Summary: Return to Air | New Pathways Class 6: Book Solutions, Summaries & Worksheets PDF Download

Summary

In the story, the narrator tells us about a place called the Ponds, where people in their village go for two main activities: bathing and fishing. The Ponds are large, and at one end, people bathe, while at the other end, they fish. The narrator prefers bathing in the deeper water at their end of the Ponds.

The narrator doesn't like diving, mainly because she wears glasses, and she can't see without them. However, this summer, the instructor encouraged her to learn duck-diving, a skill where you swim on the water's surface, then dive underwater and come back up.

During a duck-dive practice, the instructor threw a brick into the water, and the narrator had to retrieve it. Despite initial fears, she successfully dove down, describing the underwater world as quiet and shady. She reached the bottom, picked up a tin box filled with mud, and brought it back up to the surface.

The narrator was cheered by onlookers, and the instructor was surprised by the unexpected find. Although it wasn't a valuable discovery, the narrator decided to keep the tin as a special memory of her brave dive.

Difficult Words and Their Meanings

• Bathe: To wash or immerse oneself in water.
• Dive: To jump headfirst into the water.
• Up-end: To turn upside down.
• Nagging: Persistently annoying or criticizing.
• Duck-dive: A swimming technique where one up-ends like a duck and dives underwater.
• Underwater: Beneath the surface of the water.
• Visibility: The ability to see or be seen.
• Conquer: To overcome or defeat.
• Sentimental: Relating to emotions or memories.
• Prowess: Skill or expertise.