Friendship: Section III

Prose

Friendship

Section III

Reading

Read this section in pairs.

Vetri went straight to Asif’s office. As he reached the gate, the security stopped him, ”Whom do you want to meet sir?” Vetri nervously said “I want to meet Asif, I am his friend.” The security was astounded “Mr. Asif is our MD. Are you sure you want to meet him?” Vetri hesitatingly said, “Yes, I am his friend, from his native place.” The Security said “Check with the people in the reception, Sir. I don’t know if you will get an appointment.”

Vetri walked to the reception. Receptionist asked him, ”How can I help you?”. Vetri said, “Can I meet your MD? Please tell him, Vetri from Keelakudi has come to meet him.” Suddenly, the receptionist rose from her chair. The door behind Vetri opened, Vetri got a pat on his back. “Finally, you found me. I saw you through the CCTV camera.”, said Asif. Vetri was dumbfounded. Vetri gathered, “No, Asif, I never got the chance to visit Chennai. Now, I have come to attend my friend’s wedding. So, I thought I would come to meet you.” They spoke about their schooldays and the fun they had. Then they discussed their business. Asif took Vetri to his home for lunch. Vetri was surprised to see that everyone knows him. Asif’s wife said,”We all know you, but this is the first time we are meeting you in person.” He stayed till the evening and Asif dropped him in the railway station.

Vetri reached home and told his wife everything in detail. She knew her husband so she didn’t ask anything else. Two days later, Vetri received a call “Am I speaking to Vetri?” Vetri said, “Yes.” The voice said, ”Our MD Mr. Asif, has assigned a project to you. He wants to meet you. Will you be able to come to Chennai?” Vetri couldn’t believe it.

Glossary

nervously - in an anxious or uneasy manner

astounded - shocked or greatly surprised

hesitatingly - to be reluctant or wait to act because of fear

dumbfounded - speechless with amazement

dropped - the act of a person or thing that drops

Read and Understand

A. Choose the correct answer.

1. Vetri went to Asif’s ____________.

a) home

b) office

c) room

[Answer: (b) office]

2. Vetri came to Chennai to visit his ____________.

a) father

b) friend

c) brother

[Answer: (b) friend]

3. Asif saw his friend through the ____________.

a) camera

b) window

 c) glass

[Answer: (a) camera]

B. Choose correct synonyms for the italic word.

1. Vetri constructed a bungalow.

a) designed

b) built

c) demolished

d) destroyed

[Answer: (b) built]

2. The brothers started a business separately.

a) apart

b) alone

 c) united

d) combined

[Answer: (a) apart]

3. I am living in the outskirts of the village.

a) border

b) outpost

c) center

d) region

[Answer: (b) outpost]

4. Asif quarreled with his friend.

a) fought

b) differ

c) peace

d) fun

[Answer: (a) fought]

5. He stood astounded.

a) happy

 b) surprised

c) shocked

d) excited

[Answer: (c) shocked]

C. Choose correct antonyms for the italic word.

1. Verti's wife replied angrily.

a) calmly

b) annoyed

c) irritate

[Answer: (a) calmly]

2. The vegetables look fresh.

a) rotten

b) dull

c) new

[Answer:  (a) rotten]

3. Vetri had a strong will to start a new business.

a) desire

b) thin

c) weak

[Answer: (c) weak]

4. Vetri was surprised by his friend.

a) unsurprised

b) expected

c) shocked

[Answer:  unsurprised]

5. He spoke nervously.

a) Scared

 b) confident

 c) anxious

[Answer: (b) confident]

D. Answer the following questions in one or two words.

1. What was the name of Vetri’s company?

Answer:  The name of Vetri’s company was ‘Vetri Constructions’.

2. Why did he sell his properties?

Answer:  He sold his properties to pay his loans.

3. Which was the home town of Vetri and Asif?

Answer:  The home town of Vetri and Asif was Keelakudi village. 

4. When was the school established?

Answer:  The school was in the outskirts of Keelakudi village. It was a middle school.

5. When did Vetri receive a call from Asif’s office?

Answer:  Two days later after reaching his home, Vetri received a call from Asif’s office.

E. Answer the following questions in 100 words.

1. How did Vetri lose his properties?

Answer:  Vetri was once a successful businessman in Coimbatore. His Vetri constructions was a leading construction company. After his father’s death, his brothers demanded to split the wealth, as they wanted to start their business separately. From then on, Vetri found it difficult to establish his business. He took loans to run his company, but he could not pay the loan. So he sold all his properties and paid the loans. His family then moved to a very small house. He found a job and started to lead a normal life.

2. What happened when Vetri met Asif?

Answer:  Vetri boarded the train and went straight to Asif’s office. When Vetri was enquiring about Asif, he got a pat on his back. It was Asif, who came to receive Vetri, after seeing him through the CCTV camera. Vetri was speechless. He apologized to Asif saying that he never got a chance to visit Chennai. So he couldn’t meet him at all. They spoke about their school days and the fun they had. They also discussed about their business. Asif took Vetri to his home for lunch. Vetri was surprised to see that everyone knows him. In the evening, Asif dropped him at the station.

3. How did Asif show his friendship?

Answer:  Asif was a true friend of Vetri. When Vetri came to his office, he came to receive him, as he saw through the CCTV camera. He gave Vetri a pat on his back. Vetri was speechless on seeing him. He took to his cabin. They spoke about their school days and the fun they had. They discussed about their business. Asif took Vetri to his home for lunch. Vetri was surprised to see that everyone knows him. Vetri stayed there till evening. Asif dropped him in the railway station. After two days, he invited Vetri to his office and assigned him a project.