the traffic light was green.

3.     The boom barmen of Hiroshima is one of the blackest crimes against humanity.   _

4.     Very few people enjoy Harold Pinter's black comedy.  _

5.     Sometimes shopkeepers store essential goods to create false scarcity and then sell these in black.

6.     Villagers had beaten the criminal black and blue.

Answer me:

1.     The meaning of 'black' in this sentence is that the face and hands are dark with dust and heat.

2.     Here, 'black' refers to an angry look.

3.     Here, 'blackest' refers to the darkest, cruel and inhuman crime.

4.     Here, 'black' refers to dark and gloomy comedy.

5.     The meaning of 'black' in this sentence is that the shopkeepers sell the described goods 'at a higher price'.

6.     Here, 'black' means that the criminal suffered excessive beating at the hands of the villagers.

Question II: Look at these sentences taken from the lesson you have just read:

(a)    I was flying my old Dakota aero plane.

(b)   The young seagull h ad been afraid to fly with them.

In the first sentence the author was controlling an aircraft in the air. Another example is: Children are flying kites. In the second sentence the seagull was afraid to move through the air, usi ng its wings. Match the phrases given under Column A with their meanings given under Column B:

Question III: We know that the word 'fly' (of birds/insects) means to move through air using wings. Tick the words which have the same or nearly the same meaning.

Swoop     flit   paddle     flutter

Ascend    float ride  skim

Sink dart  hover       glide

Descend stay   soar fall   shoot sail spring flap

Answer III:

The words which have the same or nearly the same meaning as 'fly' are as follows:

>      Swoop

>      Flit

>      Soar

>      Hover

>      Sail

>      Skim

>      Flap

>      Glide

>      Flutter

>      Spring