Tuesday 1 June 2021

Best Christmas Present in the World || NCERT || Class 8 || Chapter 1

NCERT
Class 8
ENGLISH HONEYDEW

BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT IN THE WORLD


Comprehension Check 

1. What did the author find in the junk shop?

Answer: The author found a roll top desk in the junk shop. 

2. What did he find in a secret drawer? Who do you think had put it in there? 

Answer: The author found a tin box containing a letter in a secret drawer. The letter was addressed to Mrs. Macpherson. So, she might have put it in there. 

3. Who had written the letter, to whom, and when? 

Answer: Jim Macpherson had written the letter to his wife Connie Macpherson on December 26, 1914. 

4. Why was the letter written – what was the wonderful thing that had happened? 

Answer: Jim wrote the letter to describe a wonderful incident that had happened in the middle of the war. The Tommy and the Fritz who were the two opponents in the war, made a grand celebration of the Christmas festival. 

5. What jobs did Hans Wolf and Jim Macpherson have when they were not soldiers? 

Answer: Hans Wolf used to play cello in the orchestra and Jim Macpherson was a teacher in Dorset. 

6. Had Hans Wolf ever been to Dorset? Why did he say he knew it? 

Answer: No, Hans wolf never been to Dorset. He knew it from different English books. His favourite author was Thomas Hardy. 

7. Do you think Jim Macpherson came back from the war? How do you know this?

Answer: No, Jim Macpherson did not come back from the war, because Connie had been keeping the letter very safely for such a long period.

8. Why did the author go to Bridport? 

Answer: The author went to Bridport to find Connie Macpherson and re-deliver the letter to her. 

9. How old was Mrs. Macpherson now? Where was she? 

Answer: Mrs. Macpherson was one hundred and one years old. She was admitted to Burlington House Nursing Home because she met a fire accident at her house in Bridport. 

10. Who did Connie Macpherson think her visitor was? 

Answer: Connie Macpherson thought her visitor was her husband Jim Macpherson. 

11. Which sentence in the text shows that the visitor did not try to hide his identity? 

Answer: The visitor did not try to hide his identity because he told everything from beginning to the end about the letter. 

 

Working with the text 

1. For how long do you think Connie had kept Jim’s letter? Give reasons for your answer. 

Answer: Connie received the letter on January 25, 1915. But she kept it in a tin box hidden in the roll top box, until it caught fire and was sold in a junk shop. 

2. Why do you think the desk had been sold and when? 

Answer: The roll top desk was sold because it got fire damage. The fire totally damaged the house of Connie Macpherson and so the roll top desk was sold. 

3. Why do Jim and Hans Wolf think that games or sports are good ways of resolving conflicts? Do you agree? 

Answer: Jim and Hans Wolf thought that games or sports are good ways of resolving conflicts because no one dies in a match, no children are orphaned, no wives become widows.

4. Do you think soldiers of the two armies are like each other, or different from each other? Find evidence from the story to support your answer. 

Answer: The soldiers of the two armies were not different as they were forced to fight in the war, but both of the captains wanted peace. Hans Wolf knew everything about England and he loved an English author Hardy. They thought the best way to resolve a war is to organize a sport. 

5. Mention the various ways in which the British and the German soldiers become friends and find things in common at Christmas.

Answer: The German and the British celebrated Christmas making peace in middle of the war. The German came out from their trenches and called the British for celebration. They shared schnapps, marzipan, rum and other foods to celebrate Christmas. They played a football match to make their bond of friendship strong. Hans Wolf and Jim talked about their personal life to become friends.

6. What is Connie’s Christmas present? Why is it “the best Christmas present in the world”? 

Answer: Connie’s Christmas present was Jim Macpherson returning from the war. Connie thought that the author was her husband who returned from the war after her prolonged wait. Though he was not real Jim, but for her his presence gave her indescribable pleasure. So it was the best Christmas present.

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