NCERT Solutions for Class-9 English Beehive Chapter 7 Packing
Packing
NCERT Solutions for Class-9 English Beehive Chapter 7 Packing
TEXTUAL QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
NCERT Solutions for Class-9 English Beehive Chapter 7 Packing
THINKING ABOUT THE TEXT
I. Discuss in pairs and answer each question below in a short paragraph (30-40 words).
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. What did Harris say after the bag was shurt 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.
6. What "horrible idea" occurred to Jerome a little later?
Ans. Jerome was going to close the bag after putting the boots of his toothbrush. He always suffers because of the toothbrush.
7. Where did Jerome finally find the toothbrush?
Ans. Jerome tried his best to find the toothbrush. He unpacked it. He put the things back one by one, and held everything up and inside a boot.
8. Why did Jerome have to reopen the packed bag?
Ans. Jerome packed his tobacco-pouch in the bag. So he re-opened the packed bag.
9. What did George and Harris offer to pack and why?
Ans: George and Harris offered to pack because Jerome did not pack hampers. They decided to pack the rest of the things themselves.
10. While packing the hamper, George and Harris do a number of foolish and funny things. Tick the statements that are true.
(i) They started by breaking a cup.
(ii) They also broke a plate.
(iii) They squashed a tomato.
(iv) They trod on the butter.
(v) They stepped on a banana.
(vi) They put things behind them, and couldn't find them.
(vii) They stepped on things.
(viii) They packed the pictures at the bottom and put heavy things on top.
(ix) They upset almost everything.
(x) They were very good at packing.
Ans. The true statements are as (i) (iii) (iv) (vi) (vii) (ix).
NCERT Solutions for Class-9 English Beehive Chapter 7 Packing
Q. II. 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.
NCERT Solutions for Class-9 English Beehive Chapter 7 Packing
Q. III. Discuss in
groups and answer the following questions in two or three paragraphs (100-150
words).
1. Of the three, Jerome, George, and Harris, who do you think is the best or worst pucker? 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 tobacco-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.
2. 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.
NCERT Solutions for Class-9 English Beehive Chapter 7 Packing
3. 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 has made the story funny and interesting. Jerome was confused about his toothbrush and found it in a boot. He also packed his tobacco-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 to considering the lemons to be rats is also fascinating and funny. These incidents are described in an orderly and perfect way.
NCERT Solutions for Class-9 English Beehive Chapter 7 Packing
Summary
This story is about the art of packing. The narrator thinks that he is very at packing. He impressed upon George and Harris that he would manage packing. Both of them readily agreed. George put on a pipe and sat on a sofa. Harris also lit a cigar and sat on a chair. The narrator did not like that. He wanted to supervise the packing and instruct them. But the whole of packing to him. The narrator kept quiet and started packing. But he was irritated by the senseless laughing of George. When he had packed the bag, he was told that he has forgotten his boots. The narrator opened the bag, put the shoes in, and when he was about to close it; he was reminded of his toothbrush. The narrator is always haunted by his toothbrush as he often forgot to pack it. He had to turn out all the things out of the bag and searched for his toothbrush. He found those of George and Harris every time but not his own.
At last, he found his toothbrush in a boot. Then he repacked the bag again. After that, Hams thought that there was not much time left and therefore. He decided to finish it off. Now it was the turn of the narrator to sit back and enjoy; and he really enjoyed that. They started by breaking a cup. Then he saw Harris packed the strawberry jam bottle on the top of a tomato, and squashed it. They had to take it out with a spoon. Later on, George placed his foot on butter. They put things behind them, and then couldn't find them when they wanted them. They upset salt over everything. After they scrape out the butter and placed it on the chair. Harris sat on it and it stuck to him and they lost it. At last, George noticed it at the pant of Harris. After that their dog Montmorency also played its role. He came and sat down on things. Then he put his leg into the jam and thinking that the lemons were rats, spoiled three of them. Harris blamed the narrator that he had encouraged the dog. But dogs like him needed no encouragement. They finally finished packing at 12.50. After that, they all went to sleep. After some time they found George sleeping. They placed the bathtub near his bed so that he could tumble into it on getting out in the morning.