Thinking about the
Text (Answers for the questions given on Page 10)
I. Answer these questions in a few words or a couple of
sentences each.
1. How old are Margie and Tommy?
Margie is eleven and Tommy is thirteen years old.
2. What did Margie write in her diary?
Margie wrote in her diary. “Today, 17 May 2157, Tommy found
a real book.”
3. Had Margie ever seen a book before?
No, Margie had never seen a book before.
4. What things about the book did she find strange?
The book had yellow and wrinkled pages. The words of the
book were still. They did not move as the words move on the computer screen.
She found these things strange.
5. What do you think a telebook is?
A telebook is displayed on the television screen and the
text of a telebook is similar to a book.
6. Where was Margie’s school? Did she have any classmates?
Margie’s school was near her own bedroom. She did not have
any classmate.
7. What subjects did Margie and Tommy learn?
Margie learned Geography and Mathematics. Tommy learned
History and Mathematics.
II. Answer the
following with reference to the story.
1. “I wouldn’t throw it away.”
1. Who says these words?
2. What does ‘it’ refer to?
3. What is it being compared with by the speaker?
Answer:
1. Margie says these words.
2. It refers to that real book that Tommy found.
3. The speaker compares it with a telebook.
2. “Sure, they had a teacher, but it wasn’t a regular
teacher. It was a man.”
1. Who does ‘they’ refer to?
2. What does ‘regular’ mean here?
3. What is it contrasted with?
Answer:
1. ‘They’ refer to the people of the old times.
2. Here, regular refers to the mechanical teacher then they
had.
3. It is contrasted with a normal teacher of earlier times,
who was a living human being.
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 had mechanical teachers. The computerized mechanical teachers had preloaded lessons on different subjects according to the learner’s level. Whenever they malfunctioned, they were opened and repaired.
2. Why did Margie’s mother send for the County Inspector?
Margie was failing the Geography tests repeatedly. Her mechanical teacher might be not working properly. So, her mother called the County Inspector to check the computerized teacher.
3. What did he do?
The County Inspector was trained to repair the computer teacher. He opened the machine and checked it. He found that the Geography sector was set on a higher level than the learning level of Margie. He reset it to Margie’s level.
4. Why was Margie doing badly in geography? What did the County Inspector Do to help her?
Margie’s failure in Geography tests was because her mechanical teacher was not working properly due to a fault. The County Inspector checked the mechanical teacher and told Margie’s mother that Margie was not at fault. Her progress was good. He reset the teacher to Margie’s level.
5. What had once happened to Tommy’s teacher?
Once Tommy’s teacher had developed a fault as the entire section on History had been deleted. His teacher had been taken for repairs and it took them a month to set it right.
6.Did Margie have regular days and hours for school? If so, why?
A. Margie studied at the same time everyday in her school room, except Saturdays and Sundays. Her mother was very particular about it. She told Margie that she would learn better if she studied at the same time every day.
7. How does Tommy describe the old kind of school?
A. Tommy said that in the old kind of schools, there was a human teacher who told a few things to the students. The teachers gave students homework and then asked them questions. Tommy says that the human teacher was as knowledgeable as the machine teacher.
8. How does he describe the old kind of teachers?
A. Tommy says that the old teachers were not the regular kind they had. They were human beings and not machines. Tommy says that the human teacher was as knowledgeable as the machine teacher.
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?
Margie and Tommy lived in the year 2157. They were taught by mechanical teachers. They had large black screens on which the lessons appeared. The lessons were followed by questions. The students had to insert homework and test papers in the slots provided. They had to write down their work in a punch code. The punch code was a computing language. The mechanical teacher checked the papers and gave the marks within a few seconds.
These classrooms were in the student’s home itself. Every student was taught by his respective mechanical teacher. The mechanical teacher was computerized and adjusted to the level of the learner. Margie and Tommy did not have classmates. They studied various subjects like Geography, History, and Mathematics. Margie studied every day at the same time except Saturdays and Sundays. Her mother said that she would learn better if she studied that way. The learning process was mechanical, dull and boring for Margie and Tommy.
2. Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school must have been fun?
Margie hated school because it was not fun. There was a mechanical teacher and the learning process lacked liveliness. The learning was like a machine carrying out the usual, boring work. There was nothing new. It had no fun or laughter.
Margie did not perform well in Geography tests because of her teacher’s fault. The County Inspector found the fault and rectified it. She hated the punching code, inserting the homework and test papers into the slot provided.
She found it amazing that in the olden days all the children studied together. They could discuss studies and help each other with the homework. As the teachers were people, they would not behave like machines. The human aspect of education in the past made her feel that the schools of the past were fun.
3. Do you agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the school in the story? Give reasons for your answer.
I agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the school in the story.
Schools today have morning assemblies where all students and teachers gather together and do several group activities. We do prayer, chant the national anthem, and several such things. Margie had no such activity at all.
We can interact with our teachers, our classmates and other school children. We can ask our doubts and get answers to our doubts face to face with our teachers. We can share our experiences and our lunch boxes. Margie had no such opportunity.
We have several extracurricular activities in our schools like games and sports, quizzes and debates, drams and dances, and many others. Margie’s home school had no such facilities.
So, I think that Margie’s method of learning must be very boring and dull.
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 |
2. 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 for the County Inspector.
3. They had once taken Tommy’s teacher away for nearly a month because the history sector had blanked out completely.
4. He added loftily, pronouncing the word carefully, “Centuries ago.”
5. “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.”
6. “I didn’t say I didn’t like it,” Margie said quickly.
7. “May be,” 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.
(ii) At the interview, Sameer answered our questions _________ ,shrugging his shoulders.
(iii) We all behave _________ when we are tired or hungry.
(iv) The teacher shook her head ________when Ravi lied to her.
(v) I ________ forgot about it.
(vi) When I complimented Revathi on her success, she just smiled _______ and turned away.
(vii) The President of the Company is ________ busy and will not be able to meet you.
(viii) I finished my work ________ so that I could go out to play.
Answers:
(i) The report must be read carefully so that performance can be improved.
(ii) At the interview, Sameer answered our questions loftily, shrugging his shoulders.
(iii) We all behave differently when we are tired or hungry.
(iv) The teacher shook her head sorrowfully when Ravi lied to her.
(v) I completely forgot about it.
(vi) When I complimented Revathi on her success, she just smiled nonchalantly and turned away.
(vii) The President of the Company is awfully busy and will not be able to meet you.
(viii) I finished my work quickly so that I could go out to play.
3. Make adverbs from these adjectives.
| Adjectives | Adverbs |
| (i) angry | _______ |
| (ii) happy | _______ |
| (iii) merry | _______ |
| (iv) sleepy | _______ |
| (v) easy | _______ |
| (vi) noisy | _______ |
| (vii) tidy | _______ |
| (viii) gloomy | _______ |
Answers:
| Adjectives | Adverbs |
| (i) angry | angrily |
| (ii) happy | happily |
| (iii) merry | merrily |
| (iv) sleepy | sleepily |
| (v) easy | easily |
| (vi) noisy | noisily |
| (vii) tidy | tidily |
| (viii) gloomy | gloomily |
4. Complete the following conditional sentences. Use the correct form of the verb.
1. If I don’t go to Anu’s party tonight, _____________
2. If you don’t telephone the hotel to order food, ___________
3. Unless you promise to write back, I ____________
4. If she doesn’t play any games, ______________
5. Unless that little bird flies away quickly, the cat __________
Answers:
1. If I don’t go to Anu’s party tonight, she will be angry with me.
2. If you don’t telephone the hotel to order food, you will not get your meal.
3. Unless you promise to write back, I will not write to you.
4. If she doesn’t play any games, she will not become strong.
5. Unless that little bird flies away quickly, the cat will catch it.
