Youth Corner

Word World By Kirit Shukla

E E R

D T M E N I

Make words using 7 or more letters. The central letter must be used in each word. Plural words are not allowed. Use all letters for the subject word (underlined in solutions below)

6+ words = Excellent; 4 to 5 words = Good; 3 or less = keep looking. Words we found are in solutions below.

Brain-Train

Here is a simple quiz. See if you can solve it. No peeking! Match the number in column 1 with letter in column 2

Scenic Trains

1 Glacier Express 2 The D & SNG Railroad 3 Hiram Bingham 4 Transalpine 5 Rocky Mountaineer 6 Douro Line 7 Jewels of Persia 8 The Royal Scotsman 9 Palace on Wheels 10 The Blue Train Countries

A. Colorado, USA B. Canada C. India D. South Africa E. Switzerland F. Peru G. Hungary to Iran H. New Zealand I. Scotland J. Portugal

1-E, 2-A, 3-F, 4-H, 5-B, 6-J, 7-G, 8-I, 9-C, 10-D Brain Train:

8.a 9.c 10.d Scholar 1. d, a, b, c 2.b 3.a 4.b 5.c 6.d 7.d

EREMITE, MERITED, MITERED, REMINTED, RETIMED, TEENIER (Solution): DETERMINE, EMETINE, ENTERED, Dadaji’s moral stories for kids

Answer the ones you know and research the rest. There is only one correct answer! 1. Arrange these flags with number of stars in the flag in order from most to least numbers. (a) New Zealand (b) Iraq (c) Pakistan (d) USA

2. Filmfare award for Best male singer of 2021 Hindi films was given to (a) Arijit Sing (b) Raghav Chaitanya (c) Dev Sharma (d) Ayushmann Khurrana

3. The most respected animal in India is (a) Cow (b) Snake (c) Monkey (d) Dog

4. The meaning of “Fortitude” is (a) Genius (b) Courage (c) Wisdom (d) Stubbornness

5. In 1989, the only spacecraft Voyager 2 swept past this planet. (a) Saturn (b) Pluto (c) Neptune (d) Uranus

6. How many cubes of side = 4”each, can be made out of a big cube of each side = 12”? (a) 64 (b) 48 (c) 36 (d) 27

7. The zodiac sign of a person born on June 18, 1939 is (a) Taurus (b) Sagittarius (c) Cancer (d) Gemini

8. The NCAA Men’s Basketball 2021 champs. (a) Baylor (b) Gonzaga (c) Duke (d) UCLA

9. Napoleon Bonaparte died on date: (a) May 5, 1819 (b) May 5, 1820 (c) May 5, 1821 (d) May 5, 1822

10. The combined length of the Mississippi, Missouri and Jefferson rivers is about (a) 3600 miles (b) 3700 miles (c) 3800 Miles (d) 3900 miles

Answers are on bottom left. No Peeking. Scholar: All correct; 1st Class: 9 Correct; 2nd Class: 8 Correct; 3rd Class: 7 Correct; Need to improve: 6 or less

THE SWAN AND THE CROW A swan and a crow lived in a large tree. Once, a weary traveler approached the tree and decided to enjoy the shade. He placed his bow against the trunk and soon fell asleep underneath the tree. After a while the shade disappeared, exposing him to the harsh sun. The swan felt pity for this traveler and spread his wings to block the sun. The crow did not approve of such kindness for a human. He dropped his nest on the traveler’s head before fleeing. The man woke up and saw the swan in the tree. He thought the swan had dropped the nest and so grabbed his bow and pierced the swan with an arrow to vent his anger. The benevolent swan lost its life despite good intentions. Moral: Be wary of those who are wicked.

PUZZLES AND JOKES

By Kirit Shukla

Note: * denotes abbreviation of the word or phrase Clues Across: 1. A playing card below queen; a device for lifting an object. 5. The mother of Vedas; Savitri, a solar deity in the Vedas. 11. An act of joining two or more things into one. 13. A medium-sized, long-tailed rodent. 14. European Community. (*) 15. U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on this city in E China sea. 17. One of the levers of a keyboard musical instrument. 18. A large division of geologic time shorter than an eon. 19. Fossil Energy. (*) 20. The movable parts of a table top. 22. Temporary Restraining Orders. (*) 24. A coarse unbleached linen fabric usually in twill weave. 27. Objective case of ’They’. 28. To ask about. 29. A distinct often numbered section of a writing. 31. Railroad. (*) 32. A Rottweiler dog, a large breed developed in Germany, 33. Missouri . (*) 34. Alabama. (*) 35. Composition for two performers. (Plural) 36. Plantains. 38. Present tense third-person singular of ‘BE. 39. To place or establish in relationship. 41. Electronic Controls Design. (*) 42. Visual Display Units. (*) 43. The solid remnants of fires. 45. A waste piece of cloth. 46. Resembling in every relevant respect. 47. “festival” or “feast” in Arabic. Clues Down: 1. The sixth month of the calendar year. 2. Without distinct joints. (Zoology) 3. A slender roll of cut tobacco enclosed in paper and used for smoking. 4. A fine-grained red wood Hawaiian timber tree, used for furniture. 6. Noah’s boat. 7. A tribal confederation of clans of Turkic origin in Iran. 8. A monetary subunit of the kip. (Laos) 9. A close-fitting usually double-breasted jacket or coat of thick cloth. 10. Frigid. 12. Not Sufficient Funds. (*) 16. An official in ancient Rome in charge of public works, police etc. 17. The Indian mystic poet, weaver and saint. [1440-1518] 21. A Belgic people of Germanic or Celtic descent who lived in the upper north of Gaul in ancient times. 23. Left unmentioned. 25. Roanne, France. (Airport Code) 26. An American electric vehicle & clean energy company of USA. 27. More sluggish. 30. Perennial woody shrubs found on dry or rocky soils; Rockrose. 33. Massachusetts. (*) 34. In addition to. 36. Bismuth. (*) (A symbol of the chemical element) 37. A usually dull persistent pain. 40. United States of America. (*) 42. Very Good. (*) 43. American English. (*) 44. Idaho. (*)

(solution on page 88)

Hee Hee

Jokes From Around The World

Booddhoo: “What is Father’s Day?” Mafatlal: “It is the day in June when a father remembers that he has not paid the bills for Mother’s Day.”

********* Mini: “Mom, can you give me 4 dollars? There’s a poor man outside in the hot sun and I want to give it to him.” Mom: “What is the man doing?” Mini: “He’s standing out there selling ice cream.”

********* Booddhoo: “Can a small thing give you unbearable pain?” Guru: “Yes, my boy. You can sit on the top of a mountain but you cannot sit on top of a needle.”

Find & circle the words in the puzzle. Subject: Father’s Day

ABBA ABRAHAM ADAM ADULT BABA BAPA BRAHMA CLELBRATION CREATOR DADDY EARNER FATHERSDAY FEAR GANDHIJI GIFT GOD GURU

HEAD HERO JANAK JOB JUNE LEAD MALE MANU PADRE PAPPA PATREM PITA SON STEP SUNDAY VATER VIBE

The unused 13 letters spell is ”Home state of Saathee.”

(answer on page 88)

Math Magic

Fill in the empty squares to get = the final given answers. Use the remaining numbers from 1 to 9 only once:

Note: Follow the order of operation per basic math rule: ×,÷, +, - The multiplication or division is done before addition and subtraction. (solution on page 88)

EZ-BZ

TEST YOUR IQ The common letters are “UNE” - Fill in the blanks) Note: * denotes abbreviation of the word or phrase

1. User Name and password. (*) (Computer security) UNE _ 2. In the shape of a half-moon, (semicircular) _ _ _ _ _ UNE 3. The adjustment for operation at peak efficiency. _ UNE _ _ 4. Having a high degree of resistance to a disease. _ _ _ UNE 5. Not the same as another in degree or status. UNE _ _ _ _ 6. Sixth month of the calendar. _ UNE 7. The eighth -known Solar planet from the Sun. _ _ _ _ UNE 8. The second-largest metro city in Maharashtra. _ UNE 9. Causing physical or mental discomfort . UNE _ _ _ 10. Luck. _ _ _ _ UNE 11.The third-largest island of Denmark. _ UNE _ 12. A bedform found in fluvial environments _ _ _ _ _ UNE 13. A woman, with dark brown hair. _ _ UNE _ _ _ 14. Not gained by labor, service, or skill. UNE _ _ _ _ _ 15. People (sometimes Sapalewa) are one of the more ancient ethnic groups of Seram Island, Indonesia. _ _ UNE 16. The quality or state of being Zulu. _ _ _ UNE _ _ 17. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (*) UNE _ _ _ 18. A plum dried without fermentation. _ _ UNE 19. An end of something's existence. _ UNE _ _ _ 20. The point in the path of a body orbiting the moon that is nearest to the center of the moon. _ _ _ _ _ UNE 21. Not strikingly strange or unusual. UNE _ _ _ _ _

(Puzzle solutions are on page 88. NO peeking!)

Kirit Shukla

kiritsshukla@gmail.com