Class 10 English First Flight
Chapter 8. Mijbil the Otter
Exercise - Oral Comprehension Check
Q 1.
What ‘experiment’ did Maxwell think Camusfearna would be suitable for?
Answer
:
Maxwell thought that he
would keep an otter instead of a dog. Camusfearna, ringed by water a very short
distance from its door, would be an eminently suitable spot for the experiment.
Q 2.
Why does he go to Basra? How long does he wait there, and why?
Answer
:
He went to Basra, to the
Consultant-General, to collect and answer his mail from Europe. He had had to
wait there for five days. To start with his mail didn’t reach on time. Then he
tried to make a telephone call. This incident is of those days when one had to
book an international call 24 hrs in advance. The telephone line was not
working properly on the first day. Next day it was some public holiday so it
was not working. Finally, after a torturous wait of five days his mail arrived.
Q 3.
How does he get the otter? Does he like it? Pick out the words that tell you this.
Answer
:
When he received his
mail, he carried it to his bedroom to read. There, he saw two rabs and
beside them was a sack that twisted from time to time. They handed him a note
from his friend saying that he had sent him an otter. Yes, he liked it. We know
this because he uses the term ‘otter fixation’ to refer to his feeling towards
the otter. He felt that this otter fixation or this strong attachment towards
otters was omething that was shared by most other people who had ever
owned one.
Q 4.
Why was the otter named ‘Maxwell’s otter’?
Answer
:
The otter was of a race
previously unknown to science and was at length named by zoologists Lutrogale
perspicillata maxwelli or Maxwell’s otter.
Q 5.
Tick the right answer. In
the beginning, the otter was aloof and indifferent
friendly hostile
Answer
:
In the beginning, the
otter was aloof and indifferent.
Q 6.
What happened when Maxwell took Mijbil to the bathroom? What did it do two days after that?
Answer
:
When Maxwell took Mijbil
to the bathroom, it went wild with joy in the water for half an hour. It was
plunging and rolling in it, shooting up and down the length of the bathtub
underwater, and making enough slosh and splash for a hippo. Two days after
that, it escaped from his bedroom to the bathroom. By the time he got there,
Mijbil was up on the end of the bathtub and fumbling at the chromium taps with
it paws. In less than a minute, it had turned the tap far enough to
produce some water and after a moment, achieved the full flow
Q 7.
How was Mij to be transported to England?
Answer
:
Maxwell booked a flight to Paris and from there he would go on to London. The airline insisted that Mij should be packed in a box (not more than eighteen inches square) that was to be placed on the floor, near his feet.
Q 8.
. What did Mij do to the box?
Answer
:
The box was lined with
metal sheet. Mij didn’t find it comfortable to be there so tried to escape. In
its attempt to escape Mij tore into the metal lining of the box. As a result it
hurt itself and started bleeding.
Q 9.
Why did Maxwell put the otter back in the box? How do you think he felt when he did this?
Answer
:
As there was no other way
to carry Mij to London so the author had put it back into the box. He must have
felt pity for the way the otter had hurt itself. Moreover, he must be worried
as well.
Q 10.
Why does Maxwell say the air hostess was “the very queen of her kind”?
Answer
:
Maxwell said that the
airhostess was “the very queen of her kind” because she was extremely friendly
and helpful. He took her into his confidence about the incident with the box.
She suggested that he might prefer to have his pet on his knee. Hearing this,
he developed a profound admiration for her, for she understood the pain of both
the otter and its owner.
Exercise - Oral Comprehension Check
Q 11.
What happened when the box was opened?
Answer
:
When the box was opened,
Mij went out of the box. He disappeared at a high speed down the aircraft.
There were cries all around. A woman stood up on her seat screaming that there
was a rat. He saw Mij’s tail disappearing beneath the legs of an Indian
passenger. He dived for it, but missed. The air hostess suggested him to
be seated and that she would find the otter. After a while, Mij had returned to
him. It climbed on his knee and began to rub its nose on his face and neck.
Q 12.
What are ‘compulsive habits’? What does
Maxwell say are the compulsive habits of
(i) school children
(ii) Mij?
Answer
:
Compulsive habits are
usually strange act or behaviour which a person does without clear reason. On
their way to and from school, children make it a habit to place their feet
exactly on the centre of each paving block. Similarly, Mij had made it a habit
to jump on to the school wall and go galloping all along its length of thirty
yards.
Q 13.
What group of animals do otters belong to?
Answer
:
Otters belong to a comparatively small
group of animals called Mustellines, shared by the badger, mongoose, weasel,
stoat, mink and others.
Q 14.
What guesses did the Londoners make about what Mij was?
Answer
:
According to Maxwell, the
average Londoner does not recognize an otter. The Londoners who saw Mij made
different guesses about who Mij was. They guessed, among other things, that it
was a baby seal, a squirrel, a walrus, a hippo, a beaver, a bear cub, a leopard
and a brontosaur.
Q 15.
What things does Mij do which tell you that he is an intelligent, friendly and fun-loving animal who needs love?
Answer
:
Mij was an intelligent
animal. It invented it own game out of the ping-pong balls. It screwed the tap
till water began to flow and then it would play and splash in the water. Though
it was aloof and indifferent in the beginning, it soon became very friendly. It
formed a special attachment to Maxwell. It responded when Maxwell called out
his name. It grew desperate when Maxwell left it in a box and it got hurt while
trying to come out of it. After Maxwell took it out, it clung to his feet. It
was a fun-loving animal. It enjoyed playing all kinds of games. It would play
with a selection of toys, ping-pong balls, marbles, rubber fruit, and a
terrapin shell. It required love and affection from Maxwell and it got that
readily.
Q 16.
Why is Mij’s species now known to the world as Maxwell’s otter?
Answer
:
Answer Maxwell’s otter
was of a race previously unknown to science and was at ength named by
zoologistsLutrogale perspicillata maxwelli or Maxwell’s otter.
Q 17.
Maxwell in the story speaks for the otter, Mij. He tells us what the otter feels and thinks on different occasions. Given below are some things the otter does. Complete the column on the right to say what Maxwell says about what Mij feels and thinks
Answer
:
What Mij does
Plunges, rolls in the water and makes the water splosh and
splash
Screws the tap in the wrong way –
Nuzzles Maxwell’s face and neck in the aeroplane
Plunges, rolls in the water and makes the water splosh and
splash
Screws the tap in the wrong way –
Nuzzles Maxwell’s face and neck in the aeroplane
Q
18.
Read the story and find
the sentences where Maxwell describes his pet otter. Then
choose and arrange your sentences to illustrate those statements below that you think are true.
Maxwell’s description
(i) makes Mij seem almost human, like a small boy.
(ii) shows that he is often irritated with what Mij does.
(iii) shows that he is often surprised by what Mij does.
(iv) of Mij’s antics is comical.
(v) shows that he observes the antics of Mij very carefully.
(vi) shows that he thinks Mij is a very ordinary otter.
(vii) shows that he thinks the otter is very unusual.
choose and arrange your sentences to illustrate those statements below that you think are true.
Maxwell’s description
(i) makes Mij seem almost human, like a small boy.
(ii) shows that he is often irritated with what Mij does.
(iii) shows that he is often surprised by what Mij does.
(iv) of Mij’s antics is comical.
(v) shows that he observes the antics of Mij very carefully.
(vi) shows that he thinks Mij is a very ordinary otter.
(vii) shows that he thinks the otter is very unusual.
Answer
:
(i) He spent most of his
time in play.
(iii) I watched, amazed; in less than a minute he had turned the tap far enough to produce a trickle of water, and after a moment or two achieved the full flow.
(v) A suitcase that I had taken to Iraq had become damaged on the journey home, so that the lid, when closed, remained at a slope from one end to the other. Mij discovered that if he placed the ball on the high end it would run down the length of the suitcase. He would dash around to the other end to ambush its arrival, hide from it, crouching, to spring up and take it by surprise, grab it and trot off with it to the high end once more.
(vii) It is not, I suppose, in any way strange that the average Londoner should not recognize an otter, but the variety of guesses as to what kind of animal this might be came as a surprise to me. Mij was anything but an otter.I watched, amazed; in less than a minute he had turned the tap far enough to produce a trickle of water, and after a moment or two achieved the full flow.
(iii) I watched, amazed; in less than a minute he had turned the tap far enough to produce a trickle of water, and after a moment or two achieved the full flow.
(v) A suitcase that I had taken to Iraq had become damaged on the journey home, so that the lid, when closed, remained at a slope from one end to the other. Mij discovered that if he placed the ball on the high end it would run down the length of the suitcase. He would dash around to the other end to ambush its arrival, hide from it, crouching, to spring up and take it by surprise, grab it and trot off with it to the high end once more.
(vii) It is not, I suppose, in any way strange that the average Londoner should not recognize an otter, but the variety of guesses as to what kind of animal this might be came as a surprise to me. Mij was anything but an otter.I watched, amazed; in less than a minute he had turned the tap far enough to produce a trickle of water, and after a moment or two achieved the full flow.
(v) A suitcase that I had
taken to Iraq had become damaged on the journey home, so that the lid, when
closed, remained at a slope from one end to the other. Mij discovered that if
he placed the ball on the high end it would run down the length of the
suitcase. He would dash around to the other end to ambush its arrival, hide
from it, crouching, to spring up and take it by surprise, grab it and trot off
with it to the high end once more.
(vii) It is not, I suppose, in any way strange that the average Londoner should not recognize an otter, but the variety of guesses as to what kind of animal this might be came as a surprise to me. Mij was anything but an otter.
Exercise
- Thinking about the Text
Q
1.
From
the table below, make as many correct sentences as you can using ould
and/or used to, as appropriate. (Hint: First decide whether the words in
italics show an action, or a state or situation, in the past.) Then add
two or three sentences of your own to it.
Emperor Akbar
|
be
found of musical evenings.
|
Every evening we
|
take long walks on the beach
|
Fifty years ago, very few people
|
own cars.
|
Till the 1980s, Shanghai
|
have
very dirty streets
|
My uncle
|
spend
his holidays by the
|
Answer
:
1.Emperor Akbar used to
be fond of musical evenings.
2. Every evening we used to take long walks on the beach.
2. Every evening we used to take long walks on the beach.
3. Fifty years ago, very few people used to
own cars.
4. Till the 1980s, Shanghai used to have very dirty streets.
5. My uncle would spend his holidays by the sea.
6. My uncle used to take long walks on the beach.
7. My uncle used to be fond of musical evenings.
4. Till the 1980s, Shanghai used to have very dirty streets.
5. My uncle would spend his holidays by the sea.
6. My uncle used to take long walks on the beach.
7. My uncle used to be fond of musical evenings.
Q. 1.
Given
below are some nouns, and a set of modifiers (in the box). Combine the nouns
and modifiers to make as many appropriate phrases as you can. (Hint: The nouns
and modifiers are all from the texts in this book.)
temple ,three girls,
triangle, dresses
person, thoughts, boys roar
gifts, scream, farewell, expression
time, subject, landscape, handkerchief
crossing flight chatterbox profession
physique, coffee, view, celebration
person, thoughts, boys roar
gifts, scream, farewell, expression
time, subject, landscape, handkerchief
crossing flight chatterbox profession
physique, coffee, view, celebration
Answer
:
Temple − white temple, stone
temple, the first temple
Person − incorrigible person, ridiculous person
Gifts − hundred gifts, ordinary gifts, birthday gifts
Time − college time, rough time, first time
Crossing − railroad crossing, first crossing
Physique − plump physique, ordinary physique
Three girls − first three girls, incorrigible three girls
Thoughts − incorrigible thoughts, uncomfortable thoughts, ridiculous thoughts,
heartbreaking thoughts, first thoughts, ordinary thoughts
Scream − tremendous scream, loud scream
Subject − college subject, ordinary subject
Flight − rough flight, first flight
Coffee − invigorating coffee, ordinary coffee
Triangle − love triangle
Boys − college boys, incorrigible boys, rough boys, hundred boys
Farewell − college farewell, heartbreaking farewell
Landscape − bare landscape, rough landscape, white landscape
Chatterbox − incorrigible chatterbox
View − tremendous view, panoramic view, ordinary view
Person − incorrigible person, ridiculous person
Gifts − hundred gifts, ordinary gifts, birthday gifts
Time − college time, rough time, first time
Crossing − railroad crossing, first crossing
Physique − plump physique, ordinary physique
Three girls − first three girls, incorrigible three girls
Thoughts − incorrigible thoughts, uncomfortable thoughts, ridiculous thoughts,
heartbreaking thoughts, first thoughts, ordinary thoughts
Scream − tremendous scream, loud scream
Subject − college subject, ordinary subject
Flight − rough flight, first flight
Coffee − invigorating coffee, ordinary coffee
Triangle − love triangle
Boys − college boys, incorrigible boys, rough boys, hundred boys
Farewell − college farewell, heartbreaking farewell
Landscape − bare landscape, rough landscape, white landscape
Chatterbox − incorrigible chatterbox
View − tremendous view, panoramic view, ordinary view
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