The Accidental Tourist: Reading Activity

Reading

Do you know the difference between transcription and translation? 

Transcription is the process of listening to an audio file and writing what has been said verbatim in the same language that the original speaker used. 

Translation is the process of expressing the sense of a written text to another language i.e. converting from one language to another without changing the meaning. 

The ability to translate is both a skill and an art. Translation can be done from the language being learned (here it is English) into the mother tongue or from the mother tongue into English. 

Have you ever heard of the term transliteration? 

Transliteration gives the word from a different language in letters that you can read so as to be able to pronounce it properly. 

e.g. Vanakkam for tzf;fk;( Tamil)

Narration

Narration is a recital of events, especially in chronological order, as the story narrated in a poem or the exposition in a drama. The narrative form is the most common mode of writing. Even news is narrated as a story. This makes reading both exciting and interesting.

Here is an amazing news item on how the qualities of duty and devotion is not restricted to humans alone but shared by animals. Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.

Caesar, the Hero of Mumbai on 26/11

1. Mumbai Caesar, the last surviving hero of his kind, died after the attack on one Thursday. Caesar, a Labrador retriever, was covered with tri-colour and given an emotional farewell from the city Police Force. The Mumbai Police Commissioner too marked the passing of the hero with a tweet.

2. Caesar, who was 11 years old was the sole survivor among the dogs of Mumbai Police who took part in bomb detection operations during the terrorist attack on Mumbai that began on November 26, 2008. He died of heart attack at a farm in Virar where he and his three canine buddies had been sent after retirement. During the terror attack in Mumbai, Caesar saved several lives when he sniffed out the hand grenades left by the terrorists at the busy CST railway station.

3. Caesar was also a part of the search team at Nariman house, where terrorists were holed up for three days. Earlier he was also pressed into service for bomb search operation after the 2006 serial train blasts and July 2017 blast in Mumbai. The Mumbai police officials also tweeted their grief saying, “Services of retired members of Dog Squad during 26/11 will be unforgettable. We will remember our heroes forever.”

Answer the following questions.

1.        Labrador retriever was covered with tri-colour. What does this signify?

It signifies that the dog has done a national service and it is a real-life hero.

2.        How did Caesar save several lives at the CST railway station?

Caesar saved several lives when he sniffed out the hand grenades left by the terrorists at the busy CST railway station.

3.        Which word in the passage (paragraph 3) means the same as ‘forced’.

The word ‘pressed’ means ‘forced’.

4.        “Services of retired members of Dog Squad during 26/11 will be unforgettable”. Mention three services rendered by Caesar.

Bomb detections operations during Mumbai terrorist attack, CST railways and Nariman House are three services rendered by Caesar.

5.        Caesar is a Labrador breed of dogs. Name a few other native breeds that are used by the Police force.

Rajapalayam and Sippiparai are the few other native breeds of dogs that are used by the police force.

6.        Try to rewrite the news item in your mother tongue without losing the spirit and flavour of the text. Give a suitable title to your translated version.