Samacheer Kalvi Class 7 English Solutions Term 1 Chapter 3 Taking the Bully by the Horns

Textual Exercise (Text Book Page No. 162)

A. Choose the correct answer.

Question 1. What is bullying?
(a) When you and a friend get into a fight
(b) When someone accidentally bumps into you on the playground.
(c) When someone is hurt by others either by words or actions, feels bad because of it, and finds it hard to stop what's happening to them.
(d) Rolling a ball to knock over pins.
Answer: (c) When someone is hurt by others either by words or actions, feels bad because of it, and finds it hard to stop what's happening to them
In simple words: Bullying happens when someone purposefully hurts another person with words or actions. The person being bullied feels bad and finds it hard to make the bullying stop.

🎯 Exam Tip: When defining bullying, make sure to include elements like intentional harm, power imbalance, and repeated behavior, as these are key characteristics.

Question 2. What should you do if you are being bullied?
(a) Speak up
(b) Tell an adult
(c) Know that you have the right to be safe
(d) All of the options
Answer: (d) All of the options
In simple words: If you are being bullied, you should speak up, tell a trusted adult, and remember that you have the right to feel safe. Taking these steps can help stop the bullying.

🎯 Exam Tip: For safety questions, always consider all available options, including seeking help from others and asserting your rights.

Question 3. How do you recognise someone who bullies?
(a) Size – The person bullying is bigger than the person being bullied
(b) Gender – Girls don't bully, only boys do
(c) Behaviour – They do something that hurts or harms another person
(d) Age – It is always the older kids picking on the younger ones
Answer: (c) Behaviour – They do something that hurts or harms another person
In simple words: You can tell if someone is a bully by observing their actions. If they do things that hurt or harm another person, that is a clear sign of bullying behaviour.

🎯 Exam Tip: Focus on actions and behavior rather than physical traits or stereotypes when identifying bullying.

Question 4. What should you do if you see bullying?
(a) Help get them away from the situation
(b) Tell an adult
(c) Let them know that no one deserves to be bullied
(d) All of the options
Answer: (d) All of the options
In simple words: When you see bullying, you should try to help the person get away, tell a grown-up, and remind everyone that nobody should ever be bullied. Doing all these things can make a difference.

🎯 Exam Tip: Remember that taking multiple actions, like intervening safely and seeking adult help, is usually the best approach when witnessing bullying.

B. Answer the Following Questions.

Question 1. What could be the reasons for bullying?
Answer: Bullying often happens because someone wants to have fun, feel powerful, or get attention from others. Sometimes, bullies might also want to feel better about their own problems or weaknesses by putting others down. Understanding these reasons can help us address bullying effectively.
In simple words: Bullies often want to have fun, feel powerful, get attention, or feel better about themselves.

🎯 Exam Tip: When listing reasons for bullying, consider both the desire for control and personal insecurities as contributing factors.

Question 2. Why do some children bully others?
Answer: Some children bully others because they wish to make someone else feel bad or embarrass them. They do this to feel superior and better about themselves. This behavior often comes from a need to feel important or to cover up their own feelings of unhappiness.
In simple words: Children bully to make others feel bad, which helps them feel better or more important about themselves.

🎯 Exam Tip: Highlight how bullying is often a reflection of the bully's own insecurities or need for control.

Question 3. What does Ajay enjoy about bullying?
Answer: Ajay enjoys the attention he gets when others laugh at his actions instead of telling him to stop. This laughter makes him feel encouraged to continue bullying. He sees this reaction as approval for his behavior.
In simple words: Ajay likes bullying because people laugh at him, and this attention makes him want to keep doing it.

🎯 Exam Tip: Emphasize that audience reaction, especially laughter, can unintentionally reinforce a bully's behavior.

Question 4. What is empathy?
Answer: Empathy is a very important skill when dealing with bullying. It is the ability to truly understand and share the feelings of another person in a particular situation, as if you were experiencing it yourself. This helps us connect with others and respond kindly.
In simple words: Empathy means understanding how another person feels by putting yourself in their shoes.

🎯 Exam Tip: Define empathy clearly as feeling and understanding another's emotions, and briefly mention its importance in social interactions.

Question 5. How does bullying affect one?
Answer: Bullying can make a person feel very sad, lose confidence, and feel lonely. It can also harm their health and daily life, causing them to eat poorly, get sick often, have nightmares, or struggle to sleep. Sometimes, they might get hurt physically, become withdrawn, show sudden anger, or even start bullying others to cope with their own pain. These impacts can be long-lasting.
In simple words: Bullying makes people sad, lonely, and less confident. It can also cause health problems, sleep issues, and make them angry or withdrawn.

🎯 Exam Tip: When discussing the effects of bullying, cover a range of impacts including emotional, psychological, physical, and behavioral changes.

C. Think and Answer.

Suppose the person bullying is one of your friends,

Question 1. Would you keep quiet?
Answer: No, I would not keep quiet. It is important to help the person who is being bullied. I would try to stop my friend from bullying them. Standing up for others is always the right thing to do.
In simple words: No, I would not stay quiet. I would help the person being bullied and tell my friend to stop.

🎯 Exam Tip: Clearly state your stance against bullying and emphasize taking action, even if the bully is a friend.

Question 2. At what point would you do something?
Answer: I would do something as soon as I see that my friend's actions are hurting the person being bullied. It's important to act quickly to prevent further harm. Even small acts of bullying can cause big pain.
In simple words: I would act as soon as I notice my friend hurting the other person.

🎯 Exam Tip: Stress the importance of immediate intervention when you recognize harm is being caused by bullying.

Question 3. What would you do?
Answer: If my friend does not listen to me when I ask them to stop, I would talk to their parents or teachers about their behavior. It's important for adults to know so they can help solve the problem. Sometimes, friends need adult guidance.
In simple words: If my friend doesn't listen, I would tell their parents or teachers about their behavior.

🎯 Exam Tip: Suggest escalating the issue to responsible adults like parents or teachers if direct intervention with a friend is ineffective.

Connecting to Self (Text Book Page No. 164)

Question. Paste the photographs and write down the values which you learn from them.
Answer: Here are the values typically learned from family members and friends:

🎯 Exam Tip: When asked about values learned from family and friends, aim to provide a diverse set of positive traits that contribute to personal growth and good relationships.

Step to Success (Text Book Page No. 165)

Question. Change the codes into letters with the sign codes given below and tell the sentence to your friend.
Answer: The decoded sentence is: Do not fear, I am with you. Do not be afraid, for I am your God. This secret message encourages strength and faith.
In simple words: The coded message tells us: "Do not fear, I am with you. Do not be afraid, for I am your God."

🎯 Exam Tip: When solving code puzzles, carefully match each symbol to its corresponding letter and write down the decoded message accurately.

Taking the Bully by the Horns Summary in English

Mocking, teasing, and forcing others are all forms of bullying. People who have high self-esteem usually do not bully. Bullying can involve violence, verbal abuse, making someone feel alone, ragging, and spreading false rumors. It is important for us to learn how to say 'no' to friends when needed. Bullying others can lead to poor health and bad behavior patterns. Getting help from adults and showing empathy can resolve the problem of bullying. Understanding the different forms of bullying helps us to prevent it.

Taking the Bully by the Horns Summary in Tamil

கேலி செய்தல், கிண்டல் செய்தல், கட்டாயப்படுத்துதல் இவையெல்லாம் கொடுமைப்படுத்துதல் எனப்படும். இந்தக் கொடுமைப்படுத்துதலில் ஈடுபடுபவர்கள் தாழ்வு மனப்பான்மை கொண்டவர்கள். வன்முறை, திட்டுதல், தனிமைப்படுத்துதல், ராகிங் செய்தல், வதந்தி பரப்புதல் இவையெல்லாமே கொடுமைப்படுத்துதலின் வடிவங்கள். நம் நண்பர்களிடம் ஒரு விஷயத்திற்கு மறுப்பு தெரிவிக்க நாம் பயப்படக் கூடாது. கொடுமைப்படுத்துதலால் உடல்நலப் பிரச்சனைகள், நடத்தையில் கோளாறுகள் போன்றவை ஏற்படும். பெரியவர்களின் தலையீடு, பரிவு மற்றும் இரக்கம் போன்ற நல்ல உணர்வுகள் இந்த கொடுமைப்படுத்துதல் பிரச்சனைக்கு ஒரு நல்ல தீர்வாகும்.