The Lost MessageSouth African Folk TaleTHE ant has had from time immemorial many enemies, and because he is small and destructive, there have been a great many slaughters among them. Not only were most of the birds their enemies, but Anteater lived almost wholly from them, and Centipede beset them every time and at all places when he had the chance.So now there were a few among them who thought it would be well to hold council together and see if they could not come to some arrangement whereby they could retreat to some place of safety when attacked by robber birds and animals.But at the gathering their opinions were most discordant, and they could come to no decision.There was Red-ant, Rice-ant, Black-ant, Wagtail-ant, Gray-ant, Shining-ant, and many other varieties. The discussion was a true babel of diversity, which continued for a long time and came to nothing.A part desired that they should all go into a small hole in the ground, and live there; another part wanted to have a large and strong dwelling built on the ground, where nobody could enter but an ant; still another wanted to dwell in trees, so as to get rid of Anteater, forgetting entirely that there they would be the prey of birds; another part seemed inclined to have wings and fly.And, as has already been said, this deliberation amounted to nothing, and each party resolved to go to work in its own way, and on its own responsibility.Greater unity than that which existed in each separate faction could be seen nowhere in the world; each had his appointed task, each did his work regularly and well. And all worked together in the same way. From among them they chose a king-that is to say some of the groups did-and they divided the labor so that all went as smoothly as it possibly could.But each group did it in its own way, and not one of them thought of protecting themselves against the onslaught of birds or Anteater.The Red-ants built their house on the ground and lived under it, but Anteater leveled to the ground in a minute what had cost them many days of precious labor. The Rice-ants lived under the ground, and with them it went no better. For whenever they came out, Anteater visited them and took them out sack and pack. The Wagtail-ants fled to the trees, but there on many occasions sat Centipede waiting for them, or the birds gobbled them up. The Gray-ants had intended to save themselves from extermination by taking to flight, but this also availed them nothing, because the Lizard, the Hunting-spider, and the birds went a great deal faster than they.When the Insect-king heard that they could come to no agreement he sent them the secret of unity, and the message of Work-together. But unfortunately he chose for his messenger the Beetle, and he has never yet arrived at the Ants, so that they are still to-day the embodiment of discord and consequently the prey of enemies.QuestionWhat could be considered the central idea of this story?ResponsesA Everyone is good at something in life.Everyone is good at something in life.B Nobody has the right to tell anyone else how to live his or her life.Nobody has the right to tell anyone else how to live his or her life.C A community that can't unite in a time of crisis is doomed to suffer.A community that can't unite in a time of crisis is doomed to suffer.D When you are under siege from a more powerful enemy, surrender is the best option.

ants (strengths & weaknesses)?

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.The black ant is indisputably one of the smallest visible insects on earth Except with aid of a very powerful microscope, it is difficult if not impossible to locate the eyes, the mouth the nostrils (if it ever has any) or any other part of the body. An air of mystery surrounds the existence of this little creature.Have you ever taken time off your programme to watch these ants move in row? What gives them the sense of direction, we do not know. Indeed whoever sends them on an errand and how they even know their destination and the type of errand to run we are yet to be told. But they are an extremely well-organized lot.Certainly, there are no defined routes for them on walls or trees, yet they move in an orderly manner. almost in a straight line. The beautiful thing about these insects is that even when their line of movement is disorganized. they soon regroup and connect themselves again end to end. If in the process. one of them is killed. they quickly recognize that fact from their various positions. Then. one sees them running helter skelter with a seeming insistence on getting at the comrade to confirm its death.When this has been done, some of them run zigzag at a tremendous speed to alert the others on the route. Soon, they disappear completely. Later. as if everything were over and forgotten they reappear and form a new route and continue their movement transporting food or going on one errand or the other as before Bring your ears close to them and you hear nothing and you wonder what their means of communication could be. Perhaps, most surprising is their high sense of understanding the weather and the climate They are just like men in this area. They know when it is the rainy season and when the dry season comes. In fact, it is true to say that they prepare better for the future than man.During the dry season. they file out to different places gathering food which they store underground. At the slightest sign of the approach of the rainy season. they all get into the hole and seal it up. Surprisingly. they re-emerge when the dry season sets in. And whoever tells them that the dry season has come we do not know. You can now see the sense in the injunction, "Go to the ant, thou sluggard. learn her ways and be wise."(a) Why does the writer regard the black ant as one of the smallest insects on earth?(b) Give reasons why the writer thinks that the way ants live is ' interesting'?(c) (i) What is the writer's attitude towards the black ant? (ii) Quote an expression from the passage to support your answer.(d) When this has been done " What does 'this' refer to?(e) "The beautiful thing about these insects ..."(i) What grammatical name is given to this expression(ii) What is its function in the sentence?(f)What quality of the wins implied in the last sentence of the passage?(g) For each of the following words or phrases find another word or phrase that means the same and can replace it as it is used in the passage: (i) indisputably; (ii) row; (iii) helter skelter, (iv) a tremendous (v) area (vi) approac

what challengers do ants face in their daily lives?

What were some of Squealer's objectives when he spoke to the animals in this chapter?

The Ants and the GrasshopperOne bright day in late autumn a family of Ants were bustling about in the warm sunshine, drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer, when a starving Grasshopper, his fiddle under his arm, came up and humbly begged for a bite to eat."What!" cried the Ants in surprise, "haven't you stored anything away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all last summer?""I didn't have time to store up any food," whined the Grasshopper; "I was so busy making music that before I knew it the summer was gone."The Ants shrugged their shoulders in disgust."Making music, were you?" they cried. "Very well; now dance!" And they turned their backs on the Grasshopper and went on with their work.20Select the correct answer.What theme is expressed in the selection? A. There is a time and place for everything. B. Work is more important than rest. C. It is important to take time to rest. D. It is important to always be prepared.