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Class 9 English Chapter 1 The Fun They Had
In SEBA Class 9 English Chapter 1 The Fun They Had Notes we covered all the exercise questions in Assam Board SEBA Textbooks and also extra question answers required for Assam Board Exam. The SEBA Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 1 The Fun They Had provided here will help you to simplify your learning and boost your academic performance.
The Fun They Had
Intext Questions
1. How old are Margie and Tommy?
Answer: - Tommy is a thirteen-year-old boy and Margie is an eleven-year-old girl.
2. What did Margie write in her diary?
Answer: - In her diary page dated 17th May 2157, Margie wrote about the discovery of a 'real' book by Tommy. As described, it was an old book printed on paper which had turned yellow and crinkly.
3. Had Margie ever seen a book before?
Answer: - No, Margie had never seen a book before. She saw the first one when Tommy had found a 'real book' in the attic of his house. Before she had only heard about books from her grandfather who himself had not seen any.
4. What things about the book did she find strange?
Answer: - Tommy and Margie were only acquainted with the on-screen books which had moving words. As they turned the yellow and crinkly pages of the 'real book', Margie found it funny and strange to read words that stood still. Moreover, when they turned back the pages, it had the same words that they had read in the first time.
5. What do you think a tele book is?
Answer: - A tele book is a virtual book that can be read on a screen. As it is a compact book in an electronic format, it can be stored in a computer. We can read it by scrolling its pages up, down or sideways on a screen.
6. Where was Margie's school? Did she have any classmates?
Answer: - Margie's school was just next to her bedroom. It was a customized school, set up exclusively for her, according to her level and needs.
No, she didn't have any classmates.
7. What subjects did Margie and Tommy learn?
Answer: - Tommy and Margie learn subjects like history geography and mathematics.
8. 'I wouldn't throw it away'
a) Who says these words?
b) What does 'it' refer to?
c) What is it being compared with by the speaker?
Answer: - a) The given words were said by Tommy.
b) 'It' in the given lines refers to the 'real book' that Tommy had found in the attic of his house.
c) The speaker of the above lines, Tommy, compared the 'real book' with the tele book.
9. 'Sure they had a teacher, but it wasn't a regular teacher. It was a man.'
a) Who does 'they' refer to?
b) What does 'regular' mean here?
c) What is it contrasted with?
Answer: - a) In the given lines, 'they' refers to the students centuries ago.
b) In the given lines, 'regular teacher' means mechanical teacher, as such teachers were usual for the people in 2157.
c) In the given lines, the mechanical teacher is contrasted with human teachers of earlier times.
10. What kind of teacher did Margie and Tommy have?
Answer: - The story, 'The Fun They Had' was set in the backdrop of future time where children were taught by mechanical teachers with tele books stored in the computer. So, Margie and Tommy were taught by mechanical teachers through on-screen lessons of different subjects. These teachers were customized to the level and need of a student. In case of malfunction, they were repaired or disbanded.
11. Why did Margie's mother send for the County Inspector?
Answer: - Margie's mechanical teacher was giving her test continuously on geography, in which her performance was very poor. This constant degradation in her performance disappointed her mother. Such problems were solved by the County Inspector, who was a technical expert specially trained to identify and rectify errors in the functioning of the system installed in the mechanical teacher. So, Margie's mother decided to call the County Inspector.
12. What did he do?
Answer: - The County Inspector slowed down the speed to suit the level of an average 10 year old child to fit Margie's level of learning capacity.
13. Why was Margie doing badly in geography? What did the County Inspector do to help her?
Answer: - Margie was performing badly in geography because the speed of the geography sector had been fixed too fast for her level of learning.
The County Inspector was able to find out the problem of Margie's mechanical teacher. He slowed down the speed to suit the level of an average 10 year old child. So, being at the age of 11, Margie was comfortable with the new level set by him. Thus, the County Inspector helped Margie.
14. What had once happened to Tommy's teacher?
Answer: - Once the history sector of Tommy's mechanical teacher had blanked out completely. It had taken a month to repair the teacher.
15. Did Margie have regular days and hours for school? If so, why?
Answer: - Yes, Margie had regular days and hours for school. As it was a mechanical teacher, it was set to start class at the same time every day from Monday to Friday. It was set like that because her mother is of the opinion that young girls learnt things better if they study at regular hours. Thus, Margie had to attend school regularly.
16. How does Tommy describe the old kind of school?
Answer: - Tommy, after reading the real book, got to know about the old schools, which he described to Margie. He said that the old kind of school was a special building to which all the children from the neighborhood went to study. There they learn the same things and could help each other in their studies. Moreover, the teachers were humans- they gave them homework and ask them questions. Physical games and sports were also included in their course.
17. How does he describe the old kind of teachers?
Answer: - Tommy, after reading the real book, got to know about the old schools and teachers, which he described to Margie. He told that all the teachers were humans instead of mechanical. They gave students homework and ask them questions. Teachers went to a special building, which was a school, to teach all the students together. Moreover, they also taught physical games and sports.
18. What are the main features of the mechanical teachers and the schoolrooms that Margie and Tommy have in the story?
Answer: - In the story, 'The Fun They Had', Issac Asimov had portrayed the schools of the future which have mechanical teachers and schoolrooms. The main feature of the mechanical teachers of Margie and Tommy is that they have big black screens on which lessons are displayed and questions are asked. The students used punch codes to write their answers and the mechanical teachers calculates the results right away. The students had to put their homework and test papers in a slot of the mechanical teachers.
In the story the features of the schoolrooms are that their schools are in their homes with no classmates. As described, Margie's school was next to her bedroom. The students study subjects like arithmetic, history, geography etc. under the mechanical teacher every day at the same time except weekends.
19. Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school must have been fun?
Answer: - In the story, 'The Fun They Had', Issac Asimov, had portrayed the schools of the future which have mechanical teachers, schoolrooms in the student's home and there are no classmates. And as such, the central character of the story, Margie was also studying in such schools. But Margie hated such schools for many reasons; first of all, she felt it boring; secondly, the mechanical teacher started the class at the same time regularly; thirdly, her teacher was giving her tests continuously on geography, in which she was performing badly. Moreover, she didn't like inserting homework and test papers in the slot for the mechanical teacher.
After Tommy and Margie got a 'real book' describing the old kind of schools, Margie was thinking of it and trying to imagine the fun children had there. She imagined how children from various neighborhoods came to the same school and learn the same things; so, they could help each other in their studies and homework. She also thought that it was a great fun to sit together in the classroom and leave the school together at the end of the day.
20. Do you agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the schools in the story. Give reasons for your answer.
Answer: - Yes, I agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the schools in the story.
In the future schools, as described in the story, have mechanical teachers who teach from screens and take tests- this sounds very boring. As the schoolrooms are in the students' homes there are no classmates which gives no space for interaction among students. Moreover, writing answers in punch codes and inserting homework and test papers in a slot on mechanical teachers every day is monotonous and irritating.
In contrary, learning together in a class provides students with a wider view and help them to be socialized. This also provide students with the scope to help each other in their studies. Moreover, getting taught by human teachers is very helpful as students can ask their doubts then and there and also get mental support. This is not available in mechanical teachers as they are artificial intelligence. Thus, in my opinion schools today are more fun than the schools in the story.
