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NCERT Class 8 English Chapter 1 The Best Christmas present In the world
Also, you can read the NCERT book online in these sections Solutions by Expert Teachers as per Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Book guidelines. CBSE Class 8 English Solutions are part of All Subject Solutions. Here we have given NCERT Class 8 English Chapter 1 The Best Christmas present In the world and After, NCERT Class 8 English Textbook of Honeydew and It So Happen. for All Chapters, You can practice these here.
The Best Christmas present In the world
Chapter: 1
HONEYDEW
COMPREHENSION CHECK
Page No – 10
1. What did the author find in a junk shop?
Ans: The author found a very old 19th century roll-top desk in a junk shop. It was made of oak. It was in a very bad condition. The roll-top was broken into several pieces. One of the legs was clumsily mended and there were scorch marks down one side.
2. What did he find in a secret drawer? Who do you think had put it in there?
Ans: In a secret drawer of a roll-top desk, the author found a small tin box. There was a piece of lined note paper sello-taped to its top. It had, ‘Jim’s last letter, received January 25, 1915. To be buried with me when the time comes” written on it. Most likely, it was put there by Mrs. Jim Macpherson, who was Jim’s wife. Her name and address were on the envelope inside the box.
| COMPREHENSION CHECK |
Page No – 14
1. Who had written the letter, to whom, and when?
Ans: Jim Macpherson had written the letter to his wife Connie Macpherson on December 26, 1914.
2. Why was the letter written — what was the wonderful thing that had happened?
Ans: Jim wrote the letter to tell his wife about a wonderful thing that had happened on Christmas day. The British and the Germans were engaged in a war, yet on this day, both the troops met in no man’s land. It was a thing of wonder because right in the middle of a war, the warring soldiers were making peace.
3. What jobs did Hans Wolf and Jim Macpherson have when they were not soldiers?
Ans: Hans Wolf was from Dusseldorf. He played the cello in the orchestra. Jim Macpherson was a school teacher from Dorset in the west of England.
4. Had Hans Wolf ever been to Dorset? Why did he say he knew it?
Ans: No, Hans had never been to Dorset. He had only read about Dorset in Hardy’s novel ‘Far from the Madding Crowd’.
5. Do you think Jim Macpherson came back from the war? How do you know this?
Ans: No, it is most likely that Jim Macpherson did not come back from the war. The notepaper sello-taped to the tin box mentioned the letter contained in the box to be the “last letter” from Jim. This was perhaps the last that Connie heard from Jim. While celebrating Christmas in no man’s land, the British and German soldiers played a game of football. Hans told Jim that he hoped the war would also be resolved by a football match. To this Jim replied that he wasn’t very good at football, but would be sure of winning if they played cricket. The match was won by the Germans. This perhaps indicates that the Germans might have also won the actual battle between the two troops.
| COMPREHENSION CHECK |
Page No – 15
1. Why did the author go to Bridport?
Ans: The author went to Bridport because that was the address where Mrs. Macpherson lived. He wanted to give that letter back to her.
2. How old was Mrs Macpherson now? Where was she?
Ans: Macpherson was 101 years old. She was in a nursing home in Burlington House.
| COMPREHENSION CHECK |
Page No – 16
1. Who did Connie Macpherson think her visitor was?
Ans: Connie Macpherson thought that her visitor was her husband, Jim.
2. Which sentence in the text shows that the visitor did not try to hide his identity?
Ans: The sentence which shows that the visitor did not try to hide his identity is, ‘I explained about the desk, about how I had found it, but I don’t think she was listening.’
| WORKING WITH THE TEXT |
1. For how long do you think Connie had kept Jim’s letter? Give reasons for your answer.
Ans: Connie must have kept Jim’s letter for a long time. This is because she told the narrator how she read it quite often every day so that she could feel that Jim was near her.
2. Why do you think the desk had been sold, and when?
Ans: The desk must have been sold when the house in which Connie Macpherson lived had caught fire. She was taken to a nursing home. All the burnt up things must have been sold after that.
3. Why do Jim and Hans think that games or sports are good ways of resolving conflicts? Do you agree?
Ans: While playing games, nobody dies at the end of it. No woman becomes a widow and no child loses their father. Jim and Hans did think that games or sports are a good way of resolving conflict. Wars only cause destruction and death, and nothing is gained after that. The way the soldiers celebrated Christmas by playing football in no man’s land was such a beautiful incident to show that wars are a useless way to show dominance and its humanity that wins at last.
4. Do you think the soldiers of the two armies are like each other, or different from each other? Find evidence from the story to support your answer.
Ans: The soldiers of the armies liked each other. Both British and German armies liked each other, and they celebrated Christmas together by playing, laughing, smoking, drinking and eating. Jim even shared the cake he was sent over by his wife. They placed a football match with each other to lift away the dullness due to war. At night they even exchanged carols and ended Christmas merrily.
5. Mention the various ways in which the British and the German soldiers become friends and find things in common at Christmas.
Ans: The British and German troops came together to celebrate Christmas, sharing food and enjoying each other’s company. They smoked, laughed, talked, drank, and ate merrily. Hans Wolf and Jim Macpherson relished the cake baked by Connie and engaged in a conversation about Bathsheba, Gabriel Oak, Sergeant Troy, and Dorset. They also discussed their favorite books and found themselves agreeing on everything. Later, both troops participated in a football match, cheering, clapping, and stamping their feet with excitement. As night fell, they exchanged carols, strengthening their bond. Through these shared moments, they discovered many similarities between them while celebrating Christmas together.
6. What is Connie’s Christmas present? Why is it “the best Christmas present in the world”?
Ans: Connie mistook the narrator as her husband when he came to return the box and her letter. Due to old age, she eventually lost her memory and mistook the narrator to be her husband. She thought that he had returned back. The narrator, even though it was an illusion of her husband, became her best Christmas present ever. In the letter, Jim wrote that he would come back on Christmas and when the narrator came to meet her on Christmas, she felt that her husband kept his promise and came back on Christmas. His visit would have made him extremely happy and content.
7. Do you think the title of this story is suitable for it? Can you think of any other title(s)?
Ans: Yes, the title of the story is suitable for it. The spirit of Christmas is the theme that prevails throughout the story. It was on a Christmas day, in the middle of a raging war, that two warring troops made peace. The moment of peace that the soldiers shared with each other was the best Christmas present for them. Again, it was on a Christmas day that the narrator went to see Mrs Macpherson. He went to return her husband’s letter to her. The letter was precious to her, but even more precious was her delusion that the narrator was her husband Jim, who she believed had returned as promised on a Christmas day. This was the best Christmas present in the world for her.
| WORKING WITH LANGUAGE |
1. Look at these sentences from the story.
I spotted it in a junk shop in Bridport… The man said it was made in the early nineteenth century… This one was in a bad condition…
The italicised verbs are in the past tense. They tell us what happened in the past, before now.
(i) Read the passage below and underline the verbs in the past tense.
A man got on the train and sat down. The compartment was empty except for one lady. She took her gloves off. A few hours later the police arrested the man. They held him for 24 hours and then freed him.
Ans: A man got on the train and sat down. The compartment was empty except for one lady. She took her gloves off. A few hours later, the police arrested the man. They held him for 24 hours and then freed him.
Now look at these sentences.
The veneer had lifted almost everywhere. Both fire and water had taken their toll on this desk.
Notice the verb forms had lifted, had taken (their toll).
The author found and bought the desk in the past. The desk was damaged before the author found it and bought it. Fire and water had damaged the desk before the author found it and bought it.
We use verb forms like had damaged for an event in the ‘earlier past’. If there are two events in the past, we use the ‘had…’ form for the event that occurred first in the past.
We also use the past perfect tense to show that something was wished for, or expected before a particular time in the past. For example, I had always wanted one…
Discuss with your partner the difference in meaning in the sentences below.
When I reached the station, the train left.
When I reached the station, the train had left.
(ii) Fill in the blanks using the correct form of the verbs in brackets.
My little sister is very naughty. When she ____________ (come) back from school yesterday, she had ____________ (tear) her dress. We ____________ (ask) her how it had __________ (happen). She __________ (say) she __________ ____________ (have, quarrel) with a boy. She __________ __________ (have, beat) him in a race and he __________ __________ (have, try) to push her. She __________ __________ (have,tell) the teacher and so he ____________ ____________ (have, chase) her, and she __________ __________ (have, fall) down and __________ __________ (have, tear) her dress.
Ans: My little sister is very naughty. When she came (come) back from school yesterday, she had torn (tear) her dress. We asked (ask) her how it had happened (happen). She said (say) she had quarrelled (have, quarrel) with a boy. She had beaten (have, beat) him in a race and he had tried (have, try) to push her. She had told (have, tell) the teacher and so he had chased (have, chase) her, and she had fallen (have, fall) down and had torn (have, tear) her dress.
(iii) Underline the verbs and arrange them in two columns, Past and Earlier past.
(a) My friends set out to see the caves in the next town, but I stayed at home, because I had seen them already.
(b) When they arrived at the station, their train had left. They came back home, but by that time I had gone out to see a movie!
(c) So they sat outside and ate the lunch I had packed for them.
(d) By the time I returned, they had fallen asleep!
| Past | Earlier past |
Ans:
| Past | Earlier past |
| Set out | Had seen |
| Stayed | Had left |
| Arrived | Had gone |
| Sat,ate | Had fallen |
2. Dictionary work
By the end of the journey, we had run out of drinking water.
Look at the verb run out of in this sentence. It is a phrasal verb: it has two parts, a verb and a preposition or an adverb. Phrasal verbs often have meanings that are different from the meanings of their parts.
Find these phrasal verbs in the story.
| Burn out | Light up | Look on | Run out | Keep out |
Write down the sentences in which they occur. Consult a dictionary and write down the meaning that you think matches the meaning of the phrasal verb in the sentence.
Ans: (i) burn out – After working nonstop for months, she finally burned out and had to take a break.
(ii) light up – That was the moment her eyes lit up with recognition, and her face became suffused with a sudden glow of happiness.
(iii) look on – Hans Wolf and I looked on and cheered, clapping our hands and stamping our feet.
(iv) run out – The time came, and all too soon, when the game was finished, the schnapps and the rum and the sausage had long since run out, and we knew it was all over.
(v) keep out – The soldiers had put up a barbed-wire fence to keep out the enemy.
3. Noun phrase.
Read the following sentence.
I took out a small black tin box.
The phrase in italics is a noun phrase.
It has the noun — box — as the head word, and three adjectives preceding it.
Notice the order in which the adjectives occur — size (small), colour (black) and material (tin) of which it is made.
We rarely use more than four adjectives before a noun and there is no rigid order in which they are used, though there is a preferred order of modifiers/adjectives in a noun phrase, as given below.
| determiner | modifier 1 (opinion, feeling) | modifier 2 (size, shape, age) | modifier 3 (colour) | modifier 4 head word (material) | head word |
| a/an/the | nice/lazy/ beautiful | tall/round/ old/young | red/white/ light/dark | silk/cotton/ woollen | woman man/table/chair |
Ans: Students, do it yourself.
4. The table below contains a list of nouns and some adjectives. Use as many adjectives as you can to describe each noun. You might come up with some funny descriptions!
| Nouns | Adjectives |
| Elephant | Circular, striped, enormous, multicoloured, round, cheerful, wild, blue, red, chubby, large, medium-sized, cold. |
| Face | |
| Building | |
| Water |
Ans:
| Nouns | Adjectives |
| Elephant | Enormous, chubby, wild, large, cheerful, striped, multicolored, blue, red, medium-sized. |
| Face | Round, cheerful, chubby, cold, expressive, wrinkled, smooth, glowing, serious, smiling. |
| Building | Tall, circular, striped, enormous, multicolored, cold, modern, ancient, spacious, crowded. |
| Water | Cold, blue, clear, murky, deep, shallow, refreshing, sparkling, still, wild. |
| SPEAKING |
1. In groups discuss whether wars are a good way to end conflicts between countries. Then present your arguments to the whole class.
Ans: Wars have historically been used to resolve conflicts between countries, but they often lead to immense destruction, loss of lives, and long-term suffering. War destroys economies, displaces people, and breeds hatred between nations, making peace even harder to achieve. Diplomacy, dialogue, and negotiations are far more effective and humane ways to settle disputes. Peace treaties and international organizations like the United Nations play a crucial role in resolving conflicts without violence.
2. What kind of presents do you like and why? What are the things you keep in mind when you buy presents for others? Discuss with your partner. (For example, you might buy a book because it can be read and reread over a period of time.)
Ans: Personally, I believe that gifts should be thoughtful rather than expensive. A simple flower or a meaningful token can convey affection and suit any budget. Some people prefer giving bouquets or greeting cards as a gesture of goodwill. When choosing a present, I consider the recipient’s preferences, needs, and utility of the gift to ensure it is meaningful and appreciated.
| WRITING |
1. Imagine that you are Jim. You have returned to your town after the war. In your diary record how you feel about the changes you see and the events that occur in your town. You could begin like this…….
25 December, 1919
It’s Christmas today, but the town looks…..
Ans: 25 December, 1919
It is Christmas today, but the town looks dull. There are few homes that are decorated. The streets are grey. The war has left the country and its people tattered. Everyone is still trying to get out of the grief of the losses the war has caused. I lost many friends during the war. Seeing them die in front of my eyes was traumatizing. I still get scared hearing loud thumps. It is the post-war trauma. I thought the Christmas decorated city would lift my spirits but it looks like everyone is going through something. There are new shops up on the street but many are closed too. They would have either left or suffered monetarily not to sustain the shop further. Amidst all this dullness seeing my wife again after so long made me realize what home actually is. Her warmth welcomed me and the house still looks the same. I am so happy to be back home. I truly wish we do not have to see this phase again.
Jim
Or
Suppose you are the visitor. You are in a dilemma. You don’t know whether to disclose your identity and disappoint the old lady or let her believe that her dear Jim has come back. Write a letter to a friend highlighting your anxiety, fears and feelings.
Ans: 12-A, Block 4,
Dorset
August 10, 2009 Dear Smith,
I am in a dilemma. It seems to be insolvable. I, therefore, seek your help in making a decision.
You know I had purchased an old desk. Inside it I got a box containing an old letter. It was written by Jim, a British soldier, to his wife. I decided to deliver that letter to Mrs. Jim at Bridport.
I reached her house. She was 101 years old. When I gave her the letter, her eyes lit up. She thought I was her long lost husband Jim, who had come home to keep his promise. She was excited and she kissed me. She didn’t listen to what I tried to tell her about my identity.
I don’t know whether or not I should tell who I am. I only walked away from her quickly.
2. Given below is the outline of a story. Construct the story using the outline.
A young, newly married doctor ____________ freedom fighter ____________ exiled to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands by the British ____________ infamous Cellular Jail ____________ prisoners tortured ____________ revolt by inmates ____________ doctor hanged ____________ wife waits for his return ____________ becomes old ____________ continues to wait with hope and faith.
Ans: A young doctor, who was not only dedicated to his profession but also to his country. He was a dedicated freedom fighter. He was newly married but due to unfortunate circumstances was arrested and exiled to Andaman and Nicobar by the British forces. He asked his wife to stay strong and wait for him. He assured her that he will be safe and fight for his country’s freedom. He was sent to the infamous Cellular Jail and was tortured. He fought against the tortures and revolted with his inmates. Troubled by his revolts and continuous upsurge he was causing the Britishers to hang him. His revolts did aid his country to gain freedom but his wife awaited his return. She waited for him as the seasons changed and became old. She didn’t leave hope and continued to wait for him and meet him either on this mortal earth or life beyond the human body.
The Ant and the Cricket
| WORKING WITH THE POEM |
1. The cricket says, “Oh! what will become of me?” When does he say it, and why?
Ans: The cricket said the line when it realized that winter had arrived and its cupboard was empty. With the ground covered in snow, it could not find a single crumb to eat. There were no flowers or leaves left on the trees. As the cold set in and food remained scarce, the cricket grew anxious, wondering what would happen to it. Fearing starvation and death, it regretted not preparing for the harsh season ahead.
2. (i) Find in the poem the lines that mean the same as “Neither a borrower nor a lender be” (Shakespeare).
Ans: The lines in the poem that mean the same as “Neither a borrower nor a lender be” are ‘But we ants never borrow; we ants never lend.’
(ii) What is your opinion of the ant’s principles?
Ans: I agree with what the ant says first that one should save something for the future so that he does not need to borrow or lend. But I don’t agree with what he said later. If he says he is a friend of cricket then he should also help the cricket at the time of distress. On the other hand I believe that a friend in need is a friend indeed.
3. The ant tells the cricket to “dance the winter away”. Do you think the word ‘dance’ is appropriate here? If so, why?
Ans: The cricket spent the warm, sunny summer singing and did not store food for the winter. When the ant heard this, it sarcastically replied that the cricket should do the same in winter, and the season would pass. The word “dance” here is used to mock the cricket’s carelessness, as instead of preparing for the harsh winter, it wasted time enjoying itself. Rather than offering help, the ant coldly suggested that the cricket continue singing and dancing to make time pass faster until summer arrived again.
4. (i) Which lines in the poem express the poet’s comment? Read them aloud.
Ans: The lines in the poem that express the poet’s comment are “Folks call this a fable. I’ll warrant it true.”
(ii) Write the comment in your own words.
Ans: The poet’s comment emphasizes that this poem is truly a fable, as it conveys a moral lesson. The cricket found itself without food in winter because it had carelessly spent the summer singing instead of preparing for the colder months. In contrast, the ant had built a secure home and stored enough food to survive the winter. It’s hard work and foresight ensured that it did not suffer. The poem teaches an important lesson: one should always be prepared for difficult times and work diligently rather than being careless and unprepared.
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