9.A Bicycle in Good Repair

A Bicycle
in Good Repair

Comprehension
Check(
Page No: 128)

1.
“I got up early, for me.” It implies that

(i) he was an early riser.
(ii) he was a late riser.
(iii) he got up late that morning.
Mark the correct answer.

 

Answer

It implies that (ii) he was a late riser.

2.
The bicycle “goes easily enough in the morning and a little stiffly after
lunch.” The remark is .

(i)
humorous.

(ii)
inaccurate.

(iii)
sarcastic.

(iv)
enjoyable.

(v)
meaningless.

Mark
your choice(s).

Answer

The remark is (i) humorous, (iii) sarcastic and
(iv) enjoyable.

3.
The friend shook the bicycle violently. Find two or three sentences in the text
which express the author’s disapproval of it.

Answer

(i) “Don’t do that; you’ll hurt it.”

(ii) I did not see why he should shake it; it had
not done anything to him.

(iii)  I felt much as I should had he started
whacking my dog.

(iv) “It doesn’t if you don’t wobble
it.” 

(v) “Don’t you trouble about it any more; you will
make yourself tired. Let us put it back and get off.”

4. “…if
not, it would make a serious difference to the machine.” What does ‘it’ refer
to?

 

Answer

‘It’ refers to the little balls bearing of the
wheel that rolled all over the path.

Page
No: 132

 

Working with the Text

 

Answer
the following questions.

 

1.
Did the front wheel really wobble? What is your opinion? Give a reason for your
answer.

Answer

No, the front wheel really didn’t wobble. As author
himself said that “It doesn’t if you don’t wobble it. It didn’t wobble, as
a matter of fact nothing worth calling a wobble.” So, My opinion is wheel
really didn’t wobble at all. It all started after the treatment by that man.

Page No: 133

2. In what condition did the author find the bicycle when he
returned from the tool shed?


Answer

When author returned from the tool shed, he that the front wheel of his bicycle
was between his legs.
He was playing with it, twiddling it round between his fingers and the remnant
of the machine
was lying on the gravel path beside him.

3. “Nothing is easier than taking off
the gear-case.” Comment on or continue this sentence in the light of what
actually happens.


Answer

This sentence was said in the sense that taking off the gear case was an easy
task. Actually, the author tried to dissuade him from taking off the gear-case
by telling him that his one of the friend said that if anything went wrong with
gear-case, he can sell the machine and buy a new one; it comes cheaper. But he
said that nothing is easier than taking off a gear-case and author’s friend
didn’t have knowledge about machine. In less than five minutes, he had the
gear-case in two pieces lying
on the path, and was grovelling for screws.

4. What special treatment did the
chain receive?

Answer

The lunatic man tightened the chain till it did not move and after that
he loosened it until it was twice as loose as it was before.

 

5.
The friend has two qualities — he knows what he is doing and is absolutely sure
it is good. Find the two phrases in the text which mean the same.

 

Answer

cheery confidence

inexplicable hopefulness

 

6.
Describe ‘the fight’ between the man and the machine. Find the relevant
sentences in the text and write them.

 

Answer

One moment the bicycle would be on the gravel path,
and he on top of it. Next moment, the position would be reversed, he on the
gravel path, the bicycle on him. Now he would be standing flushed with victory,
the bicycle firmly fixed between his legs. But his triumph would be
short-lived. After being dirty and disheveled, cut and bleeding ‘the fight between
the man and the machine was over. The bicycle looked as if it also had had
enough of it.

Working with Language

 

I.
Read the following sentences.

• We
should go for a long bicycle ride.

• I
ought to have been firm.

• We
mustn’t lose any of them.

• I
suggested that he should hold the fork, and that I should handle the wheel.

 

The
words in italics are modal auxiliaries. Modal auxiliaries are used with verbs
to express notions such as possibility, permission, willingness, obligation,
necessity, etc. ‘Should,’ ‘must’ and ‘ought to’ generally express moral
obligation, necessity and desirability.

 

Look
at the following.

 

• We
should go on a holiday. (suggestion: It is a good idea for us to go on a
holiday.)

• He
is not too well these days. He must see a doctor before he becomes worse.
(compulsion or necessity: It is absolutely essential or necessary for him to
see a doctor.)


You ought to listen to me. I am well over a decade older than you. (more
emphatic than ‘should’: Since I am older than you, it is advisable that you
listen to me.) 

 

Note:
‘Should’ and ‘ought to’ are often used interchangeably.

 

Page
No: 134

 

Rewrite
each of the following sentences using should/ought to/must in place of the
italicised words. Make other changes wherever necessary.

 

(i)
You are obliged to do your duty irrespective of
consequences.

(ii)
You will do well to
study at least for an hour every day.

(iii)
The doctor says it is necessary for
her to sleep eight hours every night.

(iv)
It is right that
you show respect towards elders and affection towards youngsters.

(v)
If you want to
stay healthy, exercise regularly.

(vi)
It is good for
you to take a walk every morning.

(vii)
It is strongly advised
that you don’t stand on your head.

(viii)
As he has a cold, it is better for
him to go to bed.

 

Answer


(i) You ought to do your duty irrespective of
consequences.

 

(ii) You should study at least for an hour
everyday.

(iii) The doctor says she must sleep eight hours
every night.

(iv) You should show respect towards elders and
affection towards youngsters.

(v) You should exercise regularly to stay fit.

(vi) You should take a walk every morning.

(vii) You must not stand on your head.

(viii) As he has a cold, he should go to bed.

 

Page
No: 135

 

2.
Use should/must/ought to appropriately in the following sentences.

 

(i)
People who live in glass houses ……………..not throw stones.

(ii)
You ……………… wipe your feet before coming into the house, especially
during the rains.

(iii)
You ………………… do what the teacher tells you.

(iv)
The pupils were told that they ………………. write more neatly.

(v)
Sign in front of a park: You ………………. not walk on the grass.

(vi)
You ……………………… be ashamed of yourself having made such a remark.

(vii)
He ……………………..left home at 9 o’clock. He  be here any
minute.

(viii)
“Whatever happened to the chocolate cake?” 

“How
……………………. I know? I have just arrived.”

 

Answer

 

(i)People
who live in glass houses should not throw stones.

(ii)You ought to wipe your feet
before coming into the house, especially during the rains.

(iii)You should do what the
teacher tells you.

(iv)The pupils were told that they should write
more neatly.

(v)Sign in front of a park: You must not
walk on the grass.

(vi)You should be ashamed of
yourself having made such a remark.

(vii)He left home at 9 o’clock. He should be
here any minute.

(viii)“Whatever happened to the chocolate cake?”
        “How should I
know? I have just arrived.”

 

3. Two
or more single sentences can be combined to form a single sentence.

Read
the following.

 

I
made an effort, and was pleased with myself.

 

This
sentence is in fact a combination of two sentences.

• I
made an effort.

• I
was pleased with myself.

 

Now read
this sentence.

 

I
did not see why he should shake it.

 

This
is also a combination of two sentences.

• I
did not see (it).


Why should he shake it?

 

Divide
each of the following sentences into its parts. Write meaningful parts. If
necessary, supply a word or two to make each part meaningful.

(i)
I went to the tool shed to see what I could find. (3 parts)

(ii)
When I came back he was sitting on the ground. (2 parts)

(iii)
We may as well see what’s the matter with it, now it is out. (3 parts)

(iv)
He said he hoped we had got them all. (3 parts)

(v)
I had to confess he was right. (2 parts)

 

Answer


(i)  I went to the tool shed to see
what I could find. (3 parts)

(a) I went to the tool shed.
(b) I went (there) to see.
(c) What I could find?

(ii) When I came back he was sitting on the
ground. (2 parts)

(a) I came back.
(b) He was sitting on the ground.

(iii) We may as well see what’s the matter
with it, now it is out. (3 parts)

(a) We may as well see (it).
(b) What (is) the matter with it?
(c) It is out now.

(iv) He said he hoped we had got them all.
(3 parts)

(a) He said.
(b) He hoped.
(c) We had got them all.

(v) I had to confess he was right. (2 parts)
(a) I had to confess.
(b) He was right.

 

Page
No: 136

 

4.
‘en’ acts as a prefix (put at the beginning) or as a suffix (put at the end) to
form new words.

 

                     en
+ courage = encourage

 

  weak + en = weaken

‘en’
at the beginning or at the end of a word is not always a prefix or a suffix. It
is then an integral part of the word. 

ending

barren

 

(i)
Now arrange the words given in the box under the three headings — prefix,
suffix and part of the word.


encourage
dampen
listen


barren
endanger

   soften


fasten      

enclose
weaken


even      

  enable
enclave

 

Answer

en (prefix)
en
(suffix)

en (part of
word)

encourage            

         fasten

barren

endanger            

         dampen

even
enclose

soften

listen
enable

weaken

enclave