NCERT CLASS 8 ENG SPPLYMENTRY CH 4

 

Question 1:

What did Hafeez Contractor have nightmares about?

Answer:

Hafeez Contractor would often get continuous nightmares about appearing for a Mathematics examination where he did not know anything.

Question 2:

What did the Principal say to him, which influenced him deeply?

Answer:

The Principal told Hafeez that his mother used to work extremely hard to bring him up and paid all his fees on time, despite his father’s absence. Further, he also mentioned that Hafeez was a good student. He could score good grades with a little effort towards his studies. He motivated the young boy to rise to the occasion and study hard and also sideline his sports activities for the time being.

Question 3:

“… that year I did not step out onto the field.” What was he busy doing that year?

Answer:

Being an active sportsman, Hafeez was the senior champion in school for many years and he always loved playing games, especially cricket. But when his Principal influenced him to study for his SSC dedicatedly, he gave up playing, and that year, he didn’t step out onto the field. He only went for prayers and all he did was eat and study for the exams.

Question 4:

(i) What “distraction” did Hafeez Contractor create one day?

(ii) Would you have liked to participate in the “distraction” had you been with him?

Answer:

(i) Hafeez was always interested in playing funny pranks. One day, he created a distraction by playing chore police for one full hour at school.

(ii) Yes, I would have loved to participate in such a “distraction”, as it is kind of a break from the regular routine work.

Comprehension Check (Page 32)

Question 1: Hafeez Contractor wanted to join the police force. Why didn’t he?

Answer: Hafeez Contractor was interested in joining the police force, but his mother did not accept the prospect. Instead, she told him to complete his graduation first. Soon after that, he joined Jaihind College in Bombay.

Question 2: In the architect’s office, Hafeez Contractor was advised to drop everything and join architecture. Why?

Answer: In the architect’s office, Hafeez Contractor saw somebody drawing a window detail which is an advanced form of drawing. He told that person that the drawing was wrong and that the window would not open as drawn. That person initially disagreed but soon realized that his drawing was indeed wrong. When Hafeez’s cousin’s husband saw this, he was surprised and asked him to draw a few specific things, such as to design a house, to which he complied. His relative was impressed and immediately asked him to nurture Hafeez’s natural talent and join architecture at the earliest.

Question 3:

(i) What was Mrs Gupta’s advice to Hafeez Contractor?

(ii) What made her advise him so?

Answer:

(i) Mrs Gupta was one of Hafeez’s school teachers in the second or third standard, who saw his beautiful sketches in school and had advised him that he should grow up to become an architect someday.

(ii) She would often tell him that he was useless in everything else except the beautiful sketches that he drew. Due to this reason, she felt he should nurture his hidden talent and grow up to become an architect.