Extra Questions for The Fun they Had Class 9 Beehive English
Important Questions1
Margie even wrote about it that night in her diary.
a. What did Margie write in her diary?
b. What date did she put on the top of the diary page?
c. What had she been thinking about when she started
writing her diary?
d. What did she write about Tommy?
Answer
a. Margie wrote about the book, Tommy had brought, in her
diary.
b. She put May 17, 2157 on the top of the diary page.
c. She was thinking about the book and the kind of school
the children used to have centuries and centuries ago.
d. She wrote that that day Tommy had found a book which had
fixed alphabets that did not change.
2
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.
a. Who was the round little man?
b. Why had he come there? Who had called him?
c. Why did Margie hope that he wouldn’t be able to put it
together?
d. Who/what was large and black and ugly?
Answer
a. The round man was the county inspector.
b. He had come there to check Margie’s mechanical teacher.
Margie’s mother had called him to check the mechanical teacher.
c. Margie hoped that he wouldn’t be able to put it together
as earlier in case of Tommy’s teacher, it was to be taken to workshop and took
almost a month.
d. Margie’s mechanical teacher was large and black and ugly.
3
“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."
a. Who is the writer of the fiction?
b. Why did the mother say that the teacher has to be
adjusted?
c. What kind of teacher was there in Margie’s school?
d. Why did the mother say ‘each kid has to be taught
differently’
Answer
a. The writer of the fiction is Isaac Asimov.
b. The mother said that the teacher had to be adjusted to
fit the mind of each boy and girl it teaches and that each kid has to be taught
differently.
c. The teacher in Margie’s school was a mechanical teacher
which was large and black and ugly.
d. The mother said that each kid has to be taught
differently because each kid has different needs and should be taught according
to his/her caliber and IQ.
4
Margie was thinking about how the kids must have loved it
in the old days. She was thinking about the fun they had.
a. What was Margie thinking about?
b. What fun was she thinking about?
c. Why did she think ‘the kids must have loved it’?
d. Which old days was Margie thinking about?
Answer
a. Margie was thinking about the school that existed
centuries and centuries ago about which she was reading in the printed book
brought by Tommy.
b. She thinking about the fun the children had when they
studied together in a school building with printed books and human teacher.
c. She thought that the kids must have loved it because they
were studying together in a school being taught by a human teacher where they
could discuss their problems and get solutions.
d. Margie was thinking about the days when there were
schools in a separate building, where children studied together.
5
“This is the old kind of school that they had hundreds
and hundreds of years ago."
a. Who said these words and to whom?
b. Why was the school described as ‘old kind of school’?
c. Why did the speaker say “ hundreds and hundreds of
years ago."?
d. What were they talking about?
Answer
a. Tommy said these words. He said these words to Margie.
b. The school was described as ‘old kind of school’ because
it was an assembly of many students in a defined building away from home and
under the guidance of man teacher.
c. The speaker said “ hundreds and hundreds of years
ago." because his grandfather had told him that he had learnt about such
schools from his grandfather in his childhood.
d. They talking about the schools that existed centuries and
centuries ago and had printed books where the words did not move.
6
"Sure they had a teacher, but it wasn't a regular
teacher. It was a man." "A man?
a. Who said ‘sure they had a teacher’?
b. Why did the speaker say ‘it wasn’t a regular teacher?
c. To whom did the speaker say these words?
d. Why has the teacher been described as a man?
Answer
a. Tommy said ‘sure they had a teacher’?
b. Tommy said ‘it wasn’t a regular teacher’ because the
teacher was not mechanical as in his school but it was a man.
c. The speaker said these words to Margie.
d. The teacher been described as a man because when the
books were printed and students assembled in a particular building to study
together from a human being instead of a mechanical teacher.
7
"A man isn't smart enough." "Sure he is.
My father knows as much as my teacher." "He can't. A man can't know
as much as a teacher." "He knows almost as much, I betcha."
a. Who said, "A man isn't smart enough."?
b. Who said, "He knows almost as much, I
betcha."?
c. About whom did the speaker say, "He knows almost
as much"?
d. Why can’t a man know as much as a teacher?
Answer
a. Margie said, "A man isn't smart enough."
b. Tommy said, "He knows almost as much, I
betcha."
c. The speaker said "He knows almost as much"
about his father.
d. A man cannot know as much as a teacher because men have a
fixed mind with split emotions whereas a mechanical teacher is fitted with the
best of knowledge about the subject.
8
"School? What's there to write about school? I hate
school."
a. Who used to hate school?
b. Why did the speaker say, "What's there to write
about school?”
c. Why did the speaker hate the school?
d. To whom was the speaker talking to?
Answer
a. Margie used to hate school.
b. The speaker said, “What's there to write about school”
because she knew only about schools with mechanical teachers.
c. The speaker hated the school because she did not like the
way homework was to be submitted in punch codes. She also hated it because her
performance in Geography did not improve despite frequent revisions.
d. The speaker was talking to Tommy.
1
What had Tommy found in the Attic?
Answer
Tommy had found a real book in the Attic. It had
alphabets that were fixed and did not change even when revisited.
2
What did Tommy’s grandfather once told him?
Answer
Tommy’s grandfather had once told him that when he was a
little boy his grandfather told him that there was a time when all stories were
printed on paper.
3
What did Margie’s mother say about the teacher?
Answer
Margie’s mother said that 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."
4
What did the County Inspector tell Margie’s mother about
her score in Geography?
Answer
The County Inspector told Margie’s mother that her score in
Geography was low as the geography section of the teacher was little fast to
suit a child of her age and slowed it up to an average ten-year level. and
overall pattern of her progress was quite satisfactory.
5
Why did Margie say "1 wouldn't want a strange man in
my house to teach me."?
Answer
When Tommy told her that a man teacher used to teach the
children at school in the time when the books were printed, Margie said that
wouldn't want a strange man in her house to teach her.
6
What do you understand by word ‘nonchalantly’?
Answer
The word ‘nonchalantly’ means to say something in a casual,
calm and relaxed manner.
7
What were the subjects the mechanical teacher was
teaching Margie?
Answer
The mechanical teacher was teaching Margie History,
Geography and arithmetic.
8
How old were Margie and Tommy?
Answer
Margie was eleven and Tommy was thirteen years old.
9
Where was Margie’s School?
Answer
Margie’s School was next to her bedroom.
10
What kind of book did Tommy bring to Margie?
Answer
Tommy brought a printed book to Margie. It had words that
were still and did not change even when pages were flipped back and forth.
11
Why did Tommy scream and laugh?
Answer
Tommy screamed and laughed when Margie said "1 wouldn't
want a strange man in my house to teach me."
12
What did Tommy tell Margie about the school described in
the book?
Answer
Tommy told Margie that the school described in the book was
in a separate building where children came from different places and studied
together from a teacher who was a man.
13
Who were Margie and Tommy?
Answer
Margie and Tommy were children aged 11 and 13 in the year 2157.
14
What kind of school did they have?
Answer
They had a mechanical teacher who taught them subjects that
were loaded in it.
15
What was the language in which the homework had to be
submitted?
Answer
Homework had to be submitted in punched codes.
16
Where was the homework to be submitted?
Answer
The homework was to be submitted in a slot meant for it.
17
Where was the classroom?
Answer
The classroom was next to their bedrooms.
18
Why did Margie say “I wouldn’t want a strange man in my
house to teach me”?
Answer
Margie said “I wouldn’t want a strange man in my house to
teach me” because she thought that a man teacher would come to their house to
teach her.
19
What was the subject in which Margie was miserable?
Answer
Margie was miserable in Geography.
20
Why was the mother worried about and what action did she
take?
Answer
The mother was worried about non-improvement of Margie in
Geography. She called county inspector to check the mechanical teacher for
deterioration in Margie’s geography score.
21
Who was the round little man with red face?
Answer
The round little man with red face was the county inspector.
22
Why was the round little man with red face called?
Answer
The round little man with red face was called to repair the
mechanical teacher.
23
What did Margie hope and why when the little man
dismantled the teacher?
Answer
Margie hoped that the inspector would not be able to
reassemble the mechanical teacher because she hated it.
24
What did Tommy say to Margie about his grandfather?
Answer
Tommy told Margie about his grandfather. His grandfather had
once told him that his great great grandfather there was a time when all
stories were printed on paper.
1
Do you think the kind of school described in the story
‘The fun they had’ is an ideal school?
Answer
The kind of school described in the story ‘The fun they had’
is an ideal school. At present as we are in an era where everything is done
according to the set academic rules and patterns. Though emotional and humane
touch makes children feel cared and looked after but having children of
different caliber and IQ learn together makes some of them neglected. The
challenge of competition has become so much that parental and peer pressure can
make a child feel disheartened and lead to depression. However, whatever be the
case whether there are mechanical or human teacher, a change is always considered
better.
2
What did Margie’s mother say about the school and why?
Answer
Margie’s mother said that a school must start at the same
time every day except Saturdays and Sundays because little girls learn better
if they learned at regular hours. She also said that a teacher must be adjusted
to fit the mind of each boy and girl it teaches and that each kid must be
taught differently. She believed in having school next to the bedroom without
other kids sitting together and disturbing each other. She wanted Margie to
learn all the subjects like history, geography and arithmetic. When she scored badly
in Geography, her mother sent for county inspector to check and confirm the
status of her child’s education.
3
What kind of book did Tommy find? Where did he find it?
What was strange about the book?
Answer
Tommy found a real printed book. He found it in the Attic of
his house. The book was strange to them because it was different from their
telebook and had words that did not move and remained where they were. Its
pages 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. 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.
4
Do you think the school described in year 2157 is ideal
school?
Answer
No. I don't think the school described in year 2157 is an
ideal school. The schools today have more fun as the students leave their homes
and assemble at one place and learn together. It is boring and draining to do
homework, punch it and put it in a specified slot without any help from any
colleague or teacher. To interact with a teacher, live and get his/her views on
the performance is something beyond expression. With a mechanical teacher and
without any colleagues, getting views on homework or in case of any difficulty
in learning is impossible. Such schools are healthier and give a kind of satisfaction
in interaction than the monotonous mechanical teachers and boring bedroom side
schools.
5
What kind of a school did Margie have? Who was the
teacher who taught her?
Answer
Margie had her school next to her bed room. She studied from
telebooks. The words used to scroll and were unlike printed books. When the
pages were shuffled, the words changed. There were only three subjects being
taught in her school. They were History, Geography and Arithmetic. The teacher
who used to teach was a mechanical teacher. It was large and black and ugly. She
had to finish her homework and write in punched language. It was to be inserted
in a special slot made for homework. She would appear in test and once
inserted, she would get the result immediately.
6
Why was Margie disappointed?
Answer
Margie’s mechanical teacher was not functioning properly.
Her score in Geography was worsening. Her mother sent for the county inspector
to check. The county inspector dismantled the mechanical teacher. Margie hoped
that he wouldn’t be able to reassemble it. However, he assembled it and set it
right for Margie. It was again, large and black and ugly, with a big screen on
which all the lessons were shown and the questions were asked. Margie thought
that the teacher would be taken to the workshop and it would take about a
month’s time as was the case when Tommy’s teacher went bad. So she was very disappointed.
7
In which backdrop the fiction ‘The Fun They Had’ has been
written.
Answer
The fiction ‘The Fun They Had’ has been written keeping in
mind the advancement being done in digital industry. Large, ugly and space
consuming computers have given way to small, portable tablets, laptops and even
mobile phones. The time when this fiction was written, only first stage
computers were being constructed and there were no robots or robotic teachers.
However, the writer had thought of the advancement that would happen in 200
years from his time and brought about this fiction. The speed at which the industry
is progressing and man’s dependence on computer increasing, it is possible to have
schools as described in the fiction.
8
Do you think that mother was right when she said ‘that
each kid has to be taught differently."?
Answer
Yes, the mother was right when she said "that each kid
has to be taught differently" because every child has a different brain
and understanding of the subject. There are below standard, average, and
intelligent students. Their capabilities and intentions also make their efforts
slow. We, in India, have all type of students in every class who have different
understanding for different subjects. Some excel in Mathematics, some in Science,
some in computers and some in other areas. Therefore, each kid has to be taught
differently unlike today’s environment.