NCERT Solutions Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour

F R E E S T U D Y M AT E R I A L F O R E V E R Y S T U D E N T

CLASS 7 · ENGLISH

NCERT Solutions

Unit 2: Wit and Humour

NCERT Textbook — Poorvi

BOOK PAGES SECTIONS QUESTIONS MEDIUM

43 – 87 26 122 English

Solutions, notes, sample papers & more at 108 pages

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

CLASS 7 · ENGLISH · POORVI

NCERT Solutions — Unit 2: Wit and Humour
Complete NCERT Solutions for Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour from the NCERT textbook Poorvi. Every
numbered question from all three pieces of the unit — the story Animals, Birds, and Dr. Dolittle by Hugh
Lofting, the poem A Funny Man by Natalie Joan and the play Say the Right Thing by G.C. Thornley — is
answered heading by heading, from pages 43 to 87.

TEXTBOOK BOOK PAGES

Poorvi (Class 7) 43 – 87

SECTIONS QUESTIONS

26 122

MEDIUM

English

Let us do these activities before we read — Page 43
Animals, Birds, and Dr. Dolittle

BEFORE YOU READ

I Do you have a pet or a domestic animal? If yes, why? If not, why not? How do people
usually spend time with a pet or domestic animal? Share your thoughts with your
classmates and the teacher.

This is a personal question, so answer in three clear parts — whether you have one, why (or
why not), and how people spend time with pets.

If yes — say which animal, how it came to your house, and one thing you do for it every day.
If no — give an honest reason: a small flat, someone at home is allergic, no one free in the
daytime, or your family feeds street animals instead of keeping one.
How people spend time: feeding and giving water, bathing and brushing, walking, playing
fetch or with a ball of wool, talking to them, taking them to the vet, and simply sitting with
them.

Sample answer: Yes, we have a dog called Moti. My grandfather brought him home
as a puppy from a friend's farm. Every evening I fill his water bowl and take him for a
walk to the park, and on Sundays I brush his coat. People usually spend time with
pets by feeding them, playing with them and just sitting beside them — a pet does
not need words to know you are happy or sad.

Page 1 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Sample answer (if you do not have one): No, we do not have a pet. We live in a
small flat and both my parents leave early for work, so the animal would be alone all
day. Instead, my sister and I keep a bowl of water outside our gate for the street
dogs and birds in summer.

II You must have read stories where animals and birds talk. If you had a chance to
communicate with an animal or a bird, who would you like to speak to and why?
Share your thoughts with your classmates and the teacher.

Name one animal or bird, then give two reasons — one about what you would ask it, one about
what you could do with the answer.

YOU COULD CHOOSE… BECAUSE YOU COULD ASK…

A street dog Where it hurts, whether it has eaten, who is unkind to it

A migratory bird Which countries it has seen and how it finds its way home

An elephant What it remembers from years ago, and whether the forest has changed

A cow or buffalo at home Whether the fodder is enough and where it likes to be scratched

Sample answer: I would like to speak to the crows that sit on our water tank. They
watch the whole street from up there and would know exactly who leaves rubbish
open, which cat is hunting the sparrows, and where the sparrows have disappeared
to. I would ask them what a city looks like from above, and what we could put on our
roof so that more birds come back.

Link to the lesson: Doctor Dolittle finds that once he can hear an animal's own
words, curing it becomes easy — “they told him where the pain was and how they
felt”. That is the real value of talking to animals.

Page 2 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

III If we closely observe the body language of animals and birds, we can understand
what they want to tell us. Work in pairs and study the pictures given below. Find
out what emotions these animals and birds are trying to convey. Share your
observations with your classmates and the teacher.

1. 2. 3. 4.

The four pictures printed on page 43, redrawn — look at the wings, the tail, the ears, the
crest and the open beak or mouth.

The four pictures on page 43 show a duck, a cat, a dog and a cockatoo. Read the body, not the
face — wings, tail, back, crest and mouth all speak.

PICTURE WHAT YOU CAN SEE EMOTION CONVEYED

1. Duck Wings spread wide, neck stretched forward, Anger and warning — “Keep away from
beak open, marching straight at you here!”

2. Cat Back arched high, fur and tail standing on Fear turning into defence — it is frightened
end, ears flat, mouth open and hissing and ready to strike

3. Dog Standing tall and relaxed, mouth open, Happiness and friendliness — it wants to
tongue out, tail curved up, eyes bright play

4. Yellow crest raised, wings half-open, leaning Excitement and alertness — it has noticed
Cockatoo forward on the perch something and is showing off

Why it works: Animals make themselves look bigger when they are angry or afraid
— spread wings, arched back, raised crest — and make themselves look loose and
open when they are friendly. Polynesia says exactly this in the story: “They talk with
their ears, with their feet, with their tails — with everything.”

Page 3 of 108

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Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour
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Try this: Watch a street dog for two minutes and note three signals — tail height,

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ear position, and whether the mouth is open or tight. Then guess its mood.

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Let us discuss — Page 46
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Animals, Birds, and Dr. Dolittle, Part I

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COMPREHENSION
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I Complete the following sentence by selecting a suitable reason. The Cat's-food-Man
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suggests to Doctor Dolittle that he should become an animal doctor because he

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believes that Dolittle ______. 1. earns less fee by treating human patients 2. enjoys
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The correct option is 4. knows more about animals than the local veterinarians.

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The Cat's-food-Man says it in so many words: “you know all about animals—much more than what
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these vets here do. That book you wrote—about cats, why, it's wonderful! … You might have been a cat

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yourself. You know the way they think.”

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Why the others are wrong:
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agla are foolish not to see Dolittle's worth, but that is a different point.
2. Nobody in the text says animals speak less — the whole story says the
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3. Dolittle does not dislike people; he simply gives them up later because they
stop coming to him.
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insthe brackets. Doctor
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Fill in the blanks by choosing the suitable option given

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excitement and ______ (certainty/curiosity). He rushes to ______ (write/memorise) the
bird words she provides and is interested in learning more.
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The completed passage reads:

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a g l Page 4 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Doctor Dolittle reacts to Polynesia's information about animal languages with both

excitement and curiosity.

He rushes to write the bird words she provides and is interested in learning more.

Why these words:

curiosity — he keeps asking for more: “Good Gracious! … What does that mean?”,
“Tell me some more.” Certainty is the opposite of what he feels; the whole idea is
brand new to him.
write — the text says he “rushed over to the drawer and came back with a book
and a pencil” and told her, “don't go too fast—and I'll write it down.” He does not
try to memorise anything.

III Do you think Doctor Dolittle would be famous as an animal doctor? If yes, why? If
not, why not?

Yes — he would certainly become famous, and the rest of the story proves it.

He has the one skill no other vet has: he can ask the patient where it hurts. The plough
horse had been treated for six weeks by the vet over the hill, who kept giving it big pills,
when all it needed was spectacles.
Animals themselves spread the news. “All these animals went back and told their brothers
and friends that there was a doctor … who really was a doctor.”
Migrating birds carry his name abroad, so his fame crosses countries — “he became famous
among the animals—all over the world.”

Why it happens: Fame follows results. Because Dolittle understands the complaint,
his cure works the first time; word-of-mouth does the rest. A doctor who guesses
may be lucky once, but a doctor who listens is trusted always.

A different, defensible view: Some readers argue that fame among animals is not
fame in the human world — he loses his human patients and probably earns very
little. That is true, but the story clearly counts him as famous and, more importantly,
as happy: “He was happy and liked his life very much.”

Page 5 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Let us discuss — Pages 49 & 50
Animals, Birds, and Dr. Dolittle, Part II

COMPREHENSION

I What became a common sight in Puddleby after Doctor Dolittle started treating
animals? 1. Humans talking to farm animals 2. Farm animals wearing glasses 3.
Farm animals learning bird language 4. Birds riding atop farm animals

The correct option is 2. Farm animals wearing glasses.
After the plough horse got its fine, big pair of green spectacles and stopped going blind, the
text says: “soon it became a common sight to see farm animals wearing glasses in the countryside,
round Puddleby; and a blind horse was a thing unknown.”

Tip: Notice the small phrase “a blind horse was a thing unknown”. It is the writer's
quiet way of telling us that one clever idea — testing an animal's eyes — wiped out
blindness among the working horses of a whole district.

II What challenges do you think Doctor Dolittle might face if more and more animals
come to him for help?

Success brings its own problems. Dolittle would face at least five:

1. Space and crowding — his garden was already “nearly always crowded with animals trying
to get in to see him”.
2. Time — one man cannot examine horses, cows, sheep, badgers, harvest mice and bats in a
single day. Serious cases might have to wait.
3. Keeping species apart — a cat and a mouse, a dog and a rabbit cannot sit in the same
waiting room in peace.
4. Money and medicines — animals cannot pay. He gave up his human patients, so his income
and his stock of medicines would run short.
5. Language load — every new species means learning a new language before he can even
take the case history.

Page 6 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

II. 1 How might he overcome these challenges to ensure that he provides good
treatment?

He can solve each problem with a simple, practical arrangement — and the story shows him
already beginning to do so.

CHALLENGE HOW HE CAN OVERCOME IT

Crowding and species Separate entrances and waiting areas — exactly what he does with the doors marked
mixing HORSES, COWS, SHEEP and the mouse tunnel into the cellar

Too little time Fixed timings for each kind of animal, and an emergency queue for the badly hurt —
like the “Come in again Tuesday” he gives the horse

Working alone Train helpers. Polynesia can interpret; Jip and the other household animals can bring
cases in and calm frightened patients

Cost of medicines Accept help in kind from farmers — fodder, grain, repairs — and keep writing books
(he had already written one about cats) for an income

Repeat illnesses Teach prevention: tell the animals themselves what to eat and what to avoid, so fewer
fall ill

Why it works: Every one of these ideas keeps his one great advantage — personal
conversation with the patient — while removing the crowd around it. Good systems
do not replace a good doctor; they give him time to be one.

Page 7 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

III Arrange the following events in correct order according to the story. Two have been
done for you. Share your answers with your classmates and the teacher. 1. Doctor
Dolittle decides to stop being a doctor for people and becomes a doctor for animals.
2. Animals from near and far come to Doctor Dolittle for help, crowding his garden.
3. A man with a stomach-ache visits Doctor Dolittle and suggests he should treat
animals instead of people. (i) 4. Polynesia teaches Doctor Dolittle animal languages,
and he starts understanding and communicating with animals. 5. A plough horse
with vision problems visits Doctor Dolittle, who prescribes green spectacles, to
improve the horse's eyesight. 6. The parrot, Polynesia, encourages Doctor Dolittle to
become an animal doctor, revealing that animals can talk. (ii) 7. Doctor Dolittle
installs special doors for different animals to enter his house for treatment. 8.
Doctor Dolittle's ability to communicate with animals helps him diagnose and treat
their illnesses effectively. 9. Doctor Dolittle gains fame among animals worldwide,
and they come to him from various places for his help. 10. Word spreads, and people
start bringing their sick pets and farm animals to Doctor Dolittle for treatment.

The correct order is 3 → 6 → 4 → 1 → 10 → 5 → 8 → 2 → 7 → 9. (The book has already filled in 3
as (i) and 6 as (ii).)

Page 8 of 108

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Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

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ORDER EVENT WHAT HAPPENS PROOF FROM THE TEXT

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(i)
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reveals that animals talk.c
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Polynesia urges him to do it and “Did you know that animals can talk?”
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Polynesia teaches She sits on the kitchen table all afternoon
animal language “giving him bird words to put down in the
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(iv) 1 He gives up human patients “Then he gave up being a people's doctor

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and farm animals pugs and poodles … farmers came many

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The plough horse comes and
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He becomes famous among “the birds who flew to other countries in
animals worldwide the winter told the animals in foreign
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Tip: When you sequence a story, look for time-markers instead of guessing — “When
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a years' time”. They give you the order almost free.
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a g l Page 9 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Animals, Birds, and Dr. Dolittle

EXTRACT-BASED COMPREHENSION

I. 1 (i) Read the extract and answer: “If I say, ‘Polly wants a cracker', you understand
me. But hear this: Ka-ka oi-ee, fee-fee?” / “Good Gracious!” cried the Doctor.
“What does that mean?” / “That means, ‘Is the porridge hot yet?'—in bird
language.” / “My! You don't say so!” said the Doctor. “You never talked that way
to me before.” / “What would have been the good?” said Polynesia, dusting some
cracker crumbs off her left wing. “You wouldn't have understood me if I had.” —
Complete the sentence by choosing the correct option. In the line, “Good
Gracious!” cried the Doctor, the expression ‘Good Gracious' can be replaced by
______! A. bravo B. gosh C. alas D. hurray

The correct option is B. gosh.
‘Good Gracious!' and ‘Gosh!' are both mild exclamations of surprise — they say “I did not expect
that at all.”

Why the others do not fit:

bravo — praise for a fine performance (“Well done!”). The Doctor is not
applauding, he is startled.
alas — sorrow or regret. Nothing sad has happened.
hurray — celebration of good news. He has not yet decided whether the news is
good; he only wants to know what the words mean.

I. 1 (ii) Why had Polynesia never used bird language with the Doctor earlier?

Because it would have been of no use — the Doctor did not know bird language, so he would
not have understood a single word.
Polynesia says it herself, quite bluntly: “What would have been the good? … You wouldn't have
understood me if I had.” She had always used people's language with him because that was the
only language they shared.

Page 10 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Did you know? Polynesia is careful, not unkind. She waits until the Doctor is ready
to learn — the very afternoon he picks up a book and a pencil — and only then starts
the lessons.

I. 1 (iii) Identify whether the following statement is true or false. Polynesia had been
munching on a food item while talking to Doctor Dolittle.

True.
The proof is in the stage-like detail the writer slips into the middle of her speech: she spoke
“dusting some cracker crumbs off her left wing”. Crumbs on a wing mean she had been eating a
cracker — a thin, dry biscuit — while she talked.

Tip: In an extract question, the answer is often hidden in a descriptive phrase rather
than in the dialogue. Read what the characters do, not only what they say.

I. 1 (iv) How did Doctor Dolittle feel according to the extract? A. anxious B. surprised C.
angry D. relaxed

The correct option is B. surprised.
Two of his lines carry the feeling: “Good Gracious!” cried the Doctor, and “My! You don't say so!”
Both are exclamations of amazement, and the verb ‘cried' shows he blurted them out.

Why not the others: He is not anxious (nothing threatens him), not angry (he is
delighted enough to run for a book and pencil), and not relaxed — a relaxed man
does not shout ‘Good Gracious!' and rush to the drawer.

Page 11 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

I. 2 (i) Read the extract and answer: “I would like a pair like yours,” said the horse
—“only green. They'll keep the Sun out of my eyes while I'm ploughing the field.”
/ “Certainly,” said the Doctor. “Green ones you shall have.” / “You know, the
trouble is, Sir,” said the plough horse as the Doctor opened the front door to let
him out—“the trouble is that anybody thinks he can doctor animals—just
because the animals don't complain. As a matter of fact, it takes a much cleverer
man to be a really good animal doctor than it does to be a good people's doctor.”
— Choose a word from the extract to complete the analogy. digging: flower bed::
______: field

The word is ploughing.

digging : flower bed :: ploughing : field

The relationship is action → the piece of ground on which that action is done. You dig a
flower bed; you plough a field. The extract supplies the word in the horse's own line: “while I'm
ploughing the field.”

I. 2 (ii) Choose the correct word to complete the sentence. Doctor Dolittle's attitude in
the extract is ______. A. respectful B. sentimental C. understanding D. careful

The correct option is C. understanding.
The horse asks for something unusual — spectacles, and green ones at that — and gives a
reason of its own. Dolittle neither laughs nor argues. He simply answers, “Certainly … Green ones
you shall have,” because he has grasped what the animal actually needs.

Why the others are weaker: respectful and careful describe manners, not the
point of the extract; sentimental would mean he is being emotional about the
horse, but he is being practical — he accepts the animal's own account of its
problem.

Page 12 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

I. 2 (iii) Complete the sentence with an appropriate reason. Based on the extract, we
can conclude that doctors take animals for granted because ______.

A suitable completion:

… because animals cannot complain in a language people understand, so a careless vet is

never questioned or corrected.

The horse says exactly this: “anybody thinks he can doctor animals—just because the animals don't
complain.” Its own vet had treated it for six weeks “for something or the other”, kept giving it big
pills, and never once looked at its eyes — and the horse could not tell him he was wrong.

Other acceptable wordings: “… because animals cannot describe their pain or
object to wrong treatment”, or “… because no animal can go and tell others that the
doctor failed.”

I. 2 (iv) Do you agree with the concluding sentence of the extract? Why/why not?

The concluding sentence is: “it takes a much cleverer man to be a really good animal doctor than it
does to be a good people's doctor.”
Yes, I agree — for one strong reason: an animal doctor gets no case history. A human patient
walks in and says, “I have had a headache for three days and light hurts my eyes.” A horse can
only stand there. The vet must reach the same conclusion from swelling, gait, breathing,
appetite and the look of the eye alone. That takes sharper observation, not less.
The story backs the horse up: the vet over the hill had six weeks and still missed a plain problem
of eyesight, while Dolittle solved it in one conversation.

The other side, fairly stated: One could argue that a people's doctor faces harder
cases in some ways — patients hide symptoms, exaggerate, or refuse treatment. So
the honest answer is that the two jobs are differently difficult. But on the horse's
own point — diagnosing without words — it is clearly right.

Page 13 of 108

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Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

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How can we say that Polynesia was a good trainer of animal language?
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She starts with the alphabet. The Doctor asks for “the Birds' A.B.C. first” and she gives it —
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She sets the right speed. She lets
sits on the kitchen table the whole afternoon “giving him bird words to put down in the
book”. Patience over one long session, not a rushed lesson.
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She uses examples he already knows. ‘Polly wants a cracker' (which he understands) is set

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against ‘Ka-ka oi-ee, fee-fee?' (which he does not), so he can feel the difference between the
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She teaches beyond words. When Jip comes in at teatime she moves straight to body
language — “animals don't always speak with their mouths … They talk with their ears, with

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their feet, with their tails”, and points out the twitching nose that means a question.

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The result proves the teaching. “After a while, with the parrot's help, the Doctor got to

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learn the language of the animals so well that he could talk to them himself and understand
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Explain how Doctor Dolittle gave equal and individual attention to each animal
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He treated every animal as a patient with a name and a need of its own, whatever its size.
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He listened to each one personally. “As soon as they found that he could talk their

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language, they told him where
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He accepted an animal's own choice. The plough horse did not just get spectacles — it got
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green ones, because it explained that green would keep the Sun out while it ploughed.

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Dolittle answered, “Green ones you shall have.”
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the side door, ‘SHEEP' on the kitchen door — “Each kind of animal had a separate door—even

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the mice had a tiny tunnel made for them into the cellar.”
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e have them for you next week … Come in again Tuesday—Good
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He gave follow-up dates. “I'll
morning!” A real appointment, exactly as for a human patient.

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a g l Page 14 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why it happens: Because he could hear each animal, he never had to treat
“animals” as one crowd. He treated this horse, this mouse — and that is what
individual attention means.

II. 3 How does Doctor Dolittle's readiness to follow the parrot's advice highlight the
importance of listening to different viewpoints?

The advice that changed his whole life came from the two people the world would have ignored
— an illiterate cat's-meat seller and a parrot. Dolittle listened to both.

The Cat's-food-Man “can't read or write” himself, yet he had understood the value of Dolittle's
book. Dolittle did not brush him aside.
Polynesia was a pet in a window, but she knew something no vet in England knew — that
animals have languages. He took her seriously enough to fetch a book and a pencil and
become her student.

Why it matters: Expertise and experience are not the same thing. The trained vets
over the hill had the degrees; the parrot had lived inside the world of animals.
Dolittle's willingness to hear a viewpoint from outside his profession gave him
knowledge no textbook could.

The lesson for us is plain: judge an idea by what it is worth, not by who happens to be saying it.
Dolittle became “the best doctor in the world” for animals precisely because he did not think he
already knew everything.

Page 15 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

II. 4 Which qualities of Doctor Dolittle made him famous among the animals? Explain
with evidence from the text.

QUALITY EVIDENCE FROM THE TEXT

Open-mindedness He believes a parrot when she says animals can talk, instead of laughing at her —
“This is interesting—very interesting—something quite new.”

Eagerness to learn He fetches a book and a pencil at once and spends a whole rainy afternoon
writing down bird words.

Patient listening He lets the horse tell its own story about the vet over the hill without interrupting
or dismissing it.

Respect for the “I would like a pair like yours … only green.” — “Certainly. Green ones you shall
patient's wish have.”

Thoughtfulness and Separate doors for horses, cows and sheep, and a tiny tunnel into the cellar for
planning the mice.

Fairness to every He treats badgers, bats and harvest mice as readily as valuable farm animals.
creature

Genuine skill The horse's blindness, missed for six weeks by a trained vet, is cured — “a blind
horse was a thing unknown.”

Together these qualities made the animals themselves his messengers: “Now all these animals
went back and told their brothers and friends that there was a doctor in the little house with the
big garden who really was a doctor.”

II. 5 What changes do you think would happen in the world if people suddenly gained
the ability like Doctor Dolittle, to understand and communicate with animals?

The change would reach far beyond medicine. Here is how I would organise the answer:

Page 16 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

AREA WHAT WOULD CHANGE

Veterinary care Diagnosis would become quick and exact — no more guessing, no more six weeks of
wrong pills

Farming and work Bullocks, horses and elephants could say when a load is too heavy or a harness is cutting;
animals overwork would be harder to hide

Wildlife and Animals could report where a forest is drying up, where poachers move, which corridor
conservation they use to cross a highway

Disasters Birds and animals often sense storms and earthquakes early; they could give warnings

Food and ethics Hard questions would arise about how we keep, use and eat animals — many people
would change their habits

Everyday life Street dogs, cows and pigeons in our cities would become neighbours with opinions, not
scenery

Sample answer (short form): I think the biggest change would not be in science
but in conscience. Once a bullock could say that its shoulder hurts, or a caged bird
could ask to be let out, we could no longer pretend not to know. Treatment would
get better, cruelty would get harder, and forests would be managed with advice from
the animals that live in them. The world would be noisier — and much fairer.

Link to the text: Lofting hints at this himself. The moment Dolittle can hear animals,
one district's horses stop going blind. Multiply that by every species and every
country, and you have the answer.

Let us learn — Pages 52 to 55
Animals, Birds, and Dr. Dolittle — Compound Words, Palindromes and the Present Perfect

GRAMMAR VOCABULARY

I (a) Read the following words from the text. Cat's-food-Man, bird language, flowerpots.
Are all the words that are combined to form another word written the same way?

No, they are not. All three are compound words, but each is written in a different style.

Page 17 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

WORD HOW IT IS WRITTEN TYPE OF COMPOUND

Cat's-food-Man Parts joined by hyphens Hyphenated

bird language Parts written separately, with a space Open compound

flowerpots Parts joined with no gap at all Closed compound

Remember: A compound word is formed by combining two words of different parts
of speech to make a new word with an entirely new meaning. The three types are
hyphenated, open and closed.

Page 18 of 108

as e
Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
m.
Complete the following table correctly by choosing words from the box given
e
I (b)

m l as
.co
below. An example has been done for you.

a g
se m
g l a
a sailor song teatime check-in plough horse

m
.co ag
harvest mice windowsill well-bred

sem
la COMPOUND
HYPHENATED agOPEN CLOSED COMPOUND
WORDS WORDS WORDS

co m
check-in
e m.
m l as
m .co a g
l a se
a g
m a s
m.co agl
l a se
g
The word box and the table as printed on page 52, blank except for the example.

a

co m
m .
se

com WORDS l a
m . ag COMPOUND WORDS
ase
HYPHENATED OPEN COMPOUND WORDS CLOSED

agl check-in (example) sailor song teatime

se m
well-bred plough horse
com
windowsill
g l a
m . a
ase
agl
harvest mice

m
How to sort them quickly: Look at the printing, not the meaning. A hyphen in the

. co
m
middle → hyphenated. A space in the middle → open. No gap at all → closed. That is

m ase
.co l
the only test you need.
a g
se m
g l a
a Tip: The same idea can appear in more than one style over time (tea time → tea-time
c
m .
e
→ teatime). Always follow the spelling used in your textbook or dictionary.
m a s
e m . co agl
g l as
a

co m
m .
m as e
.co


a g l Page 19 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

II (a) Create compound words from the table given below.

A B

1. fun (i) head

2. high (ii) birds

3. never (iii) flying

4. early (iv) loving

5. song (v) risers

6. over (vi) tops

7. tree (vii) ending

The table on page 53. The arrow shows the example the book has already done: A 1
goes with B (iv).

A B COMPOUND WORD MEANING

1. fun (iv) loving fun-loving Enjoying life and amusement

2. high (iii) flying high-flying Flying (or succeeding) at a great height

3. never (vii) ending never-ending Going on and on without stopping

4. early (v) risers early risers Those who get up early in the morning

5. song (ii) birds songbirds Birds known for their musical calls

6. over (i) head overhead Above one's head; in the sky

7. tree (vi) tops treetops The uppermost branches of trees

Notice: the seven answers cover all three styles — hyphenated (fun-loving, high-
flying, never-ending), open (early risers) and closed (songbirds, overhead, treetops).

Page 20 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

II (b) Now, complete the paragraph with suitable compound words from the table. An
example has been done for you.

A B

1. fun (i) head

2. high (ii) birds

3. never (iii) flying

4. early (iv) loving

5. song (v) risers

6. over (vi) tops

7. tree (vii) ending

The table on page 53. The arrow shows the example the book has already done: A 1
goes with B (iv).

After being treated by Doctor Dolittle, the A. fun-loving dolphins danced playfully
in his sanctuary. The B. ______ chatter of monkeys echoed through the C. ______,
their ailments cured. D. ______ eagles soared gracefully E. ______ their health
restored. F. ______ among the G. ______ chirped joyfully from the branches. All
creatures were happy with Doctor Dolittle's care.

The completed paragraph:

After being treated by Doctor Dolittle, the A. fun-loving dolphins danced playfully in his

sanctuary.

The B. never-ending chatter of monkeys echoed through the C. treetops, their ailments

cured.

D. High-flying eagles soared gracefully E. overhead, their health restored.

F. Early risers among the G. songbirds chirped joyfully from the branches.

All creatures were happy with Doctor Dolittle's care.

Page 21 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

How each blank is decided:

B needs an adjective before ‘chatter' — monkey chatter that never stops is never-
ending.
C needs a place for the sound to echo through — the treetops, where monkeys
live.
D describes eagles, which fly very high — high-flying.
E tells where they soared — overhead.
F is the subject of the last sentence and G follows ‘among the', so the pair must
be early risers and songbirds.

Also acceptable: “Songbirds among the early risers chirped joyfully…” Both
readings use the same two words and make sense; check which one your teacher
prefers.

III Underline the names of animals that are hidden in the sentences given below. Clues
are given within the brackets. An example has been done for you. 1. Dr. Dolittle was
eating oatmeal for his breakfast. (a farm animal) 2. Old ladies began to bring him
their pets. (an insect) 3. The author sees the connection between humans and
animals. (a farm animal) 4. The three baby dinosaurs are from ice age. (field animal)
5. The patients who came late didn't know where to go. (ship of the desert)

Each animal hides across a word boundary. Read the letters straight through, ignoring the
spaces.

NO. SENTENCE (HIDDEN LETTERS MARKED) CLUE ANIMAL

1 Dr. Dolittle was eating oatmeal for his breakfast. a farm animal GOAT

2 Old ladies began to bring him their pets. an insect ANT

3 The author sees the connection between humans and a farm animal HORSE
animals.

4 The three baby dinosaurs are from ice age. field animal MICE

5 The patients who came late didn't know where to go. ship of the CAMEL
desert

Page 22 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Tip: To solve these puzzles, copy the sentence without spaces and then run your
finger along, looking for the animal name. “eatingoatmeal” gives goat at once.

IV (a) Read the following sentence from the text. Study the highlighted words. But that
stupid man over the hill never even looked at my eyes. The highlighted words
spell and read the same backwards too. Read the sentences below and identify
the palindrome words and sentences. 1. Step on no pets. 2. Naman saw a race car
at the show. 3. Nitin speaks in Malayalam. 4. The engineer used a rotator to check
the surface level. 5. The pilot relied on the radar to navigate safely. 6. Eva can I
see bees in a cave?

In the sentence from the text — “But that stupid man over the hill never even looked at my eyes” —
the highlighted words are never even. Written without the space they give nevereven, which
reads exactly the same from either end.
Now the exercise. A palindrome is a word, phrase or sequence that reads the same backwards
as forwards.

NO. SENTENCE PALINDROME(S) WORD OR WHOLE SENTENCE?

1 Step on no pets. Step on no pets The whole sentence — steponnopets
reversed is steponnopets

2 Naman saw a race car at Naman, racecar Words
the show.

3 Nitin speaks in Nitin, Malayalam Words
Malayalam.

4 The engineer used a rotator, level Words
rotator to check the
surface level.

5 The pilot relied on the radar Word
radar to navigate safely.

6 Eva can I see bees in a Eva can I see bees in a The whole sentence —
cave? cave evacaniseebeesinacave reads the same
both ways

Page 23 of 108

as e
Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
m.
Did you know? Some famous palindromes are ‘Was it a car or a cat I saw?', ‘Madam,

as e
comcapitals and punctuation. l
I'm Adam' and ‘A man, a plan, a canal—Panama'. In a palindrome sentence we
. a g
em
ignore spaces,
a s
agl

co m
ag
Now, create your own palindrome and share it with your classmates and the
.
IV (b)

e m
as
teacher.

a g l

Method — build outwards from the middle:
co m
se m.
m a
1. Choose a short middle letter or word, e.g. d or a.
o l
.c same letters on both sides, one pair at a time: d → ada →agmadam.
m
2. Add the

l a se a sentence, write the first half, then reverse it and hunt for real words in the reversed
3. For
ag letters.
m a s
agl
Palindrome words to start with: madam, level, civic, refer, kayak, noon, radar, rotor, deified,
racecar, Malayalam, Nitin, Naman, Anna.
m .co
l a se
Sample answers (my own): a g
No lemon, no melon.
co m
m .
e
Was it a rat I saw?
m l as
.co a g
Never odd or even.

se m Star? Comedy by Democrats!
g l a
a Write yours on a slip of paper, hand it to your partner, and let them check it letter by

se m
com a
letter from the end.

. a g l
m
ase
agl

co m
m .
m as e
.co a g l
se m
g l a
a c
m .
m a s e
e m . co agl
g l as
a

co m
m .
m ase
.co


a g l Page 24 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

V Underline the verbs and identify the tense form in the following sentences from the
text. 1. He is asking you a question. 2. Oh, there are plenty of animal doctors. 3. I am
going blind in one eye. 4. … the trouble is that anybody thinks he can doctor
animals.

NO. SENTENCE (VERBS IN BOLD) TENSE

1 He is asking you a question. Present continuous

2 Oh, there are plenty of animal doctors. Simple present

3 I am going blind in one eye. Present continuous

4 … the trouble is that anybody thinks he can doctor animals. Simple present

How to tell them apart: The present continuous always has the shape am / is / are
+ verb + -ing and shows an action in progress. The simple present is the plain verb
form (is, are, thinks) and states a fact or a habit.

Tip: In sentence 4 the modal can is followed by the bare verb doctor — here ‘doctor'
is used as a verb meaning ‘to treat medically'.

VI Read the following sentences from the text. • That man's (man has) got sense. •
Can't you see that it has stopped raining? Fill in the blanks using the correct form of
verbs (present perfect) given within brackets. Since becoming an animal doctor,
Doctor Dolittle 1. ______ (learn) to communicate with all animals and birds. He 2.
______ (treat) countless farm animals and pets with care. The parrot, Polynesia, 3.
______ (teach) him bird-language, and he 4. ______ (write) books about his adventures.
Many people 5. ______ (bring) their sick animals to his door. Over the years, Dolittle 6.
______ (become) renowned worldwide for his unique abilities.

The present perfect is formed as has / have + V3 (past participle).

Page 25 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

1. has learnt (or has learned)

2. has treated

3. has taught
4. has written

5. have brought

6. has become

The whole paragraph reads:
Since becoming an animal doctor, Doctor Dolittle has learnt to communicate with all animals and
birds. He has treated countless farm animals and pets with care. The parrot, Polynesia, has taught
him bird-language, and he has written books about his adventures. Many people have brought their
sick animals to his door. Over the years, Dolittle has become renowned worldwide for his unique
abilities.

VERB (V1) PAST PARTICIPLE (V3) HELPING VERB NEEDED

learn learnt / learned has (Dolittle — singular)

treat treated has (He)

teach taught has (Polynesia)

write written has (he)

bring brought have (Many people — plural)

become become has (Dolittle)

Why the present perfect here: Every sentence links a past action to the present —
“Since becoming an animal doctor…”, “Over the years…”. That is exactly what the
present perfect is for: an action begun in the past whose result still matters now.

Watch out: Only blank 5 takes have, because its subject ‘Many people' is plural. All
the others take has.

Let us listen — Page 55

Page 26 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Animals, Birds, and Dr. Dolittle

LISTENING

I You will listen to an announcement. As you listen, state whether the following
statement is true or false. (Transcript for the teacher on pg. 88) Dr. Dolittle's new
clinic presents an offer of free medicines.

False.
The announcement gives the clinic's town, address, timings, special timings for birds, the kinds
of animals welcome and the promise of “the best care possible” — but it says nothing at all
about medicines being free. No offer, no discount, no price is mentioned anywhere.

Listening tip: For a true/false task, do not judge whether the statement sounds
likely. Ask only one thing — did the speaker actually say it? If it was never said, the
statement is false.

II You will listen to the announcement again. As you listen, complete the details given
below with one or two exact words you hear. 1. The new clinic is located in the town
of ______. 2. The address is 12, ______ Lane. 3. The clinic is open Monday to Friday from
______ a.m. to 5 p.m. 4. Special timings for ______ are on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2
p.m. 5. Dr. Dolittle will ensure that animals get the ______. 6. All animals—horses,
cows, ______, wild animals, and others are welcome.

NO. DETAIL ANSWER WORDS HEARD IN THE ANNOUNCEMENT

1 Town Woodstock “…new clinic in the town of Woodstock.”

2 Address Rose “The clinic is located at 12, Rose Lane.”

3 Opening time 9 “open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.”

4 Saturday special timings birds “Special timings for birds are on Saturdays…”
for

5 What he ensures animals best care “…shall ensure that they receive the best care
get possible.”

6 Third kind of animal listed pets “from horses and cows to pets and wild animals.”

Page 27 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Tip: The task asks for “one or two exact words”. Do not paraphrase — write Rose, not
Rose Lane road; write best care, not very good treatment.

Let us speak — Pages 55 & 56
Animals, Birds, and Dr. Dolittle

SPEAKING

I Conversation between a doctor and a patient. • Read the information about the
problems 1–4. • Use the cue cards provided to guide your conversation. • Take turns
to play parts of doctor and patient. Problem 1: Cough and cold — Solution: Ginger
and honey mix; Additional Advice: Drink warm fluids and rest. Problem 2: Dry lips —
Solution: Apply ghee; Additional Advice: Stay hydrated and avoid wetting your lips.
Problem 3: Sore throat — Solution: Gargle with warm salt water; Additional Advice:
Drink herbal teas and avoid cold drinks. Problem 4: Fatigue — Solution: Ensure
adequate sleep and a balanced diet; Additional Advice: Take short walks to increase
energy levels.

Follow the six steps on the cue cards, turn by turn. Keep each turn to one or two sentences so
the conversation moves.

STEP DOCTOR PATIENT

1 Greet the patient Respond to the greeting

2 Enquire about the problem Tell your problem

3 Ask about symptoms Describe the symptoms

4 Make a diagnosis and give the solution Ask for clarification

5 Provide additional advice Acknowledge and ask about the next appointment

6 Share details of the next appointment Express agreement and thank the doctor

Page 28 of 108

ase
Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
m.
Sample conversation — Problem 3: Sore throat

mmorning, Doctor. Thank you. as e
l
Doctor: Good morning. Please come in and sit down.
. c o a g
m
Patient: Good
e
as What seems to be the trouble?
g l
Doctor:
aPatient: My throat has been hurting since yesterday, Doctor.
Doctor: Does it hurt when you swallow? Any fever or cough?
co m
.
Patient: Yes, it hurts when I swallow, and my voice has gone rough. There is no
m ag
fever.
l a se
ag with warm salt water three times a day.
Doctor: It is a sore throat. Gargle
Patient: How much salt should I put in the water, Doctor?

co m
m.
Doctor: Half a teaspoon in a glass of warm water is enough. Also drink herbal teas

m
and avoid cold drinks and ice cream.
as e
.co
Patient: I understand. Should I come again?
a g l
a s em Come and see me on Thursday if it has not settled by then.
gl Patient: Certainly, Doctor. Thank you very much.
Doctor:
a
a s
Sample conversation — Problem 1:.Cough com and cold agl
Doctor: Good afternoon. How a s em
g l are you today?
a I have been coughing all week.
Patient: Not very well, Doctor.

m
Doctor: Is your nose blocked? Do you feel cold in the evenings?

. co
m
Patient: Yes, both. And the cough is worse at night.

as e
com twice a day. l
Doctor: It is a common cough and cold. Take a spoon of ginger and honey mixed
. a g
m
asePatient: Should I take it before or after meals?
together,

agl Doctor: After meals. Drink plenty of warm fluids and take proper rest.

se m
om a
Patient: Thank you. When should I come again?
. ccontinues. a g l
emyou so much.
Doctor: Next Monday, if the cough

a s
agl
Patient: All right, Doctor. Thank

co
What earns marks in this task: polite openings and closings, at least one clarifying
m
m .
e
question from the patient, symptoms described in detail rather than in one word,
m l as
.co g
and a clear next appointment at the end. Use the same frame for Problems 2 and 4,

em a
s
changing only the symptoms and the remedy.
l a
ag c
m .
m a s e
Let us write — Page 57
e m . co agl
g l as
a

co m
m .
m ase
.co


a g l Page 29 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Animals, Birds, and Dr. Dolittle — Notice Writing

WRITING

I Write a notice in about 50 words about the Annual Health Check-up for students of
Grades 6–8. Remind students to collect their health check-up cards from the class
teacher. Include all other necessary details about date, time, and venue. Complete
the draft of the notice by using the words and phrases given in the box below. [Box:
inform, queries, health card, health check-up, assembly hall, Grades 6–8, please
contact, Thursday and Friday]

The completed draft:

Name of the School
NOTICE
12 July 20XX
ANNUAL HEALTH CHECK-UP
This is to inform all the students of Grades 6–8 about the Annual Health Check-up.
Date: Thursday and Friday, 27 and 28 July 20XX
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Venue: Assembly hall
All students are requested to bring their health card for the check-up.
For queries or further details please contact the undersigned.
Asma
Asma
In-charge

Page 30 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

BLANK WORD FROM THE WHY IT FITS
BOX

Heading Annual Health Check-up A notice must name its subject in a bold
heading

This is to ____ all the inform The purpose verb of every notice
students…

Date: ____, 27 and 28 July Thursday and Friday Two dates are given, so two days are named

Venue: ____ assembly hall The only place named in the box

…bring their ____ health card The card students must collect from the class
teacher

For ____ or further details queries ‘Queries' = questions

…____ the undersigned please contact The polite formal closing line

Remember (from the book):

Use formal language in the third person — never “I want to tell you…”.
Give the reason for the notice and all relevant information — whom to contact,
when and where.
Write the notice inside a box.
Keep it to about 50 words, and always include the date of issue, the heading, the
body, and the name and designation of the writer.

Sample answer (a full 50-word notice you can write on your own):
SUNRISE PUBLIC SCHOOL — NOTICE
12 July 20XX
ANNUAL HEALTH CHECK-UP
This is to inform all students of Grades 6–8 that the Annual Health Check-up will be
held on Thursday and Friday, 27 and 28 July 20XX, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in the
assembly hall. Kindly collect your health card from your class teacher and bring it
along. For queries, please contact the undersigned.
Asma, In-charge

Let us explore — Page 58

Page 31 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Animals, Birds, and Dr. Dolittle

PROJECT

I The word ‘goshala' translates to ‘cowshed' in English. It is a Sanskrit word that is
made up of the words ‘go', which means ‘cow', and śālā, which means ‘shed' or ‘hall'.
Plan a visit with the teacher to a ‘goshala' and find out how the cows are looked
after.

How to plan the visit

1. With your teacher, find the nearest goshala — many are run by temples, gaushala trusts or
municipal bodies. Take written permission from the school and from the goshala in-charge.
2. Go in the morning, when feeding, milking and cleaning are all happening.
3. Carry a notebook, and prepare your questions before you go.
4. Do not feed or touch the animals without the caretaker's permission.

Questions to ask the caretaker

How many cows are here, and how many are old or abandoned?
What is the daily feed — green fodder, dry fodder, oil cake, mineral mixture? How much per
cow?
How often is the shed cleaned, and where does the dung go (compost, gobar gas)?
Who is the visiting veterinary doctor, and how often does he come?
How is the shed kept cool in summer and warm in winter?
Where does the money come from — donations, milk sales, government help?

Sample report: We visited the Shri Gopal Goshala on the edge of our town. It keeps
84 cows, of which 30 are too old to give milk. The cows are fed green fodder twice a
day and a mineral mixture in the evening; drinking water is kept in a long stone
trough that is scrubbed daily. The sheds are washed every morning and the dung
goes into a gobar-gas plant that runs the kitchen. A veterinary doctor visits every
Wednesday. The caretaker told us that the hardest part is summer, so they have put
up jute curtains and fans. We came back understanding what Doctor Dolittle knew
— an animal that is looked after properly hardly ever falls ill.

Word note: go (गो) = cow + śālā (शाला) = shed or hall → goshala. The same śālā
appears in pathshala (school) and dharmashala (rest house).

Page 32 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

II Ayurveda is the oldest existing medical system in India. Animals received good
medicinal care in ancient India. Indian medical treatises like Charaka Samhita,
Sushruta Samhita, and Harita Samhita contain references of care of animals. Find
out names of different organisations that work for the welfare of animals with the
help of the teacher.

Method: Look in three places — a government website, your city's municipal corporation page,
and a local newspaper's city section. Then make a table like the one below and add the
organisations working in your own district.

ORGANISATION LEVEL WHAT IT DOES

Animal Welfare Board of India National (statutory Advises the government on animal welfare
(AWBI) body, set up 1962) law and funds shelters

SPCA — Society for Prevention of District level, in most Rescues cruelly treated animals and files
Cruelty to Animals districts complaints under the law

Blue Cross of India (Chennai) City / national Animal hospital, rescue ambulance,
adoption, sterilisation drives

People For Animals (PFA) National, with many city Shelters, mobile clinics, rescue helplines
units

Wildlife SOS National Rescues elephants, bears and leopards;
runs rehabilitation centres

Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) National Wild animal rescue, habitat protection,
human–animal conflict work

Bombay Natural History Society National Bird and wildlife research and
(BNHS) conservation since 1883

Friendicoes SECA (Delhi) City Street animal hospital, ambulance and
adoption

Local goshalas and pinjrapoles Town / village Care for abandoned cattle; pinjrapoles are
a very old Indian institution

Page 33 of 108

as e
Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
m.
Did you know? The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 is the law behind

m l a se
most of this work, and the emperor Ashoka set up what may be the world's first
o
.c a g “for men and
m
animal hospitals — his rock edicts record medical treatment arranged
se
foraanimals”.
l
g
Shalihotra Samhita, an ancient Indian text on horses, and
aHastyayurveda, on elephants, are early veterinary treatises.

co m
em . ag
g l as
a
III What is the best way to take care of stray and abandoned animals? 1. Provide food
and water for the animal 2. Take them to an animal shelter 3. Adopt them by taking

m
them home. Give reasons for your responses.
co
e m.
m l as
.co g

m a
l a se
All three are good, but they suit different situations. The honest answer is that no single

a g option is best for every animal — you must match the response to the animal's condition.

m a s
.co agl
OPTION BEST WHEN… REASON LIMITATION

a s emEasiest, safest and can be
l done daily by anyone; a fed
1. Provide food The animal is healthy Does not help an injured or
and settled in itsgown
and water
street
a street dog is calmer and less
sick animal at all

om
likely to bite

. c
s m are often crowded;
etheir
com a
2. Take them to The animal is injured, Only a shelter or SPCA has a Shelters

.
an animal ill, very young or in veterinary doctor, medicines,
a g l call helpline first

e m
as
shelter danger sterilisation and vaccination

agl 3. Adopt them Your family agrees Gives one animal a Never do it on impulse; an
by taking them and can care for the permanent, secure home — animal returned to the street
se m
com g l a
. a
home animal for its whole the most complete help of all is worse off than before

m
ase
life

agl
My response: I would begin with 1 for every stray in my lane — a bowl of clean

. c om
water outside the gate costs nothing. The moment an animal is hurt or ill, I would

s e m asking everyone
move to 2 and phone the district SPCA. I would choose 3 only after
m a not for a week.
agl
.catohome, because adoption is a promise for ten or fifteen years,

se m
g l a
a c
Why it matters: Doctor Dolittle's success came from doing the right thing for that
m .
m
particular animal — spectacles for a half-blind horse, a tunnel for the mice. Caring
a s e
for strays works the same way.
e m . co agl
g l as
a

co m
m .
m as e
.co


a g l Page 34 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Let us do these activities before we read — Page 59
A Funny Man

BEFORE YOU READ

I Look around you for things or people that make you laugh. Write them in the
bubbles given below. Share the reasons for your answers with your classmates and
the teacher. (Things I Find Funny)

Fill the bubbles printed on page 59 with short phrases, not full sentences — then be ready to
say why each one makes you laugh.

THINGS I FIND FUNNY WHY IT MAKES ME LAUGH

A puppy chasing its own tail It is working very hard at something
impossible

My little brother wearing my father's shoes The size is completely wrong for the person

Tenali Rama and Birbal stories A clever trick catches a proud person out

A monkey stealing a packet of biscuits It behaves exactly like a naughty child

Someone answering a question with a completely wrong answer, The confidence does not match the mistake
very confidently

Tongue twisters said too fast The words come out jumbled and sound like
nonsense

Cartoons like Tom and Jerry, or Chhota Bheem Impossible things happen and nobody is hurt

Notice the pattern: almost everything funny comes from something being out of its
right place — a shoe on a head, a small child in huge shoes, a serious voice saying
nonsense. That is exactly the trick Natalie Joan uses in ‘A Funny Man'.

Sample answer: The thing I find funniest is my grandmother trying to use a mobile
phone. She holds it at arm's length, shouts into it as if the person were across a field,
and then says the call was very clear. It makes me laugh because she is doing
everything with total confidence and getting all of it wrong.

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Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Let us discuss — Pages 61 & 62
A Funny Man

COMPREHENSION POETIC DEVICES

I Work in pairs. Identify the true statements. Check your answers with the teacher. 1.
The poet says that she had never heard such an amusing song. 2. The funny man
was quite ill-mannered. 3. The funny man wore two hats on his feet. 4. The funny
man hopped on his head to reach home. 5. The funny man gave a rose to the poet.
6. The funny man smiled at the poet.

The true statements are 1, 3, 4 and 6.

NO. STATEMENT TRUE / LINE FROM THE POEM
FALSE

1 She had never heard such True “He then began to sing a song… You never heard
an amusing song in all your life / Such a funny feeling sound.”

2 The funny man was quite False “He raised the shoe and smiled at me, / His
ill-mannered manners were polite.” He was odd, but
courteous.

3 He wore two hats on his True “He wore a shoe upon his head / And hats upon
feet his feet.”

4 He hopped on his head to True “He turned the other way about, / And hopped
reach home home on his head.”

5 He gave a rose to the poet False He offered what he called a rose, but “taking out
a currant bun / He held it to my nose.”

6 He smiled at the poet True “He raised the shoe and smiled at me.”

Tip: Statement 5 is the trap. The poem shows a man announcing a rose and
producing a bun — the gap between the two is the joke.

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Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

II Identify the words from the poem based on the meanings given. Share your
answers with your classmates and the teacher. 1. a small seedless raisin – C __ R __ __
__ T 2. moved unsteadily – S __ __ G G __ __ __ D

NO. MEANING PATTERN WORD

1 a small seedless raisin C_R___T CURRANT

2 moved unsteadily S__GG___D STAGGERED

Both come straight from the poem: “taking out a currant bun” and “I staggered back against
the wall.”

Word note: Do not confuse currant (a small dried grape used in cakes and buns)
with current (a flow of water, air or electricity). They sound alike but are spelt
differently and mean quite different things.

III. 1 Complete the following sentence with a reason. The tone of the poem is ______
because ______.

The tone of the poem is light-hearted, humorous and playful because the poet describes

completely absurd behaviour — a shoe on the head, hats on the feet, a bun offered as a

rose — in a calm, polite, matter-of-fact voice, and never once scolds or corrects the

funny man.

The clash between the ordinary voice and the extraordinary events is what creates the comic
tone. The poet even answers him politely: “I never saw a rose with such / A funny looking smell.”

Other acceptable words for the tone: amusing, comic, whimsical, nonsensical,
cheerful. Avoid ‘serious', ‘sad' or ‘angry' — nothing in the poem supports them.

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Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

III. 2 Complete the following sentence with a reason. The rhyme scheme of the poem is
______; and it gives a ______ quality to the poem.

The rhyme scheme of the poem is ABCB; and it gives a musical, song-like (lilting) quality

to the poem.

In every stanza only the second and fourth lines rhyme:

STANZA LINE ENDINGS SCHEME

1 man / street / head / feet ABCB

2 me / polite / before / sight ABCB

3 present / rose / bun / nose ABCB

4 wall / “Well!” / such / smell ABCB

5 song / ground / life / sound ABCB

6 hats / said / about / head ABCB

Why it matters: ABCB is the scheme of nursery rhymes and ballads. It makes the
poem sound like something chanted or sung, which suits a nonsense poem perfectly
— you enjoy the sound and stop demanding sense.

III. 3 Complete the following sentence with a reason. The poet has frequently repeated
the word ‘funny' in order to ______.

The poet has frequently repeated the word ‘funny' in order to keep the comic mood running

through every stanza and to stress that everything about the man — his looks, his gift,

his sound and his going away — is equally absurd.

Page 38 of 108

as e
Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

The word appears five times: a funny kind of man, a funny sounding sight, a funny looking
co m
smell, a funny feeling sound. Each time it is attached to something different, so the strangeness
e m.
m l as
.co g
spreads from the man to his gift, to what he sounds like, to what he smells like.

em a
a s
gl the device: This deliberate repeating of a word is repetition. In poetry,
arepetition
Name
works like a drumbeat — it fixes one idea in the reader's mind. Here the

co
one idea is: nothing here is normal, and that is the fun of it.
m
e m . ag
g l as
a
IV. 1 Choose the correct answer from the options given in the brackets. The poem uses

co m
m.
vivid imagery to create a ______ (humorous and nonsensical/ confusing but
thought-provoking) scene.
m as e
.co a g l
se m
l a

g
a The correct choice is humorous and nonsensical.
m a s
m .co
The poem uses vivid imagery to create a humorous and nonsensical scene. agl
l a se
a g
The images — a shoe raised in greeting, hats on feet, a bun held to the nose, a man hopping

m
home on his head — are meant to make us laugh, not to make us think hard. There is no hidden

. co
m
problem to solve, so ‘confusing but thought-provoking' does not fit.

m as e
.co a g l
a s em
a gl IV. 2 Choose the correct answer from the options given in the brackets. The structure of

m
the poem is in ______ (monologue/ dialogue) form.

a se
. com a g l
The correct choice is dialogue.las
em

ag

co m
.
The structure of the poem is in dialogue form.

se m
o m l a
g are in quotation marks:
m .c speakers actually talk to each other, and both sets of words
Two
a
a se
agl
The man: “Allow me to present Your Highness with a rose.”
The poet: “Well! I never saw a rose with such a funny looking smell.”
.c
s e m
m a
co agl
The poet again: “My friend, why do you wear two hats upon your feet?”

m .
ase
a g l

co m
m .
m ase
.co


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Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Word note: A monologue is one person speaking alone; a dialogue is an exchange
between two or more. Here the exchange is one-sided in a funny way — the man
answers the last question not with words but by hopping away on his head.

IV. 3 Choose the correct answer from the options given in the brackets. The phrases
‘sounding sight' and ‘hopped home' are examples of ______. (alliteration/simile)

The correct choice is alliteration.

‘sounding sight' → repeated s sound

‘hopped home' → repeated h sound

Alliteration is the repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words placed
close together. A simile would need a comparison using like or as — there is none here.

Try this: Say the two phrases aloud. The repeated sound makes them bounce, which
is why they stay in your ear long after you close the book.

V. 1 Rewrite the following line from the poem in the correct order. But never had I seen
before / Such a funny sounding sight.

In normal (prose) word order the lines become:

But I had never seen such a funny sounding sight before.

POEM (INVERTED) NORMAL ORDER

But never had I seen before / Such a funny sounding But I had never seen such a funny sounding sight
sight. before.

Why the poet inverted it: This is inversion — changing the usual word order to
keep the rhythm and to bring the rhyming word (before … sight) to the end of the
line. Putting ‘never' first also adds emphasis: it is the surprise that matters most.

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Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Other inversions in the poem: “You never heard in all your life / Such a funny
feeling sound” → You never heard such a funny feeling sound in all your life.

V. 2 Why has the poet used phrases like ‘funny sounding sight' and ‘funny feeling
sound' with reference to the funny man?

Because the phrases themselves are as mixed up as the man. The poet deliberately swaps the
senses around:

PHRASE WHAT IS WRONG WITH IT WHAT IT SHOULD LOGICALLY
BE

a funny sounding sight A sight is seen, not heard a funny looking sight

a funny feeling sound A sound is heard, not touched or a funny sounding noise
felt

a rose with a funny looking A smell is smelt, not seen a funny smelling rose
smell

The man wears his shoe where his hat should be and his hats where his shoes should be. The
poet describes him in language where hearing, seeing and feeling are swapped in exactly the
same way — so the words match the man.

Name the device: Mixing up the senses like this is called synaesthesia (in simpler
terms, a transferred epithet — the adjective is deliberately attached to the wrong
noun). It is a favourite tool of nonsense verse because it makes the reader stumble
and then smile.

VI Can you think of any real-world situations where people do similar things for fun,
entertainment, or performance? Share with your classmates and the teacher.

Yes — plenty. Wherever people break the ordinary rules on purpose, in order to make others
laugh:

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Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

SITUATION WHAT IS TURNED UPSIDE DOWN

Circus clowns Enormous shoes, tiny hats, trousers that fall down, a car full
of twenty people

Street performers and mime artists Standing frozen as a statue, walking against an invisible
wind

Fancy-dress and mismatch days at school Odd socks, clothes worn backwards, hair standing on end

Behrupiyas and folk jesters at Indian fairs One man changing costume and voice to become a
policeman, a sadhu, a bride

Vidushaka in Sanskrit drama; Tenali Rama and Speaking cheeky truth to kings while pretending to be foolish
Birbal in the court

Holi, Kerala's Pulikali and other festival processions Grown-ups painted as tigers, dancing in the street

Comedy shows, stand-up and April Fool pranks Serious voice, ridiculous content — exactly the funny man's
method

Sample answer: At our village fair last year a behrupiya walked about dressed as a
police inspector and “fined” people for laughing. Everyone knew he was not real, and
that was the whole joke — like the funny man raising a shoe instead of a hat, he was
being perfectly serious about something perfectly absurd.

Let us think and reflect — Pages 62 & 63
A Funny Man

EXTRACT-BASED COMPREHENSION

I. 1 (i) Read the extract and answer: He said, “Allow me to present / Your Highness with
a rose.” / And taking out a currant bun / He held it to my nose. / I staggered back
against the wall / And then I answered, “Well!” — Why does the funny man
address the poet as ‘Your Highness'?

He uses ‘Your Highness' as an exaggerated, mock-royal courtesy — the way a courtier would
speak to a king or queen.

It fits the rest of his manner. The poem has already told us “His manners were polite”, and he
raised his shoe in greeting as another man would raise his hat.

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Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

It is deliberately too grand for the occasion. The poet is an ordinary person standing in an
ordinary street, and what follows is not a jewel but a currant bun.
That gap between the lofty words and the silly gift is exactly where the humour lies.

Tip: When a character in a funny poem uses very formal language, ask what he is
actually doing at that moment. The bigger the gap, the bigger the joke.

I. 1 (ii) Choose a phrase from the extract which indicates a polite request.

The phrase is “Allow me to present”.
It is a formal, courteous way of asking permission before giving something — far more polite
than “Take this” or “Here you are”.

Other polite phrases of the same kind: May I…?, Would you mind…?, Could I
please…?, Permit me to…. Use one of these the next time you hand something to a
guest or a teacher.

I. 1 (iii) Choose the option which shows a ‘currant bun'. A. Image 1 B. Image 2 C. Image 3
D. Image 4

The correct option is A. Image 1.
A currant bun is a small, round, plain-topped sweet bread roll with dried currants baked inside
it, so the dark fruit shows as little bumps and spots through the golden crust. That is exactly
what Image 1 on page 62 shows.

OPTION WHAT THE PICTURE ACTUALLY SHOWS WHY IT IS NOT A CURRANT BUN

A. Image A round golden bun with dark fruit showing ✔ This is the currant bun
1 through the crust

B. Image 2 A bun topped with white icing and a red cherry That is an iced or cherry bun, not a plain
currant bun

C. Image 3 A ring with a hole in the middle That is a doughnut / bagel

D. Image A plain pale bread roll with no fruit at all That is an ordinary dinner roll (like a
4 pav)

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as e
Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
m.
Why the bun matters: A bun and a rose are alike in nothing except size. The man

m l a se
announces one and produces the other — and then the poet, keeping a straight
o
m .c that she never saw a rose “with such a funny lookingagsmell.”
face, replies

l a se
ag

co m
ag
Complete the sentence with an appropriate reason. When the poet says, ‘Well!',
.
I. 1 (iv)

e m
as
it expresses surprise. This was so because ______.

a g l

c o m
.
m had
s e
When the poet says, ‘Well!', it expresses surprise. This was so because the man

.
m
coannounced gla he actually held
that he was presenting her with a rose, but awhat
em
grandly
a s
a gl to her nose was a currant bun — and she was so taken aback that she staggered
out

s
back against the wall.
m a
em
.co agl
a s
gl cannot think of anything else to say.
‘Well!' is a one-word reaction. She has just been offered a bun to smell, by a man wearing a shoe
on his head, and for a momentashe

. c om
Other acceptable completions: “… because she had never before seen anyone

s em did not match
offer a bun in place of a rose”, or “… because the man's grand words
m a
. o
his cridiculous gift at all.”
a gl
a s em
agl
se m
I. 2 (i)
o m
Read the extract and answer: You never heard in all your life / Such a funny
c do you wear two hats / Upon your feet?” I said. / ag
feeling sound. / “My friend, .why l a
m
se about, / And hopped home on his head. — Choose the
l a
ag which tells us that the sound was unique.
He turned the other way
line from the extract

co m
m .
o m l a se
The line is “You never heard in all your life” (completed by “Such a funny feeling sound.”).
g you have not once come
.c words never … in all your life mean that in your whole lifetime
a
se m
The
a
agl
across anything like it. That is the strongest possible way of saying the sound was one of a kind.

.c
s e m
m a
agl
Notice: The poet uses ‘you', not ‘I' — she pulls the reader in and makes the claim
. co
e m
about everybody's experience, which makes the sound seem even rarer.

g l as
a

com
m .
m ase
.co


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Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

I. 2 (ii) Complete the sentence with an appropriate reason. The poet calls the funny
man ‘my friend' because ______.

The poet calls the funny man ‘my friend' because she wants to speak to him gently and

without offending him while asking a rather personal question about the hats on his

feet — ‘my friend' is a warm, informal way of addressing someone whose name you do

not know.

She is not, in fact, his friend at all; they have only just met in the street. But he has been polite to
her — he smiled, raised his shoe, and offered her a gift — so she answers his courtesy with
courtesy of her own.

Why it adds to the humour: Everything in this meeting is upside down except the
manners, which stay perfectly correct on both sides. Two people behave like old
friends while one of them wears hats on his feet.

I. 2 (iii) What does the reaction of the funny man to the poet's question tell us about
him?

He does not answer at all — “He turned the other way about, / And hopped home on his head.”
That silence tells us a great deal:

He owes nobody an explanation. To him there is nothing to explain: hats belong on feet
and shoes on heads, and that is that.
He is completely unselfconscious. A person who felt awkward would blush, laugh, or make
an excuse. He simply leaves — in the most extraordinary way possible.
He is unpredictable to the very end. His exit is stranger than his entrance, so the poem
finishes on a bigger laugh than it began with.
He is harmless and cheerful. He does not take offence at a personal question; he just turns
“the other way about” and goes.

Why the poet ends here: By refusing to explain, the funny man keeps his mystery.
If he had given a reason, the nonsense would have turned into sense — and the
poem would have lost its charm.

Page 45 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

I. 2 (iv) Choose the correct option to complete the sentence. The last line of the extract
makes the readers feel ______. A. dreamy B. impatient C. worried D. cheerful

The correct option is D. cheerful.
The last line — “And hopped home on his head” — is the funniest picture in the whole poem. It
is light, absurd and completely harmless, so the reader closes the poem smiling.

Why not the others: dreamy suggests a soft, faraway mood — but this line is sharp
and comic; impatient and worried suggest discomfort, and nothing bad happens to
anybody. Note also the alliteration of hopped–home–head, which makes the line
bounce along merrily.

II. 1 Which character trait of the funny man was most appealing to you? Why?

The trait I found most appealing is his unfailing politeness.
Everything else about him is upside down, but his manners never slip. He raises his shoe in
greeting instead of a hat; he smiles at a stranger; he says, “Allow me to present Your Highness
with a rose”; and when asked an awkward question he does not snap back — he simply goes
away. The poem says it plainly: “His manners were polite.”

Why this trait is the best one: It is what makes him funny rather than frightening.
A stranger behaving so oddly in the street could easily alarm anyone; because he is
courteous, the poet only staggers in surprise and then answers him just as politely.
Good manners turn a strange meeting into a happy one.

Other defensible answers: his self-confidence (he never apologises for being
different), or his imagination (he can call a bun a rose and mean it). Choose one and
support it with a line from the poem.

Page 46 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

II. 2 The funny man does unusual things in the poem. How does it affect the overall
mood of the poem?

His unusual actions keep the mood light, playful and cheerful from the first line to the last,
and they build it up steadily.

STANZA UNUSUAL ACTION EFFECT ON THE MOOD

1 Shoe on the head, hats on the feet Curiosity and a first smile

2 Raises the shoe politely in greeting Amusement — good manners in the wrong
costume

3–4 Offers a currant bun as a rose Surprise turning to laughter; the poet plays along

5 Sings a song and sits down on the Complete freedom from rules
ground

6 Hops home on his head The biggest laugh of all, at the very end

Because nothing he does is unkind or dangerous, the reader is never uneasy. The mood stays
nonsensical and warm — we are laughing with the situation, not at a victim.

II. 3 What alternative title would you suggest for the poem? Give reason(s) for your
choice.

My suggestion: “The Upside-Down Gentleman”.
Reasons:

Upside-down catches the one idea that runs through every stanza — shoe on head, hats on
feet, a bun for a rose, a smell you can look at, and a man who walks on his head.
Gentleman keeps the other half of the joke: his manners are perfect throughout.
It is short, it is curious, and it does not give the ending away.

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Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

OTHER GOOD TITLES WHAT EACH ONE HIGHLIGHTS

A Meeting in the Street The chance encounter that the whole poem grows from

Hats Upon His Feet The single most striking image

A Rose with a Funny Smell The mixed-up senses that give the poem its language

The Polite Stranger The contrast between his courtesy and his conduct

How to answer a ‘title' question: Give the title, then give two reasons — one about
the poem's content and one about its tone. A title with no reason earns no marks.

II. 4 Why do you think the poet has included dialogues in the poem?

The dialogues do four jobs at once:

1. They make the scene live. Instead of being told about a strange man, we hear him speak:
“Allow me to present Your Highness with a rose.” We are standing in that street.
2. They reveal character without description. His one speech shows his elaborate courtesy;
the poet's reply — “I never saw a rose with such / A funny looking smell” — shows that she is
quick-witted and ready to play along.
3. They deliver the jokes. The two funniest moments in the poem are both spoken lines.
Humour lands better in direct speech than in reported speech.
4. They turn a description into a story. Because both of them speak, there is an exchange —
greeting, gift, reply, question, and a wordless answer at the end.

Why the silence matters too: The poet asks the last question and gets no reply at
all. After a poem full of talk, that silence — followed by a man hopping away on his
head — is the perfect ending.

II. 5 What does the poet wish to convey by highlighting the unusual behaviour of the
funny man?

The poem is nonsense verse, so it does not preach a moral — but three ideas do come through
clearly.

Page 48 of 108

as e
Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Being different is not the same as being bad. The funny man harms nobody. He is odd,
co m
and he is also the politest person in the poem.
se m.
o m l a
g own style, and the
.c she does not mock him or run away. She answers him inahis
Laughter is the best response to strangeness. The poet is startled — she staggers against
a wall —m
se ends happily for both.
yet
l a
ag
meeting
Imagination need not obey rules. If a bun can be a rose and a smell can be looked at, then

m
the world is a larger and funnier place than the rule-book allows.
. co ag
e m
g l as
Sample answer (short form): Through the funny man's upside-down behaviour,
a
Natalie Joan wants to show that life becomes richer when we allow room for the odd
and the imaginative. She is inviting us to enjoy the man rather than explain him —
co m
m.
which is why she lets him hop away without ever telling us why he wore hats on his

m as e
.co l
feet.
a g
se m
g l a
a
Let us learn — Pages 63 to 65
m a s
m .co agl
l a se
a g

co m
m .
m as e
.co a g l
se m
g l a
a
se m
com g l a
m . a
ase
agl

co m
m .
m as e
.co a g l
se m
g l a
a c
m .
m a s e
e m . co agl
g l as
a

co m
m .
m ase
.co


a g l Page 49 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

A Funny Man — Phrasal Verbs and Words of Pace

GRAMMAR VOCABULARY

I (a) Read the following phrases from the poem: • walking down • taking out • sat down.
These are phrasal verbs. Match the phrasal verbs in Column 1 with their correct
meaning in Column 2. Column 1: 1. take up 2. take after 3. take in 4. take over 5.
take off — Column 2: (i) to understand or comprehend something (ii) to assume
control or responsibility for something (iii) to begin to study, practice, or do
something (iv) to become successful or popular quickly (v) to resemble or look
similar to (usually a family member)

COLUMN COLUMN MEANING IN YOUR OWN EXAMPLE SENTENCE
1 2 WORDS

1. take up (iii) to begin to study, practise or do Arjun has decided to take up the
something tabla this year.

2. take after (v) to resemble or look similar to Meera takes after her grandmother
(usually a family member) — the same laugh exactly.

3. take in (i) to understand or comprehend The instructions were so long that I
something could not take them in.

4. take over (ii) to assume control or The vice-captain took over when the
responsibility for something captain was injured.

5. take off (iv) to become successful or popular The new dosa stall really took off
quickly after the food festival.

Why phrasal verbs are tricky: The verb stays the same — take — but the little word
after it changes the meaning completely. You cannot work out ‘take after' from ‘take'
plus ‘after'; the pair has to be learnt as one unit.

Page 50 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

I (b) Now, fill in the blanks with suitable phrasal verbs from the table given in I. You
may change the tense of the verb, if required.

COLUMN 1 COLUMN 2

1. take up (i) to understand or comprehend something

2. take after (ii) to assume control or responsibility for something

3. take in (iii) to begin to study, practice, or do something

4. take over (iv) to become successful or popular quickly

5. take off (v) to resemble or look similar to (usually a family member)

The table given in I, page 64.

1. The new technology is set to ______ traditional methods of communication. 2. I
tried hard to ______ what the writer wanted to say but was unsuccessful. 3. Arjun
decided to ______ painting as a hobby. 4. The smartphone quickly ______ the sales in
the market. 5. Sheela ______ her father; they have the same smile.

1. take over

2. take in

3. take up

4. took off

5. takes after

Page 51 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

NO. COMPLETED SENTENCE WHY

1 The new technology is set to take over It will assume control / replace them
traditional methods of communication.

2 I tried hard to take in what the writer wanted to ‘Understand' — shown by “but was
say but was unsuccessful. unsuccessful”

3 Arjun decided to take up painting as a hobby. To begin doing something new

4 The smartphone quickly took off in the market. Became popular quickly — past tense needed
after ‘quickly … in the market'

5 Sheela takes after her father; they have the Resembles a family member — simple present,
same smile. third person singular

Watch the tense: Sentence 1 needs the plain form after ‘to'; sentence 4 needs the
past form took; sentence 5 needs the -s form takes because Sheela is singular.

I (c) Now, frame sentences of your own using any five phrasal verbs.

Method: pick five phrasal verbs, write down the meaning of each first, and then build a
sentence in which that meaning is obvious even to someone who does not know the phrase.

Page 52 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

PHRASAL MEANING MY SENTENCE
VERB

take up begin doing something My sister has taken up kabaddi and practises every evening at
new the school ground.

take after resemble a family Everyone says I take after my mother because we both hum
member while we work.

take in understand The teacher explained the sum twice before I could take it in.

take over assume control When our monitor fell ill, Farhan took over the register for the
week.

take off become popular Our library's comic corner really took off after we put up the
quickly new shelf.

walk down walk along A funny kind of man came walking down our street last
Sunday.

sit down take a seat He sat down on the ground and began to sing.

Tip: Some phrasal verbs can be split (take it in, took the register over) and some
cannot (take after — never “take her after”). When in doubt, keep the two words
together.

II Match the verbs in Column 1 with any suitable adverbs or prepositions in Column 2.
Write their meanings in Column 3. An example has been done for you. Column 1: 1.
look 2. run 3. put 4. break 5. call — Column 2: after, away, up, for, in, on, into, down,
off, out — Column 3: look after: take care of, …

Each verb below joins several of the words in Column 2. Two or three per verb are enough for
the exercise; the extras are for your own notes.

Page 53 of 108

ase
Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
m.
COLUMN COLUMN COLUMN 3 — MEANING EXAMPLE

as e
com
1 2

. a g l
m
ase
1. look after take care of (example given) She looks after her little brother.

agl for try to find I am looking for my geometry box.

m
.co ag
up search in a book or Look up ‘currant' in the dictionary.

sem
dictionary

a
into
agl
investigate The principal will look into the matter.

down on consider inferior
co
Never look down on anyone.
m
e m.
m l as
.co
2. run into meet by chance I ran into my old teacher at the fair.

a g
se m
l a
out (of) finish the supply of We have run out of chalk.

a g away escape The frightened calf ran away.

m a s
.co agl
after chase The dog ran after the cyclist.

se m
g l a
a
3. put off postpone The match was put off because of
rain.

co m
.
on wear Mrs. Harding often puts on her red
coat.
se m
m l a
.co The a g put up with Mary's
sem
up with tolerate guests

a
agl
rudeness.

keep back in its place “Put that coat away in your bedroom.”
se m
away

comcollapse g l a
. a
em
4. break down stop working; Our school bus broke down near the

a s
agl
bridge.

out begin suddenly (fire, war, A fire broke out in the market.

om
disease)

. c
a s em in through the window.
com
in enter by force Thieves broke

. gl broke off the conversation.
aThey
m
ase
off end something suddenly

agl c
.
5. call off cancel The trip was called off.

s e m
m a
.co agl
on visit briefly; ask to speak Mrs. Shaw asked Mrs. Harding to call

s em
on her.

a
gl require; go to fetch
for a This work calls for great patience.

com
m .
m ase
.co


a g l Page 54 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

COLUMN COLUMN COLUMN 3 — MEANING EXAMPLE
1 2

out shout He called out my name from the gate.

Tip: Keep a page at the back of your notebook headed ‘Phrasal verbs', with three
columns — phrase, meaning, my sentence. Add one every day and you will have
three hundred by the end of the year.

III Read the following words from the poem: walking, staggered, hopped. The given
words denote the different ways of walking. Arrange the words given in the box in
increasing order of pace.

sprint trot jog

3.

run

2.

hop

1.

walk

stagger

The box of words and the flight of steps printed on page 65. The arrow shows the
direction of increasing pace.

The three missing words are 1. trot, 2. jog, 3. sprint.
The complete staircase, from the slowest at the bottom to the fastest at the top:

Page 55 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

STEP WORD WHAT IT MEANS

7 (fastest) 3. sprint run at top speed for a short distance

6 run move fast on foot

5 2. jog run slowly and steadily, for exercise

4 hop move in short jumps, often on one foot

3 1. trot move at a brisk pace, quicker than a walk

2 walk move at a normal, steady pace

1 (slowest) stagger move unsteadily, almost falling

How to be sure: Fit each word into the gap and test it against its neighbours. Trot
must sit between walk and hop — it is faster than walking but not yet running. Jog
must sit between hop and run — it is running, but slowly. That leaves sprint, the
fastest of all, at the very top.

Word note: The poem uses three of these — the man came walking down the
street, the poet staggered back, and he hopped home. English is rich in such verbs:
also try stroll, amble, march, stride, dash, scamper, plod.

Let us listen — Pages 65 & 66

Page 56 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

A Funny Man

LISTENING

I You will listen to a girl narrate a personal incident. As you listen, select the picture
related to the narration. (Transcript for the teacher on pg. 88)

1. 2. 3. 4.

The four pictures printed on page 65, redrawn.

The correct picture is 3 — the girl sitting at the table eating from a bowl.

PICTURE WHAT IT SHOWS DOES THE NARRATION MENTION IT?

1 Girl reading a book in a She mentions studying at a friend's place, but this is not
chair the incident itself

2 Girl sitting cross-legged, Never mentioned
meditating

3 Girl at a table with a bowl of ✔ “I served myself dal-chawal and ate it” — the meal is the
food centre of the whole story

4 Girl standing at a table with Never mentioned
a laptop

Why picture 3: The funny mix-up in the story turns entirely on the plate and the
shoes — she carried the plate to her room and the shoes to the kitchen. The meal is
what sets that mix-up going.

Page 57 of 108

Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

II You will once again listen to the girl narrate a personal incident. As you listen,
arrange the events in order of occurrence. 1. Ate lunch 2. Took off shoes 3. Put shoes
in the room 4. Laughed at the mistake 5. Placed the plate in the room 6. Prepared
for the presentation 7. Put the plate in the kitchen

The correct order is 6 → 2 → 1 → 5 → 4 → 3 → 7.

ORDER EVENT EVENT FROM THE NARRATION
NO.

1st 6 Prepared for the “I was so preoccupied with preparing for my
presentation presentation… after a long day of studying at a
friend's place”

2nd 2 Took off shoes “Exhausted, I removed my shoes at the door”

3rd 1 Ate lunch “I served myself dal-chawal and ate it”

4th 5 Placed the plate in “I walked to my room with my plate in hand and left it
the room on my desk” (and put the shoes in the kitchen)

5th 4 Laughed at the “I realised what I had done. I couldn't help but laugh
mistake at myself.”

6th 3 Put shoes in the “I… recovered my shoes from the kitchen” — and put
room them where they belonged

7th 7 Put the plate in the “…and kept the plate in the kitchen”
kitchen

Listening tip: Sequence tasks turn on time words — after, finally, once I finished,
then, as I stood there. Mark them on your rough sheet during the first listening, and
fill in the numbers during the second.

Notice the joke: Events 5 and the shoes-in-the-kitchen are the mistake; events 3 and
7 are the same two objects being put in the right places at last. It is very close to the
funny man's own confusion of shoes and hats.

Let us speak — Page 66

Page 58 of 108

ase
Class 7 English Unit 2 Wit and Humour
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

A Funny Man
co m
e m.
m as
SPEAKING

.co a g l
a s em the joke given below. A man is talking to God. The man says, “God, how long is
gl
Read
a
I
a million years?” God replies, “For me, it's about a minute.” The man asks, “How
much is a million rupees?” God smiles and replies, “It's less than a rupee for me.”

. com
The man quickly requests, “God, may I have a rupee?” God promptly says, “Wait a
ag
a s em to tell the joke. Remember: • Narrator's voice
minute.” Work in pairs and take turns

a l
– your own voice (speak in agmatter-of-fact manner) • Man's voice – change to
louder voice (speak with respect) • God's voice – deep voice (speak in a pleasant
tone)
co m
em.
m l as
.co a g

a s em
Where the joke lies: ‘a minute' and ‘a rupee' are used twice, each time with a different value.
l “Wait a minute” sounds like an ordinary request to wait — but by God's own reckoning a
gGod's
a minute is a million years. The man has been politely refused without a single unkind word.
m a s
.co agl
How to tell it well

se m
l a
1. Three voices, clearly different. Narrator — flat and factual. Man — a little louder, respectful,

ag
eager. God — deep, slow, pleasant.
2. Pause before the punchline. Wait one full beat after “God, may I have a rupee?” The silence

co m
.
does half the work.

e m
as
3. Never explain the joke. Deliver “Wait a minute” and then stop.
m l
.co a g
4. Stress the right words. “It's less than a rupee for me” and “Wait a minute.”
m
l a se5. Keep your face steady. If you laugh first, the audience will not.

ag
se m
comand tell it in front of the class. g l a
.
Now, work in pairs to create a joke
a
em
II

a s
ANSWER agl
m
Method — how a short joke is built

. co
em
as
1. Set-up: one or two sentences that create an ordinary situation.
m l
.co a g
2. Build-up: a question or a small exchange that leads the listener to expect one answer.

s e m3. Punchline: the last line, which gives a different, unexpected answer — usually by taking a
agla word in its other meaning.
.c
e m
4. Keep it short, keep it kind (never about a real classmate), and put the surprising word last.

m a s
e m . co agl
g l as
a

co m
m .
m ase
.co


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