NCERT Solution For Class 8 English, Chapter 1 – The Best Christmas Present in the World

NCERT Solutions is known as an extremely helpful resource for preparing for the exam. Takshila Learning provides its learners with access to a wealth of NCERT problems and their solutions. CBSE Class 8 English NCERT Solutions are built by subject matter experts, so be sure to train learners for a good grade. The questions set out in the NCERT Books are prepared in compliance with the requirements of the CBSE.

NCERT Solution For Class 8 English, Chapter 1 – The Best Christmas Present in the World provides us with all-inclusive information on all concepts. As students would have to learn the basics about the subject in class 8, this curriculum for class 8 is comprehensive study material, which explains the concepts in a great way.

Question 1:

What did the author find in a junk shop?

Answer:

The author found a nineteenth-century roll-top desk in a junk shop. It was made of oak. It was in a very bad condition. The roll-top was broken into several pieces. One of the legs was clumsily folded and scorched marks on one side below. The author bought it to restore it.

Question 2:

What did he find in a secret drawer? Who do you think had put it in there?

Answer:

The author found a small black tin box in the secret drawer. A paper was cello-tapped on top of it. It said, Jim’s last letter was received on January 25, 1915. Burial with me when the time comes. ‘Most likely, it was placed there by Mrs. Jim McPherson, who was Jim’s wife. His name and address were on the envelope inside the box.

 

Page No 14:

Question 1:

Who had written the letter, to whom, and when?

Answer:

Jim Macpherson had written the letter to his wife Connie Macpherson on December 26, 1914.

Question 2:

Why was the letter written−−what was the wonderful thing that had happened?

Answer:

Jim wrote a letter to his wife to tell her about a wonderful thing that happened on Christmas day. The British and Germans were engaged in a war, yet on this day, the two armies did not meet in any man’s land. This was surprising because right in the middle of the war, the warring soldiers were making peace.

Question 3:

What jobs did Hans Wolf and Jim Macpherson have when they were not soldiers?

Answer:

Hans Wolf was from Dusseldorf. He played the cello in the orchestra. Jim Macpherson was a school teacher from Dorset.

Question 4:

Had Hans Wolf even been to Dorset? Why did he say he knew it?

Answer:

No, Hans Wolf had never been to Dorset. He had learned all about England from school and from reading books in English.

Question 5:

Do you think Jim Macpherson came back from the war? How do you know this?

Answer:

No, it is most likely that Jim McPherson did not return from the war. The notepad cello-tap on the tin box mentions the letter contained in the box which is the “last letter” from Jim. This was probably the last that Connie had heard from Jim.Celebrating Christmas at No Mens Land, British and German soldiers played a game of football. Hans told Jim that he hoped the war would also be resolved by a football match. To this Jim replied that he was not very good at football, but if he played cricket, victory would be sure. The match was won by the Germans. This likely indicates that the Germans may have also won the actual battle between the two soldiers.

 

Page No 15:

Question 1:

Why did the author go to Bridport?

Answer:The author went to Bridport because that was the address where Mrs. Macpherson lived. He wanted to give that letter back to her.

Question 2:

How old was Mrs Macpherson now? Where was she?

Answer:

Mrs. Macpherson was a hundred and one years old. She was in a nursing home in Burlington House.

 

Page No 16:

Question 1:

Who did Connie Macpherson think her visitor was?

Answer:

Connie Macpherson thought that her visitor was her husband, Jim.

Question 2:

Which sentence in the text shows that the visitor did not try to hide his identity?

Answer:

The sentence that shows that the visitor has not tried to hide her identity explained that I told the desk how I found it, but I don’t think she was listening.

Page No 16:

Question 1:

For how long do you think Connie had kept Jim’s letter? Give reasons for your answer.

Answer:

Connie would have kept Jim’s letter longer. This is because she told the narrator how she would read it often every day so that she could feel that Jim had her.

Question 2:

Why do you think the desk had been sold, and when?

Answer:

The desk should have been sold when the house Connie McPherson lived in caught fire. She was taken to a nursing home. All the burnt items should have been sold by the neighbors thereafter.

Question 3:

Why do Jim and Hans think that games or sports are good ways of resolving conflicts? Do you agree?

Answer:

Jim and Hans thought that sports or sports are good ways to resolve conflicts because no one dies in matches. No child is an orphan and no wife is a widow.For these reasons, sports are good ways to resolve conflicts. Death and destruction occur only through wars.

Question 4:

Do you think the soldiers of the two armies are like each other, or different from each other? Find evidence form the story to support your answer.

Answer:

The soldiers of the two armies were like each other. The two armies celebrated Christmas with each other. They shared each other’s food. They were all smoking, laughing, talking, drinking and eating. He also talked about his books of choice. They agreed to everything. He also played a game of football for which both Hans and Jim clapped, folded hands and stamped their feet. They also exchanged carols at night. Furthermore, he had the same view that wars only brought death and destruction, and he hoped that each would live to see his family. All these examples show that the soldiers of the two armies were similar to each other.

Question 5:

Mention the various ways in which the British and the German soldiers become friends and find things in common at Christmas.

Answer:

British and German soldiers celebrated Christmas with each other. They enjoyed each other’s meals. They were all smoking, laughing, talking, drinking and eating. The cake was baked by Connie, shared by Hans Wolf and Jim McPherson. He talked about Bathsheba, Gabriel Oak, Sergeant Troy and Dorset. He also talked about his books of choice. They agreed to everything. The two soldiers played a game of football for which both Hans and Jim played applause, folded hands and stamped feet. They also exchanged carols at night. In this way, they celebrated Christmas together, finding much among them.

Question 6:

What is Connie’s Christmas present? Why is it “the best Christmas present in the world”?

Answer:

When the narrator comes to see Connie and gives her the box, she mistook him for her husband, Jim. He thought that Jim had come home for Christmas. It was Connie’s Christmas present. It was the best Christmas present in the world for him because Jim wrote in the letter that he would come home on Christmas. She had read that letter many times to be with him. Now that she was with him at the end, she was very happy.

Question 7:

Do you think the title of this story is suitable for it? Can you think of any other title(s)?

Answer:

Yes, the title of the story is appropriate for this. The Christmas spirit is the theme that permeates the entire story. It was on Christmas day, in the midst of a furious war, that two warring soldiers made peace. The moments of peace the soldiers shared with each other were the best Christmas present for them.Again, it was on Christmas day that the narrator went to see Mrs. MacPherson. She went to return her husband’s letter to him. The letter was precious to her, but even more valuable was her illusion that the narrator was her husband Jim, who believed she had been promised on Christmas day. It was the best Christmas present in the world for him.

 

Page No 17:

Question 1:

(i) Read the passage below and underline the verbs in the past tense.

A man got on the train and sat down. The compartment was empty except for one lady. She took her gloves off. A few hours later the police arrested the man. They held him for 24 hours and then freed him.

(ii) Fill in the blanks using the correct form of the verbs in brackets.

My little sister is very naughty. When she __________ (come) back from school yesterday, she had _________ (tear) her dress. We ________ (ask) her how it had _________ (happen). She _______________ (say) she ____________ (have, quarrel) with a boy. She __________ __________ (have, beat) him in a race and he ________ _______ (have, try) to push her. She _____________ ____________ (have, tell) the teacher and so he ______________ ______________ (have, chase) her, and she ____________ ____________ (have, fall) down and _____________ _____________(have, tear) her dress.

(iii) Underline the verbs and arrange them in two columns, Past and Earlier past.

(a) My friends set out to see the caves in the next town, but I stayed at home, because I had seen them already.

(b) When they arrived at the station, their train had left. They came back home, but by that time I had gone out to see a movie!

(c) So they sat outside and ate the lunch I had packed for them.

(d) By the time I returned, they had fallen asleep!

Past	Earlier past

Answer:

(i)

A man got on the train and sat down. The compartment was empty except for one lady. She took her gloves off. A few hours later the police arrested the man. They held him for 24 hours and then freed him.

(ii)

My little sister is very naughty. When she came (come) back from school yesterday, she had torn (tear) her dress. We asked (ask) her how it had happened (happen). She said (say) she had quarrelled (have, quarrel) with a boy. She had beaten (have, beat) him in a race and he had tried (have, try) to push her. She had told (have, tell) the teacher and so he had chased (have, chase) her, and she had fallen (have, fall) down and had torn (have, tear) her dress.

(iii)

(a) My friends set out to see the caves in the next town, but I stayed at home, because I had seen them already.

(b) When they arrived at the station, their train had left. They came back home, but by that time I had gone out to see a movie!

(c) So they sat outside and ate the lunch I had packed for them.

(d) By the time I returned, they had fallen asleep!

Past	Earlier past
set out	had seen
stayed	had left
arrived	had gone
came	had packed
sat	had fallen
ate
returned

 

Page No 18:

Question 2:

Find these phrasal verbs in the story.

burn out

light up

look on

run out

keep out

Write down the sentences in which they occur, consult a dictionary and write down the meaning that you think matches the meaning of the phrasal verb in the sentence.

Answer:

(i) burn out

House number 12 turned out to be nothing but a burned-out shell, the roof gaping, the windows boarded-up.

(ii) light up

That was the moment her eyes lit up with recognition and her face became suffused with a sudden glow of happiness.

(iii) look on

Hans Wolf and I looked on and cheered, clapping our hands and stamping our feet, to keep out the cold as much as anything.

(iv) run out

The time came, and all too soon, when the game was finished, the schnapps and the rum and the sausage had long since run out, and we knew it was all over.

(v) keep out

Hans Wolf and I looked on and cheered, clapping our hands and stamping our feet, to keep out the cold as much as anything.

 

Page No 19:

Question 4:

The table below contains a list of nouns and some adjectives. Use as many adjectives as you can to describe each noun. You might come up with some funny descriptions!

Noun	Adjective
elephant	circular, striped, enormous, multicoloured, round, cheerful, wild, blue, red, chubby, large, medium-sized, cold
face
building
water

Answer:

Noun	Adjective
elephant	enormous, cheerful, wild, large, medium-sized,
face	round, cheerful, chubby
building	multi-coloured, blue, red, large, medium-sized
water	blue, cold

 

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