NCERT Solutions for Chapter 7 The Case of the Fifth Word Class 8 English

I: Work in pairs. Solve the crossword puzzle given below with the clues in the form of anagrams.

I: Read the given extracts and answer the questions that follow.
1. Chief Brown would have liked to tell everyone about his only child. But who would believe him? Who would believe that the best detective alive was an eighth grader? So, he said nothing. 
Encyclopedia never spoke of the help he gave his father. He didn’t want to seem different from other boys. But there was nothing he could do about his nickname. He was stuck with it. 
Only his parents and teachers called him by his real name, Leroy. Everyone else called him Encyclopedia.

(i) Complete the following sentence with a suitable reason.
Chief Brown’s dilemma can be called unique because____________.
(ii) What can be inferred about why Encyclopedia never spoke of the help he gave his father?
A. He is shy and lacks confidence in his abilities to share his insights.
B. He wants to avoid the jealousy others might feel about his skills.
C. He desires to blend with the other boys to prevent seeming different.
D. He is embarrassed about being smarter than most adults around him.
(iii) The parents choose not to call their son ‘Encyclopedia’. Select the reason that is false.
A. For them, he is more than his unique abilities; he is their child, with a personal identity.
B. Calling him by his real name reflects their affection and the desire to acknowledge him as an ordinary boy.
C. They want him to be remembered as different from the others around.
(iv) What does the writer mean by the fact that Leroy was ‘stuck with’ the name Encyclopedia?

IV: Spoonerism is a mistake made when speaking, where the first sounds of the words in a phrase or a sentence are exchanged with each other. This usually gives a funny meaning. Some examples of spoonerism are saying ‘wrong load’ instead of ‘long road’, 'round of mice’ instead of ‘mound of rice’.

Find the correct order for the following spoonerisms.
1. knowing sits
2. it’s roaring with pain.
3. plaster man
4. blarm wanket
5. tars and crucks
6. shake a tower
7. bead a rook
8. mardon me padam

V: Read the following sentences from the text and study the highlighted words.
1. Everyone thought that he must be the smartest police chief in the country.
2. She read what he had copied.
3. They tell where the jewellery is hidden.
4. “Nom is a shortening of nominative, a grammatical term,” stated Mrs.Brown, who had taught English and other subjects in high school.
5. “Nolan and Davenport had met,” Chief Brown said, “while both were in prison in South Carolina.”
6. When he came up against a case he couldn’t solve, he acted at once.
7. The code is simple, especially as it’s written on a sheet from a calendar.
8. They became friendly because of shared interests.
9. Encyclopedia solved the case for him before dinner was over.

Now, fill in the blanks with the words in the box given below to complete the following sentences. There are two extra words that you do not need.

Detective stories are exciting, keeping readers guessing (i) ____________ the real culprit is. They take place in settings (ii) ____________ clues are hidden carefully. (iii) ____________ the mystery seems tricky, a clever detective always finds answers. Readers often wonder (iv) ____________ criminals leave small but important clues. The challenge is to decide (v) ____________ suspect is guilty. (vi) ____________ the truth is revealed, everything makes sense. But one may wonder (vii) ____________ they could have solved it themselves. These stories are fun (viii) ____________ they make readers think till the very end.

VII: Read the following sentences from the text
1. “What’s suspicious about that?” Mrs. Brown asked.
2. “What do you make of the four words, Leroy?” 
3. “Wasn’t he mixed up in a jewellery robbery a few years ago?”
4. “Didn’t you search Nolan’s house, dear?”
5. “Is there a young fir tree in Mr. Nolan’s palm-tree nursery?”

The given sentences are the direct words of the speaker, hence, they are in direct speech. While reporting these direct words to someone else at some other time and some other place, we make certain modifications in person, tense, and adverbs of place and time .

There are two types of Interrogative sentences. They are Wh– questions and Yes/No questions.
Steps for Reporting Wh– questions and Yes/No questions
1. Replace the reporting verb ‘said’ with words like ‘asked’, ‘inquired ’, ’ interrogated’, or ‘questioned’.
2. Convert the interrogative sentence into a declarative one.
3. Apply the appropriate tense shift as per the rules of tense changes.
4. Remove quotation marks and the question mark.
5. Omit the conjunction ‘that’ in the reported speech.
6. In Wh– Wh-questions, place the Wh–word immediately after the reporting verb in the reported speech.
7. In Yes/No questions, use ‘if’ or ‘whether’ immediately after the reporting verb in the reported speech. 

Now, follow these steps to transform the sentences given as examples from direct speech to indirect speech. Indirect Speech
(i) Mrs. Brown asked _________________________________________.
(ii)Mrs. Brown questioned Leroy __________________________________.
(iii) Mrs. Brown inquired __________________________________________.
(iv) Mrs. Brown asked Chief Brown ________________________________.
(v) Mrs. Brown inquired ___________________________________________.

IX: Read the conversation between Aditi and Rahul
ADITI: Did you see anyone leave a package near the lift?
RAHUL: I noticed a man wearing a blue jacket drop it off.
ADITI: What time did you see this happen?
RAHUL: It was around 6:45 p.m.
ADITI: Were you able to see his face?
RAHUL: He wore a hood and so I couldn’t see his face.

Complete the following paragraph by transforming the dialogue in indirect speech. 
Aditi asked Rahul 1. ___________________________________________________. 
Rahul replied that he had noticed a man wearing a blue jacket drop it off. 
Aditi asked Rahul 2. ___________________________________________________.
Rahul replied that it had been around 6.45 p.m. 
Aditi further inquired 3. _______________________________________________. 
Rahul said that he had worn a hood, so he couldn’t see his face.

II: Work in groups of five or six. Conduct a group discussion on the topic,‘The Interesting Aspects of a Mystery Story’.

Guidelines
• The moderator initiates the discussion inviting the speakers to share their views on the subject.
• The speakers take turns to put forth their viewpoint using polite expressions to agree or disagree.
• The speakers may interrupt by raising their hands to add or clarify a point.
• The moderator ensures equal participation of all the members in the group, consolidates views, and calls upon other speakers to respond. 
• The moderator sums up the points of discussion, suggests guidelines for future action and thanks the members of the group. 
Note: Choose a moderator. Decide upon the duration of the discussion.

I: A report is written for an event that has already occurred. The purpose of a report is to provide first-hand details of an incident or event. It presents the information in a proper sequence. Read the sample report written about the ‘Inter-school Football Tournament’ organised by your Vidyalaya. Note the format, content, and language used.

Now, as a member of the Art and Craft Club, write a report on an ‘Inter-school Art Exhibition’ organised by your school. Include the necessary details

I: Work in pairs. Read the words and observe the images given below. Check if your answers match. Share your answers with your classmates and teacher.

These are optical illusions which may trick the eye and make you think that you can see two different things.