CBSE Class 8 English Children at Work Assignment

SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER
Velu was a eleven years old child who ran from home and reached Chennai Central in Kanyakumari Express without a ticket. Without any money to buy ticket, he travelled in the train, but luckily the Ticket collector didn't come to the compartment he was sitting in. he tried to sleep near the door of the train, but a group of men playing cards there, made it impossible for him to do so. Lack of sleeplessness made him tired and exhausted, as he was empty stomach and had eaten only peanuts and jaggery from the last two days. He was then awakened by a noise and when opened his eyes saw a girl of his age standing in front of him. The girl wore a long baniyan till her knees. Her hair was stiff and brown, and she had a rack on her shoulders. She was picking dirty plastic cups from the floor and stuffing it in the rag. The girl asked Vellu's name and asked him if he has run away from home. But Vellu didn't trust a stranger with his secrets and got beaten by his father. His father was a drunkard, and abused his children, and also spent all the money in drinks earned by the children.
The girl asked Vellu about his plans, and didn't get an answer. Hunger started pinching vellu, and the girl offered him some food.
When the sun rose Vellu's feet burned with the glaring of the sun and he was soaked with sweat. His mind reeled over food, and they stopped before a big building which was an auditorium. There was an wedding going on there and the name of the bride and the groom was written in outside. The girl asked Vellu to come inside, and Vellu became nervous by seeing the huge venue and inquired whether they would be eating there.
The girl led him towards the backyard of the hall where a huge garbage bin overflowed with rubbish, wherein two goats stood fighting over a banana leaf, and the girl picked up a squashy banana and gave it to Vellu for eating. Vellu then remarked that the houses in the village appeared to be strange as they were made of mud and palm leaves.
The girl Jaya, went around one of the huts and dumped her sack and picked up an empty one. She then threw a pair of old shoes towards vellu, handed him over a sack as hers and asked him to come with her. Vellu was a little confused by the work he had been assigned with, as he had only worked on a landowner's farm, weeding and grazing cows. Puzzled Velu asked if there were any farms in the city, to which Jaya replied that there were no farms in the city and they were rag pickers.
Vellu had never done such a thing and was very skeptical about picking rubbish. jaya then explained Vellu that they would only be picking paper, plastics and glass bottles, and Vellu became even more confused when he knew that they were to sell these things to Jam Bazaar to Jaggu. He enquired Jaya that why a person called Jaggu was ready to buy these rubbish then she replied that Jaggu would sell these items to a factory.
Jaya felt that Vellu was wasting time thinking about whether to do the job or not, but Vellu was adamant about doing such a job of picking up garbage.

Word meanings
1) Pulled in - arrived
2) Wobbly - unsteady
3) Grimace - twisted expression due to pain
4) Glumly - sadly / gloomily
5) Squashy - crushed
6) Panicked - was very worried
7) Crookedly - not straight
8) Blockhead - fool
9) Shove - push
10) Gulped down - swallowed quickly

Short Question Answers

Question. Velu stood on the platform but he felt"as if he was still on a moving train" Why ?
Answer. Velu went on his journey to Chennai where he stood on the platform but he felt "as if he was still on a moving train" because it was a long journey and his legs felt wobbly.

Question. What made Velu feel miserable ?
Answer. His hunger made him miserable because he had not eaten anything for two days except some peanuts and a piece of jaggery.

Question. Velu travelled without a ticket . Why ?
Answer. Velu had run away from the house without informing. He had no money to buy a ticket so he travelled without ticket.

Question. Why did Velu decide to follow the 'strange' girl?
Answer. He decided to follow the 'strange' girl because Velu was new to Chennai. He could had been no idea where to go. He knew that if he didn't follow the girl he would lost.

Question. What materials were the 'strange' huts made out of ?
Answer. The ‘strange' huts were made out of all sorts of things-metal sheets, tyres, wood, bricks and plastic.

Question. Why did Velu find them strange ?
Answer. Velu found them strange because in his village the houses were made of mud and palm leaves but there the huts were made of metal sheets, tyres, bricks, wood and plastic. They also stood crookedly and looked as if they would fall at any moment.

Question. Why did Velu run away from home ?
Answer. Velu had run away from home as his father would snatch all the money that he and his sister earned and spend on his drink.

Long Question Answers

Question. Was Velu happy or unhappy to find work?
Answer. Velu was unhappy to find work as a rag picker because he said that he hadn't run away and come to that new place to dig through garbage bins. The only work he had done was on the landowner’s farm weeding and taking the cows to graze. However he was willing to accept this work till he found a better job.

Question. Could Velu read Tamil and English? How do know ?
Answer. Velu could read Tamil but not English. When the girl showed him the big building with their wall around it Velu read the sign 'Central Jail' which was written in Tamil. But when the girl and Velu were walking along the side road under some huge signboards, he looked up at the pictures; the writing was in English so he did not know what it meant.

Question. Was Velu a smart boy? Which instances in the text shoe that he is Or isn't?
Answer. Velu was not a smart boy. He had come to Chennai but he did not know what to do. He just sat on a bench with his head on his knees. Jaya offered to find him food if he went with her. But he was too slow to decide. Jaya had to drag him across the road. He was hesitant and could had been run over by a vehicle. Even when Jaya gave him a sack and a stick to go with her to work, he scratched his head. But for Jaya he would had either starved to death or would had been counting bars in jail.

SUMMARY OF THE POEM

The poem deals with a master criminal, who can defy and break any law. The poet called him a mystery cat and the Hidden Paw. The poet said that he defied law again and again but he was never caught. Even the police force and Flying Squad of England had failed to arrest him. When the Flying Squad reached the scene(place) of crime, Macavity was not there. So, the Scotland Yard was puzzled.
In committing crimes no one was like Macavity, he was matchless in his field. He could do any impossible task. He could disappear , he could break Newton’s law of gravity and float in the air without support. Even the fakir and the magician were surprised to see his feats. He would outwit you. You might look for him in the basement and in the air, you would had no access to him.
Macavity was a tall and thin cat, his eyes were sunken and his head was highly domed. He swayed his head from side to side like a snake. His coat was dusty and his whiskers were uncombed.
Macavity was a devil in cat’s shape he was morally corrupt. When you thought he was sleeping, he was wide awake in fact. You might meet and see him everywhere but whenever his crime was discovered you would not find him there.

Word meanings :-
1) Defy - disobey or resist openly
2) Scotland yard - the headquarters of London police force
3) Flying squad : a group of police or soldiers ready to move into action quickly
4) Levitation - floating in the air without support
5) Fiend : devil
6) Feline : of or relating to, a cat
7) Depravity - moral corruption

Short question answers

Question. How did the poet describe Macavity and his prank ?
Answer. Macavity was a male cat. He was a clever criminal. He had no fear of law or the police. He escaped from the scene of crime before the police arrived there.

Question. How did the poet support his statement 'There is no one like Macavity.'
Answer. The poet called Macavity a master criminal. He could make a good escape before the police came to the scene of crime. He befooled the soldiers and the flying squad.

Question. Was Macavity a cat really ? If not , who could Macavity be ?
Answer. Macavity was a cunning cat. If it was not a cat then he could be an expert thief or a criminal or a mysterious creature.

Question. Describe Macavity in your own words.
Answer. Macavity was a very cunning and cautious cat. He was tall and thin. His eyes were sunken his forehead was wrinkled and his head was like a dome.
His coat was soiled. Hair on his cheeks was not combed.

Long question answers

Question. How did Macavity outwit the world's top investigation agencies ?
Answer. Whenever investigation agencies reached the spot of crime. Macavity was not present there. He also did not leave any clue of him. These agencies were never able to find any sign of Macavity. Therefore he outwitted the world's top investigation agencies.

Question. What was the most remarkable thing about Macavity ?
Answer. Macavity was known as the mystery cat because he has defied all laws. He even defied the law of gravity. He possessed supernatural powers which allowed him to levitate up in the air. He was so confident in his matter that whenever the crime was discovered Macavity disappeared without leaving a single trace.
NOTE Do the above mentioned exercises in a copy or on paper.