Question

what was the challenge all about? in chapter uncle alfred's long jump from collins class 7

Answer 1

Answer:

The challenge in the Poem Uncle Alfred's Long Jump was to make a long jump from the pavement of the house to the red rose bush at the gate.

Explanation:

                              Uncle Alfred's Long Jump

When Mary Rand

Won the Olympic Long Jump,

My Auntie Hilda

Paced out the distance

On the pavement outside her house.

'Look at that!'

She shouted challengingly

At the dustman, the milkman, the grocer,

Two Jehovah's Witnesses

And a male St. Bernard

Who happened to be passing.

'A girl, a girl did that;

If you men are so clever

Let's see what you can do.'

Nobody took up the challenge

Until Uncle Alfred trudged home

Tired from the office

Asking for tea.

'Our Mary did that!'

Said Auntie Hilda proudly

Pointing from the lamppost

To the rose-bush by her gate.

'You men are so clever,

Let's see how near

That rose-bush you end up.'

His honour and manhood at stake,

Uncle Alfred put down his bowler

His brief-case and his brolly

And launched himself

Into a fifty yard run-up.

'End up at that rose-bush,'

He puffed mockingly,

"I'll show you where I'll end up.'

His take off from the lamppost

Was a thing of beauty,

But where he ended up

Was in The Royal Infirmary

With both legs in plaster.

'Some kind of record!'

He said proudly to the bone specialist;

While through long nights

In a ward full of coughs and snoring

He dreamed about the washing line

And of how to improve

His high jump technique

Source :

The Oxford Book of Story Peoms

Answer 2

Uncle Alfred's Long jump is a beautiful poem written by Gareth Owen. Here it has been written beautifully to show how Uncle Alfred was so eager to jump off from such a great height.

From the text, it seems that Uncle Alfred took the attempt of high jump as a challenge when Aunt Hilda praised Mary Rand after she successfully jumped off so high.

She challenged all men and everyone she could find to ask them if there was anybody able and competent enough to match this kind of high jump by jumping from such a great height. This made Uncle Alfred take up the challenge.