NCERT Solutions for Chapter 1 The Fun they had Class 9 English Beehive
The story was written by Isaac Asimov. In this story the two children Margie and Tommy live in the year 2157, where they get an education through computers and robotic teachers at home and they did not have friends and classmates. After seeing some books, they learned there were school buildings that existed hundreds of years ago, and that children went to those buildings to study and learn from human teachers and they learnt together, played together. She found it interesting than her school which was her home. Margie was thinking about the fun her grandfather had.
Chapter Name | The Fun they had NCERT Solutions |
Class | CBSE Class 9 |
Textbook Name | Beehive |
Related Readings |
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Thinking About the Text
Activity
Question 1: Calculate how many years and months ahead from now Margie's entry is.
Answer
Margie's entry is about 139 years and 5 months ahead from present time. (As time goes on, this will change. The time will be calculated from 17 May 2157 to present time)
I. Answer these Questions in a few words or a couple of sentences each.
Question 1: How old are Margie and Tommy?
Answer
Margie and Tommy are eleven and thirteen years, respectively.
Question 2: What did Margie write in her diary?
Answer
Margie wrote In her diary : "Today Tommy found a real book!"
Question 3: Had Margie ever seen a book before?
Answer
No, she had never seen a book before. There was only one mechanical tutor for Margie and Tommy. Each day, they were taught by a machine at a fixed time.
Question 4: What things about the book did she find strange?
Answer
Margie found it awfully funny to read words on a screen that stood still instead of moving like they are supposed to on a screen because of the yellow and crinkly pages. moreover, when she returned to the previous page, it had the same words as the first page.
Question 5: What do you think a telebook is?
Answer
Telebooks are books that can be read on screens.
Question 6: Where was Margie's school? Did she have any classmates?
Answer
Margie's school was a computer in her home itself, near her own bedroom. No, she did not have any classmates.
Question 7: What subjects did Margie and Tommy learn?
Answer
Margie and Tommy learned History, Geography, and Arithmetic. Their teachers were mechanical. Instead of real people, they were televisions with various subject areas.
II. Answer the following with reference to the story:
Question 1: "I wouldn't throw it away."
(i) Who says these words?
(ii) What does 'it' refer to?
(iii) What is it being compared with by the speaker?
Answer
(i) Tommy said these words.
(ii) 'It' refers to the television screen with a million books.
(iii) The television screen is being compared to the books of earlier times where words were printed on paper, In his opinion, such books should be wasted after reading. It would never be necessary for him to throw away of his telebook, though.
Question 2: "Sure they had a teacher, but, it wasn't a regular teacher. It was a man."
(i) Who does 'they' refer to?
(ii) What does 'regular' mean here?
(iii) What is it contrasted with?
Answer
(i) 'They' refers to students who attended schools centuries before this story takes place.
(ii) 'Regular' means here Tommy and Margie's mechanical tutors.
(iii) The mechanical teacher is contrasted with the human teachers of earlier times.
III. Answer each of these Questions in a short paragraph (or about 30 words):
Question 1: What kind of teachers did Margie and Tommy have?
Answer
Margie and Tommy had mechanical teachers. A large black screen displayed all the lessons and questions, as well as a slot for the students to put their homework and test papers. Answers were written in punch codes, and marks were calculated immediately by the mechanical teacher.
Question 2: Why did Margie's mother send for the County Inspector?
Answer
Margie's mother send for the County Inspector because Margie's performance did not improve Despite of many tests in geography given by the mechanical teacher,
Question 3: What did he do?
Answer
The County Inspector gave Margie an apple before working on the mechanical teacher. A thorough inspection was performed after he disassembled the machine. During this time, Margie hoped that the inspector wouldn't know how to reassemble the mechanical teacher. To her disappointment, he was able to reassemble it. He slowed down the geography section to an average ten-year level.
Question 4: Why was Margie doing badly in geography? What did the County Inspector do to help her?
Answer
Margie doing badly in geography Because Margie's geography teacher had geared the geography curriculum a little too quickly for an average eleven-year-old student, she was doing poorly in geography.
The County Inspector was slowed down the geography sector of the mechanical teacher to an average ten-year level. He told her overall progress was quite satisfactory.
Question 5: What had once happened to Tommy's teacher?
Answer
Once, Tommy's teacher had completely blanked out the history section. As a result, the county inspector took it out for a month. In order to restore it, Margie thought he would bring her mechanic along with him.
Question 6: Did Margie have regular days and hours for school? If so, why?
Answer
Yes, Margie had regular days and hours for school because Her mother strongly believed that learning during regular school hours helped little girls learn better. Besides for Saturdays and Sundays, the mechanical teacher was always available at the same time every day.
Question 7: How does Tommy describe the old kind of school?
Answer
Tommy described the old school was a special building where all the students studied the same concepts according to their ages. The open yard was filled with hundreds of students (boys and girls) who not only studied but also played, laughed and shouted with one another. They had fun and learn together. At the end of their school day, they all went home collectively.
Question 8: How does he describe the old kind of teachers?
Answer
Tommy said old kind of teachers were real humans. The teachers taught students in a special building. They asked them questions and gave them homework. However, Margie said that a man was not as smart enough to be a teacher, he disapproved her by saying that his father has equal knowledge as his mechanical teacher.
IV. Answer each of these question in two or three paragraphs (100- 150 words).
Question 1: What are the main features of the mechanical teachers and the schoolrooms that Margie and Tommy have in the story?
Answer
There were mechanical teachers for Margie and Tommy. They had large black screens on which all lessons were shown and questions were asked, as well as a slot for students to put their homework and test papers. The mechanical teacher calculated the marks instantly after the students wrote their answers in a punch code.
Their schools were in their homes, and they had no classmates. The students studied history, geography, and arithmetic on a regular schedule and for a fixed period of time.
Question 2: Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think old kind of school must have been fun?
Answer
Margie hated school because she had a mechanical teachers instead of real humans. The mechanical teacher taught her every day at a fixed time for regular hours. she kept on losing interest in her studies due to her poor performance in geography because the mechanical teacher geared up the speed of geography sector. She found it boring as It was inserting homework and test papers into the specific slots and punching in the answers.
She thought that old kind of school must have been fun because she imagined all the students from the neighbourhood coming together, laughing, shouting, and enjoying in the open yard of the school, she disliked of the teaching method and preferred the old kind of school. She thought they could help each other with their homework and other things by learning the same concepts together. She also imagined students sitting in a classroom together and going home together. Margie regarded the old type of school as much more fascinating and interactive because of these aspects.
Question 3: Do you agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the school in the story? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer
Yes, I agree with Margie. Today's school is more fun-filled than the school in the story. This is not an interactive place where students communicate and express themselves freely. Learning and writing answers in a punch code, as well as the mechanical method of teaching, is draining and tedious. It is a solitary environment where the student is isolated from his surroundings.
Listening to the teacher explain lessons instead of reading them on a mechanical device is more interesting. A mechanical teacher who is programmed to teach a certain way is not able to create a healthy environment of learning in which students can discuss and solve their problems at the same time.
Children learn about friendship by old kind of school and also gain a deeper understanding of healthy relationships. It is only in a classroom that moral values such as obedience, kindness, respect, and sharing can be implanted. Apart from this, participation in sports and extracurricular activities contributes to a strong personality and overall development of students.
Thinking about Language
I. Adverbs
Read this sentence taken from the story:
They had once taken Tommy's teacher away for nearly a month because the history sector had blanked out completely.
The word complete is adjective. When you add -ly to it, it becomes an adverb.
1. Find the sentences in the lesson which have the adverbs given in the box below:
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Awfully, Sorrowfully, Completely, Loftily, Carefully, Differently, Quickly, Nonchalantly |
Answer:
1. They turned the pages, which were yellow and crinkly, and it was awfully funny to read words that stood still instead of moving the way they were supposed to - on a screen, you know.
2. The mechanical teacher had been giving her test after test in geography and she had been doing worse and worse until her mother had shaken her head sorrowfully and sent for the County Inspector.
3. They had once taken Tommy's teacher away for nearly a month because the history sector had blanked out completely.
4. He added loftily, pronouncing the word carefully, "Centuries ago."
5. "But my mother says a teacher has to be adjusted to fit the mind of each boy and girl it teaches and that each kid has to be taught differently."
6. "I didn't say I didn't like it," Margie said Quickly.
7. "May be," he said nonchalantly.
2. Now use these adverbs to fill in the blanks in the sentences below:
(i) The report must be read _____ so that performance can be improved.
(ii) At the interview, Sameer answered our Question _____ shrugging his shoulders.
(iii) We all behave ______ when we are tired or hungry.
(iv) The teacher shook her head ______ when Ravi lied to her.
(v) I ______ forgot about it.
(vi) When I complimented Revathi on her success, she just smiled ______ and turned away.
(vii) The President of the company is ______ busy and will not be able to meet you.
(viii) I finished my work ______ so that I could go out to play.
Answer
(i) The report must be read carefully so that performance can be improved.
(ii) At the interview, Sameer answered our Question loftily shrugging his shoulders.
(iii) We all behave differently when we are tired or hungry.
(iv) The teacher shook her head sorrowfully when Ravi lied to her.
(v) I completely forgot about it.
(vi) When I complimented Revathi on her success, she just smiled nonchalantly and turned away.
(vii) The President of the company is awfully busy and will not be able to meet you.
(viii) I finished my work Quickly so that I could go out to play.
3. Make adverbs from these adjectives:
(a) angry - _____
(b) happy - _____
(c) merry - _____
(d) sleepy - _____
(e) easy - _____
(f) noisy - _____
(g) tidy - _____
(h) gloomy - _____
Answer
(a) angry - angrily
(b) happy - happily
(c) merry - merrily
(d) sleepy - sleepily
(e) easy - easily
(f) noisy - noisily
(g) tidy - tidily
(h) gloomy – gloomily
II. If not and Unless
(i) Imagine that Margie's mother told her, "You'll feel awful if you don't finish your history lesson."
(ii) She could also say: "you'll feel awful unless you finish your history lesson."
Unless means if not. Sentences with unless or if not are negative conditional sentences.
Notice that these sentences have two parts. The part that begins with if not or unless tells us the condition. This part has a verb in the present tense (look at the verbs don't finish, finish in the sentences no (i) and (ii) above).
The other part of the sentence tells us about a possible result. It tells us what will happen (if something else doesn't happen). The verb in this part of the sentence is in the future tense (you'll feel/ you will feel.)
Notice these two tense again in the following examples:
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(Future Tense) |
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(Present Tense) |
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1. There won’t be any books left. |
Unless |
We preserve them. |
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2. You won’t learn your lessons. |
If |
You don’t study regularly. |
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3. Tommy will have an accident. |
Unless |
He drives more slowly. |
Complete the following conditional sentences. Use the correct form of the verb.
(i) If I don't go to Anu's party tonight, ________.
(ii) If you don't telephone the hotel to order food, ___________.
(iii) Unless you promise to write back, I ____________.
(iv) If she doesn't play any games, ____________.
(v) Unless that little bird flies away Quickly, the cat ___________.
Answer
(i) If I don't go to Anu's party tonight, she will be disappointed.
(ii) If you don't telephone the hotel to order food, you will miss your evening meal.
(iii) Unless you promise to write back, I will not write to you.
(iv) If she doesn't play any games, she will become unfit and lazy.
(v) Unless that little bird flies away Quickly, the cat will pounce and eat it up.
Writing
A new revised volume of Issac Asimov's short stories has just been released. Order one set. Write a letter to the publisher Mindfame Private Limited, 1632 Asaf Ali Road, New Delhi, requesting that a set be sent you by Value Payable Post (VPP), and giving your address. Your letter will have the following parts.
1. Addresses of the sender and receiver
2. The salutation
3. The body of the letter
4. The closing phrases and signature.
Answer
15/21 GK International School
Faridabad, Haryana
5 April 2017
1632, Asaf Ali Road
M/s Mindfame Private Limited
New Delhi - 2
Respected Sir,
I just came to know that a newly revised volume of Issac Asimov's short stories has recently been released. The stories are both interesting and entertaining for students. They enhance their morale and boost fellow-feeling along with a sense of patriotism. I would like to place an order of one set of the same via Value Payable Post on the address mentioned above. Kindly send it at the earliest and please allow the reasonable concession meant for our institution. Request your packer to ensure proper safety of the set.
Yours Sincerely
Signature