Class-8, English Reader (Special), Lesson-16 Handy Andy at the Post Office / M.P. Board

Lesson-16

Handy Andy at the Post Office 

Glossary

Ingenious- skillful in inventing, cleverness, quickness of ideas

Disappointment- sadness

Squire- landlord

Troublesome- causing trouble

Confound you- (old fashioned) used to show that one is angry with somebody

Ignorant- lacking in knowledge

Brisk- quick and active

Curious- having a strong desire to know something

Contempt- lack of respect

Impertinent- being disrespectful to an elderly person

Goose- a fowl, but here it means a silly person

Messenger- a person who delivers messages

Taunt- make fun of someone in order to hurt

Appearance- the way somebody looks from outside

Provoke- to make someone angry

Appeal- request

Superiority- the state or quality of being better

Gunpowder- explosive powder used especially in bombs and fireworks

Word Power

(A)  Select words from the text which convey meanings similar to the following:

a)   A landlord- squire

b)   Quick and active- brisk

c)    A silly person- goose

d)   To make someone angry

e)   Request- appeal

(B)  Match words with opposite meanings:

remember	reject
arrive	possible
appear	forget
impossible	vanish
select	depart

Ans-

remember	forget
arrive	depart
appear	Vanish
impossible	possible
select	reject

(C)  Here are two words from the lesson beginning with the prefix “im”-

-      Impossible

-      Impatient

The prefix “im” is used to make the antonym or opposite of a root word.

Possible – Impossible

Patient- Impatient

Here are some words beginning with the letters “im”. In which of these words do these two letters act as a prefix and in which are they part of the root word?

1-  Imaginary

2-  Immortal

3-  Imperfect

4-  Imitate

5-  Impure

6-  Immature

7-  Immense

8-  Impact

“im” as a prefix	“im” is part of root word
immoral	Imaginary
imperfect	imitate
Immature	immense
Impure	impact

Comprehension

1.   Complete these sentences:

      1-  Andy went to town to bring his master’s letter from the post office.

      2-  The postmaster did not give any letter to Andy because he did not pay eleven pence.

      3-  Andy’s face was beaming with delight because he had brought three letters for eleven-pence

2.   Who spoke these words? Why did they speak them?

1.   “ I don’t like to be troublesome, sir.”

Ans- Andy spoke these words to his master as he was ignorant about the post office but he did not want to trouble his master.

2.   “Get out! Your master must be as great a goose as yourself to send such a messenger.”

Ans- The postmaster spoke these words in annoyance. Andy asked him to give letter for his master but he was not ready to tell the name of master.

3.   “What should I pay eleven-pence for?”

Ans- Andy spoke these words when the postmaster asked him to pay money for the letter because he had seen another man paying only four-pence for a letter.

4.   “You’ll provoke me to break your neck some day?”

Ans- The squire said these words to Andy in anger as he didn’t pay for letter to the postmaster and came back home without letter.

5.   “He’ll murder me if I’m not back soon.”

Ans- Andy said these words to the postmaster because his master was very angry and he was waiting for the letter.

3.   Answer the following questions:

Q1.       What was Andy’s excuse for not asking the squire where to go?

Ans- Andy’s excuse for not asking the squire where to go was that he did not want to trouble him.

Q2.       What made Andy think the postmaster was very curious?

Ans- The postmaster wanted to know the name of Andy’s master for giving his letter to him. This made Andy think that the postmaster was very curious.

Q3.       Why did the postmaster call Andy’s master ‘a goose’?

Ans- The postmaster called Andy’s master ‘a goose’ because he had sent such foolish servant to bring his letter. Andy wanted to take letter without telling the name of master.

Q4.       Why did the postmaster refuse to give Andy any letter?

Ans- The postmaster refused to give Andy any letter because he didn’t know him.

Q5.       What was the postmaster doing when Andy made a second visit to the post office?

Ans- Postmaster was selecting the letter for each of the two persons from a large parcel on the counter.

Q6.       Why did Andy take away two letters from the heap?

Ans- Andy took away two letters from the heap because according to him eleven-pence for a letter was not justified.

Q7.       What made Andy feel delighted?

Ans- Andy could manage to bring three letters for eleven-pence. This made him feel delighted.

Q8.       Why was the squire puzzled to see Andy happy?

Ans- Squire scolded Andy before going to post office, yet his face was beaming with delight and there was an air of superiority in his manner. This made him puzzled.

Let’s Learn

1.   Convert the interrogative sentences into indirect speech.

Example:

She said to me, “How old are you?”

She asked me how old I was.

a.    Deepa said to me, “How is your mother today?”

Deepa asked me how my mother was that day.

b.   He said to Suresh, “What are you reading?”

He asked Suresh what he was reading.

c.    Sunil said to the shopkeeper, “Are these good mangoes?”

Sunil asked the shopkeeper whether those mangoes were good.

d.   Kamini said to the teacher, “May I go out, Madam?”

Kamini asked the teacher if she might go out./

Kamini asked the teacher to go out.

e.    I said to Reeta, “Do you like sweets?”

I asked Reeta if she liked sweets.

If Versus Whether

The formal rule is to use if when you have a conditional sentence and whether when you are showing that two alternatives are possible. Although in informal writing and speech the two words are often used interchangeably

2.   Convert the imperative sentences into indirect speech.

Example:

The principal said to the peon, “Ring the bell immediately.”

The principal askes the peon to ring the bell immediately.

a.    I said to the peon, “Take these files to the manager.”

Indirect- I asked the peon to ring the bell immediately.

b.   The doctor said to her, “Keep this bottle away from the children.”

Indirect- The doctor asked her to keep that bottle away from the children.

c.    The beggar said to the rich man, “Have pity on me.”

Indirect- The beggar asked the rich man to have pity on him.

d.   Hema said to her father, “Please give me some money.”

Indirect- Hema asked her father to give her some money.

e.    Mohan said his friend, “Don’t worry about me.”

Indirect- Mohan asked his friend not to worry about him.

Let’s Talk

Imagine you are one of the people who had watched the episode that took place between Handy Andy and the postmaster at the post office. Frame you own dialogues, read them aloud and enact the conversation which would have taken place between Andy and the postmaster.

Andy : Good morning, Sir! I’m Andy I’m here to collect a letter, if any.

Post master : Good morning, Andy! Who do you want it for?

Andy : I want it for my master.

Post master : Who is your master?

Andy : Squire Egan is my master.

Post master : You have to pay me eleven pence postage.

Andy : But you gave for four-pence to Mr. Durfy.

Post master : Postage is charged based on the distance.

Andy : Alright. Here is the money.

Post master : Here is a letter for the squire.

Andy : Thank you.

Post master : You're welcome.

Let’s Read

Read the following telephonic conversation between Ritu and Swati.

Ritu : Hello, is it 4766901?

Swati : Yes, may I know who’s speaking?

Ritu : I.m Ritu, could I speak to Sonam?

Swati : I’m sorry but Sonam has gone to the library. Is there a message for her?

Ritu : Yes, please tell her that the English unit test has been postponed from 27^th November to 30^th November 16. Please see that she gets this message as it is very important.

Swati : I’ll surely convey this message to her.

Ritu : Thank you very much.

Answer these questions:

Q.1 Whose telephone no is 4766901?

Ans- The telephone no is 4766901 is of Sonam.

Q.2 Who does Ritu want to speak to?

Ans- Ritu wants to speak to Sonam.

Q.3 Why couldn’t she do so?

Ans- She couldn’t do so because Sonam had gone to the library.

Q.4 What is the revised date of English test?

Ans- The revised date of English test is 30^th November 16.

Let’s Write

You visited a nearby post office last Friday. Write a letter to your sister describing your visit to the post office. Also mention the purpose of visit.

120, Gauri Society,

Ashok Nagar,

Bhopal

1^st Jan. 2020

Dear Amrita,

Our English teacher Mrs. Sharma had organized a trip to the post office with an intent of bringing the real life, practical knowledge into the curriculum. We visited GPO. The postmaster explained us about the processing of posted letters. He also gave us insight about the wide variety of services offered at post offices. However, children’s favorite part of the visit was the stamp section where they were given information about the types of stamps.

Finally, it was the turn of the children to put all the things learnt to use. So, we purchased stamps and posted our cards. We also presented a Thank You card to the Post master for making this trip immensely educative.

Your loving sister,

Vanya

Let’s do it

Visit a post office in your area. Find out and make a list of people who work there, the facilities available and the functions performed.

People working at post office	The facilities available	Functions performed

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