Textual Questions & Answers of 'Tales of Childhood' of Class-VIII

 

Tales of Childhood

Textual Questions & Answers

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Activity 1

Rearrange the following sentences in the correct order and put the numbers in the given boxes:

1. He met Sofie Magdalene Hesselberg in 1911. [ 4 ]

2. They, along with their family members, moved to Radyr in 1918. [ 6 ]

3. Harold Dahl became a successful shipbroker and set up a farm at Cardiff. [ 3 ]

4. They married soon after. [ 5 ]

5. Harold Dahl lost his arm when he was fourteen. [ 2 ]

6. The writer’s grandfather was a prosperous merchant.  [ 1 ]

Activity 2

Complete the following sentences with information from the text:

1. The narrator’s grandfather was a fairly prosperous merchant.

2. Harold Dahl had lost an arm when he was fourteen.

3. A shipbroker is a person who supplies the ship with everything it needs when it comes into port.

4. In the country mansion beside the village of Radyr, there were many acres of farm and woodland, and a number of cottages for the staff. 

Activity 3

Answer the following question:

1. Do you think that the narrator was happy living in the imposing mansion?

Ans: Yes, I think the narrator was very happy living in the imposing mansion since there were many things for him to enjoy.

 

 

Activity 4

Write ‘T’ for true and ‘F’ for false statements in the given boxes. Give supporting statements for each of your answers:

1. The narrator was the eldest child in the family. 

Ans: False ,     Supporting Statement: “In 1920, when I was still three, my mother’s eldest child, my own sister Astri, died from appendicitis.”

 

2. Astri was the favorite child of the narrator’s father. 

Ans: True ,      Supporting Statement: “Astri was far and away my father’s favorite.”

 

3. The narrator’s father died of appendicitis. 

Ans: False ,        Supporting Statement: “He was so overwhelmed with grief that when he himself went down with pneumonia a month or so afterwards, he did not care much whether he lived or died.”

 

4. After his father’s death, the narrator along with his other family members moved to Llandaff. 

Ans: True ,     Supporting Statement: “She sold the big house and moved to a smaller one a few miles away in Llandaff.”

 

 

Activity 5

Answer the following questions:

1. How old was Astri when she died?

Ans: Astri was seven years old when she died.

 

2. Why was pneumonia a very dangerous disease?

Ans: Pneumonia a very dangerous disease at that time because there was no penicillin or any other magical antibiotic to cure it.

 

3. What made the narrator’s father reluctant to fight against the disease?

Ans: According to the narrator, his father loved his daughter Astri very much. Her sudden death left him literally speechless for days afterwards. And this made the narrator’s father reluctant to fight against pneumonia.

Activity 6

Fill in the chart with the information from the text:

Cause	Effect
(i) One can remember very little about one’s life before the age of seven or eight.	The narrator is astonished
(ii) The narrator can tell about very few things before the age of eight.	The narrator cannot picture the faces of Mrs. Cornfield or Miss Tucker.
(iii) The journeys made to or from the school were tremendously exciting	The narrator can remember these journeys very clearly.
(iv) A motor car on the road was an event then	It was quite safe for tiny children to go tri cycling in the centre of the highway.

 

Activity 7

Answer the following questions:

1. What was the name of the narrator’s first school?

Ans: The name of the narrator’s first school was Elmtree House.

 

2. Which blurred memory does the narrator have of his early days?

Ans: The narrator has the blurred memory of sitting on the stairs and trying over and over again to tie one of his shoelaces.

 

3. How did the narrator enjoy his journeys to and from school?

Ans: The narrator enjoyed racing on his tricycle at enormous speeds down the middle of the road with his eldest sister.

 

4. ‘It’s not much, but it’s all there is left’ – Why, according to you, did the narrator make this comment?

Ans: The narrator had very few memories of his early childhood. He regretted this. But he could still recall some special incidents which were the most precious things in his life.  

 

 

Activity 8 (a)

In the following sentences, underline the verb forms which show that the person denoted by the Subject does something. Circle the verb forms which show that something is done to person denoted by the subject :

1. She sings a song. (Underline)

 

2. A song is sung by her. (Circle)

 

3. He drew a picture. (Underline)

 

4. A picture was drawn by him.  (Circle)

 

 

Activity 8(b)

Identify the voice of the following sentences and fill in the table given below:

(i) He told a story.

(ii) The ball was thrown by the boy.

(iii) I read many books.

(iv) Football is played by them.

Active voice	Passive voice
(i) He told a story.	(ii) The ball was thrown by the boy.
(iii) I read many books.	(iv) Football is played by them.

 

 

Activity 8(c)

Match column A with column B:

A	B
(i) Rumita made a paper boat.	A paper boat was made by Rumita.
(ii) I know the man.	The man is known to me.
(iii) She cooks food.	Food is cooked by her.
(iv)We watched a cricket match.	A cricket match was watched by us.

 

 

Activity 8(d)

Change the voice of the following sentences:

1. Riya sang a song.

Ans: A song was sung by Riya.

2. She knows my brother.

Ans: My brother is known to her.

3. I wrote a letter.

Ans: A letter was written by me.

4. They cleaned the classroom.

Ans: The classroom was cleaned by them.

 

 

Activity 9

Make meaningful sentences with the given pairs of words. Use one pair of one sentence:

1. met, shop  →  I met my friend at a coffee shop.

2. remember, days  → I still remember my school days clearly.

3. moved, place  →  The vagabonds move from one place to another.

4. fight, country  →  The soldiers fight to protect our country.

 

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