Chapter 6: Expert Detectives

Comprehension Check

Page 89

Question 1:

What did Nishad give Mr. Nath ? Why?

Answer:

Nishad gave a bar of chocolate to Mr. Nath. He did so because he wanted to peep into his room and his trunk.

Question 2:

What is ‘strange’ about Mr. Nath’s Sundays?

Answer:

On every Sunday Mr. Nath has the same visitor in his room. The visitor talks a’lot and has lunch with Mr. Nath.

Question 3:

Why did Nishad and Maya get a holiday ?

Answer:

They got a holiday as the school did not open because of heavy rain. The streets were flooded and there was an unexpected holiday.

Working with the Text

Question 1:

What does Nishad find out about Mr. Nath from Ramesh ? Arrange the information as suggested below.

1. What he eats When he eats
2. What he drinks, and when
3. How he pays

Answer:

1. He is not very particular about what he eats. It is always the same food—two chapatis, some dal and a vegetable.
2. Mr. Nath takes two meals every morning and evening.
3. He drinks two cups of tea, one in the morning and one in the evening.
4. He pays by cash and tips well.

Question 2:

Why does Maya think Mr.Nath is a crook? Who does she say the Sunday visitor is?

Answer:

Maya thinks that Mr. Nath is a crook because he is strange, unfriendly and does not receive letters. She thinks that he is an escaped criminal having a lot of money looted by him. Moreover, he does not work and sits in his room all day. Regarding the spectacled visitor who visits Mr. Nath on Sundays Maya thinks that he must be his accomplice or a helper in crime.

Question 3:

Does Nishad agree with Maya about Mr. Nath ? How does he feel about him?

Answer:

I don’t think Nishad agrees with Maya about Mr. Nath. He does not pay much attention to the views of Maya. He thinks that Mr. Nath must be lonely without friends. Maya’s theories where she tries to prove Mr. Nath a criminal, has no effect on Nishad. He decides to be friendly with Mr. Nath.

Working with Language

Question 1:

The word ‘tip’ has only three letters but many meanings. Match the word with its meanings below.

(i) finger tips – be about to say something

(ii) the tip of your nose – make the boat overturn

(iii) tip the water out of the bucket – the ends of one’s fingers

(iv) have something on the tip of your tongue – give a rupee to him, to thank him

(v) tip the boat over – empty a bucket by tilting it

(vi) tip him a rupee – the pointed end of your nose

(vii) the tip of the bat – if you take this advice

(viii) the police were tipped off – the bat lightly touched the ball

(ix) if you take my tip – the end of the bat

(x) the bat tipped the ball – the police were told, or warned

Answer:

(i) finger tips – the end of one’s fingers

(ii) the tip of your nose – the pointed end of your nose

(iii) tip the water out of the bucket – empty a bucket by tilting it

(iv) have something on the tip of your tongue – be about to say something

(v) tip the boat over – make the boat overturn

(vi) tip him a rupee – give him a rupee to him, to thank him

(vii) the tip of the bat – the end of the bat,

(viii) the police were – the police were told, or tipped off warned.

(ix) if you take my tip – if you take this advice

(x) the bat tipped the ball – the bat lightly touched the ball.

Question 2:

The words helper, companion, partner and accomplice have very similar meanings, but each word is typically used in certain phrases. Can you fill in the blanks below with the most commonly used words ? A dictionary may help you.

(i) business. ……..

(ii) my ……….. on the journey

(iii) I’m mother’s little

(iv) a faithful ………………… such as a dog

(v) the thief’s …………….

(vi) find a good …………….

(vii) tennis/ golf/ bridge ………

(viii) his ……………… in his criminal activities

Answer:

(i) partner

(ii) companion

(iii) helper

(iv) companion

(v) accomplice

(vi) companion

(vii) partner

(viii) accomplice.

Question 3:

Now let us look at the uses of the word break. Match the word with its meanings below. Try to find at least three other ways in which to use the word.

(i) The storm broke – could not speak; was too sad to speak

(ii) daybreak – this kind of weather ended

(iii) His voice is beginning to break – it began or burst into activity.

(iv) Her voice broke and she cried – the beginning of daylight

(v) The heat wave broke – changing as he grows up

(vi) broke the bad news submit – end it by making the workers

(vii) break a strike – gently told someone the bad news

(viii) (Find your own expression – Give its meaning here.

Answer:

(i) The storm broke – it began to burst into activity

(ii) daybreak – the beginning of daylight

(iii) His voice is beginning to break – changing as he grows up.

(iv) Her voice broke and she cried – could not speak; was too sad to speak

(v) The heat wave broke – this kind of weather ended

(vi) broke the bad news – gently told someone the bad news

(vii) break a strike – ended it by making the workers submit

(viii)

(a) break up: – to end friendship or relations

(b) break down – start crying

(c) break the ice – to break the silence.

Speaking

Question 1:

Play detectives with each other. Find a person in your class (or some other acquaintance) to speak to. Find out the answers to the questions given below. Be careful to ask your questions in a polite and inoffensive way. Do not force I the person to answer you. Then allow the person to ask you the same questions.

(i) Name ?

(ii) What newspapers or magazines does the person read ?

(iii) How long has the person lived at the current address ?

(iv) What does she/he do during the day, i.e., the daily routine ?

(v) What do neighbours and friends say about the person ?

(vi) Who are his/her visitors and what are his/her eating habits ? (You can ask a few others about this.)

(vii) What do you think about the person ?

Answer:

This is a class-room activity to play the game of being a detective with each other. The questions should be asked or answered in a polite manner without offending anybody. The answers will be different from each other. Still a specimen of possible answers is given below :

(i) The person’s name is ..

(ii) He reads India Today, Outlook and Readers’ Digest etc.

(iii) That is his permanent address or he has been living here for…… years.

(iv) His daily routine is working and playing games and going to various places for marketing.

(v) Neighbours and friends find the person very friendly and ever ready to help others.

(vi) His visitors are mostly his colleagues. He is very careless about his diet. He drinks hard liquour at least twice a week. But he remains well-behaved. Usually he likes Chinese or fast food.

(vii) I think the person seems to be a nice and helpful person. I have never found him fighting with anybody.

Writing

Question 1:

Who do you think Mr. Nath is ? Write a paragraph or two about him.

Answer:

Mr. Nath is a lean and thin fellow. There are scars on his face. He is a lonely man who seems to have no friends. Only a visitor visits him on Sundays. They have lunch together. His habits are simple and he hardly leaves his home. He prefers simple and routine food. He pays cash for his food and tips well.
His reserved and unsocial nature makes Maya suspicious of him. She thinks that he is a crook who has escaped from the police. That is why she tries hard to investigate about his peculiar behaviour. He has no friends except one. Children and some grownups are scared of him. But Nishad does not believe that he is a criminal. Thus he wins the sympathy of Nishad, who decides to be friendly with him.

Question 2:

What else do you think Nishad and Maya will find out about him ? How? Will they ever be friends ? Think about these questions and write a paragraph or two to continue the story.

Answer:

Maya still thinks that Mr. Nath is an escaped criminal. But Nishad thinks otherwise. He thinks that Mr. Nath is a lonely man who needs company. Nishad tries to make him his friend. So, Nishad tries again and again. Gradually Mr. Nath starts speaking more freely with Nishad.

Mr. Nath told Nishad that he too had a family. He had a flourishing business also. But all his happiness had gone when his house was burnt to ashes. He was away on abusiness tour and had come back on the same day. Mr. Nath tried his best to save his family members. But he could not do so. That is why he remains alone and leads a secluded life. When Nishad told Mr. Nath’s story to her, she felt desperate because she had misunderstood Mr. Nath.

Question 3:

Conducting a Survey
(See pics in TB – 95)
Step I: Study the following questionnaire and discuss the points in small groups.

Answer:: add as table

Step II: Collect information. Contact people in the school/your locality and put these questions to them.
Tick-mark (✓) their answers in the relevant column.

Answer:

It is a class activity. You have to contact people and collect information and fill the ‘ questionnaire forms accordingly.

Step III: Analyse the results in the group by asking

• How many people think that a home is a place where you feel secure and happy?
• How many people think that a home isn’t a place where you feel secure and happy?
• How many people don’t know about it?

Answer:

On the basis of your meeting people and filling the questionnaire, you will be able to analyse the results by asking these questions. I think mostly people will say that a home is a place you feel secure and happy.

Step IV: Present a brief oral report on the result of your survey. Use phrases such as the following:

• Most people think that…
• Few people think that…
• Hardly anyone thinks that…
• No one thinks that…

Answer:

On the basis of your finding, now you have to present a brief oral report. Your report may be somewhat like as mentioned below:

We had got filled questionnaires and have completed the survey accordingly. The result of the survey is that most people think that a home is a place where one can feel secure and happy. For them home is the happiest place for them. Most people regard home as a place we are free to do what we like.

Few people think that> though home is a place where one can feel secure and happy, there are other places also where they like to stay and feel happy and secure, e.g. in their grandparents place.

Hardly anyone thinks that home is not a place where they feel secure and happy. Only 8 people said that they don’t know about it.

Infact, no one thinks that home is not a place where one can feel secure and happy, across all the people who were questioned in this survey.