Std 8 English chapters › Unit 1 · Question Answers ↓ · Take the lesson test ↓
In short: The poet says that we cannot all be big or important, but whatever we are, we should be the best at it, because success does not depend on size.
(आपण सगळेच मोठे किंवा महत्त्वाचे होऊ शकत नाही, पण आपण जे असू त्यात सर्वोत्तम व्हावे, कारण यश आकारावर अवलंबून नसते, असे कवी सांगतो.)
- Type: Poem
- Poet: Douglas Malloch
- Speaker: The poet, advising the reader
- Unit: 1
Summary in English
If you cannot be a tall pine tree on top of a hill, be a small scrub in the valley, but be the best little scrub beside the stream. If you cannot be a tree, be a bush; if you cannot be a bush, be a bit of grass that makes some highway happier.
If you cannot be a big fish like a muskie, be a bass, but the liveliest bass in the lake. We cannot all be captains; some must be the crew. There is big work and small work for everyone, and the task in front of you is the one you must do.
If you cannot be a highway, be a trail; if you cannot be the sun, be a star. It is not by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.
मराठीत सारांश (Summary in Marathi)
डोंगरमाथ्यावरील उंच पाइन वृक्ष होता येत नसेल, तर दरीतील छोटे झुडूप व्हा, पण ओढ्याकाठचे सर्वोत्तम झुडूप व्हा. झाड होता येत नसेल तर झुडूप व्हा; झुडूप होता येत नसेल तर गवताचे पाते व्हा, जे एखाद्या रस्त्याला अधिक आनंदी करेल.
मस्की सारखा मोठा मासा होता येत नसेल, तर बास मासा व्हा, पण तलावातील सर्वात चपळ बास व्हा. आपण सगळेच कप्तान होऊ शकत नाही; काहींना खलाशी व्हावे लागते. मोठे आणि छोटे, असे प्रत्येकासाठी काम आहे आणि समोर असलेले काम आपण करायलाच हवे.
महामार्ग होता येत नसेल तर पायवाट व्हा; सूर्य होता येत नसेल तर तारा व्हा. आकारावरून कोणी जिंकत किंवा हरत नाही. तुम्ही जे असाल त्यात सर्वोत्तम व्हा.
Theme and Message (मध्यवर्ती कल्पना)
Every role in life has value; what matters is doing our best in whatever we are and whatever we do.
आयुष्यातील प्रत्येक भूमिकेला महत्त्व असते; आपण जे आहोत आणि जे करतो त्यात सर्वोत्तम प्रयत्न करणे महत्त्वाचे आहे.
Figures of Speech (अलंकार)
- Repetition (पुनरावृत्ती): 'If you can't be …' begins many lines.
- Antithesis (विरोधाभास): big and small things are placed side by side: pine and scrub, sun and star, captain and crew.
- Metaphor (रूपक): people are compared to trees, fish, roads and stars.
Useful Words (शब्दार्थ)
| Word | मराठी अर्थ | Use it in a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| scrub | खुरटी झुडपे | The hillside was covered with scrub. |
| rill | छोटा ओढा | A rill flowed past the farm. |
| crew | (जहाजावरील) कर्मचारी, खलाशी | The crew worked hard on the ship. |
| lesser | कमी महत्त्वाचे | No work is lesser if it is done well. |
| trail | पायवाट | We walked along a forest trail. |
For the Exam (परीक्षेसाठी)
- The poem has 4 stanzas of 4 lines; lines rhyme alternately (abab): hill/rill, be/tree.
- Learn the if-clause pattern: ‘If you can’t be a tree, be a bush.’ Revise Conditionals.
1.1 Be the Best: English Workshop Question Answers
Every English Workshop activity for this poem, 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: Smallest to biggest
Put each set in increasing order of size or growth.
(a) Water
- stream
- river
- sea
- ocean
(c) Plant growth
- seed
- sapling
- plant
- tree
(d) Human growth
- baby
- child
- youth
- adult
🤔 Think as you read
What is the main difference between a pine tree and a scrub?
Answer: A pine stands high on the hill; a scrub is a small, low plant in the valley.
What is the message at the end of the poem?
Answer: Success depends on doing your best, not on size or position. (जे कराल ते उत्तम करा.)
Q1. Big circle or small circle?
🗂️ Sort each word from the poem.
Bigger or smaller?
Q3. Rhyming words game
🎯 Tap two words that rhyme. Fewer mistakes = more points!
Rhyming pairs from the poem
Q4. Complete the lines
👉 Tap the correct ending from the poem.
(2) If you can’t be a tree, ___.
Answer: Be a bush if you can’t be a tree.
(3) If you can’t be a muskie, ___.
Answer: But the liveliest bass in the lake!
(4) If you can’t be a captain, ___.
Answer: We can’t all be captains, we’ve got to be crew.
(5) If you can’t be a highway, ___.
Answer: A trail is a narrow path.
(6) If you can’t be the sun, ___.
Answer: Every star shines in its own way.
Q5. True or false?
👉 Tap True or False. (बरोबर की चूक?)
(1) All must be the captains of the teams.
Answer: We can’t all be captains; some must be crew.
(2) A bit of grass can make the highway happier.
Answer: Even grass along the roadside makes travellers happier.
(3) We win or fail depending upon size or position.
Answer: It isn’t by size that you win or you fail.
(4) A scrub is found at the top of the hill.
Answer: The scrub is in the valley; the pine is on the hill.
(5) If your work is not important, don’t do it.
Answer: There is big work and lesser work, and we must do the task that is near.
(6) Whatever job you have, do your best.
Answer: That is the main message of the poem.
Q6. Appreciation of the poem
👉 Tap the correct answer.
The poem is written by ___.
Answer: Douglas Malloch was an American poet.
The poem has ___ stanzas of ___ lines each.
Answer: Four stanzas of four lines.
Which expression is repeated in the poem?
Answer: It begins many lines and builds the message.
✍️ Write the full appreciation, then compare
- The title of the poem is ‘Be the Best’.
- The poem is written by Douglas Malloch.
- The poem has 4 stanzas. Each stanza has 4 lines.
- The lines that rhyme in each stanza are the 1st and 3rd, and the 2nd and 4th (rhyme scheme abab).
- The poet compares big things with small things: pine and scrub, tree and bush, muskie and bass, captain and crew, highway and trail, sun and star.
- ‘If you can’t be’ is a repeated expression in the poem.
- The line I shall always remember is ‘Be the best of whatever you are!’
Warm-up 2. The Lion and the Mouse
👉 Fill the gaps in the story.
A lion was sleeping in a ___.
Answer: The story begins in the forest.
The lion got up ___ and caught the mouse.
Answer: The mouse had disturbed his sleep.
The mouse ___ up the net with its sharp teeth.
Answer: It chewed the net and set the lion free.
Complete story and moral
A lion was sleeping in a forest. A mouse started playing on him. The lion got up angrily. He caught the mouse and was ready to kill it. The mouse begged the lion to leave it and said that someday it would help the lion. The lion laughed and let it go. One day the lion was caught in a net set up by hunters. He roared loudly as he tried hard to escape. The mouse heard the lion and came. It chewed up the net with its sharp teeth and set the lion free.
Moral: No one is too small to help. A kindness is never wasted.
Think and Write (विचार करा, लिहा)
- Write three lines of your own beginning with 'If you can't be …'.
- Why does the poet say 'It isn't by size that you win or you fail'?
- Think of a small job in your school. Why is it important?
Online test · 15 questions
1.1 Be the Best: 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.
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