Students can get through this article NCERT Solutions Class 8 English honeydew Chapter 1 The Best Christmas Present in the World. Complete solution of honeydew class 8 lesson 1 is given in this article. class 8 English book honeydew question answer is completely free. Students can prepare for the examination in a better way with the help of question answers for class 8 English chapter 1. Let us then see below the Ncert solutions for class 8 English honeydew chapter 1 The Best Christmas Present in the World.
NCERT Solutions Class 8 English honeydew Chapter 1 The Best Christmas Present in the World
The purpose of NCERT solutions for class 8 English honeydew is only to give good education. NCERT Solutions Class 8 English honeydew Chapter 1 The Best Christmas Present in the World prepared with the help of National Council of Educational Research and Training. The question answers of class 8th English book NCERT are designed keeping in mind the CBSE syllabus. Check out the NCERT solutions for 8th class English book lessons from below.
Class : 8
Subject : English honeydew
Chapter : 1 The Best Christmas Present in the World
Comprehension Check:- I
Qus 1. What did the author find in a junk shop?
Ans. The author found a roll – top desk in a junk shop.
Qus 2. What did he find in a secret drawer ? Who do you think had put it in there ?
Ans. The author found a small black tin box in the secret drawer. The owner of the desk Mrs. Macpherson had put it there.
Comprehension check
Qus 1. Who had written the letter, to whom, and when ?
Ans. Jim Macpherson had written the letter to his wife Mrs. Macpherson who was nicknamed Connie. It was written on 26th December 1914.
Qus 2. Why was the letter written – what was the wonderful thing that had happened ?
Ans. Captain Jim Macpherson wrote the letter to his wife Connie to describing a wonderful event happen between the two armies during the first world war. The British and the German army soldiers celebrated Christmas at the no mans land during the war.
Qus 3. What jobs did Hans Wolf and Jim Macpherson have when they were not soldiers ?
Ans. Hans Wolf played a cello in the orchestra and Jim Macpherson was a school teacher when they were not soldiers.
Qus 4. Had Hans Wolf even been to Dorset ? Why did he say he knew it ?
Ans. No, he had never been to Dorset. He knew everything about Dorset. He learned about it from school and reading books in English.
Qus 5. Do you think Jim Macpherson came back from the war ? How do you know this ?
Ans. I think Jim Macpherson never come back from the war. The fact that when Mrs Macpherson’s house caught fire, she was alone in the house. Secondly, on the tin box it was written. “Jim’s last letter received on 15 January, 1915. To be buried with me when the time comes”. These lines shows that Jim never came back from the war.
Comprehension check:-
Qus 1. Why did the author go to Bridport ?
Ans. The author went to Bridport to give back Mrs. Connie Macpherson’s letter.
Qus 2. How old was Mrs Macpherson now ? Where was she ?
Ans. Now Mrs. Macpherson was a hundred and one years old. Now she was in Burlington House Nursing Home on the Dorchester road.
Comprehension check:-
Qus 1. Who did Connie Macpherson think her visitor was ?
Ans. Mrs. Connie Macpherson thought that the visitor was her husband Jim Macpherson.
Qus 2. Which sentence in the text shows that the visitor did not try to hide his identity ?
Ans. The sentence, “ I said I was a friend come to visit Mrs. Connie Macpherson to bring her a Christmas present” shows that the visitor did not try to hide his identity.
Working with the text :-
Qus 1. For how long do you think Connie had kept Jim’s letter ? Give reasons for your answer.
Ans. Connie had kept Jim’s letter with her until their house had caught fire. There were scorch marks on the desk, and it was early 19th century. Because the letter was written on 26th December 1914.
Qus 2. Why do you think the desk had been sold, and when ?
Ans. I think after the fire accident, Mrs. Macpherson had sold the damaged desk to a junk dealer. It was partly burnt in the fire.
Qus 3. Why do Jim and Hans think that games or sports are good ways of resolving conflicts? Do you agree?
Ans. Jim and Hans say that games or sports are good ways of resolving conflicts. In their views no one dies in a match. No children are orphaned. No wives become widows. I fully agree to these views.
Qus 4. Do you think the soldiers of the two armies are like each other, or different from each other ? Find evidence form the story to support your answer.
Ans. Yes, the soldiers of the two armies are alike. They are peace loving. They want the war to end soon. They don’t want to kill each other. They exchange their wishes on ‘Happy Christmas.’
Qus 5. Mention the various ways in which the British and the German soldiers become friends and find things in common at Christmas.
Ans. On the Christmas morning , the German soldiers came out of their trenches waving a white flag. They were calling of ‘Merry Christmas “. The British soldiers responded with the same warmth. They mixed up at the no man’s land and enjoyed eating , drinking and dancing.
Qus 6. What is Connie’s Christmas present ? Why is it “the best Christmas present in the world” ?
Ans. Connie received the letter written by her husband Jim Macpherson as her Christmas present. She thought that this letter had been brought by her husband himself. So she considers it “the best Christmas present in the world.”
Qus 7. Do you think the title of this story is suitable for it? Can you think of any other title (s) ?
Ans. Yes, the title of the story is quite suitable. The main theme of the story moves round the letter written by Jim to his wife Connie from the battle field. Connie preserves this letter so dearly that she puts it in a tin box. She wishes that this letter should be buried with her at the time of her death. She considers this letter “the best Christmas gift in the world.” The other title for this story can be “The last letter” or “Mrs. Connie’s Best Christmas Present”.
Working with the Language:-
Qus.1
1 . Look at these sentences from the story.
I spotted it in a junk shop in Bridport… The man said it was made in the early nineteenth century… This one was in a bad condition…
The italicised verbs are in the past tense. They tell us what happened in the past, before now.
(i) Read the passage below and underline the verbs in the past tense.
A man got on the train and sat down. The compartment was empty except for one lady. She took her gloves off. A few hours later the police arrested the man. They held him for 24 hours and then freed him.
Now look at these sentences.
The veneer had lifted almost everywhere. Both fire and water had taken their toll on this desk. Notice the verb forms had lifted, had taken (their toll).
- The author found and bought the desk in the past.
- The desk was damaged before the author found it and bought it.
- Fire and water had damaged the desk before the author found it and bought it.
- We use verb forms like had damaged for an event in the ‘earlier past’, If there are two events in the past, we use the ‘had…’ form for the event that occurred first in the past.
- We also use the past perfect tense to show that something was wished for, or expected before a particular time in the past. For example, I had always wanted one…
- Discuss with your partner the difference in meaning in sentences below.
- When I reached the station, the train left.
- When I reached the station, the train had left.
Ans. Here are the verbs: (The Bold words are the verbs in the past tense)
A man got on the train and sat down. The compartment was empty except for one lady. She took her gloves off. A few hours later the police arrested the man. They held him for 24 hours and then freed him.
Difference between the two sentences is:
First sentence:
It means the train had left the station in my presence. (Simple past tense)
Second Sentence:
It means the train had already left. When I reached the station there was no train for which I had come. (Past perfect tense)
(ii) Fill in the blanks using the correct form of the verbs in brackets.
My little sister is very naughty. When she ____ (come) back from school yesterday , she had (tear) her dress. We (ask) her how it had (happen). She ____ (say) she (have, quarrel) with a boy. She ____ ____ (have, beat) him in a race and he ____ (have, try) to push her. She ____ _____ (have, tell) the teacher and so he ____ _____ (have, chase) her and she _____ _____ (have, fall) down and _____ _____ (have, tear) her dress.
Ans. My little sister is very naughty. When she came (come) back from school yesterday , she had torn (tear) her dress. We asked (ask) her how it had happened (happen). She said (say) she had quarrelled (have, quarrel) with a boy. She had beaten (have, beat) him in a race and he had tried (have, try) to push her. She had told (have, tell) the teacher and so he had chased (have, chase) her and she had fallen (have, fall) down and had torn (have, tear) her dress.
(iii) Underline the verbs and arrange them in two columns, Past and Earlier past.
(a) My friends set out to see the caves in the next town, but I stayed at home, because I had seen them already.
(b) When they arrived at the station, their train had left. They came back home, but by that time I had gone out to sec a movie!
(c) So they sat outside and ate the lunch I had packed for them.
(d) By the time I returned, they had fallen asleep!
| Past | Earlier past |
Ans.
| Past | Earlier past |
| Stayed | Had seen |
| Arrived, came | Had left, had gone |
| Sat, ate | Had packed |
| Returned | Had fallen |
2. Dictionary work
By the end of the journey, we had run out of drinking water.
Look at the verb run out of in this sentence. It is a phrasal verb: it has two parts, a verb and a preposition or an adverb. Phrasal verbs often have meanings that are different from the meanings of their parts.
Find these phrasal verbs in the story.
Burn out light up look on run out keep out
Write down the sentences in which they occur. Consult a dictionary and write down the meaning that you think matches the meaning of the phrasal verb in the sentence.
Ans. Burn out : destroyed by fire : House no 15 turned out to he nothing but a burned out shell.
light up : shone with happiness: That was the moment her eyes lit up with recognition.
Look on : be spectator : Hans Wolf and I looked on and cheered.
Run out : to disappear from the scene : The schnapps and the rum and the sausage had long since run out.
Keep out : to be safe from something : Hans Wolf and I looked on and cheered, clapping our hands and stamping our feet, to keep out the cold.
4. The table below contains a list of nouns and some adjectives. Use as many adjectives as you can to describe each noun. You might come up with some funny descriptions!
| Nouns | Adjectives |
| Elephant | circular, striped, enormous, multicoloured, round, cheerful, wild, blue, red, chubby, large, medium-sized, cold |
| Face | |
| Building | |
| Water |
Ans. I saw an enormous wild chubby elephant.
He has a round, cheerful, large , red face.
It is a large multicoloured circular brick building.
He saw blue cool pool water.
Speaking
1 . In groups discuss whether wars are a good way to end conflicts between countries. Then present your arguments to the whole class.
Ans. No, I don’t agree with the view that wars are a good way to end conflicts between countries. War means a large number of killing and a lot of destruction to universe. Those who have nothing to do with the conflicts suffer the most. Innocent people are put the death. Their houses are bombed to reduce them to derbies. Wars stop and even thrust back the wheel of a nations progress. Thus the means of resolving conflicts between countries by wars should not be put into practice at any cost.
2. What kind of presents do you like and why ? What are the things you keep in mind when you buy presents for others? Discuss with your partner. (For example, you might buy a book because it can be read and re-read over a period of time.)
Ans. I think the present that are really lovely and are close to our heart should be presented to our dear ones on some special occasions. A present is a symbol of remembrance for our beloved one. I always keep in mind the use of present in the life of the person whom I am going to give that present. So I often give present like books, pens, handkerchiefs, balls etc. to my friend on their birthday.
Writing
1. Imagine that you are Jim. You have returned to your town after the war. In your diary record how you feel about the changes you see and the events that occur in your town. You could begin like this
25 December, 1919
It’s Christmas today. But the town looks…
Or
Suppose you are the visitor. You are in a dilemma. You don’t know whether to disclose your identity and disappoint the old lady or let her believe that her dear Jim has come back. Write a letter to a friend highlighting your anxiety, fears and feelings.
Ans. 25 December, 1919
It is Christmas today , but the town looks in a mood of sadness. Our country had been fighting against the German for the last five years. We have won the war but the thing of sadness is that, only our town has lost over one thousand of brave sons. My wife is delighted to see me back alive. It seems to her that is was my rebirth for her. This war has given very deep wounds to our town. Today it seems to me that the people are celebrating ‘Happy Christmas’ only to pay their homages to the brave sons of their town.
2. Given below is the outline of a story. Construct the story using the outline.
A young, newly married doctor ______freedom fighter _______ exiled to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands by the British _______ infamous Cellular Jail ______prisoners tortured ______revolt by inmates ______doctor hanged _____wife waits for his return_______ becomes old _______ continues to wait with hope and faith.
Ans. A young, newly married doctor was a great freedom fighter. He was exiled to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands by the British. He was imprisoned in infamous Cellular Jail. Prisoners were tortured here. Some of his inmates did revolt. The doctor was hanged till death. But his wife dis not know anything about it. She waits for his return. She becomes old continues to wait with hope and faith that one day her husband will return.
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