NCERT Solutions Class 9 English Chapter 1 The Fun They Had

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October 16, 2024

Class 9 English Chapter 1 The Fun They Had:- In Class 9 English, Chapter 1, "The Fun They Had," we explore a future where children study with mechanical teachers at home, contrasting their experience with traditional schools from the past. The chapter reflects on themes of education, technology, and nostalgia. Go through the NCERT Solutions Class 9 English Chapter 1 The Fun They Had from the below article.

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NCERT Solutions Class 9 English Chapter 1 The Fun They Had

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

Question 1. How old are Margie and Tommy?

Answer: Margie is eleven and Tommy is thirteen years old.

Question 2. What did Margie write in her diary?

Answer: Margie wrote in her diary “Today Tommy found a real book!”

Question 3. Had Margie ever seen a book before?

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

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

Answer: i) The pages were yellow and crinkly.

ii) The words stood still instead of moving.

iii) The words on a page stayed the same when they turned back to it.

Question 5. What do you think a telebook is?

Answer: I think a telebook is a book displayed on a TV screen.

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

Answer: Margie’s school was next to her bedroom. No, she did not have any classmates.

Question 7. What subjects did Margie and Tommy learn?

Answer: Margie and Tommy learnt Geography, History and Arithmetic.

II. Answer the following with reference to the story.

Question 1. “I wouldn’t throw it away.”

(i) Who says these words?

(ii) What does ‘it’ refer to?

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

Answer: (i) Tommy says these words.

(ii) “It” refers to the books.

(iii) The paperback book is being compared with the telebooks by the speaker.

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

(i) Who does ‘they’ refer to?

(ii) What does ‘regular’ mean here?

(iii) What is it contrasted with?

Answer: (i) “They” refers to the students centuries ago.

(ii) "Regular" means usual in 2157, referring to the mechanical teacher.

(iii) The mechanical teacher is contrasted with human teachers of earlier times.

Check out: Class 9th English Book

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

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

Answer: Margie and Tommy had mechanical teachers with big screens for lessons and questions. They were taught through computers and TV screens, not by humans.

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

Answer: Margie's mother sent for the County Inspector because Margie's mechanical teacher malfunctioned, giving repeated Geography tests where Margie's performance worsened.

Question 3. What did he do?

Answer: The County Inspector smiled at Margie, gave her an apple, and fixed her mechanical teacher. He told Margie's mother that the geography sector was too fast and he adjusted it to a ten-year-old level.

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

Answer: Margie struggled with geography because the mechanical teacher's questions were too advanced. The County Inspector slowed it to a ten-year-old level so she could perform better.

Question 5. What had once happened to Tommy’s teacher?

Answer: Tommy's teacher was taken away for a month because the history sector had completely blanked out.

Question 6. Did Margie have regular days and hours for school? If so, why?

Answer: Yes, Margie had regular school hours because her mother believed little girls learned better with a routine.

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

Answer: Tommy says that the old kind of school had special buildings. All the kids went to that building for studying.

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

Answer: He tells Margie that old teachers were humans who educated, assigned homework, and asked questions.

IV. Answer each of these questions in two or three paragraphs

Question 1: What are the main features of the mechanical teachers and the schoolrooms that Margie and Tommy have in the story?

Answer: Margie and Tommy's mechanical teachers feature big black screens for displaying lessons and asking questions. Students submit homework and tests through a slot, and answers are written in punch code for instant grading.

Their schoolrooms are located at home, with Margie's right next to her bedroom. There are no classmates; they study subjects like arithmetic, history, and geography. The mechanical teacher operates daily at a set time, excluding weekends.

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

Answer: Margie found school boring because her mechanical teacher started class at the same time every day. The constant Geography tests made her perform poorly. She disliked inserting papers into the teacher's slot.

She imagined old schools as fun, with kids from different neighborhoods attending together. Classroom camaraderie and learning together intrigued her.

Question 3: Do you agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the school in the story? Give reasons for your answer.

Answer: I agree with Margie that schools today are more enjoyable than in the story. In the story, schools are at home, lacking interaction among students. Learning from screens and taking tests feels dull, and inserting papers into a mechanical teacher's slot daily is repetitive. Writing answers in punch codes adds to the monotony.

In traditional classrooms, students gain broader perspectives and social skills by interacting with peers. Human teachers offer dynamic learning, addressing questions immediately. Unlike mechanical teachers, which follow a preset schedule, human teachers can adapt to students' needs.

Thinking about Language

I. Adverbs

Read this sentence taken from the story:

They had once taken Tommy’s teacher away for nearly a month because the history sector had blanked out completely.

The word complete is an adjective. When you add –ly to it, it becomes an adverb.

Question 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:

They turned the pages, yellow and crinkly, finding it amusing to read stationary words instead of scrolling on a screen, you know.
The mechanical teacher had been giving her repeated geography tests, and her performance worsened until her mother shook her head sadly and called for the County Inspector.
They once removed Tommy's teacher for nearly a month when its history sector completely malfunctioned.
He pronounced the word "centuries ago" loftily.
"But my mother says each teacher must be adjusted to suit the mind of each boy and girl it teaches, and that each child must be taught differently."
"I didn't say I didn't like it," Margie replied quickly. She was eager to read about those curious schools.
"Maybe," he replied nonchalantly.

Check out: Class 9th Combo Set of 5 Books

Question 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.

(ii) At the interview, Sameer answered our questions _________, shrugging his shoulders.

(iii) We all behave _________ when we are tired or hungry.

(iv) The teacher shook her head ________ when Ravi lied to her.

(v) I ________ forgot about it.

(vi) When I complimented Revathi on her success, she just smiled ________ and turned away.

(vii) The President of the Company is ________ busy and will not be able to meet you.

(viii) I finished my work ________ so that I could go out to play.

Answer:

(i) carefully

(ii) loftily

(iii) differently

(iv) sorrowfully

(v) completely

(vi) nonchalantly

(vii) awfully

(viii) quickly

Question 3. Make adverbs from these adjectives.

(i) angry (ii) happy

(iii) merry (iv) sleepy

(v) easy (vi) noisy

(vii) tidy (viii) gloomy

Answer:

(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, _________.

2. If you don’t telephone the hotel to order food, __________.

3. Unless you promise to write back, I __________.

4. If she doesn’t play any games, ___________.

5. Unless that little bird flies away quickly, the cat _________.

Answer:

1. she will get irritated.

2. you will miss your meal.

3. I will not write you another letter.

4. she will become lazy.

5. the cat will pounce on it and kill it.

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Class 9 English Chapter 1 The Fun They Had Summary

Set in 2157, the story revolves around Margie and Tommy, whose education is through a computer screen called a "teacher." When Tommy discovers an old book, they become fascinated by a time when schools had human teachers and classmates. Margie, tired of impersonal learning, finds the physical book's pages and fixed text amusing, contrasting with their screen-based education. The story ends with them pondering the social aspects of traditional education and the drawbacks of technology-dependent learning.