NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English (Honeydew) Chapter 3 The Glimpses of the Past

NCERT
SOLUTIONS
CLASS - 8TH

aglase .co

Book : Honeydew Ncert Solutions | Chapter-3 English-1

Class: 8th
Subject : English-1
Chapter : 3
Chapter Name : Glimpses of the Past

Q1 Look at picture 1 and recall the opening lines of the original song in Hindi. Who is the singer?
Who else do you see in this picture?

Answer. The original song is "Ae mere watan ke logon...." The singer is Lata Mangeshkar. Pandit
Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Bahadur Shah Zafar, Rani Laxmi Bai, Bal
Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bhagat Singh, Subhash Chandra Bose and Mahatma Gandhi are
also seen in the picture.

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Q2 In picture 2 what do you understand by the Company’s“superior weapons”?

Answer. Technologically, the East India Company was far superior to the Indian princes, who were
constantly at war with each other. The Englishmen had access to better quality weapons. This
prompted the Indian princes to seek their help in their ghts. These internal rivalries helped the
East India Company subdue the Indian princes one by one, and nally gain control over the whole
of India.

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Q3 Who is an artisan? Why do you think the artisans suffered?(picture 3)

Answer. An artisan is a skilled manual worker who crafts items that may be functional or strictly
decorative. The artisans suffered because the British were extracting very high taxes from them,
which ruined them economically. Moreover, machine manufactured goods imported from Britain
were sold extensively, which ruined the business of the artisans' hand made goods.

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Q4 Which picture, according to you, reveals the rst sparks of the re of revolt?

Answer. Picture 7 'The Sparks' reveals the rst sparks of the re of revolt.
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Q1 Which picture, according to you, reveals the rst sparks of the re of revolt?

Answer. Picture 7 'The Sparks' reveals the rst sparks of the re of revolt.

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Q2 How did the East India Company subdue the Indian princes?

Answer. The Indian princes were constantly at war with each other. They called the English
merchants to help them in their ghts. The people had no peace due to such constant ghts. The
rivalries helped the East India Company subdue the Indian princes one by one.

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Q3 Quote the words used by Ram Mohan Roy to say that every religion teaches the same principles.

Answer. According to Ram Mohan Roy, "Cows are of different colours, but the colour of their milk is
the same. Different teachers have different opinions, but the essence of every religion is the same."

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Q4 In what ways did the British of cers exploit Indians?

Answer. To earn quick pro ts, the British imposed heavy taxes, thereby forcing the Indian farmers
to abandon their elds. They decided to do away with import duty for goods manufactured in
England. This crippled the Indian industries. In 1818, they passed Regulation Ill. Under it, an
Indian could be jailed without trial in a court. All the time British of cers in India drew big salaries
and also made fortunes in private business. By 1829, Britain was exporting British goods worth
seven crore rupees to India. The British prospered on the Company's loot, while the Indian
industries began to die.

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Q5 Name these people.
(i)The ruler who fought pitched battles against the British and died ghting.
(ii)The person who wanted to reform the society.
(iii)The person who recommended the introduction of English education in India.
(iv)Two popular leaders who led the revolt (Choices may vary.)

Answer. (i) Kunwar Singh
(ii) Ram Mohan Roy
(iii) Macaulay
(iv) Maulvi Ahmedulla of Faizabad and Peshwa Nana Saheb

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Book : Honeydew Ncert Solutions | Chapter-3 English-1
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Q6 Mention the following.
(i)Two examples of social practices prevailing then.
(ii)Two oppressive policies of the British.
(iii)Two ways in which common people suffered.
(iv)Four reasons for the discontent that led to the 1857 War of Independence.

Answer. (i) Untouchability and child marriage
(ii) The British decided to do away with import duty on goods manufactured in England. This
severely affected Indian industries. In 1818, they passed Regulation Ill. Under it, an Indian could be
jailed without trial in a court.
(iii) They lost their old jobs and lands. They were being converted by the British.
(iv) Discontent was brewing amongst the Indians. They felt that their kings who were supposed to
be their protectors were mere puppets in the hands of the British. They lost their old jobs and
lands. Taxes continued to ruin the peasants. There was discontent in the East India Company's
army too. The white soldier got huge pay, mansions to live in and servants, while the Indian
soldiers got a pittance and slow promotions. Few Englishmen had cared to understand Indian
customs or the people's mind. The religious sentiments of both Hindus and Muslims were also
hurt. The grease on the bullets they had to bite was made from the fat of cows and pigs.

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Q1 Change the following sentences into indirect speech.
(i)First man: We must educate our brothers.Second man: And try to improve their material
conditions.Third man: For that we must convey our grievances to the British Parliament.The rst
man said that
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______The second man added that
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The third man suggested that
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
.

(ii)First soldier: The white soldier gets huge pay, mansions and servants.Second soldier: We get a
pittance and slow promotions.Third soldier: Who are the British to abolish our customs?The rst
soldier said that
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___The second soldier remarked that
____________________________________________________________________________________________________The
third soldier asked
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Answer. (i) The rst man said that they must educate their brothers. The second man added that
they must try to improve their material conditions. The third man suggested that they must convey
their grievances to the British Parliament.
(ii) The rst soldier said that the white soldier got huge pay, mansions and servants. The second

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soldier remarked that they got a pittance and slow promotions. The third soldier asked who the
British were to abolish their customs.

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Q1 Playact the role of farmers who have grievances against the policies of the government. Rewrite
their ‘speech bubbles’ in dialogue form rst.

Answer. DIY

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Q2 Look at the pictures.

(i)Ask one another questions about the pictures.Where is the fox?How did it happen?What is the
fox thinking?Who is the visitor?What does she want to know?What is the fox’s reply?What
happens next?Where is the goat?Where is the fox now?What is the goat thinking?
(ii) Write the story in your own words. Give it a title.________________________________________

Answer. (i) The fox is in the well.
She fell into the well by accident.
The fox thinks how to get out of there.
The visitor is a goat.
She wants to know whether the water is sweet.
The fox replies that the water is very sweet and she had a lot of it.
The goat wanted to taste the water.
The goat is dragged into the water by the fox.
The fox comes out of the well.
The goat is thinking of her mother’s advice not to trust any stranger.

(ii)Once a fox fell into a well accidentally. She thought how to get out of the well. A goat arrived
there by chance. She looked into the well. She asked the fox if the water was sweet. The cunning
fox played a trick. She told a lie that the water was very, very sweet, and she had had enough of it.
The foolish goat also wanted to taste the water. The fox invited her into the well. The goat reached
there soon. Now the fox rode on the goat’s back and climbed out of the well. Then she thanked the
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goat for help. The goat was reminded of her mother’s words that she must never go by the advice of
a stranger.

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Q3 Read the following news item
Based on this news item, write a paragraph on what you think about this new method of teaching
history.

Answer. DIY

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Q4 Find the chapters in your history book that correspond to the episodes and events described in
this comic. Note how the information contained in a few chapters of history has been condensed to
a few pages with the help of pictures and ‘speech bubbles’.

Answer. DIY

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Q5 Once the Sun and the Wind began to quarrel, each one saying that he was stronger than the
other. At last they decided to test each other’s strength. A man with a cloak around his shoulders
was passing by.The Wind boasted, “Using my strength I can make that man take off the cloak.” The
Sun agreed. The Wind blew hard. The man felt so cold that he clasped his cloak around his body as
tightly as possible.
Now it was the turn of the Sun which shone very hot indeed. Theman felt so hot that he at once
removed the cloak from his body.Seeing the man taking off the cloak, the Wind conceded defeat.

Answer. DIY

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Q1 Read the rst stanza and think.
(i)Is Macavity a cat really?
(ii)If not, who can Macavity be?

Answer. (i) No, Macavity is not a cat really. (ii) Macavity is just a ctional character created by the
poet whose actions resemble those of a crook's.

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Q2 Complete the following sentences.
(i)A master criminal is one who ___________________
(ii)The Scotland Yard is baf ed because ___________________
(iii)___________________ because Macavity moves much faster than them.

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Answer. (i) A master criminal is one who can defy the law and is able to escape from the clutch of
police.
(ii) The Scotland Yard is baf ed because whenever they reach the scene of crime, they cannot nd
Macavity.
(iii) Nobody can catch Macavity at the scene of crime because Macavity moves much faster than
them.

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Q3 “A cat, I am sure, could walk on a cloud without coming through”.(Jules Verne)Which law is
Macavity breaking in the light of the comment above?

Answer. In the light of the above comment, Macavity is breaking the law of gravity.

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Q4 Read stanza 3, and then, describe Macavity in two or three sentences of your own.

Answer. Macavity is a ginger cat who is very tall and thin with sunken eyes and brow deeply lined
with thought. While its head is highly domed, its coat is dusty and whiskers are uncombed. It
sways Its head from side-to-side and it is always wide awake even when one thinks that it is half-
asleep.

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Q5 Say ‘False’ or ‘True’ for each of the following statements.
(i)Macavity is not an ordinary cat.
(ii)Macavity cannot do what a fakir can easily do.
(iii)Macavity has supernatural powers.
(iv)Macavity is well-dressed, smart and bright.
(v)Macavity is a spy, a trickster and a criminal, all rolled in one.

Answer. (i) True Macavity's power of levitation would make a fakir stare in disbelief.
(ii) False
(iii) True
(iv) False Macavity is not well-dressed as its coat is dusty out of neglect. Its eyes are sunken, and
not bright.
(v) True

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Q6 Having read the poem, try to guess whether the poet is fond of cats. If so,why does he call
Macavity a end and monster?

Answer. Yes, it seems like the poet is fond of cats. He calls Macavity a ' end' and a monster'
because he might have wanted to portray an evil side. He might have used a cat in order to create a
negative character who is a criminal and escapes easily from police. The quick movements of a cat

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Book : Honeydew Ncert Solutions | Chapter-3 English-1
and its mysterious eves might have in uenced him to create this evil character in the form of a cat.

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Q7 Has the poet used exaggeration for special effect? Find a few examples of it and read those lines
aloud.

Answer. Yes, the poet has used exaggerations such as the cat's de ance of gravity and it being
called a 'monster of depravity and a ' end' in order to enhance the mystery surrounding the cat.
Since the cat is shown to be super fast as nobody from the Scotland Yard to the ying squad can
catch it on the scene of crime, these exaggerations have been used by Eliot to lay stress on this
monstrous as well as surprising and mysterious nature of Macavity. Examples:
(i) 'He's the baf ement of Scotland Yard, the Flying Squad despair' .
(ii) 'He breaks the law of gravity.
(iii) 'His powers of levitation would make a fakir stare.'
(iv) 'He's a end in feline shape, a monster of depravity.'

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