Question Answers Class 8 Chapter 1.2 Balbharati English Maharashtra Board

Dick Whittington and his Cat

English Workshop – Solutions

1. (A) Arrange the following set of words in the alphabetical order in your notebook.

ship, small, successful, scoldings, stone, saving, someone, stood, streets, still, screamed, sat, seemed, saint, share.

Answer:

Alphabetical Order:

1. Saint
2. Sat
3. Saving
4. Scoldings
5. Screamed
6. Seemed
7. Share
8. Ship
9. Small
10. Someone
11. Still
12. Stone
13. Stood
14. Streets
15. Successful

(B) Remove the Affixes (Prefix and Suffix) and write the Root-word.

Answer:

1. successful → success

2. immediately → immediate

3. retrace → trace

4. mouser → mouse

5. unfriendly → friendly

6. fallen → fall

7. unkind → kind

8. wooden → wood

9. luckily → luck

10. belonging → belong

2. (A) Find from the story one word for the following.

Answer:

(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 → Cat (Mouser)

(f) A low constant sound made by cats → Purr

(B) Make sentences of your own using the following expressions.

Answer:

1. Overcome → He worked hard to overcome his fears and became successful.

2. Put up with → She had to put up with a lot of hardships before achieving her dreams.

3. Bargain → The shopkeeper agreed to bargain and sold the dress at a lower price.

3. Rearrange the following events as they occur in the story. Put the correct number in the boxes.

(a) Mr Fitzwarren provided shelter to Dick. …………

(b) A carter gave Dick a lift to London. …………..

(c) The cat sailed to the African coast. …………

(d) The captain sold the cat for a very high amount of money. ………….

(e) Dick left his village on foot, to go to London. ………………

(f) Dick became rich, and later, the Mayor of London. ……………..

(g) Dick was homeless, helpless, cold and hungry. ……………….

(h) Dick bought a cat to get rid of the mice. ………………

(i) The rats and mice ate up all the dinner, laid for the king and queen. ..

Answer:

1. (e) Dick left his village on foot, to go to London. [1]
2. (b) A carter gave Dick a lift to London. [2]
3. (g) Dick was homeless, helpless, cold, and hungry. [3]
4. (a) Mr. Fitzwarren provided shelter to Dick. [4]
5. (h) Dick bought a cat to get rid of the mice. [5]
6. (c) The cat sailed to the African coast. [6]
7. (i) The rats and mice ate up all the dinner, laid for the king and queen. [7]
8. (d) The captain sold the cat for a very high amount of money. [8]
9. (f) Dick became rich, and later, the Mayor of London. [9]

4. Think and answer.

(a) What decision taken by Dick changed his fortune?

Answer: Dick decided to send his cat on Mr. Fitzwarren’s ship for trading, which eventually made him rich when the cat was sold for a high price.

(b) What message does this story bring out for youngsters?

Answer: The story teaches that hard work, patience, and perseverance can change one’s destiny. It also emphasizes that every small effort counts, and success comes to those who do not give up.

5. (A) Break the words below into syllables as shown in the first one.

Answer:

(a) belonging → be-long-ing
(b) unfriendly → un-friend-ly
(c) anything → a-ny-thing
(d) difficulty → dif-fi-cul-ty
(e) captain → cap-tain
(f) morning → morn-ing
(g) citizen → cit-i-zen
(h) message → mes-sage
(i) mayor → may-or
(j) elected → e-lect-ed

(B) Degrees of Comparison of Adjectives.Read the sentences.

(i) Yatin is strong.
(ii) Amit is stronger than Yatin.
(iii) Pravin is the strongest of all.
In sentence (i) the Adjective ‘strong’ is in its simple form. It is called Positive Degree. In sentence (ii) the Adjective ‘stronger’ refers to a higher degree, when there is a comparison of two nouns. It is called Comparative Degree. (-er is added to the basic Adjective) In sentence (iii) the adjective ‘strongest’ refers to the highest degree of comparison of one with more than two nouns. It is called Superlative Degree. (-est is added to the basic Adjective)

Complete the table of degrees of comparison.

Answer:

6. Select any one of the famous personalities mentioned in ‘Warming up 1’ on page no. 5. From the library or internet find out their success story. Write it in your own words in about 20 to 30 lines of your notebook. Give your write-up a suitable title.

Answer:

Title: The Inspiring Journey of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, also known as the “Missile Man of India,” was born in a humble family in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu. His father was a boat owner, and his mother was a homemaker. Despite financial struggles, Kalam was determined to gain knowledge.

As a child, he delivered newspapers to support his education. He worked hard and later pursued aerospace engineering at the Madras Institute of Technology. His dedication and innovative thinking led him to become a key scientist at ISRO and DRDO.

Dr. Kalam played a crucial role in India’s missile development programs, earning him the title of “Missile Man.” In 2002, he became the 11th President of India and served as a role model for students and young minds.

Even after his presidency, he continued to inspire the youth through his speeches and books. His life teaches us that with determination, hard work, and a positive mindset, we can achieve great heights.

Moral: No matter how difficult the circumstances are, dedication and education can change one’s destiny.