Packing Class 9 Extra Questions and Answers

Packing Class 9 Extra Questions and Answers are designed by experts. Go over the questions for confidence building. We at edumantra highly appreciate your feedback regarding Packing Lesson Class 9 Extra Questions And Answers.

Extra Questions, Notes, Assignment and study material for Class 9^th as Per CBSE Syllabus

Chapter- 7 Fiction English Language and Literature

Packing Class 9 Extra Questions and Answers

By- Jerome K. Jerome

Introduction of the lesson- Packing

This story is an extract from Jerome K. Jerome’s novel ‘Three Men in a Boat’. The narrator of the story and his two friends decided to go on holiday. The question of packing the things for the journey arose. The author thought that he was an expert in packing. lie asked his friends, George and Harris to leave packing to him. When he had finished packing, certain things remained out. He opened the bag again. In the same way, he had to pack and unpack time and again. The packing was still not complete. Harris and George undertook to do the rest of the job. But they were also not expert in packing. They damaged a number of things and did the job shabbily. At last, the packing was complete by 12.50 in the night. They went to bed with the intention of waking up at 6.30 in the morning.

(यह कहानी Jerome K. Jerome के उपन्यास ‘Three Men in a Boat’ का एक अंश है । कहानी के कथावाचक और उसके दो मित्रों ने छुट्टी पर जाने का फैसला किया । यात्रा पर जाने के लिए सामान पैक करने का प्रश्न आया । लेखक सोचता था कि वह पैकिंग का विशेषज्ञ है । उसने अपने मित्रों जॉर्ज और हैरिस से कहा कि वे पैकिंग का काम उस पर छोड़ दें । जब वह पैकिंग कर चुका तो कुछ चीजें बाहर रह गई थीं । उसने फिर से बैग खोला । इसी प्रकार उसे कई बार सामान पैक करना और खोलना पड़ा । पैकिंग अभी भी पूरी नहीं हुई थी । हैरिस और जॉर्ज ने बाकी की पैकिंग करने का बीड़ा उठाया । मगर पैकिंग में वे भी कुशल नहीं थे । उन्होंने बहुत-सी चीज़े तोड़ दीं और काम भद्दे ढंग से किया । आखिर रात को 12.50 बजे पैकिंग पूरी हुई । वे अगली प्रात: 6-30 बजे उठने का इरादा करके सो गए ।)

Introduction Packing: (2)

“Packing” is an extract from Jerome K. Jerome’s novel Three Men in a Boat’. This is a humorous extract about the confusion and mess created by people who are inexperienced in the art of packing. It exposes the utter clumsiness of the three friends – Jerome, George, and Harris. They consider themselves to be skilled in the art of packing but, in reality, all of them have little knowledge about working in an organised manner.

Hence, to the great amusement of the reader, the small job of packing is carried out by them with many a jerk and jolt.

Theme of the lesson- Packing

“Packing” is based on the theme that routine tasks are not as easy as they seem to be. The humorous account amuses the readers with the chaotic and confusing situations created by the clumsiness of three friends, all of whom consider packing to be child’s play.

Title of the lesson- Packing

“Packing” is an appropriate title for this extract from the novel ‘Three Men in a Boat’. It forms one of the chapters of the novel. The three men are – Jerome, George and Harris. They have to go on a pleasure boat journey and have to pack for it. All three of them think they are ‘past masters’ in the art of packing, but all they end up creating is an utter mess. They are disorganised, unplanned, foolish, careless and unsystematic and cannot properly pack a thing. They blame each other for being poor at packing and each boasts of his packing acumen. Thus, the extract is all about packing and, therefore, the title is appropriate.

Characters of the lesson- Packing

Jerome

Jerome is the narrator of the story and the entire gamut of events are depicted from his point of view. He is overconfident and rates his packing skills a bit too high. He is also arrogant and expects his friends to carry out the tedious part of packing while he sits back and passes orders. His friends, however, do not take him seriously and finally, he has to struggle while trying to pack the bag. Jerome is both clumsy and forgetful. He first forgets to pack the shoes and they can’t recall if he has put in his toothbrush or not. He unpacks the bag twice clumsily to accommodate the missing items. When his friends fumble while packing the hamper, he sits at the edge of the table and watches them because now it is his turn to have fun at their expense. However, he is an ordinary boy who ignores the shortcomings of his friends in the same way as he ignores his own.

George and Harris

George and Harris are the friends of the narrator, Jerome. Both of them are as clumsy, ill-organised, forgetful and casual as Jerome. They commit mistakes even while doing ordinary tasks and keep repeating their mistakes. Like Jerome, they too are mistaken about their talent to pack stuff and are over-confident about their performance. They damage or spoil many things like cups, pies, tomatoes, butter and lemons while packing the hamper. Their action amuses the readers, especially when they misplace the butter and search for it all over the place. Somehow, in spite of making a fool of themselves, while packing for the trip, they don’t believe in any blame game and ignore each others’ mistakes.

Montmorency – the pet dog

Montmorency is the pet dog of the three friends – Jerome, George and Harris. He is a pampered pet and knows no restrains on his behaviour. His animal instinct to probe everything creates a nuisance for his masters. He likes to be a part of all the activities going on in the house and gets excited to see the boys packing things. He doesn’t mind being shouted at and does not even respond when they try to move him away from the packed stuff. He is a super energized pet and ’10 amount of scolding dampens his enthusiasm. He may ill-trained temperamental, destructive and meddlesome but he is loved by the readers as much as his masters.

His presence in the story makes it more interesting and amusing’.

Important Word-Meanings of difficult words from the lesson- PACKING

[PAGE 82] : Trip = short journey,छोटी यात्र ा; impressed = told with emphasis,जोर देकर कहा ; entirely completely, पूरी तरह ; uncanny = strange, अजीब ; cocked = raised, उठाया ; intended = desired,इच्छा की ; boss (verb) = to supervise,निरीक्षण करन ा; potter = move about aimlessly, बिना उद्देश्य के इधर उधर घूमना I

[PAGE 83] : Irritate =make angry,नाराज करना ; loll = sit or stand lazily, सुस्ती से बैठना या खड़े होना ; messiiti = creating confusion, उथल –पुथल पैदा करना ; superintend = supervise, निरीक्षण करना ; energetic = full of energy,शक्ति से पूर्ण ; strapped = tied with straps, पट्टों से बांधना ; wild = (here) very angry, नाराज ; haunt = come again and again, बार –बार जाना ; perspiration = sweat, पसीना ; hunt for = search for, खोजना ; mortal = subject to death and decay,नश्वर ; rummaged = searched thoroughly, पूरी तरह खोजना l

[PAGE 84] : Chaos = confusion, disorder,अव्यवस्था ; reigned = ruled, शासन किया ; slammed = shut, बंद किया ; pouch = a small bag, थैली ; hampers = small boxes,छोटे डिब्बे ; evidently = clearly,स्पष्टतया I

[PAGE 85]: Piles = heaps, ढेर; pies= eating dishes,खाने का सामान; strawberry = a fruit, एक फल; sqiasihed =crushed, कुचल दिय ा; trod =put foot on, पांव ऊपर रखा I

[PAGE 86] : Nervous = tense, घबराया हुआ ; scrape = remove,हटाना ; oath = vow, कसम ,शपथ; extraordinary = uncommon, असाधारण ; mysterious = full of myster, रहस्यमय ; indignantly = angrily, गुस्से से ; spinning = moving round, घूमना ; roared = shouted, चिल्लाया ; ambition = aim,लक्ष्य ; squirm = enter, come,प्रवेश करना ; nuisance = trouble, मुसीबत

[PAGE 87] : Stumble = fall over,लुढ़कना ; steadily = continuously, लगातार ; accomplishing = fulfilling , पूरा करना conceit = pride,गर्व ; damp =wet,गीला ; reflection =thought, विचार ; sin =पाप ; hamper = basket,टोकरी I

[PAGE 88] : Comfort = ease, राहत ; tossed = drew lots,टॉस किया ; row = quarrel, झगड़ा ; tumble = fall, गिरना I

Short and Simple Summary of the lesson in English- PACKING/ Summary in simple Words/ Critical appreciation of the lesson – PACKING

The author and his friends decided to go on holiday. The author thought he was an expert in packing. He told his friends, George and Harris that he would do the packing. They at once agreed to his suggestion. George put on a pipe and sat in an easy chair. Harris put his legs on a table and lit a cigar. The author had not intended this. He was unhappy with himself for having offered to pack. He had thought that Harris and George would pack and he would boss over them. When he worked and the people around him relaxed, he was greatly irritated. At the same time, he could not sit still and see others working. He enjoyed getting up and supervising their work.

The narrator started packing. It seemed a longer job than he had thought it was going to be. At last, he finished packing. But Harris told him that he had not packed the boots. He opened the bag and packed the boots in. Then when he was going to close it, an idea came to him. He was not sure whether he had packed his toothbrush. So he unpacked the bag and took everything out but could not find the toothbrush. Then he shook everything one by one. At last, he found his toothbrush in a boot. He repacked once more. Now George asked him if he had packed the soap. He decided not to do the packing again. But he found that he had packed his tobacco pouch in it. So he reopened the bag and repacked it. the lie was able to complete the packing at 10.05 p.m.

George and Hat is said that they were not satisfied with the packing done by the author. So they decided to do it themselves. But they created chaos while packing things. They started packing with breaking a cup. Then Harris packed the strawberry jam on top of a tomato and squashed it. George trod on the butter. They put things and could not find them when they wanted them. They packed the pies at the bottom and put heavy things on top and smashed the pies. Harris found butter sticking to the sole of George’s slipper. He got the butter off the slipper and put it on a chair. Harris sat on the butter and it stuck to him. They started looking for it all over the room. Then suddenly George saw it on the back of Harris. When they finally found it, they packed it in the teapot. Their dog increased the confusion. He thought lemons to be rats and chased them. He put his leg in the jam and spoiled it.’At last, the packing has completed the packing at 12.50 and the three friends went to sleep with the intention of getting up early the next morning.

Summary of the lesson- Packing (2) :

Jerome, Harris and George are three friends who are about to set out on a journey. The story begins with the important task of packing stuff for this journey. Jerome, the narrator, overestimates his packing skills and tells his friends to let him handle it all by himself. However, his real intention is to make George and Harris do the packing under his supervision and guidance. But his friends take his advice seriously and to his great shock, stretch themselves comfortably, leaving him with all the running around. Though irritated with their attitude, Jerome straight away gets busy with packing. After a long-drawn packing session, he finally straps up the bag.

Both his friends watch him quietly and when he is done with packing, Harris declares that the shoes have been left unpacked. The bag has to be reopened again to accommodate the shoes. An irritated Jerome is just done with packing the shoes when he is reminded of his toothbrush.

Unsure about having packed his toothbrush, Jerome has to empty the bag and hunt through all its contents to locate the brush. After a lot of efforts, he finds the brush in one of the boots! Anyhow the bag is packed again.

The next query comes from George regarding the soap. Jerome is so irritated by this time that he does not even bother about this query and straps up the bag. But, the very next moment he has to unpack it again as he had packed in his spectacles by mistake. Eventually, it is past ten when the packing is finally done.

Keeping in mind the amount of time taken by Jerome to pack the bag, George and Harris decide to pack the hampers themselves and show Jerome the real art of packing. However, they are equally clumsy and break a cup at the very outset. This is followed by squashing a tomato, treading on the butter and smashing the pies by putting heavy things on them. Salt flies all over while they are packing.

After peeling the butter off George’s slipper, they try unsuccessfully to squeeze it into the kettle. They finally scrape it and put it down on the chair. Harris sits on it and the butter gets stuck to his back. Then both these men go about searching for the butter all over the room. Later, George locates it behind Harris’s back and it is packed in the teapot.

Montmorency, their pet dog, contributes his bit to this exercise of packing by sitting on things, climbing into the jam and crushing lemons as though they were rats.

Finally, the packing is done by 12.50 at night. This is followed by a discussion on the ‘wake up’ time and George is so tired that he sleeps off even before the time is decided upon. Jerome and Harris decide that 6.30 in the morning would be the right time to get up and then they too go off to sleep.

Go to the NCERT Solution “No Men Are Foreign”

Message of the lesson- Packing

The chapter humorously describes the do’s and don’ts of packing. Packing should not be treated as a frivolous activity but as a serious task that involves concentration and deftness. Another message the account gives is that if we have a pet, it should be well-trained.

Summary in Hindi/ PACKING

लेखक और उसके मित्रों ने छुट्टी पर जाने का निर्णय किया । लेखक सोचता था कि वह सामान पैक करने में विशेषज्ञ है । उसने अपने मित्रों, जॉर्ज और हैरिस से कहा कि पैकिंग वह करेगा । वे एकदम उसके सुझाव को मान गए । जॉर्ज ने पाइप सुलगा लिया और आराम से कुर्सी पर बैठ गया । हैरिस ने अपनी टाँगें मेज़ पर रखीं और सिगार सुलगा लिया । लेखक ने ऐसा नहीं सोचा था । उसे सामान पैक करने की अपनी पेशकश के कारण स्वयं से नाराजगी हुई । उसने सोचा था कि जॉर्ज और हैरिस सामान पैक करेंगे और यह उन पर रोब चलाएगा । जब वह काम करे और उसके आसपास के लोग आराम करें तो उसे बहीं झुंझलाहट होती है । इसके साथ-साथ वह ऐसा भी नहीं कर सकता कि वह चुपचाप बैठा रहे और लोग काम करते रहें । उसे उठकर उनके काम का निरीक्षण करने में बहुत आनंद आता था ।

वर्णनकर्ता ने पैकिंग आरंभ की । जितना उसे लगता था, यह उससे अधिक लंबा काम था । अंतत: उसने पैकिंग समाप्त की । मगर हैरिस ने उसे बताया कि उसने अपने जूते पैक नहीं किए हैं । उसने बैग खोला और जूते अंदर डाले । तब जब वह इसे बँद करने जा रहा था तो उसके दिमाग में एक विचार आया । उसे विश्वास नहीं था कि उसने अपना टुथ-बुश पैक किया है या नहीं । इसलिए उसने बैग को खोला, हर चीज बाहर निकाली, मगर उसे टुथ-ब्रुश नहीं मिला । तब उसने हर चीज को एक –एक करके हिलाया । आखिर उसे अपना टुथ-ब्रुश एक जूते के अंदर मिला । उसने फिर से सामान पैक किया । अब जॉर्ज ने उससे पूछा कि क्या उसने साबुन पैक किया है । उसने फैसला किया कि वह फिर से पैकिंग नहीं करेगा । मगर उसने देखा कि उसने अपनी तंबाकू की थैली अंदर पैक कर दी थी । इसलिए उसने दुबारा बैग खोला और फिर से पैकिंग की । वह 10.05 पर पैकिंग पूरी करने में सफल हुआ ।

जॉर्ज और हैरिस ने कहा कि वे लेखक द्वारा की गई पैकिंग से संतुष्ट नहीं थे । इसलिए उन्होंने यह काम स्वयं करने का फैसला किया । मगर वस्तुओं को पैक करने में उन्होंने उथल-पुथल मचा दी । उन्होंने पैकिंग की शुरूआत एक कप तोड़कर की । तब हैरिस ने स्ट्रॉबरी जैम को एक टमाटर के ऊपर पैक कर दिया और उसे कुचल दिया । जॉर्ज ने मक्खन पर पांव रख दिया । उन्होंने वस्तुएँ इधर-उधर रख दीं और जब उन्हें जरूरत हुई तो वे उन्हें मिली नहीं । उन्होंने खाने की वस्तुएँ नीचे रखकर ऊपर भारी सामान रख दिया और उन्हें कुचल दिया । हैरिस ने देखा कि मक्खन जॉर्ज के स्लीपर के साथ लगा हुआ है । उसने स्लीपर से मक्खन् उतारा और कुर्सी पर रख दिया । हैरिस मक्खन के ऊपर बैठ गया और यह उसके पीछे चिपक गया । उन्होंने इसकी तलाश सारे कमरे में की । तभी अचानक जॉर्ज ने इसे हैरिस के पीछे लगा देखा । जब आखिर यह उन्हें मिल गया तो उन्होंने इसे चाय की केतली में पैक कर दिया। उनके कुत्ते ने उनकी घबराहट को बड़ा दिया । उसने सोचा कि नीबू चूहे हैं और उनका पीछा किया । उसने जैम में टांग डाल दी और उसे खराब कर दिया । आखिर रात को 12.50 पर पैकिंग पूरी हुईं और तीनों मित्र अगले दिन जल्दी उठने का निर्णय करके सो गए ।

Passages for Comprehension of the lesson- Packing

PASSAGE 1

I rather pride myself on my packing. Packing is one of those many things that I feel I know more about than any other person hying. (It surprises me myself, sometimes, how many such things there are.) I impressed the fact upon George and Harris and told them that they had better leave the whole matter entirely to me. They tell into the suggestion with, a readiness that had something uncanny about it. George put on a pipe and spread himself over the easy-chair, and Harris cocked his legs on the table and lit a cigar.

Questions :

(i )Who does ‘I’ refer to in this passage?

(ii) What does the speaker consider himself an expert in?

(iii) Name the persons mentioned in this passage.

(iv) They had better leave the whole matter entirely to me. What is this ‘whole matter’?

(v) What do you mean by ‘fell into’?

Answers

(i) ‘I’ refers to the author of this lesson Jerome K. Jerome.

(ii) He considers’ himself expert in packing.

(iii) Jerome K. Jerome, George and Harris.

(iv) This ‘whole matter, refers to packing.

(v) ‘Accepted’.

PASSAGE 2

This was hardly what I intended. What I had meant, of course, was, that I should boss the job and that Harris and George should potter about under my directions, I pushed them aside every now and then with, “Oh, you!” Here, let me do it.” “There you are, simple enough!”—really teaching them, as you might say. They’re taking it in the way they did irritate me. There is nothing does irritate me more than seeing other people sitting about doing nothing when l’in working.

Questions :

(i) What had the author not intended?

(ii) What had he intended?

(iii) “Here, let me do it.” What does it refer to?

(iv) What irritates the author more than anything else?

(v) Name the lesson.

Answers :

(i) The author had not intended that he should work and George and Harris take rest.

(ii) He intended that he should supervise the job of packing.

(iii) It refers to ‘packing’.

(iv) Seeing others. people sitting about doing nothing when he is working irritates more than anything else.

(v) ‘Packing’.

PASSAGE 3

I lived with a man once who used to make me mad that way. He would roll on the sofa and watch me doing things by the hour together. He said it did him real good to look on at me, messing about. Now, I’m not like that. I can’t sit still and see another man slaving and working. I want to get up and’-superintend, and walk around with my hands in my pockets, and tell him what to do. It is my energetic nature. I can’t help it:

Questions ;

(i) What problem did the author have with that man?

(ii) What can’t the author do now?

(iii) What did the author want to do now?

(iv) What is the author’s nature?

(v) Name the chapter.

Answers :

(i) That man used to make him mad.

(ii) Now the author can’t sit still and see another man working hard.

(iii) He wanted to get up and superintend, and walk around with his hands in pockets:

(iv). He has an energetic nature.

(v) ‘Packing’.

PASSAGE 4

When I had finished, George asked if the soap was in. I said I didn’t care a hang whether the soap was in or whether it wasn’t, and I slammed the bag shut and strapped it, and found that. I had packed my tobacco-pouch in it and had to re-open it. It got shut tip finally at 10.5 p.m., and then there remained the hampers to do. Harris said that we should be wanting to start in less than twelve hours’ time and thought that he and George had better do the rest, and F agreed and sat down, and they had a go.

Questions :

(i) What had the author finished?

(ii) What did he find when he had shut and strapped the bag?

(iii) When was the bag finally packed?

(iv) What did George and Harris start doing?

(v) Name the chapter and the author.

Answers :

(i) The author had finished packing the bag...

(ii) He found that he had packed his tobacco-pouch in.

(iii) It was finally packed at 10.5 p.m.

(iv) They started packing the hampers.

(v) Tacking’ by Jerome K.’Jerome.

PASSAGE 5

They began in a light-hearted spirit, evidently intending to show me how to do it. I made no comment; I only waited. With the exception of George. Harris is the worst packer in this world, and I looked at the piles of plates and cups, and kettles, and bottles, and jars, and pies, and stoves, and cakes, and tomatoes, etc., and felt that the thing would soon become exciting it did. They started by breaking a cup. That was the first thing they did. They did that just to show you what they could do, and to get you interested.

Questions :

(i) Who does `they’ refer to in this passage?

(ii) What kind of packers are George and Harris?

(iii) How did they start their programme?

(iv) Find a word from the passage which means ‘wishing’.

(v) What did they start packing?

Answers :

(i) ‘They’ refers to George and Harris.

(ii) They are the worst kind of packers.

(iii) They started their programme by breaking a cup.

(iv) ‘Intending’.

(v) They started packing the hampers.

PASSAGE 6

They upset salt over everything, and as for the butter! I never saw two men do more with one-and-two pence worth of butter in my whole life than they did. After George had got it off his slipper; they tried to put it in the kettle. It wouldn’t go in, and what was it wouldn’t come out. They did scrape it out at last and put it down on a chair, and Harris sat on it, and it stuck to him, and they went looking for it all over the room.

Questions :

(i) Name the lesson and the author.

(ii) What bad thing did they do?

(iii) What did George get-off his slipper?

(iv) Where did they put the butter and what happened afterwards?

(v) What were they looking for all over the room?

Answers :

(i) ‘Packing’ by Jerome K. Jerome.

(ii) They upset salt over everything.

(iii) He got the butter off his slipper.

(iv) They put the butter on the chair and then Harris sat on it.

(v) They were looking for the butter all over the room.

PASSAGE 7

Montmorency was in it all, of course. Montmorency’s ambition in life is to get in the way and be sworn at. If he can squirm in anywhere where he particularly is not wanted, and be a perfect nuisance, and make people mad, : Ind have things thrown at his head, then he feels his day has not been wasted. To get somebody to stumble over him, and curse him steadily for an hour, is his highest aim and object; and, when he has succeeded in accomplishing this, his conceit becomes quite unbearable.

Questions :

(i) Who was Montmorency?

(ii) When doe4 he feels that his day has not been wasted?

(iii) What is his highest aim in life?

(iv) Which word in the passage means ‘ego’?

(v) When does he feel succeeded?

Answers :

(i) Montmorency is the pet dog of the author and his friends.

(ii) When he feels that he has succeeded in making people mad and have things thrown at his head, he feels that his day has not been wasted.

(iii) To get somebody to stumble over him, and curse him steadily for an hour is his highest aim in life.

(iv) ‘Conceit’.

(v) When he thinks that he has troubled the people fully he feels succeeded.

Go to the NCERT Solution “Reach for the top Part I”

PASSAGE 8

My tooth-brush is a thing that haunts me when I’m travelling and makes my life a misery. I dream that I haven’t packed it, and wake up in a cold perspiration, and get out of bed and hunt for it. And, in the morning, I pack it before I have used it, and have to unpack again to get it, and it is always the last thing I turn out of the bag: and then I repack and forget it, and have to rush upstairs for it at the last moment and carry it to the railway station, wrapped up in my pocket-handkerchief.

Questions :

(i) Which thing haunts the author while travelling?

(ii) What did the narrator begin to hunt for?

(iii) Why did the author have to unpack the bag again in the morning?

(iv) Which word in the passage means ‘give trouble’.

(v) Name the lesson and the author.

PASSAGE 9

He came and sat down on things, just when they were wanted to be packed: and he laboured under the fixed belief that. whenever Harris or George reached out their hand for anything, it was his cold damp nog that they wanted. lie put his leg into the jam, and he worried the teaspoons, and he pretended that the lemons were rats, and got into the hamper and killed three of them before Harris could land him with the frying-Pan.

Questions :

(i) Who came and sat down on things?

(ii) What happened when George and Harris reached out their hand in search of something?

(iii) Why did he get into the hamper?

(iv) What did I Parris do with the frying-pan?

(v) Name the lesson and the author.

Extracts of the lesson- Packing

Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow in one or two lines each.

(I)

They’re taking it in the way they did irritate me. There is nothing does irritate me more than seeing other people sitting about doing nothing when I’m working.

(a) Who is the speaker here and whom is he talking about?

Ans: The speaker here is Jerome, the narrator of the story. He is talking about his friends, George and Harris.

(b) What does the speaker mean by ‘it’?

Ans: By ‘it’, the speaker Jerome means the response of his friends to his suggestion for packing. Both of them at once left the entire task to him and stretched themselves comfortably while he struggled alone.

(c) What irritates the speaker the most?

Ans: The speaker is irritated the most when other people sit idle while he has to work.

(d) What work did the speaker have to do?

Ans: The speaker, Jerome had to pack the bag for the trip that the three friends had to go on the next morning.

(II)

However, I did not say anything but started the packing. It seemed a longer job than I had thought it was going to be…

(a) Whom does ‘I’ stand for?

Ans: ‘I’ stands for Jerome, the author.

(b) Why didn’t ‘I’ say anything?

Ans: Jerome didn’t say anything as he himself had asked his friends to leave the whole matter (of packing) entirely to him. So now, he couldn’t argue or back out.

(c) How did the job not match his expectation?

Ans: Jerome had thought that it was a simple job that would not take much time. But when he started, it seemed to be a long and a tedious one.

(d) Why did the job take longer than he had expected?

Ans: The job took longer than expected as Jerome had to pack the bag for all three of them. George and Harris didn’t help him at all. On top of it, he had to unpack and repack it over and over again for one reason or the other.

(III)

Harris said that we should be wanting to start in less than twelve hours’ time and thought that he and George had better do the rest, and I agreed and sat down, and they had to go.

(a) What was ‘the rest’ that Harris and George offered to do?

Ans: ‘The rest’ refers to the packing that remained after the bag had been packed. Jerome had packed the bag and now the hamper was left which has been referred to as ‘the rest’.

(b) Why did Harris and George offer to do ‘the rest’?

Ans: Harris and George had seen Jerome’s clumsiness while packing the bag. So, they offered to take care of the rest of the packing, lest the task became unending and their departure got delayed.

(c) Why did Harris particularly mention that they had less than twelve hours’ time to start?

Ans: Harris mentioned ‘less than twelve hours’ time’ as he felt that if Jerome had to complete rest of the packing, twelve hours’ time might not be sufficient for him to finish the job.

(d) Who does ‘I’ refer to? Why did ‘I’ agree to the proposal?

Ans: ‘I’ refers to Jerome. He agreed to the proposal as he knew well how incompetent his friends were. He wanted to see them fumble as they went about packing the hamper.

(IV)

I made no comment; I only waited. With the exception of George, Harris is the worst packer in this world; and I looked at the piles of plates and cups, and kettles, and bottles, and jars, and pies, and stoves, and cakes, and tomatoes, etc., and felt that the thing would soon become exciting.

(a) Who does ‘I’ stand for? What did he wait for?

Ans: ‘I’ stands for Jerome, the narrator. He waited for his friends to fumble and falter while packing the hamper.

(b) Why has ‘and’ been used eight times in the sentence?

Ans: By repeatedly using ‘and’ the narrator wants to impress upon the reader that there was a never-ending collection of articles that had to be packed in the hampers.

(c) Which ‘thing’ would become exciting for the speaker?

Ans: The ‘thing’ here means the simple task of packing the hampers made confounding due to the clumsiness of his friends George and Harris.

(d) Why was ‘the thing’ expected to become ‘exciting’?

Ans: The thing was expected to become exciting because Jerome knew that Harris and George were inept in the art of packing. He was certain that the two of them would make a fool of themselves while trying to complete the simple task.

(V)

They did scrape it out at last and put it down on a chair, and Harris sat on it, and it stuck to him, and they went looking for it all over the room.

(a) Whom does ‘they’ stand for in this extract?

Ans: Here ‘they’ stands for Harris and George.

(b) What does ‘it’ refer to?

Ans: It refers to the butter that George and Harris were trying to squeeze into a kettle.

(c) Why did they have to scrape ‘it’?

Ans: They had to scrape the butter because they were neither able to put it into the kettle nor pull it out. Left with no alternative they had to scrape it.

(d) Why did they go about looking for ‘it’ all over the room?

Ans: When Harris sat on the butter, it had stuck to his back. Being unaware of this, they had to look for it all over.

(VI)

If he can squirm in anywhere where he particularly is not wanted, and be a perfect nuisance, and make people mad, and have things thrown at his head, then he feels his day has not been wasted.

(a) Whom does ‘he’ stand for in these lines?

Ans: In these lines, ‘he’ stands for Montmorency, the pet dog of George, Harris and Jerome.

(b) How did he become a perfect nuisance?

Ans: Montmorency became a perfect nuisance by finding his way to the spot where he would not be wanted at all.

(c) How would ‘he’ make people mad?

Ans: Montmorency would irritate everyone immensely so much so that his activities would make people lose their heads and they would hurl things at his head to shoo him away.

(d) When did ‘he’ feel that his day was not wasted?

Ans: Montmorency felt that his day was not wasted when he was able to irritate people and make them lose their temper by his destructive actions.

(VII)

Harris said I encouraged him. I didn’t encourage him. A dog like that doesn’t want any encouragement.

(a) Whom does ‘I’ stand for in the extract?

Ans: In this extract, ‘I’ stands for Jerome, the narrator.

(b) Whom does ‘him’ refer to?

Ans: ‘Him’ refers to Montmorency, their pet dog.

(c) What sort of encouragement do you think Harris is referring to?

Ans: Harris believes that Jerome encourages Montmorency to get in people’s way and be a perfect nuisance. He feels that it is Jerome who is responsible for the dog’s irritating behaviour.

(d) What impression do you form about ‘him’ from this extract?

Ans: This extract suggests that Montmorency was a dog that had an inborn urge to trouble the people and make them lose their temper. He didn’t need anybody’s support to behave in such a nasty manner.

Very Short Answer Type Important Questions of the lesson- Packing

1. What was Jerome K. Jerome rather proud of?

Ans. He was rather proud of his skill of packing.

2. Name the two friends of Jerome.

Ans. Their names were George and Han’is.

3. What irritates Jerome most?

Ans. Seeing other people sitting around when he is working, irritates him most.

4. What horrible idea struck to the author when he had packed the bag?

Ans. A horrible idea occurred to him whether he had packed his toothbrush in.

5. Where was the toothbrush found lastly?

Ans. Lastly, it was found inside a boot.

6. At what time did the author pack up the bag finally?

Ans. He packed up the bag finally at 10.05 p.m.

7. According to Jerome who was the worst packer?

Ans. According to Jerome, Harris was the worst packer in the world.

8. What did Harris start with packing the hampers?

Ans. He started by breaking a cup.

9. What did George do to butter?

Ans. George trod on butter.

10. Who was Montmorency?

Ans. Montmorency was the author’s pet dog.

11. What did Montmorency do to the jam?

Ans. Montmorency put his leg into the jam.

12. What did Montmorency pretend the lemons?

Ans. He pretended the lemons were rats.

13. At what time was all the packing finished?

Ans. All the packing finished at 12.50 a.m.

14. Who offered to pack hampers?

Ans. George and Harris offered to pack hampers.

Short Answer Type Questions (30 to 40 words) of the lesson- Packing

Q.1. What kind of a man was the person with whom the author once lived?

Ans. The author once lived with a man. He often irritated the author. He would take rest on the sofa. He would watch the author doing work. His eyes followed the author wherever he went. He often called life a noble task, full of duty and stern work. But he would never offer to work

Q.2. Why did George and Harris have `to pick out the tomato with a teaspoon?

Ans. George and Harris packed things in a disorderly way. Harris packed the jar of strawberry jam on top of a tomato. As a result, the tomato was squashed. Then they had to pick it out with a teaspoon.

Q.3, The author says, “I never saw two men do more with one-and-two pence worth of butter in ivy whole life ” What did George and Harris do with the butter?

Ans. George trod on the butter and it stuck to his slipper. George got it off his slipper and tried to put it into the kettle. They did not succeed. They put it down on a chair. Harris sat on the butter and it stuck to him. Then they went all over the room to search for it

Q.4. Do you think the author packed better than George and Harris ? Give reasons for your answer.)

Ans. Yes, the author packed better than his friends, George and Harris. He forgot to put in some things. But he did not create any chaos. On the other hand, George and Harris breaks cups and plates, squash a tomato and make a mess of butter. They put the pies at the bottom and put heavy things on it. Thus the author packed better than George and Harris

Q.5. Describe the butter incident.

Ans. George and Harris started packing the bag. George trod on the butter and it stuck to his slipper. When they came to know of it, they got it off the slipper. They put the butter on the chair. By mistake, Harris sat on it and it stuck behind him. They searched all over the room for the butter. At last, they were found it sticking on Harris’s back. The incident of the butter creates a lot of humour in the story.

Q.6. When were George and Harris finally able to pack the bag? What did they decide about getting up the next morning?

Ans. George and Harris created chaos while packing the bag for the trip. At last, they were able to pack the bag at 12.50 at night. Then the question of getting up the next morning came. Harrk asked George to wake theme seven the next morning. But the author wanted to get up at six, as he had to write some letters.

Q7. How many characters are there in the narrative? Name them. (Textual)

Ans: Jerome, George and Harris are the three human characters in the narrative. Their pet dog, Montmorency too is an important character, along with them. He also participates as enthusiastically in the packing activities as his masters. All four characters are equally funny.

Q8. Why did the narrator (Jerome) volunteer to do the packing? (Textual)

Ans: Jerome, the narrator, prided himself in his packing skills a bit too much. He felt that under his guidance even poor packers like Harris and George could accomplish this task with great efficiency. He volunteered to do the packing, expecting that his friends would work under his guidance and directions.

Q9. Why did the author take pride in his packing skills?

Ans: The author felt that packing was one of those things that he knew more about than anyone else. This made him develop a sense of superiority about his ability as the best packer and he took pride in his packing skills.

Q10. How did George and Harris react to Jerome’s offer to do the packing? Did Jerome like their reaction? (Textual)

Ans: legs on the table. Jerome did not at all like this reaction because he actually wanted to supervise and instruct them how to do the plays as they were, George and Harris agreed readily to Jerome’s offer to do the packing. George sprawled over the easy-chair while Harris cocked hacking instead of doing it himself.

Q11. What was Jerome’s real intention when he offered to pack? (Textual)

Ans: Jerome’s real intention was not to pack himself but to make his friends George and Harris work under his directions and supervision. He intended to prove his superiority by bossing over them and throw his weight around while they packed.

Q12. How did the man, with whom the narrator once stayed, used to drive him mad?

Ans: The man, with whom the narrator once staved, used to drive him mad by lolling on the sofa and watching him constantly as he went about messing the tasks at hand. The man said he really enjoyed that sight and felt good.

Q13. ‘Now, I’m not like that.’ What does the narrator intend to convey by this statement?

Ans: By this statement, the narrator intends to convey his dislike for sitting idle and watching someone else work hard. He preferred to walk around and supervise work in his natural energetic way. However, this actually means that he too was not interested in toiling but liked to boss over others.

Q14. Why did it take the narrator longer than he had expected to pack the bag?

Ans: It took the narrator much longer to pack the bag than he had expected because he was inexperienced in the skill of packing quickly and efficiently. His forgetfulness and clumsiness consumed much more time in packing than it should have.

Q15. What did Harris say after the bag was shut and strapped? Why do you think he waited till then to ask? (Textual)

Ans: After the bag had been shut and strapped by the narrator, Harris reminded him that he had forgotten to pack the boots. He waited till the completion of packing to say this because he wanted to irritate the narrator and have fun at his expense.

Q16. What “horrible idea” occurred to Jerome a little later? (Textual)

Ans: The horrible idea that occurred to Jerome a little later was whether he had packed his toothbrush or not. It was a horrible idea because he was about to pack the bag for the second time and would have to unpack it all over again to locate the toothbrush.

Q17. Where did Jerome finally find the toothbrush? (Textual)

Ans: Jerome finally found the toothbrush inside a boot that he had packed in the bag. He found it after having taken out all the items and searching thoroughly for the toothbrush leading to a terrible mess.

Q18. Why does the narrator say that the packing of his toothbrush drives him to a point of madness?

Ans: The narrator says that the packing of his toothbrush drives him to a point of madness because he either packs it even before he has brushed his teeth or doesn’t pack it at all. In both cases, he has to unpack everything to locate his brush.

Q19. Why did Jerome have to reopen the packed bag? (Textual)

Ans: Jerome had to reopen the packed bag because he kept forgetting things. First, he forgot to pack his boots and then couldn’t remember having packed his toothbrush. After having spent a lot of time unpacking and packing all such things, he mistakenly packed his spectacles as well and had to reopen the bag yet again.

Q20. What did George and Harris offer to pack and why? (Textual)

Ans: George and Harris offered to pack the hamper. They made this offer because Jerome had already consumed a lot of time packing the bag, and they were now left with less than twelve hours to leave.

Q21. Why did George and Harris have to pick out the tomato with a teaspoon?

Ans: While packing the hamper, Harris packed a strawberry jam on top of a tomato and squashed it. So, they had to pick out the tomato with a teaspoon which was a messy and time-consuming task.

Q22. What were the foolish things done by George and Harris while packing the hamper? (Textual)

Ans: George and Harris fumbled and flustered many times while packing the hamper. They broke a cup at the outset and then squashed tomato and stepped on the butter. They jumbled up the items to be packed and crushed softer things like pies under heavy objects.

Q23. Who was Montmorency and how did he contribute to the packing? (Textual)

Ans: Montmorency was the pet dog of the narrator and his two friends. He contributed to the packing by forcibly sitting down on things. He put his leg into the jam, fumbled with the teaspoons, and chased the lemons like rats. He gave a tough time to his masters who had to finally shoo him away with a frying pan.

Q24. What was the ‘highest aim and object’ of Montmorency, according to the narrator?

Ans: According to the narrator, Montmorency’s highest aim and object were to get in the way of others and make them tumble over him. He aspired to get cursed from everyone and liked things to be thrown at him for his unbearable interference.

Q25 How did Harris and George fare at packing the hamper?

Ans: Harris and George fared miserably bad at packing the hamper. They assembled all the things to be packed in the most disorganised manner. They damaged a lot of items by breaking, crushing or stepping on them. Salt flew all over while they packed.

Q26. Why did Harris tell Jerome that he encourages the antics of Montmorency? What was Jerome’s defence?

Ans: Harris blames Jerome for encouraging Montmorency because Jerome did not prove effective in shooing away the dog. Jerome’s defence was that an ill-trained dog like Montmorency did not need any encouragement to misbehave. Indiscipline came naturally to him.

Q27. When did George go off to sleep and what did the narrator and Harris do to ensure that he would wake up fully in the morning?

Ans: George went off to sleep when the narrator and Harris were still arguing over the time they wanted him to wake them up in the morning. To ensure that he would wake up fully, they placed the bath where he could tumble into on getting out in the morning.

Important Long/ Detailed Answer Type Questions- to be answered in about 100 -150 words each – Packing

Q.1. Who offered to pick the bag for the trip? Was he happy at his own offer

Ans. The author and his friends decided to go on holiday. The author thought he was an expert in packing. He told his friends, George and Harris that he would do the packing. They at once agreed to his suggestion. George put on a pipe and sat in an easy chair. Han-is put his legs on a table and lit a cigar. The author had not intended this He was unhappy with himself for having offered to pack. He had thought that Harris and George would pack and he would boss over them. When he worked and the people around him relaxed, he was greatly irritated. At the same time, he could not sit still and see others working. He enjoyed getting up and supervising their work.

Q.2. Describe how the author packed the bag for going on a trip?

Ans. the narrator started packing. It seemed a longer job than he had thought it was going to be. At last, he finished packing. But Harris told him that he had not packed the boots. He opened the bag and packed the boots in. Then, when he was going to close it, an idea came to him. He was not sure whether he had packed his toothbrush. So he unpacked the bag and took everything out but could not find the toothbrush. Then he shook everything one by one. At last, he found his toothbrush in a boot. He repacked once more. Now George asked him if he had packed the soap. He decided not to do the packing again. But he found Ile had packed his tobacco-pouch in it. So he reopened the bag and repacked it. He was able to co e packing at 10.05 p.m

Q3. Of the three, Jerome, George and Harris, who do you think is the best or the worst packer? Support your answer with details from the text (Textual)

Ans: Jerome, George and Harris are equally clumsy and disorganised packers. Jerome takes a lot of time to pack the bag and George and Harris damage a lot of things while packing the hamper. Jerome works all by himself and his friends work together but the end results in both the cases remain the same – a terrible mess. Jerome first forgets to pack his boots and then forgets having packed his toothbrush. After unpacking twice, he again packs in his spectacles absentmindedly. George and Harris take upon themselves the task of packing the hamper with quite an elan but break a cup at the very outset. They falter many times while packing the huge pile of assorted things like cups, bottles, kettle, pies, tomatoes etc. They ‘misplace’ the butter and spread salt over everything. However, all three of them finally complete packing and leave the readers splitting with laughter at their clumsiness.

Q4. How did the butter episode in the story cause nuisance?

Ans: The butter episode in the story caused a lot of nuisance as it was being handled by the clumsiest of people. First of all, George stepped over the butter and then he and Harris struggled to put it in the kettle but got stuck. The butter would neither go in nor could it be taken out. Then Harris somehow managed to scrape it and put it on the chair. A little while later, an absent-minded Harris sat on the chair and the butter got stuck to his back. Then the two boys started looking for the butter all over the place without knowing that it was stuck behind Harris’s back. After having toppled everything in their search for the butter, George finally noticed it behind Harris’s back from where it was removed. Hence, the butter episode created a lot of nuisance and became the funniest episode in the story.

Q 5. Do you find this story funny? What are the humorous elements in it? (Textual)

Ans: The story is very funny with loud and boisterous humour. The chaos and confusion created by all the characters amuse the reader. The gap between their self-assessment and their actual capabilities makes us burst out laughing. The dog’s contribution to humour is no less significant.
Jerome’s sense of pride in his packing skills and the manner in which he is left alone to pack the bag is very funny. While Jerome expected to use the opportunity for bossing over his friends, they make him toil instead. The frequent forgetfulness of Jerome and the subsequent unpacking of the bag many times over dilute his hard work and amuse the reader. Harris and George’s faltering and fumbling while packing the hamper is very amusing and rib-tickling. The manner in which they pile up an assortment of things and then fail to pack them properly amuse the reader. The butter episode, in particular, generates side-splitting laughter.
Montmorency, the dog, too adds to the humour with his habit of getting in the way of things. His indiscipline and animal-curiosity earn him curses and hits from his masters but he still manages to put his leg in the jam and chase lemons like rats.
Hence, all these instances lend humour to the story.

Q6. When did the “horrible idea” occur to Jerome? Why was it a “horrible idea”?

What fuss does Jerome’s toothbrush often create for him?

Ans: The ”horrible idea” that occurred to Jerome as soon as he had finished packing in his boots was whether he had packed in his toothbrush or not. He was always in the habit of forgetting to pack his toothbrush.
The idea was horrible in the sense that it made him panic and grow restless. It would haunt him so much that at night he would dream that he had not packed the toothbrush. He would wake up in cold perspiration, get out of bed and hunt for it.
Again he would pack it without using it in the morning, which meant that he would have to unpack it again. And whenever he was fishing for it, it would be the last thing to come out of the bag.
After using it he would again forget to pack it and at the last moment would have to rush upstairs to fetch it. As a result, he would carry it to the railway station, wrapped up in his pocket-handkerchief.
Thus, the toothbrush was a constant source of bother and horror for Jerome.

Go to the NCERT Solution “Reach for the top Part II”

Quick Review of of the lesson- Packing

1. What did the author pride himself about?

(A) buying (B) selling

Ans. (C) packing

2. Who is the author of the lesson ‘ Packing’?

(A) Jerome K. Jerome (B) George

Ans. (A) Jerome K. Jerome

3. Who offered to do packing first of all?

(A) the author (B) George

Ans. (A) the author

4. What irritates Jerome K. Jerome the most?

(A) seeing other people doing packing (B) seeing other people doing nothing

Ans. (B) seeing other people doing nothing

5. What did the author pack first of all?

(A) baskets (B) suitcase

Ans. (C) bag

6. What did the author forget to pack in the bag?

(A) tooth-brush (B) tobacco box

Ans. (A) boots

7. What thing haunts the author while travelling?

(A) tooth-brush (B) tooth-paste

Ans. (A) tooth-brush

8. Where did the author find the tooth-brush finally?

(A) inside a book (B) inside a pocket

Ans. (C) inside a boot

9. When did the author pack the bag finally?

(A) 9.05 p.m (B) 10.05 p.m

Ans. (B) 10.05 p.m

10.Who started packing the hampers ?

(A) Jerome K. Jerome. (B) George

Ans. (D) both (B) and (C)

11. Who was the worst packer in the world?

(A) Jerome K. Jerome (B) George

Ans. (C) Harris

12. What did George and Harris start the packing with?

(A) breaking a cup (B) breaking a plate

Ans. (A) breaking a cup

13. Who trod on the butter?

(A) the author (B) George

Ans. (B) George

14. What was the name of the dog?

(A) Tommy (B) Jonny

Ans. (D) Montmorency

15. George put the butter on a chair. What happened then?

(A) Harris sat on the chair and butter stuck to him (B) the dog ate it

Ans. (A) Harris sat on the chair and butter stuck to him

16. What did the three friends toss for?

(A) packing (B) butter

Ans. (C) beds

17. What did Montmorency do to the jam?

(A) he ate it (B) he puts his leg into the jam

Ans. (B) he puts his leg into the jam

18. Montmorency pretended that lemons were :

(A) rats (B) rabbits

Ans. (A) rats

19. When did they finally decide to get up the next morning?

(A) at 4.30 a.m (B) at 5.30 a.m

Ans. (C) at 6.30 a.m

20.When was the packing done ?

(A) at 12.50 a.m (B) at 1.00 a.m

Ans. (A) at 12.50 a.m