Welcome to our extra questions guide on Chapter 1. We have everything you need. Want a summary? We have that and even a summary example. We also have multiple choice questions, or MCQs. Hard words in the chapter. We explain difficult words in English too. You’ll get an introduction in English to start you off. We offer both long and short question answer in English. We also give you a personality sketch of the author. Want to dive into themes? We have that. We even have a comprehension passage with question and answer. Get ready to learn this chapter well!
Extra Questions, Notes, Assignments,s and study material for Class 9th as Per Latest CBSE Syllabus
Chapter- 1 Fiction -1 English Language and Literature- Beehive (Latest 2023- 24)
The Fun They Had Extra Question Answer English
By- Isaac Asimov
About the Author- Isaac Asimov
Learn more about the author Isaac Asimov, as we delve into his background and contributions to better appreciate the context of the chapter ” The Fun They Had Class 9.”
Scholar Isaac Asimov was one of the 20th century’s most prolific writers, writing in many genres. He was known for Science fiction works like Foundation and I, Robot.
Born on January 2, 1920, in Petrovichi, Russia, Isaac Asimov immigrated with his family to the United States and became a biochemistry professor while pursuing writing. He published his first novel, Pebble in the Sky, in 1950. An immensely prolific author who penned nearly 500 books, he published influential Science fiction works like I, Robot, and the Foundation trilogy, as well as books in a variety of other genres. Asimov died in New York City on April 6, 1992. The On The Fun They Had is one of the most popular fictional works written by him.
Introduction of the lesson- The Fun They Had
Following is the introduction English text for Chapter ‘ The Fun They Had Class 9,’ aimed to give you a clear grasp of its main ideas.”
This story is set in the future when books and schools as we have now perhaps will not exist. Two students from that period about 150 years in advance today found a printed book. They are very surprised. They talk about the schools and books of the old period. They compare those schools with those of their own which are situated in their homes and have mechanical teachers to teach them. They find their schools dull. They think that it was great fun to study in the schools of old times when all the kids of the area went there to learn the same thing from a man teacher.
Plot/ Theme / Central Idea of the Lesson/ Literary Analysis of The Fun They Had/ Main Idea
Explore the theme as well as the theme background of the chapter ‘ The Fun They Had Class 9′ to gain a richer understanding of the underlying messages and ideas presented in the chapter
The story “The Fun They Had” written by Isaac Asimov is set in the year 2157 when every child has a teacher who is a machine, not a human, and schools/classrooms like today have completely been replaced by Machines. Asimov wrote this story in 1951 for a syndicated newspaper page. Later “The Fun They Had” was published in “Fantasy and Science Fiction” magazine.
Thirteen-year-old Tommy finds an old book in the year 2157, Tommy who is 13 years old, and his younger sister who is 11 years old find it strange that words in that book’s pages do not move after having been read as nowadays they read everything on computer screens. The book that Tommy found is about the schools which used to exist a century ago. While reading that old book they found Margie is amazed at the fact that in the past times, students used to have a person as their teacher and children altogether learned the same thing and went to a schoolhouse with other children.
Margie wants to read more of the book but first, she has to learn with her machine teacher whose level is too advanced for her and she thinks the school in those days was much better than today. Ultimately the theme is to understand the importance of the present time’s lively school atmosphere in which we keep on finding faults over nothing.
Theme
The main theme in the short story ‘The Fun They Had’ is education. More specifically, the narrative deals with the future of education which will become increasingly Computerized and away from social interactions.
The message of the lesson- The Fun They Had
The author conveys the message that children and their proper schooling are in danger due to technological advancements which will deprive the benefits of personal interactions among students and students and teachers. Because of it, it will become harder for them to develop any social skills.
JUSTIFICATION OF THE TITLE
The title of the chapter, “The Fun They Had,” is justified by the central theme of the story. In this futuristic world, education has become completely mechanized and impersonal, devoid of any fun or enjoyment for children. The children in the story, Tommy and Margie, come across an old book that describes the traditional way of learning, where children would physically go to a school and interact with a human teacher and other children. They are fascinated by the idea of having fun while learning.
The title of the chapter also highlights the stark contrast between the joyless, monotonous education system of the future and the more enjoyable and interactive learning methods of the past. The word “fun” suggests that learning should be an enjoyable experience and the fact that the children in the story are amazed and delighted by the idea of having fun while learning shows how much they are missing out on in their current education system.
Overall, the title of the chapter serves to underscore the important theme of the story, which is the importance of human interaction and personal touch in education, and the need for a balance between technology and traditional learning methods.
Important Word-Meanings of difficult words from the lesson- The Fun They Had
[ PAGE 1] : Exist = to be in being = अस्तित्व में होना ; virtual = real वास्तविक ; imagine = suppose/think =कल्पना करना ; crinkly = with many folds =सलवटों वाला ; awfully = terribly = भयानक ढग से ; waste = useless =व्यर्थ I
[PAGE 2] : Guess = assume = अनुमान ; million = ten lakh = दस लाख ; telebooks = books on telivision screen = टेलीविज़न के पर्दे पर आने वाली पुस्तकें ; attic = a space just below the roof used as a store = अटारी ; scornful = contemptuous =घृणा का भाव होना ; geography = study about earth and its objects =भूगोल ; worse = not better =ख़राब ; slot = a given space = दराज ; punch code = a number with some hole = छिद्र संख्या ; fault – problem = दोष ; geared = adjusted the speed =स्पीड सही करना l; pattern = design/system =ढांचा l
[PAGE 3] : Disappointed = unhappy =निराश ; sector = part = भाग ; blanked out = got plain without any writing = साफ हो गया ; stupid = fool = मूर्ख ; loftily = in a superior way =विशिष्ट अंदाज में ; regular = (here) normal = सामान्य ; betcha = to make a bet = शर्त लगाना ; dispute =disagree with =असहमति ; screamed =cried loudly = जोर से चिल्लाया ; kids = small children = छोटे बच्चे ; adjusted = to make set = समायोजित करना l
[PAGE 4] : Funny = (here) interesting = रोचक ; probably = possibly = संभवतया ; nonchalantly = not showing much interest = अनिच्छा पूर्वक ; tucked = to fold/put = दबाना , beneath = under = के नीचे ; except = excluding = के सिवाय ; lit up = lighted = प्रकाशित होना ; arithmetic = a subject which provides the study of numbers = अंकगणित ; insert = put = डालना ; flashing = shining = चमकना l
Summary in English- The Fun They Had
Take a look at the following summary example to better understand the chapter ” The Fun They Had,” crafted through careful summary writing.
In the year 2157, on 17 May, Tommy who is 13 years old found a real book and then he showed it to his sister Margie who is 13 years old. She had never seen a real book before in her life. Once she heard from her grandfather about printed books. The book was a really old one as it had turned yellow and its pages too were so crinkly. After they had read it, Tommy considered it a total waste. The reason was, he had studied all of his books on the Computer screen. They had no printed books. So he found it so uncomfortable for him to go through that physical book he found.
Tommy told Margie that the book is about the schools of the past century. Margie always hated her school. It was located in a room next to her bedroom. Her mechanical teacher used to flash on her screen at a fixed time daily except on Saturdays and Sundays. She had to attend all those classes all alone. The mechanical teacher was responsible for all academic things like asking all questions, giving her homework, and checking it. It also prepared their assignments and test papers. Margie was being given test after test by her mechanical teacher. Her performance was going poor with each test. To resolve this problem Margie’s mother called the county inspector. He set the speed of her mechanical teacher to the level of an average student of 10 years old.
Margie got to know from Tommy that there were old kinds of schools about a century ago and those schools were located in special buildings. There were human teachers in them, not mechanical teachers. All the children of nearby areas used to go there and learned the same thing together. Margie found it quite amusing to study in those schools. She wanted to know more about those “ old schools “ which were described in that diary they found.
Then soon Margie’s Mother called her to attend her school. Margie didn’t want to attend school at that time but she had to attend it anyways. It was right next to her bedroom.
Her Mechanical teacher was on and it was waiting for her to arrive there. It asked her to put her homework in the proper slot it had to receive the homework from students. Margie submitted her homework to it. She was being taught the Mathematics topic of fractions but all she could think about was the school of old times and the fun they (Old school children) had.
Summary in Hindi – The Fun They Had- Full Text
Here is the Hindi story summary of the chapter ” The Fun They Had Class 9,” designed to give you a clear understanding of its essential ideas in Hindi.
17 मई 2157 के दिन टॉमी को वास्तविक पुस्तक मिली उसने इसे मार्गी को दिखाया । मार्गी ग्यारह वर्ष की थी । इससे पहले उसने कभी भी वास्तविक पुस्तक नहीं देखी थी । एक बार उसने दादाजी जी से वास्तविक मुद्रित (छपी) पुस्तकों के बारे में सुना था । यह एक बहुत पुरानी पुस्तक थी । इसके पन्ने पीले और सलवटों वाले हो गये थे । उन्होंने इसके पन्नों को पलटा और उन्हें पढ़ा । टॉमी को यह बाते व्यर्थ सी लगी । उनके पास छपी हुई पुस्तकें नहीं थीं । उनकी पुस्तकें टेलीविजन के पर्दे पर चमकती थीं टॉमी जोकि तेरह वर्ष का था मार्गी की तुलना में टेलीविजन के पर्दे पर अधिक पुस्तकें पढ़ चुका था ।
टॉमी ने मार्गी को बताया कि यह पुस्तक स्कूल के बारे में है मार्गी हमेशा से ही स्कूल से घृणा करती थी । उसका स्कूल उसके घर पर एक कमरे में स्थित था । यह उसके शयनकक्ष से अगले कमरे में स्थित था । शनिवार और रविवार के दिनों को छोड़कर उसका तकनीकी शिक्षक प्रतिदिन टेलीविजन के पर्दे पर एक निर्धारित समय पर चमकता था । उसे अकेले ही उसके सामने उपस्थित होना पड़ता था । यह तकनीकी शिक्षक उससे प्रश्न पूछता था । उसे गृहकार्य देता था और उसे चेक करता था । वह परीक्षा पत्रों को भी चैक करता था और उनके अंक देता था।
मार्गी का तकनीकी शिक्षक उसे एक के बाद एक टेस्ट देता रहता था । मार्गी का प्रदर्शन बद से बदतर होता जा रहा था । उसकी माँ ने काऊंटी इंस्पेक्टर को बुला भेजा । उसने तकनीकी शिक्षक की गति को एक औसत दस वर्ष के बच्चे के स्तर पर का दिया ।
टॉमी ने मार्गी को बताया कि सैकड़ों वर्ष पूर्व यहाँ पुरानी किस्म के स्कूल हुआ करते थे । वे स्कूल विशेष किस्म के भवनों में स्थित होते थे । उन स्कूलों में पुरुष अध्यापक पढाते थे । क्षेत्र के सभी वच्चे यहाँ जाते थे और एक जैसा सबक सीखते थे । मार्गी ने सोचा कि उन स्कूलों में अध्ययन करना बहुत रोचक होता होगा । यह उन रोचक स्कूलों के बारे में पढ़ना चाहती थी ।
तभी मार्गी की माँ ने उसे स्कूल में उपस्थित होने के लिए बुला लिया । मागी स्कूल से उपस्थित नहीं होना चाहती थी परन्तु वह अनिच्छापूवंक स्कूल कक्ष के अंदर चली गई । यह उसके शयनकक्ष से आगे कमरे में स्थित था । उसका तकनीकी शिक्षक कार्यरत अवस्था में था और उसकी प्रतीक्षा कर रहा था । उसने मार्गी से कहा कि यह उचित दराज में अपना गृहकार्य डाल दे । मार्गी ने एकं भारी सांस के साथ ऐसा किया । तकनीकी शिक्षक उसे गणित विषय का भिन्न वाला पाठ पढा रहा था लेकिन मार्गी पुराने ज़माने के स्कूलों और उनमें होने वाली रोचकता के विषय में सोच रही थी ।
Character Sketch
Margie Jones:
Tips to Learn :
- She Is Fascinated: She was fascinated by the book that Tommy found.
- She is Open-minded – She accepts the fact her current education system isn’t that good.
- She is sensitive – She feels happy to know about how lively past century’s education system was and sympathises with her current education system.
- She is imaginative – She could draw picture of past century’s schools in her head when Tommy was describing the old book contents to her.
- She was curious – She wanted to know more about the old schools.
Margie Jones is 11 years old, living in the year 2157, education is completely digitized in this era and printed books and human teachers are just a thing of the past.
She was fascinated by the book that her brother Tommy found. But she was finding it hard to understand the contents written in it as she was so young. In the story, Margie is an open-minded girl, who accepts the fact that her education system isn’t perfect and needs improvements. She does not follow anything blindly and she considers both negatives and positives of all things before judging them.
She was enthusiastic when she got to know that in the past century, the teachers were humans, not machines. She was curious as she was excited to know more about the past century’s school.
She was sensitive too as she was thinking about how emotionally satisfied were those children in the past because of their lively education system. Because it included Positive interaction among all children and teachers around there. She sympathized with those children who were now stuck in this so-called modern education system where there are no social interactions because of digitization.
She could easily understand how old schools were and how their environment was just by imagining which shows that she is a lot imaginative and thoughtful girl.
Margie is a character who highlights the importance of adapting education to meet the needs and preferences of individual learners
Tommy:
Tips to Learn :
- He is Smart – He was able to understand all the texts that were written in that old book he found.
- He is Confident – He answers Margie’s questions immediately.
- He is playful – He teases Margie and shows off in front of her.
- He is stubborn – He tries to contradict Margie’s opinion
- He is wise – He makes his opinion after understanding all aspects of it.
Tommy is 13 years old. He is a little smarter than his little sister as he is older than her and has read more tele-books than her. He likes and prefers the education system they have currently which is completely digitized. It shows that he is an academically sharp student as this digitized education system was more about academics.
Tommy is a confident boy as he had answered Margie almost immediately which shows that he doesn’t think twice before saying anything because somewhere he feels that he can not be wrong. He is a playful character too, and we can easily see that when he teases Margie and tries to show off his knowledge to her.
His opinion about the old book that he found, was contrasting with Margie’s opinion on it but he still respected her opinions which shows us that he respects the opinion of others which is one of the best qualities you can find in someone.
He is adventurous and creative, when he said the book is a waste, that was because it was a waste of their resource. So when he makes opinions about something, he doesn’t make them out anywhere he always has some proper reasoning behind them. And this shows that he is a smart kid.
Value Points
- This chapter highlights the significance of the schools and classrooms and the value of social interactions along with the study.
- As we are relying more on technology these days even for the smallest things we do, this chapter talks about the Potential negatives of replacing humans with machines in the teaching field.
- This chapter mainly talks about the importance of critical thinking and creative skills in education.
- The chapter promotes us to question and explore the other ways through which we can improve the quality of the learning we get.
- It highlights the importance of letting children live their childhood at its best along with the socially-interactive study environment we have today.
- The chapter suggests that children should be given more autonomy and freedom in their education to promote curiosity and passion for learning.
- It makes us consider the consequences of a highly automated society where tech plays a huge and dominant role in our lives.
Vocabulary
Headed—titled; Crinkly—full of wrinkles; Awfully—very much; Funny—humorous; Supposed to—expected; Throw—send through the air; Million—ten lakhs; Plenty—many; Attic—space just below the roof to store things; Scornful—hateful; Mechanical—connected with machines; Shake—to move— Sorrowfully—sadly; County—region; Inspector—a person who inspects. Tool—equipment; Slot—a given space, time, or position; Calculate—to count; Marks—score; In no time—very fast;
Fault—mistake; Geared—prepared and ready for something; Quick—fast; Happen—to take place; Slow it up—to make something run at low speed; Average—usual standard; Actually—in fact; Satisfactory—good enough; Superior—wide; Stupid—fool; Pronounce—to make a sound; Hurt—feel pain; Regular—permanent; fix; Smart—wise; Dispute—to argue; Strange—unknown; Scream—to cry; Kid—child; Adjust—change; Quickly—promptly; Funny—amusing; Finish—complete; Probably—perhaps;
Nonchalantly—lack of care; Whistle—blow sound with the mouth; Dusty—dirty; Beneath—below; Addition—inclusion; Proper—right; Fraction—part; Insert—put something inside; Sigh—to breathe heavily; Neighbourhood—from nearby; Yard—land next to a building; Flash—to shine.
Following is the complete question bank for The Fun They Had-
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
Find a collection of multiple choice questions to enhance your understanding of the chapter ” The Fun They Had Class 9.” For your convenience, we’ve also included multiple choice questions with answers to help you prepare for exams.
I. On which date did Margie make an entry in her diary about schools?
(A) 17 May 2156 (B) 17 May 2157
(C) 17 May 2158 (D) 17 May 2159
Ans. (B) 17 May 2157
2. Who found a real book?
(A) Tommy (B) Margie
(C) Tommy’s teacher (D) The mechanical teacher
Ans.Tommy
3. What did Margie write about in her diary?
(A) a real school (B) a real teacher
(C) a real book (D)Tommy her grandfather
Ans. (A) a real school
4. Who told Margie once about real books?
(A) her father (B) Tommy
(C) the mechanical teacher (D)her grandfather
Ans. (D) her grandfather
5. Why were the pages of the book yellow and crinkly
(A) it was a very old book (B)Its color was yellow
(C) they were yellow because written in yellow ink. (D)none of these
Ans. (A) it was a very old book
6. How were the words in the book?
(A) moving (B) Steady
(C) getting unprinted after reading (D) none of these options is right
Ans. (B) steady
7. How old was Margie?
(A) ten years (B) eleven years
(C) twelve years (d) thirteen years
Ans. (B) eleven years
8. How old was Tommy?
(A) ten years (B) eleven years
(C)-14,/elve years (D) thirteen years
Ans. (D) thirteen years
9. Where did Tommy find the book?
(A) in the attic (B) in the school
(C) in a shop (D) in a library
Ans.(A) in the attic
10. What was Margie scornful about?
(A) the printed book (B) the school
(C) Tommy (D) e-mail books
Ans. (B) the school
11. What do you mean by a mechanical teacher?
(A) television (B) a teacher who teaches with instruments
(C) a real teacher (D) all the options are correct
Ans. (A) television
12. What was Margie’s mechanical teacher giving her?
(A) tests in mathematics (B) tests in geography
(C) a sound beating (D) good marks
Ans. (B) tests in geography
13. Margie’s mother called the County Inspector to
(A) teach Margie (B) and give her good marks
(C) take her to another school (D) set the mechanical teacher right
Ans. (D) set the mechanical teacher right
14. Margie’s mother shook her head sorrowfully :
(A) at Margie’s poor performance on tests (B) at the old times of schools
(C) at the printed books (D) at the mechanical teacher
Ans. (A) at Margie’s poor performance on tests
L5. Who was a round little man?
(A) the County Inspector (B) the mechanical teacher
(C) the real teacher (D) Tommy
Ans. (A) the County Inspector
16. Why had the inspector’s tools and wires with him?
(A) he was to set Margie right (B) he was to set the mechanical teacher right (C) he was to check Margie’s mother (D) none of these options
Ans. (B) he was to set the mechanical teacher right
17. How long did it take the inspector to set the mechanical teacher right?
(A) one hour (B) thirty minutes
(C) two hours (D) one month
Ans. (A) one hour
18. Which part of the mechanical teacher did Margie hate most?
(A) screen (B) whole box
(C) slot (D) none of these
Ans. (C) slot
19. How did Margie feed her homework to the mechanical teacher?
(A) in a punch code (B) in written papers
(C) by speaking (D) none of these options
Ans. (A) in a punch code
20. Margie was doing worse and worse in?
(A) Geography (B) Maths
(C) Physics (D) English
Ans. (A) Geography
21. What did Tommy and Margie mean by a regular teacher
(A) a male teacher (B) a female teacher
(C) a good teacher (D) a mechanical teacher
Ans. (D) a mechanical teacher
22. Select the title of the story of Tommy and Margie
(A) A Real Book. (B) The Fun They Had
(C) The Fun with Printed Books (D) A Printed Book
Ans. (B) The Fun They Had
Line to Line Explanation in Hindi- The Fun They Had
पाठ का संपूर्ण हिदी अनुवाद
[PAGE 1]
जो कहानी हम पढ़ेंगे वह भविष्य के उस समय मे लिखी गई है जब आज की तरह पुस्तकें और स्कूल अस्तित्व में नहीं होगें । तब बच्चे पढाई कैसे करेंगे?
नीचे दिया गया चित्र आपको कुछ जानकारी प्रदान कर सकता है l
- समूह बनाकर अपने विद्यालय से संबंधित तीन ऐसी चीजो के बारे में विचार विमर्श कीजिये जो आपको अच्छी लगती हैं और तीन ऐसी चीजे जिन्हें आप बदलना चाहते हो । उन्हें लिख लीजिए ।
- क्या आपने टेलीविजन या कंप्यूटर की स्क्रीन (पर्दे) पर शब्दों को पढ़ा है? क्या आप ऐसे समय की कल्पना कर सकते हो जब सभी पुस्तकें कम्पूटर पर उपलब्ध होंगीं , और कागज पर छपी पुस्तकें नहीं होंगीं? क्या आपको ऐसी पुस्तकें अच्छी लगेगी?
1. मार्गी ने आज रात ही इसके बारे में अपनी डायरी में लिखा था । पृष्ठ शीर्षक 17 मई, 2157 पर उसने लिखा आज टॉमी को एक वास्तविक पुस्तक मिली । वह एक बहुत पुरानी पुस्तक थी । एक बार मार्गी के दादा जी ने कहा था कि जब यह एक छोटा बालक था तो उसके दादा जी उसे बताया करते थे कि एक समय ऐसा था जब सभी कहानियों की छपाई कागज पर होती थी ।
वे पीले पड़ चुके और सलवटों वाले पन्नों को बदल रहे थे , और उन्हें यह वहुत अधिक हास्यास्पद लग रहा है कि वे शब्द उसकी टेलीविजन की स्कीन से भिन्न केवल एक ही स्थान पर खड़े हुए थे । और जब वे पहले पढ़ चुके पृष्ट को निकालते थे तो उन्हें वे शब्द बिल्कुल उसी स्थान पर मिलते थे जहाँ पर उस समय थे जय उन्होंने पुस्तक को पहले पढ़ा था ।
2. ‘ठगी‘, टॉमी ने कहा, ‘यह कितनी व्यर्थ बात है । जब आपने पुस्तक पढ़ ली है‘ तो इसे फेंक दीजिए, मेरा तो यहीं मानना है ।
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उसने कहा, ‘तुम्हें यह पुस्तक कहाँ से मिली?’
हमारे टेलीविजन की स्कीन (पर्दे) पर लाखों पुस्तकें हैँ और इस पर और बहुत–सी पुस्तकें हो सकती हैं । मैं उसे नहीं फैकूंगा । ‘मेरे टेलीविजन पर भी ऐसा ही हैं,’ मार्गी ने कहा । वह ग्यारह वर्ष की थी और उसने अभी उतनी पुस्तकें नहीं देखी थी जितनी टाँमी ने देखी थीं। वह तेरह वर्ष का था।
‘मेरे घर से ।‘ उसने बिना ऊपर देखे इशारा किया, क्योंकि वह पढने में व्यस्त था । ‘अटारी में ‘
यह किसके बारे में है?’
‘स्कूल के बारे में ।‘ .
3. मार्गों ने तिरस्कारपूर्वक ढंग से कहा । ‘स्कूल? स्कूल के बोरे में लिखने की क्या बात है हैं मुझे स्कूल से घृणा है । ‘
मार्गी हमेशा से ही स्कूलों से घृणा करती थी , लेकिन अब यह इसे पहले से भी अधिक नफरत करने लगी । तकनीकी शिक्षक उसे भूगोल में टेस्ट के बाद टैस्ट (परीक्षा) दे रहा था और वह बार –बार बुरा प्रदर्शन करती रही थी और उसकी माँ ने दुःख से अपना सिर हिलाया काऊंटी इंस्पैक्टर को बुला भेजा ।
वह एक लाल चेहरे वाला छोटे कद गोल–मटोल–सा व्यक्ति था और वह अपने साथ औजारों और तारों का का बक्शा लेकर आया था णा वह मार्गी पर मुस्कराया और उसे एक सेब दिया, तब उसने शिक्षक को खोल दिया । मार्गी को आशा थी कि उसे इसे दोबारा से जोड़ने के बारे मे नहीं पता होगा , लेकिन वह इसके बारे मे सब कुछ ठीक तरह से जानता था और लगभग आधे घंटे के पश्चात और एक बार फिर काफी बड़ा और काले तथा भददे रूप एक बड़ी स्कीन वाला जिस पर सभी प्रकार के पाठ दिखाए जाते थे और प्रश्न पूछे जाते थे ।वह इतना बुरा नहीं था जिस भाग को मार्गी सबसे अधिक घ्रणा करती थी वह था ‘दराज’ जिसमे उसे अपना गृहकार्य और परीक्षा पुस्तिकाए डालनी पड़ती थी । वह उन्हें हमेशा ही एक छिद्र कोड के रूप में छ: वर्ष की आयु से ही सीखती रही थी , और तकनीकी शिक्षक देर में ही अंकों की गणना का देता था ।
5. काम समाप्त होने पश्चात इंस्पेक्टर मुस्कराया और मार्गी के सर को थपथपाया । उसने उसकी (मार्गी) की माँ को कहा , ‘इसमें छोटी लड़की की गलती नहीं है, श्रीमती जोन्स । मुझे लगता है कि भूगोल वाले हिस्स्से की गति थोड़ी अधिक हो गयी थी । ऐसी चीजे कई बार हो जाती है । अब मैने इसकी गति को एक औसत दस वर्ष की लड़की के स्तर पर कर दिया है वास्तविकता यह है कि उसकी प्रगति का संपूर्ण प्रदर्शन बिलकुल संतोषजनक था और उसने मार्गी के सिर को थपथपाया
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मार्गी निराश थी । उसे आशा थी कि वह अध्यापक को अपने साथ ले जाएगा । एक बार वे टॉमी के शिक्षक को लगभग एक माह के लिए ले गए थे क्योंकि इतिहास वाला भाग एकदम से बिल्कुल साफ हो गया था । इस लिए उसने टॉमी से कहा , ‘ कोई स्कूलों के बारे क्यों लिखेगा? ”
6. टॉमी ने बहुत ही विशिष्ट नजरों से उसकी ओर देखा।
‘क्योंकि यह हमारी तरह का स्कूल नहीं है, मूर्ख । यह पुरानी किस्म का स्कूल या जोकि सैकडों वर्ष पहले हुआ करते थे ,’
उसने विशिष्ट अंदाज में शब्दों का सावधानीपूर्वक उच्चारण करते हुए कहा, “शताब्दियों पहले’ ।
मार्गी आहत थी । ‘ठीक है, मुझें नहीं मालूम कि उस समय उनके किस प्रकार के स्कूल हुआ करते थे ।‘ उसने उसके के ऊपर से झुककर के थोडी देर के लिए पुस्तक को पढा, तब बोली , ‘ चाहे जो भी हो, उनका भी तो शिक्षक होता था ।’
‘अवश्य ही उनका शिक्षक होता था, लेकिन यह एक नियमित शिक्षक नहीं होता था । वह एक इंसान होता था ।‘ –
‘इंसान? इंसान शिक्षक कैसे हो सकता है?‘ –
“अच्छहा वह लड़कों और लड़कियों को चीजों के वारे में बताता होगा भी उन्हें गृहकार्य देता होगा और उनसे प्रश्न पूछता होगा ।‘
7. ‘एक इंसान शिक्षक इतना तीक्ष्ण बुद्धि वाला नहीं हो सकता 1′
“वह अवश्य ही हो सकता है। मैरे पिता जी मेरे शिक्षक जितना ज्ञान रखते थे ।’
‘वह उस जितना जानता है, मैं शर्त लगाता हूँ।” –
मार्गी इस विषय पर विवाद पैदा नहीं करना चाहती थी । उसने कहा यहा, ‘मैं नहीं चाहूँगी कि एक अजनबी व्यक्ति मेरे घर में मुझे पढाने आए ।‘
टॉमी हंसी से चिल्लाया । ‘मार्गी तुम अधिक नहीं जानती हो । अध्यापक घरों में नहीं रहते थे । उनके पास एक विशेष इमारत होती थी और सभी बच्चे वहाँ जाते थे ।’
‘और सभी बच्चे एक ही बात सीखते थे?’
‘अवश्य ही, यदि वे एक ही आयु के होते ।‘
8. ‘लेकिन मेरी माता जी कहती हैं किंएक शिक्षक को तो प्रत्येक लड़के या लडकी, जिसको वह पढ़ाता है, के मानसिक स्तर के अनुसार समायोजित किया जाता है और प्रत्येक बच्चे को अलगअलग प्रकार से पढाना पड़ता है ।‘
‘इस प्रकार का कार्य वे (दिदूयार्थी) उस समय नहीं करते थे ।‘ यदि तुम इसे पसंद नहीं करती हो तो तुम्हें पुस्तक को पढ़ने की अवश्यकता नहीं है’।
‘मैंने यह तो नहीं कहा कि मैं इसे पसंद नहीं करती हूँ,’ मार्गी ने एकदम से कहा ।
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उन्होंने अभी आधी पुस्तक भी नहीं पढी थी कि तभी मार्गी की माँ ने आबाज लगा दी , ‘मार्गी !,स्कूल !’ मार्गी ने ऊपर की ओर देखा ‘मम्मी, अभी नहीं ।’
वह उन मजाकिया स्कूलों के बोरे में पढ़ना चाहती थी ।
‘अभी ! श्रीमती जोन्स ने कहा । ‘और शायद टॉमी का भी समय हो गया होगा ।
मार्गी ने टॉमी से कहा “क्या स्कूल के पश्चात मैं पुस्तक को तुम्हारे साथ कुछ और समय के पढ़ सकती हूँ?’
9. ‘शायद’, उसने लापरवाहीपूर्ण ढंग से कहा । यह सीटी बजाता हुआ चला गया, धूल भरी पुरानी पुस्तक उसकी बाजू के नीचे दबी हुई थी ।
मार्गी स्कूल के कमरे के चली गई । यह कमरा उसके शयनकक्ष से अगले वाला था और तकनीकी शिक्षक कार्यरत अवस्था मे था और उसकी प्रतीक्षा कर रहा था । वह शनिवार और रविवार को छोड़कर प्रत्येक दिन उस समय चालू (कार्यरत) अवस्था में होता था , क्योंकि उसकी माँ कहती थी कि यही छोटी लड़की नियमित समय पर सीखती हैं तो वसे अच्छे से सीख जाती है । स्कीन प्रकाशित हुई , और उसने कहा , आज का अंकगणित का सबक सही भिन्नों का योग करने के बारे में है । कृपया कल का गृहकार्य उचित दराज मे डाल दो ।’
10. मार्गी ने एक आह के साथ ऐसा किया । वह पुराने ज़माने के उन स्कूलों के बारे में सोच रही थी जब उसके दादा के दादा एक छोटे बच्चे थे । पुरे पड़ोस के सरे बच्चे आते थे , स्कूल के प्रांगण में हँसते और चिल्लाते रहते थे , कक्षा के कमरे में इकट्ठठे बैठते थे और (छुट्टी के पश्चात सभी) शाम के समय इकट्ठठे ही घर जाया करते थे । वे एक जैसा सबक सीखते थे , इसलिए गृह कार्य के बारे में एक दूसरे की मदद कर सकते थे और आपस में गृहकार्य के बारे में बाते कर सकते थे ।
और शिक्षक इंसान होते थे …………………
तकनीकी शिक्षक स्क्रीन पर चमक रहा था
मार्गी इस विषय में सोच रही थी कि पुराने दिनों में बच्चे उस स्कूल को कितना पसंद करते थे । वह उस मजाक के बारे में सोच रही थी जो वे किया करते थे ।
Extract Based / comprehension test Questions and Answers of The Fun They Had
Here are comprehension passage question and answer sets from the chapter ” The Fun They Had Class 9,” provided to deepen your understanding and help you prepare for exams.
Read the extracts and answer the questions that follow.
PASSAGE 1
Margie even wrote about it that night in her diary. On the page headed 17 May 2157, she wrote, ‘Today Tommy found a real book!’ It was a very old book. Margie’s grandfather once said that when he was a little boy his grandfather told him that there was a time when all stories were printed on paper. 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. And then when they turned back to the page before, it had the same words on it that it had had when they read it the first time.
Questions :
(i) What did Margie write in her diary?
(ii) Had Margie ever seen a book before?
(iii) ‘They’ turned the pages. Who does ‘They’ refer to?
(iv) What was funny about the book?
(v) Why had the pages of the book turned yellow and crinkly?
Answers : (i) On the page headed 17 May 2157, Margie wrote, ‘Today Tommy found a real book!’
(ii) No, Margie had never seen a book before.
(iii) They are Margie and Tommy.
(iv) The words in the book stand still instead of moving.
(v) The pages of the book had turned yellow and crinkly because it was very old.
PASSAGE 2
‘Gee,’ said Tommy. ‘What a waste. When you’re through with the book. you just throw it away. I guess. Our television screen must have had a million books on it and it’s good for plenty more. I wouldn’t throw it away.’ ‘Same with mine,’ said Margie. She was eleven and hadn’t seen as many tele books as Tommy had. Ile was thirteen. She said, ‘Where did you find it?’ ‘In my house.’ He pointed without looking because he was busy reading. ‘In the attic.’ ‘What’s it about?’ ‘School.
‘ Questions :
(i) What is a waste for Tommy?
(ii) What sort of books did Margie and Tommy have in their schools?
(iii) How old were Margie and Tommy?
(iv) Where did Tommy find the book?
(v) What was that book about?
Answers :
(i) Printing books on paper is a waste for Tommy.
(ii) They have moving books on their television screen.
(iii) Margie was eleven and Tommy was thirteen years old
(v) Tommy found the book in his house in the attic. (v) It was about ‘School’.
PASSAGE 3
Margie was scornful. ‘School? What’s there to write about school? I hate school.’ Margie always hated school, but now she hated it more than ever. The mechanical teacher had been giving her test after geography test and she had been doing worse and worse until her mother had shaken her head sorrowfully and sent it to the County Inspector.
Questions :
(i) Name the writer of the story ‘The Fun They Had’.
(ii) What was Margie’s opinion about school?
(iii) What was her mechanical teacher?
(iv) What were Margie’s responses?
(v) Why was the County Inspector sent for?
Answers :
(i) Issac Asimov.
(ii) Margie hated school.
(iii)Her mechanical teacher had been giving her a test after the geography test.
(iv)Margie’s responses were very poor.
(v) The County Inspector was sent to check the mechanical teacher.
PASSAGE 4
He was a round little man with a red face and a whole box of tools with dials and wires. He smiled at Margie and gave her an apple, then took the teacher apart. Margie had hoped he wouldn’t know how to put it together again, but he knew how all right, and, after an hour or so, there it was again, large and black and ugly, with a big screen on which all the lessons were shown and the questions were asked. That wasn’t so bad. The part Margie hated most was the slot where she had to put homework and test papers. She always had to write them out in a punch code they made her learn when she was six years old, and the mechanical teacher calculated the mark in no time.
Questions :
- Who was a round little man?
- What did he do to the teacher?
- What had Margie hoped?
- Which part of the mechanical teacher did she hate most and why?
- How did she write her test papers?
Answers :
(i) The County Inspector was a round little man.
(ii) He took the mechanical teacher to pieces.
(iii) Margie had hoped that the County Inspector would not know how to put it together.
(iv) She hated the slot most because she had to put her homework and test papers in it
(v) She wrote her test papers in a punch code.
PASSAGE 5
The Inspector smiled after he was finished and patted Margie’s head. He said to her mother, ‘It’s not the little girl’s fault, Mrs. Jones. I think the geography sector was geared a little too quickly. Those things happen sometimes. I’ve slowed it up to an average ten-year level. The overall pattern of her progress is quite satisfactory.’ And he patted Margie’s head again.
Margie was disappointed. She had been hoping they would take the teacher away altogether. They had once taken Tommy’s teacher away for nearly a month because the history sector had blanked out completely. So she said to Tommy, ‘Why would anyone write about school?’
Questions :
(i) ‘The Inspector smiled after he was finished’. What was finished?
(ii) What was the problem with the mechanical teacher?
(iii) At what level did the Inspector set it?
(iv) The mechanical teacher was set right but Margie was disappointed, why?
(v) What trouble had been there once with Tommy’s teacher?
Answers :
(i) He had reassembled the mechanical teacher all right.
(ii) Its geography sector was geared a little too quickly.
(iii) He set it up to an average ten-year child level.
(iv) She had hoped that she would get a long vacation till her mechanical teacher was repaired.
(v) Its history sector had completely blanked out.
PASSAGE 6
‘Maybe’ he said nonchalantly. He walked away whistling, the dusty old book tucked beneath his Margie went into the schoolroom. It was right next to her bedroom, and the mechanical teacher was on and waiting for her. It was always on at the same time every day except Saturday and Sunday because her mother said little girls learned better if they learned at regular hours. The screen was lit up, and it said: ‘Today’s arithmetic lesson is on the addition of proper fractions. Please insert yesterday’s homework in the proper slot.’
Questions :
(i) ‘Maybe’, he said nonchalantly. Who does ‘he’ refer to?
(ii) Where was Margie’s school situated?
(iii) What was the routine of Margie’s mechanical teacher?
(iv) What topic was Margie going to learn that day?
(v) Find a word from the passage which have the meaning same as ‘showing not any interest’.
Answers :
(i) ‘He’ refers to Tommy.
(ii) In her house in the room next to her bedroom.
(iii) It flashed at the right time daily except on Saturday and Sunday.
(iv) She was going to learn the addition of proper fractions.
(v) Nonchalantly.
PASSAGES FOR PRACTICE (UNSOLVED)
PASSAGE 7
Tommy looked at her with very superior eyes. ‘Because it’s not our kind of school, stupid. This is the old kind of school that they had hundreds and hundreds of years ago.’ He added loftily, pronouncing the word carefully, ‘Centuries ago.’ Margie was hurt. ‘Well, I don’t know what kind of school they had all that time ago.’ She read the book over his shoulder for a while, then said, ‘Anyway, they had a teacher.’ ‘Sure they had a teacher, but it wasn’t a regular teacher. It was a man.’ ‘A man? How could a man be a teacher?’ ‘Well, he just told the boys and girls things and gave them homework and asked them questions.’
Questions :
(i) Name the lesson and its author.
(ii) ‘Tommy looked at her with very superior eyes.’ Who does ‘her’ refer to?
(iii) Which schools was Tommy talking about?
(iv) ‘But it wasn’t a regular teacher. It was a man.’ Regarding this lesson tell who was a regular teacher.
(v) ‘A man? How could a man be a teacher?’ Who said this?
PASSAGE 8
8. Margie’s grandfather once said that when he was a little boy his grandfather told him that there was a time when all stories were printed on paper. 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.
Questions
(i) What did great grandfathers tell about stories?
(ii) How were the pages of a real book?
(iii) Why were the words funny?
(iv) What did Margie think about the words?
Answers
(i)My great-grandfather told me that there was a time when stories were printed on paper.
(ii) The pages of the real book were yellow and crinkly.
(iii) The words were funny because they stood still.
(iv) Margie thought that the words were supposed to move on a screen.
9 Margie always hated school, but now she hates it more than ever. The mechanical teacher had been giving her test after geography test and she had been doing worse and worse until her mother had shaken her head sorrowfully and sent it to the County Inspector.
Questions
(i)Who was Margie?
(ii) Who was the County Inspector?
(iii) How did Margie perform in geography?
(iv) Why was the Country Inspector called for?
Answers
(i)Margie was a girl of eleven years.
(ii) He was a computer mechanic.
(iii) In geography, her performance was worse.
(iv) The Country Inspector has called for the repair of her mechanical teacher who was not functioning properly.
10. He was around a little man with a red face and a whole box of tools with dials and wires. He smiled at Margie and gave her an apple, then took the teacher apart. Margie had hoped he wouldn’t know how to put it together again,
Questions
(i)Who is ‘he’ here?
(ii) Why did the man have a box of tools?
(iii) Why did he take the teacher apart?
(iv) What was Margie’s hope?
Answers
(i) ‘He’ is the Country Inspector here.
(ii)The man had a box of tools because he was a computer mechanic who repaired the dysfunctions of mechanical teachers.
(iii) He took the teacher apart to repair it.
(iv) Margie hoped that the mechanic would not know how to put the teacher together again.
11. The Inspector smiled after he was finished and patted Margie’s head. He said to her mother, “It’s not the little1 girl’s fault, Mrs. Jones. I think the geography sector was geared a little too quickly”.
Questions
(i)Why did the Inspector pat Margie’s head?
(ii)Who was Mrs. Jones?
(iii) What did the Inspector say to Mrs. Jones?
(iv) Why did Margie not do well in geography?
Answers
(i)Inspector patted Margie’s head to cheer her up because her performance was not as bad in geography as it was considered by her teacher.
(ii) Mrs. Jones was Margie’s mother.
(iii) The Inspector said to Mrs. Jones that it was not Margie’s fault that she could not do well in geography.
(iv) Margie did not do well in geography because the geography sector of the mechanical teacher has geared a little too quickly.
12. Margie was hurt, “Well, I don’t know what kind of school they had all that time ago”. She read the book over his shoulder for a while, then said, “Anyway, they had a teacher”.
Questions
(i) Why was Margie hurt?
(ii) Which book did she read for some time?
(iii) When was the school in the old book in existence?
(iv) What was Margie sure about?
Answers
(i)Margie was hurt because Tommy called her stupid.
(ii) She read the old book that Tommy found for some time.
(iii) It was in existence centuries before.
(iv) Margie was sure about the teacher that the children had in school centuries ago.
13. Margie wasn’t prepared to dispute that. She said, “I wouldn’t want a strange man in my house to teach me.”
Tommy screamed with laughter. “You don’t know much, Margie. The teachers didn’t live in the house. They had a special building and all the kids went there.”
“And all the kids learned the same thing?”
“Sure if they were the same age.”
Questions
(i)What was the dispute?
(ii) According to Tommy, where do teachers live?
(iii) What did the kids learn in the old school?
(iv) What can be said about the old school?
Answers
(i)The dispute was about the teacher of the old school.
(ii) They live in a special building.
(iii) In the old school, all the kids learned the same thing.
(iv) The old school was a special building and all the kids went there.
14. “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.”
“Just the same, they didn’t do it that way then. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to read the book.”
Questions
(i)Why should a teacher be adjusted?
(ii) Who said it and to whom?
(iii) How should each kid be taught?
(iv) Who does ‘they’ refer to here?
Answers
(i)A teacher should be adjusted to fit the mind of each boy and girl.
(ii) Tommy’s mother said to Tommy.
(iii) Each kid should be taught differently as per his/her level of understanding.
(iv) Here ‘they’ refers to ‘men as teachers in the past schools.
15. Margie went into the schoolroom. It was right next to her bedroom, and the mechanical teacher was on and waiting for her. It was always on at the same time every day except Saturday and Sunday because her mother said little girls learned better if they learned at regular hours.
The screen was lit up, and it said: “Today’s arithmetic lesson is on the addition of proper fractions. Please insert yesterday’s homework in the proper slot.”
Questions
(i)Who was waiting for Margie in her schoolroom?
(ii) What did Margie’s mother say about little girls?
(iii) What was the mechanical teacher famous for?
(iv) What did Margie learn that day?
Answers
(i)Margie’s mechanical teacher was waiting for her in the schoolroom.
(ii) Margie’s mother said that little girls learned better if they learned at regular hours.
(iii) He was always punctual.
(iv) That day, there was an arithmetic lesson in which she learned the addition of proper fractions.
16. She was thinking about the old schools they had when her grandfather’s grandfather was a little boy. All the kids from around there came, laughing and shouting in the schoolyard, sitting together in the schoolroom, and going home together at the end of the day.
Questions
(i)Who is ‘she’ here?
(ii) Where did her grandfather’s grandfather read?
(iii) Where did the kids in the old school read?
(iv) What similarity do you find in the kids of old school?
Answers
(i)’She’ is Margie here.
(ii) He read in the old school.
(iii) They read in the schoolroom.
(iv) All the kids learned the same lesson and helped one another with homework.
17. All the kids from around there came, laughing and shouting in the schoolyard, sitting together in the schoolroom, and going home together at the end of the day. They learned the same things, so they could help one another with the homework and talk about it.
And the teachers were people…
Questions
(i)What kind of school did Margie’s great-grandfather read in?
(ii) What kind of teachers were taught in the old school?
(iii) Why were the kids given the same homework in the old school?
(iv) How did the kids of the old school have a great sense of cooperation?
Answers
(i)He read in the old school.
(ii) The teachers were people and taught in the old school.
(iii) In the old school, the kids were given the same homework because they learned the same thing in the old school.
(iv) The kids of the old school had a great sense of cooperation as they sat together, learned the same thing, and helped one another with homework.
The Fun They Had Extra Questions
Extra Very Short Answer Type Important Questions
Q. 1. On what date did Margie make an entry in her diary about the real book?
Ans. She did so on 17 May 2157.
Q. 2. What did Tommy find?
Ans. He found a real book.
Q. 3. How old was Margie?
Ans. She was eleven years old.
Q. 4. How old was Tommy?
Ans. He was thirteen years old.
Q. 5. What was the real book that Tommy found,?
Ans. It was about ‘School’.
Q. 6. What did Margie hate?
Ans. She hated school.
Q. 7. What had the mechanical teacher been giving to Margie?
Ans. The mechanical teacher had been giving test after test to Margie in geography.
Q. 8. Why did Margie’s mother send it to the County Inspector?
Ans. She was sent to the County Inspector because Margie had been doing worse and worse in her geography tests.
Q. 9. Why did Margie hate slots most?
Ans. Margie hated slots most because she had to put homework and test papers in them.
Q. 10. What was wrong with the geography sector of Margie’s mechanical teacher?
Ans. The geography sector of Margie’s mechanical teacher was geared a little too quickly.
Q. II. What do you mean by a regular teacher?
Ans. It means the mechanical teacher that appears on the television screen at a fixed time.
Q. 12. What is the name of Margie’s mother?
Ans. Her name is Mrs. Jones.
Q. 13. For two days there was no mechanical teacher in TN. screen?
Ans. On Saturday and Sunday.
Q. 14. What subject did Tommy learn?
Ans. He learned history.
Q. 15. Name the writer of the lesson ‘The Fun They Had’.
Ans. Isaac Asimov.
SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS (to be answered in about 30 – 40 words each)
Check out these short answer type questions from the chapter ” The Fun They Had Class 9.” These question answer English sets are designed to offer a deeper understanding and help in exam preparation.
Q1. Who are Tommy and Margie? How old are they? (Textual)
Ans. Tommy and Margie are students from the year 2157. They are neighbours and spend time together like children of their age usually do. Tommy is a thirteen-year-old boy and Margie is an eleven-year-old girl.
Q2. What did Margie write in her diary? (Textual)
Ans. On 17 May 2157, Margie recorded in her diary the discovery of a real book by Tommy. It was a very old paper book with yellow and crinkly pages.
Q3. Where did Tommy find the book and in what condition?
Or
Describe the book that Tommy had found in the attic.
Ans. Tommy found a real book in the attic of his house. The pages had turned yellow and crinkly because it was at least two hundred years old. Moreover, it was all covered with dust as it had been lying in the attic for ages.
Q4. Had Margie ever seen a book before? (Textual)
Ans.No, Margie had never seen a book before till she saw the one that Tommy had found in the attic of his house. She had only heard about books from her grandfather who himself had not seen any. He too had heard about a printed book from his own grandfather.
Q5. Did Margie like the printed book? Why/Why not?
Ans. Margie was so excited to know that Tommy had found a ‘real’ book which was unlike the on-screen books the two were used to reading, that she recorded the discovery in her diary. As she turned the yellow and crinkly pages of the book with Tommy, she found it funny to read it. While Tommy found it a waste, Margie was fascinated by it and liked it.
Q6. What things about the book did Margie find strange? (Textual)
Ans. Margie lived in an era of mechanical education with telebooks stored in a machine. So she found it strange that the words in the printed book remained fixed, unlike the moving ones on her television screen.
Q7. “What a waste!” What is Tommy referring to as a ‘waste’? Is it really a waste?
Ans. Tommy thinks that the paper books with words printed and fixed on them are a waste. Once a book is read, it becomes useless and must be thrown away because it has the same content. Actually, printed books are not a waste. They can be read by many people over and over again and should be preserved for future generations.
Q8. What do you think a telebook is? (Textual)
Ans. A telebook is a compact book in electronic form. It is stored in a computer and can be read by scrolling its pages up, down, or sideways on a screen.
Q9. How does Tommy find the telebooks of his own time to be better?
Ans. Tommy felt that his telebooks were better than the printed books of ancient times because they could be stored on television and read again and again. They occupied very little space as compared to printed books and need not be discarded once they had been read.
Q10. Where was Margie’s school? Did she have any classmates? (Textual)
Ans. Margie’s school was inside the comfort of her house. It was just next to her bedroom. It was a customized school, set up exclusively for her according to her level and needs. No, she did not have any classmates.
Q11. Why had Margie started hating her school?
Ans. Margie never liked school. But recently her hatred has increased because of her poor performance in geography tests. Her mechanical teacher gave her one test after another and her performance went on becoming worse and worse.
Q12. Which part of her school did Margie hate the most?
Or
What did Margie hate the most about her school?
Ans. The part that Margie hated most was the slot where she had to put homework and test papers. She always had to write them in a punch code that she was made to learn at the tender age of six. Besides, the mechanical teacher calculated her marks in no time which left no scope for Margie to relax after submitting the assigned tasks.
Q13. What subjects did Tommy and Margie learn? (Textual)
Ans. Tommy and Margie learned a lot of subjects like History, Geography, and Mathematics.
Q14. What kind of teachers did Margie and Tommy have? (Textual)
Ans. Margie and Tommy had mechanical teachers. They were not real people but televisions which had different subject sectors. These teachers were customized to the level of a student. In case of malfunction, they were disbanded and repaired.
Q15. Why did Margie’s mother send for the County Inspector? (Textual) Or
Why did Margie’s mother shake her head one day and send for the County Inspector?
Ans. Margie’s mother was sent for the County Inspector because Margie had been performing poorly in Geography. The repeated fall in her daughter’s performance disappointed her. So, she decided to call a specialist, the County Inspector, who could locate the problem and correct it.
Q16. What views did Margie’s mother have about teachers and learning?
Ans. Margie’s mother was very particular about her child’s education and made sure that Margie attended her tele-school regularly and studied properly and punctually. She believed that a tele-teacher had to be adjusted to the mind of each student and that each student had to be taught differently. Whenever she noticed a snag in Margie’s tele-teacher, she sent for the County Inspector to get the snag removed so that Margie did not miss out on her school and learning.
Q17. What was the County Inspector trained to do?
Ans. The County Inspector worked as a technical expert. He was trained to identify and rectify errors in the functioning of the system installed in the mechanical teachers.
Q18. What idea do you form of the County Inspector as a person?
Ans. The County Inspector was certainly a kind-hearted man. Instead of finding fault with Margie, he gave her an apple and told her mother that if Margie was not performing well, it was not her fault, but the fault of the mechanical teacher. He aligned the speed of the geography sector keeping in mind the level of the girl. Before leaving, he patted Margie on the head and expressed satisfaction at her performance.
Q19. Why was Margie doing badly in geography? What did the County Inspector do to help her? (Textual)
Ans. Margie was doing badly because the speed of the geography sector had been fixed too fast for her level. The County Inspector slowed down the speed to suit the level of an average ten-year-old. As Margie was eleven years, she was comfortable with the new level set by the County Inspector.
Q20. “Margie was disappointed,” says the author. Why was she disappointed?
Or
How did the County Inspector disappoint Margie?
Ans. Margie was disappointed because she hated school and hoped that her mechanical teacher would be taken away for repairs as Tommy’s teacher was once taken away for a month. But when the County Inspector promptly repaired and reset it at her home itself, she was unhappy.
Q21. What had once happened to Tommy’s teacher? (Textual)
Ans. Once, Tommy’s mechanical teacher had developed a fault and its history sector had blanked out absolutely. The teacher had to be taken away for repairs and it had taken a month to put it in order.
Q22. Did Margie have regular days and hours for school? If so, why? (Textual)
Ans. Yes, Margie had regular days and hours for school. She studied from Monday to Friday at the same time every day. Although her school had a large black television screen installed in her own house, she had to attend it regularly. Her mother thought that young girls learned things better if they studied them at regular hours.
Q23. How does Tommy describe the old kind of school? (Textual)
Ans. Tommy describes the old school as a special building where all the children went to study together. The students of the same age group learned the same things which were taught by human teachers.
Q24. How does Tommy describe the old kind of teachers?
Ans. Tommy tells Margie that the teachers in olden times were not mechanical but real men. They taught various things to boys and girls, gave them homework, and also asked them questions. The teachers went to a special building called the school where they taught the children in the classrooms.
Q25. How did Margie react when Tommy told her that twentieth-century schools had human teachers?
Or
Why did Margie remark, “How could a man be a teacher”?
Ans. Margie made this remark when she heard Tommy mention that children were taught by human teachers in times gone by. She could not believe the truth of Tommy’s comment because she had not seen any human teacher; she was used to studying with the help of her mechanical tele-teacher only. Moreover, she believed that a human teacher could not match the mechanical teacher in intelligence and knowledge.
Q26. Who interrupts Margie and Tommy’s conversation? Why?
Ans. Margie and Tommy were lost in unravelling the exciting mystery of the ‘real’ book that the latter had found in his attic, when Margie’s mother interrupted them saying “Margie! School!” and she even suggested to Tommy that it was time for him to attend school, too.
Q27. When Margie went to her school, what did the teacher on the screen teach?
Ans. When Margie went to her school, which was a room next to her bedroom, the mechanical teacher taught an arithmetic lesson on the addition of proper fractions. It taught her how to add the fractions 1/2 and ¼.
Q28. Why couldn’t Margie concentrate on the Arithmetic lesson?
Ans. Margie could not concentrate on the arithmetic lesson because her mind was preoccupied with the thoughts about the school that Tommy had just described to her. She was awestruck to learn that children studied together and were taught by real persons in these old schools. She thought about how much fun those students must have had while studying together.
Q29. Why did Margie think that children must have loved to go to school when her grandfather’s grandfather was a little boy?
Or
Why did Margie feel that children in old times had fun while studying in school?
Or
Why does Margie feel that learning was fun in the schools of the past?
Ans. Margie attends a tele-school, which is just a machine in the room next to her bedroom and she studies alone unlike students of the schools in the bygone times. She feels that learning was more fun in those days because hundreds of children had the opportunity of congregating and study together with the help of human teachers and printed books. Schools were huge buildings where a lot of activities could be carried out by students in groups. Compared to that, her present school is much too mechanical, boring, monotonous, and demanding, and she hates it.
Q30. What was Tommy’s opinion about the ‘real book’?
Ans. Tommy found the ‘real book’ a waste as once read you, just throw it away. It did not seem interesting and useful. The words were fixed on it and not any other thing can be printed on it.
Q.31. How does Tommy describe the old kind of teachers?
Ans. He says that the old teachers did not live in the house. They had a special building and all the kids went there. They gave homework to students. They were not mechanical teachers, but human beings.
Q32. Who was the Country Inspector? What was his work?
Ans. The country Inspector was the man who repaired the mechanical teacher. He adjusted the level of the teacher as per the child’s requirements and intelligence.
Q33. Why was Margie doing worse in geography? What did the County Inspector do to help her?
Ans. Margie had been doing worse in geography because the mechanical teacher was very fast in displaying the questionnaire. The County Inspector adjusted its speed up to an average ten-year level. Thus, the mechanical teacher’s speed was controlled appropriately. The County Inspector assured that the overall pattern of Margie’s progress was quite satisfactory.
Q.34. Did Margie have regular days and hours for school? If so, why?
Ans. Yes, Margie had regular days and hours for school because her mother said little girls learned better if they learned at regular hours.
Q35. Why did Tommy pronounce the word ‘centuries ago’ carefully?
Ans. Tommy pronounced the word carefully because he wanted to lay stress the fact that the school was very old and it was quite different from theirs.
Q36. What had once happened to Tommy’s teacher?
Ans. Once Tommy’s teacher was taken away for about a month because the history sector had blanked out completely.
Q37. What is the ‘slot’? Why does Margie hate it?
Ans. ‘Slot’ was a space in the mechanical teacher where each student was to put his homework and test assignments for marking. Margie hates it the most because she has to work hard to punch code for answering homework.
Q38. Evaluate ‘The Fun They Had’ as a futuristic story.
Ans. The Fun They Had’ is a futuristic story. It tells us about the revolutionary changes that will come in the field of education in the 22nd century. Technology will replace the concept of old schools and printed books. Margie and Tommy are students in the year 2157. They are taught in their bedrooms serving as virtual classrooms. A mechanical teacher will replace a human teacher. Computers and e-books will replace old printed books.
Q.39. How will e-books be different from the old books that existed centuries ago?
Ans. The very concept of ‘the books’ will change in the 22nd century. The e-books will replace old books. The books will not be printed on paper. The words will move on a TV/computer screen. The television screen may have more than a million books on it.
Q.40.What did Margie’s mother think about the teacher’ and ‘the school’?
Ans. Margie’s mother thought that every child had a different intelligence and capacity to understand things. The mechanical teacher should be adjusted to fit the mind of each boy and girl it taught. Each kid had to be taught differently. She thought that little girls and boys would learn better if they learned at regular hours at the ‘school’.
Q41. Describe the characteristics of the old school. How did it influence Margie?
Ans. The old school had several characteristics — the children went to a big building. The man worked as a teacher and taught the boys and girls. The teacher gave them homework. He also asked them questions. They sat together and studied the same subject. In the old school, children studied and played together. It was quite opposite to the school that has been talked about in the chapter. Margie was very much influenced by the old school. In her class, she was busy thinking about the fun the children had at that time.
Q42. Will future schools be completely devoid of humans and human values? Give a reasoned answer.
Ans. Certainly, a revolutionary change will come in the field of education in the future. The mechanical teachers and tele-books will dominate the scene. Every student will be taught by the mechanical teacher according to his or her ability. However, the institution of schools will remain in one form or the other. Human teachers will not disappear altogether. Education will never be completely devoid of humans and human values.
Q43. Why did Tommy and Margie think the old book was a waste of resources?
Ans. Because they found the words in the old book not moving. The pages had turned yellow and crinkly. Moreover, the old book could not last long.
Q44. What difference did Margie’s mother find in the old school?
Ans. Margie’s mother believed that children should be taught according to their individual needs. But in the old school, the children of the same age group studied the same things
Extra Long Answer Type Important Questions
Explore our Long Answer Type Questions from the chapter ” The Fun They Had Class 9.” This question’s English collection is intended to deepen your understanding of the chapter and assist in exam preparation.
Q1.How did a chance discovery of a paper book leave Margie and Tommy awestruck?
Ans. Margie (9) and Tommy (13) are neighbourhood friends in the year 2157. It is an age of total automation, mechanization, digitalization, and computerization. Children do not go to a school building and they are not taught by a human teacher. Instead, their teacher is telling them, a computer a machine that has millions of books. It can be customized according to the age and learning needs and abilities of individual students.
Reading is done on a screen that displays movable text. So, one day when Tommy finds an old, dusty paper book in the attic of his house, he shares the exciting news with his friend Margie and together they are awestruck, for they had hitherto never seen or heard about a book that had no screen but only fixed text on pages that had to be flipped with fingers.
As the duo kept reading the book further and further, their excitement kept growing. They were awestruck to discover that ancient schools were huge buildings where hundreds of children studied together with the same syllabus, and the same subjects and carried out the same activities and tasks. They were taught by real human teachers with the help of real books. Margie believes that students in those days must have had a lot of fun studying together.
Q2. What are the main features of the mechanical teachers and the schoolrooms that Margie and Tommy have in the story? (Textual)
Ans. Tommy and Margie are young school-going children in the year 2157. Schools and teachers have an entirely different form from the ones in the twentieth century. Margie and Tommy’s school is not in a separate special building but in a room in their respective houses where the television or the mechanical teacher is placed. Each student has to sit and study alone with the help of the mechanical teacher. The ‘teacher’ assigns tests to the students and assesses their progress.
The speed of the different subject sectors is fixed according to the age level of each student. There is a special slot in the teleteacher where students have to insert their homework. If the mechanical teacher develops any fault, there are engineers to repair it. Sometimes the fault may be a major one and it takes longer to repair it, as was the case when Tommy’s history teacher developed a snag.
Thus, the mechanical teachers and schoolrooms of Tommy and Margie are fully computerized and are completely different from the present-day schools.
Q3. Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school must have been fun? (Textual)
Ans. Margie hated school because it did not have any fun. Her schedule was too regimented and she had to study at a fixed time on all days of the week except Saturdays and Sundays. She did not have any classmates to study with and seek help from.
Her mechanical teacher sometimes developed a snag and assigned tests that were quite difficult for her. Constant failure to perform well in such tests was disappointing for her. There were times when she wanted a break, but the technical advancement of 2157 did not give her a chance. The County Inspector took just a little while to set right the Geography sector of her teacher.
She thought that the old kind of school must have been fun because, unlike her school, the ancient schools were in special buildings where the students from the whole neighbourhood came laughing and playing. Students of the same level would be in the same room and were taught by human teachers.
The students would sit together in the schoolroom, go home together, learn the same things, help one another with the homework and talk about it. Hence, schools in the olden days did not restrain their students but gave them a chance to grow up together.
Q4. Do you agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the school in the story? Give reasons for your answer. (Textual)
Ans. Margie’s school, as described in the story, seems to be a boring place where learning is a mere task. In comparison, schools today are more fun. Students get a chance to come out of their homes and travel to reach school. On their way, they laugh, play, and have so much fun. The schoolyard too is a great open place where the students get a chance to interact informally with each other.
They get an opportunity to share their experiences and help each other. Their learning schedule is also flexible and gives them enough time to have fun. They have so many extra-curricular activities which teach a lot of skills in a fun-filled way. Their teacher is a real person who makes them sit together and teaches them the same topic. In this way, they learn to adjust and adapt which helps them develop the values of tolerance and cooperation. Hence, Margie’s view that schools today are more fun than her school is justified.
Q5. Suppose you are Margie. Write a diary entry dated 17th May 2157 about Tommy’s real book that he found in his attic.
Ans.
Tuesday,
17th May 2157 10.00 p.m.
Dear Diary
It has been a wonderful day for me as I have seen a real, hard-bound printed paper book. In fact, Tommy found the book in the attic of his house when he was cleaning the cupboard of his grandfather. It consists of about 200 pages which have become yellow and crinkly with time. It is a strange experience to read the words fixed on its papers unlike the ones in my telebooks that keep moving as I scroll.
When I turn the page, I find the same words again. The book is about a school from olden times, about two centuries ago. Can you believe that in those times a school was not a room in one’s own house but a special building dedicated to the purpose of teaching and learning? The students of the same level studied the same things sitting together in the same classroom. It is wonderful to think that the teachers were men and not machines. I believe that it must have been great fun for children to go to such schools together, laughing, joking, playing, and teasing each other. How wonderful it must have been that the students helped each other with lessons as well! I wish I could travel back in time and study in one of those schools.
Margie
Q6. Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school must have been fun?
Ans. Margie hated school because she had a mechanical teacher. It was at her house. She was supposed to sit in that room alone to complete her home task or assignments. The part Margie hated the most was the slot where she had to put homework and test papers. She thought that the old schools must have been fun because the students used to sit together in the classroom.
They enjoyed, laughed, and shouted in the schoolyard, going home together at the end of the day. They learned the same things so that they could help one another with homework and talk about it. All the teachers were people. Children needed a company to enhance their skills. If they are isolated, they get depressed and dejected.
Q7. The old schools are considered fun by the modern generation. Explain.
Ans. The ancient schools consisted of Gurukuls in which the students stayed in the building with the guru. Then with the change of time, Gurukuls changed into schools. Hence the teacher and the student have a formal relationship. In these schools, teachers are human beings and books are real ones made of paper. Nowadays, the modern generation’s schools are replaced by e-text and computers.
The future generation would envy when they come to know about the old system of education in which all the kids went to school together. They studied together and played together. They could have better innovative minds as they got a chance to discuss things with each other. The old system of education in which ‘man’ as a teacher could influence his students by the charisma of his personality. Future generations would utter what fun the schools were long ago.
Q8. Do you agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the school in the story? Give reasons for your answer.
Ans. There is no doubt that today’s schools have more fun than the school discussed in the story. This school has nothing but a mechanical teacher with no emotions and sentiments. It cannot understand the psychology of a child. Moreover, it guides a pupil according to its adjusted modes. But today’s schools work for the overall development of a child. They are given training in leadership, sports, politics, and science.
They learn how to adapt themselves to new surroundings and cope with strangers. The students sit and learn together forgetting their caste, color, and creed. These activities don’t give vent to feelings of depression, alienation, and segregation.
Q9. Will the existing schools and teachers become irrelevant in future ‘schools’? Give a reasoned answer.
Ans. Naturally, schools that existed centuries ago will not be the same in the coming centuries. The system of education will be highly computerized and mechanical. The ‘school’ will have no separate building. Nor will they be taught the same thing together.
The mechanical teacher will be a big TV screen, good for a million books. The mechanical teacher will be adjusted according to the age and capacity of the student. But it will be an exaggeration to say that everything about the old schools will disappear. Even future schools can’t be completely devoid of the human angle. Perhaps the institution of the old schools and teachers will remain. Human involvement can’t disappear altogether.
Q10. Describe the characteristics of old schools. How did they arouse so much interest in Margie and Tommy?
Ans. The good old students reflected the charm and romance of their times. Every school had its buildings. Students from different parts of the town went there for studies. All the students in a class were taught the same things. They received the same kinds of homework. Hence, students could help one another. The teachers were real human beings. The books were printed on paper.
There was an air of romance about the old schools. Margie’s interest was around them. She got the relevant information about them from Tommy. In comparison to her mechanical teacher and her ‘school’, the old schools charmed Margie. She was fascinated by the way children went to their schools. They studied together. They were taught the same things. It was easier for them to help one another. Margie was rather envious of the fun the children had in old schools.
Q11. Can you imagine a school without teachers and books? Give your opinion based on the lesson ‘The Fun They Had’.
Ans. No one can deny the role of modern technologies in our lives and our studies. Nowadays education is changing but schools without teachers and books are beyond imagination. Without teachers, teaching would not be good because no one would be there to explain and teach as well. No student would like the environment, it would be like an office. Teachers are very important for education.
Teachers not only teach us different subjects but they also teach us to live in discipline and to live together. Teachers resolve the student’s problems and doubt and if they aren’t in school the students don’t study enough. As in the lesson, Margie does not like her school, she finds it tedious as she does not have the opportunity to be with other students and to do every work together.
Modern technologies can be taken as an aid to improve the standard of studies but schools without books and teachers will never be preferred.
Q12. What is the role of a teacher in the life of a student? How is a human teacher better than a mechanical teacher? Ans. Teachers play a very important role in the life of a student. They not only provide bookish knowledge but also inspire their students to live meaningful and successful life. They burn themselves like a candle throughout their lives to remove the darkness and ignorance from their student’s life.
This can be done by a human teacher only. A mechanical teacher can provide ample knowledge on various subjects but he/she can not boost up their student to do something distinguished. There is a single mechanical teacher having various sectors geared up according to the level of the child.
There is no companion, no playground, and no fun at all. The teaching is mechanical and monotonous. Thus human teachers are better than mechanical teachers in many ways. They know the individual intellect of their students which help them to guide them individually according to the mental level of students.
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