Naresh and the Stranger / Poem: From a Railway Carriage

Unit 17 is about offers and kindness. Reading I, Naresh and the Stranger, is a story of a poor but kind farmer who shares his little food with a sick stranger and is rewarded. Reading II is Robert Louis Stevenson's poem From a Railway Carriage, which captures the speed of a train journey. The grammar is voice — active and passive. In writing you reply to an e-mail offer and write a reply to an invitation.

17.1 Reading I: Naresh and the Stranger

Summary

• Naresh is a simple, honest farmer who lives with his wife, three children and his parents. His wife looks after the family, so his income alone is not enough. He worries about how to give his children nutritious food, and he talks about it to his only friends, his oxen. The neighbours laugh, but they also feel sorry for him.
• At the river, a stranger who looks tired and ill comes towards him. Naresh offers help, gives him water and invites him home to rest.
• His wife is upset and cries because they do not have enough food for themselves. Naresh says, "God will help us if we help others," and the stranger stays three days.
• On the third day the stranger, feeling better, takes Naresh to the river bank, tells him to lift a big stone and dig. Naresh finds a pot with a bag full of money. The stranger gives it to him because he was kind when the stranger was ill and alone.
• Naresh at first refuses — he did not help for money — but accepts when the stranger insists. He offers the stranger food for the journey; the stranger smiles: "When God gives me friends like you, I need nothing."

Theme/moral: selfless kindness is rewarded; help others even when you have little. Characters: Naresh — honest, hard-working, kind, generous, unselfish; his wife — practical and worried; the stranger — grateful and mysterious.

Vocabulary (Exercise A)

a. beneath b. kindness c. honest d. stranger e. nutritious

Who said it to whom? (Exercise B)

Sentence	Speaker → listener
a. Do you need some help?	Naresh → the stranger
b. Will you come home with me?	Naresh → the stranger
c. Would you like to come with me to the river?	the stranger → Naresh
d. The money is for you and your family. Take it.	the stranger → Naresh
e. I shall be very happy if you take it.	the stranger → Naresh
f. Let me give you some food to eat.	Naresh → the stranger

Comprehension (Exercise C) — model answers

a. Why could Naresh's wife not earn money? She had to look after the family, so she could not go out to work.

b. What was Naresh worried about when he talked to his oxen? About when he would earn enough money to give his children nutritious food.

c. Why did his wife cry? Because they did not have enough food even for themselves, and now there was a guest to feed.

d. Why did the stranger give Naresh money? Because Naresh had been kind to him when he was ill and alone, and the stranger wanted to help a good man.

e. Did the stranger take anything from Naresh when he left? Why? No. He said that when God gives him friends like Naresh, he needs nothing.

f. What lesson did you learn? We should help people in need without expecting a reward; kindness brings its own reward.

17.2 Speaking: making, accepting and declining offers

Offer	Accept	Decline
Can I help you? / Shall I…?	Yes, please. That would be nice.	No, thanks. I'll do it myself.
Would you like some…?	Yes, please. I'd love some.	No, thank you. I'm fine.
Would you like me to…?	That's very kind of you.	It's all right, thanks.
How about some…?	Great!	Not now, thanks.

Speaking A (matching): a–vi (Can I help you? — … I can't lift the luggage), b–vii (something to drink — I'm very thirsty), c–i (coffee — I'm dying for a coffee; the book prints dying of), d–ii, e–iii, f–iv, g–v.

Speaking B examples: Would you like a cup of tea? — Yes, please. / Would you like to take my umbrella? It's raining. — That's very kind of you. / Shall I carry one of the bags, Dad? — Thanks, son.

17.3 Grammar: Active and passive voice

In the active, the subject does the action. In the passive, the subject receives the action: The stranger opened the pot. → The pot was opened by the stranger.

Steps: (1) the object becomes the subject; (2) use the correct form of be in the same tense + past participle; (3) the old subject goes after by (or is left out if it is someone, people, they or obvious).

Tense	Active	Passive (be + V3)
Present simple	The waitress serves breakfast.	Breakfast is served.
Present continuous	The police are questioning him.	He is being questioned by the police.
Present perfect	The teacher has sent him out.	He has been sent out by the teacher.
Past simple	The dentist pulled out my tooth.	My tooth was pulled out by the dentist.
Past continuous	Nitesh was painting the wall.	The wall was being painted by Nitesh.
Past perfect	Someone had picked the oranges.	The oranges had been picked.
Future simple	The mayor will inaugurate it.	It will be inaugurated by the mayor.
Future perfect	John will have finished it.	It will have been finished by John.
Modal	You must wash coloured clothes separately.	Coloured clothes must be washed separately.

Two objects (give, show, send): Naresh gave him some water. → He was given some water by Naresh. (or Some water was given to him.)

Textbook answers

Grammar I A: a–iii, b–vi, c–i, d–v, e–ii, f–iv

Grammar I C: a. My tooth was pulled out by the dentist. b. He is being questioned by the police. c. Breakfast is served at 7 o'clock (by the waitress). d. The rubbish was collected by students from our class. e. These tablets should be taken before meals. f. He has been sent out of the classroom by the teacher. g. Coloured clothes must be washed separately. h. The new sports centre will be inaugurated by the mayor next month. i. Nabina's bicycle has been stolen recently. j. Apples are grown in Dolpa.

17.4 Writing I: Replying to an e-mail offer

The e-mail: Sukla Devkota, Managing Director of Nepal Sunglass House, Tinkune, writes to regular customer Mr. Sameer Dangol: this week only, two pairs of sunglasses for the price of one.

To decline politely: Thank you for your kind offer. Unfortunately, I have just bought a new pair, so I will not be able to take advantage of it this time. I hope to hear about your future offers.

17.5 Reading II: Poem — From a Railway Carriage

Poet: Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894), Scottish writer of Treasure Island; this poem is from his collection A Child's Garden of Verses (1885).

What the poem says

The speaker sits in a train and describes what he sees through the window. Everything rushes past so fast that each sight is only a glimpse.

• Stanza 1: the train goes "faster than fairies, faster than witches"; bridges, houses, hedges and ditches fly past; horses and cattle in the meadows seem to charge "like troops in a battle"; sights fly "as thick as driving rain"; painted stations "whistle by" in the wink of an eye.
• Stanza 2: a child climbs and scrambles alone, gathering brambles (blackberries); a tramp stands and gazes; a village green where daisies are strung into chains; a runaway cart lumping along with a man and his load; a mill and a river — "Each a glimpse and gone forever!"

Theme: the excitement and speed of a train journey; life's scenes are seen only for a moment and then lost.

Poetic devices: similes (like troops in a battle, as thick as driving rain); hyperbole (faster than fairies and witches); personification (stations whistle by); rhyming couplets (witches/ditches, battle/cattle, plain/rain, eye/by…); a fast, regular rhythm that sounds like the wheels of a train ("faster than fairies, faster than witches").

Vocabulary (Exercise A)

hedge – a row of bushes forming a fence; ditch – a narrow channel dug beside a road or field; troop – a group of soldiers; wink – a very quick closing of one eye (in the wink of an eye = very quickly); glimpse – a very quick look; tramp – a homeless wanderer; lump (along) – move heavily and awkwardly; bramble – a wild thorny bush with blackberries.

Summary (Exercise B)

Answer order: experiences, describes, faster, battlefield, speedy, crosses (the train crosses all the scenes), a child, amazement, daisy flowers, glimpse, so quickly. (The book's summary adds "ladies in a village" making garlands; the poem itself only mentions "the green for stringing the daisies".)

Comprehension (Exercise C) — model answers

a. What is the movement of the train compared with? With fairies and witches (it is faster than them) and with troops charging in a battle.

b. What does the speaker see in the meadows? Horses and cattle.

c. What is the child doing while climbing? Gathering brambles (blackberries) all by himself.

d. Why does the tramp look at the train with amazement? Perhaps because the fast, noisy train is a wonderful sight to a poor wanderer standing by the track.

e. What is the theme? The speed and excitement of a train journey, in which sights appear for a moment and are "gone forever".

17.6 Writing II: A reply letter to an invitation

To decline: thank → congratulate → apologise with a reason (I am afraid I cannot come because my grandmother is ill / I have an exam) → wish success → suggest meeting later.

17.7 Pronunciation and project work

Contractions: I'm /aɪm/, they'd /ðeɪd/, she'll /ʃiːl/, can't /kɑːnt/, she's, they've, couldn't /ˈkʊdnt/, aren't /ɑːnt/, mustn't /ˈmʌsnt/ (the first t is silent). Naresh's, stranger's (possessive 's after /ʃ/ and /dʒ/) are pronounced /ɪz/.

Project work: collect expressions people use to make, accept and decline offers and present them.

Chapter summary

• Naresh, a poor farmer, helps a sick stranger despite having little; the stranger shows him a pot of money; moral — selfless kindness is rewarded.
• Offers: Can I…? Shall I…? Would you like (me to)…? — accept Yes, please; decline No, thanks.
• Passive = object → subject + be (same tense) + V3 (+ by agent).
• is being, was being, has been, had been, will be, will have been, must be + V3.
• Stevenson's poem: train faster than fairies; similes, couplets, galloping rhythm; each sight "a glimpse and gone forever".
• Reply letters: thank → accept/decline with reason → close warmly.

Practice questions

Reading

1. Answer briefly. [5]aHow many people were in Naresh's family?bWhere did Naresh meet the stranger?cHow long did the stranger stay?dWhere was the pot hidden?eName two things the poet sees from the train.

Answers — Reading

1. (a) Seven — Naresh, his wife, three children and his two parents. (b) At the river, where he went to fetch water. (c) Three days. (d) Under a big stone on the river bank. (e) e.g. bridges and houses; horses and cattle; a mill and a river.

Grammar

2. Change into the passive. [5]aSita writes a letter.bThey are building a bridge.cSomeone has broken the window.dThe farmer killed the snake.eYou should keep the room clean.

Answers — Grammar

2. (a) A letter is written by Sita. (b) A bridge is being built (by them). (c) The window has been broken. (d) The snake was killed by the farmer. (e) The room should be kept clean.

Writing

3. Your friend has invited you to her birthday party, but you cannot attend. Write a reply letter. [5]

Answer — Writing

3. Address and date, Dear …, thanks for the invitation, birthday wishes, apology with a clear reason, a promise to meet soon or send a gift, warm closing (With love) and name.