CBSE Class 10 English The Book That Saved the Earth Important Questions Set 03

Long Answer Questions

Question 1. Imagine you are the Great and Mighty Think-Tank. You have been safely evacuated to the farthest planet on Alpha Centauri. Write a diary entry about your adventurous escape. You may begin like this: The lives of great people are always in peril...
Answer: 99th Day, 331 Martian Year Midnight
Dear Diary,
The lives of great people are always in peril. Why should my case be any different? I am the Great and Mighty Think-Tank after all. I was about to launch an attack on the planet when I realised that they were much more advanced in war than Mars. My super-effective Probe team found that the Earthlings had put me on a hit list. I still do not understand where they got such an accurate photo of me. I will be hiding out on this faraway planet for some time. But this is not my weakness but only a cunning strategy. I am not afraid of anyone!
Think-Tank

Question 2. Justify the title of the play 'The Book that Saved the Earth'.
Answer: A good title should reflect the theme, idea, or traits of a character. In the play, a book of nursery rhymes, 'Mother Goose' is responsible for stopping the martian invasion on Earth. Think-Tank, the ruler of Mars, plans to invade Earth and sends Probe One to get more information about the Earthlings. They enter a library but can't figure out what the books are. They take vitamins, increase their intelligence, and then read the rhymes from 'Mother Goose'. Think-Tank misinterprets the rhymes and takes them as threats to him and Mars. Scared, he drops the idea of invading and escapes with his subjects to Alpha Centauri. Thus, the book 'Mother Goose' was responsible for stopping the Martian invasion of Earth. The title ‘The Book That Saved the Earth', reflects the theme of the play, so it is an appropriate title.

Question 3. Think-Tank's impatience and arrogance contribute to his downfall in "The Book That Saved the Earth". Elaborate in about 120 words.
Answer: Think-Tank is arrogant and impatient. He wants to invade the Earth ‘before lunch’, refuses to listen to others and insists that he is always right. He calls books sandwiches and believes the nursery rhymes are a secret code of the Earthlings.
When Omega reads ‘Humpty Dumpty’, he thinks it describes his own downfall, since he too has a large egg-shaped head. Panicking, he cancels the invasion and flees to Alpha Centauri.
His arrogance stops him from thinking clearly, and his impatience makes him jump to wrong conclusions. In the end, his own foolishness causes his downfall, and the wise Noodle takes his place.

Question 4. At the end of the play one is told that five centuries later Noodle has acquired the position of Think-Tank. Develop a conversation between Noodle and Think-Tank as they meet each other.
Answer: Think-Tank: Noodle! What are you doing on my throne?
Noodle: Welcome back, sir. After you left for Alpha Centauri, I was asked to lead Mars.
Think-Tank: Lead Mars? With your tiny brain?
Noodle: Perhaps, sir. But we made friends with the Earthlings. They taught us how to read, and we now have a model library in Marsopolis.
Think-Tank: Read? Those sandwiches nearly destroyed me!
Noodle: They were only nursery rhymes, sir. Humpty Dumpty was not about you.
Think-Tank: Hmm... perhaps I was a little hasty.
Noodle: Do stay, sir. You could start with ‘Mother Goose’. It is quite harmless, I assure you.

Question 5. Little knowledge may lead to a disaster. Describe it with reference to the lesson ‘The Book That Saved the Earth’. (Delhi Com. 2017)
Answer: The Martians, led by their megalomaniac leader Think-Tank, plan an interplanetary attack on the Earthlings. The Martian space probe reached the Centerville Public Library. Unaware of what they were surrounded by, the Martians found themselves in a state of confusion. While Captain Omega went through the catalogue drawer, Lt. Iota counted the books and Sgt. Oop inspected one of the books from every possible angle. When Think-Tank and Noodle made contact with them and asked them to submit their report, none of them knew that the peculiar items which filled the room were actually books. Think-Tank, with his very limited and false knowledge about Earth and Earthlings, jumped to the conclusion that those peculiar items were sandwiches. At first, he said that the books were meant to be eaten; then he said they were ‘communication sandwiches’ and were meant for listening. When they heard no sound coming from them, Noodle suggested that humans did not eat or listen to these ‘peculiar items’ but opened them and watched them. Think-Tank immediately ordered his soldiers to read from the ‘big colourful sandwich’, which looked quite important, and tell him what they saw. It was a very large volume of ‘Mother Goose’, a book of nursery rhymes. As the ignorant Martians read the poems one after the other, they misinterpreted their meaning and felt that humans were mightier than the Martians had thought them to be. What really terrified the Martians was the poem ‘Humpty Dumpty’. Since Think-Tank looked exactly like Humpty, Think-Tank thought that the humans were after his life and would kill him. He decided to abort the mission of invading Earth and called his Martian troops back. This proves that little knowledge may lead to utter confusion and major disaster.

Question 6. It is morally incorrect to invade another country/planet for one’s own benefit. The Martians did not understand the value of peaceful coexistence. How did the book of nursery rhymes save the Earth from the Martian invasion? (AI 2016)
Answer: Aristotle said, “Man is a social animal.” The Martians in the play ‘The Book That Saved the Earth’ seemed to be ignorant of the reality that peaceful coexistence is fundamental to survival. It is morally incorrect to invade another country/planet for one’s own benefit. There are no winners or losers in a war. There is only destruction and devastation.
The Martians, led by their megalomaniac leader Think-Tank, plan an interplanetary attack on the Earthlings. The Martian space probe reached the Centerville Public Library. Unaware of what they were surrounded by, the Martians found themselves in a state of confusion. While Captain Omega went through the catalogue drawer, Lt. Iota counted the books and Sgt. Oop inspected one of the books from every possible angle. When Think-Tank and Noodle made contact with them and asked them to submit their report, none of them knew that the peculiar items which filled the room were actually books. Think-Tank, with his very limited and false knowledge about Earth and Earthlings, jumped to the conclusion that those peculiar items were sandwiches. At first, he said that the books were meant to be eaten; then he said they were ‘communication sandwiches’ and were meant for listening. When they heard no sound coming from them, Noodle suggested that humans did not eat or listen to these ‘peculiar items’ but opened them and watched them. Think-Tank immediately ordered his soldiers to read from the ‘big colourful sandwich’, which looked quite important, and tell him what they saw. It was a very large volume of ‘Mother Goose’, a book of nursery rhymes. As the ignorant Martians read the poems one after the other, they misinterpreted their meaning and felt that humans were mightier than the Martians had thought them to be. What really terrified the Martians was the poem ‘Humpty Dumpty’. Since Think-Tank looked exactly like Humpty, Think-Tank thought that the humans were after his life and would kill him. He decided to abort the mission of invading Earth and called his Martian troops back. This proves that little knowledge may lead to utter confusion and major disaster.

Question 7. The play ‘The Book That Saved the Earth’ conveys the message that misunderstanding of cultural differences between various races can cause confusion and conflict. Based on your reading of the play, write how such confusion and conflicts can be checked so that peace and harmony are maintained. (Foreign 2015)
Answer: The play ‘The Book That Saved the Earth’ conveys the message that misunderstanding of cultural differences between various races can cause confusion and conflict. The confusion of the Martians arose because of their ignorance of the language, culture and traditions of the people on Earth. In this age of globalisation, it is all the more necessary to have healthy cross-cultural communication. Cultural differences across nationality, religion, language, border, culture and behaviour can be overcome with the help of effective cultural communication. The diversity of people in cities and countries means an element of cross-cultural communication will always be needed between various ethnic groups. This will help in reducing tension and misunderstanding between these communities and thus, everyone will live in peace and harmony. This type of communication can be established through learning each other’s language, religion and traditions.

Question 8. How did the people on the earth help the Martian people? How did this effort help the people on both the planets? (Board Question)
Answer: The people on earth taught the Martians how to read. They helped them to understand letters along with interpreting their meanings. They taught them the difference between a sandwich and a book. People on the earth also helped the Martians to set up a model library. This installed a cordial relationship between both the planets. It helped people on both the planets to know each other as they became friendly and did not consider invasion as an option. Martians were no more afraid of the people on earth as they understood that the meaning of their scripts and text was not to attack the Martians or harm them in anyway.

Question 9. Dark is the nation and insane the King’. Discuss in context of the play ‘The Book that saved the Earth’.
Answer: Think-Tank was the ruler of all Martians. He was a pompous fool who believed he was the most intelligent and beautiful creature ever. A foolish person is unable to rule a country or even a small group of people. Such a rule is bound to ruin the ruled. He had no clue about anything on earth and was a bumbling fool. He heard a nursery rhyme from earth and saw pictures in a book and started believing that it was a code to attack Mars and himself. In his foolishness, he escaped to another far away planet leaving all the Martians behind. Under his rule, Mars neither could make contact with Earth nor rule it. When Noodle became the ruler, there was contact with Earth and mutual cooperation too. Thus, when the king is insane, the nation is dark.

Question 10. Is the title ‘The Book that saved the Earth’ justified? How?
Answer: On the face of it, the title does seem absurd. But as we dive into the story, we find in a humorous way, that a book did actually save the earth in the story. In the story/play, the Martians were planning to invade Earth and rule it. They sent a team of three Martians to explore and gather information. When they read out and saw pictures of some nursery rhymes from the book ‘Mother Goose’, their captain believed it to be a code to attack Mars and that the Earthlings were more advanced than what they had thought them to be. He got scared and ordered all to flee. He himself escaped to a far off planet. This prevented an attack and the Earth was saved. Thus, the book, Mother Goose saves the Earth, and the title of the play is justified.