NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 3 The Little Girl(Thinking about the text and language)

Thinking about the text
(Page 38)

I. Given below are some emotions that Kezia felt. Match the emotions in Column A with the items in Column B.

A	B
1. fear or terror 2. glad sense of relief 3. a‘funny’ feeling, perhaps of understanding	(i) father comes into her room to  give her a goodbye kiss (ii) noise of the carriage grows  fainter (iii) father comes home (iv) speaking to father (v) going to bed when alone at  home (vi) father comforts her and  falls asleep (vii) father stretched out on the  sofa, snoring

Answers:
1. — (iii)
2. — (ii)
3. — (vi)

II. Answer the following questions in one or two sentences:

Question 1.
Why was Kezia afraid of her father?

Answer:
Kezia was afraid of her father because he used to talk to her harshly. He was in a habit of finding out her mistakes.

Question 2.
Who were the people in Kezia’s family?

Answer:
Kezia’s family had her grandmother, mother and father.

Question 3.
What was Kezia’s father’s routine?

1. before going to his office?
2. after coming back from his office?
3. on Sundays?

Answer:

1. He used to kiss Kezia casually before going to his office.
2. He would ask for the newspaper and tea after coming back from his office.
3. On Sundays, he would take rest. He would enjoy sound sleep on the sofa.

Question 4.
In what ways did Kezia’s grandmother encourage her to get to know her father better?

Answer:
Kezia’s grandmother sent her to her father’s room to have a nice talk with him. Besides, she asked her to make a gift of a pin-cushion on her father’s birthday.

III. Discuss these questions in class with your teacher and then write down your answers in two or three paragraphs each.

Question 1.
Kezia’s efforts to please her father resulted in displeasing him very much. How did this happen?

Answer:
Kezia used to be afraid of her father because her father talked to her harshly. One day her grandmother told her to make a pin-cushion to gift him on his birthday which was approaching. Kezia took it an opportunity to please him. So, she stitched cotton cloth three sides and looked for the things that could be stuffed into the stitched cloth. Soon she found out many sheets of paper. Actually they contained her father’s speech for the Port Authority. She tore them into pieces and stuffed her case.

One day when her father looked for the papers, he did not find them. After some time, he came to know that Kezia had tom them into pieces to make a pin-cushion. He got infuriated and beat her with a ruler. Thus, her efforts to please her father resulted in displeasing him very much.

Question 2.
Kezia decides that there are “different kinds of fathers”. What kind of father was Mr Macdonald, and how was he different from Kezia’s father?

Answer:
In Kezia’s opinion, her father was very harsh. He did not talk to her affectionately but rather he used to speak to her stringently. So she avoided him. She did not want to be in front of him because she was afraid of him. Moreover, her father never spent time with her.

Macdonald family lived next door to her house. One evening she saw him playing tag with his children. A baby was on his shoulders and two little girls were hanging on to his coat pockets. They were laughing. Also, she saw some boys turn the hose on Macdonald and he tried to catch them laughing all the time. She found them feel friendly with their father. So, she wished if her father were like them.

Question 3.
How does Kezia begin to see her father as a human being who needs her sympathy?

Answer:
One night Kezia had a nightmare which made her too terrified. She was crying out of fear. When she woke up, she found her father beside her bed with a candle in his hand. He asked her what the matter was. When he came to know about her nightmare, he blew out the candle, bent down and caught up the child in his arms. He carried her to the big bedroom. He laid her on the bed and pulled the covers up around her. Apart from this, he lay down beside her.

After some time, still half asleep, she crept close to him, snuggled her head under his arm and held tightly to his shirt. Now she felt comfortable.

Her father told her to rub her feet against his legs and get them warm.

Now, Kezia realised that her father was not as harsh as she thought. She realised that her father had to work all day long and got so tired that he could not play with her. She realised that her father wanted her to understand his compulsion. At bottom, he was a very good person.

Thinking about language
(Page 38)

I. Look at the following sentence.

There was a glad sense of relief when she heard the noise of the carriage growing fainter…

Here, glad means happy about something. Glad, happy, pleased, delighted, thrilled and overjoyed are synonyms (words or expressions that have the same or nearly the same meaning.) However, they express happiness in certain ways.

Read the sentences below:

• She was glad when the meeting was over.
• The chief guest was pleased to announce the name of the winner.

Question 1.
Use an appropriate word from the synonyms given above in the following sentences. Clues are given in brackets.

1. She was ………. by the news of her brother’s wedding, (very pleased)
2. I was ………. to be invited to the party. (extremely pleased and excited about)
3. She was ………. at the birth of her granddaughter, (extremely happy)
4. The coach was ……….. with his performance, (satisfied about)
5. She was very …………. with her results. (happy about something that has happened)

Answer:

1. thrilled
2. delighted
3. overjoyed
4. pleased
5. happy.

Question 2.
Study the use of the word big in the following sentence:
He was so big—his hands and his
neck, especially his mouth…
Here, big means large in size.

Now, consult a dictionary and find out the meaning of big in the following sentences. The first one has been done for you.

1. You are a big girl now. older
2. Today you are going to take the biggest decision of your career …….
3. Their project is full of big ideas …….
4. Cricket is a big game in our country……..
5. I am a big fan of Lata Mangeshkar……..
6. You have to cook a bit more as my friend is a big eater ……..
7. What a big heart you’ve got, Father dear ……..

Answers:

1. most important
2. great
3. very popular
4. great
5. great
6. very affectionate/large-hearted.

II. Verbs of Reporting

Study the following sentences.

• “What! ” screamed Mother.
• “N-n-no”, she whispered.
• “Sit up”, he ordered.

The italicized words are verbs of reporting. We quote or report what someone has said or thought by using a reporting verb. Every reporting clause contains a reporting verb. For example:

• He promised to help in my project.
• “How are you doing?” Seema asked. We use verbs of reporting to advise, order, report statements, thoughts, intentions, questions, requests, apologies, manner of speaking, and so on.

Question 1.
Underline the verbs of reporting in the following sentences.

1. He says he will enjoy the ride.
2. Father mentioned that he was going on a holiday.
3. No one told us that the shop was closed.
4. He answered that the price would go up.
5. I wondered why he was screaming,
6. Ben told her to wake him up.
7. Ratan apologised for coming late to the party.

Answers:

1. says
2. mentioned
3. told
4. answered
5. wondered
6. told
7. apologised

Question 2.
Some verbs of reporting are given in the box. Choose the appropriate verbs and fill in the blanks in the following sentences:

were complaining, shouted, replied, remarked, ordered, suggested

1. “I am not afraid” ………. , the woman.
2. “Leave me alone,” my mother
3. The children ……….. that the roads were crowded and noisy.
4. “Perhaps he isn’t a bad sort of a chap after all” ……….., the master.
5. “Let’s go and look at the school ground”……….., the sports teacher.
6. The traffic police ……….. all the passers- by to keep off the road.

Answers:

1. remarked
2. shouted
3. were complaining
4. replied
5. suggested
6. ordered.

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