Class 8 English Question Answers - The Great Stone Face-II (Old Syllabus)

Working with Language (Page 137) 

Q1. Mark the meaning that best fits the word or a phrase in the story.

(i) (sun) going down - (a) becoming smaller (b) weakening (c) setting
 (ii) brightening -  (a) making (it) look bright and cheerful. (b) lending (it) a special glow (c) causing (it) to appear hopeful
 (iii) spacious -  (a) lonely and wild (b) big and wide (c) special and important
 (iv) prophecy- (a) proverb (b) prediction (c) rumour
 (v) marvellous - (a) wonderful (b) surprising (c) shocking
 (vi) proclaim - (a) reveal (b) declare (c) shout
 (vii) cease - (a) happen (b) stop (c) remain
 (viii) (a night's) shelter - (a) stay (b) safety (c) hospitality
 (ix) gazed - (a) wandered about (b) stared at (c) thought of
 (x) took on (an expression)  - (a) challenged (b) resembled (c) assumed

Answers:

(i) (sun) going down - (a) becoming smaller (b) weakening (c) setting
 Ans. c

(ii) brightening -  (a) making (it) look bright and cheerful. (b) lending (it) a special glow (c) causing (it) to appear hopeful 
 Ans. a

(iii) spacious -  (a) lonely and wild (b) big and wide (c) special and important 
 Ans. b

(iv) prophecy- (a) proverb (b) prediction (c) rumour 
 Ans. b

(v) marvellous - (a) wonderful (b) surprising (c) shocking
 Ans. a

(vi) proclaim - (a) reveal (b) declare (c) shout
 Ans. b

(vii) cease - (a) happen (b) stop (c) remain 
 Ans. b

(viii) (a night's) shelter - (a) stay (b) safety (c) hospitality 
 Ans. a

(ix) gazed - (a) wandered about (b) stared at (c) thought of 
 Ans. b

(x) took on (an expression)  - (a) challenged (b) resembled (c) assumed 
 Ans. c

Q2. 
(i) Read the following sentences. 
(a) I do hope I’ll live to see him.
(b) He will come! Fear not, Earnest: the man will come. 
(c) Gathergold is arriving tomorrow, people said.
(d) Blood-and-Thunder starts his journey back to the valley next week, everyone proclaimed.
(e) The great man is going to spend his old age in his native town.

Notice that in the above sentences, verbs in bold type are in four different forms, denoting four important ways of expressing future time. None of these can be said to be exclusively used to show future time, though each is used to refer to some action in future.

(ii) Which form of the verb is more natural in these sentences? Encircle your choice.

(a) I'm not free this evening. I will work/am working on a project.
(b) Have you decided where you will go for your higher secondary? Yes, I have. I will go/ am going to the Kendriya Vidyalaya.
(c) Don't worry about the dog. It won’t hurt/isn't hurting you.
(d) The weatherman has predicted that it will snow/is snowing in Ranikhet tonight.
(e) Swapna can't go out this evening. Her father will come/is coming to see her.

Answers:

(a) I'm not free this evening. I will work/am working on a project. 
Ans. am working 

(b) Have you decided where you will go for your higher secondary? Yes, I have. I will go/ am going to the Kendriya Vidyalaya. 
 Ans. am going

(c) Don't worry about the dog. It won’t hurt/isn't hurting you. 
Ans. won't hurt

(d) The weatherman has predicted that it will snow/is snowing in Ranikhet tonight. 
 Ans. will snow

(e) Swapna can't go out this evening. Her father will come/is coming to see her. 
 Ans. is coming.

Q3. Complete these pieces of conversation using will or going to with the verbs given.

(a) Rani: Why are you turning on the radio?
 Ravi: I ____________ (listen) to the news. 

(b) Rani: Oh, I can't buy this book. I have no money.
 Ravi: Don't worry. I ____________ (lend) you some. 

(c) Rani: Look at those dark clouds.
 Ravi: I think it ____________ (rain). 

(d) Rani: What shall we have for dinner?
 Ravi: I can't decide.
 Rani: Make up your mind.
 Ravi: All right, then. We ____________ (have) fried rice and dry beans. 

(e) Rani: Why are you filling the kettle with water?
 Ravi: I ____________ (make) coffee. 

(f) Rani: We need some bread and butter for breakfast.
 Ravi: All right. I ____________ (go) to the bakery and get some. 

(g) Ravi: I ____________ (get) some bread and butter. Do you want anything from the bakery?
 Father: Yes, I want some salt biscuits.
 Ravi: Fine, I ____________ (get) you a packet.

Answers: 

(a) Rani: Why are you turning on the radio?
 Ravi: I ____________ (listen) to the news.
 Ans.  am going to listen 

(b) Rani: Oh, I can't buy this book. I have no money.
 Ravi: Don't worry. I ____________ (lend) you some. 
 Ans. will lend

(c) Rani: Look at those dark clouds.
 Ravi: I think it ____________ (rain). 
 Ans. is going to rain

(d) Rani: What shall we have for dinner?
 Ravi: I can't decide.
 Rani: Make up your mind.
 Ravi: All right, then. We ____________ (have) fried rice and dry beans. 
 Ans. will have

(e) Rani: Why are you filling the kettle with water?
 Ravi: I ____________ (make) coffee. 
 Ans. am going to make

(f) Rani: We need some bread and butter for breakfast.
 Ravi: All right. I ____________ (go) to the bakery and get some. 
 Ans. will go

(g) Ravi: I ____________ (get) some bread and butter. Do you want anything from the bakery?
 Father: Yes, I want some salt biscuits.
 Ravi: Fine, I ____________ (get) you a packet. 
 Ans. am going to get, will get

Speaking and Writing (Page 139)

Q3. Imagine that you are the poet. You have come to your native valley to meet a famous preacher called Ernest. Narrate the incident of your first meeting with him.
Ans. I lived so far away from the valley. But I had heard about Ernest’s character and wisdom. One summer day I called on him. I found him reading a book. We sat down together and talked. I found Ernest wise, gentle and kind. Ernest greeted me warmly and called me a ‘gifted guest’. Then I introduced myself as one who wrote the poems Ernest was reading.
Ernest compared my face with the Stone Face. He had hoped to see the fulfilment of the prophecy but he was disappointed. I told him I was not worthy of that likeness. I said that my thoughts and actions had no harmony.
I went with my host to a meeting place. I heard his address and found depth in his thoughts. In the golden light of the setting sun, Ernest appeared to me exactly like the Great Stone Face. The gathering also agreed with me.

Q4. (i) Put each of the following in the correct order to construct sentences.

• a resident of Noida near Delhi/is visually impaired/George Abraham. 
• confidence and competitive spirit/and infuses discipline among the participants/ It provides.
• he has helped/The brain behind the World Cup Cricket,/the disabled to dream. 
• to the blind school in Delhi/It was a chance visit/that changed his life.
• sport is a powerful tool/the disabled/He believes that/for rehabilitation of.

(ii) Now rearrange the sentences above to construct a paragraph

Ans. (i)

• George Abraham, a resident of Noida near Delhi, is visually impaired.
• It provides confidence and competitive spirit, and infuses discipline among the participants.
• The brain behind the World Cup Cricket, he has helped the disabled to dream.
• It was a chance visit to the blind school in Delhi that changed his life.
• He believes that sport is a powerful tool for rehabilitation of the disabled.

Ans. (ii) 
George Abraham, a resident of Noida near Delhi, is visually impaired. The brain behind the World Cup Cricket, he has helped the disabled to dream. It was a chance visit to the blind school in Delhi that changed his life. He believes that sport is a powerful tool for rehabilitation of the disabled. It provides confidence and competitive spirit and infuses discipline among the participants.