Solutions Magnifying Glass English Poorvi Class 8 CBSE Board

Question Answer For All Chapters – English Poorvi Class 8th

Let us do these activities before we read.(Page 222)

I Work in pairs. Answer the questions that follow the pictures given below.
Share your answers with your classmates and teacher.

1. What is common in all these pictures?

Answer: All pictures show people using a magnifying glass.

2. Select the pictures you are familiar with.

Answer: Students may select any familiar pictures, e.g., reading or examining objects.

3. Why do you think the people in the pictures need to use a magnifying glass?

Answer: To see small things clearly by enlarging them.

4. What other instruments magnify objects?

Answer: Microscopes, telescopes, magnifying spectacles.

II If you have a magnifying glass, what would you like to use it for and why? Share your answers with your classmates and teacher.

Answer: If I have a magnifying glass, I would like to use it to look at insects, moss, and drops of water. This is because, just like in the poem, a small thing such as moss can look like a forest, and a drop of water can look like a hive of bees. It will help me see the hidden wonders of nature more clearly.

Let us discuss (Pages 223-224)

I Complete the summary of the poem given below with suitable words from the poem.
The poem describes the magic of seeing the world through a 1. __________. It reveals how tiny things like 2. __________ and 3. __________ can appear vast and complex. Even a 4. __________ of water can seem like a hive of 5. __________. The poet is impressed at how the spider spins its 6. __________ from its 7. __________. The poem ends with the idea that, through lenses, the 8. __________ could seem within reach.

Answer: The poem describes the magic of seeing the world through a 1. magnifying glass. It reveals how tiny things like 2. chalkand 3. moss can appear vast and complex. Even a 4. drop of water can seem like a hive of 5. bees. The poet is impressed at how the spider spins its 6. web-silk from its 7. spinnerets. The poem ends with the idea that, through lenses, the 8. moon could seem within reach.

II Fill in the blanks by choosing the correct answer from the brackets.
1. The main idea of the poem is the transformative power of __________ (wonders in nature/close observation) through the magnifying glass.
2. The tone of the poem is __________ . (wonder and curiosity/peaceful and emotional)
3. The poem has __________ stanzas with __________ lines in each stanza. Hence, it is a quatrain. (four; six/six; four)
4. The rhyme scheme of the poem is __________. (ABCD; ABCB)

Answer:

1. The main idea of the poem is the transformative power of close observation through the magnifying glass.
2. The tone of the poem is wonder and curiosity.
3. The poem has six stanzas with four lines in each stanza. Hence, it is a quatrain.
4. The rhyme scheme of the poem is ABCB.

III Pick examples from the poem for the following poetic devices.
1. Simile
2. Alliteration
3. Metaphor

Answer:

• Simile → “A drop of water / Like hive of bees”
• Alliteration → “forest—flowers”
• Metaphor → “Magic talk”

IV The poem is rich in visual imagery, painting vivid pictures of small, everyday things magnified into something grand.
1. In the line, ‘A myriad shells show in a scrap of chalk’, the magnifying glass reveals ______________________.
2. In the line, ‘A forest—flowers and trees’ the poet uses the imagery of nature to emphasise ______________________.

Answer: 1. In the line, ‘A myriad shells show in a scrap of chalk’, the magnifying glass reveals intricate patterns and hidden details inside ordinary chalk.

2. In the line, ‘A forest—flowers and trees’ the poet uses the imagery of nature to emphasise the vastness and complexity of an inch of moss when magnified.

V. Complete the following sentences with a reason.
1. The poet uses exclamation marks in lines, ‘The tigerish claws he has!’, ‘With all those eyes!’ and ‘In an afternoon!’ because it ______________________.
2. In the phrase, ‘Magic talk’ the poet uses personification to describe the magnifying glass because it ______________________.
3. Each stanza follows a repetitive pattern of introducing a small or ordinary object and then describing the extraordinary details revealed through magnification. This is because it supports the theme of __________ as the speaker reveals ____________.
4. In the final stanza the poet shifts from small, everyday objects being
magnified to a celestial body like moon because __________.

Answer:

1. conveys excitement and amazement at the magnified observations.

2. suggests the glass has a magical ability to reveal hidden wonders, as if it speaks.

3. close observation, the hidden beauty in everyday things.

4. it shows the limitless potential of magnification to explore both the micro and macro worlds.

Let us think and reflect (Page 224,225)

I Read the given extracts and answer the questions that follow.
1. With this round glass
I can make Magic talk—
A myriad shells show
In a scrap of chalk;
Of but an inch of moss
A forest—flowers and trees;
(i) Identify whether the following statement is true or false.
The poet uses his magical powers to make the round glass powerful.

Answer: False – The round glass (magnifying glass) itself reveals the wonders, not the poet’s magical powers.

(ii) Select the line from the extract that expresses the presence of intricate patterns in ordinary objects.

Answer: The line is: “A myriad shells show / In a scrap of chalk”.

(iii) What does the comparison of ‘an inch of moss’ to a ‘forest’ suggest about the speaker’s view of the world through the magnifying glass?

Answer: The comparison suggests that the speaker sees small things as vast, complex, and full of hidden beauty when viewed through the magnifying glass.

(iv) How does the poet feel about the ability of the magnifying glass to reveal hidden wonders?
A. Satisfied
B. Fascinated
C. Grateful
D. Determined

Answer: B. Fascinated.

II Answer the following questions.

1. What is the significance of the spider in the poem?

Answer: The spider shows the tiny details of nature, like how it spins its web-silk from its spinnerets, which look marvellous when magnified.

2. How might the speaker’s view of the natural world change if there was no use of a magnifying glass?

Answer: Without the magnifying glass, the speaker would not notice the hidden beauty and intricate patterns in small, ordinary things.

3. Why does the poem end with the idea of the moon being within reach?

Answer: It ends with the moon to show that lenses can make even faraway celestial objects seem close and possible to reach.

4. What is the speaker’s attitude towards nature and the act of observation?

Answer: The speaker feels curiosity, wonder, and deep appreciation for nature and enjoys observing it closely.

5. Which is your favourite part of the poem? Why?

Answer: My favourite part of the poem is “A drop of water / Like hive of bees” because it shows how an ordinary drop of water can look so magical and full of life when seen through a magnifying glass. It makes me realise that even the smallest things in nature have hidden wonders.

Let us learn (Pages 225-226)

I Fill in the blanks in the sentences with the words given in the box below.

With his 1. ____________ description, the author has written the story beautifully 2. ____________with fascinating details. When you read the story, you will surely enjoy the 3. ____________storytelling technique that attracts all kinds of readers. What makes the story interesting is the superb way of describing the 4. ____________emotions and feelings of the characters. The reader will 5. ____________upon the unexpected twists and turns that 6. ____________ all our understanding and make us wonder at the narrative power of the author.

Answer: With his 1. deft description, the author has written the story beautifully 2. woven with fascinating details. When you read the story, you will surely enjoy the 3. marvellous storytelling technique that attracts all kinds of readers. What makes the story interesting is the superb way of describing the 4. myriad emotions and feelings of the characters. The reader will 5. stumble upon the unexpected twists and turns that 6. surpass all our understanding and make us wonder at the narrative power of the author.

II The collective noun ‘a hive of bees’, is used in the poem. Match the phrases in Column 1 with suitable words in Column 2 to make collective nouns.

Answer: 

1. a swarm of → locusts
2. a constellation of → stars
3. a grove of → trees
4. a troupe of → dancers
5. a battalion of → soldiers
6. a fleet of → ships

III The poet uses the expression ‘eyeing the moon’ in the poem. Match the idiomatic expressions with ‘eye’ given in Column 1 with their meanings in Column 2. You may refer to a dictionary.

Answer: 

1. apple of one’s eye → (v) a person who is very precious or important

2. in the blink of an eye → (iii) something that happens very quickly

3. keep an eye on something or somebody → (i) watch something or someone closely

4. turn a blind eye → (ii) act as if you do not see or notice

5. see eye to eye → (vi) agree with each other

6. bird’s eye view → (iv) an overall look at something

IV The poet uses the adjective form ‘tigerish’ in the poem by adding the suffix -‘ish’ to the noun ‘tiger’. In the same way, we can make adjectives by adding the suffix -‘ish’ to some nouns.
Choose the nouns to which you can add the suffix -‘ish’ to make adjectives.

Answer: 

1. girl → girlish
2. boy → boyish
3. book → bookish
4. moon → moonish

Let us listen (Page 227)

I. You will listen to a conversation between a father and daughter about lesser-known Indian inventions. As you listen, mark the four true statements from (1)–(6) given below. (Transcript for teacher on page 250)

Answer:

Here are the four true statements:

1. The father is surprised by the fact that India was involved in the invention of radio broadcasting and fibre optics.
2. The father shows little interest in the information about the origin of snakes and ladders.
3. The daughter expresses pride and admiration for India’s role in global inventions.
4. The daughter is excited as she shares new discoveries about India’s contributions with her father.

Let us speak (Page 228)

I When pronouncing /v/ and /f/, the lower lip lightly touches the edge of the upper teeth. Air flows through the small gap, creating a soft friction sound.
Note the difference between /v/ and /f/. When we pronounce words with /v/ sound, there is a vibration, whereas /f/ sound has no vibration. Both the sounds can occur in the beginning, middle, or at the end of words.

Read these words aloud with the help of your teacher.
beginning sound /f/: forest flowers from
middle sound /f/: deft afternoon
end sound /f/: of itself
beginning sound /v/: vase valour victory
middle sound /v/: woven even marvellous
end sound /v/: hive

Answer: Do it yourself.

II If you could travel to space, which planet would you like to visit? Why? What preparations would you like to make? Speak about any five things that you would like to take along.

Answer: I would visit Mars because it’s like Earth and might have signs of life. I’d train for space travel, learn about Mars, and stay fit.
Five things that I would like to take along are: oxygen tank, space suit, food, camera, notebook.

III If you could invent something, what would you like to invent and how? Give reasons for the choice of your invention. Speak about your wonder invention.

Answer:

• If I could invent something, I would like to invent a machine that can clean pollution from the air and water. My invention would look like a small robot that can fly in the sky and also go underwater.
• It would absorb smoke, dust, and dirty particles from the air and purify rivers and lakes by removing waste.
• I want to invent this because pollution is one of the biggest problems in the world. If we can control it, people will breathe fresh air, drink clean water, and live healthier lives.
• This wonder invention would make our Earth a clean, green, and safe place for everyone.