NCERT solutions for class 8 English It So Happened The treasure with in

Comprehension Check (Page 28)

Questions:

1. What did Hafeez Contractor have nightmares about?
2. What did the Principal say to him, which influenced him deeply?
3. “……………. that year I did not step out into the field.” What was he busy doing that
   year?
4. (i) What ‘distraction’ did Hafeez Contractor create one day?
   (ii) Would you have liked to participate in the ‘distraction’ had you been with him?

Answers:

1. A nightmare is a bad dream or haunting fear. Hafeez had nightmares about mathematics examination.
2. The Principal told Hafeez that he was a good student but he never studied. His mother had worked hard to bring him up. It was the time now to rise to the occa­sion and study.
3. He was busy studying books that year.
4. (i) For one whole hour he along with his friends played ‘Chor-police’.
   (ii) I would have avoided such distraction for fear of the teacher. Moreover, it was completely a wastage of time.

Comprehension Check (Page 32)

Questions:

1. Hafeez Contractor wanted to join the police force. Why didn’t he?
2. In the architect’s office, Hafeez Contractor was advised to drop everything and join architecture. Why?
3. (i) What was Mrs Gupta’s advise to Hafeez Contractor?
   (ii) What made her advise him so?
4. How did he help fellow students who had lost a button?
5. Which rules did he break as a school boy?
6. (i) What is Hafeez Contractor’s definition of Mathematics?
   (ii) How would you want to define Mathematics? Do you like the subject?

Answers:

1. Hafeez wanted to join the police force, but his mother advised him to do his graduation first. So he joined Jaihind College in Mumbai.
2. It happened quite by chance. One day he saw somebody drawing a window design. He pointed out that the drawing was wrong, and the window would not open. And he was proved right. His cousin’s husband was surprised. He asked him to design a house and he did that. After that he told Hafeez to leave everything and join architecture.
3. (i) When he was in the second or third standard, one of his teachers Mrs Gupta saw
   his sketches and advised him to become an architect when he grew up.
   (ii) She advised him so on seeing his fine sketches.
4. When a fellow student lost a button while playing or fighting, Hafeez would cut a button for him from chalk, using a blade.
5. As a school boy, he never studied, until his 11^th He always copied to pass the examination.
6. (i) According to Hafeez Contractor, Maths is a combination of putting designs,
   construction, psychology and sociology together and making sketch from all that,
   (ii) Mathematics is the best branch of science, but it is a bit difficult to be good in this subject. Howover, I like this subject.

Exercise (Page 32)

Answer the following Questions:

Question 1:
It is likely that someone who is original and intelligent does not do very well at school? Should such a learner be called a failure? If not, why not?
Answer:
A learner who is original and intelligent may appear to be a failure at school, but the chances of his doing well in later life are bright.

Question 2:
Who, in your view, is an ‘unusual’ learner?
Answer:
An unusual learner can be a genius in any subject. He will be different from the rest.

Question 3:
What can schools do to draw out the best in unusual learners? Suggest whatever seems reasonable to you.
Answer:
School should stop treating all the learners as ordinary. They should not follow old mechanical methods of teaching. They should try to discover the hidden talent in each learner and encourage him to do his best developing it.

MORE QUESTIONS SOLVED

I.SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Question 1:
What does the title of the lesson ‘The Treasure Within’ mean and highlight?
Answer:
The Treasure Within’ refers to the hidden talent of every child who has his own style of learning and area of interest. Not every topper in the academics becomes an achiever in life. Every child can achieve greatness in his area of interest.

Question 2:
Who is Hafeez Contractor? What does he tell about himself to his interviewer? How does he find his calling?
Answer:
Hafeez Contractor is a leading architect in India at present. In this interview he traces the story of his childhood and schooldays. He had little interest in studies. He passed the annual examinations by copying. He used to be a good sportsman. But his cousin’s husband once noted his hidden talent and told him to become an architect.

Question 3:
Mr Hafeez at school was more interested in other things than his books. How does he support this statement?
Answer:
At school he used to be interested in games and playing jokes. He was a good sportsman, the cricket captain. He used to copy in class during exam times. Maths was a terror for him. Though he did badly in school, he was good at designing. This skill helped

Question 4:
How does Hafeez give to his client the kind of structure he wants?
Answer:
Hafeez is good at drawing the design of a house on the spot. He looks at the client’s face and the way he talks to know what his taste would be like. Then he sketches on the spot and gives it to his client in the office.

Question 5:
Do you agree with Hafeez that learning disabilities do not go hand in hand with gifted?
Answer:
There is a general belief that the genius usually do not shine in studies. Those who always stand first or second do very ordinary jobs later on. Personality and skills ultimately decide the careers of boys.

II. LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Question 1:
How did the. Principal’s words influence Hafeez Contractor?
Answer:
The Principal was a sensible man. He had been seeing Hafeez from day one. He thought it as his duty to guard him on right time. So, when Hafeez approached his eleventh standard, he called him and told him that he was a good student but he never studied. He had lost his father and his poor mother had worked hard to bring him up and pay his fees. It was the time now to rise to the occasion and study. These words of the Principal influenced Hafeez deeply. He forgot games that year and studied day and night. As a result, he got a second class, 50 per cent in his SSC. His Principal was very happy because he had got 50 per cent on his own.