CBSE Class 10 English The Book That Saved the Earth Assignment Set 02

Short Answer Type Questions
 

Question. How does Think-Tank interpret the poem on The Cat and the fiddle ?
Answer: Think-Tank gets alarmed at this poem. He feels that Earthlings have reached a high level of civilization by teaching their domesticated animals musical culture and space techniques. He interprets jumping of cow over the moon as an invasion.

Question. Where does the Scene I of the play ‘The Book That Saved the Earth’ open ? What is the place ?
Answer: The Scene I of the play opened in the twenty-fifth century. The place was the Museum of Ancient History : Department of the Twentieth Century on the Planet Earth. So, we can say that the play was set in the twenty-fifth century.

Question. What according to the Historian, is the strangest thing a book ever did ?
Answer: The Historian said that the strangest thing a book ever did was to save the Earth. She explained that the Martian invasion of 2040 never really happened because a single book stopped it.

Question. How does Think-Tank look like ?
Answer: In the play. Think-Tank was shown as seated on a raised box with arms folded. He had a huge egg-shaped head, which was quite unique and extraordinary. Moreover, Think-Tank wore a long robe decorated with stars and circles.

Question. Where is the crew of Probe One ? What are they doing?
Answer: The crew of Probe One. Captain Omega. Lieutenant Iota and Seargeant Oop were at the Centerville Public Library on Earth. They were confused about where they were as they did not know what kind of place a library was and what books were.

Question. What does Think-Tank say about the place and the books ?
Answer: The crew of Probe One were confused about what a library was and what books were as they had never seen them before. So, they asked Think-Tank’s opinion about it, who told them that the place was a crude refreshment stand and the books were sandwiches.

Question. What happens when Captain Omega and others fail to hear anything from the sandwiches ?
Answer: When Captain Omega and the others failed to hear anything from the sandwiches, Noodle clarified that the Earthlings did not listen to the sandwiches, but opened them and watched them. Think Tank then immediately commented that those sandwiches were for eye communication.

Question. Which book does Think-Tank ask Captain Omega to observe ?
Answer: Think-Tank asked Captain Omega to take the large colourful ‘sandwich’ that he pointed at and tell him what she observed in it. The book Omega picked up was actually a very large volume of ‘Mother Goose’, a book of nursery rhymes.

Question. How were Captain Omega and others able to describe the code of the book ‘Mother Goose’ ?
Answer: Noodle suggested to Think-Tank that their chemical department had given the space people vitamins to increase their intelligence. Hearing this, Think-Tank asked the space people to take the vitamins immediately. After swallowing those vitamins, they were able to transcribe the code of the book ‘Mother Goose’.

Question. What does Think-Tank say about Earthlings teaching their domesticated animals ?
Answer: Think-Tank said that it was quite alarming that the Earthlings had taught their domesticated animals musical culture and space technology. Thus, he was scared that at that very moment, they might have been launching an interplanetary attack of millions of cows.

Question. How does Think-Tank react after seeing the picture of Humpty Dumpty in the book ‘Mother Goose’ ?
Answer: After seeing the picture of Humpty Dumpty in book ‘Mother Goose’, Think-Tank screamed, and holding his head, he said that the picture was of him and his Great and Mighty Balloon Brain. He further explained that the Earthlings had seen him and were now after him.

Question. Where does Think-Tank intend to escape ?
Answer: Being afraid of an invasion of Mars by the Earthlings, Think Tank thought that he must escape without delay. He intended to escape to Alpha Centauri, a hundred million miles away from Mars.

Question. What does the Historian say about the relation between the Earthlings and the Martians in the twenty-fifth century ?
Answer: The Historian said that in the twenty-fifth century, the Earthlings resumed contact with Mars. She further mentioned that they became very friendly with the Martians and taught them the differences between sandwiches and books, and even established a model library on Mars.

Question. How did the children’s book transform his life?
Answer: The children’s book transformed his life as he had to leave his kin and evacuate the entire planet. He had to go Alpha Centauri, a hundred million miles away to save his life.

Question. Why did Think-Tank react in alarm to the third passage to read?
Answer: Think-Tank reacted in alarm as he misunderstood the meaning of the poem and thought that they could actually grow crops of rare metals and even explosives also, which were dangerous for him.

Question. What steps did the Crew take to decipher the code in the sandwich?
Answer: Martians reached the library in the process of invasion of earth. They had never seen books before that. They did not understand where they were and what the things placed in different racks were. Firstly they thought that they were sandwiches and tried to eat them. Then they misunderstood that sandwiches were used as some sort of communication device. Later they took them as eye communication and not ear communication, and understand that they had to take vitamins to understand all these codes.

Question. Why did Think-Tank send his crew on the earth?
Answer: Think-Tank, the ruler of Mars regarded the earth as a mass of mud, and Earthlings as ugly, tiny-headed creatures. He planned to invade the earth and expand his domain. He sent Probe One to Earth to get more information about the Earthlings.

Question. How did Think-Tank interpret the poem “The Cat and the Fiddle”.
Answer: The second rhyme was about the cat and the fiddle, wherein the cow jumped over the moon, the dog laughed to see it and the dish ran away with the spoon. Think-Tank misinterpreted it. He thought that Earthlings had taught their domesticated animals’ musical culture and Space Techniques. They might be launching an interplanetary attack on millions of cows!

Question. How does Think-Tank describe the people on the earth? Why does he command Noodle to contact the Space probe?
Answer: Think-Tank thought Earthlings were weak, ignorant, uncivilized persons and hence planned to invade the earth. He sent his commander Noodle to make contact with the crew of the manned space probe, now on Earth to seek more information about the Earth.

Question. What do the historians speak about the books?
Answer: The historians tell that the twentieth century was called - The Era of Books. They motivate them when they are man’s best friends and companions. They inspire disheartened. They give us pleasure and knowledge.

Question. Who was Omega? Why did he try to oat the book?
Answer: Omega was the captain of the space control Probe One, on the earth. Think-Tank asked him to pick up the most colourful sandwich (book) and report him about his observation on it.

Question. Why books referred to as a man’s best companion? Which book saved the Earth from Martian invasion?
Answer: Books are our best friends and companions. They are never demanding but always giving knowledge and pleasure. They give us company. The book that saved the Earth from Martian invasion was ‘Mother Goose.’
 

Long Answer Type Questions

Question. Justify the title of the play ‘The Book that Saved the Earth’.
Answer: A good title should reflect the theme, idea or the traits of a character. It should revolve around any of the above. The story or the play should be woven around any one of them. In the play ‘The Book that Saved The Earth’, a book of nurse rhymes of ‘Mother Goose’ is responsible for stopping the Martian invasion on Earth. Think-Tank, the ruler of Mars plans to invade Earth before lunch and sends Probe One to get more information about the Earthlings. They enter a library but can’t figure out what items books are. They take vitamins, increase their intelligence then read the rhymes from ‘Mother Goose’. Think-Tank misinterprets the rhymes, takes them as threats to him and the Mars. Scared, he calls back Probe One, drops the idea of invading and escapes with his subjects to Alpha Centauri, a hundred million miles away from Mars. Thus, the book ‘Mother Goose’ was responsible for stopping the Martian invasion of Earth. The title ‘The Book That Saved the Earth’, reflect the theme of the play, so it is an apt (appropriate) title.

Question. Half knowledge is dangerous. I never helps to achieve success. Discuss how incomplete knowledge can lead to disaster in reference to the lesson ‘The Book that Saved the Earth’.
Answer: It is a fact that incomplete knowledge can lead to disaster. Suppose we sit to work on a satellite and able to command only half of the instructions. In that case things would fail and cause disaster. Half knowledge is dangerous and never helps to achieve success. If we are able to apply knowledge fully to any kind of task, we can have self contentment. We read in the lesson ‘The Book that Saved the Earth’ Martians had to suffer. They had the mission to invade the earth but due to incomplete knowledge they misinterpreted the nursery rhyme book.

Question. Do you think that in the play Noodle is shown wiser and more balanced than Think Tank ?
Answer: Think-Tank was the Commander-in-Chief and Ruler of Mars. He was proud and haughty, and thought himself to be the most powerful and intelligent creature in the whole universe. But, in the play we found that his apprentice Noodle was definitely more wiser and calmer than him. Think-Tank had told the crew that the books were sandwiches and had asked Captain Omega to eat one of those sandwiches. But then Noodle had pointed out that the Earthlings did not eat them but used them as some sort of communication device. Then Think-Tank, on the basis of this information, “clarified” that those sandwiches were actually communication sandwiches. After that, he had ordered Captain Omega and the others to listen to them, but they had failed to hear anything. At that moment, Noodle had again pointed out that Earthlings did not listen to them, but opened them and watched them. This information prompted Think-Tank to then say that those sandwiches were not for ear communication, but for eye communication. Therefore, all these points prove that Noodle was more wiser and calmer than Think-Tank, because nowhere in the play do we see Noodle get agitated. Later, at the end of the play, Noodle replaced Think-Tank and the Historian even called him “wise and wonderful”.

Question. How was the crew of Space Probe One able to describe the code of the book ‘Mother Goose’ ?
Answer: Think-Tank had asked Captain Omega to take the large, colourful ‘sandwich’ he had pointed at and tell him what was observed by her. The book Omega had picked up was a very large volume of ‘Mother Goose’, a book of nursery rhymes, which Think-Tank thought was a sandwich. Captain Omega had said that the book appeared to contain pictures of the Earthlings. Iota had said that there seemed to be some sort of code written in the book as well. Think-Tank had then asked Sergeant Oop to describe the code, and he had told him that there were little lines and squiggles and dots-thousands of those codes alongside the pictures. At that moment, Noodle had politely pointed out that their chemical department people had given the space people vitamins to increase their intelligence. Saying that he had a thought of magnificent brilliance, Think-Tank then asked Omega and the others to take the vitamins immediately. They swallowed those vitamins and therefore were able to describe the code.

Question. What does Think-Tank say the Earthlings can grow ? How does he react to it ?
Answer: Think-Tank misinterpreted the lines of the nursery rhyme :
Mistress Mary, quite coutrary,
How does your garden grow ?
With cockle shells and silvers bells,
And pretty maids all in a row.
Oops commented jokingly that pretty maids were growing in a garden. But Think-Tank asked him to stop his foolishness. Alarmingly, Think-Tank commented that the Earthlings had discovered how to combine agriculture and mining. He said that the Earthlings could actually grow crops of rare metals such as silver, cockle shells and even grow high explosives. Think-Tank had then told Noodle to contact their invasion fleet immediately and to tell them to hold the invasion because he had realised that he should not underestimate the Earthlings.

Question. What was the effect of, Humpty Dumpty, nursery rhyme on Think-Tank, when it was transcribed to him ?
Answer: Sergeant Oop had transcribed the nursery rhyme about Humpty-Dumpty and then showed Think-Tank the picture of Humpty-Dumpty as well. Seeing the picture, screaming and holding his head, Think-Tank had said that in the picture it was him and his Mighty Balloon Brain. He further said that the Earthlings had seen him and were now after him. Also, by the lines “Humpty Dumpty had a great fall” he drew the meaning that the Earthlings planned to capture Mars Central Control and him as well. He explained that it was an invasion of Mars and told Noodle to prepare a space capsule for him, so that he can escape without delay. He even told the crew of Space Probe One to leave Earth at once after removing all the traces of their visit. After that, he ordered Noodle to tell the invasion fleet to evacuate the entire planet of Mars because they were heading for Alpha Centauri, a hundred million miles away from Mars.

Question. ‘Pride has a fall’. Justify this statement giving relevant points from how Think-Tank reacted to the readings from Mother Goose.
Answer: Martians invaded the earth and reached in a library. Think-Tank was their boss. He was very proud of his wisdom, as he was having a big balloon like head. He thought that he was the wisest person on Mars. Nobody could disobey him, or even dare to speak against him. He claimed that he had a quick mind. He had no respect for anyone and regarded other’s views as trifling. He was also fickle-minded.
He misinterpreted the rhymes in a complete verbal manner. The rhyme mistress Mar made him ponder over the discovery of the earth. From the poem diddle-diddle he got alarmed and from the poem Humpty-Dumpty, he was so frightened that he decided to leave his kingdom and run away to Alpha Centauri. Thus his great wisdom was defeated and had a great fall.

Question. Attempt a character-sketch of Noodle highlighting the values projected by him.
Answer: Noodle is one of the crew members of the invasion team that came to invade earth. He is known as Apprentice Noodle. He is the co-coordinator between Think-Tank and the invasion team. He echoes Think-Tank in every manner. He is a very clever creature. He knows that Think-Tank being the commander-in-chief has to be obeyed. So he keeps on praising Think-Tank and also passing sarcastic remarks. It is only Noodles who think practically and differently about the books which were considered as sandwiches to eat. But Think-Tank took over the idea as his own. But Noodle is not sad at all. He is a blind and true follower of Think-Tank.

Question. Historian speaks highly about books. How can books help in averting a catastrophic situation?
Answer: The Historian is placed in the twenty-fifth century. He is trying to clear of the twentieth century. He calls it as the Era of the Book and speaks highly about the books, According to him books control all life. Books teach children. Books teach people how to and when to and where to and why to. They illustrate, educate, punctuate and even decorate the life of the people. According to the Historian, only the books saved the earth from Martian invasion, for the Martians had misunderstood the meaning of the poems and got frightened of them. So they left the earth in a hurry and even evacuated the Mars and headed over to Alpha Centauri. Even in our day to days life, we get all our solutions from books whether-it is health related or anything else. So we can say that books help us in preventing a catastrophe.

Question. How did one old book of nursery rhymes save the earth from a Martian invasion?
Answer: The old, dusty book of nursery rhymes was ‘Mother Goose’. Think-Tank wanted to invade the earth. He had sent Probe One to get more information about the Earthlings. The crew enters a. library. There, after taking vitamins, they take out ‘Mother Goose’ and decipher the rhymes. The rhymes are misinterpreted as threats by Think-Tank. After listening to the first rhyme, ‘Mistress Mary,’ he concluded that Earthlings had discovered how to combine agriculture and mining. The second rhyme, ‘Hey Diddle, Diddle’, seemed to suggest to him that the Earthlings might be launching an interplanetary attack on millions of cows. The third rhyme, ‘Humpty Dumpty’ wherein Humpty had a great fall and its picture that resembled him threatened him and his planet Mars. He got so scared that he dropped the idea of invading Earth, and escaped to Alpha Centauri. Thus a book of nursery rhymes saved the earth from Martian invasion.
 

Extract Based Questions

4. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follows :
Omega : Well, Oop?
Iota : Well, Oop? (Oop coughs. Omega and Iota pound him on the back.)
Think-Tank : Was it not delicious, sergeant
Oop : (saluting) That is correct, sir. It was not delicious. I don’t know how the Earthlings can get those sandwiches down without water. They’re dry as Martian dust.
Noodle : Sir, sir. Great and Mighty Think-Tank. I beg your pardon, but an insignificant bit of data floated into my mind about those sandwiches.
Think-Tank : It can’t be worth much, but go ahead. Give us your trifling bit of data.

Question. Why did Oop coughed?
Answer: Oop coughed because he had difficulty in swallowing the sandwich.

Question. State true or false.
None of the terms (a)-(d) can be applied to the statement — The sandwiches referred to in the extract are actually books.
(a) A hypothesis - a proposed explanation for a phenomenon
(b) An assumption - something that is taken for granted or assumed to be true
(c) A hyperbole - exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally
(d) A premise - a proposition that forms the basis of an argument
Answer: True

Question. What is the ‘trifling bit of data’ that floated into Noodle’s mind?
Answer: Noodle told Think-Tank that he had seen surveyor films of those sandwiches. The ‘trifling bit of data’ that came to his mind after that was that the Earthlings did not eat them. They used them as some sort of communiction devices.

Question. Which word would correctly substitute ‘unimportant’, in the given sentence from the extract?
The couple fought over unimportant issues.
Answer: trifling

5. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follows :
Omega : Listen to them?
Iota and Oop: (To each other, puzzled): Listen to them?
Think-Tank: Do you have marbles in your ears? I said, listen to them. (Martians bow very low).
Omega: It shall be done, sir. (They each take two books from the case and hold them to their ears, listening intently.)
Iota : (whispering to Omega) Do you hear anything?
Omega : (Whispering back) Nothing. Do you hear anything, Oop?
Oop : (Loudly) Not a thing! (Omega and Iota jump in fright.)
Omega and Iota : Sh-h-h! (They listen intently again).
Think-Tank : Well? Well? Report to me. What do you hear?
Omega : Nothing, sir. Perhaps we are not on the correct frequency.
Iota : Nothing, sir. Perhaps the Earthlings have sharper ears than we do.
Oop : I don’t hear a thing. Maybe these sandwiches don’t make sounds.

Question. Where are Omega, Oop and Iota in this conversation?
Answer: Omega, Oop and Iota are at the Centerville Public Library.

Question. How does Think-Tank explain the books to his probe crew?
Answer: Think-Tank told his crew that the books were communication devices and asked the probe crew to listen to them.

Question. Describe Think-Tank in your our words.
Answer: Think-Tank was the ruler of the planet Mars. His head is huge and egg-shaped. He wears a robe decorated with stars and circles. He considered himself very mighty and was very proud of his intelligence.

Question. Who made the next guess about what the sandwiches actually were? What was the guess?
Answer: Noodle made the next guess about what the sandwiches actually were. He guessed that the sandwiches were something to be watched.