NCERT English Class 7 | Chapter 9 | A Bicycle in Good Repair | Question Answer |

COMPREHENSION CHECK                                                                         PAGE 128

1.       “I got up early, for me.” It implies that

(i) he was an early riser.

(ii) he was a late riser.

(iii) he got up late that morning.

Mark the correct answer.

Answer: (ii) he was a late riser.

2.       The bicycle “goes easily enough in the morning and a little stiffly after lunch.” The remark is ______________.

(i) humorous.

(ii) inaccurate.

(iii) sarcastic.

(iv) enjoyable.

(v) meaningless.

Mark your choice(s).

Answer: (i) humorous

3.       The friend shook the bicycle violently. Find two or three sentences in the text which express the author’s disapproval of it.

Answer: The author's disapproval is expressed in the following sentences in the text:

         “Don’t you trouble about it anymore; you will make yourself tired”

         “It doesn’t if you don’t wobble it.”

         “Don’t do that; you’ll hurt it.”

4.       “…if not, it would make a serious difference to the machine.” What does ‘it’ refer to?

Answer: It refers to the bicycle's ball bearings.


WORKING WITH THE TEXT                                                                          PAGE 132

Answer the following questions.

1.       Did the front wheel really wobble? What is your opinion? Give a reason for your answer.

Answer: No, the front wheel did not wobble much. We know this because the author claims, "It didn't wobble, in fact—nothing worth calling a wobble." It didn't require any action on my part. The author was pleased with the bicycle because it was in good working order.

2.       In what condition did the author find the bicycle when he returned from the tool shed?

Answer: When the author returned from the tool shed, he discovered his friend sitting on the ground, his bicycle's front wheel wedged between his legs. He was twirling it between his fingers as he played with it, and the rest was lying beside him on the gravel path.

3.       “Nothing is easier than taking off the gear-case.” Comment on or continue this sentence in the light of what actually happens.

Answer: "Nothing is easier than taking off the gear-case," a friend of the author says.

"If anything goes wrong with your gear-case, sell the machine and buy a new one," the author warns him, stating advice from one of his more experienced friends.

The author's friend is unconcerned about it and continues to remove the gear case. He later struggles and is unable to return the gear-case to its appropriate places.

4.       What special treatment did the chain receive?

Answer: The author's friend tightened the chain to the point where it was no longer moving. Then he started loosening it. He loosened it to the point where it was twice as loose as before.

5.       The friend has two qualities — he knows what he is doing and is absolutely sure it is good. Find the two phrases in the text which mean the same.

Answer: The following are two phrases in the text that have the same meaning:

         Cheery confidence

         Inexplicable hopefulness

6.       Describe ‘the fight’ between the man and the machine. Find the relevant sentences in the text and write them.

Answer: The author's bicycle required no maintenance. It was in good condition, but the author's friend made a big deal out of it and messed it up. He actually made it so that it now requires extensive repairs.

The following paragraph in the text explains the battle between man and machine:

The bicycle would be on the gravel path, and he would be on top of it one moment, and then the roles would be reversed—he on the gravel path, and the bicycle on him the next. He'd be standing, his face flushed with triumph, his bicycle firmly fixed between his legs. His victory, however, would be fleeting. It would free itself and turn on itself with a sudden, quick movement.


WORKING WITH LANGUAGE                                                                      PAGE133

1.       Read the following sentences.

• We should go for a long bicycle ride.

• I ought to have been firm.

• We mustn’t lose any of them.

• I suggested that he should hold the fork, and that I should handle the wheel.

The words in italics are modal auxiliaries. Modal auxiliaries are used with verbs to express notions such as possibility, permission, willingness, obligation, necessity, etc. ‘Should,’ ‘must’ and ‘ought to’ generally express moral obligation, necessity, and desirability.

Look at the following.

• We should go on a holiday. (Suggestion: It is a good idea for us to go on a holiday.)

• He is not too well these days. He must see a doctor before he becomes worse. (Compulsion or necessity: It is absolutely essential or necessary for him to see a doctor.)

• You ought to listen to me. I am well over a decade older than you. (more emphatic than ‘should’: Since I am older than you, it is advisable that you listen to me.)

Note:Should’ and ‘ought to’ are often used interchangeably.

Rewrite each of the following sentences using should/ ought to/must in place of the italicized words. Make other changes wherever necessary.

(i)      You are obliged to do your duty irrespective of consequences.

          _________________________________________________

          _________________________________________________

(ii)     You will do well to study at least for an hour every day.

          _________________________________________________

          _________________________________________________

(iii)    The doctor says it is necessary for her to sleep eight hours every night.

          _________________________________________________

          _________________________________________________

(iv)    It is right that you show respect towards elders and affection towards youngsters.

          _________________________________________________

          _________________________________________________

(v)     If you want to stay healthy, exercise regularly.

          _________________________________________________

          _________________________________________________

(vi)    It is good for you to take a walk every morning.

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

(vii)   It is strongly advised that you don’t stand on your head.

          __________________________________________________

          __________________________________________________

(viii)  As he has a cold, it is better for him to go to bed.

          __________________________________________________

          __________________________________________________

Answer:

(i)      You must do your duty irrespective of the consequences.

(ii)     You should study at least for an hour every day.

(iii)    The doctor says it is a must for her to sleep eight hours every night.

(iv)    You ought to show respect towards elders and affection towards youngsters.

(v)     If you want to stay healthy, you must exercise regularly.

(vi)    You should take a walk every morning.

(vii)   It is a must not to stand on your head.

(viii)  As he has a cold, he should go to bed.

2.       Use should/must/ought to appropriately in the following sentences.

(i)      People who live in glass houses __________________________ not throw stones.

(ii)     You ____________________________ wipe your feet before coming into the house, especially during the rains.

(iii)    You ______ ______________________do what the teacher tells you.

(iv)    The pupils were told that they ___________________________ write more neatly.

(v)     Sign in front of a park: You __________________________ not walk on the grass.

(vi)    You ___________________________ be ashamed of yourself having made such a remark.

(vii)   He left home at 9 o’clock. He _____________________________ be here any minute.

(viii)  “Whatever happened to the chocolate cake?”

“How ____________________________ I know? I have just arrived.

Answer:

(i) should

(ii) must

(iii) must

(iv) Should

(v) must

vi) ought to

(vii) should

(viii) should

3.       Two or more single sentences can be combined to form a single sentence.

Read the following.

I made an effort and was pleased with myself. This sentence is in fact a combination of two sentences.

         I made an effort.

         I was pleased with myself.

Now read this sentence.

I did not see why he should shake it.

This is also a combination of two sentences.

         I did not see (it).

         Why should he shake it?

Divide each of the following sentences into its parts. Write meaningful parts. If necessary, supply a word or two to make each part meaningful.

(i) I went to the tool shed to see what I could find. (3 parts)

(ii) When I came back he was sitting on the ground. (2 parts)

(iii) We may as welt see what’s the matter with it, now it is out. (3 parts)

(iv) He said he hoped we had got them all. (3 parts)

(v) I had to confess he was right. (2 parts)

Answer:

(i)      I went to the tool shed to see what I could find. (3 parts)

I went to the tool shed.

I went (there) to see.

What I could find.

(ii)     When I came back he was sitting on the ground. (2 parts)

I came back.

He was sitting on the ground.

(iii)    We may as well see what’s the matter with it, now it is out. (3 parts)

We may as well see.

What is the matter with it?

Now it is out.

(iv)    He said he hoped we had got them all. (3 parts)

He said.

He hoped.

We had got them all.

(v)     I had to confess he was right. (2 parts)

I had to confess.

He was right.

4.       ‘en’ acts as a prefix (put at the beginning) or as a suffix (put at the end) to form new words.

en + courage = encourage

weak + en = weaken

‘en’ at the beginning or at the end of a word is not always a prefix or a suffix. It is then an integral part of the word.

ending

barren

(i)      Now arrange the words given in the box under the three headings — prefix, suffix, and part of the word.

Encourage             dampen                 listen

barren                    endanger              soften

fasten                    enclose                  weaken

even                      enable                   enclave

en (prefix)                      en (suffix)                    en (part of word)

_______                        _______                        _______

_______                        _______                        _______

_______                        _______                        _______

_______                        _______                        _______

(ii)     Find new words in your textbook and put them under the same headings.

Answer:

(i)      en (prefix)                      en (suffix)                       en (part of word)

encourage                       dampen                          listen

endanger                         soften                             barren

enable                             weaken                           even

enclose                           fasten                              enclave


(ii)     evening garden enough when between dozen tighten loosen end ten open forgotten sudden

en (prefix): endangered, enact, entrap.

en (suffix): tighten, loosed, forgotten.

en (part of word): evening, garden, enough, when, dozen, end, ten, open, sudden.


Poem: Garden Snake                       By Muriel L. Sonne

WORKING WITH THE POEM                                                             PAGE 137

1.       Answer the following questions.

(i) Pick out the line that suggests that the child is afraid of snakes.

Answer: The following is a line that suggests the child is afraid of snakes:

“I saw a snake and ran away…”.

(ii) Which line shows a complete change of the child’s attitude towards snakes? Read it aloud.

Answer: The following lines depict a complete shift in the child's attitude toward snakes:

“I’ll stand aside and watch him pass”,

It’s just a harmless garden snake!”

(iii) “But mother says that kind is good…” What is mother referring to?

Answer: The mother is referring to the “garden snakes”.

2.       Find the word that refers to the snake’s movements in the grass.

Answer: “Wiggles” is the term used to describe the snake's movements in the grass.

3.       There are four pairs of rhyming words in the poem. Say them aloud.

Answer:

(a) Good, food

(b) Mistake, snake

(c) Away, say

(d) Pass, grass

4.       A snake has no legs or feet, but it moves very fast. Can you guess how? Discuss in the group.

Answer: A snake moves incredibly quickly by wriggling, despite the fact that it has no legs or feet.

5.       Can you recall the word used for a cobra’s long sharp teeth? Where did you come across this word first?

Answer: Fangs are the long teeth of a cobra. This term was originally introduced to me on the National Geographic Channel.

1. Three Questions ; The Squirrel Question Answer

2. A Gift of Chappals ; The Rebel Question Answer

3. Gopal and the Hilsa Fish ; The Shed Question Answer

4. The Ashes That Made Trees Bloom ; Chivvy Question Answer

5. Quality ; Trees Question Answer

6. Expert Detectives ; Mystery of the Talking Fan Question Answer

7. The Invention of Vita-Wonk ; Dad and the Cat and the Tree Question Answer

8. Fire: Friend and Foe ; Meadow Surprises Question Answer

9. A Bicycle in Good Repair ; Garden Snake Question Answer

10. The Story of Cricket Question Answer

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