ncert Solution of class 8th chapter 1 English honeydew working with the text
Answers
Working with Text
1: For how long do you think Connie had kept Jim’s letter? Give reasons for your Ans.
Ans: Connie must have kept Jim’s letter for a long time. This is because she told the narrator how she read it quite often every day so that she could feel that Jim was near her.
2: Why do you think the desk had been sold, and when?
Ans: The desk must have been sold when the house in which Connie Macpherson lived had caught fire. She was taken to a nursing home. All the burnt up things must have been sold after that.
3: Why do Jim and Hans think that games or sports are good ways of resolving conflicts? Do you agree?
Ans: Jim and Hans thought that games or sports are good ways of resolving conflicts because nobody dies in matches. No children are orphaned and no wives become widows.
Due to these reasons, games are good ways for resolving conflicts. Wars only lead to death and devastation.
4: Do you think the soldiers of the two armies are like each other, or different from each other? Find evidence form the story to support your Ans.
Ans: The soldiers of the two armies were like each other. Below are some instances from the story to prove:
→ Both the armies celebrated Christmas
→ Both the armies shared their food and spent time together in smoking, laughing, talking, drinking and eating.
→ They played a football match and agreed that conflicts and disputes may be resolved by football match
→ They agreed about the negative aspects of war and longed peace.
→ They exchanged carols and hoped to unite with the families again.
5: Mention the various ways in which the British and the German soldiers become friends and find things in common at Christmas.
Ans: The British and the German troops celebrated Christmas with each other. They enjoyed each other’s food. All of them were smoking, laughing, talking, drinking and eating. Hans Wolf and Jim Macpherson shared the cake Connie had baked. They talked about Bathsheba, Gabriel Oak, Sergeant Troy and Dorset. They even talked about the books they liked. They agreed about everything. Both the troops played a game of football for which both Hans and Jim cheered, clapped hands and stamped feet. They also exchanged carols at night. In this way, they celebrated Christmas together, finding a lot in common between them.
6: What is Connie’s Christmas present? Why is it “the best Christmas present in the world?
Ans: When the narrator came to see Connie and gave her the box, she mistook him for her husband Jim. She thought that Jim had come home for Christmas. This was Connie’s Christmas present. It was the best Christmas present in the world for her because Jim had written in the letter that he would come home on Christmas. She had read that letter several times every day to feel that he was near her. Now that he was finally there with her, she was extremely happy.
7: Do you think the title of this story is suitable for it? Can you think of any other title(s)?
Ans: Yes, the title of the story is suitable for it. The spirit of Christmas is the theme that prevails throughout the story. The message of Christmas peace and good will to all is brought out so clearly through the story. It was on a Christmas day, in the middle of a raging war, that two warring troops made peace. The moment of peace that the soldiers shared with each other was the best Christmas present for them. Again, it was on a Christmas day that the narrator went to see Mrs Macpherson. He went to return her husband’s letters to her. The letter was precious to her, but even more precious was her delusion that the narrator was her husband Jim, who she believed had returned as promised on a Christmas day. This was the best Christmas present in the world for her.
Suitable titles could be “A Christmas wish comes true!”, “Someday at Christmas…” “The Christmas Message”.
Question 1:
Answer the following questions.
(i) Did the prospect of meeting Stephen Hawking make the writer nervous? If so, why?
(ii) Did he at the same time feel very excited? If so, why?
Answer:
(i) Yes, the prospect of meeting Stephen Hawking made the writer nervous. He was to meet a great personality and that too one who had achieved greatness despite his disabilities. Clearly, it was a big moment, a great honour for the writer. So it is not surprising that he was nervous at the prospect of meeting Stephen Hawking.
(ii) Yes, he felt excited at the same time because it made him stronger to see somebody like him achieving something huge. This made him aware of the many possibilities present before him, thereby helping him to reach out further than he ever thought he could.
Question 2:
Guess the first question put to the scientist by the writer.
Answer:
The writer might have asked the scientist if he had been brave to reach where he had.
Question 3:
Stephen Hawking said, “I’ve had no choice.” Does the writer think there was a choice? What was it?
Answer:
The writer thought that there was a choice. Stephen Hawking could have chosen to leave everything, and be sad and depressed. He could have sulked. However, he chose to live creatively knowing the reality of his disintegrating body.
Question 4:
“I could feel his anguish.” What could be the anguish?
Answer:
Stephen Hawking’s mind was active with many thoughts that he wanted to express. However, his thoughts came out in phrases, without reflecting his feelings or emotions. His sentences were mere lines, without any sentiment. The writer felt he could understand his anguish and frustration at that.
Question 5:
What endeared the scientist to the writer so that he said he was looking at one of the most beautiful men in the world?
Answer:
The writer asked Stephen Hawking if he found it annoying that someone like him came and disturbed him in his work. To this query, the scientist replied in the affirmative, frankly and honestly. Then, he smiled his one way smile and this was what endeared him to the writer. The writer felt that he was looking at one of the most beautiful men in the world.
Question 6:
Read aloud the description of ‘the beautiful’ man. Which is the most beautiful sentence in the description?
Answer:
The most beautiful sentence in the description is, “…you look at his eyes which can speak, still, and they are saying something huge and urgent….”
Question 7:
(i) If ‘the lantern’ is the man, what would its ‘walls’ be?
(ii) What is housed within the thin walls?
(iii) What general conclusion does the writer draw from this comparison?
Answer:
(i) If ‘the lantern’ is the man, its ‘walls’ would be the man’s body.
(ii) The incandescence or the inner glow of the man is housed within the thin walls.
(iii) The conclusion that the writer drew from this comparison was that the body exists only like a case made of shadows. It is just an accessory. It is the soul that matters. Each individual is what he is from his heart and soul, and not from the body.
Question 8:
What is the scientist’s message for the disabled?
Answer:
The message that he gave to the disabled was that they should concentrate on what they were good at.
Question 9:
Why does the writer refer to the guitar incident? Which idea does it support?
Answer:
When Stephen Hawking said that things such as disabled Olympics were a waste of time, the writer agreed with him. He remembered the years which he spent trying to play a Spanish guitar that was considerably larger than he was. He was very happy when he unstringed it one night. It supports Stephen Hawking’s idea that the disabled should only concentrate on what they are good at, and not take up things unnecessarily.
Question 10:
The writer expresses his great gratitude to Stephen Hawking. What is the gratitude for?
Answer:
The writer expressed his gratitude to Stephen Hawking because he had been an inspiration for him. He saw him as the embodiment of his bravest self. He felt that if he had been as brave as Stephen, he would have achieved a lot. He felt he was moving towards that embodiment that he had believed in for many years. That is why he expressed his greatest gratitude to him as he had made him realise what great heights he could reach