The Best Christmas Present In The World

AP/ NCERT Class 8  Honeydew Textbook  Solution, Reading Comprehensions,  MCQs - Prose 1- The Best Christmas Present In The World

Comprehension Check

1. What did the author find in a junk shop?

The author found a nineteenth-century roll-top desk which was put up for sale in a junk shop. 

2. What did he find in a secret drawer? Who do you think had put it in there?

The author found a small tin box in the secret drawer of the desk. I think the owner of the roll-top desk might have put it in there.

Comprehension Check 

1. Who had written the letter, to whom, and when?

Captain Jim Macpherson of the British army, who was fighting a war against the Germans, had written the letter to his wife Connie on 26th December, 1914.

2. Why was the letter written — what was the wonderful thing that had happened?

The letter was written to share the English captain's happiness with his wife. The letter described how the two armies celebrated Christmas together forgetting their enmity.

3. What jobs did Hans Wolf and Jim Macpherson have when they were not soldiers?

When they were not soldiers, Hans used to play the cello in an orchestra and Jim was a school teacher.

4. Had Hans Wolf ever been to Dorset? Why did he say he knew it?

No, Hans had never been to Dorset in the past. He had learned about Dorset from one of his favourite books ‘Far from the Madding Crowd’ written by Thomas Hardy.

5. Do you think Jim Macpherson came back from the war? How do you know this?

No, it appears that Jim Macpherson never returned home from the war.  The last scene of the story proves this.

Comprehension Check

1. Why did the author go to Bridport?

The author went to the airport to visit Mrs. Jim Macpherson and to handover the letterto her.

2. How old was Mrs Macpherson now? Where was she?

Mrs. Macpherson was 101 years old. She was in a nursing home. 

3. Comprehension Check

1. Who did Connie Macpherson think her visitor was?

Connie Macpherson thought that the visitor carrying the letter was her husband, Jim Macpherson.

2. Which sentence in the text shows that the visitor did not try to hide his identity?

I explained about the desk, about how I had found it. 

Working With The Text

1. For how long do you think Connie had kept Jim’s letter? Give reasons for your answer.

Connie kept Jim’s letter for a long period of time. It was safely kept in the secret drawer of the roll-top table until thr unfortunate fire accident. This can be assumed on the basis of her reactions when she received the letter from the author.

2. Why do you think the desk had been sold, and when?

The desk Master halbin sold as junk. It may have been sold after the house was caught in the fire accident. 

3. Why do Jim and Hans think that games or sports are good ways of resolving conflicts? Do you agree?

Jim and Hans think that games or sports are good ways of resolving conflicts because there is no harm to anybody's life. They think that games do not make children orphans, and wives and widows. 

4. Do you think the soldiers of the two armies are like each other, or different from each other? Find evidence from the story to support your answer.

Soldiers of the two armies are similar to each other.They celebrate the same festival in the same way. All of them love to spend their time in a happy mood forgetting their  fighting. They showed interest in drinking, eating and playing together. 

Evidences from the text:

• Both armies celebrated Christmas together.
• They shared good moments together by eating, laughing, drinking and talking with each other.
• Both armies played a friendly football match and approved the fact that conflicts could have been resolved by playing a match.

5. Mention the various ways in which the British and the German soldiers become friends and find things in common at Christmas.

The British and the German soldiers greeted each other. They offered their food to each other. They showed interest in drinking, eating and playing together. They also sang Christmas carols together and spent some quality time with each other. They got over hatred and played a friendly game of football and wished that all conflicts in the world could be resolved by playing games.

6. What is Connie’s Christmas present? Why is it “the best Christmas present in the world”?

The letter from Jim was the Christmas present for Connie. It was from her beloved husband who was no more in this world. She received the letter after a gap of so many years, that too from an unknown person. The warmth in that letter made it the best Christmas present in the world. 

7. Do you think the title of this story is suitable for it? Can you think of any other title(s)?

The title of the story is perfectly suitable for it as the story revolves around the letter which turns out to be the best Christmas gift in the world for Mrs. Macpherson.  Mrs. Macpherson had written the date she received the letter. She also wrote that this letter should be buried along with her after her death. She had lost it but in the end she found it and in its form she found her husband Jim once again. There can be no other title suitable for this story. 

Working with language

1. Look at these sentences from the story.

I spotted it in a junk shop in Bridport… The man said it was made in the early nineteenth century… This one was in a bad condition…

The italicised verbs are in the past tense. They tell us what happened in the past, before now.

(i) Read the passage below and underline the verbs in the past tense.

A man got on the train and sat down. The compartment was empty except for one lady. She took her gloves off. A few hours later the police arrested the man. They held him for 24 hours and then freed him.

Answer:

A man got on the train and sat down. The compartment was empty except for one lady. She took her gloves off. A few hours later the police arrested the man. They held him for 24 hours and then freed him.

Now look at these sentences.

The veneer had lifted almost everywhere. Both fire and water had taken their toll on this desk.

Notice the verb forms had lifted, had taken (their toll).

The author found and bought the desk in the past.

The desk was damaged before the author found it and bought it.

Fire and water had damaged the desk before the author found it and bought it.

We use verb forms like had damaged for an event in the ‘earlier past’. If there are two events in the past, we use the ‘had…’ form for the event that occurred first in the past.

We also use the past perfect tense to show that something was wished for or expected before a particular time in the past. For example, I had always wanted one…

Discuss with your partner the difference in meaning in the sentences below.

When I reached the station, the train left.

When I reached the station, the train had left.

(ii) Fill in the blanks using the correct form of the verbs in brackets.

My little sister is very naughty. When she __________ (come) back from school yesterday, she had __________ (tear) her dress. We __________ (ask) her how it had __________ (happen). She __________ (say) she __________ __________ (have, quarrel) with a boy. She __________ __________ (have, beat) him in a race and he __________ __________ (have, try) to push her. She __________ __________ (have, tell) the teacher and so he __________ __________ have, chase) her, and she __________ __________ (have, fall) down and __________ __________ (have, tear) her dress.

Answer:

My little sister is very naughty. When she came back from school yesterday, she had torn her dress. We asked her how it had happened. She said she had quarrelled with a boy. She had beaten him in a race and he had tried to push her. She had told the teacher and so he had chased her, and she had fallen down and had torn her dress.

(iii) Underline the verbs and arrange them in two columns, Past and Earlier past.

1. My friends set out to see the caves in the next town, but I stayed at home, because I had seen them already.

2. When they arrived at the station, their train had left. They came back home, but by that time I had gone out to see a movie!

3. So they sat outside and ate the lunch I had packed for them.

4. By the time I returned, they had fallen asleep!

Past	Earlier Past

Answer:

1. My friends set out to see the caves in the next town, but I stayed at home, because I had seen them already.

2. When they arrived at the station, their train had left. They came back home, but by that time 3. I had gone out to see a movie!

So they sat outside and ate the lunch I had packed for them.

4. By the time I returned, they had fallen asleep!

Past	Earlier Past
set out, stayed	had seen
arrived, came	had left, had gone
sat, ate	had packed
returned	had fallen

2. Dictionary work

By the end of the journey, we had run out of drinking water.

Look at the verb run out of in this sentence. It is a phrasal verb: it has two parts, a verb and a preposition or an adverb. Phrasal verbs often have meanings that are different from the meanings of their parts.

Find these phrasal verbs in the story.

burn out,     light up,     look on,     run out,      keep out

Write down the sentences in which they occur. Consult a dictionary and write down the meaning that you think matches the meaning of the phrasal verb in the sentence.

Answer:

• Burn out: “House number 12 turned out to be nothing but a burned-out shell, the roof gaping, the windows boarded-up.” – This line means that the house was destroyed by fire.
• Light up: “That was the moment her eyes lit up with recognition and her face became suffused with a sudden glow of happiness.” – This line means that Connie’s face brightened up with happiness.
• Look on: “Hans Wolf and I looked on and cheered, clapping our hands and stamping our feet, to keep out the cold as much as anything.” – This line means that both Jim and Hans watched and cheered each other while playing a football match.
• Run out: “The time came, and all too soon, when the game was finished, the schnapps and the rum and the sausage had long since run out, and we knew it was all over.” – This line means that the game was over and so was the fun and food that was all used up.
• Keep out: “Hans Wolf and I looked on and cheered clapping our hands and stamping our feet, to keep out the cold as much as anything.” – This line means that they tried to avoid the cold by clapping their hands and stamping their feet.

3. Noun phrase

Read the following sentence.

I took out a small black tin box.

The phrase in italics is a noun phrase.

It has the noun — box — as the head word, and three adjectives preceding it.

Notice the order in which the adjectives occur — size (small), colour (black) and material (tin) of which it is made.

We rarely use more than four adjectives before a noun and there is no rigid order in which they are used, though there is a preferred order of modifiers/adjectives in a noun phrase, as given below.

Answer:

Check the question properly and try to understand the placement of noun phrase and adjectives in it.

4. The table below contains a list of nouns and some adjectives. Use as many adjectives as you can to describe each noun. You might come up with some funny descriptions!

Nouns	Adjectives
elephant	circular, striped, enormous, multi-coloured, round, cheerful, wild, blue, red, chubby, large, medium-sized, cold
face
building
water
Nouns	Adjectives
elephant	enormous, large, cheerful, wild, medium-sized
face	round, cheerful, chubby
building	multi-coloured, blue, red, medium-sized
water	blue, cold

Speaking

1. In groups discuss whether wars are a good way to end conflicts between countries. Then present your arguments to the whole class.

Answer:

War brings in a lot of hatred and destruction with it. It exhibits the unseen and unfair side of humans. Nations fight a war sometimes for petty reasons like sharing or conquering a piece of land or due to religion. Soldiers who fight the war leave their families behind, their children become orphaned, and wives become widows when they lay down their lives for their respective countries. Therefore, wars are definitely not an ideal way to end conflicts and cause huge destruction to life and property.

2. What kind of presents do you like and why? What are the things you keep in mind when you buy presents for others? Discuss with your partner. (For example, you might buy a book because it can be read and re-read over a period of time.)

Answer:

On the personal front, I do not like the practice of exchanging costly gifts. However, if we really want to thank someone with a present, we can buy some flowers as a token of affection for the respective person. Due to this reason, we notice that on formal occasions, many guests bring flower bouquets as gifts to express their warm feelings.

Writing

1. Imagine that you are Jim. You have returned to your town after the war. In your diary record how you feel about the changes you see and the events that occur in your town. You could begin like this

25 December 1919

It’s Christmas today, but the town looks…..

Or

Suppose you are the visitor. You are in a dilemma. You don’t know whether to disclose your identity and disappoint the old lady or let her believe that her dear Jim has come back. Write a letter to a friend highlighting your anxiety, fears and feelings.

Answer:

25 December 1919

It’s festival today, but the town looks different from other days. The town was destroyed by war. The buildings have been damaged and are in complete ruins. My house is almost burnt by the bombardments happening due to war. All such events have taken a heavy toll on the lives of the soldiers as well as the soldiers. I am in complete distaste of whatever is happening around and want to throw away the warmongers from the earth. I truly long for peace and brotherhood among the countrymen and the people from across the borders.

2. Given below is the outline of a story. Construct the story using the outline.

A young, newly married doctor _______________ freedom fighter _______________ exiled to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands by the British _______________ infamous Cellular Jail _______________ prisoners tortured _______________ revolt by inmates _______________ doctor hanged _______________ wife waits for his return _______________ becomes old _______________ continues to wait with hope and faith.

Answer:

In the year 1929, when India was under the British Raj, the English education system enlightened the minds of a few people. Gradually people started thinking progressively and were fighting hard to free the country from British rule. At that time, a young, newly-married doctor was framed in a conspiracy case and sent to Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which was located in the Bay of Bengal. He was a freedom fighter who was exiled to the infamous Cellular Jail for a few years. He, along with other prisoners in this jail, was subjected to inhuman torture due to the revolt made by the inmates. One fine day, he was hanged. But his wife kept waiting for his return until she grew old. However, she never lost her hope and faith and continues to wait for her husband to return someday.