Answer The Following Questions

Topic: Lesson: 9 Diary of a Nobody
Class: VIII
Answer the following questions.
a. Pooter has rented a house. What is it like and what issues are
caused by its location?
Answer a. Pooter has rented a new house. It is a six roomed house

along with a breakfast parlour in front, located by a railway track. It
has lots of thingsin it that need fixing or replacing. The issues caused
by the location are the noise of the trains andthe damage to the
garden wall caused by their vibrations.However, the price was
decreased by £2 due to it.
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b. What is Pooter's wife's name and how does he refer to her?
Answer b. Pooter’s wife’s name is Caroline and he lovingly calls to her

as Carrie.
c. What do Pooter and his wife do in the evenings?
Answerc.Pooter and his wife do chores in the evenings. (Chores: the

regular or daily light work of a household or farm)They like to spend
the evenings together at home. Sometimestheir old friend Gowing or
neighbor Cummings drop in which they enjoy.But they seem to spend
time happilywithout friends as well by either puttingthe Venetian
blind straight, or nailing upa fan or nailing down a part of
carpet.Pooter does all this putting in a pipe inhis mouth.
d. What is their son's name and occupation?
Answerd.Their son's name is Willie. He works inthe Bank at Oldham.
e. Who does Pooter blame for the double order of mutton?
Answere.Pooter blames his wife for the double order of mutton.
f. Who is Gowing and why does Pooter get irritated by him?
Answerf.Gowing is an old friend. Pooter gets irritated by him because

he keeps complaining about thesmell of paint and the scraper.
g. What jokes does Pooter tell?
Answerg.Pooter’s jokes are puns.(Puns: make a joke exploiting the

different possible meanings of a word.)Scraper/getting into a scrape
and dry rot/ talking rot (rubbish).
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h. Write lists under the following headings: Pooter's friends, Pooter's
colleagues; Tradespeople.
Answerh.Pooter’s friends – Gowing and Cummings. Pooter’s

colleagues: Pitt, Buckling and Mr Perkupp. Tradespeople: Farmerson
the ironmonger; Horwin the butcher, the other butcher, MrPutley the
painter and decorator.
i. Look at the passages about Pooter at work. What kind of

relationships does he have with hiscolleagues? Explain why what
happens with Pitt is embarrassing for Pooter.
Answeri.Pooter is someone who likes to establishhis seniority and

importance amidsthis colleagues, which is why he made adig at his
young colleagues about theirlate arrival. He mentioned that it wasa
disgraceful act and that if it reachesthe principal then that might
causesuspension. He also tried to ensurediscipline by saying so.Pooter
seemed to be a man who feelshonoured to be around in the firm
forover twenty years. This he tried toassert to a junior colleague
named Pitt,whom he absolutely holds in contemptand considers a
monkey. Pitt, who hadbeen in the firm for just six weeks, had told him
sarcastically, to keep his hairon. Pooter retorted back at his
insolenceby stating his seniority. Pitt had stilldisrespected him. So,
Pooter had saidthat he demands respect from him. In answer to
which Pitt had said, 'All right,go on demanding'. This was quite an
embarrassing incident for Pooter.
j. Farmerson is mentioned five times on four different days. Write

down, in order, the dates witha brief explanation of the interaction
between CP and Farmerson on each date. How and whydoes Pooter's
view of Farmerson change?
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Answerj.Farmerson is mentioned five times on four different days:
April 3: On the 3rdApril, Mr Pooter writes that he promised Farmerson,
the ironmonger to employhim if he needs any nails or tools. April 9:
Mr Pooter called Farmerson the ironmonger, on his way to town and
gave him the job of movingthe scraper and repairing the bells. April
10: Farmerson comes to Pooter’s house to fix the scraper.He tells
Pooter that he does not usually do such small jobs himself but he is
making an exceptionfor Pooter. Pooter is flattered by this. April 12:
Pooter leaves Farmerson repairing the scraper, butwhen he comes
home he finds three men working. When he asks about it, Farmerson
says thathe had penetrated the gas-pipe. He makes excuses but
Pooter feels that is ‘no consolation for theexpense’ he will incur.
(Incur: become subject to one's own behaviour or actions.)Pooter
promises Farmerson work and then thinks highly of him, without
anyreal reason to do so. His view changes when he realizes that
Farmerson’s mistake will cost himmore money.
k.Which details from the diary reveal that Pooter is a show-off?
Answerk. The passage where Pooter talks aboutFarmerson coming to

attend to thescraper reveals Pooter's show-off nature.He mentions
that Farmerson usuallydoes not perform such small jobs but itis only
for Pooter that he is making anexception and doing it himself.There is
another instance of Pootertelling his young colleagues about
theconsequences of late arrival and that theymight be thrown out if
the news of theircoming late reaches the principal, goeson to show
his ostentatious nature.(Ostentatious: attracting or seeking to attract
attention, admiration)
2. Answer the following with reference to context.
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a. Mr Gowing must have took it by mistake last night as there was a
stick in the 'all that didn't belong to nobody.
i. Whose speech is Pooter reporting?
Answer i. Pooter is reporting Sarah’s speech. Sarah is their servant.
ii. What has gone missing?
Answer ii. Pooter’s umbrellahad gone missing.
iii. Write the sentence out correctly by replacing the words in bold.
Answer iii. ‘Mr Gowing must have taken it by mistake last night as
there was a stick in the hall that didn’tbelong to anybody.’
b. I consented, but felt I had been talked into it.
i. Who does Pooter consent to?
Answer i. Pooter gave his consent to Mr Putley, his painter and

decorator of the house.
ii. What does he consent to?
Answer ii. He consented to allowing Mr Putley to entirely repaint the

stairs.
iii. What does 'talked into it' mean?
Answer iii. ‘Talked into it’ means being persuaded someone to do

something by talking.
Working with words
1. Match the phrases below to their meanings and then use them in
sentences of your own.
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Answer: Match the phrases
keep your hair on - don’t panic or lose your temper
talked into it - persuaded
drop in on - visit
take the trouble - make the effort
without ceremony - informally and spontaneously
given the tip - notified
Answer: Sentences of your own
i. keep your hair on - Keep your hair on as in no time we will sail

through this turmoil.
ii. talked into it - The investors talked the ignorant clients into
agreeing to sign up for the deal.
iii. drop in on - Meera graciously asked her neighbours to drop in on

her house whenever they wished to.
iv. take the trouble - Jatin must take the troubleof approaching every
possible agencies if hereally wants to crack this deal.
v. Without ceremony - They quietly tied theknot without ceremony.
vi. Given the tip - The robbers were given thetip about the arrival of
the police.
2. Strike the odd word out in each list and then write the words which
have similar meanings(synonyms) into the given order.
a. insolent rude disrespectful sassy polite

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(most to least sophisticated)
b. annoyed riled indignant angry sad
(in ascending order of the strength of feeling)
c. boring dreary monotonous tedious fun
(in alphabetical order)
d. sacked fired released discharged shocked
(least to most formal)
3. Use one word from each list in sentences of your own. How each
word is used must show your understand its meaning.
a. Rima grew up to be an insolent brat due to excessive pampering.
b. The teacher was indignant at being the object of suspicion by the

authority in school.
c. Going through the proofs again and again is a tedious affair.
d. Mindy was discharged from the hospitaltwo weeks back right after
her knee operation.
4. Find two synonyms for each of the odd words out.
Polite- courteous, civil, well mannered
Sad - unhappy, depressed
Fun - enjoyment, entertainment, amusement
Shocked - aghast, disturbed, traumatised
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5. Can you split the following words into two, and find out what each
part refers to? Look in adictionary.
a. neuroscience - neuro and science.Neurorefers to nerves. It means

the scientific study of nerves. /neuro – relating to nerves and the
nervous system. Science – the study of a particular subject.
b. egocentric - ego and centric. Ego is selfand centric means the state
of beingabsorbed here; self-absorbed./ ego – a person’s sense of self-
esteem or self-importance centric – in or at the centre.
c. Exoskeleton - exo and skeleton/ exo – prefix meaning external or

from outside skeleton – a framework of bone or other rigid material.
d. prototype - proto and type. Pro comesfrom Greek word meaning

'first in timeand type means 'variety', which meansthe first of its
variety in time./proto – original or primitive type – a thing
exemplifying the ideal or defining characteristics of something.
e. megaphone mega and phone. Megameans huge, very large. Phone

standsfor telephone to establish contact. / mega – very largephone -
denoting an instrument using or connected with sound
6. What do the following abbreviations stand for?
Answer:
a/c-account, air conditioning
AD - Anno Domini
assoc. - associate/association
BSc - Bachelor of Science
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C–Centi ((in units of measurement) one hundredth. 100)
cc - carbon copy; cubic centimeter
mg - milligram
cwt - Continuous Wavelet Transform
Dept. - Department
ed. –Edited;education
Esq. - esquire
GMT - Greenwich Mean Time
I.S.T. - Indian standard time;Information Sciences and Technology
GP - Grade Points; general practitioner
HE - Higher Education
HQ - Headquarters
hr(s) - Hours
IOU - I Owe You/Input Output Unit
Learning about language
Adverbial clauses
1. Underline the adverbial clauses in the following and say whether

each is an adverbial clause of concession,purpose, manner or
comparison.
Answer:
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a. so that it might fly around the room —purpose
b. Though he is only four —concession
c. as hard as her sister —comparison
d. although it was being sold at half price —concession
e. as I have shown you —comparison
f. as though he is ill —comparison
g. in order that we might talk —purpose
h. though we asked him not to —concession
2. Complete the following, using the instructions in brackets. Take

care of the changes inpunctuation.
Answer:
a. If a note had to be sent, it had to be inserted into an envelope.
b. A purchase price of Rs100 is considered the maximum, otherwise

expenditure tends to be toohigh.
c. Although this proved extremely difficult, it was finally managed by

the Chief Executive.
d. Though the Opposition seem politically reliable, it has certain

limitations as a governing party.
e. A horse can carry a rather heavier load of items,since these are

spread over the back,whereas arider is carried at one point in the
saddle.
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f. As the top travels up and down the wooden plank, it spins round
and round.
g. If a broken vase is repaired and polished within a few minutes, it

will appear to the owner that ithas never been damaged but one can
imagine that this trick will not always work.
h. The manager could not get rid of the salesman, for such an action
would be criticized by the Unionand he would suffer for it.
Summary of the lesson:
Mr Pooter is a self-important snob who likes to show off. His diary is

full of examples of him trying to create the impression that he leads a
‘successful’ life when in fact it is full of frustration with things not
going as he would like them to. This type of humour - laughing at
misfortune - is still common in Britain today.
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Answer The Following Questions

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Topic: Lesson: 9 Diary of a Nobody

Answer the following questions.

Answer a. Pooter has rented a new house. It is a six roomed house

Answer b. Pooter’s wife’s name is Caroline and he lovingly calls to her

c. What do Pooter and his wife do in the evenings?

Answerc.Pooter and his wife do chores in the evenings. (Chores: the

d. What is their son's name and occupation?

Answerd.Their son's name is Willie. He works inthe Bank at Oldham.

e. Who does Pooter blame for the double order of mutton?

Answere.Pooter blames his wife for the double order of mutton.

f. Who is Gowing and why does Pooter get irritated by him?

Answerf.Gowing is an old friend. Pooter gets irritated by him because

g. What jokes does Pooter tell?

Answerg.Pooter’s jokes are puns.(Puns: make a joke exploiting the

Answerh.Pooter’s friends – Gowing and Cummings. Pooter’s

i. Look at the passages about Pooter at work. What kind of

Answeri.Pooter is someone who likes to establishhis seniority and

j. Farmerson is mentioned five times on four different days. Write

k.Which details from the diary reveal that Pooter is a show-off?

Answerk. The passage where Pooter talks aboutFarmerson coming to

2. Answer the following with reference to context.

i. Whose speech is Pooter reporting?

Answer i. Pooter is reporting Sarah’s speech. Sarah is their servant.

ii. What has gone missing?

Answer ii. Pooter’s umbrellahad gone missing.

b. I consented, but felt I had been talked into it.

i. Who does Pooter consent to?

Answer i. Pooter gave his consent to Mr Putley, his painter and

ii. What does he consent to?

Answer ii. He consented to allowing Mr Putley to entirely repaint the

iii. What does 'talked into it' mean?

Answer iii. ‘Talked into it’ means being persuaded someone to do

Working with words

keep your hair on - don’t panic or lose your temper

talked into it - persuaded

take the trouble - make the effort

without ceremony - informally and spontaneously

given the tip - notified

Answer: Sentences of your own

i. keep your hair on - Keep your hair on as in no time we will sail

iii. drop in on - Meera graciously asked her neighbours to drop in on

v. Without ceremony - They quietly tied theknot without ceremony.

a. insolent rude disrespectful sassy polite

b. annoyed riled indignant angry sad

(in ascending order of the strength of feeling)

c. boring dreary monotonous tedious fun

(in alphabetical order)

d. sacked fired released discharged shocked

(least to most formal)

a. Rima grew up to be an insolent brat due to excessive pampering.

b. The teacher was indignant at being the object of suspicion by the

c. Going through the proofs again and again is a tedious affair.

4. Find two synonyms for each of the odd words out.

Polite- courteous, civil, well mannered

Sad - unhappy, depressed

Fun - enjoyment, entertainment, amusement

Shocked - aghast, disturbed, traumatised

a. neuroscience - neuro and science.Neurorefers to nerves. It means

c. Exoskeleton - exo and skeleton/ exo – prefix meaning external or

d. prototype - proto and type. Pro comesfrom Greek word meaning

e. megaphone mega and phone. Megameans huge, very large. Phone

6. What do the following abbreviations stand for?