The Inspector pats Margie’s head and advises to her mother whose name is Mrs Jones that it isn’t the girl’s fault however he supposes the speed of geography segment has been organized somewhat speedier than her level. He includes that occasionally a wonder such as this occur and he has eased back the speed parallel to her level.

Margie is frustrated. She has thought that her teacher will be removed by and large as once Tommy’s teacher has been removed for an entire month when history segment has blanked out totally.

Margie asks Tommy why anybody will expound on school. Tommy clarifies that she is imbecilic in light of the fact that it isn’t the sort of school they have. This is the old sort of school which existed many years back.

Margie now wants to know whether the old school had a teacher. Tommy explains to her that the schools had an educator however it was not the mechanical instructor but rather a man.

Margie is amazed. She can not believe that a man can be a teacher. She believes that a man isn’t savvy enough to be a teacher. In any case, Tommy discloses to her that it feasible for a man to be a teacher. He discloses to her that his father has a considerable a lot of knowledge not less than his teacher has.

Margie still has a few questions about the human teacher. She reveals to Tommy that it is strange to keep a man in her home to educate her. Hearing this, Tommy shouts with laughter. He clears Margie in old schools the man teacher did not live in the place of the student. They had a special building for the purpose where every one of the kids went for learning. In addition, every one of the kids learned the same things on the off chance that they were of a similar age.

Margie is shocked. She remarks that her mother says that a teacher will conform to fit the psyche of a kid and that he shall teach every kid diversely in light of the fact that every individual is unique.

Tommy reacts that the old teacher did not do that. He tells Margie if she doesn’t care for the book she shall not read about it.

Margie is presently inquisitive to think about the funny schools that existed much previously. She needs to find out about them. She has not half completed reading of the book, her mother calls and reminds her that it is the school time. She tells Tommy if she can read the book more with him after school. Tommy agrees.

Margie goes into the schoolroom. It is next to her bedroom. Her mechanical teacher is already on and on sitting tight for her. The mechanical educator is always on at the same time aside from Saturday and Sunday.

The screen of the mechanical teacher flashes and says, “Today arithmetic lesson is on the addition of proper fractions”.Please fill yesterday’s homework in the appropriate slot”

Margie sighs and does what she is instructed to do. She is considering the old schools. She is ruled by the thoughts that in the old schools every one of the school children from the entire neighbourhood came, laughing and shouting in the schoolyard, sitting together in the classroom and toward the day’s end going home together. Additionally, they learned similar things so they could help each other in studies and above all, the teachers were people. Margie believes that it might have been a lovely experience for the children in the bygone days. She is contemplating the fun they had.

Thinking About Tex|Questions

I. Answer these questions in a few words or a couple of sentences each.
1. How old are Margie and Tommy?
2. What did Margie write in her diary?
3. Had Margie ever seen a book before?
4. What things about the book did she find strange?
5. What do you think a tale book is?
6. Where was Margie’s school? Did she have any classmates?
7. What subjects did Margie and Tommy learn?

Answers
1. Margie is eleven years old and Tommy is thirteen-year-old.
2. Margie wrote, “Today Tommy found a real book!”.
3. Margie had never seen a book before. She had only seen tale books.
4. To Margie, it was strange that the words printed on a book stood still instead of moving the way they did on a screen. She also found it queer that the words on the pages always remained the same as the first time they were read. Moreover, the idea that someone would write a book about schools was itself strange idea for Margie.
5. A tale book is an electronically composed digital book that can be displayed on the television screen.
6. Margie’s school, unlike today’s schools, was in her home itself, right next to her bedroom. No, she did not have any classmates.
7. Tommy and Margie mainly learned three subjects namely geography, history, and arithmetic.

II. Answer the following with reference to the story.

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 stated these words.
(ii) ‘It’ refers to the television screen of the mechanical teacher.
(iii)” It” is being compared to the real books in earlier times in which words were printed on paper. Tommy believed that after reading such books, they were thrown away. However, he would never have to throw away his tale books.

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” refer to the students who learned in the old kind of schools centuries before the time the story is set in.
(ii) Here, ‘regular’ refers to the mechanical teachers which taught Tommy and Margie.
(iii) The mechanical teacher is contrasted with the teacher of the olden times, who was a human being.

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

1. What kind of teachers did Margie and Tommy have?
Answer: Margie and Tommy had mechanical teachers. They were big, dark and ugly and had large black screens on which all the lessons were displayed and questions were asked. These mechanical teachers had a special slot in which the students had to put their homework and test papers. They had to write their answers in a punch code and the mechanical teacher calculated the marks instantly.

2. Why did Margie’s mother send for the County Inspector?
Answer: Margie had been allocated many tests in geography by the mechanical teacher, but there was no progress in her performance. It only kept getting worse. It is for this very reason that Margie’s mother sent for the County Inspector to discover why this was happening to her.

3. What did he do?

Answer: The County Inspector gave Margie an apple and began working on the mechanical teacher. He took it apart and then checked it. Margie had hoped that the Inspector would not know how to put the mechanical teacher together again, but he managed to reassemble it. He slowed down the geography sector of the teacher because it was geared a little too quick for an average ten-year-old student.

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 geography sector of the mechanical teacher had been geared a little too quick for an average ten-year-old student. The County Inspector rightly told her that she could not be held responsible for her poor performance.

The County Inspector slowed down the speed of geography sector of the mechanical teacher to an average ten-year level. He also told Mrs. Jones that Margie’s overall achievement pattern was satisfactory.

5. What had once happened to Tommy’s teacher?
Answer: The history sector of Tommy’s teacher had blanked out completely.

6. Did Margie have regular days and hours for school? If so, why?
Answer: Yes, Margie had regular days and hours for school. She learned at the same time every day. This was because her mother believed that learning at regular hours helped little girls learn better. Her mechanical teacher was also on at the same time every day except Saturday and Sunday.

7. How does Tommy describe the old kind of school?
Answer: Tommy described earlier kind of school as a special building where all kids studied together. There were hundreds of students studying and playing together. They used to learn the same things. The also used to shout and laugh together in an open yard.

8. How does he describe the old kind of teachers?
Answer: Tommy said that the old kind of teachers were humans, who taught the students inside a special building. The teachers taught the children in groups and gave them homework and asked them questions.

The Fun They Had | Extra Questions

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

1. What are the main features of the mechanical teachers and the schoolrooms that Margie and Tommy have in the story?
Answer: The Mechanical Teacher: Margie and Tommy had mechanical teachers. They had expansive dark screens on which every exercise appeared and questions were inquired. They had a special slot in which students needed to put their homework and test papers. They needed to put down their answers in a punch code and the mechanical educator calculated the scores quickly.

The Schoolroom: Their schools were in their homes itself just beside their rooms. They didn’t have any colleagues. They learned geography, history, and maths. They had customary days and hours for school. The mechanical instructor constantly turned on in the meantime consistently with the exception of Saturdays and Sundays on the grounds that her mother said that young ladies adapted better when they learned at regular hours.

2. Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school must have been fun?
Answer: Margie loathed school since it was not fun to study on the screen. Her mechanical teacher used to teach her consistently at the same time. It was a repetitive and boring experience. Now, she had been doing badly in the geography tests that her mechanical educator had been giving her. Her mother was despondent with her performance and sends her to the County Inspector. She expected that the inspector would remove the mechanical instructor. She is baffled when the County Inspector manages to reassemble every part of the mechanical instructor. The part that she detested the most was inserting the homework and test papers in the slot on the mechanical instructor.
She didn’t like the way that she needed to write her answers in a punch code. She believed that the old kind of school must have been fun as she envisioned every one of the children from the whole neighbourhood meeting up, laughing and shouting in the schoolyard. She envisioned that they would sit together in the classroom and go home together toward the day’s end. They would take in similar things and could help each other with the homework and discuss it. Additionally, the educators were individuals. All these viewpoints influenced her to believe that the old type of school must have been enjoyable. She hungered for such a good time.

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 concur schools today are more enjoyable than the school in the story. In the story, there is no collaboration among students about studies and examination. Studying and replying questions is by all accounts a boring thought. Doing homework without anyone’s assistance and writing them in a punch code would likewise be depleting and exhausting. Above all, children build up a superior understanding of one another and of their surroundings when they go to a school together and collaborate with one another. It is a more advantageous and social method for learning.

It is always more intriguing to listen to the instructors clarifying exercises than reading the whole exercise on a mechanical machine. Additionally, if any student faces any issue with the subject or in homework, he can talk about it with the educator and different children. It is difficult to talk about issues and circumstances with a mechanical instructor that is just programmed to educate in a specific way.

The excitement of waiting to know the marks scored in exams is greater when one is sitting in a classroom with different students. It doesn’t have a similar impact when the marks are figured promptly after a test has been taken.

Lastly, the friends that you make at school are most likely the best friends that you will ever make in your entire life. The different characteristics that you learn in schools like compliance, authority, regard, graciousness for other people, sharing, interest in school recreations, sports, and different exercises are all the necessary part of school education today. In this way, schools today are more enjoyable than the school in the story. They promote a fruitful environment for the students to study and learn things.

LANGUAGE WORK

Fill in the blanks
i. Close to perfection
Ans. ideal.

ii. A student who is good at studies, play and other curricular activities

Ans. all-rounder.

iii. Behaviour, outlook, presentation and mental make-up comprise our
Ans. personality

iv. Painting, music and sculpture are
Ans. arts.
v. Enterprising means
Ans. imagination.

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.

1. Find sentences in the lesson which form the adverbs given below.

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.

Nonchalantly: “May be,” he said nonchalantly. He walked away whistling, the dusty old book tucked beneath his arm.

2. Now use these adverbs to fill in the blanks in the sentences below.

(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 forgot about it completely.
(vi) When I complimented Revathi on her success, she just smiled and turned away nonchalantly.
(vii) The President of the Company raised his head and spoke awfully.
(viii) I finished my work so that I could go out to play quickly.

REMEMBER: An adverb describes action. You can form adverbs by adding –ly to adjectives.
Spelling Note: When an adjective ends in –y, the y changes to i when you add –ly to form an adverb. For example: angr-y angr-i-ly

3. Make adverbs from these adjectives/nouns.

(i) Angry – Angrily
(ii) Happy – Happily
(iii) Merry – Merrily
(iv) Sleep – Sleepily
(v) Ease – Easily (vi)
Noise – Noisily
(vii) Tidy – Tidily
(viii) Gloomy – Gloomily
(ix) Thoughtful – Thoughtfully
(x) Beautiful – Beautifully

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, she will be angry.
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 to you.
4. If she doesn’t play any games, she will grow obesity.
5. Unless that little bird flies away quickly, the cat will pounce on it.