Std 9 English chapters › Unit 1 · Question Answers ↓ · Take the lesson test ↓
In short: In the year 2157, two children find an old printed book about schools of the past, and Margie dreams of the fun children had when they learnt together from human teachers.
(इ.स. 2157 मध्ये दोन मुलांना जुन्या काळातील शाळांबद्दलचे एक छापील पुस्तक सापडते आणि मानवी शिक्षकांकडून सगळ्यांनी एकत्र शिकताना मुलांना किती मजा येत असेल, याचे स्वप्न मार्गी पाहते.)
- Type: Story (science fiction)
- Writer: Isaac Asimov
- Main characters: Margie (11) and Tommy (13), in the year 2157
- Unit: 1
Summary in English
The story is set on 17 May 2157. Tommy finds a real printed book in the attic of his house. Margie and Tommy are surprised that the words stay still on paper, because they read only 'telebooks' on screens.
Margie hates school. Her school is a mechanical teacher in a room next to her bedroom. It gives her test after test in geography, and she does worse and worse until the County Inspector comes and slows the geography sector down to an average ten-year level. She has to write her homework in a punch code and put it into a slot, which she hates most.
The old book is about schools of the past, where a man was the teacher, all the children of the same age went to a special building, learnt the same things and helped one another. As Margie sits down for her lonely arithmetic lesson on fractions, she thinks about how children must have loved those old schools and the fun they had.
मराठीत सारांश (Summary in Marathi)
ही कथा 17 मे 2157 या दिवशी घडते. टॉमीला त्याच्या घराच्या माळ्यावर एक खरे छापील पुस्तक सापडते. मार्गी आणि टॉमी फक्त पडद्यावरील 'टेलिबुक' वाचतात, त्यामुळे कागदावर अक्षरे स्थिर राहतात याचे त्यांना आश्चर्य वाटते.
मार्गीला शाळा आवडत नाही. तिची शाळा म्हणजे तिच्या बेडरूमशेजारच्या खोलीतील यांत्रिक शिक्षक. तो तिला भूगोलाच्या एकामागून एक चाचण्या देतो आणि तिचे गुण कमी होत जातात. मग काऊंटी इन्स्पेक्टर येऊन भूगोलाचा भाग सरासरी दहा वर्षांच्या पातळीवर हळू करतो. गृहपाठ 'पंच कोड' मध्ये लिहून स्लॉटमध्ये टाकावा लागतो, हे तिला सर्वात जास्त आवडत नाही.
जुन्या पुस्तकात पूर्वीच्या शाळांचे वर्णन आहे: तिथे माणूस शिक्षक होता, एकाच वयाची मुले एका इमारतीत जाऊन एकच गोष्ट शिकत आणि एकमेकांना मदत करत. अपूर्णांकांचा एकट्याने अभ्यास करताना मार्गी विचार करते की त्या काळातील मुलांना शाळेत किती मजा येत असेल.
Theme and Message (मध्यवर्ती कल्पना)
Learning is not only about information; it is also about friendship, sharing and the human touch of a teacher, which machines cannot replace.
शिक्षण म्हणजे फक्त माहिती नव्हे; मैत्री, एकत्र शिकणे आणि शिक्षकाचा माणुसकीचा स्पर्श हेही शिक्षणाचे महत्त्वाचे भाग आहेत, जे यंत्र देऊ शकत नाही.
Useful Words (शब्दार्थ)
| Word | मराठी अर्थ | Use it in a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| attic | माळा, पोटमाळा | We keep old boxes in the attic. |
| scornful | तुच्छतेने पाहणारा | He gave a scornful smile at my old phone. |
| sorrowfully | दुःखाने | She shook her head sorrowfully. |
| loftily | ऐटीत, स्वतःला मोठे समजून | He spoke loftily about his new bike. |
| dispute | वाद घालणे | I did not dispute his answer. |
| nonchalantly | बेफिकिरीने | He walked away nonchalantly. |
For the Exam (परीक्षेसाठी)
- The humour comes from change of context: ‘they took the teacher away’ sounds strange today, but in 2157 the teacher is a machine.
- Practise the contracted forms from the story (you’re, it’s, wouldn’t, hadn’t) and the difference between finite and non-finite verbs.
1.2 The Fun they Had: English Workshop Question Answers
Every English Workshop activity for this story, as games. Tap, match and sort: your score and stars update as you go. Finish all and challenge a friend on WhatsApp! (खेळा, गुण मिळवा आणि मित्रांना आव्हान द्या!)
🎬 Warm-up: Put the story in order
What happens in the story?
- Tommy finds a real paper book in the attic.
- Margie says she hates school.
- The County Inspector slows down her geography sector.
- Tommy explains that old schools had human teachers.
- Margie's mother calls her to school.
- Margie dreams about the fun children had in old schools.
🤔 Think as you read
When does the story take place?
Answer: Margie’s diary is dated 17 May 2157, far in the future. (कथा भविष्यकाळात घडते.)
What does Margie mean by ‘a real book’?
Answer: In her time all books are on screens (telebooks). A paper book is strange to her.
‘He took the teacher apart’ means the Inspector ___.
Answer: The teacher is a machine, so he opened it up to repair it.
Which part of the machine did Margie hate most?
Answer: She had to write in punch code and put it in the slot, and the machine marked it at once.
What fault did the Inspector repair?
Answer: He slowed it to an average ten-year level. The history fault was in Tommy’s teacher.
Is Tommy Margie’s brother or friend?
Answer: Tommy found the book ‘in my house’, and Mrs Jones says it is time for Tommy’s school too, so he goes home. He is a friend or neighbour.
Q1. Use the proper punctuation mark
👉 Question mark or full stop? Tap one. (प्रश्नचिन्ह की पूर्णविराम?)
(a) Where did you find it ___
Answer: It begins with ‘Where’, so it is a question.
(b) What’s it about ___
Answer: A ‘What’ question needs a question mark.
(c) They had a teacher ___
Answer: It is a statement, so a full stop.
(d) How could a man be a teacher ___
Answer: A ‘How’ question needs a question mark.
(e) Sure, if they were the same age ___
Answer: Tommy is answering, not asking, so a full stop.
Q2. Unusual meanings: what do they mean in the story?
🧩 Choose the meaning each sentence has in Margie’s world, then tap Check.
Meaning in the context of the story
What they would mean today
- Today: she hoped a person (the teacher) would be transferred.
- Today: the teacher went on leave or was suspended.
- Today: a strange thing to say, as most teachers are people.
- Today: a silly question, since men and women both teach.
- Today: a teacher should understand each child’s needs.
Q3. Related words: sort them
🗂️ Which word goes with which? (शब्द योग्य गटात लावा.)
Sort into home, book, school or family
Ten related words for each (for your notebook)
home: house, kitchen, bedroom, roof, door, garden, family, cosy, shelter, neighbour
book: page, cover, chapter, author, title, index, library, read, story, print
school: teacher, student, class, bench, exam, principal, timetable, homework, recess, uniform
family: parents, brother, sister, cousin, grandmother, uncle, aunt, love, care, relatives
small: tiny, little, short, mini, narrow, petty, slight, baby, pocket-size, compact
minute: second, hour, clock, watch, time, moment, quick, timer, alarm, schedule
Q4. Human teacher or mechanical teacher?
⚖️ Put each point in the right box of the chart.
Complete the chart
✍️ Which would you choose? Write 3-4 lines, then compare
I would like to learn from a human teacher. A machine can mark tests quickly, but it cannot smile, encourage us or understand when we are worried. Learning with friends in a classroom is also fun, just as Margie imagined. A machine can be a useful helper, but not a replacement for a teacher.
Q5. Contractions: match the short form to the full form
🎯 Tap a short form and its full form.
Contracted and full forms
Answer key
(a) when you are through (b) it is good for plenty more (c) I would not throw it away (d) She had not seen (e) What is it about? (f) I have slowed it up (g) I do not know (h) It was not a regular teacher
Q6. Language Study: finite verbs
👉 A finite verb changes with the subject and shows tense and number. (कर्त्यानुसार बदलणारे क्रियापद.)
Margie even wrote about it.
Answer: wrote = past of write.
My father knows as much as my teacher.
Answer: knows = simple present with ‘my father’ (he).
And the teachers were people …
Answer: were goes with the plural subject ‘teachers’.
Change the subject: I don’t know → She ___ know.
Answer: She doesn’t know. With he/she/it we use does.
My father knows → We ___.
Answer: We know. Plural subjects take the base form.
I am following in your footsteps → He ___ following in your footsteps.
Answer: He is following.
Q7. Live English: online shopping
🛒 Put the five steps of online shopping in order.
How did Tejaswini and Santosh buy Didi’s gift?
- Sign up and create an account.
- Browse and select a product from the categories.
- Add the product to the cart.
- Pay online, by debit card or cash on delivery.
- Check the product when it is delivered.
Advantage or disadvantage of online shopping?
✍️ Write a paragraph on ‘Online Shopping’, then compare
Online shopping means buying things over the internet. It saves time, offers a huge variety and lets us compare prices and read reviews from home. We can pay online or even pay cash on delivery. However, delivery is sometimes late, we cannot touch or try the product, and careless buyers may be cheated. If we use trusted websites and keep our passwords safe, online shopping is a convenient way to shop.
Think and Write (विचार करा, लिहा)
- Would you like a mechanical teacher at home? Give two advantages and two disadvantages.
- What changes would you like to see in your own school?
- Write Margie's diary entry for the day after Tommy found the book.
Online test · 15 questions
1.2 The Fun they Had: Lesson Test
Multiple choice · instant score with answers · certificate for 80% and above · free, no login
शिक्षकांसाठी: धडा शिकवून झाल्यावर ही test वर्गाला पाठवा. प्रत्येक विद्यार्थ्याचे गुण तुम्हाला आपोआप मिळतील.
These are original study notes by englishresources.in to help you revise. Read the lesson in your Balbharati textbook first: these notes do not replace it and do not reproduce its text.