English: Class 7 — Chapter 4: Unit 4: Travel and Adventure

Suraj, a young and curious boy, cycles out of town to watch a steam engine roar out of a jungle railway tunnel. After witnessing the magnificent sight, he decides to walk through the dark, damp tunnel. Upon exiting, he meets Sunder Singh, the dedicated tunnel watchman who lives in a nearby hut. Sunder Singh shares stories of his life, including a resident leopard that he considers "his." That evening, Suraj returns to watch the night mail train. When they hear the rhythmic sawing sound of the leopard inside the tunnel, Sunder Singh and Suraj bravely enter with a lamp and an axe to scare the animal away, saving it from being run over. Later, while traveling on the train with his father, Suraj spots Sunder Singh's lamp in the dark, comparing him to a protective firefly.

• Suraj: An adventurous, inquisitive, and brave boy who is fascinated by trains and eager to explore the unknown.
• Sunder Singh: A courageous, duty-bound, and compassionate watchman who coexists peacefully with nature and protects both the trains and the forest animals.

• shimmered: Shined with a light that appears to move.
• railway embankment: A stone wall made to carry the railway over low ground.
• cutting: A narrow valley cut through a hill to make space for a railway line.
• scrub-covered: Covered with short trees and bushes.
• instinctively: Without thought or plan.
• flinch: Make a quick, nervous movement.
• contemplation: Deep, reflective thought.
• scuttled: Ran hurriedly with short, quick steps.
• dazzled: Blinded temporarily by a sudden bright light.
• lithe: Thin, supple, and graceful.
• sinewy: Lean and muscular.

The poem captures the speaker's intense and constant wanderlust. Despite living miles away from the railroad tracks and being surrounded by the busy voices of the day, the speaker constantly hears the train's whistle. At night, even in the quiet meant for sleep, the speaker visualizes the red cinders in the sky and hears the engine steaming. Although the speaker loves and values their friends, their desire to travel is so overwhelming that they would board any train, regardless of its destination.

• Stanza 1: Focuses on the daytime. Despite the distance and the noise of daily life, the train's shrieking whistle dominates the speaker's thoughts.
• Stanza 2: Focuses on the nighttime. In the stillness of sleep and dreams, the speaker's imagination is filled with the visual and auditory elements of a passing train.
• Stanza 3: Expresses the core theme of wanderlust. The speaker acknowledges their warm relationships with friends but admits that the call of travel is irresistible.

• Imagery: Visual and auditory descriptions such as "cinders red on the sky" and "engine steaming" appeal to the senses.
• Personification: The train's whistle is personified as "shrieking" to emphasize its loud, calling nature.
• Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows an ABAB rhyme scheme (e.g., away/day, speaking/shrieking).

Arunima Sinha, a national-level volleyball player, faced a life-altering tragedy in 2011 when she was thrown off a moving train by robbers, resulting in the amputation of her left leg. Displaying extraordinary mental fortitude, she resolved to climb Mount Everest while recovering in the hospital. Under the guidance of Bachendri Pal, the first Indian woman to summit Everest, Arunima underwent rigorous training. On May 21, 2013, she successfully reached the summit of Mount Everest, becoming the world's first female amputee to achieve this feat. She went on to conquer the Seven Summits, completing her goal in January 2019 by climbing Mount Vinson in Antarctica.

• beacon: A source of inspiration or encouragement.
• resilience: The ability to recover quickly from difficulties.
• amputated: Cut off surgically (a limb).
• prosthetic leg: An artificial leg that helps people move around.
• harrowing: Extremely distressing or painful.
• fortitude: Courage and strength of mind over a long period.
• adversity: A difficult or unpleasant situation.
• testament: Something that serves as tangible proof or evidence.

Both would and used to are used to describe repeated activities or routines in the past.

• Used to: Indicates a past state or action that occurred regularly but no longer happens now.
  Example: "I used to live in a village near a forest."
• Would: Used to describe habitual actions and repeated behaviors in the past, often within a narrative context.
  Example: "Every day, he would walk the length of the tunnel."

• Colon (:): Used to introduce a list or an explanation.
  Example: "You need the following ingredients: ghee, coconut, and jaggery."
• Semicolon (;): Used to connect two closely related independent clauses without using a conjunction.
  Example: "She loves reading; he prefers watching movies."

• Indefinite Articles (A/An): Used before non-specific singular countable nouns. The choice depends on the initial sound of the following word. Use an before vowel sounds (e.g., an hour, an army) and a before consonant sounds (e.g., a uniform, a train).
• Definite Article (The): Used before specific nouns, unique geographical features, or when a noun has already been mentioned (e.g., the Ganges, the summit).

• Soft 'c' (/s/ sound): Occurs when 'c' is followed by the letters 'e', 'i', or 'y'.
  Examples: cell, city, decide, bicycle, cinders.
• Hard 'c' (/k/ sound): Occurs when 'c' is followed by 'a', 'o', 'u', or a consonant.
  Examples: cable, cake, echo, uncle, concert.