The Fun They Had

The Fun They Had

1. Answer these questions in a few words or a couple of sentences each :

Q. 1. How old are Margie and Tommy?
Ans. Margie is eleven and Tommy is thirteen years old.

Q. 2. What did Margie write in her diary?
Ans. Margie wrote in her diary, 'Today, 17 May, 2157,Tommy found a real book.'

Q. 3. Had Margie ever seen a book before?
Ans. No, Margie had never seen a book before.

Q. 4. What things about the book did she find strange?
Ans. The book had yellow and crinkly pages. The words in it stood still. They were not moving as they move on the computer screen. The words remained same as were read the first time. These were things that she found strange about the book.

Q. 5. What do you think a telebook is?
Ans. A telebook is displayed on the television screen and the text of a telebook is similar to a book.

Q. 6. Where was Margie’s school? Didi she have any classmates?
Ans. Margie’s school was right next to her bedroom in her house.

Q.7. What subjects did Margie and Tommy learn?
Ans. Margie and Tommy learnt History, Geography and Arithmetic.

II. Answer each of these questions in about 30 words.

Q. 1. What kind of teachers did Margie and Tommy have?
Ans. Margie and Tommy had a mechanical teacher with all the lessons on a big screen. The teacher taught varied subject sectors, asked questions, gave homework and tests, checked them and calculated marks in no time.

Q. 2. Why did Margie's mother send for the County Inspector?
Ans. Margie's mechanical teacher was giving her test after test in Geography and she had been doing worse and worse. Margie’s mother wanted to know the cause and its remedy. So she sent for the County Inspector.

Q. 3. What did the County Inspector do?
Ans. He smiled at Margie and gave her an apple. Then, he took the teacher apart, checked and slowed it up to an average ten-year level and re-assembled it. He told Margie's mother about its fault.

Q. 4. Why was Margie doing badly in geography? What did the County Inspector do to help her?
Ans. Margie was doing badly because the geography sector was geared a little too quick in the mechanical teacher. Her mother sent for the County Inspector. He slowed it up to an average ten-year level. He also patted her head for motivation.

Q.5. What had once happened to Tommy's teacher?
Ans. Tommy's mechanical teacher had been once taken away for nearly a month for being a fault in it. The history sector had blanked out completely from it.

Q. 6. Did Margie have regular days and hours for school? If so, why?
Ans. Yes, Margie had regular days and hours for school except Saturday and Sunday. It was so because Margie's mother said little girls learned better at regular hours.

Q. 7. How does Tommy describe the old kind of school?
Ans. The old kind of school had its special building. All the kids went there. They learnt the same thing. They were of almost the same age. The teacher adjusted himself to fit the mind of each kid.

Q. 8. How does Tommy describe the old kind of teachers?
Ans. Tommy describes that the old kind of a teacher was a man. He just told the boys and the girls things, gave them homework and asked questions. The teachers didn't live in the house. (It means they didn't teach at home.)

IV. Answer each of these questions in two or three paragraphs (100-150 words):

Q. 1. What are the main features of the mechanical teachers and the schoolrooms that Margie and Tommy have in the story?
Ans. The mechanical teachers, Margie and Tommy have, are machines with big screens on which all the lessons are shown and the questions are asked. These machines have a slot in which homework and test papers written in punch code are put. These calculate marks in no time. These teach the subjects in sectors. If the setting is disturbed, a mechanical teacher can gear a little too quick. As it was in the case of the geography sector of Margie's mechanical teacher. Sometime a sector may blank out completely. As it was in the case of the history sector of Tommy's mechanical teacher.

The School-rooms that Margie and Tommy have are in their houses. Margie's school room is right next to her bedroom. There are no classmates. The mechanical teachers as per the set programmes teach in these school-rooms.

Q.2. Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school must have been fun?
Ans. Margie hated school for many reasons. First, it hadn't a special building with school-rooms. Second, it had not classmates of the same age group. Third, it had not a human teacher to correct the mistakes. Moreover, the mechanical teacher was a large and black and ugly machine with a big screen on it. It had been giving her teat after test and she had been doing worse after worse. She always had to put homework and teat papers written in punch code in the slot. And it calculated the marks in no time.

She thought that old kind of school must have been fun because it had a special building wih classrooms. All the kids went there. It had a human teacher to teach the students. The kids were of the same age group. So they could discuss about the homework.