KSEEB 8th English Benjamin Jones Goes Swimming Poem Lesson Notes Summary Questions and Answers
Pre-reading task:
Question 1.
Have you ever participated in a competition?
Answer:
Yes, I have participated in a competition.
Question 2.
How did you feel at the start of the competition?
Answer:
I felt anxious, worried as well as excited.
Question 3.
Did you win a prize?
Answer:
Yes, I have won a prize.
Question 4.
How did you feel then?
Answer:
I felt thrilled at my achievement.
Textbook Questions and Answers
Comprehension:
I. Answer the following questions in two or three sentences each:
Question 1.
What did Benjamin inform his wife?
Answer:
Benjamin Jones informed his wife that he wanted to compete in the free for all swimming contest, on the 4th of July.
Question 2.
Why did Benjamin’s wife discourage him?
Answer:
Benjamin’s wife discouraged him because at the end of the sentences add music and rhythm
he hadn’t gone swimming for years. She also found her husband’s desire of taking part in the contest very weird. She was worried that he would lose in the contest and make a fool of himself and thereby embarrass her.
Question 3.
How did Benjamin win the swimming ccompitition?
Answer:
In the swimming contest, Benjamin was so slow that a crab decided to venture a bite at his toe. When Benjamin saw the crab near his toe, he swam like a guy possessed, and won the race.
Question 4.
What do you learn from this poem?
Answer:
We learn that one can face challenges in life and be victorious, when faced with dire consequences.
II. Appreciation:
Answer the following as directed :
Question 1.
The poem is in the style of
a. a dialogue,
b. anti-climax,
c. satire,
d. climax
Answer:
d. climax
Question 2.
Appreciate the following expressions in 3 – 4 sentences.
(a) With others so fast, you’re sure to be last.
Answer:
The internal rhyming words ‘fast’ and ‘last’ is appealing to the ears and adds a rhythm to the poetry. The sentence also calls in for humour when one visualizes an aged person competing at a very slow pace with the young fast swimmers.
(b) His pace was so slow that a crab saw his toe and thought it would venture a bite.
Answer:
This sentence is a beautiful word picture that exhibits one of the humourous parts of the poem. The climax of the poetry begins with this sentence because it was this incident that changed the result of the competition at the last moment. It also has internal rhyming terms ‘slow’ and ‘toe’ which also adds rhythm to the poem.
(c) She fell in the lake with a splash.
Answer:
Unable to contain her shock and surprise at the turn of events, Benjamin’s wife fell ’ into the lake. This scene adds humour galore to the whole poem. Being the last line of the poem, this hilarious and humorous incident is a befitting conclusion to the poem.
Question 3.
Compose a four lined poem with any humorous situation which you have come across and present it to the class.
Student’s activity.
Sample poem
Answer:
My dog is quite hip
Except when he takes a dip
He looks like a fool.
When he jumps in the pool.
Exercises
III. Let’s read and respond:
Fill in the blanks based on your understanding of the poem :
1. Benjamin told his wife that he wanted to take part in the free for all swimming contest.
2. It was a swimming competition.
3. Benjamin’s wife said that he would come last because he had not gone swimming for years.
4. The swimmers galore waited for acclaim on the day of the competition.
5. The competition took place on the 4th of July.
6. Swimmers/ participants /competitors passed Benjamin on the right and left because they were younger and they were well trained, professional swimmers.
7. The crab thought of biting Benjamin’s toe because it mistook the slow moving toe before it, for some marine creature that it could eat.
8. Beniamin won the race as he swam like a swimmer possessed.
9. His wife fell into the river because she was, shocked to see her husband not only swim so fast but also take the lead with a dash, to win.
Internal rhyming terms (within the same lines)
| Jones | tones |
| compete | meet |
| said | absurd |
| fast | last |
| came | acclaim |
| place | race |
| began | man |
| slow | toe |
| crab | grab |
| toe | foe |
| dock | shock |
| shore | roar |
Rhyming terms at the end of the lines,
| years | ears |
| right | bite |
| guessed | possessed |
| dash | splash |
| galore | shore |
Additional Questions and Answers
I. Annotate:
Question 1.
“I bet I can win, if I try”.
Answer:
The above sentence is an extract from the -poem ‘Benjamin Jones goes swimming’, written by Aileen Fischer. The sentence is said by Benjamin to his wife. It states the intense desire of poor Benjamin to take part in the swimming contest. It also speaks about the confidence he has about his victory; and sure enough he does win the contest.
Question 2.
“My word! How very absurd!”
Answer:
The above sentence.is an extract from the poem ‘Benjamin Jones goes swimming’ written by Aileen Fischer. The sentence is said by Benjamin’s wife when she hears about her husband’s decision to take part in the free for all swimming contest. The sentence expresses her surprise at his decision because he hadn’t gone swimming for years.
II. Change into indirect speech:
Question 1.
“I think I’ll compete in the free for all meet.” said Benjamin.
Answer:
Benjamin said that he thought that he would compete in the free for all meet.
Question 2.
“I’ll blush to the tip of my ears.” said Benjamin’s wife.
Answer:
Benjamin’s wife said that she would blush to the tip of her ears.
III. Identify the figure of speech:
He swam like a swimmer possessed.
Answer:
Simile.
Multiple choice questions.
Fill in the blanks by choosing the correct answer from the four options provided:
Question 1.
Benjamin Jones wanted to take part in a competition.
(a) music
(b) painting
(c) swimming
(d) dancing
Answer:
(c) swimming
Question 2.
The poem ‘Benjamin Jones goes swimming’ is written by
(a) Wordsworth
(b) Shelly
(c) Aileen Fischer
(d) Sarojini Naidu
Answer:
(c) Aileen Fischer
Benjamin Jones Goes Swimming Poem Summary in English
This is a hilarious poem about an elderly person who wants to compete in a swimming race. Benjamin Jones announced to his wife one day, that he wanted to compete in a free for all swimming contest which was to be held on the 4th of July. His wife was surprised at his suggestion because Benjamin hadn’t gone swimming for years.
On the day of the competition, all the participants stood poised for the race to begin and Benjamin was one among them. The race began and Benjamin was passed on the left and the right by the fast swimmers who were naturally well trained. Poor Benjamin was so slow that a crab saw a slow moving object before it.
It was actually the toe of poor Benjamin. The crab decided to take a bite. When Benjamin saw the crab near his toe, he swam like one possessed and completed the race in the lead. When Benjamin’s wife saw her husband swim so fast, she was so astonished that she fell into the lake. The rhyming terms within the sentence as well as to the poetry.