The Fun They Had

 

            The Fun They Had

Answer these questions in a few words or a couple of sentences each.

1. How old are Margie and Tommy?

Ans- Margie is eleven and Tommy is thirteen years old.

2. What did Margie write in her diary?

Ans- Margie wrote in her diary, “Tommy found a real book!”

3. Had Margie ever seen a book before?

Ans- No, Margie had never seen a book before.

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

Ans- She found the following things strange about the book:

The pages of the book were yellow and crinkly.

The words stood still instead of moving as they were supposed to move on a screen.

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.

5. What do you think a tally book is?

Ans- A telebook is a book that can be displayed on the television screen.

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

Ans- Margie’s school was right next to her bedroom. No, she did not have any classmates.

7. What subjects did Margie and Tommy learn?

Ans- Margie and Tommy learn history geography and arithmetic.

2. Answer the following questions with reference to the story.

1. “I would not to eat away.”

a) Who says these words?

Ans- Tommy says these words.

b) What does it refer to?

 Ans- It refers to the book that existed centuries ago.

c) What is it being compared with by the speaker?

Ans- The real book is compared with the telebook by the speaker.

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

a) who does they refer to?

Ans- ‘They’ refers to the children who used to study in the physical school.

b) What does regular mean here?

Ans- Here regular means the mechanical teacher that teaches Margie and Tommy.

c) What is it contrasted with?

Ans- It is contrasted with the mechanical teacher.

3. Answer each of the questions in a short paragraph (about 30 words)

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

Ans- Margie and Tommy had each a mechanical teacher. It was always on at the same time everyday except Saturday and Sunday, and it calculated the marks in no time.

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

 Ans- Margie had been doing worse and worse whenever the test was taken by the mechanical teacher, and so her mother sent for the county inspector so that the fault could be repaired.

3. What did he do?

Ans- The County Inspector slowed down the mechanical teacher to an average ten year level since it had been geared to a higher level. He said that the overall pattern of her progress was satisfactory. After that he patted her head again.

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

Margie was doing badly in geography because the geography sector was geared up to a higher level. In order to help her County Inspector adjusted the mechanical teacher to an average ten year level.

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

Once Tommy’s teacher was taken away by the County Inspector, and kept it for nearly a month because he was unable to repair the history sector that had blanked out completely.

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

 Ans-Yes, Marge had regular days and hours for school because her mother believed that little girls learned better if they learned at regular hours, and so it was always on at the same time everyday except Saturday and Sunday.

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

Ans- He says that the old kind of school, which existed centuries ago, had human beings as teachers instead of television screens. The teachers just told the boys and girls things and gave them homework and asked them questions.

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4. Answer each of the questions in two or three paragraphs (100-150 words).

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

Ans- The main features of the mechanical teachers and the schoolrooms that Margie and Tommy have in the story are as follows:

The mechanical teacher that teaches Margie and Tommy always gets on at the same time everyday except Saturday and Sunday because Margie’s mother believes that little girls learn better if they learn if they learn at regular hours. It consists of a big screen on which all the lessons are shown and the questions are asked. It also has a slot wher she has to put her homework and test papers writing in a punch code; and the mechanical teacher calculates the marks in no time.

The school of Margie is right next to her bedroom. They need not go out for studying. She also hates her school she had been continuously performing bad whenever the test was taken in geography.

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

Ans- Margie always hated School because the mechanical teacher had been giving her test after test in geography and she had been doing worse and worse whenever the test was taken. So her mother sent for the county Inspector so that it could be repaired .

She thought that the old kind of school must have been fun because the kids during that time would go to school together; would be laughing and shouting in the school yard; and sitting together in the classroom. It would be a lot of fun for them as they used to go home together at the end of the day; and since they learn the same thing, they could help one another with the homework and talk about it. Though the mechanical teacher was on and doing its work thinking about the fun they had.

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

Ans- Yes, I agree with Margie that schools today are more for than the school in the story because schools today have real human beings as teachers. They teach all students together if they are of the same age. They also understand the feelings of each student, but Margie’s school has a mechanical teacher, which needs to be adjusted to fit the mind of each boy and girl it teaches; and that each kid has to be taught differently.

In schools today, students go to school together sit, together in the classroom, and return home at the end of the day together. Since they learn the same thing, they can help one another with the homework and talk about it. But in Margie’s school, such things do not happen. She studies alone by her mechanical teacher. The teacher asks her to write the homework and test papers in a punch code and so it's a kind of boring class, and no sharing of feelings between each other further increases it.