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NCERT Page - 49, , awkward - Causing difficulty; hard to do or deal with; afford — provide or supply (an opportunity or facility);, isolated — having minimal contact or little in common with others; swatting — hitting; groping — search blindly, or uncertainly by feeling with the hands, , NCERT Page - 50, , engulfed — sweep over so as to surround or cover it completely; crazed state - make (someone) wildly insane, , or out of control; logically — characterised by or capable of clear, sound reasoning; emerged — move out of or, away from something and become visible, , NCERT Page -51, , in tow — accompanying or following someone; vanished — disappear suddenly and completely; embarrassed, ~ cause (someone) to feel awkward, self-conscious, or ashamed; weird - very strange; bizarre; geek - an, , unfashionable or socially inept person; surreal — having the qualities of surrealism; bizarre, weird, strange;, ripped - come violently apart; tear, , NCERT Page - 52, , grieve - feel intense sorrow; rubble — remains, ruins, debris — scattered pieces of rubbish or remains;, , vulnerable — endangered, unsafe, unprotected; plight - a dangerous, difficult, or otherwise unfortunate, situation; milling - move around in a confused mass; genuine — truly what something is said to be; authentic,, original; outpouring — an outburst of strong emotion, , NCERT Page - 53, insecurity — lack of self-confidence, self-doubt; curb (here) — a stone edging to a pavement or raised path., , NCERT Page - 54, , freaked — lose one’s self-control, act wildly; tragedy — disaster, calamity; overwhelming — (especially of an, emotion) very strong; diminish - decrease, reduce, lessen; gratitude — to be thankful, , , , ANSWERS TO NCERT QUESTIONS, , THINK ABOUT IT, , 1. What does the author notice one Sunday afternoon? What is her mother’s reaction?, What does she do?, , Ans. One Sunday afternoon, while the author was sitting and doing her homework at the, dining table, she smelled something strange and noticed smoke pouring in through, the seams of the ceiling and began filling the room at great speed, and everything was, engulfed in smoke, barring normal vision. The family got out on to the front yard. Her, mother ran out with a small box that was full of important documents. She ran back, again, probably to rescue the pictures of her dead husband. As for the author, she ran, to the neighbour’s house to request them to call for the fire department., , 2. \Why does she break down in tears after the fire?, , Ans¢ The author burst into tears, when she realised that her cat was no where to be seen. The, loneliness, she experienced in her new school, the unfortunate fire, the sorrow of seeing, one’s house being brought down to ashes, uncertainty of the future, and her missing cat,, was too much for the teenager to bear. She burst into tears as she could not control her, , bursting emotions any more.