GSEB Class 9 English Moments Chapter 9 The Accidental Tourist Solutions

GSEB Solutions

The Accidental Tourist Class 9 Questions and Answers GSEB

Think About It

Question 1. Bill Bryson says, “I am, in short, easily confused.” What examples has he given to justify this?
Answer: Bill Bryson claims that he gets confused quite easily and cannot even do his regular work without causing a mess. Many times he went searching for the restroom in a cinema and ended up standing in an alley on the wrong side of a self-locking door. He would forget his hotel room number and would return several times to the reception to confirm it. He would spill his drink on others or just spread his things around. That is why he mentioned that he was easily puzzled.
In simple words: Bill Bryson states he is often confused. He gave examples like getting lost in a cinema, forgetting his hotel room, spilling drinks, and making messes to show he struggles with simple tasks.

Exam Tip: When asked to justify a statement, provide specific examples from the text. Always link the examples back to the main point of the statement.

Question 2. What happens when the zip on his carry-on bag gives way?
Answer: His fingers get hurt when the zip of his carry-on bag breaks. He is bleeding a lot. All his belongings in his bag come flying across the floor of the airport's waiting hall. He appears to be mocking himself and the idea of behaving in a polite way at a public place.
In simple words: When the bag's zip breaks, his fingers get injured and bleed heavily. All his items fall out, making him look silly and disorganized in the airport.

Exam Tip: For event-based questions, describe the immediate consequences first, then broader implications. Use clear and sequential language to explain what occurred.

Question 3. Why is his finger bleeding? What is his wife's reaction?
Answer: His finger gets stuck in the zip of his bag and begins to bleed. His wife is surprised by the huge mess he has created all around himself.
In simple words: His finger is bleeding because it got caught in his bag's zipper. His wife is very surprised by the mess he made.

Exam Tip: Always address all parts of a multi-part question clearly. State the cause and then the reaction, keeping them distinct for full marks.

Question 4. How does Bill Bryson end up in a 'crash position' in the aircraft?
Answer: Once he was on a flight, Bryson bent over to tie his shoelaces. At that exact moment, someone in the seat in front of him reclined their seat back completely, and Bryson was helplessly pinned in the crash position.
In simple words: Bill Bryson leaned to tie his shoelaces on a plane. Someone in front suddenly pushed their seat back, trapping him in a 'crash position.'

Exam Tip: When describing an accident or unexpected event, outline the sequence of actions clearly. Focus on the cause and the immediate result, mentioning key details like the "crash position."

Question 5. Why are his teeth and gums navy blue?
Answer: On one instance, while on a plane, Bryson was thinking over his notes in his notebook and kept sucking on the end of his pen. He was careless enough not to notice that the pen had leaked, and his gums, teeth, tongue, and chin were all colored with navy blue ink.
In simple words: His teeth and gums turned navy blue because he carelessly sucked on a leaking pen while on a plane, and the ink stained his mouth and chin.

Exam Tip: Pay attention to specific details like "navy blue" and link them directly to the cause mentioned in the story. Ensure your explanation covers all key elements.

Question 6. Bill Bryson "ached to be suave”. Is he successful in his mission? List his 'unsuave' ways.
Answer: Bill Bryson "ached to be suave.” The way he behaves in public shows that he has failed in his mission. He would sometimes perform the most uncivilized acts. He would really want, just one time in his life, to rise from a dinner table without looking as if he has experienced a very strong earthquake locally or get into a car and close the door without leaving 14 inches of his coat outside or wear light-colored trousers without finding out at the end of the day that he had at various times sat on chewing gum, ice cream, cough syrup, and motor oil.
In simple words: Bill Bryson truly wanted to be elegant, but he failed completely. His "unsuave" ways include always looking messy after eating, getting his coat caught in car doors, and sitting on sticky substances like gum or ice cream without realizing.

Exam Tip: When answering about character traits and success, first give a direct answer (yes/no) and then support it with specific actions or events from the text that demonstrate the character's behavior.

Question 7. Why do you think Bill Bryson's wife says to the children, “Take the lids off the food for Daddy"?
Answer: Bill Bryson's wife understood his habit of creating problems for himself and causing trouble for others. So, to prevent such a situation from happening again, she asked the children to remove the lids from the food for Bill. She knew that if Bill attempted to do that himself, he might take it off in such a way that the lid would fly into some part of the plane, and the food might spill all over the place or on another passenger.
In simple words: Bill Bryson's wife told the children to open his food because she knew he was clumsy. She worried he might throw the lid or spill food on himself or other passengers if he tried to open it alone.

Exam Tip: When asked "Why do you think...", explain the motivation or reason behind the character's actions. Use details from the story that highlight the character's known traits or past behaviors.

Question 8. What is the significance of the title?
Answer: The title is important because it is about a man who travels frequently and is always puzzled. He often gets into trouble due to his actions, which are not intentional. The story shows funny travel experiences-like being caught in a crash position, spilling a drink or food on a fellow passenger, unintentionally getting his gums and teeth covered in ink, and many more such instances occur when the author accidentally gets into problems, thus justifying the title.
In simple words: The title is significant because it describes Bill Bryson perfectly. He travels a lot but is clumsy and often gets into funny, unplanned trouble, making him an 'accidental tourist' rather than a smooth one.

Exam Tip: To explain the significance of a title, connect it directly to the main character's traits and central theme of the story. Provide specific examples from the narrative that illustrate why the title is fitting.

The Accidental Tourist Summary in English

The Accidental Tourist Summary:

The Accidental Tourist by Bill Bryson is a short story that highlights the importance of having refined and elegant manners when traveling. In this story, we observe that the narrator flies over 100,000 miles every year because of his job's requirements. So, we can say that the narrator is an accidental tourist, even though he does not enjoy traveling, but he still has to because of his work.

However, in his own words, he states that he is a confused man who often forgets routes and gets into incorrect alleys or gets caught in self-locking doors. In this story, he shares some of his unusual travel experiences where he did many crazy things, even if unintentionally.

Most of his experiences are based around airports or inside flights. On one occasion, while flying to England from Boston with his family for Christmas, he forcefully opened the zip of his bag. As a result, it broke down, and all his items scattered on the ground. This made him embarrassed, and the people around him noticed.

One day on a flight, he got up to tie his shoelace. Suddenly, the person on the next seat pulled their full recliner up, and he was crushed into his seat. With great difficulty, he managed to free himself. This shows that he was absentminded when tying shoelaces.

On other days, he repeatedly spilled drinks on a lady's lap sitting next to him. Because of this habit, one day his wife let herself open the lid of the food container. In another amusing instance, the narrator was busy writing something with a pen, but at the same time, he was sucking one side of his pen and talking to a young lady. When he visited the lavatory, he found blue stains on his chin, mouth, hands, and so on.

There are some instances when the narrator, due to his poor memory, forgot some other thing and ended up in trouble. The message from this story is that traveling is not everyone's cup of tea. One needs to be alert and gracefully presentable to avoid making mistakes or causing inconvenience to others. You need to have good manners and a perfect presence of mind while traveling to distant places. Imagine what you would do if you lost your documents, money, and gadgets?