French Wine Regions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

French Wine Regions - Essay Example In fact, almost every region of France can boast of commercial wine production, and only five regions on the north coast of the country are not engaged in wine production. Among the most famous regions of wine growing in France are the following ones: Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, the Rhone Valley, the Loire Valley, Alsace etc. The Bordeaux region of Aquitaine is among the most famous regions of wine production not only in France but in the entire world as well. The center of the region is the Atlantic port city of Bordeaux. This region is regarded as the heart of red wine production in the country: more than 60 appellations are grown on its territory. Basically, such grapes as Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon are used in the production of red wine. In addition to this, white wine, both dry and sweet, is also produced in the region (Marnie Old and Old Wines LLC, 2005). In Bordeaux, there are two sub-regions of red wine production; they are referred to as â€Å"Right Bank† and â€Å"Left Bank†. The right bank has soil that perfectly suits the early-ripening Merlot grape because of the high content of clay in it. The left bank’s soil rich in gravel is more suitable for Cabernet Sauvignon. One of the main rules of wine production in the region of Bordeaux is varieties blendi ng. Originally, varieties were blended to avoid bad harvests. Today, winemakers also balance flavors of different grapes in one appellation (Marnie Old and Old Wines LLC, 2005). The Burgundy region is situated in the eastern part of France. This region is famous for its both red and white wines. The major grape varieties grown on the territory of Burgundy are Chardonnay (for white Burgundy wines), Pinot Noir (for red Burgundy wines), and Gamay (for Beaujolais). Unlike Bordeaux, Burgundy wines are not the product of varieties blending.

Evidence based practice Essay Example for Free

Evidence based practice Essay American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians. [Clinical practice guideline:]. (2004). Source Of EvidenceThis evidence meets the criteria for a filtered source. It was sourced online from the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics and Family Physicians. Specialists from multi medical disciplines assembled to create an integrative systematic study and review of the current evidence- based literature available for the treatment and management of Acute Otitis Media (AOM). The conclusions and findings were utilized to devise guidelines and a practice protocol that recommended early diagnosis and makes recommendations for the management of AOM in children aged between 2 months and 12 years old. Quantitative data such as randomized, controlled trials and comparative cohort studies were to ensure quality of the evidence. The guideline was reviewed by a number of professional peer groups prior to introduction and publication. Appropriate For Nursing Practice The evidence in the article is applicable and appropriate for nursing practice. The guideline clearly defined the care and best practice treatment options for children with AOM and also the situations when the guideline is not appropriate, like children with a reoccurrence with in 30 days. The recommendations act as a template to guide clinician’s treatment options using evidence based standardized protocol, which can be shared with anxious patients to give validity to help understand their child’s diagnosis and treatment. Source of Evidence Classification This articles source is classified as evidence-based guidelines and research. Specialist and peer recognized experts jointly convened and defined the subject for the study and developed a theoretical framework to review the literature and developed a guideline for standardizing the diagnosis, treatment and management of pediatric AOM using research based knowledge. Block, S. L. (1997). Causative pathogens, antibiotic resistance and therapeutic considerations in acute otitis media Source Of EvidenceThe source of this article is classified as unfiltered and was retrieved from a medical database -PubMed. The article published in The Pediatric Infectious disease Journal offers a synopsis of the research of the author on  identifying the common the bacterial pathogens isolated as the causative agents in children presenting with AOM. The author also discussed traditional treatment with antibiotics and the problem of microbial resistance and the availability of newer antibiotics as treatment options. Appropriate For Nursing PracticeThe evidence in this article is a ppropriate for nursing practice, as it raises awareness of increased incidence of microbial resistance to the traditional first line management and treatment of children with AOM and offers treatment options with newer more effective antibiotics. Source of Evidence ClassificationThis article is classified as a research evidence summary. The author collected quantitative data related to the incidence of the pathogens that most commonly caused AOM infectious in children and the microbe demonstrating increasing resistance. The article made recommendations for treatment of AOM based on the findings and made recommendations such as increase antibiotic doing for certain bacterial strains of AOM. Kelley, P. E. , Friedman, N. , Johnson, C. (2007). Ear, nose, and throat. In W. W. Hay, M. J.Levin, J. M. Sondheimer, R. R. Deterding, Current pediatric diagnosis and treatment. Source Of EvidenceThis source is classified as general information. It was sourced from the Ear Nose and Throat chapter of the textbook â€Å"Current Pediatric Diagnosis and Treatment†, which discusses the general presentation, signs, symptoms and course of AOM infections. It also details the management, treatment and prognosis. Appropriate For Nursing Prac ticeThis source has relevance to nursing practice as it clearly gives an overview of AOM in pediatric setting. Although given in medical model format, nurses need to have knowledge of the pathogens, symptomology, treatment and course of the infection to be able to formulate nursing care plans and actions. They need to have an awareness of the most current treatments to be able to advocate for their patients. Source of Evidence ClassificationThe source of this evidence is classified as â€Å"none of these. There is no primary research, literature review, experimental studies or clinical trials. The authors are experts in the field of Ear Nose and Throat specialty and provided an accepted general overview of the care and management of AOM as appropriate in 2007. McCracken, G. H. (1998). Treatment of Acute Otitis Media in an Era of Increasing Microbial Resistance. Source Of Evidence This article can be classified as an unfiltered source. The article was sourced from the medical database, PubMed and published in Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, a professional peer reviewed journal. The researcher conducts a search of the data base and screens and evaluates primary research related to the topic. The article discussed the common pathogens that cause AOM and distinguished between simple and complicated presentations and made recommendations for differential diagnosis and antibiotic treatment options. Appropriate For Nursing PracticeThis article is appropriate to nursing practice, as provides a very good overview AOM in particular related to the history and incidence of the problem and the difficulty for providers in diagnosis and the pressure to prescribe antibiotics. Treatment recommendations are made and rationales for when antibiotics is not the first line of treatment in view of rising rates of microbial resistance Source of Evidence ClassificationThis source of evidence is classified as an evidence summary, the author reviews the research on AOM pre 1997 and evaluates the data to make a recommendations and provides a guideline for AOM treatment and diagnosis. The author cites multiple sources and references. Parent Interviews: Source Of EvidenceThis source of evidence is unfiltered, general information gathered from parents with children with AOM. It is retrospective, anecdotal accounts of signs, symptoms and course of the illness that they observed and related to the nurses. It can’t be quantified or validated but is useful to gain insight into the experience and perceptions of parents coping with a sick child Appropriate For Nursing PracticeThis data while appropriate information for nurses to gather, does not meet the criteria for research. There is no framework or theoretical model that was designed and followed and no uniformity of information collected. Interviewing the parents can give some insight into activity of the child and the onset of the symptomology that could lead to observing some commonalities and then research could be instituted. Interviews are also appropriate clinically as parents can offer insight in to coping or lack of coping skills with their sick child and can lead to parent education on care of the child with AOM. Source of Evidence ClassificationThe source of this evidence is classified as â€Å"none of these. Parental interviews can’t be classified as evidence and is not a legitimate source; It does not meet the criteria to be called evidence or research. The parents’ responses are personal and anecdotal and are not objective and the interviews were conducted informally with no structure framework for data collection. B1. Watchful Waiting: Acute Otitis Media, (AOM) an ear infection commonly diagnosed in children and by age three, 50% to 70% of children will have had at least one incidence of the infection. In the year 2000 sixteen million visits to doctor’s office with thirteen million prescriptions at indirect cost of $1. 02 billion were attributed to AOM. (Diagnosis and management of acute otitis media, 2004) The rise in resistant strains of bacteria has made the medical and nursing profession search for answers on the appropriate use and dispensing of antibiotics. For many years family practitioners and pediatricians have spoken about parental pressure to prescribe antibiotics for self-limiting viral illnesses. Many doctors, who refused, could be frustrated by colleagues who bowed to the pressure to prescribe. (Marcy, 1999) It was recognized that there was a need for research and guidelines to develop a standardized approach. Evidence was needed to formulate what was best practice that would deliver rational evidence based care in a cost effective reasonable manner. In response to these concerns, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians convened a panel of experts to review the research and data available and to analyze and summarize the facts and statistics to create a guideline for the management, diagnosis and treatment of AOM in children from 2 months to 12 years. The data collected indicated that an observation protocol was needed if the use of unnecessary antibiotic therapy was to be curbed. Results from controlled clinical trials that were done with placebo control groups validated the data collected over a 30 year time span. They found that in 75% of cases, the condition resolved without prescribing antibiotics, within seven days. They also recognized in certain incidents that observation and symptomatic management of fever and pain was not appropriate and treatment should be immediate, and an exclusion criterion was included in the guideline. These included children who represented with AOM that was obviously severe and there were certain clinical signs that lead to a certainty or severity of the diagnosis or if there was a reoccurrence within 30 days of initial consultation. The guideline was not designed to supplant the clinical judgment of the practitioner but to support it and provide validated evidence to corroborate the observation protocol, AKA ‘Watchful Waiting’ It gives practitioners rational for treating uncomplicated AOM and preventing the masking of other symptoms more serious conditions by unnecessary antibiotics. In addition doctors have validated information to share with parents to reassure them that the illness will resolve without antibiotics and educate them on symptomatic management of their children symptoms. C. Application of Findings: There are many reasons why healthcare organizations are motivated to introduce new practices procedures or guidelines some of these reason include to achieve certification, like Magnet status or become compliant with health regulation. Sometimes changes are for cost savings are to improve market share of certain health consumers. Nurses look to research to improve patient care or the effectiveness of practice. Most hospitals and organizations use certain change management models like Six Sigma or DMAIC to introduce new policies, procedures and practices. Clinical practice councils or shared governance councils identify issues and staff has the opportunity to bring forward practices identified that could be improved. Some people find change difficult and are offer resistance and put up barriers. How a process or suggestion is framed and managed is vital to success if the change is to be achieved and sustained. In the case of a multidisciplinary group in a clinic, having research based evidence to support getting group support for the introduction of the guideline is fundamental. Getting physician buy in and agreement would be an important element. Barriers at clinic level have been recognized by other change adopters including â€Å"a lack agreement about the care process changes desired and little engagement of physicians† (Horscikoski, 2006). The efficacy and the credibility of the sources such as the of the research by American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians lends standing to the proposal for adoption of the guideline. Once the nurse leadership had reviewed the research and the team approves the findings as best practice, the next step is to have the other disciplines review and approve and provide input in to translation of research guideline into a workable clinic protocol that has the support of all stakeholders. A plan, a time line and education are formulated prior to implementation of the guidelines and follow up and data is gathered post implementation to monitor success. D. Ethical Issues: Ethical considerations in healthcare research have been sensitive subject in the research community for many years. Unfortunately wise and ethical choices have not always been exercised. Few can be unaware of the case of the Tuskegee syphilis study (1932–1972), a study by the United States Public health Service, that knowingly did not treat a group of poor African American men for syphilis. When this was discovered it led to the founding of The Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) under the provisions of the 1974, the National Research Act. (NRA) Its role is to deals with ethical oversight of human clinical trials and studies in conjunction with the National Institute of Health. (Wikipedia, 2014) Unfortunately even today ethical concerns continue to be of concern. Recently the OHRP found that â€Å"23 academic institutions authorized a research project that failed to meet the most basic ethical standards :†(NYT Editorial Board, 2013). The NRA mandated that research participants must give informed consent. They must be told of any risks and benefits. If there is a control group they need to know that they may not receive the investigational treatment. They must be aware that they have the right to leave the study at any time. Their privacy and health information must protected at all times. To meet NRA ethical requirements, the study should be to benefit patients and the knowledge should not be available by other means. Unnecessary mental or physical suffering is not permitted; it should do no harm, and be for a laudable purpose.D1. Ethical Issues in Vulnerable populations: Ethics in research is always of special concern but it is heightened when the target participants are unable to speak for themselves or give consent. In these vulnerable populations like the children, the mentally ill, the intellectually disabled or developmentally delayed the risk of abuse and the desire to protect is equally strong. Other grou ps that are considered vulnerable are the poor, the illiterate, non-English speakers and prisoners which sometimes are discounted as vulnerable. Special considerations are needed when these populations are the subject of research studies. As these populations can’t not give consent for themselves another entity or person consents on their behalf be it parent, guardian, institution or state. It raises moral questions about the motivation of those who have the power to consent for others to be in experimental trials and other forms of research. For this reason the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have developed special safeguards for children. The parents must give informed consent and the child must give age appropriate assent. Confidentially is another complicated issue, the Health Information and Portability and Accountability Act Privacy Rule instituted in 2003 states that records from research studies are confidential and release to subjects need be done if the conditions are justified. Parents have the right to receive information and reports on all their child’s records but often do not know about the 2003 laws provision. In addition, when a child reaches 12, State and Federal law limits parental access to certain medical information, which can cause conflict, discomfort and conflict of interest. Institutional review boards, to which research proposals must be submitted prior to the approval of any study, holds researchers to higher standards regarding the necessity and benefits of studies on the more vulnerable groups in society. They must ensure that risks to subjects are minimized and rational in relation to expected benefits and that the choice of participants is impartial.

Supporting Anticipatory Care for Long Term Conditions

Supporting Anticipatory Care for Long Term Conditions Supporting Anticipatory Care for Long Term Conditions Management Introduction Better management of individuals with long-term health problems has been an important priority of the Scottish government since the beginning. This is because Scotland has been under influence of alcohol misuse, smoking, physical idleness and poor dietary habits.ÂÂ   All these are the critical risk factors for a number of chronic diseases like, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis, hypertension, dementia and chronic lung disease. Moreover, ageing population is also increasing at an unprecedented rate and is constantly under the risk of developing several of these chronic conditions simultaneously; thus necessitating support and care (Epping, Pruitt, Bengoa, Wagner, 2004). The effect of multi-morbidity is intense as well. Individuals with numerous long-term conditions have noticeably pitiable quality of life, financial issues, and bad clinical outcomes, in addition to staying longer at hospitals (Department of Health, 2005). A long term condition is basically the one that is unable to cure, remains for a longer duration of time, for instant, more than a year and have an effect on any aspect of a humans life. It also needs ongoing medical help and restricts a person for what he/she can do. In Scotland, approximately 2 million people have either one or more long term health problems (N.H.S. Scotland, 2010). This demonstrates considerable work is needed to fulfil the requirement of people having long term conditions and tackle the broader determinants of health like standard of living, behaviours, attitude and socioeconomic deficit. With the present transformed political attention on social and health care, there is a prospect in the Scotland to redefine the framework of care. The nature of health care is also transforming; the focus is towards a system that not only considers physical health of public but also wellbeing and overall health, and which distinguishes public as co-makers of their health and its care. The endeavour is showed in the idea for services which emphasises on capacities and management of health problems and recognises notions like optimism, social inclusion, happiness, revival, and autonomy (N.H.S. Scotland, 2010). Anticipatory care planning comes true to such efforts because it involves the personal outcomes to health care planning in society care. It is generally applied to help people living with any long term health problem to prepare for an anticipated change in health condition (Baker, Leak, Ritchie, Lee, Fielding, 2012). It also includes health enhancement and living healthy. Overal l, vision of anticipatory care planning to reduce acute hospital admission, effectively manage chronic condition, acknowledged and empowered health education and provides social care services. Thus, in order to provide practical means for elucidating, detecting and improving patient outcome, the health model and theories can be used and these include the Mutual Care Model for Long Term Condition (CEL 23, 2009), theÂÂ   House of Care model (Coulter, Roberts, Dixon,2013) and the Chronic Care Model (Wagner,2001).ÂÂ   Though the description of all these models varies yet all focus on one point i.e. betterment of patients. They also offer vision for professionals in offering quality care not only for patients, but also for their families (Eaton et al, 2015). The aim of this paper is to examine the existing approaches for providing and supporting anticipatory care for proper management of long term conditions. It will use and highlight different care models, policies and strategies applied by the Scottish government in providing anticipatory care. References Baker, A., Leak, P., Ritchie, L. D., Lee, A. J., Fielding, S., 2012. Anticipatory care planning and integration: a primary care pilot study aimed at reducing unplanned hospitalisation. The British Journal of General Practice, 62(595), pp.113-e120. CEL 23, 2009. Improving Health Wellbeing Of People With Long Term Conditions In Scotland: A National Action Plan. The Scottish Government. [Online] [Viewed 05 March 2017]Available from: http://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/mels/CEL2009_23.pdf Coulter, A., Roberts, S. Dixon A., 2013. Delivering better services for people with long-term conditions. The Kings Fund. pp.1-28. Department of Health 2005. Supporting People with Long-Term Conditions. London: Department of Health. Eaton, S., Roberts, S. Turner, B., 2015. Delivering person centred care in long term conditions. BMJ. 1(2) Epping-Jordan, J.E., Pruitt, S.D., Bengoa, R., Wagner, E.H., 2004. Improving the quality of health care for chronic conditions. Quality and Safety in Health Care, 13 (4), pp 299-305. N.H.S. Scotland 2010. Long Term Conditions Collaborative Making the Connections Food For Thought. [Online]. [Viewed 4 March 2017]. Available from: http://www.scdc.org.uk/media/resources/what-we-do/mtsc/Making%20the%20Connections.pdf Wagner, E.H., 2001. Meeting the needs of chronically ill people. BMJ.323, pp. 945-6.

Roberto Clemente :: essays research papers

Roberto Clemente Walker was born in Barrio San Anton in Carolina, Puerto Rico, August 18, 1934. He was the youngest of four children. He stood 5 feet and 11 inches tall, and he weighed 175 pounds. Roberto excelled in track and field, winning medals in the javelin throw and short distance races. However, his real love was baseball. He played amateur baseball with Juncos Double A Club and soon went on to play with the Santurce Crabbers in the Puerto Rican Winter League. From Santurce he signed with Montreal's Triple A team. Clemente joined the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1955, where he played his entire eighteen year Major League Baseball career from 1955 to 1972. Roberto played in two World Series, batting .310 in 1960 and .414 in 1971. He was the National League Batting Champion four times, was awarded twelve Gold Gloves, selected National League MVP in 1966 and was chosen as the MVP in the 1971 World Series. He was also a 12 time National League All-Star. Throughout his career, he played in 2,433 games. Out of the 9,454 times at bat, Roberto got a hit 3,000 of those times. He had 440 doubles, 166 triples, and 240 homeruns. Roberto had 1,305 RBI’s and he scored 1,416 runs for his team. Overall, his career batting average was a .317. On November 14, 1964, he married Vera Cristina Zabala in Carolina, Puerto Rico. They had three sons: Roberto Jr., Luis Roberto and Roberto Enrique. Proud of his heritage Roberto insisted that Vera give birth to all three sons in Puerto Rico. The boys were six, five and two, when their father met his unfortunate death. New Year's Eve, December 31, 1997 marked the 25th Anniversary of a tragic plane crash. The plane was taking medical, food and clothing supplies to Nicaragua, to help out after an earthquake. Vera and friends begged him not to take the trip because of poor weather and an unstable cargo plane, but Roberto was determined. He was upset that the previous supplies had not made it to the victims. Roberto was going to personally see to it that the victims received the much needed supplies. Unfortunately the plane went down off the coast of Puerto Rico. Roberto's body was never found. Just months after Roberto joined an elite group of players with 3000 hits, he was gone. Roberto’s tragic death in 1972 prompted the Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors to unanimously wave the customary five year period for induction, which opened a door for the Baseball Writer’s Association of America to hold a special election on Clemente’s behalf.

Article or Case Law Search Essay

What is case law? Case law are decisions that has been instituted by a judicial determination and some are placed into action by the body of legislators. Several case law events deals with the critical regulatory healthcare issues. This paper will inform the reader of how the issues relates to the nature, sources, and functions of the law. Issues related to the nature, sources, and functions â€Å"The Affordable Care Act was passed by Congress and then signed into law by the President on March 23; 2010. On June 28, 2012 the Supreme Court rendered a final decision to uphold the health care law†. (Healthcare.gov, 2012) The Affordable Healthcare Act affords new means to hold insurance companies responsible and offers strong selections for customers. The Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) is known as a percentage that healthcare insurers must meet or better known as the MLR requirement. Healthcare insurers are required by the Affordable Care Act to produce a reimbursement to its consumers. The Medical Loss Ratio financial measurement used in the Affordable Care Act to help ensure that health plans provide significant value to users. The following is an example of how insurers use the MLR â€Å"if an insurer uses 80 cents out of every premium dollar to pay its customers’ medical claims and activities that improve the quality of care; the company has a medical loss ratio of 80%. A medical loss ratio of 80% indicates that the insurer is using the remaining 20 cents of each premium dollar to pay overhead expenses, such as marketing, profits, salaries, administrative costs, and agent commissions. The Affordable Care Act sets minimum medical loss ratios for different markets, as do some state laws.† (Healthcare.gov, 2012) The Affordable Care Act Law forces payer insurance policies for persons or groups to devote at least 80% of payments of medical care  directly paid on behalf of the patient, that are meant to improve their quality of care. Payers marketing to big groups are required to spend 85% of those payments made for care and quality enhancement. The Affordable Care Act rule will not apply to companies that function as self-insured plans. Payer companies are required to report each year to the Human Services department regarding payments spent on quality improvement and health care services and any rebates applied to consumer accounts. The first re port, was in 2011, and the newest in June of 2012. Payers are obligated to make the first of rebates to consumers in August of 2012. (Healthcare.gov, 2012) This Act has good and bad ramifications. First the Act which is source law from the legislator, which not only creates new rules of law it also sweeps away existing inconvenient rules. The act has potential for ensuring that quality of care continues to improve, however companies that do not meet these standards are required to give a premium rebate to the consumer. What the law doesn’t say is how much of a rebate is required to give. The 20% is for overhead and quality improvements. The overhead of the company could be more than 20% therefore the consumer is left with no rebate. That rebate really only works out to be very small 10-15 dollars per consumer. Companies like large insurance payers spend 10 times those figures on quality improvements. I have worked in Healthcare for several years and in early 2005 legislation went through that required all Healthcare organizations adopt some sort of meaningful use Electronic Health Record by 2014. This is a massive under taking for most healthcare institutions and the government was only offering up to $40,000 per healthcare organization to assist with this implementation. For a lot of smaller provider organizations this was a good deal, however the larger insurance companies and healthcare organizations would be spending millions on Electronic Health Records. According to the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare (CMS) only about 25% of healthcare organizations as of 2011 are up and running on a meaningful use EHR. (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 2012) These improvements the healthcare organizations are making with regards to EHRs are far surpassing the required 20% a year even if you break it down each year. â€Å"October 1, 2013, medical coding in U.S. health care will be modified from ICD-9 to version 10. All healthcare related systems that is protected by the Health Insurance Portability and  Accountability Act (HIPAA) are required to make the transition, not just those healthcare institutions that submit Federal Medicare or State Medicaid claims.† (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 2012) This is yet another quality improvement mandated by the source law of the Legislator that will cost healthcare organizations millions to implement. Conclusion Do the current process improvements that are currently mandated for all healthcare organizations count toward the 20% of profits made from premiums and services or do healthcare organizations still need to utilize the 20% for quality improvements on top of the already mandated improvements that the government requires to implement in the next few years? Healthcare all over the world often sometimes face many obstacles which includes different law cases. This paper has informed the reader of how the issues related to the nature, sources, and functions of the law. Reference Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (2012) Retrieved from http://www.cms.gov Healthcare.gov. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.healthcare.gov/index.html

How Computers Affect Human Being Essay Example

How Computers Affect Human Being Essay Example How Computers Affect Human Being Essay How Computers Affect Human Being Essay Essay Topic: Black Panther Film The night is dark and silent. A young boy and his father are alone in a hut in the middle of the jungle. Soon the father leaves his son alone and goes out into the jungle. Where does he go and why? OBJECTIVES At the end of this lesson, you will be able to: read and understand a story in English; use homophones correctly; use the to-infinite, gerunds and participles appropriately; edit your writing; and give and take messages. 13. 1 SECTION I Tembu, the boy, opened his eyes in the dark and wondered if his father was ready to leave the hut on his nightly errand. There was no moon that night, and the deathly stillness of the surrounding jungle was broken only occasionally by the shrill cry of a cicada. Sometimes from far off came the hollow hammering of a woodpecker, carried along on the faint breeze. Or the grunt of a wild boar could be heard as he dug up a favourite root. But these sounds were rare, and the silence of the forest always returned to swallow them up. ENGLISH 111 The Tiger in the Tunnel The Tiger in the Tunnel Baldeo, the watchman, was awake. He stretched himself slowly unwinding the heavy shawl that covered him. It was close on midnight and the chill air made him shiver. The station, a small shack backed by heavy jungle, was a station in name only; for trains only stopped there, if at all, for a few seconds before entering the deep cutting that led to the tunnel. Most trains merely slowed down before taking the sharp curve before cutting. Baldeo was responsible for signalling whether or not the tunnel was clear of obstruction, and his manual signal stood before the entrance. At night it was his duty to see that the lamp was burning, and that the overland mail passed through safely. ‘Shall I come too, Father? ’ asked Tembu sleepily, still lying in a huddle in a corner of the hut. ‘No, it is cold tonight. Do not get up. ’ Tembu, who was twelve, did not always sleep with his father at the station, for he had also to help in the home, where his mother and small sister were usually alone. They lived in a small tribal village on the outskirts of the forest, about three miles from the station. Their small rice fields did not provide them with more than a bare living and Baldeo considered himself lucky to have got the job of Khalasi at this small wayside signal stop. Still drowsy, Baldeo, groped for his lamp in darkness then fumbled about in search of matches. When he had produced a light he left the hut, closed the door behind him and set off along the permanent way. Tembu had fallen asleep again. Notes INTEXT QUESTIONS 13. 1 I. a. What is the father’s name? . What is his son’s name? c. How old is the son? II. a. Where did Baldeo spend the night? b. What was Baldeo responsible for? III. a. Where did Baldeo’s family live? b. Why did Baldeo have to take up the job of a Khalasi? IV. Pick out three phrases which describe the station from the list below. dark and cold; a small shack; surrounded by rice fields; in the middle of a thick forest; near a tunn el; in a tribal village. 112 ENGLISH The Tiger in the Tunnel The Tiger in the Tunnel 13. 2 SECTION II At midnight, Baldeo goes out of his hut, into the thick forest. The jungle is full of dangerous animals, but Baldeo has a job to do and it is important. Notes Baldeo wondered whether the lamp on the signal- post was still alight. Gathering his shawl closer about him, he stumbled on, sometimes along the rails, sometimes along the ballast. He longed to get back to his warm corner in the hut. The eeriness of the place was increased by the neighbouring hills which overhung the main line threateningly. On entering the cutting with its sheer rock walls towering high above the rails, Baldeo could not help thinking about the wild animals he might encounter. He had heard many tales of the famous tunnel tiger, a man-eater, which was supposed to frequent this spot; he hardly believed these stories for since his arrival at this place a month ago, he had not seen or even heard a tiger. There had, of course, been panthers, and only a few days ago the villagers had killed one with their spears and axes. Baldeo had occasionally heard the sawing of a panther calling to its mate, but they had not come near the tunnel or shed. Baldeo walked confidently for being a tribal himself, he was used to the jungle and its ways. Like his fore-fathers he carried a small axe; fragile to look at but deadly when in use. He prided himself in his skill in wielding it against wild animals. He had killed a young boar with it once and the family had feasted on the flesh for three days. The axehead of pure steel, thin but ringing true like a bell, had been made by his father over a charcoal fire. This axe was part of himself. And wherever he went, be it to the local market seven miles away, or to a tribal dance, the axe was always in his hand. Occasionally an official who had come to the station had offered him good money for the weapon, but Baldeo had no intention of parting with it. The cutting curved sharply, and in the darkness the black entrance to the tunnel looked up menacingly. The signal-light was out. Baldeo set to work to haul the lamp down by its chain. If the oil had finished, he would have to return to the hut for more. The mail train was due in five minutes. Once more he fumbled for his matches. Then suddenly he stood still and listened. The frightened cry of a barking deer followed by a crashing sound in the undergrowth, made Baldeo hurry. There was still a little oil in the lamp, and after an instant’s hesitation he lit the lamp again and hoisted it into position. Having done this, he walked quickly down the tunnel, swinging his own lamp, so that the shadows leapt up and down the soot-stained walls, and having made sure that the line was clear, he returned to the entrance and sat down to wait for the mail train. ENGLISH 113 The Tiger in the Tunnel The Tiger in the Tunnel The train was late. Sitting huddled up, almost dozing, he soon forgot his surroundings and began to nod. Back in the hut, the trembling of the ground told of the approach of the train, and a low, distant rumble woke the boy, who sat up rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Father, it’s time to light the lamp,’ he mumbled and then, realizing that his father had been gone some time, he lay down again, but he was wide awake now, waiting for the train to pass, waiting for his father’s returning footsteps. Notes INTEXT QUESTIONS 13. 2 1. Name the four wild animals which were to be found in the forest. 2. Was Baldeo afraid? Which sentence in the passage gives you the answer? 3. What weapon did he carry? Who had made it? 4. Did the barking deer call out because: a) it saw Baldeo? b) it saw a tiger? c) it was afraid of the dark? ) it was calling to its mate? 5. a) How did Tembu know that the train was coming. b) What is he waiting for? 13. 3 SECTION III Baldeo finds himself in a dangerous situation. How does he deal with it? A low grunt resounded from the top of the cutting. In a second Baldeo was awake, all his senses alert. Only a tiger could emit such a sound There was no shelter for Baldeo, but he grasped his axe firmly and tensed his body, trying to make out the direction from which the animal was approaching. For some time there was only silence. Even the usual jungle noises seemed to have ceased altogether. Then a thump and the rattle of small stones announced that the tiger had sprung into the cutting. Baldeo, listening as he had never listened before, wondered if it was making for the tunnel or the opposite direction the direction of the hut, in which Tembu would 114 ENGLISH The Tiger in the Tunnel be lying unprotected. He did not have to wonder for long. Before a minute had passed he made out the huge body of the tiger trotting steadily towards him. Its eyes shone a brilliant green in the light from the signal lamp. Flight was useless, for in the dark the tiger would be more sure-footed than Baldeo and would soon be upon him from behind. Baldeo stood with his back to the signal –post, motionless staring at the great brute moving rapidly towards him. The tiger, used to the ways of men, for it had been preying on them for years, came on fearlessly, and with a quick run and a snarl struck out with its right paw, expecting to bowl over this puny man who dared stand in the way. Baldeo, however, was ready. With a marvellously agile leap he avoided the paw and brought his axe down on the animal’s shoulder. The tiger gave a roar and attempted to close in. Again Baldeo drove his axe which caught the tiger on the shoulder, almost severing the leg. To make matters worse, the axe remained stuck in the bone, and Baldeo was left without a weapon. The tiger, roaring with pain, now sprang upon Baldeo, bringing him down and then tearing at his broken body. It was all over in a sharp few minutes. Baldeo was conscious only of a searing pain down his back, and then there was blackness and the night closed in on him forever. The Tiger in the Tunnel Notes INTEXT QUESTIONS 13. 3 1. What made Baldeo’s job as a signal man dangerous? . Pick out words and phrases from the text that describe the tiger. 3. What was Baldeo more worried about: his own safety or his son’s? 4. Why did Baldeo decide to fight the tiger? 5. How did Baldeo die? 13. 4 SECTION IV Baldeo, the bread winner of the family was dead. Who took on his responsibilities and how did he tackle them. The tiger drew off and sat down licking his wounded leg, roaring every now and then with agony. He did not notice the faint rumble that shook the earth, followed by the distant puffing of an engine steadily climbing. The overland mail was approaching. Through the trees beyond the cutting as the train advanced, the glow of the furnace could be seen, and showers of sparks fell like Divali lights over the forest. ENGLISH 115 The Tiger in the Tunnel The Tiger in the Tunnel As the train entered the cutting, the engine whistled once, loud and piercingly. The tiger raised his head, then slowly got to his feet. He found himself trapped like the man. Flight along the cutting was impossible. He entered the tunnel, running as fast as his wounded leg would carry him. And then, with a roar and a shower of sparks, the train entered the yawning tunnel. The noise in the confined space was deafening but, when the train came out into the open, on the other side, silence returned once more to the forest and the tunnel. At the next station the driver slowed down and stopped his train to water the engine. He got down to stretch his legs and decided to examine the head-lamps. He received the surprise of his life; for, just above the cow-catcher lay the major portion of the tiger, cut in half by the engine. There was considerable excitement and conjecture at the station, but back at the cutting there was no sound except for the sobs of the boy as he sat beside the body of his father. He sat there a long time, unafraid of the darkness, guarding the body from jackals and hyenas, until the first faint light of dawn brought with it the arrival of the relief-watchman. Tembu and his sister and mother were plunged in grief for two whole days; but life had to go on, and a living had to be made, and all the responsibility now fell on Tembu. Three nights later, he was at the cutting, lighting the signal-lamp for the overland mail. He sat down in the darkness to wait for the train, and sang softly to himself. There was noting to be afraid of – his father had killed the tiger, the forest gods were pleased; and besides, he had the axe with him, his father’s axe, and he now knew to use it. Notes INTEXT QUESTIONS 13. 4 1. Why did the tiger enter the tunnel? 2. What happened to the tiger? 3. Why was there excitement at the station? 4. What was happening at the cutting? 5. Why did Tembu sit by his father’s body? 6. Why did Tembu take up his father’s job soon after his death? 116 ENGLISH The Tiger in the Tunnel The Tiger in the Tunnel OVERALL QUESTIONS 1. Write two incidents to show the quality of responsibility in Baldeo and Tembu. . Most wild animals avoid human beings. Why did this tiger come straight to Baldeo. 3. Give three reasons why Tembu was not afraid of anything. Notes VOCABULARY ENRICHMENT 1. ‘Wood’ and ‘would’ are two words which sound the same, but have different meanings, and are spelt differently. Fill in the blanks in the sen tences below, with the correct words from the pairs of words given. e. g. wood, would This table is made of wood of poor quality. It is so cold tonight that I would not like to go out. 1. Bore: boar a) The film that we went to last night was badly made. It was quite a _____________. ) A wild __________ is a very dangerous animal 2. herd: heard a) A large __________ of spotted deer came out of the forest onto the road last night. b) I __________ that the examinations are to be postponed again this year. 3. root: route a) Some _____________ (s) like that of the tapioca are good to eat. b) The _________ to Jaisalmer is long and complicated. 4. weather: whether a) The ________ has been cold and damp all month. b) Baldeo was responsible for signaling __________ the tunnel was free of obstruction or not. 5. male: mail a) The ______________ has been delayed due to the strike by postmen. ) The _________ birds are always more decorative than the females. ENGLISH 117 The Tiger in the Tunnel T he Tiger in the Tunnel 6. threw: through a) Amar __________ away all the fish curry thinking it had gone bad. b) The train to Mumbai goes __________ many tunnels. Notes 7. bare : bear a) The black Himalayan ________ is very dangerous. b) People have been cutting trees so carelessly that many beautiful forests have become __________ of vegetation. 8. steel : steal a) ___________ utensils are easy to keep clean. b) Ravi knew that there was Rs. 10 in his father’s almirah, and he needed some money. But he did not take it because it is wrong to __________. 9. their : there a) __________ is no time to go shopping before we leave for the station. b) Ravi and Neha are friends. I have forgotten ________ phone numbers. 2. Pick out the odd words from each set of words below:Example : watchman, engine, driver, fireman, boy, cook (boy) 1. tiger, deer, panther, hyena, jackal ________ 2. father, brother, neighbour, son, aunt __________ 3. bullock cart, train, car, aeroplane, scooter. 4. axe, gun, spear, knife, blade 5. grunt, roar, cry, shout, men 6. hut, house, cave, station, garage 7. see, hear, read, taste, feel 8. eap, run, jump, walk, sleep 9. cow, dog, hen, crow, pig GRAMMAR: Non- Finites I. To-Infinitives Look at the following sentences. Study the underlined words. 118 ENGLISH The Tiger in the Tunnel a. Tembu wondered if his father was ready to leave the hut b. At night it was his duty to see the lamp was burning. The underlined words are called Infinitives. They are formed by writ ing to + verb – e. g. 1. He had also to help at home. 2. It’s time to light the lamp i. e. to + help, to + light Note: ‘to’ is followed by the first form of the verb i. e. the original form of a verb without any change. Exercise I Underline the Infinitives in the following sentences. 1. He agreed to postpone the meeting. 2. It is dangerous to play with a gun. 3. We tried to open the door, but it had jammed. 4. We have to learn more about Infinitives. 5. Bank is a place to deposit money. 6. Children go to play in a park. Exercise II Fill in the blanks using the infinitive form of the verb in the box. post help go sleep accompany report park live sit waste 1. I forgot ________ you letter. 2. He wants ________ to the station. 3. She pretended __________. 4. Would you like __________us? 5. He asked her _________ the progress of the project. . Is it safe __________ the car here? 7. _________ without air is impossible. 8. __________ in the sun in winter is pleasant. 9. __________ water is foolish. 10. I shall be glad ___________ you. The Tiger in the Tunnel Notes ENGLISH 119 The Tiger in the Tunnel The Tiger in the Tunnel II. Gerunds Observe the following sentences and see how the underlined words functio n. a) Swimming is good for health Notes b) Sita loves dancing. Swimming and dancing are used as Nouns although they are derived from verbs. A word which was a verb does the work of a Noun by adding ‘ing’. It is used in the same way as a noun. Hence we say – He likes driving. Writing poems is his hobby. Exercise I Underline the gerunds in the following sentences. 1. Anju likes reading novels by Thomas Hardy. 2. Boys like playing cricket. 3. Riding is an interesting hobby. 4. Giving is better than receiving. 5. Singing gives us joy. Exercise II Use the gerundial form of the verb in the brackets and fill in the blanks: 1. __________ (bath) is necessary for good health. 2. _______ (see) is _________(believe). 3. We go to school for __________ (study). 4. He dislikes _______ (wear) a green shirt. 5. Baldeo was responsible for _________ (signal). . He heard the __________ (hammer) of a woodpecker. 7. He stopped __________ (tremble) when he was that the tiger was dead. 8. The leopard waited at the _______________ (cut). 9. __________ (shop) had made her tired. 10. _________ (study) grammar is fun. III. The Present Participle You saw/that by adding ‘ing,’ we can use the verbs as Nouns also. Now look at 120 ENG LISH The Tiger in the Tunnel the underlined words in the following sentences. The ‘ing’ words function like adjectives or adverbs. They are present participles. a) He heard a barking deer. b) The toy was a dancing girl in a glass case. Exercise I Pick out the present participles in the following sentences. 1. The boy sitting in the corner is my friend. 2. He jumped into a moving bus. 3. The frightening cry was followed by a crashing sound in the under growth. 4. They disapproved of playing cards. Exercise II Fill in the blanks with the present participle of the words in the box speak menace excite learn yawn write 1. We got some _________ news last evening. 2. We had a ________ activity in class today. 3. The black entrance to the tunnel looked _______. 4. The train entered the ___________ tunnel. 5. She was busy __________ letters. 6. It was a _________ experience for us. V. The Past Participle Observe the following sentences a) They found hidden treasure under the stone. b) They ate cooked food. c) They cut a fallen tree. d) These are burnt sticks. The past participle (hidden, cooked, fallen) use – ed, en or – t (hide+en, cook+ed, fall+en, burn+t) to express a completed action as an adjective to qualify- treasure, food, tree, sticks. The Tiger in the Tunnel Notes ENGLISH 121 The Tiger in the Tunnel The Tiger in the Tunnel A. Pick out the past participles in the following sentences and underline them. a. A frightened child ran to his mother. b. He is a changed man now. Notes c. Don’t use a broken scale. B. Fill in the blanks with the past participle form of the verbs in the box. write, complete, paint steal break a) Submit a _________ report. b) The police found the ________ goods. c) Please submit your _________ assignment. d) Don’t play with ________ toys. e) It is a _________ picture not a photograph. LET’S WRITE Editing Spelling Compare the sentences given in the boxes below: I. The cuting curved sharpli, and in the darknes the black entrence to the tunel looked up menacingly II The cutting curved sharply, and in the darkness the black entrance to the tunnel looked up menacingly. Do you notice that the sentence in box I had a lot of spelling mistakes. But in box II the same sentence has seen corrected and all the spelling are corrected. That is, the sentence have been edited. a) Now edit the following sentences by correcting the spelling. It swa about 10 o’clock on Hali day and the gaty had began. The grounds of the twonshipe were filing up with people splashing colurs at each other. Forteen year old Minal Pawar, who lives in one of the ground –floor flats was hanging out the whashed cloths in the courtyard. She planed to join the fun as soon as she finished. 22 ENGLISH The Tiger in the Tunnel Now you have edited the spelling mistakes . You can also edit the punctuation marks like capital letters, commas, full stops, question marks, use of ‘I’, like the one give below. e. g. Box I ‘shall i come too father asked tembu sleeply still lying hunddled in a corner of the hut. Box II ‘Shall I come too, Father? ’ asked Tem bu sleepily, still lying huddled in a a corner of the hut. The sentences in Box I have been edited by putting the punctuation marks. They have been underlined in Box II. Now edit the following passage by correcting the punctuation. Exercise I are you going far asked the doctor i’m going all the way to Detroit said the man a rather thin man with small black eyes filled with tears from the wind. The Tiger in the Tunnel Notes LET’S TALK Worksheet Listen to conversation number on giving and taking messages on tape. Then fill in the blanks below Ravi wanted to speak to _____. ________ offered to pass on Ravi’s message to _______. Ravi said that Ajit should contact __________ regarding a trip to __________. Ravi also said that Suresh will give Abhay all details including how much __________ will be needed for the trip. CHECK YOUR ANSWERS Intext Questions 13. 1 I. a) Baldeo b) Tembu c) Twelve II. a) In a railway station/small station/ signal stop ENGLISH 123 The Tiger in the Tunnel The Tiger in the Tunnel b) Signalling whether or not the tunnel was clear of obstruction (to see the signal lamp was burning) III. a) In a small village three miles from the station. Notes b) Their rice fields did not provide the family with a living. IV. A small shack; in the middle of a thick forest; near a tunnel Intext Questions 13. 2 1. tiger, panther, bear, barking deer. 2. No; Baldeo walked confidently, for being a tribal himself he was used to the jungle and its ways. . A small axe; his father 4. (b) 5. a) by the trembling of the ground b) for the train to pass and his father’s returning foot steps/his father to return. Intext Question 13. 3 1. He had to face the tiger any time. 2. It was a man eater. 3. Tembu’s/his son’s 4. He had an axe to kill it; he didn’t think the tiger was dangerous. 5. The axe got stuck in the tiger’s shoulder so he couldn’t fight it. Intext Question 13. 4 1. He was trapped when the train came, flight along the cutting was impossible. 2. It got caught in the cow-catcher of the engine. 3. The driver found a tiger cut in half just above the cow-catcher of the engine 4. There was no sound, the boy sat beside the body of his father. 5. To guard the body from jackals and hyenas. 6. All the responsibility fell on Tembu. OVERALL QUESTIONS 1. Baldeo – 1) took up his job inspite of the dangers. 2) tried to kill the tiger. Tembu – 1) took up his father’s job 2) looked after the family in place of his father. 124 ENGLISH The Tiger in the Tunnel 2. It was used to the ways of men and expected to bowl over Baldeo who stood in the way. 3. 1. his father had killed the tiger. 2. the forest gods were pleased. . he had his father’s axe. VOCABULARY ENRICHMENT 1. (a) bore, (b) boar 3. (a) root, 5. (a) mail, 7. (a) beer, (b) route (b) male (b) bare 2. (a) herd, (b) heard The Tiger in the Tunnel Notes 4. (a) weather, (b) whether 6. (a) threw, 8. (a) steel, (b) through (b) steal 9. (a) there, (b) their 2. (1) deer, (5) men, (2) neighbour, (3) bullock cart, (4) gu n, (6) cave, (7) read, (8) sleep (9) crow CHECK YOUR ANSWERS Grammar To-Infinitives Exercise I 1. to postpone 4. to tearn Exercise II 1. to post 5. to report 9. to waste Gerunds Exercise I 1. reading 4. giving, receiving ENGLISH 2. to play 5. o deposit 3. to open 6. to play 2. to go 6. to park 10. to help 3. to sleep 7. to live 4. to accompany 8. to sit 2. playing 5. singing 3. riding 125 The Tiger in the Tunnel The Tiger in the Tunnel Exercise II 1. Bating 5. wearing 2. seeing 6. signaling 10. shopping 3. believing 4. studying, 7. hammering 8. trembling 11. studying Notes 9. cutting The present Participle Exercise I 1. sitting 4. playing. Exercise II 1. exciting 4. yawning The Past Participle A. (a) frightened B. a) written d) broken (b) changed b) stolen e) painted. (c) broken c) completed 2. speaking 5. writing 3. menacing 6. earning 2. moving 3. frightening, crashing CHECK YOUR ANSWER Let’s write a) It was about 10 o’clock on Holi day and the gaiety had begun. The grounds of the township were filling up with people splashing colours at each other. Fourteen year old Minal Pawar, who lives in one of the ground-floor flats was hanging out the washed clothes in the courtyard. She planned to join the fun as soon as she finished. Exercise I â€Å"Are you going far? † asked the doctor. â€Å"I’m going all the way to Detroit,† said the man, a rather thin man with small black eyes filled with tears from the wind. 126 ENGLISH