Worksheet Solutions: The Accidental Tourist | English Literature for Grade 9 PDF Download

Q.1. “Now on planes when the food is delivered, my wife says: “Take the lids off the food for Daddy” or “Put your hoods up, children. Daddy's about to cut his meat”. Of course, this is only when I am flying with my family. When I am on my own, I don’t eat, drink or lean over to tie my shoelaces, and never put a pen anywhere near my mouth.”

(i) Why does the author’s wife says like that?

The author’s wife says like that because the author is very unaware of what he does. So, he ends up with doing a little task with lot of accidents.

(ii) Why don’t author eat, drink or tie his shoes when he is alone?

The author doesn't eat, drink or tie his shoes when he is alone because he doesn’t want to do anything mischief, once while he was tie his shoelace just at the moment someone in the seat ahead of him threw his seat back into full recline and found himself pinned helplessly in the crash position.

(iii) Do you think that the author is really accidental natured?

Yes, the author is really accidental natured.

(iv) Name the story and the author.

The extract is from 'The Accidental Tourist' and the author is Bill Bryson.

Q.2. What strange does the author do on his trip to England?

While checking in, the author suddenly remembered that he had recently joined British Airways’ frequent flyer programme and had put the card in the carry-on bag. The zip on the bag was jammed. So, he pulled on it and yanked at it, with grunts and frowns and increasing consternation. Abruptly the zip gave way. The side of the bag flew open and everything within — newspaper cuttings and other loose papers, a 14- ounce tin of pipe tobacco, magazines, passport, English money, film — were out.

Q.3. Why does the author watch helplessly as his arm like some prop in The Undead Limb?

Once the author knocked a soft drink onto the lap of a sweet little lady sitting beside. The flight attendant came and cleaned her, and brought him a replacement drink, and instantly he knocked it onto the woman again. So, he just remembers reaching out for the new drink and watching helplessly as his arm, like some prop in one of the 1950s horror movies with a name like The Undead Limb, violently swept the drink from its perch and onto her lap.

Q.4. What happened to the author’s finger during his tour to England?

He had gashed (deep cut) his finger on the zip and was shedding blood in a lavish manner. Confused and unable to help, his hair went into panic mode. It was at that point that his wife looked at him with an expression of wonder — not anger or exasperation.

Q.5. Describe the incident when the author went en famille on a big trip.

When they arrived at Logan Airport and were checking in, the author suddenly remembered that he had joined British Airways’ frequent flyer programme. He also remembered that he had put the card in the carry-on bag. The zip of the bag was jammed. So, he pulled on it and yanked at it, with grunts and frowns and increasing consternation. He kept this up for some minutes. Abruptly the zip gave way. The side of the bag flew open and everything within — passport, newspaper cuttings and other loose papers, a 14- ounce tin of pipe tobacco, magazines, film, English money — was extravagantly ejected. He watched that a hundred carefully sorted documents came raining down in a fluttery cascade, coins bounced to a variety of noisy oblivions and the tin of tobacco rolled crazily across, he cried in horror, thinking what he would have to pay for that much tobacco in England. Then, discovered that he had gashed his finger on the zip and was shedding blood in a lavish manner.

Q.6. “I watched dumbstruck as a hundred carefully sorted documents came raining down in a fluttery cascade, coins bounced to a variety of noisy oblivions and the now-lidless tin of tobacco rolled crazily across the concourse disgorging its contents as it went”.

(i) Who is ‘I’ in the given extract?

’I’ refers to Bill Bryson.

(ii) What made all the things fell down?

The zip of the bag was jammed. So, he pulled it, the zip gave way and the side of the bag flew open.

(iii) What is the meaning of ‘concourse’?

‘Concourse’ means the open central area in a large public building (here, in the airport)

(iv) When did this incident took place?

The author was on a trip to England during Easter.

Q.7. “I am constantly filled with wonder at the number of things that other people do without any evident difficulty that are pretty much beyond me.” Why does Bill Bryson say this?

Because a number of times he has gone looking for the lavatory in a cinema, for instance, and ended up standing in an alley on the wrong side of a self-locking door. He has a particular specialty in returning to hotel desks two or three times a day and asking what his room number was. We can say that the author gets easily confused.

Q.8. How does the author make his teeth and gums navy blue?

When he was writing important thoughts in a notebook, sucking thoughtfully on the end of his pen and fell into conversation with an attractive young lady in the next seat. Then he went to the lavatory and discovered that the pen had leaked and his mouth, chin, tongue, teeth and gums became navy blue.

Q.9. What was the worst experience for author?

The author’s worst experience was when he was writing important thoughts in a notebook (like ‘buy socks’, ‘clutch drinks carefully’, etc.), sucking thoughtfully on the end of the pen and fell into conversation with an attractive young lady. He amused her for perhaps 20 minutes. Then retired to the lavatory and discovered that the pen had leaked and that his mouth, chin, tongue, teeth and gums were then a scrub-resistant navy blue and would be so for several days.

Q.10. What catastrophes does the author has to face while travelling?

Once on an aeroplane, the author leaned over to tie a shoelace just at the moment someone in the seat ahead of him threw his seat back into full recline, and found himself pinned helplessly in the crash position. It was only by clawing the leg of the man sitting next that he managed to get freed. On another occasion, he knocked a soft drink onto the lap of a sweet little lady sitting beside him. The flight attendant came and cleaned her up, and brought him a replacement drink, and instantly he knocked it onto the woman again. The lady looked at him with the stupefied expression. His worst experience was when he was writing some important thoughts in a notebook, sucking thoughtfully on the end of his pen and fell into conversation with an attractive young lady in the next seat. Then retired to the lavatory where he discovered that the pen had leaked and that his mouth, chin, tongue, teeth and gums were then a striking, scrub-resistant navy blue, and would remain so for several days.