Grade 8 (Unit 8) Having Fun (Reading I)

 Unit 8

 

Reading I

Having Fun

A. Underline the words in column B which are similar in meaning to the words in column A.

a. mischief - misconduct, mishap, misbehaving

b. precious-common, valuable, expensive

c. vain - useless, impossible, sufficient

d. happy-lively, depressed, cheerful

e. hugged - rejected, embraced, cuddled

Answer

a. mischief - misconduct, mishap, misbehaving

b. precious-common, valuable, expensive

c. vain - useless, impossible, sufficient

d. happy-lively, depressed, cheerful

e. hugged - rejected, embraced, cuddled

 

B. Use appropriate words from 'column A' above to complete the sentences below.

a. Everyone likes her. She is........... and outgoing.

b. These guys are best known for causing............. and making fun.

c. That old man tried in ........... to escape from prison.

d. After they won the match, the players............... their coach.

e. The Mountain Museum is full of rare and............ treasures.

Answer

a. Everyone likes her. She is happy and outgoing.

b. These guys are best known for causing mischief and making fun.

c. That old man tried in vain to escape from prison.

d. After they won the match, the players hugged their coach.

e. The Mountain Museum is full of rare and precious treasures.

 

C. Put these sentences in the correct order.

a. The farmer was very happy to get the money.

b. The farmer found some coins inside his shoes.

c. The father and son hid behind the bush.

d. A pair of old shoes were lying on the road.

e. The old farmer thanked God for everything he had got.

f. The son learnt a good lesson that day.

Answer

a. A pair of old shoes were lying on the road.

b. The father and son hid behind the bush.

c. The farmer found some coins inside his shoes.

d. The farmer was very happy to get the money.

e. The old farmer thanked God for everything he had got.

f. The son learnt a good lesson that day.

 

D. Read the story again and answer these questions.

a. What did the son want to do with the shoes?

b. How did the father react to his son's proposal about hiding the shoes?

c. What was the farmer going to do with the money?

d. What would have been the farmer's reaction if his shoes had been hidden?

e. What lesson did the son learn from the incident?

Answer

a. The son wanted to hide the shoes and watch the farmer's reaction when he couldn't find them.

b. The father reacted to his son's proposal about hiding the shoes by becoming sad and serious and suggested him that it was wrong to make fun of a poor person.

c. The farmer was going to use the money to buy medicine for his sick wife and food for his starving children.

d. If his shoes had been hidden, the farmer would have been very upset and worried and he wouldn’t have been able to buy medicine for his wife or food for his children.

e. The son learned a lesson from the incident is that real joy can be achieved by helping others not by giving trouble to others.

 

 

E. Imaging you are the boy in the story. Retell the story in your own words.

Having Fun

One evening, my father and I were walking when we spotted a pair of abandoned shoes. Initially, I thought it would be amusing to play a prank by hiding the shoes and watching the owner, a farmer, become perplexed. However, my father wisely discouraged me, emphasizing the importance of not mocking someone less fortunate. Instead, he proposed a kind gesture - placing coins inside the shoes. When the farmer returned and discovered the coins, his joy was palpable. He expressed gratitude, explaining that the money would aid his ailing wife and hungry children. This experience ingrained in me a valuable lesson: kindness always surpasses cruelty.

 

 

Grammar I

A. Choose the correct alternatives to complete the sentences.

a. The climate of the city …......... pleasant most of the time last year.

      i. is remaining     ii. remained   iii. has remained

b. While they.......... lunch, some guests arrived.

      i. were having     ii. was having            iii. had

c. Manita and Pasang............ hid and seek at this time yesterday.

      i. played   ii. were playing         iii. have played

d. Sonali ............... her house before she sold it.

      i. had painted      ii. painted       iii. paint

e. Susan ………….... all day yesterday. He is not working today.

      i. was working    ii. had worded           iii. worked

f. All the students.............. for lunch when I reached there.

      i. was queuing     ii. had queued           iii. were queuing

g. Last year, we................ any festival.

      i. hadn't celebrated         ii. didn't celebrated   iii. celebrating

Answer

a. The climate of the city …......... pleasant most of the time last year.

      i. is remaining     ii. remained iii. has remained

b. While they.......... lunch, some guests arrived.

      i. were having    ii. was having            iii. had

c. Manita and Pasang............ hid and seek at this time yesterday.

      i. played   ii. were playing        iii. have played

d. Sonali ............... her house before she sold it.

      i. had painted     ii. painted       iii. paint

e. Susan ………….... all day yesterday. He is not working today.

      i. was working   ii. had worded           iii. worked

f. All the students.............. for lunch when I reached there.

      i. was queuing     ii. had queued           iii. were queuing

g. Last year, we................ any festival.

      i. hadn't celebrated      ii. didn't celebrated   iii. celebrating

 

B. Use past simple, past continuous or past perfect forms of the verbs from the brackets to complete the sentences.

a. When the burglars broke into the house, I ........... sound sleep. (have)

b. They were watching TV when they............. a loud bang on the door. (hear)

c. Namrata ……….... her parents before she left for her office. (call)

d.......... to call your mother last night? (you/remember)

e. Sami................ me twice yesterday but I didn't reply to him. (call)

f. Their team scored 150 runs after they .............. lunch break. (have)

g. The bus...... already ……... there at the stop before we reached. (be)

h. Bipana was mending the roof when she ............ (fall off)

i. After Alina ……..... a novel, she wrote its summary. (read)

Answer

a. When the burglars broke into the house, I was having sound sleep.

b. They were watching TV when they heard a loud bang on the door.

c. Namrata had called her parents before she left for her office.

d. Did you remember to call your mother last night?

e. Sami called me twice yesterday but I didn't reply to him.

f. Their team scored 150 runs after they had had lunch break.

g. The bus had already been there at the stop before we reached.

h. Bipana was mending the roof when she fell off.

i. After Alina had read a novel, she wrote its summary.

 

Writing I

A. Choose the correct phrases / sentences from the box to complete the following story.

Answer

The correct order of the phrases/sentences is:

d. A busy couple used to live in Chicago

e. They booked a hotel room

c. his wife was planning to meet him there

f. he accidentally left out one letter from her email address

a. who had just returned home from her husband's funeral

b. she screamed and fainted

B. Write a story with the help of the given clues. Give it a suitable title.

 

The Starfish

After a storm, a man strolled along the beach and encountered a vast number of live starfish marooned on the shore. Their struggle to return to the ocean was apparent. In this scenario, he spotted a young girl carefully collecting the starfish and propelling them back into the waves. He inquired about her motivation. Her response was firm: "I'm rescuing them. Without help, they'll perish." Surveying the multitude of beached starfish, the man expressed a practical concern, "But there are so many. It's not feasible to save them all."

Unfazed, the girl picked up another starfish and gently released it into the water. "For that one, it mattered," she maintained, her conviction unwavering. A smile formed on the man's lips. "You're correct," he acknowledged. "Indeed, it did."

Joined by a shared purpose, the man and the girl collaborated tirelessly, transferring starfish from shore to sea. Side by side, they persisted until each stranded starfish found its way back into the ocean.

Despite exhaustion, a sense of contentment prevailed. Their combined efforts had changed the fate of numerous starfish.

 

Moral: Small acts of kindness can initiate meaningful change.

 

(My special thanks to Kanchan Chaudhary of Khairahani Secondary School for preparing this material.)

 

 

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