Class 8

A.1 Laughter - A Useful Resource

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Unit 5 Humour

1. Why is laughter considered the opposite of paying attention? Answer: In formal settings such as in schools or corporations, laughter is often an intrusion as it disturbs the proceedings. It is thus considered the opposite of paying attention. 2.Why is laughter considered important, in recent times? Answer: Laughter is considered important for its health benefits. 3. What do laughter experts recommend? Answer: Laughter experts recommend taking a humour break in order to release tension. This, they feel, is better than opting for unhealthy activities such as over-eating. 4. Why do laughter leaders find more consulting work with corporations, these days? Answer: Most jobs, these days, are stressful involving long working hours and impossible deadlines. Laughter leaders are consultants who use humour therapy to reduce stress and enhance job satisfaction. Corporations are interested in appointing such consultants to take care of the emotional well-being of their employees. 5. How are pre-school children different from adults, when it comes to laughter? Answer: Pre-school children laugh more than 400 times a day while adults laugh only about 15 times. 6. How does laughter change the chemistry of the brain? Answer: Laughter reduces stress and therefore alters the chemistry of the brain in a very positive way. Laughter triggers the release of the bodys feel-good chemicals and promotes an overall sense of well-being. 7. Why do people leave their jobs? Answer: People quit their jobs not because they are dissatisfied with their salary but because they are unhappy. 8. What is it in life that we can change? Answer: Though we cannot change what happens in our life, we can change our attitude. 9. What did the laughter expert discover? Answer: The laughter expert discovered that laughter is a physical activity that could help her find and experience inner peace, happiness and love. 10. How can we enjoy a good laugh each day? Answer: We need to find people who are bubbling with laughter. As laughter is infectious, we will laugh too. When laughter is shared, it binds people together and increases happiness.

Revision / Challenge questions:

11. What are the social benefits of laughter? Answer: Laughter strengthens relationships, helps defuse conflict, promotes group bonding and enhances teamwork. 12. List some benefits that laughter has on mental health. Answer: Humour helps you keep a positive, optimistic outlook during difficult situations. It adds joy to life, relieves stress and improves the mood by easing anxiety and fear.

B.2 A Hero 1. What was the unexpected event that happened to Swami? Answer: Father read the news about a village boy who came face to face with a tiger and was brave enough to fight it. Later, the lad climbed on to a tree, where he waited till he got help. Father wanted Swami to prove his courage by sleeping alone. This was something that Swami did not expect. 2. What point did Swami use to find fault with the news item? Answer: Swami remarked that the person who escaped from the tiger must have been a strong adult. To him, it seemed impossible that a boy could find a tiger. 3. What was Fathers theory about courage and strength? Answer: Father felt that courage and strength were not dependent on each other. A man who had the strength of an elephant could be a coward, while another who had the strength of a straw could do anything if he was courageous. It was more important to be courageous. 4. How did father want Swami to prove his courage? Answer: Father wanted Swami to prove his courage by sleeping alone in the office room. Swami always slept beside his Granny and hence this was a frightful proposition for him. 5. Why didnt Father like Swamis habit of sleeping beside Granny? Answer: Father felt that Swami had now grown up and did not like him being mollycoddled by his mother and Granny. He was determined to make Swami more courageous and insisted that he slept alone. 6. Why did Swami tiptoe to his bed? Answer: Swami thought sleeping alone was a frightful proposition. He did not want any change from the tried and tested arrangement of sleeping beside Granny, as he thought any change would keep him awake and trembling. He wanted to avoid sleeping alone and tried to escape from him by tiptoeing to his bed. 7. Why did Swami throw a look of appeal at his mother? Answer: Swami wanted his mother to support his usual arrangement of sleeping beside Granny. He wished that in the last minute, she would stop Father from taking him away to the office room to sleep alone and appealed to her silently. 8. What lame excuse did Swami give to avoid sleeping in the office room? What were the alternate arrangements he requested ? Answer: Swami pointed out that the office room was very dusty and that there might be scorpions behind Fathers law books. He wanted to have a lamp in the room. 9. Why did Swami hate the newspaper? Answer: Swami thought that the newspaper was responsible for Fathers newfound idea of making him courageous. He hated the newspaper for printing the brave boys story and even wished that the tiger had killed the boy. 10. Why did Swami lie down under the bench? Answer: As the night advanced, Swamis fear grew and the noises that he heard through the stillness of the night made his heart beat faster. He got up and lay down under the bench as it seemed to be a much safer place. It was more comforting than the wide space of the whole room.

Revision / Challenge questions:

11. Why did Swami have a nightmare? Answer: Swami was an innocent child and grew up with a lot of care and protection from his mother and grandmother. He was not very independent. When Father insisted that he sleep alone, he became fearful and anxious and he had a nightmare about being chased by a tiger. 12. How did Swami become a hero? Answer: In the midst of his nightmare, Swami heard a rustling noise. Crawling out to face the tiger head-on, he bit into it using all his might. In reality, it was not a tiger, but a notorious burglar whose ankle he had bitten. Little Swami made the family proud when he not only managed to sleep alone, but also caught the burglar who tried to steal from their house. In the process, he was in the front pages of the local newspaper, and became a hero.

C.3. The Luncheon 1. When did the author meet the lady a second time? Answer: The author spotted the lady at the play and when she called him, he went over to her during the interval and sat beside her. 2. Did the author recognize his friend? Why? Answer: The author recognized the lady only because someone had mentioned her name. Many years had passed since they first met. Now, she weighed a massive twenty-one stone, and had grown beyond recognition. 3. When and where was their first meeting? Answer: When the author was living in Paris, he had received a letter from the lady about one of his books. She wrote to him again saying that she was passing through Paris, and that she was interested in having a chat with him. As she had a busy schedule, she suggested that the author take her out to lunch at Foyots. That was their first meeting. 4. Why had the author never even thought of going to Foyots? Answer: Foyots was an expensive restaurant, and was far beyond his means. 5. How does the author describe the ladys teeth? Is the description relevant to the context? Answer: The author says that the lady had more teeth than were necessary for any practical purpose. They were white, large and even. The author gives a humorous account of his lunch meeting with this lady with an appetite, and hence the description of the teeth seems quite relevant. 6. Why did the author not mind that the lady was talkative? Answer: The author craved for admiration just as any young writer would. Since the lady talked about him and his works, he did not mind that she was talkative. 7. Why was the author shocked when the menu was brought? Answer: The prices of the dishes were very much higher than what the authors own estimate, and this shocked him. 8. Why did the author choose the cheapest dish on the menu for himself? Answer: Foyots was a restaurant for the elite and the authors financial situation did not permit him to dine there. When the lady began to order expensive dishes from the menu, he was worried about his ability to pay the bill and he chose the cheapest dish for himself. 9. Did the lady eat only one thing? Answer: While emphasising that she ate only one thing for a meal, but went on to order several expensive dishes one after the other. This amused the author, and at the same time, worried him. 10. What was mortifying for the author? Answer: When the lady said that she only ate one thing, the author thought that the statement was in earnest, and out of mere courtesy insisted that she eat something more. Then, the lady went on to order several other expensive dishes and the author became worried that he would have to borrow from his guest. This thought was mortifying for him.

Revision / Challenge questions :

11. What is the irony in the story? Answer: The lady insists that she eats only one thing for a meal, but proceeds to eat dish after dish, remaining completely insensitive to the example she was setting. 12. Is the author vindictive? Answer: Though the author does not actively seek revenge, he feels justified in feeling pleased that the lady now weighs twenty-one stone! He feels that the gods have themselves decided to punish her for her huge appetite.