The Fun They Had Summary | Class 9 | Notes | NCERT Solutions |

The Fun They Had Summary Class 9 | Notes | NCERT Solutions | Questions Answers |

The Fun They Had Summary

The Fun They Had Summary : This is a story by Isaac Asimov. It takes place in the future when everything is done on computers, including school. Instead of going to a real classroom, kids attend virtual classes with a robot teacher when they are in “school.” People also do not need to read books anymore because they learn about them on the computer. The story starts with two children named Margie and Tommy who live in this world and how it changes things from the past.

Margie wrote in her diary on 17th May 2157 about how Tommy found a real book. The book was old and it had stories in it. Margie’s grandfather once told her that when he was a young boy, his grandfather told him that all the stories used to be printed on paper back then. Margie and Tommy turned the yellow and crumpled pages of the book to discover more about those days. They found it funny to read the book as the words stayed in one place instead of moving like they do on a computer screen.

It seems that in the future, there will be no more hard copies of books. Only telebooks will be available. Tommy is upset by this because he feels that it is a waste to read a book and then throw it away. He thinks that their television screen has enough books on it and could store even more without being thrown away.

Soon, Margie was surprised to learn that teachers used to be people, and not robots. She had always thought that only robots taught at school. Additionally, she found the idea of having a school near her bedroom unappealing because she would not have any classmates and the robot teacher would give her a lot of homework.

Margie and Tommy both use a computer screen to get their lessons. One day, Margie’s mother called someone from the County Inspector to fix something on the machine that displays the lessons on a computer screen. The man put together the black screen and then asked questions on it. Margie was a little bit disappointed that he fixed it so quickly.

Additionally, Margie’s mother calls her to attend her classes. While Margie is at school, the mechanical teacher teaches about fractions. But Margie can’t help but think about how much fun her grandparents had when they visited a school in the olden days. Back then, schools were special buildings where all kids of the same age studied together. She imagines how kids from different parts of town would come together and attend school happily.

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NCERT Solutions of The Fun They Had Summary/Notes

Thinking about the Text

I. Answer these questions in a few words or a couple of sentences each.

Question 1. How old are Margie and Tommy?

Answer: Margie is 11 and Tommy is 13 year old.

Question 2. What did Margie write in her diary?

Answer: Margie wrote “Today Tommy found a real book!” in her diary.

Question 3. Had Margie ever seen a book before?

Answer: No, Margie had never seen a book before.

Question 4. What things about the book did she find strange?

Answer: The  strange things she found were:

i) The book had yellow and crinkly pages.

ii) The words were not moving but stood still.

iii) When they looked back at the previous page, it still had the same words on it as when they first saw it.

Question 5. What do you think a telebook is?

Answer: According to me, a telebook is a book that gets shown on the screen of a television.

Question 6. Where was Margie’s school? Did she have any classmates?

Answer: Margie’s school was situated next to her bedroom. No, she did not have any classmates.

Question 7. What subjects did Margie and Tommy learn?

Answer: They learnt Geography, History and Arithmetic in their school.

II. Answer the following with reference to the story.

Question 1. “I wouldn’t throw it away.”

(i) Who says these words?

(ii) What does ‘it’ refer to?

(iii) What is it being compared with by the speaker?

Answer: (i) Tommy

(ii) “It” refers to the books.

(iii) Telebooks are being compared with the paperback book by the speaker. 

Question 2. “Sure they had a teacher, but it wasn’t a regular teacher. It was a man.”

(i) Who does ‘they’ refer to?

(ii) What does ‘regular’ mean here?

(iii) What is it contrasted with?

Answer: (i) “They” refers to the students centuries ago.

(ii) “Regular means the usual in 2157. Here, regular teacher means a mechanical teacher.

(iii) Humans as teachers of earlier times is contrasted with a mechanical teacher.

III. Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (about 30 words).

Question 1. What kind of teachers did Margie and Tommy have?

Answer: Margie and Tommy had teachers that taught them about mechanical things. They showed the lessons on big screens, with questions asked on the screen, too. The children did not have to go to a classroom- they just watched everything from their homes.

Question 2. Why did Margie’s mother send for the County Inspector?

Answer: Margie’s mom sent the County Inspector to fix the mechanical teacher that was giving Margie Geography tests. Every time she would take a test, she would do worse. Her mom wanted to make sure it was fixed and sent for the County Inspector.

Question 3. What did he do?

Answer: The County Inspector smiled at Margie and gave her an apple. He took the mechanical teacher apart from her. Then he fixed it. He told Margie’s mother that the geography sector of the mechanical teacher was too fast for most people, so he slowed it down to an average level.

Question 4. Why was Margie doing badly in geography? What did the County Inspector do to help her?

Answer: Margie was doing badly in geography because the questions were too hard for her. It was difficult to answer them quickly and she did not do well in class. The County Inspector slowed down the speed so that Margie could do better and be happy.

Question 5. What had once happened to Tommy’s teacher?

Answer: Tommy’s teacher had to be taken away for a whole month because the history sector was blank.

Question 6. Did Margie have regular days and hours for school? If so, why?

Answer: Yes, Margie’s mom made sure that Margie went to school on the same days and at the same time every day because she believed little girls learn better when they go to school at a regular time each day.

Question 7. How does Tommy describe the old kind of school?

Answer: Tommy says that the old-fashioned kind of school used to have buildings specifically for studying. All the kids would go to those buildings to learn.

Question 8. How does he describe the old kind of teachers?

Answer: He tells Margie that the old kind of teachers were people instead of machines. The human teacher would educate the boys and girls and give them homework and ask questions.

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