Std 8 English chapters › Unit 2 · Question Answers ↓ · Take the lesson test ↓
In short: In 1838, Grace Darling, the daughter of a lighthouse keeper, rows through a terrible storm with her father to rescue nine shipwrecked people clinging to a rock.
(1838 मध्ये दीपगृहरक्षकाची मुलगी ग्रेस डार्लिंग भयंकर वादळात वडिलांसोबत होडी वल्हवत जाते आणि खडकाला धरून असलेल्या नऊ लोकांना वाचवते.)
- Type: Story (true event)
- Characters: Grace Darling, her father William Darling, her mother
- Unit: 2
Summary in English
Grace Darling grew up in lonely lighthouses on the east coast of England. Her wise father taught his children to read and write and to be honest, brave and unselfish. When her brothers and sisters left for the cities, Grace stayed back to help her parents in the Longstone lighthouse.
On the stormy night of 6 September 1838, the ship Forfarshire hit the rocks a mile away. Most passengers drowned, but nine men and women climbed onto a rock. At six the next morning, Grace saw them from her window. Her father said it was hopeless to row alone in such waves, but Grace insisted she could row as well as any man. Her mother begged them not to go, but Grace persuaded her father.
They rowed through huge waves and reached the rock. Her father jumped onto it while Grace held the boat alone. Two rescued sailors helped row back, and her father returned for the remaining four. Grace and her father became famous, money was raised for lighthouse keepers, and they were rewarded. Grace died young at twenty-seven, but she is remembered for her unselfish courage.
मराठीत सारांश (Summary in Marathi)
ग्रेस डार्लिंग इंग्लंडच्या पूर्व किनाऱ्यावरील एकाकी दीपगृहांमध्ये लहानाची मोठी झाली. तिच्या सुज्ञ वडिलांनी मुलांना लिहायला-वाचायला शिकवले आणि प्रामाणिक, शूर व निःस्वार्थ राहायला शिकवले. भावंडे शहरांत निघून गेल्यावर ग्रेस आई-वडिलांच्या मदतीसाठी लाँगस्टोन दीपगृहात राहिली.
6 सप्टेंबर 1838 च्या वादळी रात्री 'फॉरफारशायर' नावाचे जहाज एक मैल दूर खडकांवर आदळले. बहुतेक प्रवासी बुडाले, पण नऊ स्त्री-पुरुष एका खडकावर चढले. सकाळी सहा वाजता ग्रेसने त्यांना खिडकीतून पाहिले. एवढ्या लाटांत एकट्याने होडी वल्हवणे अशक्य आहे, असे वडील म्हणाले; पण मी कोणत्याही पुरुषाइतकी चांगली होडी वल्हवू शकते, असा ग्रेसने आग्रह धरला. आईने त्यांना न जाण्याची विनंती केली, पण ग्रेसने वडिलांना तयार केले.
प्रचंड लाटांतून वल्हवत ते खडकाजवळ पोहोचले. वडील खडकावर उतरले आणि ग्रेसने एकटीने होडी सांभाळली. वाचवलेल्या दोन खलाशांनी परत वल्हवायला मदत केली आणि उरलेल्या चौघांसाठी वडील पुन्हा गेले. ग्रेस आणि तिचे वडील प्रसिद्ध झाले, दीपगृहरक्षकांसाठी निधी गोळा झाला आणि त्यांचा सन्मान झाला. सत्ताविसाव्या वर्षी ग्रेसचा मृत्यू झाला, पण तिच्या निःस्वार्थ धैर्यासाठी ती आजही स्मरणात आहे.
Theme and Message (मध्यवर्ती कल्पना)
True courage means risking oneself to help others; bravery does not depend on size or on being a man or a woman.
इतरांच्या मदतीसाठी स्वतःचा जीव धोक्यात घालणे म्हणजे खरे धैर्य; शौर्य हे शरीराच्या आकारावर किंवा स्त्री-पुरुष असण्यावर अवलंबून नसते.
Useful Words (शब्दार्थ)
| Word | मराठी अर्थ | Use it in a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| fierce | भयंकर | A fierce storm hit the coast. |
| shipwreck | जहाज फुटणे, जहाज बुडणे | The sailors survived the shipwreck. |
| clinging | घट्ट धरून राहणे | The child was clinging to his mother. |
| rescue | सुटका करणे, वाचवणे | Firemen rescued the family. |
| with a heavy heart | जड अंतःकरणाने | She said goodbye with a heavy heart. |
| oar | वल्हे | He pulled the oars with all his strength. |
For the Exam (परीक्षेसाठी)
- Language study: question tags: ‘She was only a little woman, wasn’t she?’ Practise question tags.
- Learn types of sentences from the story: assertive, interrogative, imperative and exclamatory. See Types of Sentences.
2.5 A Heroine of the Sea: English Workshop Question Answers
Every English Workshop activity for this lesson, plus Word Play and Live English, as games. Score points, earn stars and challenge a friend on WhatsApp! (खेळा, गुण मिळवा आणि मित्रांना आव्हान द्या!)
⚓ Warm-up: Parts of a ship
🧩 Match each part with its description.
Part → description
🎬 Grace Darling’s brave rescue in order
What happened?
- A storm drove the Forfarshire onto the rocks.
- Nine people clung to a rock all night.
- Grace saw them from her window in the morning.
- She persuaded her father to row out with her.
- They brought five people back to the lighthouse.
- Her father and two sailors rescued the other four.
- Grace and her father became famous for their courage.
Q1. Antonyms game
🎯 Tap a word and its opposite from the story.
Opposites
Q2. Words related to sea-travel
👉 Which word is NOT related to sea-travel?
Pick the odd one out.
Answer: A pavement is beside a road. Sea words: lighthouse, sailors, ships, shipwreck, rocks, waves, boat, oars, row, storm, passengers.
Q3. Who said it? What does it prove?
🧩 Match each dialogue with what it shows.
Dialogue → what it proves
Q4. Answer in short
👉 Tap the best answer.
(a) WHO stayed back home with her parents?
Answer: All the others left to work in cities.
(b) WHY was a ship wrecked that night?
Answer: The Forfarshire hit the rocks a mile away.
(c) WHY did nine people not drown?
Answer: They held on all night in the storm.
(d) HOW would Grace help her father?
Answer: ‘I can row a boat as well as any man.’
Q5, Q7 and Q8. Think and write
✍️ Q5. Five ways to help at a road accident. Try, then compare
- Call 108 for an ambulance and 112 for the police.
- Inform elders or the nearest shopkeeper at once.
- Keep the crowd back so the injured get air.
- Give water only if the person is conscious and asks for it; do not move them if they may have a neck injury.
- Help direct traffic away and wait to tell the ambulance team what happened.
✍️ Q8. Letter of congratulations to Grace Darling. Try, then compare
12, Shivaji Road, Pune
15 September 1838
Dear Grace,
I read in the newspaper how you and your father rowed through a terrible storm to save the people of the Forfarshire. Many congratulations on your courage! You risked your own life without a second thought for strangers. You are an inspiration to all young girls who are told they cannot do ‘a man’s job’. Please convey my respect to your parents.
With warm wishes,
Meera
Language Study (A). Question tags
👉 Tap the correct tag.
She was only a little woman, ___
Answer: Positive statement → negative tag.
Grace did not have any time to rest, ___
Answer: Negative statement → positive tag.
She risked her own life, ___
Answer: risked (past) → didn’t she?
Language Study (B). Modals
👉 Tap the proper modal.
They ___ hear anything else.
Answer: The wind was too loud.
Nine men and women ___ climb on the rock.
Answer: could = were able to.
___ you ever sleep again?
Answer: Will you ever sleep again, Father, if they die?
We ___ do something.
Answer: must = it is necessary.
Language Study (C). Types of sentences
🧩 Match each sentence with its type.
Sentence → type
🪜 Word Play: word ladders
Change one letter at a time.
COLD to HEAT
- cold
- hold
- held
- head
- heat
CAT to DOG
- cat
- cot
- dot
- dog
🩹 Live English: first aid kit
🎯 Tap each item and its use.
Item ↔ use
Think and Write (विचार करा, लिहा)
- Write a letter congratulating Grace Darling and her family on their brave act.
- How can a student help people in a road accident? List five actions.
- What qualities did Grace learn from her father?
Online test · 15 questions
2.5 A Heroine of the Sea: Lesson Test
Multiple choice · instant score with answers · certificate for 80% and above · free, no login
शिक्षकांसाठी: धडा शिकवून झाल्यावर ही test वर्गाला पाठवा. प्रत्येक विद्यार्थ्याचे गुण तुम्हाला आपोआप मिळतील.
These are original study notes by englishresources.in to help you revise. Read the lesson in your Balbharati textbook first: these notes do not replace it and do not reproduce its text.