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UNIT – 2, HEIGHTS OF HARMONY, THE AMIGO BROTHERS (STORY) –, PIRI THOMAS, , A. MAIN POINTS OF THE STORY, 1. This is a thought-provoking short, story written by the famous writer, Piri Thomas., 2. In this story there are two 17-yearold boys who are close friends., 3. The tall and fair one was, 1
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Antonio Cruz and the dark and husky, one was Felix Vargas., 4. They had been living together as, brothers., 5. Both of them had a single aim in, life: Winning the Golden Gloves Light, Weight Championship., 6. To achieve their goal, they practiced, together., 7. After some elimination rounds both, of them were qualified to fight in the, divisional final bouts., 8. But they got worried internally, since each one had to knock down his, amigo brother to win the, championship., , 2
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9. There was no draw in that final, bouts., 10. They decided to keep aloof till the, day of the fight to get short relief from, their agony., 11. The Tompkins Square Park was the, venue., 12. Hundreds of fans of the young, fighters gathered around the ring., 13. In the first round Felix lashed out, first with a straight left., 14. Antonio countered back with, punches., 15. Felix’s fist was a dynamite., 16. Antonio punched like a piston., 17. In the second round Felix hit, Antonio on the chin., 3
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18. Antonio’s legs became jelly like., 19. Soon he recovered and hit Felix on, the nose. Felix was hurt., 20. In the third round they fought as, bulls. People feared a bloody end to, that round of fighting., 21. The referee had to separate them., 22. But immediately they rushed to, each other again., 23. People breathlessly watched., 24. But instead of continuing their, fight the amigo brothers embraced, each other., 25. Next, they left the ring hand in, hand as the true amigo brothers., 26. Thus the bouts ended without, announcing its winner., 4
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27. The true friendship was the real, winner., , B. SUMMARY OF THE STORY, Antonio Cruz and Felix Vargas were, thick friends. Both were seventeen, years- old. They felt themselves to be, brothers. Antonio was fair, lean and, lanky and Felix was short, dark and, husky. Each dreamt of becoming a, light – weight champion of the world., They exploited every chance of, getting trained. They used to visit the, Boy’s club and the gym. They would, run long distances in the early, 5
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morning. They used to attend every, boxing match., Now came the time for the two of, them to meet each other in the, division finals, two weeks after. The, winner was to represent the Boy’s, club in the Golden Gloves, Championship Tournament. From that, time onwards they sensed a wall rising, between them., Both used to awake at night pulling, punches on the other, trying not to, hurt. They both wanted to win. But,, only one of them could. Felix said that, he wanted to win. They decided to, look like strangers in the ring. Felix, said that it was better they didn’t see, 6
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each other for a few days. So, he, decided to stay with his Aunt Lucy., After the fight, they would continue, like friends. So, they hugged each, other and parted., They could not control their tension, the evening before the big fight. Tony, went to the roof of his building, trying, not to think of Felix. Felix decided to, see a movie. This he did to keep, Antonio’s face away from his fists. The, champion was getting beaten, and, Felix was shocked. As the time, approached both prayed for victory., Antonio and Felix were liked and, respected by all. So, large posters, 7
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were plastered all over the village. The, fight had created interest everywhere., A large crowd gathered to see the, fight. The boxers were escorted by, their fans. As the two climbed into the, ring, the crowd exploded with a roar., The announcer said that the winner, would represent the Boy’s Club in the, tournament of champions,, the Golden Gloves., They did not waste any time. In no, time the first round was over. In the, second round, Antonio avoided most, of the blows. The crowd seemed to, have gone mad. Both of them did, what all fighters do when they are, hurt. They sat and smiled at everyone., 8
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The third round would decide the, winner. Neither gave an inch. They, fought toe – to – toe. Everyone was, shocked to see their savagery., Everyone feared that it was a fight to, the death. The crowd cheered wildly, when finally, the two amigos, embraced. When the announcer, turned to point to the winner, the, champions had already left arm in, arm., , C.WRITE- UP ON THE FRIENDSHIP, PORTRAYED IN THE STORY, 9
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‘AMIGO BROTHERS’, Antonio Cruz and Felix Vargas were, both seventeen years old. Their, friendship was such that they felt, themselves to be brothers. They knew, each other from childhood and lived in, the same place. Antonio was fair and, lean while Felix was dark and short., Each had a dream of becoming a, light – weight champion of the world., They worked out every chance. They, used to visit the Boy’s club and the, gym together. Even before sunrise, they used to go for long walks. They, slept, ate and dreamt positive. They, 10
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had a collection of Fight magazines, plus scrapbook. They would attend, every boxing match., The Golden Gloves Championship, Tournament was fast approaching., The Boy’s Club had to send boxers to, that tournament. After a series of, elimination bouts, Antonio and Felix, were informed that they were to meet, each other in the divisional finals. The, winner would be sent to represent the, Boy’s club., Felix and Antonio sensed a wall rising, between them. Will the tournament, affect their friendship? Both feared, this possibility. Even during night,, 11
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both lay awake pulling punches on the, other, trying not to hurt. Tension was, mounting. At last Felix decided to stay, with his Aunt Lucy, until the fight., When the actual fight started each, wanted to win. They both avoided, fatal punching. It seemed that the, crowd had gone mad. After two, rounds, they sat down and smiled at, the crowd., People thought that the third round, would decide the winner. They fought, toe – to – toe. The referee was, stunned by their savagery. They, looked around and rushed toward, each other. Was this a fight to the, death instead of a boxing match? To, 12
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everybody’s surprise the two amigo, brothers embraced. When the, announcer turned to the winner, he, found the champions had already left, the rig, arm in arm., This is real friendship!, , D. MAKING ANNOUNCEMENTS, Imagine yourself to be the announcer, of the sports day in your school. Write, the script of the announcement that, you would make for any one event., , 13
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ANNOUNCEMENT, Respected teachers, parents and, friends, now is the moment we all, have been waiting for – the, 400 Meters Relay Race. The four, teams are ready at their various spots., Look at their colours – Orange, Green,, Yellow and White. The batons are also, of the same colour as their dresses., Soon the whistle will go and you will, see the best runners of the school, competing for the prize. Be ready for a, breath-taking finish., Okay... May the best team win., , 14
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E. Answer the following question:, ‘Neither gave an inch and neither fell, to the canvas. They fought toe to toe., The sounds of their blows were loud in, contrast to the silence of a crowd, gone completely mute. The referee, was stunned by their savagery., a. Who are the ‘they’ referred to?, Ans: Amigo brothers – Antonio Cruz, and Felix Vargas., b. What does the expression, ‘savagery’ mean?, a. determination, b. expertise, 15
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c. violence, d. loud noise, Ans: violence, c. How did the crowd react to the, boxing match?, Ans: The audience watched the, competition with complete silence. At, the end of the competition, they had, gone completely mute., F. NEWSPAPER REPORT, Imagine that you are a newspaper, reporter and you witness the contest, 16
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between the amigo brothers. Prepare, a newspaper report based on it., NEWSPAPER REPORT:, A Match Unmatched, Staff reporter, Manhattan, August 7:, Tompkins Square Park witnessed a, stunning performance in the, afternoon by the amigosFelix Vargas and Antonio Cruz. The, winner was to represent the Boy’s, Club in the Golden Gloves, Championship Tournament., The contestants were liked and, respected by all people of the locality., 17
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So, the park was overcrowded by, forenoon itself. The fighters entered, escorted by their fans. The crowd, cheered. Even when the first two, rounds were over, the referee could, not decide who the winner was. The, crowd expected that the third round, would be decisive., Both fought madly. There would be, causality, some thought. But all of a, sudden something unexpected, happened. The boxers embraced and, left the ring arm in arm. They proved, that they were amigo brothers, not, boxers., , 18
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G.DEBATE, “The announcer turned to point to the, , winner and found himself alone. Arm, in arm, the champions had already left, the ring.’’, The winner in the boxing competition, left without receiving the prize. This is, against the rules and regulations of a, game. Do you agree to this opinion?, Write down your points ‘for’ (agree), and ‘against’ (disagree) the above, statement., , 19
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FOR, . A contestant has a right to refuse a, prize., . Each of them didn’t want to, humiliate his friend publicly., . They both considered themselves as, champions., . Taking part in a contest does not, force anyone to accept the prize., . Their friendship was priceless to, them and the prize was secondary to, them., AGAINST, . Going away without receiving the, prize is against the rules and, regulations., 20
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. If you break the rules, the, competitions can’t be done properly., . The competitors came to the, competition knowing fully well only, one could win as it was an elimination, contest. They should have gone only, after the referee announcing the, winner., . If Felix and Antonio loved each other, so much they should not have agreed, to take part in the competition in, public., . They both had tried hard to defeat, the other. So why doesn’t the winner, collect his prize?, ……………………………………………………., 21
