NCERT Solutions for The Hundred Dresses Part-II Class 10 First Flight English
Book Solutions1
What did Mr Petronski’s letter say ?
Answer
Mr. Pertonski's letter was addressed to the class-teacher Miss Mason and said that her Wanda would will not come anymore to school as they were shifting to a big city where they would not have to be taunted for a big second name and Wanda would not be made flan of for wearing her faded blue dress.
2
Is Miss Mason angry with the class, or is she unhappy and upset?
Answer
Miss Mason was unhappy at the behaviour of the classmates of Wanda towards her. She called it most unfortunate that Wanda's friends had teased her for her dress and her long second name. She felt that the students must have done that in thoughtlessness.
3
How does Maddie feel after listening to the note from Wanda’s father?
Answer
After listening to the note Maddie couldn't concentrate on her lessons .She had a sick feeling in her stomach and felt really bad on having said nothing against Peggy. Even though she didn't like. Peggy teasing Wanda, she didn't say anything for fear of losing Peggy's friendship. She didn't want to be the next target of her classmate's taunts and insults.
4
What does Maddie want to do ?
Answer
Maddie wanted to tell Wanda that they didn't mean to hurt her. Maddie desperately wanted to find Wanda and tell her that they all liked her and thought that she was smart and her drawings were wonderful.
1
What excuses does Peggy think up for her behaviour? Why?
Answer
Peggy tried to forget the insults and taunts that she had targeted at Wanda and tries to justify them by saying that all the time she was teasing Wanda, she was in a way giving her ideas about her hundred drawings which had made her win the contest.
2
What are Maddie’s thoughts as they go to Boggins Heights?
Answer
While Maddie and Peggy were going to Bogins Heights, Maddie hoped to find Wanda so that they could tell her how wonderful she was. Maddie also wanted to tell Wanda that they were very sorry to have made her the target of their ridicule. They wanted Wanda to know that everyone at school wanted Wanda to stay with them.
3
Why does Wanda’s house remind Maddie of Wanda’s blue dress ?
Answer
As they reached Wanda's house, wisps of old grass stuck up here and there along the pathway like thin kittens. The house had a small yard that looked shabby but clean. All this reminded Maddie of Wanda's blue dress.
4
What does Maddie think hard about? What important decision does she come to?
Answer
Wanda thinks about not letting injustice happen to anyone. She makes vow that she would protest if anybody misbehaves with anybody. She won’t be a mute spectator the way she did earlier. In a way the episode of Wanda’s family leaving that city works as major change agent for Maddie’s personality.
1
What did the girls write to Wanda?
Answer
The girls wrote a friendly letter to Wanda telling her that she had won the contest. They also wrote how pretty her drawings were. They asked her if she liked the place where she was living and if she liked her new teacher.
2
Answer
No, they did not get a reply. Maddie was more anxious for a reply as she thought a lot about it. She would put herself to sleep, making speeches about Wanda and defending her from great crowds of girls who were trying to tease her. Peggy, on the other hand, had begun to forget about the whole affair.
3
How did the girls know that Wanda liked them even though they had teased her?
Answer
The girls came to know that Wanda liked them even though they had teased her as she had asked Miss Mason to give the green dress with red trimming to Peggy and the blue one to Maddie. Later when Maddie looked at the drawing very carefully, she realized that the dress had a face and a head, which looked like her own self.
1
Why do you think Wanda’s family moved to a different city? Do you think life there was going to be different for their family ?
Answer
Wanda's family moved to different city because of her father felt bad when her classmates teased her because of her long and strange second name and also they used to taunt her for her dress. Yes, life would he better in a new place for both Wanda and her family.
2
Maddie thought her silence was as bad as Peggy’s teasing. Was she right ?
Answer
Yes, Maddie was right when she thought that her silence was as bad as Peggy's teasing because her silence encouraged Peggy to continue teasing Maddie. If she had opposed Peggy, she would not have dared tease her everyday about her dress. Maddie was too afraid to take a stand for Wanda because she did not want to lose Peggy's friendship. Also, she was poor herself, so she feared that everybody would make fun of her too.
3
Peggy says, “I never thought she had the sense to know we were making fun of her anyway. I thought she was too dumb. And gee, look how she can draw!” What led Peggy to believe that Wanda was dumb? Did she change her opinion later ?
Answer
Peggy believed that Wanda was dumb. Peggy was surprised why Wanda said that she had a hundred dresses, even when everybody knew that she was poor. She knew everybody would laugh at her. Even then, she kept giving the same answer. She even described the dresses she said she had. That is why Peggy thought Wanda was dumb. She felt remorse later when she saw the hundred dresses Wanda had talked about. She along with everyone else in the class saw the drawings and was highly impressed by Wanda's artistic talent. She realized that Wanda was a very spectacular artist.
4
What important decision did Maddie make? Why did she have to think hard to do so?
Answer
The important decision that Maddie made was that she would never stand by and say nothing again. If she ever heard anybody picking on someone because they were finny-looking or because they had strange names, she would speak up. She did not even mind losing Peggy's friendship over it. She knew she could not make things right with Wanda. It was her guilt that made her think very hard and arrive at the important decision.5
Why do you think Wanda gave Maddie and Peggy the drawings of the dresses? Why are they surprised?
Answer
Wanda gave Maddie and Peggy the drawings of dresses in reply to their questions about her dresses and to prove to them that she did own a hundred dresses. They believed her to be a liar. They were surprised because they always made fun of here dresses and ridiculed her, but she had a large and forgiving heart as she gifted them those beautiful designs with their faces.
6
Do you think Wanda really thought the girls were teasing her? Why or why not?
Answer
Yes, Wanda knew that other girls of her class were teasing her. But it was her submissive and forgiving nature that made her bear all those taunts. Moreover, she loved her classmates. She knew her classmates made fun of her poverty and thought that she had a funny second name. This could have been the reason for her exaggerating everything whenever she answered their questions.
I
Here are thirty adjectives describing human qualities. Discuss them with your partner and put them in the two word webs (given below) according to whether you think they show positive or negative qualities. You can consult a dictionary if you are not sure of the meanings of some of the words. You may also add to the list the positive or negative ‘pair’ of a given words.
kind, sarcastic, courteous, arrogant, insipid, timid, placid, cruel, haughty, proud, zealous, intrepid, sensitive, compassionate, introverted, stolid, cheerful, contented, thoughtless, vain, friendly, unforgiving, fashionable, generous, talented, lonely, determined, creative, miserable, complacent.
Answer
II
What adjectives can we use to describe Peggy, Wanda and Maddie? You can choose adjectives from the list above. You can also add some of your own.
1. Peggy _____
2. Wanda ____
3. Maddie ____
Answer
1. Peggy: sarcastic, cheerful, contented
2. Wanda: kind, timid, introverted, generous, talented, lonely, creative
3. Maddie: kind, timid, sensitive, miserable
III
Find the sentences in the story with the following phrasal verbs.
|
lined up |
thought up |
took off |
stood by |
Answer
(i) lined up
And she thought of the glowing picture those hundred dresses made − all lined up in the classroom.
Peggy, who had thought up this game, and Maddie, her inseparable friend, were always the last to leave.
(iii) took off − Miss Mason took off her glasses, blew on them and wiped them on her soft white handkerchief.
(iv) stood by − She had stood by silently, and that was just as bad as what Peggy had done.
IV
Colours are used to describe feelings, moods and emotions. Match the following ‘colour expressions’ with a suggested paraphrase.
|
(i) |
the Monday morning blues |
- |
feel embarrassed / angry / ashamed |
|
(ii) |
go red in the face |
- |
feel very sick, as if about to vomit |
|
(iii) |
look green |
- |
sadness or depression after a weekend of fun |
|
(iv) |
the red carpet |
- |
the sign or permission to begin an action |
|
(v) |
blue-blooded |
- |
a sign of surrender or acceptance of defeat; a wish to stop fighting |
|
(vi) |
a green belt |
- |
in an unlawful act; while doing something wrong |
|
(vii) |
a blackguard |
- |
a photographic print of building plans; a detailed plan or scheme |
|
(viii) |
a grey area |
- |
land around a town or city where construction is prohibited by law |
|
(ix) |
a white flag |
- |
an area of a subject or a situation where matters are not very clear |
|
(x) |
a blueprint |
- |
a dishonest person with no sense of right or wrong |
|
(xi) |
red-handed |
- |
a special welcome |
|
(xii) |
the green light |
- |
of noble birth or from a royal family |
Answer
|
(i) |
the Monday morning blues |
- |
sadness or depression after a weekend of fun |
|
(ii) |
go red in the face |
- |
feel embarrassed/angry/ashamed |
|
(iii) |
look green |
- |
feel very sick, as if about to vomit |
|
(iv) |
the red carpet |
- |
a special welcome |
|
(v) |
blue-blooded |
- |
of noble birth or from a royal family |
|
(vi) |
a green belt |
- |
land around a town or city where construction is prohibited by law |
|
(vii) |
a blackguard |
- |
a dishonest person with no sense of right or wrong |
|
(viii) |
a grey area |
- |
an area of a subject or a situation where matters are not very clear |
|
(ix) |
a white flag |
- |
a sign of surrender or acceptance of defeat; a wish to stop fighting |
|
(x) |
a blueprint |
- |
a photographic print of building plans; a detailed plan or scheme |
|
(xi) |
red-handed |
- |
in an unlawful act; while doing something wrong |
|
(xii) |
the green light |
- |
the sign or permission to begin an action |