NCERT SOLUTIONS FOR CLASS 9 ENGLISH BEEHIVE THE FUN THEY HAD CHAPTER 1

Question 1.
“I wouldn’t throw it away.”

  1. Who says these words?
  2. What does ‘it’ refer to?
  3. What is it being compared with by the speaker?
  1. Margie says these words.
  2. It refers to that real book that Tommy found.
  3. The speaker compares it with a telebook.

Question 2.
“ Sure, they had a teacher, but it wasn’t a regular teacher. It was a man.”

  1. Who does ‘they’ refer to?
  2. What does ‘regular’ mean here?
  3. What is it contrasted with?
  1. ‘They’ refer to the people of the old times.
  2. Here, regular refers to the mechanical teacher then they had.
  3. It is contrasted with a normal teacher of earlier times, who was a living human being.

Question 3.
What kind of teachers did Margie and Tommy have?

Margie and Tommy had mechanical teachers. They were taught on computers and television screens. They didn’t have a living person as a teacher who would teach the pupils in a classroom.

Question 4.
Why did Margie’s mother send for the County Inspector?

Margie’s mother sent for the County Inspector because the mechanical teacher was not functioning efficiently. It had been giving her test after test in geography and she had been doing worse and worse.

Question 5.
What did he do?

He slowed down the mechanical teacher’s speed up to an average ten-year level. The mechanical teacher’s speed was controlled and adjusted according to their IQ level of Margie.

Question 6.
Why was Margie doing badly in geography? What did the County Inspector do to help her?

Margie had been doing badly in geography. This was because the mechanical teacher was very fast in displaying the questionnaire. The County Inspector adjusted its speed up to an average ten-year level. Thus, the mechanical teacher’s speed was controlled appropriately. The County Inspector assured that the overall pattern of Margie’s progress was quite satisfactory.

Question 7.
What had once happened to Tommy’s teacher?

Tommy’s teacher was taken away for nearly a month because the history sector had blanked out completely. So, Tommy had nothing to do during that period. He only relaxed and enjoyed.

Question 8.
Did Margie have regular days and hours for school? If so, why?

Yes, Margie had regular days and hours for school because her mother said little girls learned better if they learned at regular hours.

Question 9.
How does Tommy describe the old kind of school?

Tommy says that the old schools were different. They had a special building and all the kids went there to study. They laughed and shouted in the schoolyard. They enjoyed time together and learned lessons together in the classroom.

Question 10.
How does he describe the old kind of teachers?

He says that the old teachers did not live in the house. They had a special building and all the kids went there. They gave homework to students. They were not mechanical teachers, but living human beings.

Question 11.
What are the main features of the mechanical teachers and the schoolrooms that Margie and Tommy have in the story?

Margie and Tommy have mechanical teachers. They need not go to school for getting a formal education. The mechanical teacher is placed in one of the rooms of the house and they can get the knowledge of various subjects individually from the mechanical teacher. They don’t have such classrooms where students sit together. They study from the telebooks. So they don’t require books and exercise books. The examination system is very different. They do homework in a different way. Margie has to write them out in a punch code. She leaned it when she was six years old. So the system of their education is technologically advanced and not based on printed books.

Question 12.
Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school must have been fun?

Margie hated her school because she had a mechanical teacher. It was in her house. She was supposed to sit in that room alone to complete her home task or assignments. The part Margie hated most was the slot where she had to put homework and test papers. She thought that the old schools must have been fun because the students used to sit together in the classroom. They enjoyed, laughed and shouted in the schoolyard. Children needed company to enhance their skills. If they are isolated, they get depressed and dejected.

Question 13.
Do you agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the school in the story? Give reasons for your answer.

There is no doubt that today’s schools are more funny than the future school discussed in the story. This school has nothing but a mechanical teacher with no emotions and sentiments. It does not have the ability to understand the psychology of a child. Moreover, it guides a pupil according to its adjusted modes. But today’s schools work for the overall development of a child. They learn the same thing. The teachers are real human beings. They leam how to adapt themselves to new surroundings and cope with strangers. The students sit and leam together. These activities don’t give vent to the feelings of depression, alienation and segregation.

Question 14.
Find the sentences in the lesson which match the adverbs given in the box below,
NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 1 The Fun They Had Page 11 Q1

awfully … and it was awfully funny… (para 1)
sorrowfully … until her mother had shaken her head sorrowfully… (para 3)
completely … the history sector had blanked out completely (para 5)
loftily He added loftily… (para 6)
carefully … pronouncing the word carefully,… (para 6)
differently … each kid has to be taught differently, (para 8)

Question 15.
Now use these adverbs to fill in the blanks in the sentences below.

  1. The report must be read ……………….. so that performance can be improved.
  2. At the interview, Sameer answered our questions ……………….., shrugging his shoulders.
  3. We all behave ……………….. when we are tired or hungry.
  4. The teacher shook her head ……………….. when Ravi lied to her.
  5. I ……………….. forgot about it.
  6. When I complimented Revathi on her success, she just smiled ……………….. and turned away.
  7. The President of the Company is ……………….. busy and will not be able to meet you.
  8. I finished my work ……………….. so that I could go out to play.
  1. carefully
  2. loftily
  3. differently
  4. sorrowfully
  5. completely
  6. nonchalantly
  7. awfully
  8. quickly

Question 16.
Make adverbs from these adjectives.

  1. angry …………….
  2. happy …………….
  3. merry …………….
  4. sleepy …………….
  5. easy …………….
  6. noisy …………….
  7. tidy …………….
  8. gloomy …………….
  1. angry — angrily
  2. happy — happily
  3. merry — merrily
  4. sleepy — sleepily
  5. easy — easily
  6. noisy — noisily
  7. tidy — tidily
  8. gloomy — gloomily

Question 17.
Complete the following conditional sentences. Use the correct form of the verb.

  1. If I don’t go to Anu’s party tonight,
    ………………………..
  2. If you don’t telephone the hotel to order food,
    ………………………..
  3. Unless you promise to write back, I
    ………………………..
  4. If she doesn’t play any games,
    ………………………..
  5. Unless that little bird flies away quickly, the cat
  1. If I don’t go to Anu’s party tonight, she will get annoyed.
  2. If you don’t telephone the hotel to order food, you will miss your evening meal.
  3. Unless you promise to write back, I shall keep requesting you.
  4. If she does not play any games, she will become lethargic and unfit.
  5. Unless that little bird flies away quickly, the cat will pounce on it.

Question 18: “Today Tommy found a real book!”
It was a very old book. Margie’s grandfather once said that when he was a little boy his grandfather told him that there was a time when all stories were printed on paper. 

  1. The old book was found by ………….
  2. Margie was surprised to see the book because ……….
  3. Pick out a word from the following which means ‘small’:
    (a) old
    (b) once
    (c) little
    (d) very
  1. Tommy
  2. all the stories were printed on paper
  3. Little

Question 19: It was a very old book. Margie’s grandfather once said that when he was a little boy his grandfather told him that there was a time when all stories were printed on paper. 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.

  1. Why the pages of the book were yellow ?
  2. Did Margie see the book for the first time ?
  3. Trace a word from the passage that means ‘with many folds or lines’.
  1. The pages of the book were yellow because the book was quite old.
  2. Yes, Margie saw the book for the first time.
  3. Crinkly.

Question 20 :Margie went into the schoolroom. It was right next to her bedroom and the mechanical teacher was on and waiting for her. It was always on at the same time every day except Saturday and Sunday because her mother said little girls learned better if they learned at regular hours.

  1. Where was Margie’s schoolroom?
  2. Explain ‘mechanical teacher was on’.
  3. Write the opposite of ‘regular’.
  1. Margie’s school room was next to her bedroom.
  2. Computer was on.
  3. Irregular.

Question 21: “Because it’s not our kind of school, stupid. This is the old kind of school that they had hundreds and hundreds of years ago.” He added loftily.

  1. Who is ‘he’ in the above lines ?
  2. “Our kind of school.” What kind of school they have ?
  3. Trace the word from the extract that means “in a superior way”.
  1. ‘He’ in the above lines is Tommy.
  2. They have future classrooms with mechanical teachers.
  3. Loftily.

Question 22 :Tommy looked at her with very superior eyes. “Because it’s not our kind of school, stupid. This is the old kind of school that they had hundreds and hundreds of years ago.” He added loftily.

  1. Why did Tommy call Margie stupid ?
  2. What does ‘they’ here refer to ?
  3. Find the word which means “in a superior way”.

Question 23: Margie did so with a sigh. She was thinking about the old schools they had when her grandfather’s grandfather was a little boy. All the kids from the whole neighbourhoods came, laughing and shouting in the schoolyard, sitting together in the schoolroom going home together at the end of the day. They learned the same things, so that they could help one another with the home work and talk about it.

  1. Which school is Margie thinking about in the above lines ?
  2. What is the advantage of those old schools ?
  3. Which word in the passage means “breathing out deeply” ? 
  1. Margie is thinking about the school of her grandfather’s grandfather when he was a little boy.
  2. The advantage of the old school was that everyone used to learn the same thing and could help each other in the homework. The children could go and come together also.
  3. Sigh

Question 24:How was the book that Tommy found different from his own books ?

The book that Tommy found was an old, real book which belonged to his grandfather’s grandfather. It had crinkly, yellow pages whereas, Tommy’s books were telebooks by mechanical teachers, computers.

Question 25 :What kind of book did Tommy show to Margie ?

The book that Tommy showed to Margie was an old, real book which belonged to his grandfather’s. It had crinkly yellow pages, where all the stories were printed on paper and the words stood still.

Question 26 :Why did Margie hope that the County Inspector would take away her mechanical teacher ?

Margie hoped that the County Inspector would take away her mechanical teacher because she had performed poorly in all the geography tests and had developed a strong disliking for the school.

Question 27:Tommy thought the old books were funny and a big waste. Why ?

Tommy thought that the old books were a waste because the words stood still and did not run. He also thought that they were a big waste because they could not be reused like the screen of their mechanical teacher.

Question 28:What did County Inspector do to improve Margie’s performance ?

The County Inspector found that the geography sector had been geared too quick. He slowed it up to an average 10-years level. He found the overall pattern of Margie quite satisfactory.

Question 29:What kind of teachers did Margie and Tommy have ?

Margie and Tommy had mechanical teachers, computer, and telebooks. Their school had. no separate building. They had robotic teachers showing lessons and testing papers. Their teachers were always on and kept waiting for them.

Question 30:Why did Margie hate school ?.

Margie hated school, which was a room in her house only because her teacher was a mechanical one. It kept giving her test papers where answers had to be written as punch codes. The results were given instantaneously.

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