1.2 Dick Whittington and his Cat
Complete textbook exercise solutions — Maharashtra State Board (Balbharati), Grade Eight English.
ShareAdvertisement
Warming Up!
(a) Name the world famous personalities, who reached great heights despite of humble circumstances.
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Abraham Lincoln, Charlie Chaplin, Kalpana Chawla, Dr B.R. Ambedkar, and Walt Disney.
(b) Guess the types of hardships they must have faced in their childhood and youth.
- (i) Severe poverty and lack of money.
- (ii) Lack of basic facilities and limited access to education.
- (iii) Multiple failures and social rejections.
- (iv) Loss of family support or parents at a young age.
(c) What strong qualities possessed by them, could have helped them achieve success and fame, all over?
- (i) Hard work and perseverance.
- (ii) Self-confidence.
- (iii) Courage and firm determination.
- (iv) Patience and resilience.
(d) How do stories / biographies of such famous people help youngsters?
- (i) They inspire youngsters to overcome difficulties.
- (ii) They teach the immense value of hard work.
- (iii) They provide real-life role models to look up to.
- (iv) They give hope and motivation in tough times.
This is a personal-response activity. Write down the names of your classmates and break them into syllables. Examples are given below.
- (1) A-mit (2 syllables)
- (2) Ne-ha (2 syllables)
- (3) A-di-tya (3 syllables)
- (4) Pri-yan-ka (3 syllables)
- (5) Ra-hul (2 syllables)
Advertisement
English Workshop
(ship, small, successful, scoldings, stone, saving, someone, stood, streets, still, screamed, sat, seemed, saint, share)
Answer:
saint, sat, saving, scoldings, screamed, seemed, share, ship, small, someone, still, stone, stood, streets, successful.
| Word | Root-word |
|---|---|
| (1) successful | success |
| (2) immediately | immediate |
| (3) retrace | trace |
| (4) mouser | mouse |
| (5) unfriendly | friend |
| (6) fallen | fall |
| (7) unkind | kind |
| (8) wooden | wood |
| (9) luckily | luck |
| (10) belonging | belong |
- (a) a small room just below a sloping roof — attic
- (b) a very narrow passage between buildings — alley
- (c) the highest - ranking officer in the Municipality of a city/town — Mayor
- (d) the highest ranking official who commands a ship — captain
- (e) any animal that catches mice — mouser
- (f) a low constant sound made by cats — purr
- (1) overcome: With hard work and confidence, you can overcome any difficulty.
- (2) put up with: It is very hard to put up with bad behaviour in a team.
- (3) bargain: My mother knows how to bargain well while buying vegetables in the market.
| No. | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 | (e) Dick left his village on foot, to go to London. |
| 2 | (b) A carter gave Dick a lift to London. |
| 3 | (g) Dick was homeless, helpless, cold and hungry. |
| 4 | (a) Mr Fitzwarren provided shelter to Dick. |
| 5 | (h) Dick bought a cat to get rid of the mice. |
| 6 | (c) The cat sailed to the African coast. |
| 7 | (i) The rats and mice ate up all the dinner, laid for the king and queen. |
| 8 | (d) The captain sold the cat for a very high amount of money. |
| 9 | (f) Dick became rich, and later, the Mayor of London. |
(a) What decision taken by Dick changed his fortune?
Dick changed his fortune by deciding to return to Mr Fitzwarren's house instead of running away, after he heard the church bells ringing a message for him. Furthermore, his decision to send his only possession—his cat—on the trading ship brought him immense wealth.
(b) What message does this story bring out for youngsters?
The story gives the message that one should not give up in the face of difficulties and hardships. Hard work, honesty, and a little patience eventually lead a person to success and good fortune.
- (a) belonging: be-long-ing (3)
- (b) unfriendly: un-friend-ly (3)
- (c) anything: an-y-thing (3)
- (d) difficulty: dif-fi-cul-ty (4)
- (e) captain: cap-tain (2)
- (f) morning: morn-ing (2)
- (g) citizen: cit-i-zen (3)
- (h) message: mes-sage (2)
- (i) mayor: may-or (2)
- (j) elected: e-lect-ed (3)
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| (1) great | greater | greatest |
| (2) famous | more famous | most famous |
| (3) easy | easier | easiest |
| (4) bad / ill | worse | worst |
| (5) poor | poorer | poorest |
| (6) lazy | lazier | laziest |
| (7) little | less / lesser | least |
| (8) worthy | worthier | worthiest |
| (9) popular | more popular | most popular |
The Missile Man of India: Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was born into a poor Tamil Muslim family in Rameswaram. His father was a boat owner, and to support his family's income, young Kalam sold newspapers after school. Despite his humble beginnings and financial hardships, he possessed a deep desire to learn, especially in mathematics and physics.
He overcame numerous challenges through sheer hard work and determination, eventually graduating in physics and studying aerospace engineering at the Madras Institute of Technology. He went on to become one of India's most distinguished scientists, playing a crucial role in the development of India's missile and nuclear weapons programs. His dedication and vision not only made him a national hero but also led him to serve as the 11th President of India. Dr. Kalam's life is a powerful testament that no matter where you start, education, hard work, and big dreams can take you to the highest peaks of success.