KSEEB 8th English Before The Match Lesson Notes Summary Questions and Answers
Textbook Questions and Answers
I. Comprehension
A. Answer the following questions in a sentence or two each:
Question 1.
Name the teams that are to play the cricket match in the lesson.
Answer:
MCC (Malgudi Cricket Club) and YMU (Young Men’s Union) were the two teams.
Question 2.
Who were the prominent players in the MCC team?
Answer:
Rajam, Mani and Swami.
Question 3.
Who was the “Tate” of the team? Why was he called so?
Answer:
Swami was called as ‘Tate’ of the team. Maurice Tate was a famous English fast bowler, at that time. Like him, Swami was also a good fast bowler, really adept at taking wickets. So the nickname.
Question 4.
Why could Swami not attend the practice in the evenings?
Answer:
Swami’s school had drill classes daily after school hours, which was compulsory to all the students. They were very strict about that and students were not excused that easily.
Question 5.
What was Swami’s excuse for exempting him from drill for a week?
Answer:
Swami formed a plan to get exempted ‘ from drill classes for a week. He thought that he would complain of delirium, which he thought was some kind of stomach ache, get a Doctor’s certificate and avoid drill classes for a week.
Question 6.
What did Swami request the doctor to give him?
Answer:
Swami told the doctor the truth about the match and the need to have some practice before the match. He requested the doctor to give him a certificate asking the school authorities to let him off daily at four thirty, citing his delirium.
B. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow:
Question 1.
“There was only one who caused him the deepest anxiety day and night.”
a. Who caused Rajam the deepest anxiety?
Answer:
Swami caused Rajam the anxiety.
b. Why was this so?
Answer:
Swami, nicknamed ‘Tate’, was the team’s star bowler, and if MCC were to win, they need him. But, he was not at all turning up for practice, citing drill classes on some other activity at his school.
Question 2.
“Just seven days before the match, Swaminathan realized that his evenings were more precious than ever?
a. What is the match referred to here?
Answer:
It was the cricket match to be played by MCC against YMU on a Sunday.
b. Why were the evenings more precious than ever?
Answer:
The match was only seven days away. Swami has not been attending the practice games. There was not much time for Swami to prepare himself for the match, if he misses practice, because of drill classes at the school. The other team members, and the captain were also disheartened.
Question 3.
“But contrary to the custom, he had not taken off his coat and cap.”
a. Why did Swami not take off his coat and cap?
Answer:
Swami wanted to give a miss to the drill class and go for cricket practice. So, just after the evening bell, when the rest of the boys were in their shirts, with their dhotis tucked up while lining up for the drill class, he had not taken off his coat and cap.
b. What happened soon after?
Answer:
When the drill master saw him still in his coat and cap, he muttered that Swami would not be getting any leave and asked him to take them off. Swami went behind him and blurted out that he was not well and was delirious. The drill master did not believe him, but allowed him to go.
Question 4.
“Well, I could do it. But is there anything wrong with you?”
a. Who is speaking to Swami these lines?
Answer:
Doctor T. Kesavan spoke these words to Swami.
b. Was there anything really wrong with Swami?
Answer:
There was reall nothing wrong with Swami.
c. What is the real purpose of Swami’s visit?
Answer:
Swami wanted to get a medical certificate from the doctor, citing his delirium as illness to exempt him from drill classes, so that he can go for cricket practice.
Question 5.
“I can’t give you the certificate. But I shall talk to your Head Master about you and request him to let you off after four-thirty.”
a. Why does the doctor refuse to give a certificate?
Answer:
The doctor was afraid that he may be prosecuted for giving a false medical certificate and also it was unethical as Swami had no physical problems. So he refused to give the certificate.
b. What does he offer to do instead?
Answer:
He offered to talk to Swami’s Head Master about Swami and the coming cricket match and request the Head master on Swami’s behalf to let him off after four thirty.
c. Do you think the doctor was kind to Swami?
Answer:
The doctor was definitely sympathetic to Swami and was kind enough to take up Swami’s case and willing to request the Head master to exempt him from drill classes.
C. Answer the following questions in about six or eight sentences each:
Question 1.
How did Swami manage to get the permission of the drill master?
Answer:
Just seven days before the match, as soon as the evening bell rang, the boys lined up for drill class. All of them had taken off their coats and were in their shirts with dhotis tucked up. Swami lingered on without removing his coat and cap. The drill master stopped in front of Swami and told him that no leave would be given and asked him to remove his coat and cap.
Swami pretended to be sick and pleaded to be let off. He claimed that he was delirious the entire previous night. Drill master did not believe him but fed up with his pestering, allowed him to go.
Question 2.
What was Swami’s plan to get exemption from drill for a week?
Answer:
Swami managed to escape from the drill class for one evening by pretending to be sick. But, he still had to avoid the rest of the week from drill class. He thought of a plan to elaborate on his story of being sick and delirious. Actually, he was not even knowing the meaning of delirious. He thought of going to their family doctor with the same story. He wanted the doctor to give him a medical certificate, to get exemption from the evening drill classes.
Question 3.
How did the doctor promise to help Swami?
Answer:
Early in the morning by seven thirty, Swami turned up at Dr. Kesavan’s dispensary. The doctor enquired Swami the purpose of his visit. Swami told him the truth about the forthcoming cricket match and the need for regular practice. He told the doctor about the evening Drill classes and his requirement to be exempted from the same. He wanted a medical certificate citing his deliriums. The doctor checked him and finding nothing wrong with him, refused to give a certificate. He was afraid that if caught for giving a false certificate, he may be prosecuted. However, he offered to talk to Swami’s head master on his behalf and request for exemption.
II. Speaking Activity.
A. Imagine that the doctor meets Swami’s Head Master and convinces him to let off Swami after 4:30 p.m.
B. Now form groups of four and think of dialogues for this situation. Try to give different endings.
C. Develop a scripts play, the different parts in the story and enact it before the class.
Answer:
Class activity
Example: A paragraph outline Complete the following paragraphs with the help of the clues given below:
Key words: palace, soldiers, fond of, store house, to eat, demanded, summoned, devised, noticed, investigation, keep watch, honey, stole, thief, stand, detect, lifted up, observed, identify.
Linkers: who, and, so, as soon as, thus.
Question 1.
There lived a king by name Krishna. He and Queen Radha lived in a very big ______________ with hundreds of servants and ______________ . Both the King the Queen were ______________ honey. They built a separate store room to store a few tins of ______________ . The king appointed twelve guards to ______________ round the clock.
Answer:
palace, soldiers, and, fond of, honey, keep watch.
Question 2.
One of the guards wanted ______________ some of the royal honey. ______________ he made a secret entry to the ______________ of honey and ______________ a few tins of honey. The queen came to know of the theft in the palace and ______________ her beloved husband to punish the ______________ .
Answer:
to eat, so, store house, stole, demanded, thief.
Question 3.
In the morning, the next day, the king ______________ all the guards at once and ordered them to ______________ in a line. The king ______________ a plan to ______________ the guard who had stolen the honey. He hold them in a polite tone that he ______________ a pinch of honey on the beard of one of the guards. ______________ the king uttered these words one of the guards ______________ his hand to wipe his beard. The king ______________ this act and he hold the guard that he was the culprit. ______________ the king was able to ______________ the thief without any ______________
Answer:
summoned, stand, devised, detect, noticed, as soon as, lifted up observed, thus, identify, investigation.
Before The Match Lesson Summary in English
This is an extract taken from R.K. Narayan’s ‘Swami and Friends’, which is about the adventures and life of a group of school boys in a fictional town Malgudi, before India’s Independence. This incident is about Swami’s desperate attempts to get permission from his school for cricket practice after school hours.
Swami and his friends had formed a cricket team called M.C.C. short for Malgudi Cricket Club. Swami was their star bowler and the boys had nicknamed him ‘Tate’, after Maurice Tate, a famous English fast bowler. They were to play a match on a Sunday, two weeks later. Rajam, the captain was confident that his team could thrash Y.M.U., their opponents. But he was anxious because Swami was not attending their practice games regularly. Swami had a problem at his new school, as they had drill practice daily in the evenings, after classes, which was compulsory.
Just a week before the match, Swami realized his team’s dependence on him and thought to avoid drill and go for practice. He feigned that he was ill and was delirious the previous night. The drill master did not believe him, but permitted him to go. The boys at the field were happy to see him and Rajam jumped with joy.
By next morning, Swami had formed a plan to be free all the evenings of the week for practice. He went to Dr. T. Kesavan, their family doctor and asked for a doctor’s certificate. He told the truth to the doctor about the match, the importance of daily practice and the daily drill class at the school after school hours. He wanted the doctor to give him a certificate that he was having delirium and should be exempted from drill class.
The Doctor checked him up thoroughly and declared that he was quite fit and advised him to stick to drill to get rid of his delirium. Poor Swami was thinking that delirium was some kind of stomach ache. The doctor was against giving him any false medical certificate as it was unethical and he could be prosecuted if found out. But, he assured Swami that he would speak to the Head Master about Swami’s need and request him to let Swami off daily after four thirty, for cricket practice