Solved Short Question and Answer for “The Fun They Had”
1. Where was Margie’s school? Did she have classmates?
Margie’s schoolroom was right next to her bedroom, where she was taught by the mechanical teacher. She did not have any classmates because she attended virtual classes and learnt from a mechanical teacher who taught her from Telebooks. She was the only student in the virtual classroom.
2. How was Margie’s school different from old schools?
In old schools, children from the whole neighborhood used to gather in the school where they were taught by a man (teacher) who gave them homework and asked them questions. They used to read real books. But Margie was taught by a mechanical teacher who would teach her at regular hours every day except Saturday and Sunday. Margie’s schoolroom was right next to her bedroom and she was taught via screens and telebooks.
3. What did Margie write in her diary and why?
Margie was so thrilled at the event of being able to capture the essence of a real book that she wrote, on the very same night when she saw a real book in which content was printed on paper, that “Today Tommy found a real book!” She wanted to cherish the memory of being able to see an old book as all she could read now was telebooks.
4. What things about the book did Margie find strange?
Margie found the idea of the stories printed on paper very strange. She was surprised to see that when they turned the yellow and crinkly pages, the words stood still instead of moving the way they are supposed to move on the screen. Again, when they turned back to the page before, they were amazed to see that it had the same words on it that it had when they read it for the first time.
5. How does Tommy describe the old kind of teachers?
Tommy tells Margie that in old schools, there wasn’t a regular teacher but a teacher who was a man. He adds that the man was supposed to give the boys and girls homework and ask them questions at a special building where all the kids went to study.
6. Why did Margie’s mother send for the County Inspector?
Margie was doing very poorly in the tests given by her mechanical teacher in geography. So, her mother had to send for the Country Inspector to make sure that she does not perform badly in the tests anymore.
7. How did the County Inspector look?
The County Inspector was a round little man with a red face and a box of tools with dials and wires. He taught Margie from a large and black screen and asked her to put her homework and test papers in the slot.
8. Did Margie have regular days and hours for school? If so, Why?
Yes, Margie attended school at regular hours every day except Saturday and Sunday because her mother told her that little girls learn better at regular hours.
9. What had once happened to Tommy’s teacher?
Tommy’s teacher was once taken away for nearly a month because the history sector had blanked out completely. Margie hoped that they would take away her teacher altogether.
Reference to Context
10. Answer the following with reference to the story.
“Sure they had a teacher, but it wasn’t a regular teacher. It was a man.”
1. Who does “they” refer to?
“They” refers to the boys and girls who were taught by a human teacher in the kind of school that existed centuries ago.
2. What does “regular” mean here?
In this instance, “regular” means the mechanical teacher who taught the kids through the screen and telebooks and asked them to insert their homework in the paper slot for correction. Here, “regular” means a non-human virtual entity.
Solved Long Question and Answer for “The Fun They Had”
11. Why did Margie think that the old kind of school must have been fun?
Margie thought about the old school where all the kids from all over the neighborhood came together to learn. She thought about the laughter and fun they shared. She pictured them sitting in the schoolyard, chattering, and learning and then going back home together after the school was over. She missed out that kind of fun as she was supposed to attend school in her own home. She figured that since all the kids learned the same things, they could help one another with the homework. There was no one to help her with her homework. She was taught by a mechanical teacher who asked her to submit her homework in the paper slot. Margie was thrilled and curious to know about the kind of fun the boys and girls had in the old schools as they could spend a lot of time together and study together in groups.
12. Why did Margie wish to read the old book?
Margie really wanted to read about the ‘”funny schools” that existed centuries ago. These were different kind of schools where the boys and girls were taught by a man in a special building where all the kids came. Margie was curious to know how a man could give the boys and girls homework and ask them questions according to her a man is not smart enough to do so. She didn’t know that the man was supposed to teach the kids in a special building and contested the idea of letting a strange man enter her house to teach. On knowing that all the kids belonging to the same age group learned the same thing, she was surprised because her mother told her that a teacher has to adjust himself to fit the minds of the students as each student needed to be taught differently. Margie wished to know more about the old schools, hence, she asked Tommy to let her read the book with him again.
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