NCERT Class 8 Eglish Poorvi - UNIT -1 Chapter 1. The Wit that Won Hearts

NCERT Class 8 English Poorvi Unit -1  

Chapter 1. The Wit that Won Hearts 

I. Select qualities of a person who uses wit from the box given below:

Now, discuss reasons for your choice of qualities.
Answer:
Qualities of a person who uses wit:

• Wise
• Clever
• Humorous
• Observant
• Charming
• Creative
• Confident

Discussion: Reasons for your choice of qualities:
1. Wise-A witty person often has deep understanding and uses their knowledge wisely to solve problems.
2. Clever-Wit involves quick thinking and smart responses.
3. Humorous-Wit is closely related to humour; witty people can make others laugh or smile even in tense situations.
4. Observant-Witty people notice small details that others might miss, helping them respond cleverly.
5. Charming-Witty people’s words and humour can make them likable and win hearts.
6. Creative-Witty people think out-of- the-box and find unique solutions to problems.
7. Confident-It takes confidence to speak cleverly, especially in front of others.

II. Work in pairs and answer the riddles that are given below. Share the answers with your classmates and teacher.

Answer:
1. Words
2. Future
3. Time
4. Secret

Question 1.    Why are qualities like humour and wit important in a person?

Answer:        Humour and wit help a person deal with difficult situations calmly and wisely. They make communication more engaging and help solve problems peacefully. These qualities also make a person more likable and approachable.

Question 2..    Why do you think kings and queens preferred to have witty people among their courtiers?

Answer:     Witty courtiers like Tenali Rama could lighten tense moments, offer clever solutions to difficult problems, and entertain the court. Their intelligence and humour were valuable in maintaining harmony and offering wise advice.

Question 3.    If you were asked to solve a disagreement between two people, what approach would you take?

Answer:        I would first listen to both sides patiently without judging. Then, I would try to find common ground and help them understand each other’s perspectives. If needed, I would use humour or examples to ease tension and guide them toward a peaceful solution.

Question 4.    Have you ever been in a situation where a small misunderstanding led to a big problem? How was it resolved?
Answer:        Yes, once I misunderstood a friend’s message and thought they were upset with me. I felt hurt, and we didn’t talk for days. Later, when we spoke honestly, we realised it was just a simple miscommunication. Talking openly and forgiving each other helped us resolve the issue.

I. Rectify the following false statements from the text.

Question 1.    The queen insulted the king by speaking against the quality of his poem.
Answer:         The queen yawned due to tiredness, not to insult him.

Question 2.    Tenali Rama immediately went to the king and convinced him to talk to the queen.
Answer:          Tenali Rama first planned a clever strategy before acting.

Question 3.    The courtiers admired the king’s poem and praised his literary talent.
Answer:         The courtiers avoided the king and made excuses.

Question 4.    The ministers in the court were eager to hear Tenali Rama’s idea about paddy cultivation.
Answer:        The ministers were sceptical and mocked Tenali Rama.

Question 5.    The king never realised his mistake and continued to stay angry with the queen.
Answer:        The king realised his mistake and apologized.

I. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

1. “… The king thought I was disrespecting his poem and stormed off. Since then, he has not spoken to me. If I had known this would happen I would have chosen another day. Help me, please, Rama. Only you can help the king understand. ”

Rama nodded thoughtfully. “If you like, I will try my best to resolve this matter, Your Highness. But this needs a well-planned approach and I may need time to find the right strategy. ”

(i) Why does the queen believe that only Tenali Rama can help the king understand?
Answer:    The queen believes that only Tenali Rama can help because he is witty, wise, and trusted by the king.

(ii) What does the queen’s statement, “If I had known this would happen, I would have chosen another day”, suggest about her feelings?
A. She is angry at the king for overreacting.
B. She regrets the unintended misunder-standing.
C. She believes the poem was not worth listening to.
D. She is worried that the king might punish her.
Answer:
B. She regrets the unintended misunderstanding

(iii) How does Tenali Rama’s response reflect his wisdom and problem-solving skills?
Answer:    Tenali Rama’s response shows his patience, wisdom, and ability to plan carefully before acting.

(iv) Fill in the blank by choosing the correct option from those given in the brackets.
The king’s reaction shows that he is sensitive and ___________ (has a lot of faith/takes great pride) in his poetry.
Answer:    takes great pride

2. That evening, the king approached the queen with a softened expression. “Thirumalambal”, he began, his voice gentle, “I have been foolish. I see now that I overreacted. I let my pride blind me. I’m so sorry. ”

The queen, who had longed for this moment, smiled and replied, “If you like, we can leave this quarrel behind us. I would very much like to listen to your poem. ”

(i) Complete the following with a suitable explanation.

When the king said, “I let my pride blind me”, he means that ___________
Answer:    his pride prevented him from seeing the situation clearly

(ii) Why does the queen say, “If you like, we can leave this quarrel behind us”?
Answer:    The queen says so because she wants to forgive and move on peacefully.

(iii) Fill in the blank by choosing the correct option from those given in the brackets.
The king acknowledges that his pride clouded his judgement, which shows ___________ (intelligence and courage/maturity and self-awareness)
Answer:    maturity and self-awareness

(iv) State any one characteristic that the queen’s response to the king’s apology shows about her. -y
Answer:    The queen is forgiving and kind-hearted.

II. Answer the following questions.

Question 1.    Why was the Vijayanagara Empire considered to be in its ‘Golden Era’ during Krishnadeva Raya’s reign?
Answer:        The Vijayanagara Empire was considered to be in its ‘Golden Era’ during Krishnadeva Raya’s reign because under Krishnadeva Raya, art, literature, and architecture flourished.

Question 2.    How did Tenali Ramakrishna gain a special place in the king’s court?
Answer:         Tenali Ramakrishna gained a special place in the king’s court through his quick wit, humour, and clever problem-solving skills.

Question 3.    How did the quarrel between the king and the queen affect the palace?
Answer:         The palace became dull and lifeless as the king stopped seeing the queen.

Question 4.    What strategy did Tenali Rama use to make the king realise his mistake?
Answer:    Tenali Rama used a humorous comparison with sowing seeds and yawning to make the king reflect on his actions.

Question 5.    What was the reaction of the courtiers when Tenali Rama introduced ‘special’ paddy seeds?
Answer:         When Tenali Rama introduced ‘special’ paddy seeds, the courtiers mocked him and doubted his claim.

Question 6.    How does the story conclude, and what lesson can be learnt from it?
Answer:         The king apologizes and peace is restored. The story teaches the value of empathy, wit, and communication.

I. Fill in the blanks and complete the paragraph by choosing suitable expressions from the box given below.

My mother is quite witty, and her sense of humour always lightens stressful moments. Once, at a family dinner, an argument began over a minor issue, and 1. cast a shadow , making everyone feel uncomfortable. Just as things were getting serious, she made a clever remark and laughter 2. rippled through the gathering, making everyone relaxed. The person who started the argument 3.stormed off. Everyone disapproved of the action and a 4. hush fell over. My 5.mind raced back to how my mother had saved other situations like this. Without her, such moments would have 6. cast a shadow over the gatherings. I hope that I grow up to be as witty as my mother.

II. The writer uses words like ‘roared’, ‘murmur’ in the text to indicate the sound produced. Fill in the blanks with suitable sound words from the box given below. You may refer to a dictionary.

1. As the teacher began the riddle challenge, amurmur of excitement spread through the classroom.
2. Anaya sighed in relief—she loved riddles more than solving Mathematics problems.
3. Think carefully,’ the teacher began to mumble, as she wrote a riddle on the board.
4. When the question was revealed, a few students gasped, realising it wasn’t as easy as they had expected.
5. Some exchanged snickers, wondering if anyone at all would be able to solve it.
6. Just then, Anaya tapped her book on the desk with a small thud, deep in thought.
7. ‘Ah, I see it now!’ she said stretching with a groan, as if it had taken her great effort.
8. A small breeze made the windows  rattle, adding to the suspense of the moment.
9. ‘So, what’s the answer?’ the students roared, their voices filled with playful enthusiasm.
10. Leaning forward with a smile, Anaya whispered, “Sometimes, the trickiest questions have the simplest answers.”

III. As you have learnt, a compound word is formed when two or more words are combined to create a new word with a distinct meaning. These are of three types: closed compounds (sunlight, courtroom), hyphenated compounds (well-planned), and open compounds (paddy seeds).

Question 1.
Create new compound words by matching words in Column 1 with those in Column 2.

Answer:

Column 1	Column 2
(i) quick	G. witted
(ii) soft	B. tempered
(iii) common	F. sense
(iv) house	H. hold
(y) book	E. store
(vi) ill	C. spoken
(vii) sky	D. blue
(viii) dance	A. hall

Question 2.    Fill in the blanks with the words created in the previous question.

Ravi was (i) soft-tempered, always speaking calmly even in arguments. He grew up in a lively (ii) house hold, where he learned to handle different personalities. His friend Arun, however, was (iii) ill-tempered and often lost his patience. Despite this, Arun admired Ravi’s (iv) quick-witted thinking. One evening, as they passed a (v) dance hall, they saw some performers rushing out. Ravi noticed that one of them dropped a (vi) sky blue book on the ground. “Is this yours?” he asked. “Oh thank you, young man!” the performer smiled. “It’s a recent purchase from the (vii) book store round the corner.” True to his nature Arun promptly said to Ravi, “ It’s (viii) common sense that it’s not from a bakery but bookshop!” Ravi smiled and they walked on.

IV. Read the sentences from the text and their explanation given in the table below.

In sentence 1     ‘if you like’ is the subordinate clause (if clause) and ‘I will try my best to resolve this matter’ is the main clause. Identify the subordinate and main clauses in sentences 2 and 3.
Answer:

Sentence 2:
Subordinate clause: If, by chance, something were to go wrong,
Main clause: our farmers would suffer. 

Sentence 3:
Subordinate clause: If I had known this would happen,
Main clause: I would have chosen another day.

Now, match the subordinate clauses 

(if clauses) in Column 1 with the appropriate main clauses in Column 2 to make complete sentences.

Answer:

olumn 1	Column 2
(i) If I had a magic wand	A. We will go to the theatre.
(ii) If it rains tomorrow,	B. I would sneak into the secret room.
(iii) If you had listened carefully,	C. I would give myself wings.
(iv) If you finish your homework,	D. The boys would have woken up on time.
(v) If I were invisible,	E. We will stay indoors and play board games.
(vi) If the alarm had rung,	F. You would have solved the puzzle.

V. Complete the following sentences appropriately with either the main clause or the subordinate clause (if clause).

1. Your teacher will be unhappy if you don’t complete your homework..
2. They would have caught the train if they had left earlier.
3. You will feel tired  if you continue to stay up late every night.
4. If she knew the answer,she would raise her hand.
5.She would have passed if she had studied harder.
6. If I had a million rupees,I would travel the world..

VI. Complete the following sentences. One example has been done for you.

1. If I were a tree, I would play with the wind and talk to the birds.

2. If I were the Head Teacher of my school, I would reduce homework and increase playtime.

3. If I were a bird, I would fly over mountains and oceAnswer:

4. If I were a magician, I would make everyone happy.

5. If I had studied harder, I would have topped the class.

I. You will listen to a woman narrating a story. As you listen, fill in the blanks in the following sentences by selecting the correct options. 

(Refer to the NCERT Textbook Page-46 for transcript.)

1. The rope tying the bundle of sticks was ______.
(i) loose
(ii) thick
(iii) short
Answer:
(i) loose

2. The scholar is finally referred to as ______
(i) irritable
(ii) mischievous
(iii) arrogant
Answer:
(iii) arrogant

II. You will once again listen to the story.
As you listen, number the events of the story in the correct order of occurrence.
1. The great scholar was ashamed because he did not know what to say.
2. Rama accepted the challenge thrown by the visitor.
3. Rama had a bundle tied in silk when he came to the palace.
4. The king laughed at the explanation given by Rama.
5. The visitor wanted to show his superiority over others in the palace.
6. Rama showed the work to be a bundle of sticks tied together by a rope.
7. The king wanted to know more about the work mentioned by Rama.
8. The court scholars were afraid of the king’s anger.
Answer:
Correct order:
5. → 2. → 3. → 7. → 6. → 4. → 1. → 8.

I. While asking questions, it is important to use the appropriate tone to convey the correct meaning.
1. Yes’ or ‘No’ questions have a rising tone at the end.
Are you coming home?

2. ‘-Wh’ questions have a falling tone at the end.
When will you come home?

This rise and fall in tone is called intonation.
Now, work in pairs and mark the intonation in the questions given below.
Take turns to practise by saying them aloud with the correct intonation.
(i) Is this your cat?
(ii) What is the name of your cat?
(iii) Will you be going to your village?
(iv) Why are you going to your village?
(v) Is this where you live?
(vi) Where do you live?
(vii) Can I meet your parents?
(viii) How are your parents?
(ix) Do you have any plans for tomorrow?
(x) What are you going to do tomorrow?
Answer:
Marking tones –
Rising intonation (↗︎) for Yes/No questions Falling intonation (↘︎) for Wh- questions
(i) Is this your cat? ↗︎
(if) What is the name of your cat?↘︎
(iff) Will you be going to your village? ↗︎
(iv) Why are you going to your village?↘︎
(y) Is this where you live? ↗︎
(vi) Where do you live? ↘︎
(vii) Can I meet your parents? ↗︎
(viii) How are your parents? ↘︎
(ix) Do you have any plans for tomorrow? ↗︎
(x) What are you going to do tomorrow? ↘︎

II. ‘What’, ‘Why’, ‘When’, ‘How’, ‘Where’, and ‘Who’ are the words used to ask questions. These words are called question words. Let us use these words and make some questions.
While making questions, remember the correct word order.

• Who is the cleverest character in the story? (Correct)
• Who the cleverest character is in the story? (Incorrect)

Work in pairs and take turns to ask and answer questions about a trip that you are planning. Remember to use the correct intonation while asking these questions.
Here are some prompts for you.

• The destination (Where…)
• Purpose (Why…)
• Mode of transport (How…)
• Duration (When…)
• Travel companions (Who…)
• Activities (What…)

Answer:
(Sample prompts for practice in pairs – answers will vary.)
About a trip:

• Where are you going?
• Why are you going there?
• How will you go there?
• When will you leave?
• Who is going with you?
• What will you do there?

Now, work in pairs and take turns to ask and answer the questions about witty characters in folktales or stories you have read. Use the correct intonation while asking questions.

For example: Your favourite character in the folktale (Who…?)
Who is your favourite character in the folktale?

1. The name of the witty character (Who…?)

Answer:    Who is the witty character in the story?

2. The reason for her/his wit being important in the story (Why…?)

Answer:    Why is their wit important in the story?

3. The most famous trick or clever idea she/he used (What…?)

Answer:    What is the most famous clever idea they used?

4. The time.period or setting of the folktale/ story (When…?)

Answer:    When does the story take place?

5. The way she/he used her/his intelligence to solve a problem (How…?)

Answer:    How did she/he use her/his intelligence to solve a problem?

6. The location where the stoiy takes place (Where…?)
Answer:    Where does the story take place?

A narrative essay is written on a personal experience or an imagined experience.

I. Read the narrative essay given below.
A Lesson in Responsibility

One bright Monday morning, I woke up to the sounds of birds chirping loudly. For once, I wasn’t late for school. My uniform was neatly laid out, and my homework was already packed in my bag. I felt proud of myself for being so organised. But little did I know, the day would still teach me an important lesson.

During the morning assembly, our teacher, Mrs. Rao, announced a surprise Science quiz. My heart skipped a beat. I had studied the chapter a week ago, but I had forgotten to revise it over the weekend. As I sat at my desk with the question paper in front of me, I froze. The questions looked familiar, yet I couldn’t recall the answers clearly. I tried my best to focus, but it wasn’t enough. Later, when the results were announced, I scored much lower than I expected. Disappointed, I spoke to Mrs. Rao after the class. She smiled and said, “It’s not about how much you know but how consistently you prepare. Small efforts add up every day.”

Her words stayed with me. From that day on, I made it a habit to revise my lessons regularly, even if there wasn’t an immediate test. Responsibility isn’t just about being on time or finishing tasks—it’s about being ready for what’s unexpected.

Now, work in pairs and check (✓) if the following features are present in the narrative essay.
1. Introduction

• The essay begins with a clear and engaging opening.
• The introduction sets the context for the narrative.
• The central idea or purpose is clear.

2. Body of the essay

• Events are narrated in a logical sequence.
• Descriptive details are used.
• Characters and settings are clearly described.
• The narrator’s emotions or thoughts are shared.
• The essay includes a challenge or a problem or a turning point.

3. Conclusion

• The essay ends with an outcome.
• A lesson or a message is clearly stated.

4. Writing Style

• The tone is personal and engaging.
• First person narration is used (for example, ‘my’).

5. Language

• The essay uses simple and clear language.
• Grammar, punctuation, and spellings are correctly used

Note: A narrative essay focuses on sharing a personal experience to convey a specific lesson, a reflection, or an idea. It has an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.
Answer:
All the mentioned features are present in the given narrative essay.

Now, write a narrative essay based on any one of the situations given below

• The Day I Learnt the Value of Teamwork
• A Small Act of Kindness that Made a Difference

Answer:
Hints to write Narrative Essay
1. The Day I Learnt the Value of Teamwork
Write about a time when working with others helped you succeed at something.

2. A Small Act of Kindness that Made a Difference
Describe an incident where your kindness or someone else’s made someone feel better.

I. Limericks are poems in five lines that have a twist in the last line. Read and enjoy the following limericks and create one on your own.
Raju flew his kite in the sky so wide,
It soared with grace, full of pride.
But a crow came along,
Singing its song,
And now it’s the crow on a joyride!
Answer:
There once was a fox so sly,
Who’d steal food without a tiy.
He’d sneak through the night,
Out of everyone’s sight,
Till one day he tripped on a pie!

II. Go to the library and read a story of your choice. Share its theme and the interesting parts of the story with your classmates and teacher.
Answer:    Do it yourself.

III. You must have read stories of wit, humour, and wisdom in your own language or English. Make a list of these stories that you have read on a chart paper. Each student should read at least one new story from the list.
Answer:
Make a classroom chart listing stories like:

• Tenali Rama tales
• Akbar and Birbal
• Mulla Nasruddin stories
• Panchatantra tales
• Aesop’s Fables