The Book that Saved the Earth

Question 1.
Why was the twentieth century called the ‘Era of the book’?
Answer:
There were books for everything, from anteaters to Zulus. Books taught people what to do, how to do, when to do and why to do. They explained, educated, directed and decorated. No wonder that it was called the eta of books.

Question 2.
Who tried to invade the Earth in the twenty first century?
Answer:
Martians tried to invade the Earth in the twenty first century.

Read and Find out     (Page 63)
Question 1.
Why was the twentieth century called the ‘Era of the book’?
Answer:
There were books for everything, from anteaters to Zulus. Books taught people what to do, how to do, when to do and why to do. They explained, educated, directed and decorated. No wonder that it was called the eta of books.

Question 2.
Who tried to invade the Earth in the twenty first century?
Answer:
Martians tried to invade the Earth in the twenty first century.

Page 65
Question 3.
What guesses are made by Think-Tank about the books found on Earth?
Answer:
Think-Tank first guesses them to be sandwiches. Then he calls them communication devices. After that he thinks them to be some kind of eye communication devices that have to be devices watched.

Think About It     (Page 74)
Question 1.
Noodle avoids offending Think-Tank but at the same time he corrects his mistakes. How does he manage to do that?
Answer:
Noodle avoids offending Think-Tank while correcting his mistakes by presenting his own thoughts, but referring to them as being of no particular importance. Whenever he had to say something contrary to what Think-Tank said, he would do this. In this way he would correct Think-Tank’s errors without making Think-Tank feel that he was being corrected.

Question 2.
If you were in Noodle’s place, how would you handle Think-Tank’s mistakes?
Answer:
If I were in his place, I would do the same. I would politely and gently suggest the corrections.

Question 3.
Do you think books are being replaced by the electronic media? Can we do away with books altogether?
Answer:
Yes, these days online reading has replaced traditional books to a large extent. Internet, facebook, twitter etc. have decreased interest in reading. But, the truth is that books cannot be totally replaced. Books can never go out of life although they may exist in a different form.

Question 4.
Why are books referred to as a man’s best companion? Which is your favourite book and why? Write a paragraph about that book.
Answer:
A book is a man’s best companion because it is always there. It never leaves us alone. It is there with us even when everyone else is gone. Books ‘ guide us, instruct us, make us laugh, inform us, inspire us and are always true to us. My favourite book is Peter Pan. It is a fairy tale. I love the character of Peter. He lives in fantasies. He is a child who never wants to grow up and he never does’ He enjoys thrills and adventures and even takes the kids from Earth on a merry adventure. The book inspires as it snows that one can remain a child at heart forever. The sense of wonder, innocence, purity and joy and a ‘ capacity to dream can stay in the human heart forever.

Talk About It   (Page 74)
Question 1.
In what ways does Think-Tank misinterpret innocent nursery rhymes as threats to the Martians? Can you think of any incidents where you misinterpreted a word or an action? How did you resolve the misunderstanding?
Answer:
The words like ‘shell’ and ‘silver’ make Think-Tank think that humans grew them in farms. Then, there js a line about ‘cow’ and ‘ ‘moon’. Also, the picture of Humpty-Dumpu and the rhyme of‘great fall’ make Think- ink think that humans were about to invade Mats. Yes, I had a similar misunderstanding wirh a friend. But, I was fortunate as I got to know the actual truth just in time. I did not believe what 1 had heard earlier.

Question 2.
The aliens in the play speak English. Do you think this is their language? What could be the language of i.e aliens?
Answer:
No, English was not their language. If it had been so, they would not have misinterpreted the- nursery rhymes. They could be speaking some Martian language.

Short Answer Type Questions [2 Marks each]

Question 1.
Why did Think-Tank wish to contact the space probe?
Answer:
Think-Tank wanted to contact the probe to find out what the crew of the probe had observed about Earth.

Question 2.
What difficulty do the crew of the space probe face on Earth?
Answer:
The space probe lands in a public library. The crew is shocked because the place looked very strange as they had no idea of books. They think the library to be some kind of storage barn.

Question 3.
How does Think-Tank explain the books to his probe crew?
Answer:
Think-Tank told his crew that the books were sandwiches. He even ordered his crew to eat them. Then, he called them communication devices and later he said that they were meant for watching.

Question 4.
Why do the space probe crew take vitamins?
Answer:
Think-Tank wanted the probe crew to find out what was in the books. So, the probe crew take vitamins to increase their intelligence. They are able to read the books after taking those vitamins.

Question 5.
What is Think-Tank’s interpretation of words like ‘shells’, ‘silver bells’ and ‘garden’ from the nursery rhyme? What is its impact?
Answer:
Think-Tank interprets the given words to mean that the earthlings grew shells and silver in their gardens. This caused him to withhold their planned invasion of Earth as he felt that Earth was more advanced than Mars.

Question 6.
Think-Tank thinks that Earthlings are after him. What is the reason? [CBSE 2015]
Answer:
Think-Tank crew read about Humpty-Dumpty’s fall in the rhyme and showed the picture to Think-Tank. Think-Tank’s head resembled that of Humpty-Dumpty. This makes Think-Tank feel that earthlings were planning to invade Mars and capture him.

Question 7.
Mention any two striking qualities of Noodle.
Answer:
The apprentice of Think-Tank, Noodle, comes out as an interesting figure in the story. He is very polite and smart. He corrects the mistakes of his ruler very humbly by giving indirect suggestions. Also, he is very wise and well informed.

Question 8.
Elaborate the escape that Think-Tank plans for.
Answer:
Think-Tank orders his entire fleet to evacuate Mars. He gets a capsule for himself. They decide to move to the distant star Alpha Centauri to escape invasion by earthlings.

Question 9.
Describe Think-Tank in your our words.
Answer:
Think-Tank is the ruler of the planet Mars. His head is huge and egg shaped. He wears a robe decorated with stars and circles. He is very proud of his intelligence and might.

Question 10.
How did one old book of nursery rhymes save the Earth from a Martian invasion? [CBSE 2011]
or
How did a book change Think-Tank’s opinion about the Earthlings? [CBSE 2014]
Answer:
This book is totally misunderstood by the Martians.
The Martians thought that earthlings were planning to invade Mars. So, they cancelled their invasion of Earth and went back. Think-Tank totally misunderstands the book. Phrases like ‘shell’, ‘silver’, ‘garden’ gave him a false idea that earthlings grew silver and weapons. He starts thinking that earthlings are very advanced technologically.

Long Answer (Value Based) Type Questions [8 Marks each]

Question 1.
Noodle hails Think-Tank as the most powerful and intelligent creature in the whole universe. Do you agree? Write your opinion of Think-Tank citing instances from the given text.
Answer:
Noodle is an trainee under Think-Tank. He bows before him and hails his ruler as the most powerful and intelligent creature in the universe. However, Think-Tank is not really intelligent. He misinterprets the nursery rhymes completely. ‘Silver’, ‘shells’ and ‘garden’ for him mean that the earthlings are growing metals in farms.
He thinks books to be sandwiches and wants the crew to eat them. When he is read out the nursery rhyme which says, ‘Humpty-Dumpty had a great fall’ he is terrified and plans his escape from Mars Thus, Think-Tank in nothing more than a show off and a pompous fool.

Question 2.
Mars and Earth become friends. How?
Answer:
Think-Tank evacuates Mars and the martians move to Alpha Centauri. They fear an invasion by Earth. In the twenty-fifty century, the two planets become friends. The wise and wonderful Noodle replaces Think-Tank. Earthlings tell Martians the difference between sandwiches and books.
They even taught them how to read. At the same time, they have created a model library for Martians at Marsopolis. Still there is one thing that Martians have never learnt to do. They have never tried to read the nursery rhymes of ‘Mother Goose’.

Question 3.
Compare and contrast the characters of Noodle and Think-Tank. [CBSE 2012]
Answer:
Noodle and Think-Tank have contrasting characters. Think-Tank likes to be called the ‘Great and the Mighty’. He orders and commands. He is the ruler of Mars, but has no intelligence.
He thinks books to be sandwiches. He is wrong about everything. He demands that the crew obey him. He likes to pass on other’s idea as his own. He is a coward who simply boasts about his power.
Noodle, his apprentice, is very clever and wise. He corrects the mistakes of the ruler (Think-Tank) very gently. He never takes credit for his ideas. But he offers them to the ruler very gently. Think-Tank makes them as his own.