Answer the following questions

A. Identify the character or speaker of the following lines.

1. She was given test after test in geography. Answer: Margie

2. He was a round little man with a red face and a whole box of tools with dials and wires. Answer: County Inspector

3. She had been hoping they would take the teacher away altogether. Answer: Margie

4. They learned the same things, so they could help one another with the home work and talk about it. Answer: Kids / students of the old school

5. They had a special building and all the kids went there. Answer: Tommy

B. Fill in the blanks with the clues given below to complete the paragraph.

millions of books,   real book, yellow and crinkly,   same thing, learning and,  spending person, geography, schools, test papers, words, attic, house, school time

Tommy and Margie found something about the (i) schools of the past. Tommy found a real book which has been printed on paper. The book was old and the pages were yellow and crinkly  At present, the (iv) words were moving on a television screen. The television had over (v) millions of books. He had found the old book in the (vi) attic of his house. While reading Tommy found that it was about the old schools. Margie hated school because she was having problems with learning (vii) geography. The mechanical teacher was black and large with a screen. Margie hated the slot where she had to insert her homework or (viii) test papers. Margie did not understand how a (ix) person could be a teacher and how the students were taught the (x) same thing. Then it was (xi) time for Margie and Tommy. Margie went to the schoolroom in her (xii) house, where the mechanical teacher stood. She was thinking about the old school and how much fun the children had, (xiii) learning and spending time together.

C. Bring out the difference between your school and Margie’s school in the given tabular column. An example is done for you.

Answer:

Teacher is a machine - Teacher is a human being

Only telebooks are used - Books are in printed form

School is at home - school is in a special building

There is no ground - There is a play ground

D. Complete the following statements based on your reading.

1. The old book was found by Tommy.

2. Margie was surprised to see the old book because the words stood still instead of moving.

3. The mechanical teacher was giving Margie test after test in geography.

4. Margie had to study always at the same time every day, because her mother said little girls learned better if they learned at regular hours.

5. The geography sector in mechanical teacher was geared a little too quickly.

Think and Write

E. On the basis of your reading and using your own ideas, answer the following in about 125-150 words each.

1. Describe Margie’s mechanical teacher and her classroom in your own words.

Margie had a mechanical teacher. It had a large screen on which all the lessons were shown and questions were asked. It had a slot in which students had to put their homework and test papers. Margie had to write her answers in a punch code and the mechanical teacher calculated the marks in no time.

Margie school was in her house itself. She did not have any classmates. She learnt geography, history and arithmetic. She had regular days and hours for school. Her school room was right next to her bedroom. The mechanical teacher always turned on at the same time every day except Saturday and Sunday because her mother said that little girls learned better when they learned at regular hours.

“Machine is the outcome of human brain”.

2. Why did Margie hate her school? What was she thinking about at the end of the story?

Margie hated her school because it had no fun. She was doing badly in the geography tests. Her mechanical teacher was giving her test after test. Her mother sent for the county inspector. Margie hoped that the inspector would take the mechanical teacher away. She was disappointed when the country inspector managed to assemble all the parts of the mechanical teacher. She hated inserting her home work and test papers in the slot of the mechanical teacher. She did not like to write her answers in a punch code.

Margie thought that the old type of school must have fun. She imagined all the kids from the whole neighbourhood coming together laughing and shouting in the school yard. She thought that they would sit together in the classroom and go home together at the end of the day. They learned the same thing and helped one another with the homework and talked about it. The teacher were human beings. All these aspects made her believe that the type of school must have fun.

“Everybody is doing the same old thing”

3. What was strange about the ‘book’? Why did Margie find it strange?

Tommy found a real book on 17 May, 2157. It was a very old book. There was a time that all stories were printed on paper. Margie wrote about the old book in her diary. Tommy and Margie turned the pages which were yellow and crinkly. In the old book the words stood still and they were not moving. It was strange as they were supposed to move on a screen. When the page was turned back to the page before it had the same words on it. It was very strange to Margie and Tommy.

Margie had never seen a book before. She had been used to telebooks than the real books. Margie's book was only the screen of the mechanical teacher. The words and the pages of the telebook could be moved after reading it. In the real book the words are printed and they are permanent on each page of the book. One could go with the old book unlike the telebooks. Thus Margie found the old book strange. It remained a great mystery to her and Tommy as well.

“Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious”

Write a paragraph of about 150 words by developing the following hints:

Margie - eleven years old - school - house - teacher - machine - computer - big screen - paper slot - test papers - home works - calculates - marks - test after test - geography - mother - called - county - Inspector - repair - hope - put it together - hated - schools.

The Fun They Had

Margie was eleven years old. Margie's school is in her house. Her teacher is a machine. It is a computer with a big screen. It is black and ugly. There is a paper slot in it. She has to put her test papers. The teacher calculates her marks in no time. Her teacher has been giving her test after test in geography. Her mother called the county inspector to repair it. He took a teacher apart. Margie had hoped he wouldn't know how to put it together again. But he knew how to make it all right. She hated such schools.

PARAGRAPH FOR LATE BLOOMERS:

• The story was on 17th May 2157.

• Tommy and Margie had school at their home.

• Her teacher is a machine.

• It is a computer with a big screen.

• There is a paper slot in it.

• She has to put her test papers.

• Her teacher has been giving her test in Geography.

• Her mother called the county inspector to repair it.

• He took the teacher apart.

• She hated such schools.

• One day they found a very old book.

• The words in the book stood still.

• The teacher were human in olden days.

• She thought of the children of the olden days. 

PARAGRAPH FOR LATE BLOOMERS:

• The story was on 17th May 2157.

• Tommy and Margie had school at their home.

• Her teacher is a machine.

• It is a computer with a big screen.

• There is a paper slot in it.

• She has to put her test papers.

• Her teacher has been giving her test in Geography.

• Her mother called the county inspector to repair it.

• He took the teacher apart.

• She hated such schools.

• One day they found a very old book.

• The words in the book stood still.

• The teacher were human in olden days.

• She thought of the children of the olden days.