NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English Chapter 1

NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Best Christmas Present In The World

Comprehension Check Page No. 10

Question 1. What did the author find in a junk shop?
Solution : The author found a very old 19th 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. 

Question 2. What did he find in a secret drawer? Who do you think had put it in there?
Solution : In the secret drawer of the desk, the author found a small tin box. It had a letter in it. I think the owner of the roll-top desk might have put it there.

 Comprehension Check Page No. 14

Question 1. Who had written the letter, to whom, and when?

Solution : 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?

Solution : Jim wrote the letter to tell his wife about a wonderful thing that had happened on Christmas day. The British and the Germans were engaged in a war, yet on this day, both the troops met in no man’s land. It was a thing of wonder because right in the middle of a war, the warring soldiers were making peace.

Question 3. What jobs did Hans Wolf and Jim Macpherson have when they were not soldiers?

Solution : 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?

Solution : 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?

Solution : No, Jim Macpherson never came back home from the war. Perhaps therefore his wife Connie had preserved his letters.

Comprehension Check Page No. 15

Question 1. Why did the author go to Bridport?
Solution : 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?

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

Comprehension Check Page No. 16

Question 1. Who did Connie Macpherson think her visitor was?
Solution : 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?

Solution : The sentence which shows that the visitor did not try to hide his identity is, ‘I explained about the desk, about how I had found it, but I don’t think she was listening.’

Working with the text
Question 1. For how long do you think Connie had kept Jim’s letter? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer
Connie kept Jim’s letter for a long period of time. We understand this from the fact that she told the narrator how she used to read the letter every day and could feel Jim’s presence around her always.

Question 2. Why do you think the desk had been sold, and when?
Answer
The desk must have been sold when Connie’s house had burnt. The table had been damaged by fire as well as water.

Question 3. Why do Jim and Hans think that games or sports are good ways of resolving conflicts? Do you agree? 
Answer
Both Jim and Hans were soldiers. Both were warm-hearted. They had seen the sufferings of war. So it was natural for them to hate war. They favoured a peaceful solution to settle disputes. Games or sports, they said, were good ways of resolving conflicts. I also quite agree with them.

Question 4. Do you think the soldiers of the two armies are like each other, or different from each other? Find evidence from the story to support your answer. 
Answer
The soldiers of the two armies are similar to each other as per the following reasons derived from the story:
(1) Both armies celebrated Christmas together.
(2) They shared good moments together by eating, laughing, drinking and talking with each other.
(3) Both armies played a friendly football match and approved the fact that conflicts could have been resolved by playing a match.

Question 5. Mention the various ways in which the British and the German soldiers become friends and find things in common at Christmas. 
Answer
The British and the German soldiers belonged to different camps. They were enemies in war time. But after all they were human beings and therefore they had similar feelings. They shared the festive spirit of the Christmas. They got over hatred and played games, feasted and drank like good friends. Both hated war. Both were anxious to go back to their families at the end of war.

Question 6. What is Connie’s Christmas present? Why is it “the best Christmas present in the world”? 7. Do you think the title of this story is suitable for it? Can you think of any other title(s)?
Answer
Connie thought that Jim had come back home from war. She mistook the author for Jim. She had been waiting for her husband Jim. So the coming home of Jim was the best Christmas present in the world for her.

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