NCERT Class 8 English Chapter 7 A Visit To Cambridge

NCERT Class 8 English Chapter 7 A Visit To Cambridge Solutions to each chapter is provided in the list so that you can easily browse through different chapters NCERT Class 8 English Chapter 7 A Visit To Cambridge and select need one. NCERT Class 8 English Chapter 7 A Visit To Cambridge and After Question Answers Download PDF. NCERT English Class 8 Solutions.

NCERT Class 8 English Chapter 7 A Visit To Cambridge

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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 7 A Visit To Cambridge and After, NCERT Class 8 English Textbook of Honeydew and It So Happen. for All Chapters, You can practice these here.

A Visit To Cambridge

Chapter: 7

HONEYDEW: PROSE

Textbook Questions With Their Answers

COMPREHENSION CHECK – I

Which is the right sentence?

Q.1. ‘Cambridge was my metaphor for England’. To the writer: 

(i) Cambridge was a reputed university in England.

(ii) England was famous for Cambridge.

(iii) Cambridge was the real England.

Ans. (ii) England was famous for Cambridge. 

Q. 2. The writer phoned Stephen Hawking’s house: 

(i) from the nearest phone booth.

(ii) from outside a phone booth.

(iii) from inside a phone booth.

Ans. (ii) from outside a phone booth.

Q. 3. Every time he spoke to the scientist, the writer felt guilty because:

(i) he wasn’t sure what be wanted to ask.

(ii) be forced the scientist to use his voice synthesiser.

(iii) he was face to face with a legend. 

Ans. (ii) he forced the scientist to use his voice synthesiser. 

Q. 4. “I felt a huge relief —– in the possibilities of my body.” In the given context, the highlighted words refer to:

(i) shifting in the wheelchair, turning the wrist.

(ii) standing up, walking.

(iii) speaking, writing.

Ans. (i) Shifting in the wheelchair, turning the wrist.

WORKING WITH THE TEXT

Answer the following questions:

Q. 1. (i) Did the prospect of meeting Stephen Hawking make the writer nervous? If so, why? 

Ans. The writer felt nervous because be was doubtful whether Hawkins would be ready to meet him or whether he would be granted Interview. 

(ii) Did he at the same time feel very excited? If so, why?

Ans. He, at the same time, felt very excited because he was looking forward to meet the greatest scientist. 

Q.2. Guess the first question put to the scientist by the writer.

Ans. The first question put to the scientist by the writer was perhaps how he felt being disabled and how he accepted it.

Q. 3. Stephen Hawking said: “I’ve had no choice”. Does the writer think there was a choice? What was it?

Ans. Yes, the writer feels there is a choice for Stephen Hawking and it is to live creatively with the fact of his broken (disabled) body. He should have kept himself busy in doing creative work so that he might feel his mind preoccupied and therefore not less important in society.

Q. 4. “I could feel his anguish” What could be the anguish? 

Ans. The anguish could be that though Hawkin’s mind was full of thoughts he could not give them expression or he could not speak them.

Q 5. What endeared the scientist to the writer so that he said he was looking at one of the most beautiful men in the world?

Ana. The writer thought that he was looking at one of the most beautiful men in the world because he gave one-way smile and he gave an honest answer that he was annoyed when someone like the writer disturbed him in his work.

Q.6. Read about the description of ‘the beautiful man’. Which is the most beautiful sentence in the description? 

Ans. The most beautiful sentence in the description is:

“Before you, like a lantern whose walls are worn so this you glimpse only the light inside, is the incandescence of a man”.

Q. 7. (i) If ‘the lantern’ is the man, what would its ‘walls’ be? 

Ans. The walls of the lantern in Hawking’s case were his skeleton like physical structure.

(ii) What is housed within the thin walls? 

Ans. The eternal soul is housed within the thin walls.

(iii) What general conclusion does the writer draw from this comparison?

Ans. The writer draws the general conclusion that the glow of the eternal soul is more important than the physical appearance. 

Q. 8. What is the scientist’s message for the disabled?

Ans. The scientist’s message for the disabled was that they should concentrate and focus on what they are good at. He considered things like the disabled Olympics a waste of time.

Q. 9. Why does the writer, refer to the guitar incident? Which idea does it support? 

Ans. The writer was for many years trying to play a big Spanish guitar. One night he loosened the strings joyfully. This incident supports the idea that the disabled people should practise only what they are good at. 

Q. 10. The writer expresses his great gratitude to Stephen Hawking. What is the gratitude for?

Ans. The writer expresses his great gratitude to Stephen Hawking for his giving him time. He was obliged to spend time with the bravest man in the world.

Q. 11. Complete the following sentences using their appropriate parts from both boxes below.

(i) There was his assistant on the line ______________.

Ans. There was his assistant on the line and I told him that I had come in a wheelchair from India.

(ii) You get fed up with people asking you to be brave, ______________.

Ans. You get fed up with people asking you to be brave, as if you have a courage account on which you are too lazy to draw a cheque.

(iii)There he was,________________.

Ans. There he was, tapping at the little switch in his hand, trying to find the words on his computer. 

(iv) You look at his eyes which can speak ___________________.

Ans. You look at his eyes which can speak still and they are saying something huge and urgent, it is hard to tell what.

(v) It doesn’t do much good to know ________________.

Ans. It doesn’t do much good to know that there are people, smiling with admiration to see you breathing still.

WORKING WITH LANGUAGE

1. Fill in blanks in the sentences below using the appropriate forms of words given in the box.

(i) I met a ____________ from an antique land.

Ans. traveller.

(ii) I need special ___________ in Mathematics. I can’t count the number of times I have failed in the subject.

Ans. guide.

(iii) The guide called Stephen Hawking a worthy ___________ to Issac Newton.

Ans. successor.

(iv) His other problems __________ into insignificance beside this unforeseen mishap.

Ans. pale.

(v) The meeting was ____________ by the youngest member of the board.

Ans. chaired.

(vi) Some people say ‘yours _________,when they informally refer to themselves.

Ans. truly.

(vii) I wish it had been a _____________ match. We would have been spared the noise of celebrations at least.

Ans. drawn. 

2. Look at the following words:

• Can you create a meaningful phrase using both these words?

→ It is simple. Add-ing to the verb and use it before the noun. Put an article at the beginning. ____________a walking stick

Now make six such phrases using the words given in the box:

Ans. 1. Reading session. 

2. Walking tour.

3. Revolving chair.

4. Winning chance. 

5. Dancing doll.

6. Smiling face.

3. Use ‘all’ or ‘both’ in the blanks. Tell your partner why you chose one or the other.

(i) He has two brothers ____________ are lawyers. 

Ans. He has two brothers. Both are lawyers.

(ii) More than ten persons called ________ of them wanted to see you.

Ans. More than ten persons called. All of them wanted to see you.

(iii) They ___________ cheered the team.

Ans. They all cheered the team.

(iv) __________ her parents are teachers. 

Ans. Both her parents are teachers.

(v) How much have you got? Give me ____________ of it.

Ans. How much have you got? Give me all of it.

(‘Both’ is used for the sense of ‘two’. ‘All’ is used for more than two.)

4. Complete each sentence using the right form of the adjective given in brackets.

(i) My friend has one of the __________ cars on the road. (fast) 

Ans. My friend has one of the fastest cars on the road.

(ii) This is the ___________ story I have ever read. (interesting)

Ans. This is the most interesting story I have ever read.

(iii) What you are doing now is _________ than what you did yesterday. (easy) 

Ans. What you are doing now is easier than what you did yesterday.

(iv) Ramesh and his wife are both ____________ (short)

Ans. Ramesh and his wife are both short. 

(v) He arrived ______________ as usual. Even the chief guest came____________ than  he did. (late, early)

Ans. He arrived late as usual. Even the chief guest came earlier than he did.

SPEAKING AND WRITING

1. Say the following words with correct stress. Pronounce the parts in bold loudly and clearly.

→ In a word having more than one syllable, the stressed syllable is the one that is more prominent than the other syllable (s). 

→ A word has as many syllables as it has

vowels.

man (one syllable)

manner (two syllables)

→ The mark (‘) indicates that the first syllable in ‘manner’ is more prominent than the other.

2. Underline stressed syllables in the following words. Consult the dictionary or ask the teacher if necessary.

Ans.

3. Writing a notice for the School Notice Board.

Step 1

• Discuss why notices are put up on the notice board.

• What kinds of ‘notices’ have you lately

seen on the board? 

• How is a notice different from a letter or a descriptive paragraph?

Step 2

• Suppose you have lost or found something on the campus. 

• What have you lost or found?

• You want to write a notice about it. If you have lost something, you want it restored to you in case someone has found it. If you have found something, you want to return it to its owner.

Step 3

• Write a few lines describing the object you have lost or found. Mention the purpose of the notice in clear terms. Also write your name, class, section and date.

Step 4

• Let one member of each group read aloud the notice to the entire class. 

• Compare your notice with the other notices, and make changes, if necessary, with the help of the teacher.

Ans.

Or

• Imagine that you are a journalist.

• You have been asked to interview the president of the village panchayat.

• Write eight to ten questions you wish to ask.

The questions should elicit comments as well as plans regarding water and electricity, cleanliness and school education in the village.

Ans. I wish to ask following questions: 

1. Only a few questions, please at first, have you served with any other local body as a president which you have not mentioned in you biodata?

2. During this long period, I think, you might have faced many social problems while dealing with the scarcity of water, electricity cleanliness and rural education?

3. Good behaviour, tectful social approach, Public popularity, sweet manners 210 meetings managed in 4 years? Wonderful achievement. Well, How much for your services, sir?

COMPREHENSION PASSAGES

PASSAGE – 1

This is the story of a meeting between two extraordinary people, both of them ‘disabled’, or ‘differently abled’ as we now say. Stephen Hawking is one of the greatest scientists of our time. He suffers from a form of paralysis that confines him to a wheelchair, and allows him to ‘speak’ only by punching buttons on a computer, which speaks for him in a machine- like voice. Firdaus Kanga is a writer and journalist who lives and works in Mumbai. Kanga was born with brittle bones’ that tended to break easily when he was a child. Like Hawking, Kanga moves around in a wheelchair The two great men exchange thoughts on what it means to live life in a wheelchair, and on how the so called ‘normal’ people react to the disabled. 

Questions

1. Name the lesson and the author.

Ans. The name of the lesson is A Visit to Cambridge. The author is Firdaus Kanga.

2. What is the other phrase used for ‘disabled’?

Ans. The other phrase used for ‘disabled’ is ‘differently abled’.

3. Where does Firdaus Kanga live? 

Ans. Firdaus Kanga lives in Mumbai.

4. With what deformity was kanga born?

Ans. Kanga was born with ‘brittle bones’ that tended to break easily when he was a child. 

5. What were the ideas shared by the two great men?

Ans. The two great men shared ideas on what it means to live life in a wheelchair and on how the so called ‘normal’ people react to the disabled.

PASSAGE – 2

Surely, I wanted to say, living creatively with the reality of his disintegrating body was a choice? But I kept quiet, because I felt guilty every time I spoke to him, forcing him to respond. There he was, tapping at the little switch in his hand, trying to find the words on his computer with the only bit of movement left to him, his long, pale fingers. Every so often, his eyes would shut in frustrated exhaustion. And sitting opposite him I could feel his anguish, the mind buoyant with thoughts that came out in frozen phrases and sentences stiff as corpses.

“A lot of people seem to think that disabled people are chronically unhappy,” I said. “I know that’s not true myself. Are you often laughing inside?”

Questions

1. What did the writer want to say about Hawking?

Ans. The writer wanted to say about Hawking that living creatively with the reality of his disintegrating body was a choice.

2. Why did the writer feel guilty? 

Ans. The writer felt guilty as he thought whenever he spoke, he forced Hawking to respond.

3. What part of the body could Hawking move?

Ans. Hawking could only move his long, pale fingers.

4. What did the writer guess the cause of anguish in the eyes of Hawking?

Ans. The writer guessed the cause of anguish in Hawking eyes was that his mind was full of thoughts and ideas but he could not give them expression and words.

5. From the passage find:

(a) two adjectives. 

Ans. guilty, pale.

(b) two adverbs.

Ans. surely, creatively.

(c) two verbs.

Ans. came, laughing.

SOME OTHER QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION

Q. 1. How did the guide introduce Stephen Hawking to the writer?

Ans. The guide told the writer that though Stephen Hawking was a worthy successor to Issue Newton. However, he was quite disabled.

Q.2. Who is an astrophysicist?

Ans. An astrophysicist in a scholar of astrophysics–branch of physics dealing with stars, planets etc. 

Q. 3. When does a disabled person feels stronger? 

Ans. A disabled person feels stronger when he sees somebody like him achieving something huge.

Q. 4. How has the writer explained the physical structure of Stephen Hawking?

Ans. The writer has explained that his first glimpse was like a still photograph. His head was twisted sideways. He had the wasted legs. His still eyes could speak.

Q. 5. What did the writer find good about being disabled? 

Ans. The writer found good about being disabled that a disabled person could discover how much kindness there is in the world.

Q. 6. Why did the writer feel huge relief on watching the disabilities of Hawking?

Ans. The writer could watch that Hawking’s voice synthesiser could not convey his feelings, or inflection or tone. He was paralysed. The writer was relieved when he could discover the possibilities of his body were more than that of Hawking.

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

Tick (✔) the correct option

1. What does ‘incandescence’ mean?

(a) inner glow or light. 

(b) shining face.

(e) outer beauty.

(d) none of these.

Ans. (a) inner glow or light.

2. Did the thought that people are inspired by Hawking achievements help him?

(a) Yes.

(b) No.

(c) Sometimes.

(d) Can’t say. 

Ans. (b) No.

3. Which of the following books has been written by Stephen Hawking? 

(a) A Brief History of Time.

(b) Honey Dew.

(c) It So Happened….

(d) A Book of Poems.

Ans. (a) A Brief History of Time.

4. What advice do people usually give to the disabled? 

(a) to be dependant.

(b) to feel sorry for their misfortune.

(c) to be brave.

(d) to be happy.

Ans. (a) to be dependant.

5. Was Hawking brave by choice?

(a) Yes.

(b) No, he always used to cry. 

(c) In fact, he had no choice.

(d) In fact, he was brave since his childhood.

Ans. (c) In fact, he had no choice.

6. Stephen Hawking was…… 

(a) an astrophysicist.

(b) a surgeon.

(c) a biologist.

(d) a mathematician.

Ans. (a) an astrophysicist

MAKE SENTENCES

Use the following words in sentences of your own. 

disabled. 

brilliant. 

exchange. 

possibilities. 

believed. 

gleefully.

disabled: Rajesh met with a terrible accident and became disabled.

brilliant: I congratulated my friend on his brilliant success in the examination.

exchange: The internet has made the exchange of ideas very easier.

possibilities: My mother examined all the possibilities before taking a final decision. 

believed: Gandhiji believed in truth and non-violence.

gleefully: I joined my friend’s party gleefully and enthusiastically.

When I Set Out For Lyonnesse

HONEYDEW: POEM

Textbook Questions With Their Answers

WORKING WITH THE POEM 

Q. 1. In the first stanza, find words that show:

(i) that it was very cold. 

Ans. the rime. 

(ii) that it was late evening.

Ans. starlight lit.

(iii) that the traveller was alone.

Ans. lonesomeness.

Q. 2. (i) Something happened at Lyonnesse. It was

(a) improbable.

(b) impossible.

(c) unforeseeable.

Ans. (i) (c) unforeseeable.

(ii) Pick out two lines from stanza-2 to justify your answer.

Ans. (ii) “No prophet durst declare. Nor did the wisest wizard guess”.

Q. 3. (i) Read the line (stanza-3) that implies the following.

‘Everyone noticed something, and they made guesses, but didn’t speak a word’. 

Ans. (i) All marked with mute surmise. 

(ii) Now read the line that refers to what they noticed.

Ans. (ii) My radiance rare and fathomless.

COMPREHENSION STANZAS

Read the stanzas carefully and answer the questions that follow:

STANZA – 1

When I set out for Lyonnesse A hundred miles away, The rime was on the spray:

And starlight lit my lonesomeness When I set out for Lyonnesse A hundred miles away.

Questions

(a) Where is Lyonnesse?

Ans. Lyonnesse is a hundred miles away from the place where poet sets to travel.

(b) Which word indicates that the poet is solitary? 

Ans. Lonesomeness.

(c) What season of the year is it?

Ans. It is winter season.

STANZA – 2

What would bechance at Lyonnesse 

While I should sojourn there, 

No prophet durst declare; 

Nor did the wisest wizard guess 

What would bechance at Lyonnesse 

While I should sojourn there.

Questions

(a) Name the poem.

Ans. When I Set Out for Lyonnesse.

(b) Which word in the poem means ‘patron’?

Ans. Prophet.

(c) What is the poetic device in ‘wisest wizard’?

Ans. Alliteration.

STANZA – 3

When I returned from Lyonnesse 

With magic in my eyes, 

All marked with mute surmise 

My radiance rare and fathomless, 

When I returned from Lyonnesse 

With magic in my eyes.

Questions

(a) What is the poetic device in ‘radiance rare’?

Ans. Alliteration.

(b) Make adjective of ‘magic’.

Ans. Magical.

(c) Who is the poet of the poem?

Ans. The poet of the poem is Thomas Hardy.

SOME OTHER QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION

Q. 1. What marks the poet’s return? 

Ans. The poet returns from Lyonnesse with magic in his eyes as he is inspired by the beauty of the place. All the people around him can witness the rare but deep glow in his face.

Q. 2. How does the poet describe the place in stanza 1?

Ans. The poet describes Lyonnesse as a place hundred miles away marked with foliage of dew. There is moonlight that adds to the glow of the place.

Q. 3. Explain the statement–’All marked with mute surmise’.

Ans. Everybody around noticed something magical. They were all very skeptical about the radiant glow on the poet’s face but their surprise did not come out in words or verbally.

MAKE SENTENCES

Frame sentences of your own from the following:

(a) radiance. 

(b) declare.

(c) sojourn. 

Ans. (a) radiance: The bride’s beauty bestowed radiance.

(b) declare: I cannot declare the judgement unless I hear all the witnesses. 

(c) sojourn: I will not sojourn at the hotel tonight.