CBSE Class 10 English Mijbil the Otter Important Questions Set 02

Extract Based Questions

Extract 1

(a). The author says that, ‘It is not, I suppose, in any way strange that the average Londoner should not recognise an otter’ by this he means that ……………
(a) he does not expect them to recognise an otter.
(b) they are too ignorant to tell an otter apart.
(c) they aren’t aware of what an otter is.
(d) otters do not live in that part of the world.
Answer: (a) he does not expect them to recognise an otter.

(b). Why does the author say the following? Mij was anything but an otter.
(1) Londoners were failing to tell what Mijbil was.
(2) Mijbil wasn’t an otter but a Mustelline.
(3) Mijbil was called a beaver, a bear cub and a leopard.
(4) The author was both amused and tired of failed guesses.
(5) The author was wrong that Mijbil was a Mustelline.
Choose the correct option from the following:
(a) (1) and (4)
(b) (1), (2) and (3)
(c) (3) and (5)
(d) (1), (3) and (4)
Answer: (d) (1), (3) and (4)

(c). Select the option that aptly explains the phrase ‘barrage of conjectural questions’ in the extract.
(a) barrier of knowledge
(b) invasion of privacy
(c) tsunami of guesses
(d) a handful of questions
Answer: (c) tsunami of guesses

(d). How did the author feel during his interaction with the Londoners?
(a) Irritated
(b) Entertained
(c) Annoyed
(d) Beguiled
Answer: (b) Entertained

(e). ‘Is that a walrus, mister?’ reduced me to giggles…. This means that the question _________ the author.
(a) destroyed
(b) captivated
(c) titillated
(d) teased
Answer: (c) titillated

Extract 2

(a). Who is ‘I’ here? Where is he/she going?
Answer: Here ‘I’ is Gavin Maxwell, the author of the story, ‘Mijbil the Otter’. He is going to the airport at Basra to catch a flight back to London via Paris.

(b). What does the expression, ‘like a ricocheting bullet’ suggest?
Answer: This expression signifies the extremely fast speed of the car that Maxwell took to reach the airport at Basra.

(c). Why was ‘I’ in such a hurry?
Answer: Maxwell was in such a hurry because he was left with just ten minutes to cover the distance of five miles to reach the airport.

(d). Who or what was there in the box?
Answer: Maxwell’s pet otter, Mijbil, was there in the box.

Short Answer Questions

Question 1. What ‘experiment’ did Maxwell think Camusfearna would be suitable for? (NCERT)
Answer: Maxwell thought that Camusfearna with water at a stone’s throw would be suitable for keeping an otter as a pet.

Question 2. Why does he go to Basra? How long does he wait there, and why? (NCERT)
Answer: He went to Basra to the Consulate-General to collect and answer mail from Europe as his mail had not arrived, he waited for 5 days due to various reasons.

Question 3. How does he get the otter? Does he like it? Pick out the words that tell you this. (NCERT)
Answer: The author got the otter from Arabs who brought it in a sack. From the very beginning, he liked the otter as is evident from words like ‘thraldom to otters’ and ‘otter fixation.’

Question 4. Why was the otter named ‘Maxwell’s otter’? (NCERT)
Answer: The otter was named “Maxwell’s otter” as it belonged to a race previously unknown to science and hence the zoologists named it after its founder—Maxwell’s otter.

Question 5. Tick the right answer. In the beginning, the otter was
(a) aloof and indifferent
(b) friendly
(c) hostile (NCERT)
Answer: Aloof and indifferent

Question 6. What happened when Maxwell took Mijbil to the bathroom? What did it do two days after that? (NCERT)
Answer: When Maxwell took Mijbil to the bathroom, it went wild with joy in the water, plunging and rolling in it, shooting up and down the length of the bathtub under water.
Two days later, Mijbil escaped from the author’s bedroom and went to the bathroom on its own.

Question 7. How was Mij to be transported to England? (NCERT)
Answer: Mij was to be transported to England packed in a box of not more than 18 inches square.

Question 8. What did Mij do to the box? (NCERT)
Answer: Mij tore the linings of the box to shreds.

Question 9. Why did Maxwell put the otter back in the box? How do you think he felt when he did this? (NCERT)
Answer: Maxwell had to put the otter in a box to take him to England. He must have felt helpless and miserable while putting his beloved pet in a closed box like an inanimate object.

Question 10. Why does Maxwell say the air hostess was ‘the very queen of her kind’? (NCERT)
Answer: Maxwell calls the air hostess the very queen of her kind because she was kind and understanding and allowed the author to keep his pet on his knees.

Question 11. What happened when the box was opened? (NCERT)
Answer: When the box was opened, Mij was out in a splash and disappeared at high speed down the aircraft. There were squawks and shrieks and a lot of chaos in the plane.

Question 12. What game had Mij invented? (NCERT)
Answer: Mij had invented a game with a ball and a broken suitcase. He would place the ball on the high end of the suitcase and run to the other end to catch it.

Question 13. What are ‘compulsive habits’? What does Maxwell say are the compulsive habits of
(i) school children
(ii) Mij? (NCERT)
Answer: Compulsive habits are the habits which are impossible to control.
(i) School children place their feet squarely on the centre of each paving block; must touch every seventh upright of iron railings or pass to the outside of every second lamp post.
(ii) Mij would take the author to the two feet high wall of the primary school, jump on to it and gallop the full length of its thirty yards.

Question 14. What group of animals do otter belong to? (NCERT)
Answer: Otters belong to a small group of animals called mustellines.

Question 15. What guesses did the Londoners make about what Mij was? (NCERT)
Answer: Londoners made some really wild and funny guesses ranging from other mustellines to ‘a baby seal’, a squirrel, a walrus, a hippo, a beaver, a bear cub, a leopard and a brontosaur.

Question 16. What things does Mij do which tell you that he is an intelligent, friendly and fun loving animal who needs love? (NCERT)
Answer: Initially Mij was neither friendly nor hostile. Later, he displayed his characteristics. Very soon he began to take keen interest in his surroundings. He would follow without lead and went to the author when he called his name. He spent hours playing with ball. Marbles were Mij’s favourite toys. When the narrator was flying to Paris, he packed Mij in a box. But Mij was out of the box and disappeared at high speed. He could turn the tap to let flow the water. Thus, he was certainly intelligent, friendly and fun-loving animal who needed love.

Question 17. What are some of the things we come to know about otters from this text? (NCERT)
Answer: Otters belong to a small group of animals called Mustelline comprising badger, mongoose weasel, stoat and mink, etc. They are found in large numbers in marshes near Basra, Iraq. They are rather small fun-loving and intelligent creatures who take a keen interest in their surroundings. They love playing with water and are friendly harmless animals.

Question 18. Why is Mij’s species now known to the world as Maxwell’s otter? (NCERT)
Answer: Mijbil belonged to a race of otters which was previously unknown to science. Since it was Gavin Maxwell who first befriended the animal and brought it to zoologists’ notice, it is now known as ‘Lutrogale Perspicillata Maxwelli’ or ‘Maxwell’s otter’.

Question 20. When did Gavin Maxwell decide to have an otter as a pet?
Answer: When Gavin Maxwell was in southern Iraq, he thought that he should keep an otter as a pet instead of a dog. The place where he was living was suitable for that experiment.

Question 21. What are the exclusive features/habits of an otter?
Answer: An otter is a fun loving animal. They are found in abundance near the fresh water. They love the flowing water. An otter is an intelligent animal and capable of inventing new games.

Question 22. Why did Gavin Maxwell stay in Basra for five days?
Answer: Gavin Maxwell went to Basra to the Consulate General to collect and answer his mail from Europe. His mail did not arrive in time. He cabled to England, and when three days later, no response was received, he tried to telephone. But the exchange was closed for a religious holiday. His mail arrived five days later. So, he had to wait for a few days.

Question 23. How did Maxwell get an otter?
Answer: Maxwell expressed his desire to his friend to have an otter as a pet. His friend sent two Arabs with an otter at Basra. This is how he got an otter in Basra.

Question 24. When did Maxwell realise that the otter loved water?
Answer: One day Maxwell took the otter in the bathroom. The otter jumped with joy into the bathtub. It remained there for a long time. Seeing the otter’s movement, Maxwell realised that the otter loved water.

Question 25. What did Mijbil, the otter, do in the bathroom after two days of his arrival?
Answer: Mijbil, the otter, was a fun-loving intelligent animal. He loved water. On the first day, he went wild with joy in the water. Next day, Mijbil escaped from the bedroom and entered the bathroom. He struggled with the tap till it had a full flow of water.

Question 26. Why was Mijbil put in a box by Maxwell? Why was there silence in the box?
Answer: The author had to come back to London. The British Airways did not allow the author to fly with an animal. So he had to go by another airline. This airline insisted that Mij should be packed in a box. When the author came, he found that there was complete silence in the box. He got scared. He saw blood coming out of the box. When he opened the box, he found Mij badly wounded. Mij had tried to come out of the box.

Question 27. Why was the author not allowed to take a flight of the British airline?
Answer: The British Airways had a rule that the passengers could not fly with their pets. Mijbil was an otter. The author could not be allowed to fly with Mijbil as the rules did not permit it.

Question 28. What did the Londoners think about Mijbil the otter?
Answer: Mijbil the otter was a new creature for the Londoners. They had never seen such a pet in their life. They guessed that it belonged to a small group of animals called mustellines. Some of them guessed it was a small walrus or a baby seal. Some called it a hippo and a brontosaur.

Question 29. Maxwell was right in thinking very highly of the air hostess. Justify.
Answer: On the flight, Maxwell shared his problem of carrying Mijbil with the air hostess. Being kind, she understood his problem and allowed him to take Mijbil out of the box and keep him on his knees. When Mij escaped and created chaos, she stayed calm and helped find him. Hence Maxwell was right to think highly of her.

Question 30. What is the significance of Mijbil’s initial aloofness and indifference towards the narrator?
Answer: Mijbil’s cautious behaviour mirrors the natural wariness of wild animals towards people. His initial lack of familiarity or trust is shown by his aloofness towards the narrator. This sets up how their relationship grows as the narrator gradually gains Mijbil’s friendship and trust.

Question 31. What, according to the writer, is the ‘real play’ of the otter?
Answer: The ‘real play’ of the otter was to lie on his back and juggle small objects between his paws. Mij would lie on his back and roll two or more marbles up and down his wide, flat belly without ever dropping one on the floor.

Question 32. Without the assistance of the air hostess, the narrator could not have transported Mijbil from Basra to London safely. Comment.
Answer: The air hostess was very supportive towards Maxwell. When he shared his problem of travelling with an otter, she allowed him to take Mijbil out of the box and keep him on his knees. When Mijbil escaped and created havoc on the plane, she kept calm, asked Maxwell to stay in his seat and found Mijbil for him.

Question 33. Mijbil caused a sensation in London. Expound with reference to the chapter ‘Mijbil the Otter’.
Answer: Mijbil was a strange sight for Londoners, as nobody there was familiar with otters. People made wild guesses about the animal’s species. Some thought him to be a baby seal while others thought he was a squirrel. Other guesses were a walrus, beaver, bear cub, leopard and even a ‘brontosaur’.

Question 34. “...every drop of water must be, so to speak, extended and spread about the place...” Describe Maxwell’s observation regarding Mij with reference to the given quote.
Answer: Maxwell makes this observation about Mijbil’s behaviour with water. Mijbil liked to splash about until the whole place got drenched; a bowl of water had to be overturned and spread around within minutes. It shows the otter’s great fondness for water, as otters are found where water is plentiful.

Question 35. The otter was named ‘Maxwell’s otter’. Justify. (NCERT)
Answer: The otter was named ‘Maxwell’s otter’ because his race was previously unknown to science. Zoologists identified it as a new sub-species from Mijbil, the otter kept by Maxwell himself, and so it was named after him.

Question 36. Why did Maxwell put the otter back in the box before boarding the flight? How do you think he felt when he did this? (NCERT)
Answer: Maxwell put the otter back in the box because the airline would not fly him without the box. He felt tense and guilty because Mij was hurt and miserable, it was just ten minutes until the time of the flight and the airport was five miles away.

Question 37. What does Mijbil’s behaviour suggest about the otter’s adaptability to urban surroundings? (CBSE Practice Set 2023)
Answer: Mijbil’s behaviour, such as playing with urban objects like a suitcase and a ping-pong ball, indicates a high level of adaptability to urban surroundings. His ability to create entertainment for himself in a London flat and his acceptance of walks on a lead in the city streets suggest that otters, or at least Mijbil, can adapt and find amusement even in non-natural environments.

Question 38. When did Gavin Maxwell decide to have an otter as a pet? (Delhi Gov. QB 2022)
Answer: Gavin Maxwell had a pet dog named Jonnie, which died. He felt too sad to think of keeping a dog again and felt lonely after losing his pet. So, when he went to southern Iraq in 1956, he decided to keep an otter as a pet, as otters were easily found there.

Question 39. What happened when Maxwell took Mijbil to the bathroom? What did it do two days later? (CBSE 2019)
Answer: When Maxwell first took Mijbil to the bathroom, he went wild with joy in the water for half an hour. He plunged and rolled in the bathtub, making enough slosh and splash for a hippo. Two days later, Mijbil escaped to the bathroom by himself and turned on the tap with his paws.