NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 7 Packing are part of NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English. Here we have given NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 7 Packing.
| Board | CBSE |
| Textbook | NCERT |
| Class | Class 9 |
| Subject | English Beehive |
| Chapter | Chapter 7 |
| Chapter Name | Packing |
| Category | NCERT Solutions |
NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 7 Packing
TEXTBOOK EXERCISES
(Page 89)
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 !).
2. Why did the narrator (Jerome) volunteer to do the packing ?
Or
Why did the narrator offer that he would pack ? (CBSE)
3. How did George and Harris react to this ? Did Jerome like their reaction ?
4. What was Jerome’s real intention when he offered to pack ?
Or
What was the author’s intention when he offered that he would pack everything for them ? (CBSE)
5. What did Harris say after the hag was shut and strapped ? Why do you think he waited till then to ask ?
6. What “horrible idea” occurred to Jerome a little later ?
7. Where did Jerome finally find the toothbrush ?
8. Why did Jerome have to reopen the packed bag ? (CBSE)
9. What did George and Harris offer to pack and why ?
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 with 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.
Answers
1. There are four characters in the narrative. They are one, Jerome, the narrator himself, two, George, three, Harris. The fourth is the dog named Montmorency.
2. The narrator thought that George and Harris would not let him do the packing out of formality. Therefore, he volunteered to do the packing as a formality. Then he would boss over the job. But it didn’t happen.
3. George and Harris at once agreed to the narrator’s suggestion to do the packing. Jerome did not like it.
4. His real intention was to boss the job while George and Harris did the packing. But their agreeing to his packing irritated him.
5. The bag was shut and strapped. Then Harris asked Jerome if he had put the boots in. It was Harris’s habit not to say a word until the job was finished.
6. Jerome opened the bag. As he was going to close it, a horrible idea came to him. It was if he had packed his toothbrush. He had had problems always with his tooth-brush.
7. Jerome found his toothbrush inside a boot. Then he repacked the things once more.
8. Jerome had packed his tobacco-pouch in the bag. So he had to reopen the packed bag. He reopened it to get the pouch. When he had finished packing, George had asked him if the soap was in. But he didn’t care for that.
9. George and Harris offered to pack because the hampers were yet not packed. They thought that they had better do the rest. But they started breaking the things.
10. The true statements are given below :
(i)
(iii)
(iv)
(vi)
(vii)
(ix)
II. What does Jerome say was Montmorency’s ambition in life ? What do you think of Montmorency and why ?
Answer
Jerome says that 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. It is his habit to enjoy things being thrown at him. He then feels his day has not been wasted. He wants to get somebody to stumble over him and curse him for an hour. It is his highest aim and object in life.
Harris and George were packing. Montmorency came and sat on the things. He felt that George and Harris were going to touch his wet nose. He thought the lemons were rats and ‘killed’ three of them.
It is the natural, original sin that is born in him. It makes him do things like that.
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 packer ? Support your answer with details from the text.
2. How did Montmorency ‘contribute’ to the 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.)
Answers
1. Both George and Harris are worse packers than Jerome. The difference is of degrees only. As regards packing in a general way, the three of them create confusion and confusion only. First, take Jerome. He packs but forgets what he has packed, how and where. He packs his tobacco-pouch in the bag but forgets it. Then he remembers his toothbrush and opens the bag. He finds it in the boot.
Take the case of George and Harris, the author himself says that Harris is “the worst packer in this world”. Both start packing. There are piles of plates, cups, kettles, bottles, jars, pies, stoves, cakes, tomatoes etc. They break cups. Harris packs the strawberry jam on top of a tomato and squashes it. He packs the pies at the bottom. Then he puts heavy things on top and smashes the pies in. George treads on the butter. He gets it offhis slipper. He puts it in the kettle. But it doesn’t go in. It is put down on a chair. Harris sits on it. It sticks to him. Then they search for it.
It is disorder everywhere as things after things get broken.
2. Montmorency ‘contributed’ to the packing in a tunny way. It was his ‘ambition’ in life to get in the way and be sworn at. He would put himself in everybody’s way where he was not wanted. He wanted to be a perfect nuisance. He wanted people to go mad and have things thrown at his head. Then he would feel his day had not been wasted. He longed to get somebody to stumble over him and curse him for long.
Montmorency came and sat down on things which were to be packed. Harris and George reached out for things to pack. He felt that they touched his cold damp nose. He put his leg into the jam and worried the teaspoons. He pretended the lemons were rats. He got into the hamper and “killed’ three of them. But Harris landed him with the frying-pan.
3. The story is really funny. It is created by Jerome, Harris and George in creating ‘fun’ while packing. The dog Montmorency also contributes to this fun greatly.
Thefe are many humorous elements in it. The butter incident is one such element. George treads on it. It sticks to his slipper. Then it is put on the chair and forgotten. But Harris sits on it. It sticks to his bottom. The second element is that of the squashing of strawberry and tomatoes. Harris packs the strawberry jam on top of a tomato and squashes it. The third humorous element is caused by the dog Montmorency. Montmorency causes fun by his fixed belief. Harris or George reach for things to pack. They touch his cold damp nose everytime. Then he thinks the lemons as rats. He “kills’ three of them by getting into the hamper.
The description of all these elements is also humorous. We can visualise the fun in reading it. It creates lots of fun and laughter to see Harris’s bottom stuck with butter.
THINKING ABOUT LANGUAGE
I. 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) complete confusion and disorder |
| 7. uncanny | (vii) fall, or step awkwardly while walking |
| 8. (to have or get into) a row | (viii) working hard |
Answer
| A | B |
| 1. slaving | (viii) working hard |
| 2. chaos | (vi) complete 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 walking |
| 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 |
II. 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
chaos
getting into a row
slaving
accomplished.
1. Now work in pairs. Give
(i) two commands to your partner.
(ii) two do’s and don’ts to a new student in your class.
(iii) directions to get to each other’s houses.
(iv) instructions for moving the body in an exercise or a dance, or for cooking something.
Answers
(i) Don’t waste time. Don’t spit here.
(ii) Do’s
(a) Respect your teachers.
(b) Behave properly.
Don’ts
Don’t make a noise
Don’t come late to the class.
(iii) Go straight on M.G. Road. Walk for 10 minutes. Look to the left. There is a park nearby. Across the park, there is my house. It looks like a bungalow with a Holy Cross structure.
(iv) One instance. Sit cross-legged. Raise your palm. Put the thumb on one nostril. Breathe into the air. Then close the open nostril with the tip of the first finger. Remove the thumb from the first nostril. Breathe out the air through the first nostril. This is the yoga called ‘Lom Vilom’.
2. 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. |
Answers
| (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) Keep all things in apple-pie order. | (vi) Don’t count your eggs before they are hatched. |
| (vii) Tagore was a man of letters. | (vii) Don’t act before thinking. |
| (viii) Gandhi died in harness. | (viii) Don’t keep your father in the dark. |
WRITING
You have seen how Jerome, George and Harris mess up their packing, especially of the hamper. From their mistakes you must have thought of some dos and don’ts for packing. Can you give some tips for packing by completing the paragraph below ?
First pack all the heavy items, especially the ones you don’t need right away. Then … Here are some words and phrases you can use to begin your sentences with :
- Then
- Remember
- Next
- Don’t forget
- Now
- At last/Finally
Answer
Then put less heavy things on them. Now pick out small things. Put them in one comer or the other. Remember to put those things in the outer pockets. You may need these while travelling. These are toothbrush, soap, comb etc. Don’t forget to put all the things that are necessary and will be needed. At last, zip the bag. Also lock it at appropriate places.
ACTIVITY
Collect some examples of instructions, directions, etc. from notice boards and pamphlets. Bring them to class and display them, or read them out. (You can collect examples in English as well as other languages, Indian or foreign.)
Answer
For Self-attempt.
We hope the NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 7 Packing help you. If you have any query regarding NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 7 Packing, drop a comment below and we will get back to you at the earliest.