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Chapter 4.3 Mr Nobody

Chapter 4.3 Mr Nobody

Textbook Questions and Answers

1. Read the poem aloud.

Question 1.
Read the poem aloud.

2. Complete the following chart of personal pronouns using words from the brackets.

Question 1.
Complete the following chart of personal pronouns using words from the brackets:
(him, our, we, he, her, their, it, me, your).


Which of the above pronouns do you use when you talk about yourself?
Answer:
I, my, me, us, our, ours

Question 2.
Suppose you are telling someone about the good/bad things they have done. What pronouns are you likely to use?
Answer:
you, your, yours

Question 3.
Suppose you are complaining about one or more persons, things to your teacher/mother. What pronouns will you use?
Answer:
he, she, they, him, her, them, his, here, their’s.

3. Write all the instances of the mischief done by Mr Nobody.

Question 1.
Write all the instances of the mischief done by Mr Nobody.
Answer:

  1. Mr Nobody breaks plates by causing cracks in them.
  2. He tears books.
  3. He leaves the door ajar.
  4. He pulls the buttons from our shirts.
  5. He scatters the pins afar.
  6. He does not oil the door and leaves it squeaking.
  7. He leaves finger marks upon the door, as he does not keep his hands clean.
  8. He spills the ink.
  9. He leaves the boots lying around here and there, without putting them in place.

4. What characteristics of Mr Nobody do we learn about from this poem?

Question 1.
What characteristics of Mr Nobody do we learn about from this poem?
Answer:
Mr Nobody seems to be a very mischievous, playful and irresponsible person. He does not handle things with care as he breaks plates. He behaves in a very careless manner by leaving the door ajar. He seems to be very insensitive to others’ problems because he pulls out buttons from shirts and scatters pins.

5. Imagine that there is a Mr Somebody who has to correct all the wrongs that are done by Mr Nobody.

Question 1.
Write in the following table, what Mr Somebody will have to do.

A few more things to the list in the above table, using your own ideas and experience.
Answer:

Mr Nobody’s Actions

Tasks for Mr Somebody

1. The plate is broken/cracked.

Mend the plate./Throw it away carefully.

2. The book is torn.

Mend the book by either sticking a cello tape or any adhesive that is suitable.

3. The door is ajar.

Shut the door properly.

4. The buttons are pulled from the shirt.

Tuck the buttons on the shirt.

5. The pins are scattered.

Gather all the pins, put them in a container and keep them safely in an appropriate place.

6. The door is still squeaking.

Oil the door to prevent it from squeaking.

7. There are finger marks upon the door.

Wipe and clean the finger marks on the door.

8. The ink has spilled over.

Clean and wipe the spilled ink.

9. Boots are lying around.

Arrange the shoes in pairs and put them on the shoe rack neatly.

10. Expensive clothes are scattered.

Gather the clothes and put them in the laundry basket (to be put for washing).

11. Dirty plates on the table

Pick up the plates and glasses and place them in the sink for washing.

12. Leave the comb without cleaning.

Remove the hair from the comb, wipe neatly and keep it in the comb stand.

6. Write about one occasion each when you have behaved like:

Question 1.
Write about one occasion each when you have behaved like:
Answer:
a. Mr Nobody: I took out the thermometer for checking my temperature as I suspected that I was running fever. After checking my body temperature, I kept the thermometer on my bed next to me. My mother who came in to check if I was not keeping too well, sat on it. The thermometer not only broke but also hurt her on her palm.

b. Mr Somebody: My dad came home in a hurry from the bank and was leaving for office. In haste, he forgot his mobile. I spotted it as soon as he left. So, I took and went behind him to give it to him so that he would not miss out on any of his urgent business calls.

7. Listen and complete.

Question 1.
Close your books. The teacher will dictate some lines from the poem. She will say the first half and you have to write the entire line/verse.
(a) I know a funny …….. ………. .
As quite as a ………..
Who does the mischief that is done
………… ………… ………..!

(b) There’s no one ever sees his face,
And yet we all ………….
That every plate we break was ………….
By ………… …………

8. Use the following expressions in your own sentences.

Question a.
We all agree that ……………..
Answer:
We all agree that we should plant at least one tree each year and nurture it to save our environment.

Question b.
It is he/she who …………..
Answer:
It is he/she who helped the blind old lady to cross the road in spite of being in a hurry to reach school.

Question c.
Don’t you see …………….
Answer:
Don’t you see that all lot of effort and hard work has to be put in order to succeed?

Question d.
None of us…
Answer:
None of us ever thought about such an interesting and brilliant idea.

Additional Important Questions and Answers

Reading Skills and Poetic Device.

Question 1.
Give the description of the man – Mr Nobody.
Answer:
Mr. Nobody is a funny little mischievous man who is as quiet as a mouse.

Question 2.
What does Mr Nobody do?
Answer:
Mr. Nobody does all the mischief that is done in everybody’s house, without being visible to anyone.

Question 3.
What is the fact that all agree about Mr Nobody?
Answer:
All of us agree to it that every plate that we break was cracked by Mr Nobody.

Question 4.
What mischief does Mr Nobody do with books and the door?
Answer:
Mr Nobody always tears out books and leaves the door ajar (slightly open).

Question 5.
What are the things done to our shirts and pins by Mr Nobody?
Answer:
Mr Nobody pulls the buttons from our shirts and scatters the pins far and wide.

Question 6.
What work do we leave undone, to be done by Mr Nobody?
Answer:
We leave the work of oiling the door to be done by Mr. Nobody.

Question 7.
Why is oiling required for the door?
Answer:
Oiling has to be done to the door because it is making the squeaking noise, while opening and closing.

Read the extract and answer the questions given below.

Question 1.
What are the things that we mess up with but blame them as belonging to Mr Nobody? Why?
Answer:
The finger marks on the door, the unclosed blinds that make the curtains fade, the spilled ink, the boots lying around – all these things belong to us, but to avoid being blamed by the others as being irresponsible.

Question 2.
What do we do to the door and not agree that we have done?
Answer:
We leave our finger marks upon the door because our hands are not clean. But we do not agree that we have done so.

Question 3.
How do we make the curtains fade?
Answer:
We never keep the blinds of the windows closed. The sunlight falls on the curtains inside and makes the curtains lose their bright colour. So, the curtains have a faded look.

Question 4.
What happens to the ink and boots sometimes?
Answer:
We spill the ink and allow the boots to be kept in an unorganized manner. The boots are not kept on the shoe rack.

Summary in English

The poet begins by stating that there is a funny little person in every house, who does all the mischief very quietly. No one can see this person’s face because he does not let himself become visible as he does everything wrong. Yet, all of us do agree that every plate that was found cracked (mischief done) was done so by Mr. Nobody.

Mr. Nobody is the one who always damages books by tearing them. He leaves the door slightly open without closing it properly. Mr. Nobody also pulls away the buttons from our shirts making them unfit for wearing. He scatters the pins here and there and afar, and makes them invisible to everyone and dangerous too. We let the squeaking door squeak and do not bother to oil it because we leave the work of oiling to be done by Mr. Nobody. We do not want to take pains to do anything responsibly.

We never leave finger marks upon the door. If at all they are there, they are made by none of us. If the blinds are left unclosed, then the curtains start fading. Even if they remain unclosed, we are never to be blamed as we never leave them unclosed. We never spill the ink for all this is done by Mr. Nobody. The books that are lying around are not ours. They belong to Mr. Nobody.

Introduction:

‘Mr. Nobody’ is a poem whose poet is unknown. The poem deals with many things that we never bother about and leave carelessly. This attitude of living very lackadaisical about many everyday things and chores is brought to our notice. The poet also feels that instead of living negligently, we should introspect and exhibit a more responsible behaviour.

Glossary:

  1. mischief – troublesome and playful behaviour
  2. cracked – broken glitch
  3. ajar – slightly open
  4. scatters (adv) – throws about and strews
  5. afar (adv) – at or to a distance
  6. prithee – please (used to convey a polite request) old English of ‘I pray thee’
  7. blinds – screens for a window
  8. fade – lose colour, freshness or strength gradually.
  9. spill – cause to fall or run out of a container