Class 6 English · Original EZT practice
Change of Heart (Class 6 English Chapter 10): learning to love the game
Prabhat cannot bear losing - he only plays games he is sure to win. Then Surya joins his school: a brilliant badminton player who enjoys even the games he is hopeless at. Watching Surya changes something in Prabhat. This story from Poorvi Unit 4, Sports and Wellness, is about what real sporting spirit means. Below: a summary, word meanings, comprehension practice and questions. (Note: this is original practice, not a textbook exercise key.)
6 original worked examples, 6 fresh self-check questions and 4 mixed questions, with explained answers. These are not copied textbook exercises, an official chapter index or a full answer key. No affiliation with NCERT is claimed.
Official sources for topic and edition context, checked 23 October 2026:
1. Story summary and characters
Prabhat always wanted to win and felt terrible when he lost, so he played only games he was sure of winning; when the new student Surya - an excellent badminton player - joined the school, the two were chosen to play a friendly match against each other, with Prabhat keeping score.
2. Reading comprehension
Prabhat won the match but did not feel as happy as usual; what surprised him more was that Surya did not feel bad about losing - the next day Prabhat saw him enjoy basketball, a game he was hopeless at, with a happy smile that never left his face.
3. Word meanings
The chapter glosses sports-story words - defeat, on the contrary, terrible, sensed, significant, conducted, phenomenon, hopeless, kept a close watch on.
4. Theme - sporting spirit
The story's heart is sporting spirit - enjoying the game itself rather than the scoreboard; Prabhat's 'change of heart' is his shift from fearing defeat to loving play.
Choose, solve, check, then try a fresh question.
Before calculating, read the method prompt and name the condition that makes it useful. Write your own attempt. Open the steps only when you need them, and use the check to catch a wrong sign, unit or interpretation. Finish with the fresh question before reading its answer.
Read Prabhat's character
Choose the method: Winning was everything.
EZT practice question
'If Prabhat sensed that he would lose a game, he would not play it.' What does this tell us about Prabhat?
Show the worked solution
- Prabhat always wanted to win.
- Losing made him feel terrible.
- So he took part only when he was sure of winning - even if the game lasted only a minute.
Answer: He was afraid of losing - he took part only when he was sure of winning, even if the game lasted only a minute.
Check: The opening sets up the exact fear that Surya's example will later cure.
Watch for this: Do not call Prabhat lazy - he played often, but only safe games he could win.
Now try it yourself
Which game was Prabhat really good at?
Check your answer
Badminton.
That is why he could be chosen for the friendly match.
Describe Surya's attitude
Choose the method: Relaxed before, cheerful after.
EZT practice question
How did Surya seem while preparing for the match, and after losing it?
Show the worked solution
- Before the match, Surya walked about smiling and cracking jokes.
- He did not seem to take things seriously at all.
- After losing, he did not feel bad - he enjoyed himself just the same.
Answer: Relaxed - he walked about smiling and cracking jokes, not taking things seriously at all. And after losing, he did not feel bad about it.
Check: Prabhat's tension and Surya's ease are the story's central contrast.
Watch for this: Do not read Surya's ease as not caring about the game - he played his best; he simply enjoyed playing.
Now try it yourself
Who was given the responsibility of keeping score for the match?
Check your answer
Prabhat.
Keeping score made him watch Surya's attitude up close.
Explain the sleepless night
Choose the method: A win that did not feel like one.
EZT practice question
Why could Prabhat not sleep well on the night of the match?
Show the worked solution
- Prabhat had won - usually that made him happy.
- This time he did not feel as happy as usual.
- Surya's attitude to losing had set him thinking.
Answer: He had won but did not feel as happy as he usually did - Surya's cheerful attitude to losing had set him thinking.
Check: The sleepless night is the first crack in Prabhat's old way of thinking.
Watch for this: Do not say he felt guilty about winning - the text says he was thinking about Surya's attitude, not regretting his own win.
Now try it yourself
What surprised Prabhat the next day?
Check your answer
He saw Surya enjoy basketball - a game Surya was hopeless at - with a happy smile that never left his face.
Enjoyment without skill or scoreboard was new to Prabhat.
State what Prabhat learned
Choose the method: No scoreboard needed.
EZT practice question
What did Prabhat learn from watching Surya?
Show the worked solution
- Surya enjoyed every game equally, win or lose.
- Enjoyment came from playing, not from the score.
- What matters is trying to do well and enjoying every moment.
Answer: That to enjoy a game you do not need a scoreboard, and you do not have to worry about winning or losing - you need to enjoy the game for its own sake. What matters is trying to do well and enjoying every moment of it.
Check: This is the story's moral, and it is what the title's 'change of heart' points to.
Watch for this: Do not shrink the lesson to 'losing is okay' - it is bigger: the game itself is the point.
Now try it yourself
What was common to everything Surya played, win or lose?
Check your answer
Enjoyment - he enjoyed everything equally, whether he was great at it or terrible.
That equality is what Prabhat had never seen before.
Describe the change of heart
Choose the method: New games, new Prabhat.
EZT practice question
How did Prabhat change by the end of the story?
Show the worked solution
- He began playing hide and seek - and felt sad whenever it ended.
- He joked while playing badminton.
- Other students said he had 'a great sporting spirit'.
Answer: He began playing hide and seek and feeling sad when it ended, joked while playing badminton, and the other students said he had 'a great sporting spirit'.
Check: Earlier he played only to win; now an ending game makes him sad - the fear has become love of play.
Watch for this: Do not say he stopped caring about playing well - he still tried; only the fear of losing left him.
Now try it yourself
What exactly did the other students say about Prabhat?
Check your answer
'Good fun playing with Prabhat, that fellow definitely has a great sporting spirit.'
The praise measures how complete his change was.
Match story words to meanings
Choose the method: Fix each word to one plain meaning.
EZT practice question
Match: defeat, significant, phenomenon, hopeless - with their meanings.
Show the worked solution
- defeat - loss.
- significant - important.
- phenomenon - someone remarkable; hopeless - having no skill in something.
Answer: defeat - loss; significant - important; phenomenon - someone remarkable; hopeless - having no skill in something.
Check: Surya was hopeless at basketball yet a phenomenon on the badminton court - the words pair nicely in the story.
Watch for this: Do not read hopeless as 'sad' here - it means having no skill at the game.
Now try it yourself
What does 'on the contrary' mean in 'On the contrary, losing made him feel terrible'?
Check your answer
Just the opposite.
It contrasts what you might expect with what actually happened.
Try a mixed set
Choose a method or explanation before opening each answer.
1. Why did Prabhat play only certain games?
Show answer and reason
He feared losing - he played only games he was sure of winning.
Losing made him feel terrible.
2. Who was Surya?
Show answer and reason
A new student, an excellent badminton player who enjoyed every game equally.
Even basketball, which he was hopeless at.
3. Why was Prabhat unhappy after winning?
Show answer and reason
Surya's cheerful attitude to losing set him thinking.
The win stopped feeling like enough.
4. The story's moral?
Show answer and reason
Enjoy the game for its own sake - what matters is trying well and enjoying every moment, not the scoreboard.
That is Prabhat's change of heart.
Try it yourself
Work these on paper before checking any notes. Answers are deliberately not shown here.
- When were the friendly matches conducted?
- What does 'kept a close watch on' mean in the story?
- What would you say to a friend who, like Prabhat, hates losing?
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Questions about this practice page
- What is 'Change of Heart' about?
- Prabhat, who cannot bear losing, learns from his new schoolmate Surya that games are to be enjoyed for their own sake - and discovers real sporting spirit.
- Who was Surya?
- A new student at Prabhat's school, an excellent badminton player who enjoyed every game equally - even ones he was hopeless at, like basketball.
- Why did Prabhat not feel happy even after winning?
- Because he saw that Surya did not feel bad about losing; it made Prabhat question his own fear of defeat.
- What is the moral of the story?
- Enjoy the game for its own sake - what matters is trying to do well and enjoying every moment, not the scoreboard.
- Are these the NCERT exercise questions for Class 6 English Chapter 10?
- No. EZT pages are original practice following the chapter's section order - use them to prepare for the textbook exercises, not as a substitute for your book.