The Fun They Had - NCERT Solution for Class 9 Beehive

 English Ch 1 : The Fun They Had

NCERT Solution for Class 9 English Ch 1 Beehive : The Fun They Had

Thinking about the Text

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

1. How old are Margie and Tommy ?

Answer :

Margie is eleven and Tommy is thirteen years old.

2. What did Margie write in her diary ?

Answer:

Margie wrote in her diary, "Today Tommy found a real book!".

3. Had Margie ever seen a book before ?

Answer :

No, Margie had never seen a book before.

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

Answer:

The things about the book that she found strange were :

  • The pages of the book were yellow and crinkly.
  • The words stood still instead of moving.

5. What do you think a telebook is ?

Answer:

I think the telebook must be a book that gets displayed on the screen of the television.

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

Answer :

Margie's school was next to his bedroom. No, she didn't have any classmates

7. What subjects did Margie and Tommy learn ?

Answer :

Margie and Tommy learnt History, Geography and Arithmetic.

II. Answer the following with reference to the story.

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 says these words.

(ii) 'It' refers to the book.

(iii) The paperback book is being compared with the telebooks by the speaker.

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 ?

Answers :

(i) 'They' refers to the students of centuries ago.

(ii) 'Regular' means the usual for the people in 2157. Here, regular teacher means the mechanical teacher.

(iii) The mechanical teacher is contrasted with humans as teachers of earlier times.

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

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

Answer :

Margie and Tommy had mechanical teachers. The mechanical teachers had big screens on which all the lessons were shown and questions were asked. The children were taught through computer and television screens.

2. Why did Margie's mother send for the Country Inspector ?

Answer :

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

3. What did he do ?

Answer :

He slowed down the mechanical teacher's speed up to an average ten - year level and adjusted the IQ level according to the Margie.

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

Answer :

Margie was doing badly in geography because mechanical teacher was very fast in dispaying questionnaire. The Country Inspector adjuested its speed up to an average ten - year level. Also, the Country Inspector assured that the overall pattern of Margie's progress is quite satisfactory.

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

Answer :

Once the Tommy's teacher was taken away for nearly a month because the history sector had blanked out completely.

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 said little girls learned better if they learned at regular hours.

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

Answer :

Tommy says that the old kind of school had a special building and all the kids went there to study.

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

Answer :

He describes old kind of teachers were humans instead of machines. The human teachers educated the girls and boys and gave them homework.

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 have in the story ?

Answer :

The main features of the mechanical teachers are :

The mechanical teachers have big black screens on which lessons are displayed and questions are asked. The students need to put their homework and test papers in a slot that is present in the mechanical teacher. The students write answers in punch code and the mechanical teacher calculates the result right away.

The main features of the schoolrooms are :

The schools are there in homes as Margie's school was right next to her bedroom. The students do not have classmates. They study subjects like geography, history and arithmetic. The mechanical teacher would turn on at the same time everyday except weekends.

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

Answer :

Margie hated school because she felt boring. The mechanical teacher started the class at the same time regularly. Margie's mechanical teacher was giving her test after test on geography and she was perorming worsly. Margie also did not like inserting homework and testpapers in the slot on the mechanical teacher.

She thought that the old kind of school must have been fun because it would have kids from various places of neightbourhood. It would have been so interesting to sit together in the classroom and leave the school together at the end of the day. All the kids learned the same things so they could help each other in studies and homework.

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 that schools today are more fun than the school in the story. In the story, the schools are in the student's home. This gives no space for interaction between students. Studying from screen and taking up tests sound boring. Inserting homework and test papers in a slot on a mechanical teachers are every day is monotonous. Writing answers in punch codes is even more draining.

Learning together in class gives students a wider view of the people. Students also get familiar with others and learn how to intercat and socialize. Getting taught by human teachers is a way more dynamic than being taught by a machine. If there is any issue with any lesson or concept, the student can ask the human teacher then and there. But, mechanical teachers are programmed with a certain lesson and concept for a particular day. During the time when the students solves homework, he/she can get help from their classmates. That's how the schools today are more fun than the school in the story.

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