Prose Chapter 1- The Fun They Had

AP-SCERT / NCERT Solutions Class 9 
Beehive

Chapter -1 The Fun They Had

Thinking About Text

I. Answer these questions in a few words or a couple of sentences each.

1. How old are Margie and Tommy?

     Tommy is thirteen-year-old, and Margie is eleven-year-old.

2. What did Margie write in her diary?

      Marie wrote in her diary that Tommy found a real book today.

3. Had Margie ever seen a book before?

     No, Margie used to study from a telebook and had never seen a real book before.

4. What things about the book did she find strange?

     Margie had never seen a real book before. She found it strange seeing words printed on a book and the pages remained the same as the first time they were read, different from the screens they read from.

5. What do you think a telebook is?

     Pages of a book in a digital form are called a telebook.

6. Where was Margie’s school? Did she have any classmates?

     Margie studied in her home, next to her bedroom. No, she didn't have any company while studying.

7. What subjects did Margie and Tommy learn?

    Tommy and Margie studied history, geography, and arithmetic.

II. Answer the following with reference to the story.

1. “I wouldn’t throw it away.”

i) Who said these words?

    Tommy said these words.

(ii) What does ‘it’ refer to?

     It refers to the telebook.

(iii) What is it being compared with by the speaker? 

    Tommy is comparing his digital class with the book he found.

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

(i) Who does ‘they’ refer to?

    They refer to the kids who studied in the old times and used to go to school to study.

(ii) What does ‘regular’ mean here?

    For Margie and Tommy, regular meant their digital classroom where  mechanical teachers taught them.

(iii) What is it contrasted with?

    The human teachers of the old-time are compared with the mechanical teachers Margie and Tommy had.

III. Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (about 30 words).

1. What kind of teachers did Margie and Tommy have?

     Margie and Tommy were assigned mechanical teachers and their classroom had a large black screen on which lessons were displayed and questions were asked. The mechanical teachers were black and ugly and appeared every day at the same time, except for Saturday and Sunday. They also had slots for students to insert their homework into so that they could be assessed.

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

    Margie didn't perform well in her previous geography tests. She started getting worse in them over time and eventually her mother had to send for the County Inspector to get the mechanical teacher checked.

3. What did he do?

    When the County Inspector visited, he gave Margie an apple and started examining the mechanical teacher. Margie hated her mechanical teacher and hoped that the Inspector would either take it away or won't know how to fix it. But he did and he slowed down the teacher for an average ten-year-old.

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

    Margie’s mechanical teacher was geared up, a little too quick in the geography section. This resulted in her scoring bad, which wasn't acceptable to her mother. When the County Inspector visited he slowed down the mechanical teacher to an average ten-year level. He also informed Mrs Jones that her daughter’s progress was satisfactory.

5. What had once happened to Tommy’s teacher?

    Tommy’s teacher once blanked out completely. History sector didn't work. So it was taken away for a month to set it right.

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

    Margie had a regular schedule for school. Her mother believed that young .kids learn better when they learn at regular intervals and hence, she had a schedule. She had an off on.Saturday and Sunday. Except that her mechanical teacher appeared regularly, at the same time.

7. How does Tommy describe the old kind of school?

    Tommy described the old school as a special, old building where kids gathered and studied together. There were hundreds of students that visited that building every day and learned and played together.

8. How does he describe the old kind of teachers?

    Tommy told Margie that in earlier times kids used to visit a special building to study and were taught by men. They were taught in groups and were given homework and tests that were checked by these men.

IV. Answer each of these questions in two or three paragraphs (100 –150 words).

1. What are the main features of the mechanical teachers and the schoolrooms that Margie and Tommy hagve in the story?

    Margie and Tommy had mechanical teachers to assist them with their .studies. They were taught digitally in rooms next to their bedrooms. The room had a black display screen to display telebooks and the mechanical had slots to provide them with tests and homework which was inserted back into the slot after it was finished. They studied history, arithmetic, and geography. Her classes were held at the same time every day except Saturday and Sunday. Her mom believed that young kids learned better when they had their lessons at regular intervals. This routine was very boring and monotonous for the kids. When they found the textbook, they were fascinated to know the way kids in earlier times studied. 

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

     Maggie was taught by a mechanical teacher every day. She didn't like the idea of school because it was boring and monotonous. Recently in her tests, she nwas going bad in geography and her mother wasn't satisfied with the results. She wanted the County Inspector to take the mechanical teacher away since it was a nuisance for her at this point. She hated inserting homework and test papers into the mechanical teacher. She felt that the old school was more fun and all the kids from the same neighbourhood studying together would be so fun. She imagined that all the kids would sit together and laugh. Since the teachers would be humans, it would be fun and interactive.

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

    Yes, I agree with Margie that the schools today are more fun, compared with the ones from the future. The present schooling system provides a more interactive atmosphere to the student and helps in the overall development of the .child. Answering questions and having fun in the class helps the children to break away from the monotonous routine at home. It also helps kids be more empathic and develop emotional intelligence. Kids go to school, interact with each other, and make friends making their life more whole and complete. It makes studies more fun and easier and is a healthier way of learning. The sports period in schools helps kids to maintain physical health and teaches them teamwork and leadership skills. Overall going to school makes growing up and the learning process way more fun and interactive compared to studying at home.

Thinking about Language

1. Find the sentences in the lesson which have the adverbs given in the box below.

Awfully, sorrowfully, completely, loftily, carefully, differently, quickly, nonchalantly 

    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.

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 it to the County Inspector. They had once taken Tommy’s teacher away for nearly a month because the history sector had blanked out completely. He added loftily, pronouncing the word carefully, “Centuries ago.” “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.” “I didn’t say I didn’t like it,” Margie said quickly. “Maybe,” 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.

Ans: The report must be read carefully so that performance can be improved.

(ii) At the interview, Sameer answered our questions _____________, shrugging his shoulders.

Ans: At the interview, Sameer answered our questions loftily, shrugging his shoulders.

(iii) We all behave ____________when we are tired or hungry.

Ans: We all behave differently when we are tired or hungry.

(iv) The teacher shook her head ___________when Ravi lied to her.

Ans: The teacher shook her head sorrowfully when Ravi lied to her.

(v) I _____________forgot about it.

Ans: I completely forgot about it.

(vi) When I complimented Revathi on her success, she just smiled ____________and turned away.

Ans: When I complimented Revathi on her success, she just smiled nonchalantly and turned away.

(vii) The President of the Company is _____________busy and will not be able to meet you.

Ans: The President of the Company is awfully busy and will not be able to meet you.

(viii) I finished my work ____________so that I could go out to play.

Ans: I finished my work quickly so that I could go out to play.

3. Make adverbs from these adjectives.

(i) angry                  Ans: Angrily 

(ii) happy                 Ans: Happily 

(iii) merry               Ans: Merrily

(iv) sleepy              Ans: Sleepily 

(v) easy                  Ans: Easily 

(vi) noisy              Ans: Noisily 

(vii) tidy                Ans: Tidily 

(viii) gloomy         Ans: Gloomily

II. Complete the following conditional sentences. Use the correct form of the verb.

1. If I don’t go to Anu’s party tonight, _______________

Ans: If I don’t go to Anu’s party tonight, she will be angry.

2. If you don’t telephone the hotel to order food, ______________

Ans: If you don’t telephone the hotel to order food, you will miss your evening meal.

3. Unless you promise to write back, I ______________

Ans: Unless you promise to write back, I will not write to you.

4. If she doesn’t play any games, _______________

Ans: If she doesn’t play any games, she will become dull and lazy.

5. Unless that little bird flies away quickly, the cat ______________

Ans: Unless that little bird flies away quickly, the cat will pounce on it.

Writing:

A new revised volume of Issac Asimov’s short stories has just been released. Order one set. Write a letter to the publisher, Mind fame Private Limited, 1632 Asaf Ali Road, New Delhi, requesting that a set be sent to you by Value Payable Post (VPP), and giving your address. Your letter will have the following parts.

• Addresses of the sender and receiver 

• The salutation 

• The body of the letter 

• The closing phrases and signature 

Your letter might look like this: 

Your address 

Date (DD/MM/YY) 

The addressee’s address 

Dear Sir/Madam, 

Yours sincerely,

Your signature 

Remember that the language of a formal letter is different from the colloquial style of personal letters. For ex, contracted forms such as ‘I’ve’ or ‘can’t’ are not used.

Answer

502, SreeRam Apartments

Gandhi Avenue

Raja Nagar

Vijayawada

02 April 2023

Mind fame Private Limited, 

1632 Asaf Ali Road, 

New Delhi

Dear Sir

With due regards, I Pavitra would like to request you to send me one set of a newly revised volume of Issac Asimov’s short stories. I would like you to send me the post by Value Payable Post (VPP). The delivery address will be the same as mentioned in the letter.

Thank you for taking into consideration my request and I look forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely 

Pavitra S

Do a Project

Nowadays the use of digital devices has increased and digital services have made our cash transactions easier and smoother. The government of India has taken initiatives to digitalise cash transactions to buy things and pay bills. Following are some of the digital initiatives to make people use digital services.

Take up a project in groups of four to collect opinions of people on the use of digital services in their life. Develop an opinionnaire to collect opinions of about forty people in your neighbourhood. Divide the work among four to collect the opinions, tabulate the ideas and write a report about the use of digital services. Once the project is completed, each group may present it to the whole class. Charts may be created and displayed on the notice board.

Model Project:

Supporting  Questions and Expected Answers for the Opinionnaire For Data Collection:

(Students can tick the option)

Questions	Expected Answers	Neighbours
		1	2	3
How frequently do you use digital services in your daily life?	Multiple times a day
	Once a day
	Few times a week
	Rarely or never
Which digital services do you use regularly?	Social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Twitter)
	Online shopping platforms (e.g., Amazon, eBay)
	Video streaming services (e.g., Netflix, YouTube)
	Messaging apps (e.g., WhatsApp, Messenger)
	Online banking and financial services
	Food delivery apps (e.g., Uber Eats, Grubhub)
	Ride-hailing apps (e.g., Uber, Lyft)
	E-learning platforms (e.g., Coursera, Udemy)
	Other (please specify)
How would you rate the convenience of using digital services in your daily life?	Extremely convenient
	Convenient
	Neutral
	Inconvenient
	Extremely inconvenient
In your opinion, what are the advantages of using digital services in daily life? (Select all that apply)	Easy access to information
	Wide range of options and choices
	Convenience in completing tasks (e.g., online shopping, bill payments)
	Improved communication and connectivity
	Cost-effective
	Other (please specify)
	Other (please specify)
What are the main challenges or disadvantages you face when using digital services? (Select all that apply)	Privacy and security concerns
	Technical issues and glitches
	Digital overload and addiction
	Lack of human interaction
	Difficulty in understanding and using new technologies
	Dependency on internet connectivity
	Other (please specify)
How confident do you feel about the security and privacy of your personal     information when using  digital services?	Very confident
	Somewhat confident
	Neutral
	Not very confident
	Not at all confident
Do you believe that digital services have made your life better overall?	Yes, significantly better
	Yes, somewhat better
	No, there hasn't been a significant impact
	No, it has made my life worse
Do you think digital services have affected your productivity positively or negatively?	Positively
	Negatively
	No significant impact
If you had to give up one digital service, which one would it be? Why?	[Allow respondents to provide their own responses]

Model Report:

Based on the survey about people's opinions on using digital services in daily life, here are the key findings:

• Most people use digital services multiple times a day, such as social media, online shopping, and  popular apps for communication.
• Convenience is given highly importance. Digital services are very  convenient to use. The advantages mentioned include saving time, easy access to information, and convenience in completing tasks. 
• However, some challenges exist, such as privacy concerns, technical issues, and feeling upset by too much digital use. 
• Overall, digital services have made life better for many, and most people prefer a balanced dependence on them. 
• The impact on productivity varies from person to person and a lot of difference is also found in the  responses based on personal preferences, when asked to give up one digital service.