Q. How many characters are there in the narrative? Name them. (Don’t forget the dog!).
Ans. There are four characters in the narrative including the dog. They are the narrator, George, Harris. The fourth is the dog named Montmorency.
Q. Why did the narrator (Jerome) volunteer to do the packing?
Ans. The narrator felt that he knew more about packing than any other person living. Moreover, he would get an opportunity to boss the job and George and Harris would do the job under his directions.
Q. How did George and Harris react to this? Did Jerome like their reaction?
Ans. They accepted the narrator’s suggestion readily. But Jerome did not like it.
Q. What was Jerome’s real intention when he offered to pack?
Ans. Jerome’s intention was to boss the job. He wanted that Harris and George should work under his guidance and instructions. But they accepted the proposal and sat in the chairs comfortably.
Q. What did Harris say after the bag was shut and strapped? Why do you think he waited till then to ask?
Ans. Harris asked to put the boots in the bag after strapping the bag. He was used to speak after the completion of work.
Q. What ‘‘horrible idea’’ occurred to Jerome a little later?
Ans. Jerome was going to close the bag after putting the boots in it. He suddenly thought of his toothbrush. He always suffers because of the toothbrush.
Q. Where did Jerome finally find the toothbrush? Ans. Q. Why did Jerome have to reopen the packed bag?
Ans. Jerome tried his best to find the toothbrush. He unpacked the bag but could not find it. He put the things back one by one, and held everything up and shook it. Then he found it inside a boot.
Q. What did George and Harris offer to pack and why?
Ans. Jerome packed his tabacco-pouch in the bag. So he reopened the packed bag. 9. George and Harris offered to pack because Jerome did not pack hampers. They decided to pack the rest of things themselves.
Q. While packing the hamper, George and Harris do a number of foolish and funny things. Tick the statements that are true.
- They started with breaking a cup.
- They also broke a plate.
- They squashed a tomato.
- They trod on the butter.
- They stepped on a banana.
- They put things behind them, and couldn’t find them.
- They stepped on things.
- They packed the pictures at the bottom and put heavy things on top.
- They upset almost everything.
- They were very good at packing.
Ans. The true statements are as follows: (1), (3), (4), (6), (7), (9)
Q. What does Jerome say was Montmorency’s ambition in life? What do you think of Montmorency and why?
Ans. Montmorency’s ambition in life is to get in the way and be sworn at. He wants to be a perfect nuisance and make people mad. If things are thrown at his head, he feels his day has not been wasted. To get somebody to stumble over him, and curse him steadily for an hour is his highest aim and object. He came and sat on things, just when they were going to be packed. He put his leg into the jam and worried the teaspoons and pretended that lemons were rats and got into the hamper and killed three of them. It is the natural, original sin that is born in him that makes him do things like that.
Q. Of the three, Jerome, George and Harris, who do you think is the best or worst packer? Support your answer with details from the text.
Ans. Of the three, Harris is the worst packer in this world. But none is the perfect packer. All of them are confused and do not know what is to be placed and where. So far as Jerome is concerned he unpacked the bag to find his toothbrush in a boot. He also packs his tabacco-pouch in the bag. Harris and George start their work in a light hearted spirit. There are piles of plates, cups, kettles, bottles, jars, pies, stoves, cakes and tomatoes. They break a cup. Harris packs the strawberry jam on top of a tomato and squashes it. They have to pick out the tomato with a teaspoon. George treads on the butter. He gets it off his slipper and puts it in the kettle. He puts it down on a chair and Harris sits on it. It sticks to him and then they look for it all over the room. In this way they created chaos in the room.
Q. How did Montmorency ‘contribute’ to the packing?
Ans. Montmorency’s contribution cannot be forgotten. His ambition in life was to get in the way and be sworn at. He came and sat on things, just when they were going to be packed and he put his leg into the jam. He disturbed everything i.e. teaspoons, etc. He considered the lemons to be rats and got into the hamper and killed three of them. Montmorency wanted to be a perfect nuisance and make people mad. If things are thrown at his head, he feels his day has not been wasted. To get somebody to stumble over him, and curse him steadily for an hour was his highest aim and objective. When he got succeeded in accomplishing it, his conceit became quite unbearable.
Q. Do you find this story funny? What are the humorous elements in it? (Pick out at least three, think about what happens, as well as how it is described.)
Ans. The story is really humorous and funny. Jerome’s episode of packing, Harris’ and George’s way of packing and Montmorency’s contribution have made the story funny and interesting. Jerome was confused about his toothbrush and found it in a boot. He also packed his tabacco-pouch in the bag. The incident of butter makes the reader laugh. George treads on the butter and it sticks to his slipper. Later he put it on the chair. Harris sits on the chair and it sticks to his bottom. They squash the tomatoes by putting the strawberry jam on them. Montmorency’s contribution of considering the lemons to be rats is also fascinating and funny. These incidents are described in an orderly and perfect way.
Q. Match the words/phrases in Column A with their meanings in Column B.
| A | B |
| 1. slaving | (i) a quarrel or an argument |
| 2. chaos | (ii) remove something from inside another thing using a sharp tool |
| 3. rummage | (iii) strange, mysterious. Difficult to explain |
| 4. scrape out | (iv) finish successfully, achieve |
| 5. stumble over, tumble into | (v) search for something by moving things around hurriedly or carelessly |
| 6. accomplish | (vi) completer confusion and disorder |
| 7. uncanny | (vii) fall, or step awkwardly while waking |
| 8. (to have or get into) a row | (viii) working hard |
Answer
| A | B |
| 1. slaving | (viii) working hard |
| 2. chaos | (vi) completer confusion and disorder |
| 3. rummage | (v) search for something by moving things around hurriedly or carelessly |
| 4. scrape out | (ii) remove something from inside another thing using a sharp tool |
| 5. stumble over, tumble into | (vii) fall, or step awkwardly while waking |
| 6. accomplish | (iv) finish successfully, achieve |
| 7. uncanny | (iii) strange, mysterious. Difficult to explain |
| 8. (to have or get into) a row | (i) a quarrel or an argument |
Q. Use suitable words or phrases from Column A above to complete the paragraph given below.
A Traffic Jam
During power cuts, when traffic lights go off, there is utter _________ at crossroads. Drivers add to the confusion by ________ over their right of way, and nearly come to blows. Sometimes passers-by, seeing a few policemen _________ at regulating traffic, step in to help. This gives them a feeling of having _________ something.
Answer
During power cuts, when traffic lights go off, there is utter chaos at crossroads. Drivers add to the confusion by getting into a row over their right of way, and nearly come to blows. Sometimes passers-by, seeing a few policemen slaving at regulating traffic, step in to help. This gives them a feeling of having accomplished something.
Q. The table below has some proverbs telling you what to do and what not to do. Fill in the blanks and add a few more such proverbs to the table.
| Positive | Negative | ||
| (i) | Save for a rainy day. | (i) | Don’t cry over spilt milk. |
| (ii) | Make hay while the sun shines. | (ii) | Don’t put the cart before the horse. |
| (iii) | ________ before you leap. | (iii) | ________ a mountain out of a mole hill. |
| (iv) | ________ and let live. | (iv) | ________ all your eggs in one basket. |
Answer
| Positive | Negative | ||
| (i) | Save for a rainy day. | (i) | Don’t cry over spilt milk. |
| (ii) | Make hay while the sun shines. | (ii) | Don’t put the cart before the horse. |
| (iii) | Look before you leap. | (iii) | Don’t make a mountain out of a mole hill. |
| (iv) | Live and let live. | (iv) | Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. |
| (v) | Morning shows the day | (v) | Don’t believe in all and sundry. |
| (vi) | Be first at the feast and last at the fight | (vi) | Don’t act before thinking. |