Std 8 English chapters › Unit 3 · Question Answers ↓ · Take the lesson test ↓
In short: The poem describes a curious little boy who keeps asking 'why?' about everything around him, from floating wood and shining stars to fish gills and steam from a kettle.
(आजूबाजूच्या प्रत्येक गोष्टीबद्दल, तरंगणाऱ्या लाकडापासून चमकणाऱ्या ताऱ्यांपर्यंत आणि माशांच्या कल्ल्यांपासून किटलीतील वाफेपर्यंत, सतत 'का?' विचारणाऱ्या एका जिज्ञासू मुलाचे वर्णन ही कविता करते.)
- Type: Poem
- Speaker: Someone describing a curious little boy
- Unit: 3
Summary in English
The speaker knows a curious little boy who is always asking 'why?': why this, why that, why now, why not? He wants to know why wood floats while lead and marbles sink, why stars shine and winds blow, and why we eat and drink.
He wants to know what makes the clouds and why they cross the sky, why the sun sets behind the hills and why flowers die. He asks why air comes out of the bellows, why pop-guns go 'pop' and why the ocean ebbs and flows.
He wonders why fish have gills and boys cannot fly, why steam comes out of the kettle and rain falls from the sky, why coal burns but stone does not, and how seeds get inside an apple and marrow inside a bone.
मराठीत सारांश (Summary in Marathi)
वक्त्याच्या ओळखीचा एक जिज्ञासू मुलगा सतत 'का?' विचारत असतो: हे का, ते का, आत्ताच का, का नाही? लाकूड पाण्यावर का तरंगते आणि शिसे व गोट्या का बुडतात, तारे का चमकतात आणि वारा का वाहतो, आपण का खातो-पितो, हे त्याला जाणून घ्यायचे असते.
ढग कशामुळे बनतात आणि आकाशात का फिरतात, सूर्य डोंगरामागे का मावळतो, फुले का कोमेजतात, हे त्याला जाणायचे असते. भात्यातून हवा का येते, खेळण्यातील बंदूक 'पॉप' का करते आणि समुद्राला भरती-ओहोटी का येते, असेही तो विचारतो.
माशांना कल्ले का असतात आणि मुलांना उडता का येत नाही, किटलीतून वाफ का येते आणि आकाशातून पाऊस का पडतो, कोळसा जळतो पण दगड का नाही, आणि सफरचंदात बिया व हाडात मज्जा कशी येते, याबद्दल तो विचार करतो.
Theme and Message (मध्यवर्ती कल्पना)
Curiosity and asking questions are the beginning of learning and of science.
जिज्ञासा आणि प्रश्न विचारणे हीच शिक्षणाची आणि विज्ञानाची सुरुवात आहे.
Figures of Speech (अलंकार)
- Repetition (पुनरावृत्ती): 'why' and 'he wants to know' are repeated throughout.
- Onomatopoeia (ध्वन्यनुकारी शब्द): 'pop-guns should go pop'.
Useful Words (शब्दार्थ)
| Word | मराठी अर्थ | Use it in a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| curious | जिज्ञासू | The curious child opened the box. |
| bellows | भाता | The blacksmith used bellows to blow air into the fire. |
| ebb | ओहोटी | The tide ebbs in the evening. |
| gills | (माशांचे) कल्ले | Fish breathe through gills. |
| spout | (किटलीची) तोटी | Tea poured out of the spout. |
| marrow | अस्थिमज्जा | Bone marrow makes blood cells. |
For the Exam (परीक्षेसाठी)
- Learn the wh-question words: what, when, where, who, whose, which, why, how, and which kind of answer each one expects.
- Many of the boy’s questions are science questions. Try answering three of them in simple English.
3.1 Why?: English Workshop Question Answers
Every English Workshop activity for this poem, as games. Score points, earn stars and challenge a friend on WhatsApp! (खेळा, गुण मिळवा आणि मित्रांना आव्हान द्या!)
❓ Warm-up: Question words
👉 Tap the question word that gets the answer in brackets.
___ is the capital of Maharashtra? (Mumbai)
Answer: What is the capital…? asks for a thing/name.
___ is your school located? (On S.B. Road)
Answer: Where asks for a place.
___ is your examination going to begin? (Next Monday)
Answer: When asks for time.
___ does the old man walk? (Slowly)
Answer: How asks for manner.
___ colour is your favourite? (Blue)
Answer: Which asks for a choice.
___ teaches you English? (Mrs Ashwini Patil)
Answer: Who asks for a person.
___ are you late to school? (My bicycle got punctured.)
Answer: Why asks for a reason.
___ pen have you borrowed? (Aman’s pen)
Answer: Whose asks for the owner.
🤔 Think as you read
Is the little boy really curious? How do you know?
Answer: He wants to know about wood, stars, clouds, fish, coal and much more.
What helps the dough to rise?
Answer: Yeast makes gas bubbles that make the dough rise.
Q1. Action words from the poem
⚡ Quick-fire: tap the verb the poem uses.
stars – ___
Answer: Why stars should shine.
winds – ___
Answer: And winds should blow.
sun – ___
Answer: Why sinks the sun behind the hills.
flowers – ___
Answer: And why the flowers die.
ocean – ___
Answer: The ocean ebbs and flows (tides).
rain – ___
Answer: And rain falls from the sky.
ice – ___
Answer: Why ice should melt.
bees – ___
Answer: Why bees should sting.
Q2. Rhyming pairs game
🎯 Tap two words that rhyme.
Rhyming words from the poem
Q3. Repetition
👉 Repetition = the same word repeated for effect.
Which line shows repetition?
Answer: ‘why’ is repeated four times. Also: ‘Why not, why by-and-by?’
Q5. Environment or living things?
🗂️ Sort words from the poem.
Which group?
Q4 and Q6. Ask your own questions
✍️ Q4. Five ‘why’ questions the boy asks. Try, then compare
- Why should wood swim, while lead and marbles sink?
- Why do stars shine and winds blow?
- Why does the sun sink behind the hills?
- Why do fish have gills, and why can’t boys fly?
- Why does coal burn, but not stone?
✍️ Q6. Interview questions for a quiz champion. Try, then compare
- Congratulations! How do you feel about winning?
- When did you start preparing?
- How many hours did you study daily?
- Which books and websites did you use?
- Who helped you most?
- Which round was the hardest?
- Were you nervous on stage?
- How do you remember so many facts?
- What is your next goal?
- What advice would you give to juniors?
🔗 Word chain
Each word begins with the last letter of the one before. Build the chain!
Start with ‘sky’
- sky
- yak
- kite
- egg
- goat
Start with ‘star’
- star
- rain
- nest
- tree
- eagle
Think and Write (विचार करा, लिहा)
- Write five 'why' questions of your own about nature.
- Frame interview questions for a senior student who won a quiz contest.
- Why is it good to ask questions?
Online test · 15 questions
3.1 "Why?": 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.