NCERT Solution for Class 8 English Ch 1 The Best Christmas Present in the World

 Provided here are the most reliable and accurate NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English Unit 1 - The Best Christmas Present in the World. These Solutions will help students to be well - prepared and face the English Exam with full vigour. The NCERT Solution of Class 8 English have been designed by our subject-matter experts to provide the best-in-class Solutions for Class 8 students.

The Story, "The Best Christmas Present in the World" depicts a war story with the festive season of Christmas in the backdrop. In this story, the finds a note in an old desk and tries to reach out to its owner, Mrs. Connie Macpherson, to deliver the letter written by her husband, Jim during the war. She gets emotional on receiving the letter and presumes the author to be her loving husband and thanks him for the beautiful gift.

Comprehension Check, Page - 10

1. What did the author find in the junk shop ?
Answer: 
The author found a nineteenth century old roll-top desk which was put up for sale in a junk shop. It was in very bad condition with several broken pieces as one leg was clumsily mended and scorch marks all down one side. 

2. What did he find in a secret drawer ? Who do you think had put it in there ?
Answer:
The author found a shallow space underneath the roll-top desk drawer. There was a small black tin box which had a piece of lined notepaper that was sello-taped to its top. There was a note written on it in shaky handwritting: "Jim's last letter, received January 25,1915. To be buried with me when the time comes."
It seems the letter was put inside the box by Mrs. Jim Macpherson along with her full name and address written on the envelope consisting the letter.

Comprehension Check, Page - 14

1. Who had written the letter, to whom and when ?
Answer:
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 ?
Answer:
Jim Macpherson wrote the letter to his wife Connie and described the wonderful event that happened on the day of Christmas. Although a war was going on between the two armies- the British and the Germans, they celebrated Christmas and played a friendly football match together.

3. What jobs did Hans Wolf and Jim Macpherson have when they were not soldiers ?
Answer:
Before joining the armed forces, Hans Wolf from Dusseldorf used to play the cello in an orchestra and Jim Macpherson was a school teacher from Dorset.

4. Had Hans Wolf ever been to Dorset ? Why did he say he knew it ? 
Answer:
No, Hans had never been to Dorset in the past. He had learned about Dorset from school and read several English books. One of his favourite book was '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 ? 
Answer:
No, it appears that Jim Macpherson never returned home from the war. Perhaps, due to this reason his wife Connie had preserved all his letters carefully.

Comprehension Check, Page - 15

1. Why did the author go to Bridport ?
Answer:
The author went to Bridport to meet Connie Macpherson and which had her address - Mrs. Jim Macpherson, 12 Copper Beaches, Bridport and Dorset. He wanted to deliver the letter to her written by her husband, which the author had mistakenly opened and read the contents of.

2. How old was Mrs Macpherson now ? Where was she ?
Answer:
Mrs. Connie Macpherson was a hundred and one years old. She was in the Burlington House Nursing Home that was located on the Dorchester road, on the other side of town.

Comprehension Check, Page - 16

1. Who did Connie Macpherson think her visitor was ? 
Answer:
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 ?
Answer:
The sentence which shows that the visitor did not try to hide his identity is, "I explained about the desk, about how I had found it, but I don't think she was listening". From this sentence, we understand that although the author tries his best to explain how he found the letter in the old roll-top desk, Mrs. Macpherson didn't pay attention to his words, rather she stroked the letter tenderly with her fingertips.

Working with the text, Page - 16

1. For how long do you think Connie had kept Jim's letter ? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer:
Connie kept Jim's letter for a long period of time. We understand this from the fact that she told the narrator how she used to read the letter every day and could feel Jim's presence around her always.

2. Why do you think the desk had been sold, and when ?
Answer:
The roll-top desk was put up for sale when the house in which Mrs. Jim Macpherson lived had caught fire and she was taken to Burlington House Nursing Home. Most of the things got burned and were put up for sale thereafter.

3. Why do Jim and Hans think that games or sports are good ways of resolving conflicts ? Do you agree ?
Answer:
Jim and Hans thought that games or sports are good ways of resolving conflicts because nobody lays down their lives in matches. Neither do chidlren become orphans, nor do wives become widows of martyred soldiers. Both Jim and Hans were of the opinion that war only leads to death, conflict and devastation whereas, playing matches are a good way to end the conflicts.
Yes, I agree with both Jim and Hans that playing friendly matches are definitely an ideal way to resolve conflicts between two enemy countries without any loss to life and property.

4. Do you think the soldiers of the two armies are like each other, or different from each other ? Find evidence form the story to support your answer.
Answer:
The soldiers of the two armies are similar to each other as per the following reasons derived from the story :
  1. Both the armies celebrated Christmas together.
  2. They shared good moments together by eating, laughing, drinking and talking with each other.
  3. Both the armies played a friendly football match and approved the fact that conflicts could have been resolves by playing a match.
  4. They agreed about the consequences or negative impact that war has upon families.
  5. Both the armies longed for peace and exchanged christmas carols and hoped to unite with their respective families soon.
5. Mention the various ways in which the British and the German soldiers become friends and find things in common at Christmas.
Answer:
Both the British and the German soldiers were enemies at war and belonged to different camps. However, at the end of the day both armies comprised human beings who had similar feelings of love and compassion for their respective families and all those who are fighting the war. Both group shared the festive spirit of Christmas, enjoyed a feats together by eating, drinking and making merry together. They also talked of Bathsheba and Gabriel Oak and Sergeant Troy and Dorset. They also sang Christmas carols together and spent some quality time with each other. They got over hatred and played a friendly football and wished if all conflicts in the world could be playing games. Both Jims and Hans hated war and knew well how war affected the lives of their families. Both were anxious to to return home to their families once the war comes to an end.

6. What is Connie's Christmas present ? Why is it "the best Christmas present in the world"?
Answer:
When the narrator visited Connie to deliver her husband's letter, she mistook him to be her husband, Jim Macpherson due to her old age and memory loss. She was looking forward to Jim returning home for Christmas. She felt this was the best Christmas present ever she could receive.
This was the best Christmas present in the world for Connie because Jim had mentioned in the letter that he would return home from war on Christmas. She used to read that letter multiple times in a day to feel her husband's presence nearby. Hence, when the narrator told her how he found the letter, she was extremly happy and felt it was Jim who had come to visit her after a long time.

7. Do you think the title of this story is suitable for it ? Can you think of any other title(s)?
Answer:
In my opinion, the title of the story is very apt and suits it perfectly. The festive spirit of Christmas prevails throughout the story. It clearly mentions how the warring troops longed for peace and had a strong desire to return home safely to their respective families. They shared a wonderful moment together by sharing food, drinks and talked to their heart's content and played a football match among themselves. However, when the narrator goes to visit Connie along with the letter written by her husband, Jim Macpherson, she presumes the author to be her husband and thanks him for gifting her the best Christmas present ever.
Some suitables titles could be - "The Best Christmas Gift" and "When a Christmas wish come true".

NCERT Solutions of Other Chapters :-

Previous Post Next Post