The Fun They Had

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NCERT Solution

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

1. How old are Margie and Tommy?

Ans: Margie is eleven and Tommy is thirteen years old

2. What did Margie write in her diary?

Ans: Margie stated in her diary that on 17th May , 2157 Tommy found a real book.

3. Had Margie ever seen a book before?

Ans: No, Margie had never seen a book before.

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

Ans: The book was having yellow and wrinkled pages. The words of the book did not move unlike on computer screen where the words move.

5. What do you think a telebook is?

A telebook is a book that is displayed on the computer screen. In other words, telebook refers to modern day e-books.

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

Margie’s school was located in her own residence only. No, she did not have any classmate.

7. What subjects did Margie and Tommy learn?

Ans: Margie learnt Geography and Mathematics whereas Tommy learnt History and Mathematics.

II. Answer the following with reference to the story.

1. ‘‘I wouldn’t throw it away.’’

(i) Who says these words?

Ans: Margie says these words.

(ii) What does ‘it’ refer to?

Ans: It refers to the real book that Tommy found in the attic

(iii) What is it being compared with by the speaker?

The speaker compares it with a telebook.

2. ‘‘Sure they had a teacher, but it wasn’t a regular teacher. It was a man.’’

(i) Who does ‘they’ refer to?

Ans: ‘They’ refer to the people of the old times.

(ii) What does ‘regular’ mean here?

Ans: Regular’ means something what is always available. Here a ‘mechanical teacher’ is referred to .

(iii) What is it contrasted with?

Ans: It is contrasted with a mechanical teacher.

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

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

Ans: Margie and Tommy had mechanical teachers. These mechanical teachers had a slot in which the students had to put their homework and test papers. They had to write their answers in a punch code and the mechanical teacher calculated the marks immediately.

2. Why did Margie’s mother send for the County Inspector?

Ans: Margie had been given many tests in geography by the mechanical teacher, but there was no improvement in her performance. It only kept getting worse. It is for this reason that Margie’s mother sent for the County Inspector to find out why this was happening.

3. What did he do?

Ans: The county inspector slowed the mechanical teacher up to an average ten year level.

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

Ans: Margie was doing badly in geography as her mechanical teacher was geared too advanced for her grade.

The County Inspector slowed down the geography sector of the mechanical teacher to an average ten-year level. He also told Mrs. Jones that Margie's overall progress pattern was satisfactory.

4. What had once happened to Tommy’s teacher?

Ans: 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?

Margie had regular study schedule . Her mother believed that learning at regular hours helped little girls learn better. Her mechanical teacher was also regular except on Saturday and Sunday.

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

Ans: Tommy says that the old schools had a special building for kids to study. They had fun together and learned lessons together in a classroom.

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

Ans: He describes that the old teachers were men who went to a special building where they taught and gave homework to students.

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?

Ans: Margie and Tommy were taught by mechanical teachers. They had large black screens on which contents in every lesson were displayed and questions were assigned. They had a particular slot in which students kept their homework and test papers. They had to write their answers in a punch code and the mechanical teacher calculated the marks immediately.

Their schools were in their homes itself. They learned geography, history and arithmetic. They had regular days and hours for school. Margie's school was right next to her bedroom. The mechanical teacher was on screen at the same time every day except Saturdays and Sundays because her mother said that little girls learned better when they learned at regular hours.

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

Margie hated school because a mechanical teacher used to teach her every day at a fixed time. Recently, her mother was not happy with the performance in Geography tests and sent for the County Inspector. The County Inspector managed to assemble all the parts of the mechanical teacher and set it right. The part that she hated the most was inserting the homework and test papers in the slot on the mechanical teacher. She did not like the fact that she had to write her answers in a punch code.

She thought that the old kind of school must have been fun as she imagined all the kids from the entire neighbourhood came together and had fun together in school premises. She imagined that they would sit together in the classroom and go home together at the end of the day. They would learn the same thing and help one another with the homework. The teachers were also human beings. Thus she came to the conclusion that the old kind of school must have been fun.