Unit - 7 : A Visit to Cambridge English - Unit - 7 : A Visit to Cambridge

Stephen Hawking was a/an ……………

According to Stephen Hawking, our body is ………....

Hawking was a

The writer had a sense of guilt ………….

Cambridge was my 'metaphor' for England. Here 'metaphor' is a/an …………for England.

According to Stephen Hawking, things like the disabled Olympics are a waste of time.

While parting, Kanga kissed Stephen Hawking and touched his shoulder.

Stephen Hawking did not find it annoying when someone came and disturbed him in his work.

Firdaus Kanga is the writer of the book A Brief History of Time'.

Viewing Stephen Hawking in person, it looked like a three-dimensional photograph.

“A lot of people seem ………….1………….. (think) that disabled people …………2……………. (be) chronically unhappy,” I said. “I …………..3………….. (know) that’s not true myself. ………….4………. you often …………4…………. (laugh) | inside ?”

Surely, I wanted to say, ………….1………. (live) creatively with the reality of his disintegrating body was a choice? But I …………2…………. (keep) quiet, because I felt guilty every time I spoke to him, …………..3………… (force) him …………4…………… (respond).

(quiet, movement, disintegrating, tapping, creatively, guilty) Surely, I wanted to say, living …………1…………… with the reality of his …………2………… body was a choice? But I kept ………..3……….. , because I felt ………….4…………. every time I spoke to him, forcing him to respond. There he was, …………..5………….. at the little switch in his hand, trying to find the words on his computer with the only bit of ………….6…………. left to him, his long, pale fingers.

(though, mentioned, through, disabled, walking, successor) It was on a ……………1……….. tour ……….2…………. Cambridge that the guide ………….3………. Stephen Hawking, ‘poor man, who is quite ………….4……….. now, ……….5……….. he is a worthy ……….6…………. to Issac Newton, whose Chair he has at the university.’

When the walking tour was done, I rushed to a phone booth and, almost tearing the cord so it could reach me outside, phoned Stephen Hawking's house. There was his assistant on the line and I told him I had come in a wheelchair from India (perhaps he thought I had propelled myself all the way) to write about my travels in Britain. I had to see Professor Hawking-even ten minutes would do. "Half an hour," he said. "From three-thirty to four."
And suddenly I felt weak all over. Growing up disabled, you get fed up with people asking you to be brave, as if you have a courage account on which you are too lazy to draw a cheque. The only thing that makes you stronger is seeing somebody like you, achieving something huge. Then you know how much is possible and you reach out further than you ever thought you could.
Questions:
(1) I rushed to a phone booth and, almost tearing the cord so it could reach me outside, phoned Stephen Hawking's house. What kind of the writer's feeling do these underlined words show?
(2) Why had the writer come all the way from India?
(3) Why did the writer feel weak all over?
(4) What makes a disabled stronger, according to the writer?

"What do you think is the best thing about being disabled?" I had asked him earlier. "I don't think there is anything good about being disabled."
"I think." I said, "you do discover how much kindness there is in the world."
"Yes," he said: it was a disadvantage of his voice synthesiser that it could convey no inflection, no shades or tone. And I could not tell how enthusiastically he agreed with me.
Every time I shifted in my chair or turned my wrist to watch the time - I wanted to make every one of our thirty minutes count-I felt a huge relief and exhilaration in the possibilities of my body. How little it mattered then that I would never walk, or even stand.
Questions:
(1) What was the reply from Stephen Hawking for the best thing about being disabled'?
(2) Why could the writer not tell the intensity of Stephen Hawking's enthusiasm in replying his question ?
(3) Why did the writer look at his watch every now and then?
(4) What was the writer's feeling in the end ?

"Is there any advice you can give disabled people, something that might help make life better?"
"They should concentrate on what they are good at; I think things like the disabled Olympics are a waste of time."
"I know what you mean." I remembered the years I'd spent trying to play a Spanish guitar considerably larger than I was; and how gleefully I had unstringed it one night. The half-hour was up. "I think I've annoyed you enough," I said, grinning. "Thank you for ..." "Stay." I wai "Have some tea. I can show you the garden."
The garden was as big as a park, but Stephen Hawking covered every inch, rumbling along in his motorised wheelchair while I dodged to keep out of the way. We couldn't talk very much; the sun made him silent, the letters on his screen disappearing in the glare.
Questions :
(1) What advice did Stephen Hawking give to disabled people?
(2) What had the writer been trying to play some years?
(3) What was said by the writer to Stephen Hawking courteously after the half hour was up?
(4) Why could the writer and Stephen Hawking not talk much in the garden?

What is common between the speaker and the person he is talking to?

What took Firdaus Kanga to England? Why did he wish to see Stephen Hawking?

What message did Stephen give to disabled people world over ?

How did Kanga fix the interview with Stephen Hawking?

Who was Stephen Hawking?

They should concentrate on what they are good at.

I felt a huge relief and exhilaration.

I could feel his anguish.

It doesn’t do much good.

I find it amusing when people patronise me.

How little it mattered that I would never walk, or even stand! (Turn into Assertive.)

I’ve had no choice. (Turn into Affirmative.)

Growing up disabled, you get fed up with people asking you to be brave. (Use ‘If’.)

When the walking tour was done, I rushed to a phone booth. (Use ‘As soon as’.)

I find it amusing when people patronise me. (Turn into Compound sentence.)

The answer flashed. “Yes.” ………….1…………… he smiled his one-way smile .………..2………….. I knew, ………….3………… being sentimental or silly, …………4…………. I was looking at one of the most beautiful men in the world. A first glimpse of him is shocking, …………5………… he is like a still photograph- …………6…………… all those pictures of him in magazines and newspapers have turned three-dimensional.

Before you, like …………..1………… lantern ……………..2……….. walls are worn …………3………….. thin you glimpse only the light inside, is the incandescence of a man. ………….4……….. body, almost irrelevant, exists only like a case made of shadows. …………..5………….. I, no believer in eternal souls, know that this is ………….6…………. each of us is; everything else an accessory.

‘Disabled Children’

“What do you think is the best thing about being disabled ?” I had asked him earlier. “I don’t think there is anything good about being disabled.” “I think,” I said, “you do discover how much kindness there is in the world.”

“A lot of people seem to think that disabled people are chronically unhappy,” I said. “I know that’s not true myself. Are you often laughing inside?” About three minutes later, he responded, “I find it amusing when people patronise me.” “And do you find it annoying when someone like me comes and disturbs you in your work ?”