CLASS IX ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

THE FUN THEY HAD – Isaac Asimov

SUMMARY

‘The Fun They Had ‘ by Isaac Asimov is a science fiction .It tells the story of two
young children named Tommy and Margie who live in the year 2157,where
children get an education through computers at their home .One day they come
through a printed book and learn something about the school that existed
hundreds and hundreds of years ago .It is a matter of great surprise for them
because they are living in the age of moving e-texts.

It is the year 2157,Margie makes a diary entry which reveals that Tommy has
come across a book printed on paper. The pages of the book were yellow and
wrinkled which proves that it existed centuries ago. The book is peculiar in the
sense that it had the same words on it that it had when they read it the first time.
They were not moving like that on a computer /television screen.

Tommy calls it waste because once the book is read it is of no use .Their television
screen has had a million books on it and one cannot throw it away. Margie is of
the same opinion but she is curious to know what the book is about .Tommy tells
her that it is about school .She hated school ,but now she hated it more than ever
because her mechanical teacher had been giving her test after test in geography
and she had been doing worse and worse .Her mother sends for the County
Inspector who is a round little man.

He takes the television teacher apart and sets it right within an hour which only
increases Margie’s disappointment .He tells her mother that it was not Margie’s
fault but the geography sector of the mechanical teacher was geared a little too
quick and he has slowed that to an average ten –year level. He assures Margie
and her mother that there will be no problem henceforth .

Margie is curious to know about the school that existed in the past .Tommy tells
her that the teachers didn’t live in the house. They had a special building and all
the kids went there. The kids of the same age learned the same thing. Now it is
Margie’s school time. She goes into the schoolroom which is right next to her
bedroom and the mechanical teacher is on and waiting for her .She puts her
homework in the slot with a sigh. She is still thinking about the old schools they
had when her grandfather’s grandfather was a little boy .All the kids from the
whole neighbourhood came, laughing and shouting in the schoolyard ,sitting
together in the schoolroom, going home together at the end of the day.Those
schools were far better than the schools of today because they offered great fun
to the students.
TEXTBOOK—PG.NO.10
Answer the following questions .

1. How old are Margie and Tommy?

Ans. Margie and Tommy live in the future, in the year 2157. They are neighbours
and spend time together. Margie is a girl of eleven years of age while Tommy is a
boy of thirteen.

2. What did Margie write in her diary?

Ans. On 17 May 2157, Margie wrote that that day Tommy had found a real book in
the attic of his house. It was an old book with yellow, crinkly pages.

3. Had Margie ever seen a book before?

Ans. No, Margie had not seen a book before the one found by Tommy in his house.
She had only heard from her grandfather that his grandfather went to school as a
boy and that they read books that were printed on paper.

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

Ans. As Margie lived in an era where students studied from a mechanical teacher
and all the books appeared on the screen, she found it strange that the words on
the printed book did not move. It was strange to see the same words appear on the
pages as she flipped them over.

5.What do you think a telebook is?

Ans. A telebook is an electronic book also known as an e-book. It is stored in a
computer and can be read by scrolling up or down the screen.

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

Ans. Margie’s school was in her house. It was a room next to her bedroom. It was
a personal classroom where the computer was adjusted to her level of learning. She
studied by herself and had no classmates.

7.What subjects did Margie and Tommy learn?

Ans.Margie and Tommy learnt a lot of subjects like Geography, History and
Mathematics.
Answer the following with reference to the story.

1. “I wouldn’t throw it away.”

(i) Who says these words?

A. Tommy says these words.

(ii) What does ‘it’ refer to?

A. ‘It’ refers to the Computer screen on which Tommy reads various books.

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

A. ‘It’ is being compared to the paper book that Tommy found in his house.

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

(i) Who does ‘they’ refer to?

A. ‘They’ refers to the ancestors of the children who went to school and studied from
a human teacher.

(ii) What does ‘regular’ mean here?

A.‘Regular’ means the mechanical teacher which teaches Margie and Tommy.

(iii) What is it contrasted with?

A.The mechanical teacher is contrasted with a human teacher.

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

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

A. Margie and Tommy had mechanical teachers. They were computers which had
preloaded lessons on different subjects according to the learner’s level. Whenever
they malfunctioned, they were opened and repaired.

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

A. Margie’s mother called the County Inspector to check Margie’s teacher. She
thought that probably, Margie’s teacher had a malfunction. Margie was failing the
Geography tests repeatedly which could be due to a fault in the teacher.
3. What did he do?
A. The County Inspector was trained to repair the computer teacher. He opened the
machine and checked it. The Geography sector was set on a higher level. He reset
it to Margie’s level and closed the teacher.

4. Why was Margie doing badly in geography? What did the County Inspector do to
help her
A.Margie was failing in the Geography tests as the teacher had developed a fault.
The County Inspector told Margie’s mother that Margie was not at fault. Her progress
was good. He reset the teacher to Margie’s level.
5. What had once happened to Tommy’s teacher?
A. Once Tommy’s teacher had developed a fault as the entire section on History
had been deleted. His teacher had been taken for repairs and it took them a month
to set it right.

6.Did Margie have regular days and hours for school? If so, why?
A. Margie studied at the same time everyday, except Saturdays and Sunday. Her
mother was very particular and had told Margie that she would learn better if she
studied at the same time every day.

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

A. Tommy said that in the old kind of schools, there was a man teacher who told a
few things to the students, gave them home work and then asked them questions.
The man teacher was as knowledgeable as the machine teacher.

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

A. He says that the old teachers were not the regular kind they had. They were
human beings and not machines.

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?
A. Margie and Tommy were taught by mechanical teachers. They had large black
screens on which the lessons appeared. The lessons were followed by questions.
The students had to insert homework and test papers in the slots provided. They
had to write down the work in a punch code which was a computing language. The
mechanical teacher checked the papers and gave them marks within a few seconds.
These classrooms were in the student’s home itself. Every student studied from his
respective mechanical teacher. Each teacher was adjusted according to the level of
the learner. They did not have classmates. They studied various subjects like
Geography, History and Mathematics. Margie studied everyday at the same time
except Saturdays and Sundays. Her mother said that she would learn better if she
studied that way. The learning process was mechanical, dull and boring for them.

2. Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school must have
been fun
A. Margie hated school because it was not fun. There was a mechanical teacher
and the learning process lacked life. It was like a machine carrying out the usual
working, there was nothing new, no fun or laughter. Margie’s mechanical teacher
was giving her tests in Geography and she was performing bad at them. Later it was
discovered that the teacher had developed a fault due to which it was giving her
tests of a higher level. Margie’s mother called the County Inspector. He opened the
teacher, found the fault and rectified it. Margie disliked the teacher and hoped that
he would not be able to repair it. She hated inserting the homework and test papers
into the slot provided.
She thought that the children in the past must have had a lot of fun when they went
to school with fellow children. She found it amazing that all the children studied
together, the same things and could discuss studies and help each other with the
homework too. As the teachers were people, they would not behave like machines.
The human aspect of education in the past made her feel that the school of the past
were fun.

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

1. 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!

(i) Who found the old book?

Ans.

Tommy

(ii) Why was Margie surprised to see the book?

Ans. She was surprised because all the stories were printed on paper

(iii) What do you mean by a real book?

Ans. It is the book printed on paper

(iv) Pick out the word from the passage that means ‘small’

Ans. Little

2. Margie went into the school room .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
everyday Saturday and Sunday because her mother said little girls learned better
if they learned at regular hours.

(i)Where was Margie’s school room?

Ans. Margie’s school room was next to her bedroom.

(ii) Explain ‘mechanical teacher was on’

 Ans. Computer was on.

(iii) Who said little girls learned better if they learned at regular hours ?

Ans. Margie’s mother

(iv) Write the opposite of ‘regular’

Ans. Irregular

Answer the following in 100-150 words

1.Inspite of all comforts and luxuries in today’s world ,our grand parents still
cherish their own time when life was quite tough.Give your own views regarding
this in 100-150 words.

Our grandparents lived during the years of 1950s to 1970s.At that time life was
very simple yet tough .They had time to explore the surroundings and the world
around .They had parks to play with less pollution around them. Mechanical
gadgets were there ,but were used only for necessary activities .There were rivers
where they could go for picnics and treks ,without the fear of catching any allergy.
The school was more of a fun place where they me their friends .They studied but
were not competing with each other .For them togetherness was important
rather than competition .In today’s world we are with our friends. We have all the
facilities of life but we do not have time for our family and friends. We like to play
but on computers and playstation rather than with our siblings and friends.

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 TEXTBOOK PAGE NO.11--- Grammar Exercises

 1. Find the sentences in the lesson which have the
adverbs given in the box below.
Awfully Sorrowfully Completely Loftily
Carefully Differently Quickly nonchalantly
1.They turned the pages, which were yellow and crinkly, and it wasawfully funny to
read words that stood still instead of moving the way they were supposed to — on
a screen, you know.
2. 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.
3. They had once taken Tommy’s teacher away for nearly a month because the
history sector had blanked out completely.
4. He added loftily, pronouncing the word carefully, “Centuries ago.”
5.He added loftily, pronouncing the word carefully, “Centuries ago.”
6. “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.”
7. “I didn’t say I didn’t like it,” Margie said quickly.
8. “May be,” he said 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.

A.
(i) The report must be read carefully so that performance can be improved.
(ii) At the interview, Sameer answered our questions loftily, 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 nonchalantly
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.

3. Make adverbs from these adjectives.

(i) angry ________
(ii) happy _________
(iii) merry _______
(iv) sleepy __________
(v) easy _________
(vi) noisy __________
(vii) tidy _________
(viii) gloomy ________

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

4. 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 __________

A.
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 miss your meal.
3. Unless you promise to write back, I will not write to you.
4. If she doesn’t play any games, she will not become strong.
5. Unless that little bird flies away quickly, the cat will eat it.

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MEANINGS
crinkly: with many folds or lines, something that is crushed.

attic: a space just below the roof, used as a storeroom

scornful: contemptuous; showing you think something is worthless, show your
dislike for something

slot: a given space, time or position

geared (to): adjusted to a particular standard or level

blanked out: it has been erased

loftily: in a superior way

regular: here, normal; of the usual kind

betcha(informal): (I) bet you (in fast speech): I'm sure

dispute: disagree with when you are opposing something,

nonchalantly: not showing much interest or enthusiasm; carelessly