Class-7 Supplementary Reader (An Alien Hand) Chapter-6, I Want Something in a Cage, Solutions with Additional Exercises / NCERT/CBSE

 

I Want Something in Cage

 

Exercises

Fill in the blanks with the words given:

 

Monotonous, pet, unfolded, perch, screeching and twittering

1.    Mr Purcell owns a pet shop.

2.    There is constant noise of screeching and twittering in the shop, but Mr Purcell is happily unaware of it.

3.    Mr Purcell heard it no more than he would have heard the monotonous ticking of a familiar clock.

4.    It was the proprietor’s custom to perch on a high stool.

5.    Having completed his usual tasks, Mr Purcell again mounted the high stool and unfolded his morning paper.

Arrange these sentences in correct sequence:

·     The man opened the cage, he reached inside and drew out one of the doves.

·   Then he dropped the cage.

·       The man swung around, and stalked abruptly from the store.

·     For an instant the liberator’s silent and lifted gaze watched after them.  

·       He shoved both hands deep in his trouser pockets, hunched down his head and shuffled away.

·     Purcell sighed with sudden relief and he waddled to the window  and stared  out.  

·  He tossed it into the air.

·     He drew out the second and tossed it after the first.

·   They rose like windblown balls of fluff and were lost in the smoky grey of the wintry city.  

 

Correct order

1.    The man swung around, and stalked abruptly from the store.

2.   Purcell sighed with sudden relief and he waddled to the window  and stared  out.  

3.   The man opened the cage, he reached inside and drew out one of the doves.

4. He tossed it into the air.

5.   He drew out the second and tossed it after the first.

6.  They rose like windblown balls of fluff and were lost in the smoky grey of the wintry city.  

7.   For an instant the liberator’s silent and lifted gaze watched after them.  

8.  Then he dropped the cage.

9.    He shoved both hands deep in his trouser pockets, hunched down his head and shuffled away.

 

Click here to read Hindi translation of the story

 

Match these words with their meanings:

          Word - Meaning

Uncanny - unusual 

Magnified -  made to appear big  

Canary - a small, bright yellow bird noted for its singing

Perch - sit   

Digest - read and understand fully

Shuttling glance - constantly looking to and fro   

Snapped - said angrily

Snowy - white   

Crestfallen -  disappointed 

Magnanimously - generously (He smiled a broad smile.)   

Tottered - moved unsteadily

           Mopped - wiped

 

 

Write ‘True’  or ‘False’ against each of following statements.

(i) Mr Purcell sold birds,  cats,  dogs  and monkeys. (True) 

(ii) He was very concerned about the well-being of the birds and animals in his shop. (False)

(iii) He was impressed by the customer who bought the two doves. (False)

(iv) He was a successful shop owner, though insensitive and cold as a person. (True)

2.  Why is Mr Purcell compared to an owl?

Ans- Mr. Purcell’s large glasses magnified his eyes so as to give him the appearance of a wise and genial owl.

 

3.  From the third paragraph pick out

(i)  words associated with cries of birds,

       twitter, cheep, squeal, whispered

(ii)  words associated with noise

        rustling, Flicker, scampered, stir

(iii)  words suggestive of confusion and fear.

 frantic, frightened, bewildered, blindly seeking.

 

 

6.    “... Mr Purcell heard it no more than he would have heard the monotonous ticking of a familiar clock.” (Read para beginning with “It was a rough  day...”)

 

(i)  What does ‘it’ refer to?

Ans- Here  ‘It’ refers to chirping and  squeaking and mewing sounds all around him.

 

(ii)  Why does Mr Purcell not hear ‘it’ clearly?

Ans- Mr. Purcell did not hear ‘it’ clearly because he was accustomed to these sound like the monotonous ticking of a familiar clock.

 

 

7.    Do you think the atmosphere of Mr Purcell’s shop was cheerful or depressing? Give reasons for your answer.

Ans- I think the atmosphere of Mr. Purcell’s shop was depressing because:

1)    Constant stir of movement in the pet shop made the whole atmosphere depressing.

2)    The birds and animals moved in circles restlessly.

3)    Animals seemed to be unhappy in their cages and wanted to be free.

 

8.    Describe the stranger who came to the pet shop. What did he want?

Ans- The stranger who came to the pet shop was wearing shiny shoes. His suit was cheap and ill-fitting but was new. He had a shuttling glance and close-cropped hair.

He wanted something small, with wings in a cage.

 

9.     (i)   The man insisted on buying  the doves because he was fond of birds. Do you agree?

Ans- I don’t agree that the man insisted on buying doves because he was fond of birds.

   He wanted some small creature with wings in a cage. This is because he had sympathy for those who were in cage and he wanted to set them free.

 

(ii) How  had he earned the five dollars he had?

Ans- He earned the five dollars he had by doing hard labour during his ten years of imprisonment.

 

10.     Was the customer interested in the care and feeding of the doves he had bought? If not, why not?

Ans-  No, the customer was not interested in the care and feeding of the doves he had bought. This is because he was going to set them free to fly in the sky.

 

 Discuss the following topics in groups.

 

1.    Why, in your opinion, did the man set the doves free?

Ans- The man set the doves free because he himself was in prison for ten year and had a sympathy for caged birds.

 

2.    Why did it make Mr Purcell feel “vaguely insulted”?

Ans- Mr. Purcell felt “vaguely insulted” because he let him buy them at a reduced price.  It was unexpected for he will immediately loose them.

 

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