Montmorency’s ambition in life is to interfere with others and be abused. He wants to be a perfect nuisance and make people mad. If things are thrown at his head, he feels his day has not been wasted. To get somebody to stumble over him, and curse him steadily for an hour is his highest aim and object. He came and sat on things, just when they were going to be packed. He put his leg into the jam and worried the teaspoons and pretended that lemons were rats and got into the hamper and killed three of them.

Question - 12 : -
Of the three, Jerome, George and Harris, who do you think is the best or worst packer? Support your answer with details from the text.

Answer - 12 : -

Of the three, Harris is the worst packer in this world. But none of them is the perfect packer. All of them are confused and do not know what is to be placed and where. So far as Jerome is concerned he unpacked the bag to find his toothbrush in a boot. He also packs his spectacles in the bag. Harris and George start their work in a light hearted spirit. There are piles of plates, cups, kettles, bottles, jars, pies, stoves, cakes and tomatoes. They break a cup. Harris packs the strawberry jam on top of a tomato and squashes it. They have to pick out the tomato with a teaspoon. George treads on the butter. He gets it off from his slipper and puts it in the kettle. He puts it down on a chair and Harris sits on it. It sticks to him and then they look for it all over the room. In this way they created chaos in the room.

Question - 13 : -
How did Montmorency ‘contribute’ to the packing?

Answer - 13 : -

Montmorency’s contribution to the packing cannot be forgotten. His ambition in life was to disturb others and be abused by them. He came and sat on things, just when they were going to be packed and he put his leg into the jam. He disturbed everything. He pretended the lemons to be rats and got into the hamper and killed three of them.

Montmorency wanted to be a perfect nuisance and make people mad. If things are thrown at his head, he feels his day has not been wasted. To get somebody to stumble over him, and curse him steadily for an hour was his highest aim and objective. When he got succeeded in accomplishing it, his conceit became quite unbearable.

Question - 14 : -
Do you find this story funny? What are the humorous elements in it? (Pick out at least three, think about what happens, as well as how it is described.)

Answer - 14 : -

The story is really humorous and funny. Jerome’s episode of packing, Harris’s and George’s way of packing and Montmorency’s contribution have made the story funny and interesting. Jerome was confused about his toothbrush and found it in a boot. He also packed his spectacles in the bag. The incident of butter makes the reader laugh. George treads on the butter and it sticks to his slipper. Later he puts it on the chair. Harris sits on the chair and it sticks to his bottom. They squash the tomatoes by putting the strawberry jam on them.

Question - 15 : -
Match the words/phrases in Column ‘A’ with their meanings in Column ‘B’.

A

B

1. slaving

(i) a quarrel or an argument

2. chaos

(ii) remove something from inside another thing using a sharp tool

3. rummage

(iii) strange, mysterious, difficult to explain

4. scrape out

(iv) finish successfully, achieve

5. stumble over, tumble into

(v) search for something by moving things around hurriedly or carelessly

6. accomplish

(vi) complete confusion and disorder

7. uncanny

(vii) fall, or step awkwardly while walking

8. (to have or get into) a row

(viii) working hard

Answer - 15 : -

A	B
1. slaving	(viii) working hard
2. chaos	(vi) complete confusion and disorder
3. rummage	(v) search for something by moving things around hurriedly or carelessly
4. scrape out	(ii) remove something from inside another thing using a sharp tool
5. stumble over, tumble into	(vii) fall, or step awkwardly while walking
6. accomplish	(iv) finish successfully, achieve
7. uncanny	(iii) strange, mysterious, difficult to explain
8. (to have or get into) a row	(i) a quarrel or an argument

Question - 16 : -
Now work in pairs. Give

two commands to your partner.
two do’s and don’ts to a new student in your class.
directions to get to each other’s houses,
instructions for moving the body in an exercise or a dance, or for cooking something.

Answer - 16 : -

1. Don’t waste time. Don’t spit here.

2. Do’s : (a) Respect your teachers, (b) Behave properly.

Don’ts : (a) Don’t make a noise, (b) Don’t come late to the class.

3. Go straight on M.G. Road. Walk for 10 minutes. Look to the left. There is a park nearby. Across the park, there is my house. It looks like a bungalow with a Holy Cross structure.

4. Instructions: Sit cross-legged. Raise your palm. Put the thumb on one nostril. Breathe into the air. Then close the open nostril with the tip of the first finger. Remove the thumb from the first nostril. Breathe out the air through the first nostril. This is the yoga called ‘Lorn VHom’

Question - 17 : -
“I told George and Harris that they had better leave the whole matter entirely to me.”

The words had better are used
in an advice or suggestion:
You had better take your umbrella; it looks like rain.
in an order
You had better complete your homework before you go out to play.
as a threat
You had better leave or I’ll have you arrested for trespass !
When we speak, we say you ’d/I’d/he’d better, instead of you had better, etc.

Question 1.
Work in pairs to give each other advice, orders or suggestions, or even to threaten each other. Imagine situations like the following: Your partner

Hasn’t returned a book to the library.
Has forgotten to bring lunch.
hasn’t got enough change for bus fare.
has found out a secret about you.
has misplaced your English textbook.

Answer - 17 : -

You had better return the book to the library; the librarian charges fine for any delay.
You had better not to forget to bring your lunch.
You had better get change for bus fare or alight from the bus.
You had better keep your secrets or he will make them public.
You had better keep your English textbook; your brother will misplace it.

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Chapter 13 – Packing Solutions

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