Summary :The Fun They Had

The story is set in the future, where kids like Margie and Tommy study at home with robotic teachers and telebooks (electronic books). One day, Tommy finds an old printed book. Margie is surprised because she has never seen a real book before—only moving texts on screens.

The book talks about old schools where children went to a building, had human teachers, and studied together. Margie hates her robotic school, especially after her mechanical teacher gave her difficult geography tests. Her mother calls the County Inspector, who fixes the teacher’s settings to match Margie’s level. Margie feels disappointed because she hoped the teacher would be taken away.

Tommy explains that in old times, teachers were human beings, not machines, and students studied in groups. Margie finds it strange but interesting. She starts imagining how much fun it must have been to study and play with other kids, instead of sitting alone with a machine. She wishes she could experience that old kind of school.

हिंदी में सारांश (आसान शब्दों में)

यह कहानी भविष्य की है, जहाँ मार्गी और टॉमी जैसे बच्चे अपने घरों में रोबोटिक शिक्षकों और टेलीबुक्स (इलेक्ट्रॉनिक किताबों) से पढ़ाई करते हैं। एक दिन टॉमी को एक पुरानी छपी हुई किताब मिलती है। मार्गी हैरान होती है क्योंकि उसने कभी असली किताब नहीं देखी थी — वह तो सिर्फ स्क्रीन पर चलती हुई शब्दों को पढ़ती थी।

किताब में पुराने स्कूलों का ज़िक्र था, जहाँ बच्चे एक साथ एक इमारत में पढ़ते थे और इंसान शिक्षक होते थे। मार्गी को अपना रोबोटिक स्कूल बहुत बोरिंग लगता है, खासकर जब उसका रोबोटिक शिक्षक उसे कठिन भूगोल के टेस्ट देता है। उसकी माँ काउंटी इंस्पेक्टर को बुलाती है, जो मशीन के सेटिंग्स को उसकी समझ के अनुसार ठीक कर देता है। मार्गी निराश होती है क्योंकि वह चाहती थी कि उसका शिक्षक हट जाए।

टॉमी उसे बताता है कि पुराने समय में शिक्षक इंसान होते थे और बच्चे समूह में पढ़ते थे। मार्गी को यह अजीब लेकिन दिलचस्प लगता है। वह सोचती है कि पुराने स्कूल कितने मजेदार रहे होंगे, जहाँ बच्चे एक साथ पढ़ते और खेलते थे। वह भी वैसा स्कूल अनुभव करना चाहती है

1. The Fun They Had
   • Set in the future (2157), Margie and Tommy discover an old printed book, which surprises them as they are accustomed to “telebooks” on screens.
   • They discuss how schools in the past had human teachers, classrooms, and group learning, unlike their mechanical, home-based robotic teachers.
   • Margie hates her mechanical teacher, especially after struggling with geography tests. A County Inspector adjusts the teacher’s settings to suit her level.
   • The story contrasts futuristic education with traditional schooling, highlighting Margie’s longing for the camaraderie and fun of old-school environments.
2. The Road Not Taken (Poem)
   • A traveler faces a dilemma at a fork in the road, symbolizing life’s choices.
   • He chooses the less-traveled path, reflecting on how this decision will shape his future. The poem emphasizes individuality and the impact of choices.

हिंदी अनुवाद:

1. The Fun They Had
   • भविष्य (2157) में सेट यह कहानी मार्गी और टॉमी के बारे में है, जो एक पुरानी छपी किताब पाते हैं। वे “टेलीबुक” (स्क्रीन पर किताबें) के आदी हैं, इसलिए यह किताब उन्हें अजीब लगती है।
   • वे पुराने स्कूलों के बारे में चर्चा करते हैं, जहाँ मानव शिक्षक होते थे और बच्चे एक साथ पढ़ते थे। इसके विपरीत, उनके यांत्रिक शिक्षक घर पर ही पढ़ाते हैं।
   • मार्गी को अपना यांत्रिक शिक्षक पसंद नहीं है, खासकर भूगोल की परेशानी के बाद। काउंटी इंस्पेक्टर उसके स्तर के अनुसार शिक्षक को ठीक करता है।
   • कहानी भविष्य और पुरानी शिक्षा प्रणाली के अंतर को दर्शाती है, जहाँ मार्गी पुराने स्कूलों की मस्ती और साथियों को याद करती है।
2. The Road Not Taken (कविता)
   • एक यात्री रास्ते में दो मार्गों के बीच उलझन में है, जो जीवन के चुनावों को दर्शाता है।
   • वह कम चले गए रास्ते को चुनता है और सोचता है कि यह निर्णय उसके भविष्य को कैसे बदलेगा। यह कविता व्यक्तिगत चुनावों के महत्व पर प्रकाश डालती है।

Important Questions from the Lesson (पाठ से महत्वपूर्ण प्रश्न)

English:

1. Thinking About the Text
   • Why did Margie hate school?
   • How were old schools different from Margie’s school?
   • What is the central theme of “The Road Not Taken”?
2. Thinking About Language
   • Convert these adjectives into adverbs: angry, happy, easy.
   • Complete the conditional sentence: If I don’t go to Anu’s party tonight, ______.

Extract-Based Question (पाठ्यांश आधारित प्रश्न)

From “The Fun They Had”:
“Margie was scornful. ‘School? What’s there to write about school? I hate school.’”
Question: Why does Margie hate her school? Support your answer with text references.
Answer: Margie hates her mechanical teacher’s strict routine, the slot for homework, and repetitive tests. She envies the old schools where children learned together and had human teachers (Pages 6-9).

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Thinking About the Text

I. Short Answer Questions (Few words or 1–2 sentences)

1. How old are Margie and Tommy?
   → Margie is 11 years old and Tommy is 13 years old.
2. What did Margie write in her diary?
   → Margie wrote, “Today Tommy found a real book!”
3. Had Margie ever seen a book before?
   → No, Margie had never seen a real printed book before.
4. What things about the book did she find strange?
   → She found it strange that the words stayed still and didn’t move like on a screen.
5. What do you think a telebook is?
   → A telebook is a book that is read on a computer or television screen.
6. Where was Margie’s school? Did she have any classmates?
   → Margie’s school was in her home next to her bedroom. She had no classmates.
7. What subjects did Margie and Tommy learn?
   → They learned subjects like history, geography, and arithmetic.

II. Extract-Based Questions

Extract 1: “I wouldn’t throw it away.”

(i) Who says these words?
→ Tommy says these words.

(ii) What does ‘it’ refer to?
→ ‘It’ refers to the real printed book.

(iii) What is it being compared with by the speaker?
→ Tommy compares the real book to the telebooks on their television screens.

Extract 2: “Sure they had a teacher, but it wasn’t a regular teacher. It was a man.”

(i) Who does ‘they’ refer to?
→ ‘They’ refers to the students of old times.

(ii) What does ‘regular’ mean here?
→ ‘Regular’ means normal, like their mechanical (robotic) teachers.

(iii) What is it contrasted with?
→ It is contrasted with human teachers.

III. Short Paragraph Answers (About 30 words)

1. What kind of teachers did Margie and Tommy have?
   → They had mechanical teachers, which were machines with big screens. They taught lessons and gave tests automatically.
2. Why did Margie’s mother send for the County Inspector?
   → Margie’s mother sent for the County Inspector because Margie was doing badly in geography.
3. What did he do?
   → The County Inspector adjusted the teacher’s speed to Margie’s level and reassured her mother.
4. Why was Margie doing badly in geography? What did the County Inspector do to help her?
   → The teacher was set too fast. The Inspector slowed it down to match her age.
5. What had once happened to Tommy’s teacher?
   → Tommy’s teacher had blanked out (stopped working), so it was taken away for a month for repairs.
6. Did Margie have regular days and hours for school? If so, why?
   → Yes, Margie had fixed school hours every day because her mother believed children learn better at regular times.
7. How does Tommy describe the old kind of school?
   → Tommy says that in the old days, students went to a building, sat together, and were taught by human teachers.
8. How does he describe the old kind of teachers?
   → Tommy says old teachers were men who taught lessons, asked questions, and gave homework.

IV. Long Paragraph Answers (100–150 words)

1. Main features of Margie and Tommy’s school and teachers:
   → Margie and Tommy’s schools were inside their homes. They studied alone with a mechanical teacher — a machine with a screen. Lessons and questions appeared on the screen. Students had to insert their homework in a slot. The teachers could be adjusted to fit each child’s learning speed. There were no classmates or playgrounds. Learning was lonely and boring compared to old schools.
2. Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school was fun?
   → Margie hated her robotic school because it was boring. She didn’t like the slot for homework and the strict routine. When she read about old schools with real teachers and children learning together, she thought it must have been much more fun. She imagined kids laughing, playing, and helping each other with homework.
3. Do you agree schools today are more fun? Why?
   → Yes, today’s schools are more fun. We learn with friends, play games, and talk to real teachers. Studying together makes learning easier and more interesting compared to learning alone with a machine.

Thinking About Language

I. Adverbs

1. Find sentences in the story with these adverbs:

• awfully — It was awfully funny to read words that stood still.
• sorrowfully — Her mother shook her head sorrowfully and sent for the County Inspector.
• completely — The history sector had blanked out completely.
• loftily — He added loftily, pronouncing the word carefully, “Centuries ago.”
• carefully — He added loftily, pronouncing the word carefully, “Centuries ago.”
• differently — Each kid has to be taught differently.
• quickly — I have slowed it up to an average ten-year level.
• nonchalantly — He said nonchalantly.

2. Fill in the blanks with correct adverbs:

(i) The report must be read carefully so that performance can be improved.
(ii) At the interview, Sameer answered our questions nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders.
(iii) We all behave differently when we are tired or hungry.
(iv) The teacher shook her head sorrowfully when Ravi lied to her.
(v) I completely forgot about it.
(vi) When I complimented Revathi on her success, she just smiled loftily and turned away.
(vii) The President of the Company is awfully busy and will not be able to meet you.
(viii) I finished my work quickly so that I could go out to play.

3. Make adverbs from these adjectives:

• angry → angrily
• happy → happily
• merry → merrily
• sleepy → sleepily
• easy → easily
• noisy → noisily
• tidy → tidily
• gloomy → gloomily

II. If Not and Unless

Complete the conditional sentences:

1. If I don’t go to Anu’s party tonight, she will be upset.
2. If you don’t telephone the hotel to order food, we will stay hungry.
3. Unless you promise to write back, I will not send you another letter.
4. If she doesn’t play any games, she will become lazy.
5. Unless that little bird flies away quickly, the cat will catch it.

Formal Letter

Your Address:
123 Green Park Road
New Delhi – 110016

Date:
10 April 2025

Receiver’s Address:
Mindfame Private Limited
1632 Asaf Ali Road
New Delhi – 110002

Subject:
Order for Revised Volume of Isaac Asimov’s Short Stories

Dear Sir/Madam,

I recently came to know that a new revised volume of Isaac Asimov’s short stories has been released. I would like to order one set of the book.

Kindly send the set to the following address by Value Payable Post (VPP):

Name: Ravi Sharma
Address: 123 Green Park Road,
New Delhi – 110016
Phone Number: 9876543210

I request you to dispatch the book at the earliest. I will make the payment at the time of delivery.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,
Ravi Sharma

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