Question 1: In pairs, discuss three things that you like best about your school and three things about your school that you would like to change. Write them down.
Answer: Three things I like best about my school:
- I love meeting my friends and playing with them during the break.
- Our teachers are very kind and they explain everything so well.
- I enjoy the sports classes and the annual sports day a lot.
Three things I would like to change about my school:
- I wish we had less homework so I would have more time to play in the evening.
- I would like to have more library classes so I can read more storybooks.
- I wish the school day was a little shorter.
Question 2: Have you ever read words on a television (or computer) screen?
Answer: Yes, I have read words on a computer screen while using the internet and on the television screen when watching news or movies with subtitles.
Question 3: Can you imagine a time when all books will be on computers, and there will be no books printed on paper? Would you like such books better?
Answer: Yes, I can imagine a time when all books will be on computers. I think it would be good because we could carry thousands of books on one small device. But I would still miss the feel of paper books. I like turning the pages of a real book, so I am not sure if I would like computer books better.
Thinking about the Text (Page 10)
Activity
Question: Calculate how many years and months ahead from now Margie’s diary entry is.
Answer: Margie’s diary entry is dated: 17 May 2157. Let’s assume the current year is 2025. Years ahead = 2157 – 2025 = 132 years. Let’s assume the current date is in June 2025. From June 2025 to May 2157, it is approximately 131 years and 11 months. So, Margie’s diary entry is about 132 years in the future.
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, printed book before. She had only seen telebooks on a screen.
4. What things about the book did she find strange?
Answer: She found it strange that the pages were yellow and crinkly. She also found it very funny that the words on the pages stood still and did not move like they did on a screen.
5. What do you think a telebook is?
Answer: A telebook is a book that can be read on a screen, like a television or a computer. It is a digital book.
6. Where was Margie’s school? Did she have any classmates?
Answer: Margie’s school was a room in her house, right next to her bedroom. No, she did not have any classmates.
7. What subjects did Margie and Tommy learn?
Answer: Margie and Tommy learned subjects like 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 his television screen, which he uses as a telebook.
(iii) What is it being compared with by the speaker?
Answer: It is being compared with the real, printed book that Tommy found. He thinks that after reading a real book, one has to throw it away, but he would not throw away his screen.
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 people who lived hundreds of years ago, in the old times.
(ii) What does ‘regular’ mean here?
Answer: Here, ‘regular’ means the normal or usual kind of teacher that Margie and Tommy know, which is a mechanical teacher.
(iii) What is it contrasted with?
Answer: The ‘regular’ mechanical teacher is contrasted with a human teacher, which is described as ‘a man’.
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. These were large, black, and ugly machines with a big screen. They gave lessons, asked questions, and checked homework using a special slot and punch code.
2. Why did Margie’s mother send for the County Inspector?
Answer: Margie was doing worse and worse in her geography tests given by the mechanical teacher. Margie’s mother was worried about her performance, so she sent for the County Inspector to check the teacher.
3. What did he do?
Answer: The County Inspector, a round little man, smiled at Margie and gave her an apple. He took the mechanical teacher apart and then fixed it. He slowed down the geography sector to an average ten-year 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 of her mechanical teacher was set at too high a level for her age. The County Inspector helped her by slowing it down to an average ten-year level.
5. What had once happened to Tommy’s teacher?
Answer: Once, Tommy’s teacher was taken away for nearly a month. This happened because its history sector had completely blanked out, and it needed to be repaired.
6. Did Margie have regular days and hours for school? If so, why?
Answer: Yes, Margie had regular days and hours for school. Her mechanical teacher was on at the same time every day except Saturday and Sunday because her mother believed that little girls learned better if they learned at regular hours.
7. How does Tommy describe the old kind of school?
Answer: Tommy describes the old kind of school as a special building where all the kids went to study. He explains that all the children of the same age learned the same things together in a classroom.
8. How does he describe the old kind of teachers?
Answer: Tommy describes the old kind of teachers as people, not machines. He says that a man would teach the boys and girls, give them homework, and ask them questions.
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 schoolrooms of Margie and Tommy are not in a separate building but are located inside their homes. Margie’s schoolroom was right next to her bedroom. There are no classmates; each child studies alone. The school is highly personalized and uses technology for teaching.
The teachers are not human; they are mechanical. These teachers are large, black machines with a big screen where lessons appear and questions are asked. They have a special slot for submitting homework and test papers, which must be written in a punch code. The mechanical teacher calculates the marks instantly. Each teacher is adjusted to fit the mind of the child it teaches, and lessons are taught at a fixed time every day to ensure regular learning habits.
2. Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school must have been fun? Answer: Margie hated her school because she found it boring and lonely. Her teacher was a machine, and her schoolroom was a room inside her house. She especially hated the slot where she had to put her homework. Her hatred grew even more when the mechanical teacher kept giving her test after test in geography, and her performance kept getting worse.
She thought the old kind of school must have been fun because she imagined all the kids from the neighborhood coming together, laughing and shouting in a schoolyard. They would sit together in a classroom and learn the same things. This meant they could help each other with homework and talk about their lessons. The idea of learning and playing with other children, and being taught by a real person, made her think that the old schools were full of 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 completely agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the school in the story. In today’s schools, we get to meet our friends every day. We can talk, play, and share our lunch with them. This interaction makes school an exciting place to be. Learning together in a classroom also means we can help each other if we find a subject difficult.
Our teachers are real people who understand our feelings. They can change their teaching method if we don’t understand something, and they encourage us when we do well. We have activities like sports, music, and art, which are not just about studying. The mechanical school in the story is lonely and boring, with no friends, no games, and a machine for a teacher. Therefore, the fun, friendship, and human touch of today’s schools are much better.
Thinking about Language (Pages 11-12)
I. Adverbs
1. Find the sentences in the lesson which have the adverbs given in the box below. awfully sorrowfully completely loftily carefully differently quickly nonchalantly
Answer:
- awfully: …and it was awfully funny to read words that stood still…
- sorrowfully: …until her mother had shaken her head sorrowfully and sent for the County Inspector.
- completely: …because the history sector had blanked out completely.
- loftily: He added loftily, pronouncing the word carefully, “Centuries ago.”
- carefully: He added loftily, pronouncing the word carefully, “Centuries ago.”
- differently: …and that each kid has to be taught differently.
- quickly: “I didn’t say I didn’t like it,” Margie said quickly.
- nonchalantly: “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. Answer: The report must be read carefully so that performance can be improved.
(ii) At the interview, Sameer answered our questions __________, shrugging his shoulders. Answer: At the interview, Sameer answered our questions nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders.
(iii) We all behave __________ when we are tired or hungry. Answer: We all behave differently when we are tired or hungry.
(iv) The teacher shook her head __________ when Ravi lied to her. Answer: The teacher shook her head sorrowfully when Ravi lied to her.
(v) I __________ forgot about it. Answer: I completely forgot about it.
(vi) When I complimented Revathi on her success, she just smiled __________ and turned away. Answer: When I complimented Revathi on her success, she just smiled loftily and turned away.
(vii) The President of the Company is __________ busy and will not be able to meet you. Answer: The President of the Company is awfully busy and will not be able to meet you.
(viii) I finished my work __________ so that I could go out to play. Answer: I finished my work quickly so that I could go out to play.
3. Make adverbs from these adjectives. (i) angry → angrily (ii) happy → happily (iii) merry → merrily (iv) sleepy → sleepily (v) easy → easily (vi) noisy → noisily (vii) tidy → tidily (viii) gloomy → gloomily
II. If Not and Unless
Complete the following conditional sentences. Use the correct form of the verb.
1. If I don’t go to Anu’s party tonight, __________ Answer: If I don’t go to Anu’s party tonight, she will be angry.
2. If you don’t telephone the hotel to order food, __________ Answer: If you don’t telephone the hotel to order food, you will not get any dinner.
3. Unless you promise to write back, I __________ Answer: Unless you promise to write back, I will not write to you again.
4. If she doesn’t play any games, __________ Answer: If she doesn’t play any games, she will become unhealthy.
5. Unless that little bird flies away quickly, the cat __________ Answer: Unless that little bird flies away quickly, the cat will catch it.
Writing (Pages 12-13)
Question: A new revised volume of Issac Asimov’s short stories has just been released. Order one set. Write a letter to the publisher, Mindfame Private Limited, 1632 Asaf Ali Road, New Delhi, requesting that a set be sent to you by Value Payable Post (VPP), and giving your address.
Answer:
24 Rose Villa, Green Park, Mumbai – 400058.
29/06/2025
Mindfame Private Limited, 1632 Asaf Ali Road, New Delhi – 110002.
Dear Sir/Madam,
Subject: Order for a set of Isaac Asimov’s short stories.
I have recently learned that a new revised volume of Isaac Asimov’s short stories has been released by your publishing house. I would like to place an order for one set of this collection.
Kindly send the set to the address mentioned above by Value Payable Post (VPP) at the earliest. Please ensure that the books are packed properly to avoid any damage during transit. I will make the payment for the books upon receiving the parcel.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely, [Your Name]
Poem: The Road Not Taken
Thinking about the Poem (Page 16)
I.
1. Where does the traveller find himself? What problem does he face? Answer: The traveller finds himself at a point in a yellow wood where the path splits into two different roads. The problem he faces is that he cannot travel on both roads and must choose one of them.
2. Discuss what these phrases mean to you. (i) a yellow wood Answer: ‘A yellow wood’ means a forest in the autumn season. The leaves on the trees have turned yellow.
(ii) it was grassy and wanted wear Answer: This phrase means that the road was covered with grass and looked like it had not been used by many people.
(iii) the passing there Answer: This refers to the people walking or passing along the road.
(iv) leaves no step had trodden black Answer: This means that the leaves on the road had not been crushed by footsteps. It shows that no one had walked on that path that morning.
(v) how way leads on to way Answer: This means that one path or decision leads to another, and it is difficult to go back to the starting point to make a different choice.
3. Is there any difference between the two roads as the poet describes them (i) in stanzas two and three? Answer: In stanzas two and three, the poet says there is very little difference between the two roads. He first describes one road as “grassy and wanted wear,” suggesting fewer people used it. But then he says that the passing of people there had worn them “really about the same,” and that both roads “equally lay” that morning.
(ii) in the last two lines of the poem? Answer: Yes, in the last two lines of the poem, the poet says there is a big difference. He says he took the one “less travelled by,” and that choice has made all the difference in his life. This suggests that looking back, the choice seemed very important.
4. What do you think the last two lines of the poem mean? (Looking back, does the poet regret his choice or accept it?) Answer: The last two lines, “I took the one less travelled by, / And that has made all the difference,” mean that the choice he made has shaped his life completely. He chose a path that was not popular or common. The poet does not seem to regret his choice; he accepts it. The word “sigh” could mean sadness, but it could also mean relief or just reflection. He is stating that his unique choice made him who he is today.
II.
1. Have you ever had to make a difficult choice (or do you think you will have difficult choices to make)? How will you make the choice (for what reasons)? Answer: Yes, I once had to make a difficult choice between joining the school cricket team or the school debate club. Both happened at the same time. I will make such choices by thinking about what I enjoy more and what will be better for my future. I will also ask my parents and teachers for their advice before making a final decision.
2. After you have made a choice do you always think about what might have been, or do you accept the reality? Answer: After I make a choice, I sometimes think about “what might have been” if I had chosen the other option. But I try to accept the reality and focus on making the best of the choice I made. Thinking too much about the past is not helpful, so it is better to move forward with the decision.