NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 11 - If I Were You PREPARED BY SUMAN KUMAR JHA

 

NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 11 - If I Were You

Page No. 144

Thinking about the Text

I. Answer these questions.

1. “At last a sympathetic audience.”
(i) Who says this?
(ii) Why does he say it?
(iii) Is he sarcastic or serious?

Answer:

(i) Gerrard says this.

(ii) He says it because the intruder asks him to speak about himself.

(iii) He is being sarcastic.

2. Why does the intruder choose Gerrard as the man whose identity he wants to take on?

Answer:

The intruder chooses Gerrard as the man whose identity he wanted to take on because he is of the same build as Gerrard. He is a murderer. As Vincent Charles Gerrard, he will be free to go places and do nothing. He can eat well and sleep without having to be ready to run away at the sight of a cop.

3. “I said it with bullets.”

(i) Who says this?
(ii) What does it mean?
(iii) Is it the truth? What is the speaker’s reason for saying this?

Answer:

(i) Gerrard says this.
(ii) It means that when things went wrong, he had to use his gun to shoot someone to escape.
(iii)  No, it is not the truth. He just wants the intruder to believe that he himself is a crook and he has also killed someone and escaped. Thus, the speaker says this to save himself from getting shot by the intruder.

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4. What is Gerrard’s profession? Quote the parts of the play that support your answer.

Answer:

Gerrard is a playwright. Some parts of the play that suggest his profession as a playwright are:

·         “This is all very melodramatic, not very original, perhaps, but…”

·         “At last a sympathetic audience!”

·         “In most melodramas the villain is foolish enough to delay his killing long enough to be frustrated”.

·         “I said, you were luckier than most melodramatic villains.”

·         “That’s a disguise outfit; false moustaches and what not”.

·         “Sorry I can’t let you have the props in time for rehearsal, I’ve had a spot of bother – quite amusing. I think I’ll put it in my next play.”

5. “You’ll soon stop being smart.”

(i) Who says this?
(ii) Why does the speaker say it?
(iii) What according to the speaker will stop Gerrard from being smart?

Answer:

(i) The intruder says this.
(ii) The speaker says it to frighten Gerrard as he doesn’t seem to be affected by his (speaker’s) gun.
(iii) According to the speaker, the realisation of being killed will stop Gerrard from being smart.

NCERT Class 9 Beehive Page No. 145

6. “They can’t hang me twice.”

(i) Who says this?
(ii) Why does the speaker say it?

Answer:

(i) The intruder says this line.
(ii) The intruder tells Gerrard that he has already murdered one man and that he will not hesitate to kill him too. Because the police can not hang him twice for two murders.

7. “A mystery I propose to explain.” What is the mystery the speaker proposes to explain?

Answer:

The mystery that Gerrard proposes to explain is a story that he makes to fool the intruder by making him believe that he is also a dangerous man. He tells him that he himself is a criminal. He asks the intruder that why doesn’t he meet any tradespeople and be a bit of a mystery man here today and gone tomorrow. He further adds to the mystery by telling him that the game is up as things went wrong with him when he had to murder someone to escape. Unfortunately, one of his men has been arrested and certain things are found with him which he should have burnt. Gerrard tells the intruder that he is expecting some trouble tonight and therefore, his bag is packed and he is ready to escape.

8. “This is your big surprise.”
(i) Where has this been said in the play?
(ii) What is the surprise?

Answer:

(i) This has been said twice in the play. At first time, the intruder says this to Girrard while revealing his plan to kill him. Secondly, Gerrard says these words when he is about to reveal his fictitious identity to the intruder.
(ii) When intruder says this line, the surprise is his plan to kill Gerrard and take on his identity. On the second occasion, when Gerrard says this, the surprise is his fictitious identity that he is going to reveal to make the intruder believe that he himself is a crook like the intruder.

Thinking about the Language

I. Consult your dictionary and choose the correct word from the pairs given in brackets.

1. The (site, cite) of the accident was (ghastly/ghostly).
2. Our college (principle/principal) is very strict.
3. I studied (continuously/continually) for eight hours.
4. The fog had an adverse (affect/effect) on the traffic.
5. Cezanne, the famous French painter, was a brilliant (artist/artiste).
6. The book that you gave me yesterday is an extraordinary (collage/college) of science fiction and mystery.
7. Our school will (host/hoist) an exhibition on cruelty to animals and wildlife conservation.
8. Screw the lid tightly onto the top of the bottle and (shake/shape) well before using the contents.

Answer:

1. The site of the accident was ghastly.
2. Our college principal is very strict.
3. I studied continuously for eight hours.
4. The fog had an adverse effect on the traffic.
5. Cezanne, the famous French painter, was a brilliant artist.
6. The book that you gave me yesterday is an extraordinary collage of science fiction and mystery.
7. Our school will host an exhibition on cruelty to animals and wildlife conservation.
8. Screw the lid tightly onto the top of the bottle and shake well before using the contents.

II. Irony is when we say one thing but mean another, usually the opposite of what we say. When someone makes a mistake and you say, “Oh! That was clever!” that is irony. You’re saying ‘clever’ to mean ‘not clever’.

Expressions we often use in an ironic fashion are: • Oh, wasn’t that clever!/Oh that was clever! • You have been a great help, I must say! • You’ve got yourself into a lovely mess, haven’t you? • Oh, very funny!/How funny!

We use a slightly different tone of voice when we use these words ironically.

Read the play carefully and find the words and expressions Gerrard uses in an ironic way. Then say what these expressions really mean. Two examples have been given below. Write down three such expressions along with what they really mean.

What the author says	What he means
Why, this is a surprise, Mr – er –	He pretends that the intruder is a social visitor whom he is welcoming. In this way he hides his fear.
At last a sympathetic audience!	He pretends that the intruder wants to listen to him, whereas actually the intruder wants to find out information for his own use.

Answer:

What the author says	What he means
You won’t kill me for a very good reason.	Gerrard, while pretending to be unaffected by the intruder’s threats of killing him says that the intruder would not kill him until he had a major reason to do so.
You have been so modest.	Here, Gerrard means that it is immodest on the part of the intruder to know so much about him without disclosing his own identity.
With you figuring so largely in it, that is understandable.	Gerrard says that by seeing the intruder’s behaviour, he can understand that the reason for intruder entering his house would be shocking.