Thinking about the Text

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: The things about the book that she found strange were the following:

i) The pages of the book were yellow and crinkly.

ii) The words stood still instead of moving.

iii) When they turned back to the previous page, it still had the same words on it that it had when
they first read it.

Question 5. What do you think a telebook is?

Answer: I think the telebook must be a book that gets displayed on the screen of the television.
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?

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

(ii) “Regular” means the usual for the people in 2157. Here, regular teacher means the mechanical
teacher.

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

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. The mechanical teachers had big screens on
which all the lessons were shown and questions were asked. The children were taught through
computer and television screens. They did not have humans as teachers.

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

Answer: Margie’s mother sent for the County Inspector because the mechanical teacher of Margie
was not functioning properly. It kept giving Margie Geography tests and Margie was performing
worse every time. Margie’s mother was concerned and thus sent for the County Inspector.

Question 3. What did he do?

Answer: The County Inspector smiled at Margie and gave her an apple. He took the mechanical
teacher away from her. Then he fixed the mechanical teacher. He told Margie’s mother that the
geography sector of the mechanical teacher was geared a little too quick and that he has slowed it
up to an average ten-year level.

Question 4. Why was Margie doing badly in geography? What did the County Inspector do to help
her?
Answer: Margie was doing badly in geography because the questions that were displayed on the
screen of the mechanical teacher were too quick for her age.

The County Inspector slowed its speed to an average ten-year level so that Margie would be able to
perform satisfactorily.

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

Answer: Tommy’s teacher had to be taken away altogether for a month as the history sector had
blanked out completely.

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

Answer: Yes, Margie had regular days and hours for school because Margie’s mother believed that
little girls learned better if they learned at regular hours.

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 the old kind of teachers were humans instead of machines. The human
teacher would educate the boys and girls and give them homework and ask questions.

IV. Answer each of these questions in two or three paragraphs (100 –150 words).

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

Answer: The main features of the mechanical teachers that Margie and Tommy have are as follows:
The mechanical teachers have big black screens on which lessons are displayed and questions are
asked. The students need to put their homework and test papers in a slot that is present in the
mechanical teacher. The students write answers in punch code and the mechanical teacher
calculates the results right away.

The main features of the schoolrooms that Margie and Tommy have are given below:

In the story, the schools are there in the homes. For instance, Margie’s school was right next to her
bedroom. The students do not have classmates. They study subjects like arithmetic, history,
geography, etc. The mechanical teacher would turn on at the same time every day except on the
weekends.

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

Answer: Margie hated school because she felt it boring. The mechanical teacher started the class at
the same time regularly. Margie’s mechanical teacher was giving her test after test on Geography
and she was performing badly.

Margie also did not like inserting homework and test papers in the slot on the mechanical teacher.

She thought that the old kind of school must have been fun because it would have had kids from
various places of the neighbourhood. It would have been so interesting to sit together in the
classroom and leave the school together at the end of the day. All the kids learned the same things
so they could help each other in studies and homework.

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: Yes, I agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the school in the story. In the
story, the schools are in the students’ homes. This gives no space for interaction between students.
Studying from screen and taking up tests sounds boring. Inserting homework and test papers in a
slot on a mechanical teacher every day is monotonous. Writing answers in punch codes is even more
draining.
Learning together in a class gives students a wider view of the people. Students also get familiar with
others and learn how to interact and socialize. Getting taught by human teachers is way more
dynamic than being taught by a machine. If there is any issue with any lesson or concept, the
student can ask the human teacher then and there. But, mechanical teachers are programmed with
a certain lesson and concept for a particular day. When the student solves homework, he/she can
get help from classmates. That’s how the schools today are more fun than the school in the story.

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:

awfully:

They turned the pages, which were yellow and crinkly, and it was awfully funny to read words that
stood still instead of moving the way they were supposed to — on a screen, you know.

sorrowfully:
The mechanical teacher had been giving her test after test in geography and she had been doing
worse and worse until her mother had shaken her head sorrowfully and sent for the County
Inspector.

completely:

They had once taken Tommy’s teacher away for nearly a month 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:

“But my mother says a teacher has to be adjusted to fit the mind of each boy and girl it teaches and
that each kid has to be taught differently.”

quickly:

“I didn’t say I didn’t like it,” Margie said quickly. She wanted to read about those funny schools.

nonchalantly:

“Maybe,” he said nonchalantly.

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) The report must be read carefully so that performance can be improved.

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

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

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

(v) I completely forgot about it.

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

(vii) The President of the Company is awfully busy and will not be able to meet you.
(viii) I finished my work quickly so that I could go out to play.

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, __________.

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

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

Answer:

1. If I don’t go to Anu’s party tonight, she will get irritated.

2. If you don’t telephone the hotel to order food, you will miss your meal.

3. Unless you promise to write back, I will not write you another letter.

4. If she doesn’t play any games, she will become lazy.

5. Unless that little bird flies away quickly, the cat will pounce on it and kill it.

Writing

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. Your
letter will have the following parts.

• Addresses of the sender and receiver

• The salutation

• The body of the letter

Answer:

416, Sector 18

Nagpur, Maharashtra

04/08/2020

Mindfame Private Limited, 1632

Asaf Ali Road, New Delhi

Dear Sir/Madam,

I recently came to know that a new revised volume of Issac Asimov’s short stories has been released.
This is to request you to send me a set of the same by Value Payable Post (VPP) on my mailing
address given above. I shall be highly obliged if you could send me the book at the earliest.

Yours sincerely,

Adwait Tiwari

Speaking

In groups of four discuss the following topic.

‘The Schools of the Future Will Have No Books and No Teachers!’

Your group can decide to speak for or against the motion. After this, each group will select a speaker
to present its views to the entire class.

You may find the following phrases useful to present your argument in the debate.
• In my opinion . . .

• I/we fail to understand why . . .

• I wholeheartedly support/oppose the view that . . .

• At the outset let me say . . .

• I’d/we’d like to raise the issue of/argue against . . .

• I should like to draw attention to . . .

• My/our worthy opponent has submitted that . . .

• On the contrary . . .

• I firmly reject . . .

Answer:

For the motion

I would like to put forth my views in favour of the motion “The Schools of the Future Will Have No
Books and No Teachers!”

The emergence of digital technologies like computers, laptops, mobile phones, etc. has brought
about a lot of changes in the way education is imparted and received. Now itself, we can see how
important the electronic gadgets and internet have become. We learn so many things through
Google, YouTube and other platforms. The concept of online classes is getting more
acknowledgement than ever. The internet speed is improving with time and usage. More and more
people are being drawn towards the limitless possibilities of learning online. Gradually, we might see
the schools teaching the students online with soft copies of books.
When the robots become a part of our lives, we shall see the time when the schools will have no real
books and no human teachers. Instead, we will have online books and robots as teachers!

Access answers to NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Chapter 1 Poem The Road Not Taken

Thinking about the Poem

I.

Question 1. Where does the traveler find himself? What problem does he face?

Answer: The traveler finds himself at a point in the woods where two roads diverge. The problem is
that he cannot travel both the roads and thus he has to choose one between them.

Question 2. Discuss what these phrases mean to you.

(i) a yellow wood

(ii) it was grassy and wanted wear

(iii) the passing there

(iv) leaves no step had trodden black

(v) how way leads on to way

Answer:

(i) The phrase “a yellow wood” indicates a forest during the autumn season.

(ii) The phrase “it was grassy and wanted wear” means that the road was full of grass as it has been
less travelled. As people haven’t walked on it, it is yet to wear out.
(iii) The phrase “the passing there” refers to people walking on that road.

(iv) “Leaves no step had trodden black” indicates that the fallen leaves had not been crushed under
the feet of the travelers.

(v) The phrase “how way leads on to way” means that one road leads to another. So once the poet
has made a choice between the two roads, he wonders if he will ever be able return to the same
spot and choose the other road.

Question 3. Is there any difference between the two roads as the poet describes them:

(i) in stanzas two and three?

(ii) in the last two lines of the poem?

Answer:

(i) No, there is no difference between the two roads as the poet describes them in stanzas two and
three as he says “the passing there had worn them really about the same” and that “equally lay in
leaves no step had trodden black…”

(ii) In the last two lines of the poem, the poet indicates a difference between the two roads as he
says that he took the road that was less travelled by and that has made a huge difference in his
journey.

Question 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 of the poem talk about taking a decision and accepting its consequences-
good or bad. The poet chose the road that was less travelled by, which indicates he took a decision
that people would not take generally.

He says in the last line of the poem that his choice of taking the road less travelled by has made all
the difference. He does not seem to regret his choice.
II.

Question 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: We all make choices on a daily basis. But I have not had to make a difficult choice till date.

I will have to face challenges in the years to come as I grow up. Then, I will have to make difficult
choices. I will have to choose my profession, my area of interest, etc.

I think when such a situation comes, I will not just follow the herd. I will think it through and just like
the poet, if required, I will take up the unexplored paths.

Question 2. After you have made a choice do you always think about what might have been, or do
you accept the reality?

Answer: There is no point in regretting or thinking about what might have been. Such thoughts will
always keep us in the hold of the past and never let us see the benefits of the choices we made.
Accepting reality is the best way to overcome any situation.