1. The Fun They Had

1. The Fun They Had

                                          AAC ASIMOV

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.

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 telebooks as Tommy had.

He 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.”

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 test in geography and she had been doing worse and worse until her mother had shaken her head sorrowfully and sent for the County Inspector.

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 marks in no time.

crinkly: with many folds or lines	crinkly: with many folds or lines
scornful: contemptuous; showing you think something is worthless	attic: a space just below the roof, used as a storeroom
loftily: in a superior way	slot: a

5. The Inspector had 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 quick. Those things happen sometimes. I’ve slowed it up to an average ten-year level. Actually, 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?”

6.             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.”

slot: a given space, time or position geared (to): adjusted to a particular standard or level loftily: in a superior way

7.             “A man isn’t smart enough.”

“Sure he is. My father knows as much as my teacher.”

“He knows almost as much, I betcha.”

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.”

8.             “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.”

“I didn’t say I didn’t like it,” Margie said quickly. She wanted to read about those funny schools.

They weren’t even half finished when Margie’s mother called, “Margie! School!” Margie looked up. “Not yet, Mamma.”

“Now!” said Mrs Jones. “And it’s probably time for Tommy, too.”

Margie said to Tommy, “Can I read the book some more with you after school?”

9.             “May be,” he said nonchalantly. He walked away whistling, the dusty old book tucked beneath his arm.

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.”

10. Margie did so with a sigh. She was thinking about the old schools they had when her grandfather’s grandfather was a little boy. All the kids from the whole neighborhood came, laughing and shouting in the schoolyard, sitting together in the schoolroom, 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…

The mechanical teacher was flashing on the screen: “When we add fractions ½ and ¼ ...”

Margie was thinking about how the kids must have loved it in the old days. She was thinking about the fun they had.

betcha (informal): (I) bet you (in fast speech): I’ m sure	nonchalantly: not showing much interest or enthusiasm; carelessly
regular: here, normal; of the usual kind	dispute: disagree with

THINKING ABOUT TEXT

I.  ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS IN A FEW WORDS OR A COUPLE OF SENTENCES EACH.

1. How old are Margie and Tommy?

2. What did Margie write in her diary?

3. Had Margie ever seen a book before?

4. What things about the book did she find strange?

5. What do you think a telebook is?

6. Where was Margie’s school? Did she have any classmates?

7. What subjects did Margie and Tommy learn?

Ans.  1. Margie is eleven and Tommy is thirteen-year-old Ans.  2. Margie wrote in her diary, “Today Tommy found a real book!”. Ans.  3. No, Margie had never seen a book before. Ans.  4. Margie found the book strange because the words printed on the book was stood still instead of moving like screen. Ans.  5. A book that can be displayed on a screen is called telebook. Ans.  6. Margie’s school was in her home itself, right next to her bedroom. No, she did not have any classmates. Ans.  7. Both  Margie and Tommy learned geography, history and arithmetic.

II. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING WITH REFERENCE TO THE STORY.

1. “I wouldn’t throw it away.”

(i) Who says these words?

(ii) What does ‘it’ refer to?

(iii) What is it being compared with by the speaker?

Ans.  (i) Tommy said these words. Ans.  (ii) 'It' refers to the television screen, on which we can read over a million books. Ans.  (iii) Tommy is comparing the television screen to the real books printed on paper. He thought that after reading such books, one can throw them away. However, he is not able to throw away his telebooks.

2. “Sure they had a teacher, but it wasn’t a regular teacher. It was a man.”

(i) Who does ‘they’ refer to?

(ii) What does ‘regular’ mean here?

(iii) What is it contrasted with?

Ans.  (i) They refer to the students who studied in centuries before the old kind of schools. Ans.  (ii) Here, 'regular' refers to the mechanical teachers of Tommy and Margie. Ans.  (iii) The mechanical teacher is contrasted with human being, the teacher of the earlier times.

III. ANSWER EACH OF THESE QUESTIONS IN A SHORT PARAGRAPH (ABOUT 30 WORDS).

1. What kind of teachers did Margie and Tommy have?

Ans.  Margie and Tommy had a mechanical teacher which was ugly with large black screens on which all the lessons were shown and questions were asked. It had a slot in which the students had to put their homework and test papers. They had to write their answers in a punch code and the mechanical teacher checked and calculated the marks immediately.

2. Why did Margie’s mother send for the County Inspector?

Ans.   Margie was not improving in her performance of many tests in geography given by the mechanical teacher. She only kept getting worse. That is why the Margie’s mother sent for the County Inspector to find out why this was happening.

Q. 3. What did he do?

Ans.  The County Inspector gave Margie an apple and started working on the mechanical teacher. He took it apart and then checked and managed to reassemble it. He slowed down the geography sector of the teacher because it was geared a little quick for an average ten-year lavel.

4. Why was Margie doing badly in geography? What did the County Inspector do to help her?

Ans.  Margie was doing badly in geography because the geography sector of the mechanical teacher had been geared a little too quick.

The County Inspector slowed down the geography sector of the mechanical teacher to an average ten-year level. The County Inspector rightly told Mrs. Jones not to blame for her poor performance. He also told that Margie's overall progress pattern was satisfactory.

5. What had once happened to Tommy’s teacher?

Ans.  Once, the history sector of Tommy’s teacher had once blanked out completely.

6. Did Margie have regular days and hours for school? If so, why?

Ans.  Yes, Margie had regular days and hours for school. This was because her mother believed that learning at regular hours helped little girls learn better. Her mechanical teacher was also on at the same time of everyday except Saturday and Sunday.

7. How does Tommy describe the old kind of school?

Ans.  Tommy described that old kind of school has a special building where hundreds of students of a group of age studied and played together. They used to shout and laugh together in an open yard.

8. How does he describe the old kind of teachers?

Ans.  Tommy describe that the old kind of teachers were men, who taught the students inside a special building. The teachers taught the children in groups and gave them homework and asked them questions.

IV. ANSWER EACH OF THESE QUESTIONS IN TWO OR THREE PARAGRAPHS (100 –150 WORDS).

1. What are the main features of the mechanical teachers and the schoolrooms that Margie and Tommy have in the story?

Ans.  Margie and Tommy were getting their education at home by a mechanical teacher. The mechanical   teacher was very punctual and comes up regularly at the same time except Saturday and Sunday.

Mechanical teacher had large black screens on which all the lessons were shown and questions were asked. It had a slot in which students had to insert their homework, test papers and answers in a punch code and the mechanical teacher checked and calculated the marks immediately. It could tell how a child was performing.

Margie and Tommy’s schools were in their homes, next to their bedroom. They did not have any classmates. They learned geography, history and arithmetic.

2. Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school must have been fun?

Ans.  Margie hated school because it was not fun because she was receiving education at home by a mechanical teacher. A mechanical teacher used to teach her everyday at a fixed time except Saturday and Sunday. She hated the most inserting the homework and test papers in the slot of  mechanical teacher in a punch code.

She thought that the old kind of school must have been fun. She imagined all the kids from the entire neighbourhood come together, sit together in the classroom laughing and shouting in the schoolyard and go home together at the end of the day.  She imagined that they would learn the same things and could help one another with the homework and talk about it. She wished to study in that kind of school.

The teachers of olden schools were people. All these aspects made her believe that the old kind of school must have been fun.

3. Do you agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the school in the story? Give reasons for your answer.

Ans.  Yes, I am agree, the schools today are more fun than the school in the story. In the story, I am explaining it with some examples. First of all there is no interaction among students regarding studies. Studying and answering questions seems to boring because there is no body to help and writing them in a punch code.

If any student faces any problem, he can discuss it with the teacher and other kids. It is impossible to discuss problems and situations with a mechanical teacher that is only programmed to teach in a particular manner.

The children develop a better understanding about each other and of their surroundings when they go to a school and interact with each other. It is a healthier way of learning in place of Margies’s schools.

Listening to teachers explaining lessons is always more interesting than reading the entire lesson on a mechanical computer.

The excitement of waiting to know the marks scored in exams is greater when one is sitting in a classroom with other students. It does not have the same effect when the marks are calculated immediately after a test has been taken by the mechanical teacher.

Finally, the friends that you make at school are most probably the best friends that you will ever make in your entire life. The various qualities that you learn in school like obedience, respect, kindness for others, sharing, taking part in school games, sports, and other activities are all a part of school education today in place the Mechanical Schools.

Therefore, schools today are more fun than the school in the story as they are more interactive. They promote a healthy environment for the students to study and learn.

1. Find the sentences in the lesson which have the adverbs given in the box below. Awfully, sorrowfully, completely, loftily, carefully, differently, quickly, nonchalantly

Ans.   1. 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.

                The mechanical teacher had been giving her test after test in geography and she had been doing worse and worse until her mother had shaken her head sorrowfully and sent for the County Inspector. They had once taken Tommy’s teacher away for nearly a month because the history sector had blanked out completely.

                He added loftily, pronouncing the word carefully, “Centuries ago.” “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.” “I didn’t say I didn’t like it,” Margie said quickly. “May be,” he said nonchalantly.

Give reasons for your answer.Thinking about Language

I. Adverbs

Read this sentence taken from the story:

They had once taken Tommy’s teacher away for nearly a month because the history sector had blanked out completely.

The word complete is an adjective. When you add –ly to it, it becomes an adverb.

1. Find the sentences in the lesson which have the adverbs given in the box below.

awfully	sorrowfully	completely	loftily
carefully	differently	quickly	nonchalantly

2. Now use these adverbs to fill in the blanks in the sentences below.
(i) The report must be read _____________ so that performance can be improved.
(ii) At the interview, Sameer answered our questions _____________ , shrugging his shoulders.
(iii) We all behave ________________  when we are tired or hungry.
(iv) The teacher shook her head ____________ when Ravi lied to her.
(v) I __________ forgot about it.
(vi) When I complimented Revathi on her success, she just smiled ___________ and turned away.
(vii) The President of the Company is _____________ busy and will not be able to meet you.
(viii) I finished my work __________________ so that I could go out to play.

Answer (i) carefully (ii)  loftily (iii) differently (iv) sorrowfully (v) completely (vi) nonchalantly (vii) awfully (viii) quickly

Remember:

An adverb describes action. You can form adverbs by adding –ly to adjectives.

Spelling Note: When an adjective ends in –y, the y changes to i when you add –ly to form an adverb.

For example: angr-y → angr-i-ly 3. Make adverbs from these adjectives.

(i) angry                 ____________    (ii) happy                               ____________

(iii) merry               ____________    (iv) sleepy                              ____________

(v) easy                  ____________    (vi) noisy                               ____________

(vii) tidy                 ____________    (viii) gloomy                         ____________

Answer
(i)	angry	Angrily	(v)	easy	Easily
(ii)	happy	Happily	(vi)	noisy	Noisily
(iii)	merry	Merrily	(vii)	tidy	Tidily
(iv)	sleepy	Sleepily	(viii)	gloomy	Gloomily

II. Complete the following conditional sentences. Use the correct form of the verb.
1. If I don’t go to Anu’s party tonight, __________

2. If you don’t telephone the hotel to order food, __________

3. Unless you promise to write back, I __________

4. If she doesn’t play any games, ___________

5. Unless that little bird flies away quickly, the cat ___________

Answer 1.she will be angry. 2. you will miss your evening meal. 3. I will not write to you. 4. she will become dull and lazy. 5. the cat will pounce on it.

II. If Not and Unless

• Imagine that Margie’s mother told her, “You’ll feel awful if you don’t finish your history lesson.”

• She could also say: “You’ll feel awful unless you finish your history lesson.”

Unless means if not. Sentences with unless or if not are negative conditional sentences.

Notice that these sentences have two parts. The part that begins with if not or unless tells us the condition. This part has a verb in the present tense (look at the verbs don’t finish, finish in the sentences above).

The other part of the sentence tells us about a possible result. It tells us what will happen (if something else doesn’t happen). The verb in this part of the sentence is in the future tense (you’ll feel/you will feel ).

Notice these two tenses again in the following examples.

Future Tense                                                                        Present Tense

• There won’t be any books left       unless     we preserve them.

• You won’t learn your lessons         if             you don’t study regularly.

• Tommy will have an accident        unless     he drives more slowly.

Complete the following conditional sentences. Use the correct form of the verb.

1. If I don’t go to Anu’s party tonight, ____________

2. If you don’t telephone the hotel to order food, ____________

3. Unless you promise to write back, I ____________

4. If she doesn’t play any games, ____________

5. Unless that little bird flies away quickly, the cat ____________

Writing

A new revised volume of Issac Asimov’s short stories has just been released. Order one set. Write a letter to the publisher, Mindfame Private Limited, 1632 Asaf Ali Road, New Delhi, requesting that a set be sent to you by Value Payable Post (VPP), and giving your address. Your letter will have the following parts.

• Addresses of the sender and receiver, • The salutation, • The body of the letter

• The closing phrases and signature

Your letter might look like this:

Your address

________________________

________________________

________________________

Date ____________ (DD/MM/YY)

The addressee’s address

________________________

________________________

________________________

Dear Sir/Madam,

                _______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

_________________

Yours sincerely,

Your signature

Ans.

A 163, West Vinod Nagar Delhi 12th July 2018 The Publisher Vinjeet Publisher and Printers West Vinod Nagar Delhi Dear Sir Subject: Order one set of Vinjeet Math's revised volume. Kindly arrange to place an order for one set of Vinjeet Math's revised volume that has been recently released at the address given above by VPP .Please send as soon as possible. I shall be highly appreciating your prompt delivery by VPP at the address given above. Yours sincerely, Xyz

Remember that the language of a formal letter is different from the colloquial style of personal letters. For example, contracted forms such as ‘I’ve’ or ‘can’t’ are not used.

Speaking

In groups of four discuss the following topic.

‘The Schools of the Future Will Have No Books and No Teachers!’

Your group can decide to speak for or against the motion. After this, each group will select a speaker to present its views to the entire class.

You may find the following phrases useful to present your argument in the debate.

• In my opinion . . .

• I/we fail to understand why . . .

• I wholeheartedly support/oppose the view that . . .

• At the outset let me say . . .

• I’d/we’d like to raise the issue of/argue against . . .

• I should like to draw attention to . . .

• My/our worthy opponent has submitted that . . .

• On the contrary . . .

• I firmly reject . . .

Ans. In my opinion the schools of the present days are the best, form of schools. We know that Schools are not meant only to provide education but they are a workshop of moulding the young children into the best citizens of a nation. I fail to understand why the schools with mechanical teachers are needed. I support the motion that the schools in special buildings with men teachers should be promoted. I wholeheartedly oppose the motion of the schools with mechanical teachers. At the outset let me say that this type of schools will produce only calculator type students but no Abraham Lincoln. I would like to raise the issue of mechanical teachers in media and treat an atmosphere against it. I should like to draw attention to the adverse effects of these mechanical teachers school. The product of these schools will be purely self-centered. They will have no faith in cooperation and toleration. My worthy opponent have said that they will produce the best quality of students but I can say with a guarantee that their product will be of the worst quality in terms of human relation. I firmly reject the motion of the schools with mechanical teachers.

Q. What did the Tom Margie imagined about the 2157? Ans. The writer conveys the story of two children named Margie and Tommy. Margie made an entry in her diary. In which her wrote that a Tommy found a old book printed on paper. Their pages were yellow and wrinkled with words. Tommy thought it is waste book which was thrown in the dustbin after reading. The book was about the school. Margie listen about it form her grandfather that in olden days they had a different type of the school and teacher mentioned the book. They read that the school had a man on teaching in place of mechanical teacher. These old kinds of school were many centuries ago. Tommy told him that the schools were special building where all the kids went to learn and same ages were to teach the same things. Tommy tucked the old dusty book under his arm and walked away whistling. The mechanical teacher was teaching the Margie. She always hated the school because she had school in next to the bedroom. A mechanical teacher teaches her. She was doing worse more worse in geography. The county inspector told them the computer was a high speed to teach geography. He adjusted and satisfied her parents.  She was thinking about the old schools where her grandfathers’ grandfather were little child. Margie thought. What was the time when all the kid of whole neighborhood came in schoolyard? They play and read together. All kids of the same age learnt the same things and helped each other. What a fun was for children in olden days.