The Best Christmas Present in the World

The Best Christmas Present in the World

Q1-What did the author find in a junk shop?

Answer-

The author found a very old 19th century roll-top desk in a junk shop. It was made of oak. It was in a very bad condition. The roll-top was broken into several pieces. One of the legs was clumsily mended and there were scorch marks down one side.
Q2-What did he find in a secret drawer? Who do you think had put it in there?

Answer

In a secret drawer of a roll-top desk, the author found a small tin box. There was a piece of lined note paper sello-taped to its top. It had, ‘Jim’s last letter, received January 25, 1915. To be buried with me when the time comes” written on it.
Most likely, it was put there by Mrs. Jim Macpherson, who was Jim’s wife. Her name and address were on the envelope inside the box.
Q3-Who had written the letter, to whom, and when?

Answer

Jim Macpherson had written the letter to his wife Connie Macpherson on December 26, 1914.

Q4-Why was the letter written-what was the wonderful thing that had happened?

Answer

Jim wrote the letter to tell his wife about a wonderful thing that had happened on Christmas day. The British and the Germans were engaged in a war, yet on this day, both the troops met in no man's land. It was a thing of wonder because right in the middle of a war, the warring soldiers were making peace.
Q5-What jobs did Hans Wolf and Jim Macpherson have when they were not soldiers?

Answer

Hans Wolf was from Dusseldorf. He played the cello in the orchestra. Jim Macpherson was a school teacher from Dorset.
Q6-Had Hans Wolf even been to Dorset? Why did he say he knew it?

Answer

No, Hans Wolf had never been to Dorset. He had learned all about England from school and from reading books in English.

Q7-Do you think Jim Macpherson came back from the war? How do you know this?

Answer

No, it is most likely that Jim Macpherson did not come back from the war.

In the sellotaped notepaper it was written that the letter was Jim’s last letter. Connie Macpherson did not receive any more letters from him. It indicates Jim Macpherson’s demise. The incident took place around the earlier part of the World war I in which the Germans had been victorious which implies the defeat of the British and the demise of Jim Macpherson. 

Q8-Why did the author go to Bridport?

Answer

The author went to Bridport because that was the address where Mrs. Macpherson lived. The address on the letter read “Mrs Jim Macpherson, 12 Copper Beeches, Bridport, and Dorset. He wanted to give that letter back to her.

Q9-How old was Mrs. Macpherson now? Where was she?

Answer

Mrs. Macpherson was a hundred and one year old. She was in a nursing home in Burlington house, on the Dorchester road, on the other side of town.
Q10-Who did Connie Macpherson think her visitor was?

Answer

Connie Macpherson thought that her visitor was her husband, Jim.

CHAPTER -TSUNAMI CLASS 8 CBSE

1.      What is a Tsunami?

Answer-Tsunamis are giant waves caused by earthquakes or volcanic eruptions under the sea. the waves travel inland, to build up higher and higher heights as the depth of the ocean decreases. The speed of tsunami waves depends on ocean depth.

2.      Why did Ignesious give priority to taking his television set off the table?

Answer- When the wife of Ignesious felt an earthquake, she woke Ignesious up. Ignesious thought it just to be a common earthquake and he decided to protect his costly household appliances. He carefully took his television set off its table and put it down on the ground so that it would not fall and break.

3.      When the tremor stopped what did the family members of Ignesious do?

Answer- When the tremors stopped, they saw the sea rising. In the chaos and confusion, two of his children caught hold of the hands of their mother’s father and mother’s brother, and rushed in the opposite direction. He never saw them again. His wife was also swept away. Only the three other children who came with him were saved.

4.      Who was Sanjeev and how did Sanjeev sacrifice his life?

Answer- Sanjeev was a policeman, serving in the Katchall Island of the Nicobar group of islands. He somehow managed to save himself, his wife and his baby daughter from the waves. But then he heard cries for help from the wife of

John, the guesthouse cook. Sanjeev jumped into the water to rescue her, but they were both swept away.

5.      How was Meghna saved in the Tsunami?

Answer- Thirteen year-old Meghna was swept away along with her parents and seventy-seven other people. She spent two days floating in the sea, holding on to a wooden door. Eleven times she saw relief helicopters overhead, but they did not see her. She was brought to the shore by a wave, and was found walking on the seashore in a daze.

6.      Introduce us with Almas Javed and her family.

Answer- Almas Javed was ten years old. She was a student of Carmel Convent in Port Blair where her father had a petrol pump. Her mother Rahila’s home was in

Nancowry Island. The family had gone there to celebrate Christmas.

7.       When Almas’s father felt the earthquake what did he do?

Answer- When the tremors came early in the morning, the family was sleeping. Almas’s father saw the sea water recede. He understood that the water would come rushing back with great force. He woke everyone up and tried to rush them to a safer place.

8.      How was Almas’s family killed in the Tsunami?

Ans- When the earthquake woke Almas’s father , he tried to rush the family members  to a safer place. As they ran, Almas’s grandfather was hit on the head by something and he fell down. Almas’s father rushed to help him. Then came the first giant wave that swept both of them away. Almas’s mother and aunts stood clinging to the leaves of a coconut tree, calling out to her. A wave uprooted the tree, and they too were washed away.

9.      How was Almas saved in the Tsunami?

Answer- When Almas’s other family members were washed away, Almas saw a log of wood floating. She climbed on to it. Then she fainted. When she woke up, she was in a hospital in Kamorta. From there she was brought to Port Blair. The little girl does not want to talk about the incident with anyone. She is still traumatised.

10.  Who is Tilly Smith? Tell us about her family. Where did they go to spend their holidays?

Ans- Tilly Smith was a ten-year-old schoolgirl from South-East England.

. Tilly’s parents were Penny and Colin Smith. She had a sister of seven years old.

The whole Smith family had been to Thailand .They were celebrating Christmas at a beach resort in southern Thailand.

11.  How did the Geography lesson of Tilly Smith help her to understand the impending Tsunami?

Ans- When Tilly saw the sea to slowly rise, and start to foam, bubble and form whirlpools, her mind reminded a geography lesson she had taken in England just two weeks before she flew out to Thailand with her family. She remembered that she had seen this in class in a video of a tsunami that had hit the Hawaiian Islands in 1946. Her geography teacher had shown her class the video, and told them that tsunamis can be caused by earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides.

12.  How did Tilly react when she realized that a Tsunami was about to rush upon them? How was the reaction of her Mother?

Answer- When Tilly realized that the strange behaviour of the sea was because of an impending Tsunami, Tilly started to scream at her family to get off the beach. She talked about an earthquake under the sea. She got more and more hysterical. Her mother Penny said that she didn’t know what a tsunami was. But seeing her daughter so frightened, she thought something serious must be going on. And they left the sea beach immediately.

13.  What happened after Tilly and her family left the sea beach?

Ans- After the hysterical behavior of their daughter, Tilly’s parents took her and her sister away from the beach, to the swimming pool at the hotel. A number of other tourists also left the beach with them. Then it was as if the entire sea had come out after them. Then they ran for safer place.

The family took refuge in the third floor of the hotel. The building withstood the surge of three tsunami waves. If they had stayed on the beach, they would not have been alive.

14.  Do animals have sixth sense?

Ans- Whether animals are having sixth sense is a debated matter. However the incidents during Tsunami hints at that the animals have sixth sense. The giant tsunami waves that rolled through the Indian Ocean killed more than 150,000 people in a dozen countries; but not many animals have been reported dead. Many people believe that animals possess a sixth sense and know when the earth is going to shake. Some experts believe that animals’ more acute hearing helps them to hear or feel the earth’s vibration. They can sense an approaching disaster long before humans realise what’s going on.

15.   How was the Srilankan gentleman saved by his two dogs?

Answer- The story of the Srilankan gentleman shows that his dogs perhaps for their sixth sense saved his life. The Srilankan gentlemanliving on the coast near Galle said that his two dogs would not go for their daily run on the beach. They are usually excited to go on this outing. But on that day they refused to go, and most probably saved his life.

Short questions on THE ANT AND THE CRICKET

Solved Short Questions and Answers:

1. What was the young cricket accustomed to do?

In the fable “The Ant and The Cricket” in poetic form portrayed the insect cricket as the one who was very much accustomed to singing, dancing and merry-making in the good weather of cheerful summer season.

2. Why did the cricket complain?

The cricket had spent the entire summer season by singing, dancing and                                  merry-making. Because of this indulgence in enjoyment left the cricket     bereft of the empty cupboard which is of utter need in coming winter. That is why the cricket complained.

3. What made the cricket bold?

The cricket’s indulgence in merry-making in the gay season of summer left the cricket without any preservation of food and shelter for the rough time in coming winter. This starvation and famine made the cricket bold.

4. Why did the cricket go to the ant?

Because of not storing anything necessary earlier in cupboard the cricket got bound to face a hard time of starvation and famine in winter season. In order to get relieved of this difficult situation the cricket went to the ant for shelter and grains to eat.

5. What did the ant tell the cricket?

The cricket indulged in borrowing shelter and grains from the miser ant in order to survive in the rough time of winter. But the ant clarified to the cricket that they neither borrow from somebody nor lend to somebody.

6. What did the ant ask the cricket?

Without having anything preserved in the cupboard the cricket willingly had come to the miser ant in the hope of borrowing some food and shelter. The ant then asked the cricket that what he was doing in summer times.

7. What was the ant’s suggestion to the cricket?

In reply of the ant’s question that what the cricket was doing in summer times, the cricket told that he had sung in the beautiful and charming weather of summer. So, the ant suggested the cricket now to indulge in dancing in the rough season of winter.

8. What is the lesson given by the poem to the mankind?

Through the poem the lesson what has been delivered to the mankind is that we should lead happy moments but not by ignoring our future. Careful planning is essential for everyone and it ensures a secure future.

Poem -The ant and the cricket

main idea  The poem tells us the story of a careless cricket who was busy in singing only and never thought and did anything for his future and an ant who was very sincere to his work and  thought and did for the future . The ant lived with self-respect even in harsh time while the cricket had to beg and could not survive harsh hour of winter. new words accustomed to         -addicted to, in habit of                           He is accustomed to sit idle.             a crumb                     - a piece                           The dog grabbed a crumb of bread.  shelter                        - home                           Our basic needs are food,clothing and shelter.  starvation                  - hunger                           Starvation made him very weak.  quoth                          - quoted                          He quoth ,"All that glitters is not gold."  gay                               - happy                           Children are gay on Sundays.  summary  Once upon a time... one hot summer, a cricket sang cheerfully on the branch of a tree, while down below, a long line of ants struggled gamely under the weight of their load of grains; and between one song and the next, the cricket spoke to the ants. "Why are you working so hard? Come into the shade, away from the sun, and sing a song with me." But the tireless ants went on with the work... "We can't do that," they said, "We must store away food for the winter. When the weather`s cold and the ground white with snow, there's nothing to eat, and we'll survive the winter only if the pantry is full."    "There's plenty of summer to come," replied the cricket, "and lots of time to fill the pantry before winter. I'd rather sing! How can anyone work in this heat and sun?"  And so all summer, the cricket sang while the ants laboured. But the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months. Autumn came, the leaves began to fall and the cricket left the bare tree. The grass too was turning thin and yellow. One morning, the cricket woke shivering with cold. An early frost tinged the fields with white and turned the last of the green leaves brown: winter had come at last.  The cricket wandered, feeding on the few dry stalks left on the hard frozen ground. Then the snow fell and she could find nothing at all to eat. Trembling and famished, she thought sadly of the warmth and her summer songs. One evening, she saw a speck of light in the distance, and trampling through the thick snow, made her way towards it.  "Open the door! Please open the door! I'm starving. Give me some food!" An ant leant out of the window.    "Who's there? Who is it?"  "It's me - the cricket. I'm cold and hungry, with no roof over my head."    "The cricket? Ah, yes! I remember you. And what were you doing all summer while we were getting ready for winter?"  "Me? I was singing and filling the whole earth and sky with my song!"  "Singing, eh?" said the ant. "Well, try dancing now!"

questions answers My heart, was so light That I sang day and night, For all nature looked gay." "You sang, Sir, you say ? Go then," says the ant, "and dance the winter away." 1.       Whose heart was light ? (a) the poet's                                     (b) the ant's (c) the Cricket's                                (d) a singer. Ans:(c) 2. What did he do out of joy ? (a) danced (b) laughed (c) sang (d) slept.   Ans:(a) 3. Why did all nature look gay ? (a) because it was so.                    (c) because it was spring. (b) because he was gay.                (d) because it was summer. Ans:(c) 4. The phrase 'dance winter away' means (a) make the winter dance            (c) dance all through the winter (b) dancing in winter                       (d) forget dance and enjoy winter. Ans:(c) A silly young cricket, accustomed to sing Through the warm, sunny months of gay summer and spring, Began to complain when he found that, at home, His cupboard was empty, and winter was come. 1. The stanza is taken from (a) Geography Lesson                      (b) On the Grasshopper and Cricket (c) The Ant and the Cricket              (d) The Duck and the Kangaroo. Ans:(c) 2. The two qualities of the Cricket described here are (a) foolish and singer                       (b) wise and singer (c) foolish and writer                        (d) intelligent and speaker Ans:(a) 3. The weather in the poem is (a) warm and gay                               (b) cold and dry (c) rainy and stormy                          (d) hot and sunny. Ans:(b) 4. 'Accustomed to' means (a) happy                                                (b) unhappy (c) used to                                              (d) irritated. Ans:(c) Not a crumb to be found On the snow-covered ground ; Not a flower could he see, Not a leaf on a tree. "Oh ! what will become," says the cricket, "of me ?" 1. Who was looking for the crumbs ? (a) the ant.                                             (c) the poet. (b) the Cricket.                                      (d) none of the above. Ans:(b) 2. What did the Cricket usually do ? (a) searching food                                 (b) playing (c) dancing                                              (d) singing. Ans:(d) At last by starvation and famine made bold, Ail dripping with wet, and all trembling with cold, Away he set off to a miserly ant, To see if, to keep him alive, he would grant 1. Who was suffering from starvation and famine ? (a) the Ant                                               (b) the Cricket (c) the poet                                             (d) a man. Ans:(b) 2. Why was he 'dripping with wet' ? (a) It was raining hard.                         (b) He had dived in a pond, (c) He had no shelter.                           (d) He had taken a bath. Ans:(c) 3. What did he expect to get from the miserly ant ? (a) good advice                                       (b) food (c) shelter                                                (d) food and shelter. Ans:(d) 4. What does the word 'grant' mean ? (a) kind                                                      (b) generous (c) take                                                      (d) give. Ans:(d) Him shelter from rain, And a mouthful of grain. He wished only to borrow ; He'd repay it tomorrow ; If not, he must die of starvation and sorrow. 1. Who is 'him' in the first line ? (a) the ant                                                (b) the Cricket (c) the poet                                              (d) a man. Ans:(b) 2. What did he want ? (a) rain                                                       (b) grain (c) food and shelter                                (d) money. Ans:(c) 3. From whom did he hope to borrow ? (a) the Ant                                                  (b) the Cricket (c) a man                                                    (d) an animal. Ans:(a) 4. The word 'borrow' refers to (a) lending money                                      (b) giving money (c) spending money                                   (d) taking money Ans:(a)

Standard English words starting with alphabet- A

aback unexpected, surprised
abacus counting device
abandon desert, forsake
abase degrade
abash humiliate, embarrass
abate lessen, subside
abatement alleviation
abbey monastery
abbreviate shorten
abdicate relinquish power or
position
abdomen belly
abduct kidnap
aberrant abnormal
abet aid, encourage (typically of
crime)
abeyance postponement
abhor detest
abide submit, endure
abject wretched
abjure renounce
ablate cut away
ablution cleansing
abode home
abolish annul, eliminate
abominable detestable
aboriginal indigenous, native
abortive unsuccessful
abound be plentiful
abreast side-by-side
abridge shorten
abroad overseas
abrogate cancel
abrupt ending suddenly
abscess infected and inflamed tissue
abscond to run away (secretly)
absolve acquit, free from blame
abstain refrain
abstract theoretical, intangible
abstruse difficult to understand
abut touch, border on
abysmal deficient, sub par
abyss chasm
academy school
accede yield, agree
accentuate emphasize
accession attainment of rank
accessory attachment, accomplice
acclaim recognition, fame
acclimate accustom oneself to a
climate, adjust
acclivity ascent, incline
accolade applause, tribute
accommodate adapt, assist, house