📖 Chapter 1: The Fun They Had

Answer: Margie is eleven years old and Tommy is thirteen years old.

Answer: On the page headed 17 May 2157, Margie wrote, "Today Tommy found a real book!"

Answer: No, Margie had never seen a printed book before. She had only seen telebooks on a television screen.

Answer: Margie found it strange that the pages were yellow and crinkly, the words stood still instead of moving like on a screen, and the same words remained on the page when they turned back to it.

Answer: A telebook is a book that appears on a television screen. It is an electronic book that can store millions of stories and can be read on a screen.

Answer: Margie's school was a room in her own house, right next to her bedroom. She did not have any classmates. The mechanical teacher taught her alone at fixed hours.

Answer: Margie learned geography and arithmetic. Tommy learned history. They also learned other subjects through the mechanical teacher.

(i) Who says these words?
Tommy says these words.

(ii) What does 'it' refer to?
'It' refers to the real book that Tommy found in the attic.

(iii) What is it being compared with by the speaker?
It is being compared with the telebooks that appear on the television screen.

(i) Who does 'they' refer to?
'They' refers to the students who studied in the old kind of schools centuries ago.

(ii) What does 'regular' mean here?
Here, 'regular' means the mechanical teacher that teaches each student at home.

(iii) What is it contrasted with?
It is contrasted with a human teacher who taught in a special building (school).

Answer: Margie and Tommy had mechanical teachers. These were large, black and ugly machines with a big screen that showed lessons and asked questions. They taught at fixed hours in a room at home.

Answer: Margie's mother sent for the County Inspector because Margie was doing worse and worse in geography tests given by the mechanical teacher.

Answer: The County Inspector took the mechanical teacher apart, checked it, and found that the geography sector was geared a little too quick. He slowed it up to an average ten-year level.

Answer: Margie was doing badly in geography because the geography sector of the mechanical teacher was geared a little too quick. The Inspector slowed it up to an average ten-year level to help her.

Answer: Tommy's teacher had once been taken away for nearly a month because the history sector had blanked out completely.

Answer: Yes, Margie had regular days and hours for school. She studied at the same time every day except Saturday and Sunday because her mother said little girls learned better if they learned at regular hours.

Answer: Tommy describes the old kind of school as a special building where all the kids from the whole neighbourhood came, laughed and shouted in the schoolyard, sat together in the schoolroom, and learned the same things.

Answer: Tommy describes the old kind of teachers as men who were human beings. They lived outside the house, taught in a special building, and taught all the children of the same age the same things.

Answer: In the story, Margie and Tommy have mechanical teachers instead of human teachers. The mechanical teacher is a large, black and ugly machine with a big screen on which all the lessons are shown and questions are asked. It has different sectors for different subjects like geography, history and arithmetic. It gives test after test and flashes questions on the screen.

The schoolroom is a room in the student's own house, right next to the bedroom. There are no classmates, no schoolyard, no laughing or shouting. Each child learns alone at fixed hours. The mechanical teacher is always on at the same time every day except Saturday and Sunday. Students insert their homework in a slot. They do not learn together or help one another with homework.

Answer: Margie hated school because the mechanical teacher gave her test after test in geography, and she was doing worse and worse. The teacher was large, black and ugly. She had to study alone in a room next to her bedroom. There were no classmates, no fun, no playing in the schoolyard, and no one to help her with homework.

Margie thought the old kind of school must have been fun because in the old days, all the kids from the whole neighbourhood came to a special building. They laughed and shouted in the schoolyard, sat together in the schoolroom, went home together at the end of the day, and learned the same things. They could help one another with homework and talk about it. The teachers were people, not machines. Margie loved the idea of being with other children and having human teachers.

Answer: Yes, I agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the school in the story. In today's schools, we have real teachers and classmates. We can talk, laugh, play and learn together. We make friends, share our ideas, and help one another with homework. There are games, sports, cultural activities and picnics that make school life enjoyable.

In the story, Margie studies alone at home with a mechanical teacher. There are no classmates, no friends, no playground, and no fun. She has to sit in a room and learn from a machine. There is no human interaction, no love, and no emotional bond. School becomes a boring and lonely place.

Therefore, schools today are definitely more fun because they give us the joy of learning together, making friends, and growing with others.

awfully, sorrowfully, completely, loftily, carefully, differently, quickly, nonchalantly

Answer:

• awfully: They turned the pages, which were yellow and crinkly, and it was awfully funny to read words that stood still...
• sorrowfully: ...until her mother had shaken her head sorrowfully and sent for the County Inspector.
• completely: They had once taken Tommy's teacher away for nearly a month because the history sector had blanked out completely.
• loftily: He added loftily, pronouncing the word carefully, "Centuries ago."
• carefully: He added loftily, pronouncing the word carefully...
• differently: ...that each kid has to be taught differently.
• quickly: "I didn't say I didn't like it," Margie said quickly.
• nonchalantly: "May be," he said nonchalantly.

(i) The report must be read carefully so that performance can be improved.
(ii) At the interview, Sameer answered our questions nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders.
(iii) We all behave differently when we are tired or hungry.
(iv) The teacher shook her head sorrowfully when Ravi lied to her.
(v) I completely forgot about it.
(vi) When I complimented Revathi on her success, she just smiled loftily and turned away.
(vii) The President of the Company is awfully busy and will not be able to meet you.
(viii) I finished my work quickly so that I could go out to play.

(i) angry → angrily
(ii) happy → happily
(iii) merry → merrily
(iv) sleepy → sleepily
(v) easy → easily
(vi) noisy → noisily
(vii) tidy → tidily
(viii) gloomy → gloomily

1. If I don't go to Anu's party tonight, she will be angry.

2. If you don't telephone the hotel to order food, you will have to sleep hungry.

3. Unless you promise to write back, I will not send you the book.

4. If she doesn't play any games, she will become weak and unhealthy.

5. Unless that little bird flies away quickly, the cat will catch it.

Write a letter to the publisher, Mindfame Private Limited, 1632 Asaf Ali Road, New Delhi, requesting a set of Isaac Asimov's short stories by Value Payable Post (VPP).

Answer:
ABC Public School
Sector 12, New Delhi

Date: 20 September 2026

The Manager
Mindfame Private Limited
1632 Asaf Ali Road
New Delhi

Dear Sir/Madam,

Subject: Request for a set of Isaac Asimov's short stories

I am a student of Class 9 and a great admirer of science fiction. I came to know that a new revised volume of Isaac Asimov's short stories has been released by your publishing house. I would like to order one set of this book.

Please send the set to me by Value Payable Post (VPP) at the address given below:
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[PIN Code]

Kindly ensure that the books are packed properly to avoid any damage in transit. I shall be grateful if you could dispatch the set at the earliest.

Thanking you.

Yours sincerely,
[Your Name]

Prepare arguments for or against the motion. Use the phrases given below.

Useful phrases:

• 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 ...