The Fun They Had – SCERT Solutions (Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 1)
Chapter: The Fun They Had
Author: Isaac Asimov
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 years old 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 real book before.
4. What things about the book did she find strange?
Answer: She found it strange that the words stood still on the pages instead of moving on a screen. The pages were yellow and crinkly.
5. What do you think a telebook is?
Answer: A telebook is an electronic book displayed on a television or computer screen.
6. Where was Margie's school? Did she have any classmates?
Answer: Margie's school was next to her bedroom. No, she did not have any classmates.
7. What subjects did Margie and Tommy learn?
Answer: Margie and Tommy learned Geography, History and Arithmetic.
II. Answer the following with reference to the story.
1. “I wouldn’t throw it away.”
(i) Who says these words?
Answer: Tommy says these words.
(ii) What does ‘it’ refer to?
Answer: It refers to the real book.
(iii) What is it being compared with by the speaker?
Answer: It is being compared with a television screen containing telebooks.
2. “Sure they had a teacher, but it wasn’t a regular teacher. It was a man.”
(i) Who does ‘they’ refer to?
Answer: ‘They’ refers to the children who studied in old schools centuries ago.
(ii) What does ‘regular’ mean here?
Answer: Here, ‘regular’ means a mechanical teacher.
(iii) What is it contrasted with?
Answer: It is contrasted with the mechanical teachers used by Margie and Tommy.
III. Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph.
1. What kind of teachers did Margie and Tommy have?
Answer: Margie and Tommy had mechanical teachers. These teachers were computer-like machines with large screens. They taught lessons, asked questions and checked homework automatically.
2. Why did Margie’s mother send for the County Inspector?
Answer: Margie was doing badly in Geography. Her mother thought there was something wrong with the mechanical teacher, so she called the County Inspector.
3. What did he do?
Answer: The County Inspector examined the mechanical teacher and found that its Geography sector was set too fast. He slowed it down to suit Margie’s level.
4. Why was Margie doing badly in geography? What did the County Inspector do to help her?
Answer: Margie was doing badly because the Geography sector was geared too quickly. The County Inspector adjusted it to an average ten-year level.
5. What had once happened to Tommy’s teacher?
Answer: Tommy’s teacher had once been taken away for nearly a month because its 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 believed that children learned better when they studied at fixed times.
7. How does Tommy describe the old kind of school?
Answer: Tommy says that old schools were special buildings where children of the same age studied together and learned the same subjects.
8. How does he describe the old kind of teachers?
Answer: Tommy describes old teachers as human beings who taught lessons, gave homework and asked questions.
IV. Answer each of these questions in two or three paragraphs.
1. What are the main features of the mechanical teachers and the schoolrooms that Margie and Tommy have in the story?
Answer: Margie and Tommy studied in schoolrooms inside their homes. Each child learned alone without classmates. Their schools had mechanical teachers instead of human teachers.
The mechanical teachers had large screens on which lessons were displayed. They asked questions, checked homework and calculated marks instantly. Students inserted homework and test papers into a special slot.
The teachers could be adjusted according to the needs of each child. Although the system was advanced, it lacked human interaction and friendship.
2. Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school must have been fun?
Answer: Margie hated school because her mechanical teacher kept giving her tests in Geography, and she was performing badly. She also disliked studying alone every day.
After reading the old book, she learned that children in the past studied together in classrooms. They played, laughed and helped one another with homework.
She thought that learning with friends and human teachers would be enjoyable. Therefore, she felt that the old schools were much more fun.
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. Modern schools are more enjoyable because students learn together and interact with friends. They can participate in sports, cultural activities and group discussions.
Human teachers understand students’ emotions and learning difficulties. They guide and encourage them personally.
In contrast, Margie studied alone with a machine. Therefore, today's schools are more interesting and enjoyable.
Thinking About Language
I. Adverbs
2. Fill in the blanks.
- carefully
- nonchalantly
- differently
- sorrowfully
- completely
- loftily
- awfully
- quickly
3. Make adverbs from these adjectives.
- angry → angrily
- happy → happily
- merry → merrily
- sleepy → sleepily
- easy → easily
- noisy → noisily
- tidy → tidily
- gloomy → gloomily
II. If Not and Unless
1. If I don't go to Anu's party tonight, she will be upset.
2. If you don't telephone the hotel to order food, you will remain hungry.
3. Unless you promise to write back, I will not write to you.
4. If she doesn't play any games, she will not remain healthy.
5. Unless that little bird flies away quickly, the cat will catch it.
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