NCERT Solutions Class 8 English (Honeydew) Chapter 4 Bepin Choudhury’s Lapse of Memory

NCERT Solutions Class 8 English (Honeydew) 

The NCERT Solutions in English Language for Class 8 English (Honeydew) Chapter – 4 Bepin Choudhury’s Lapse of Memory has been provided here to help the students in solving the questions from this exercise. 

NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English (Honeydew)

• Chapter – 1 : The Best Christmas Present in the World
• Chapter – 2 : The Tsunami
• Chapter – 3 : Glimpses of the Past
• Chapter – 5 : The Summit Within
• Chapter – 6 : This is Jody’s Fawn
• Chapter – 7 : A Visit to Cambridge
• Chapter – 8 : A Short Monsoon Diary
• Chapter – 9 : The Great Stone Face 1
• Chapter – 10 : The Great Stone Face 2

Chapter – 4 (Bepin Choudhury’s Lapse of Memory) 

Comprehension Check

1. Why did the man stare at Bepin Babu in disbelief?
Answer – The man stared at Bepin Babu in disbelief because Bepin Babu did not recognise him even though he was sure that he knew him and had met him in Ranchi.

2. Where did Bepin Babu say he went in October ’58?
Answer – Bepin Babu said that he went to Kanpur in October ’58 and spent the Puja with a friend.

3. Mention any three (or more) things that Parimal Ghose knew about Bepin Babu.
Answer – Parimal Ghose knew the following about Bepin Babu: He had no children. He had lost his wife ten years ago. His only brother had died insane, which was why he did not want to visit the mental hospital in Ranchi.

Comprehension Check 

1. Why did Bepin Babu worry about what Parimal Ghose had said?
Answer – Bepin Babu was taken aback to hear the intimate details about his life from Parimal Ghose. There seeded no reason why he should tell a lie. He wondered if he really had forgotten about his visit to Ranchi.

2. How did he try to decide who was right—his memory or Parimal Ghose?
Answer – In order to resolve the puzzle about his visit to Ranchi, Bepin Babu decided to contact Dinesh Mukerji. Parimal had said that Mukerji was also in Ranchi at that time.

3. Why did Bepin Babu hesitate to visit Mr. Mukerji? Why did he finally decide to phone him?
Answer – There was a fear of inviting acid lashed sarcasm from Mr. Mukherjee. Bepin Babu wanted to avoid that embarrassment. When the thought of Parimal’s conversation disturbed Bepin Babu then he decided to clear his confusion by talking to Deepak Mukherjee over telephone.

4. What did Mr. Mukerji say? Did it comfort Bepin Babu, or add to his worries?
Answer – Mr. Mukherjee confirmed that Bepin had been to Ranchi in October 58. This further made him uncomfortable. Bepin Babu became so worried that he even lost his appetite.

Comprehension Check

1. Who was Chunilal? What did he want from Bepin Babu?
Answer – Chunilal was Bepin’s school time friend. He was going through a bad phase and wanted some help from Bepin to land a job.

2. Why was Dr. Chanda puzzled? What was unusual about Bepin Babu’s loss of memory?
Answer – Dr. Chanda was not a psychiatrist, so Bepin’s case was out of his area of expertise. Chanda had never encountered such strange case of a perfectly normal person forgetting one important episode of his life.

Comprehension Check

1. Had Bepin Babu really lost his memory and forgotten all about a trip to Ranchi?
Answer – No, Bepin Babu had not lost his memory. In fact he had never some to Ranchi.  

2. Why do you think Chunilal did what he did? Chunilal says he has no money; what is it that he does have?
Answer – Chunilal played a prank with Bepin Babu because he had not supported him in his rough time. Chunilal had no money but he possessed a good mind.  

Working with the text

1. The author describes Bepin Babu as a serious and hardworking man. What evidence can you find in the story to support this?
Answer – “Bepin Babu held a responsible job. This had never happen in 25 years he had been with the firm. He had reputation for being a tireless, conscentious worker”. These lines support the above statement.  

2. Why did Bepin Babu change his mind about meeting Chunilal? What was the result of this meeting?
Answer – Bepin Babu changed his mind about meeting Chunnilal because he thought that Chunnilal would tell him something about Ranchi trip. But he beacame more miserable after the meeting because Chunnilal said that it was he who got a ticket booked for his Ranchi trip.  

3. Bepin Babu lost consciousness at Hudroo Falls. What do you think was the reason for this?
Answer – Bepin Babu may have been hit on his head. Or he may have suffered from a bout of fluctuations in blood pressure.

4. How do you think Bepin Babu reacted when he found out that Chunilal had tricked him?
Answer – Bepin Babu took the things in his stride and tried to behave normally when he found that Chunilal had tricked him. It is evident from the way Bepin Babu asked for a painkiller from the doctor.

Working with language

1. Fill in the blanks below using ‘had to’/ ‘have to’/ ‘has to’.
(i) I ________________ cut my hair every month.
(ii) We ________________ go for swimming lessons last year.
(iii) She ________________ tell the principal the truth.
(iv) They ________________ take the baby to the doctor.
(v) We ________________ complain to the police about the noise.
(vi) Romit ________________ finish his homework before he could come out to play.
(vii) I ________________ repair my cycle yesterday.
Answer –
(i) I have to cut my hair every month.
(ii) We had to go for swimming lessons last year.
(iii) She has to tell the principal the truth.
(iv) They had to take the baby to the doctor.
(v) We have to complain to the police about the noise.
(vi) Romit had to finish his homework before he could come out to play.
(vii) I had to repair my cycle yesterday.

2. Here are a few idioms that you will find in the story. Look for them in the dictionary in the following way.
First, arrange them in the order in which you would find them in a dictionary.
(Clue: An idiom is usually listed under the first noun, verb, adjective or adverb in it. Ignore articles or prepositions in the idiom).
To help you, we have put in bold the word under which you must look for the idiom in the dictionary.
(i) at/from close quarters (close: adjective)
(ii) break into a smile (break: verb; look under ‘break into something’)
(iii) carry on (carry: verb)
(iv) have a clean record (you may find related meanings under both these words)
(v) beat about the bush (verb)
Now refer to your dictionary and find out what they mean.
Answer –
(i) at/from close quarters – This means stay nearby or close by.
(ii) break into a smile – This means to smile suddenly.
(iii) carry on – This means to continue with some task or work.
(iv) have a clean record – This means to have a clean conduct or track record.
(v) beat about the bush – This means to make rough guesses without proper knowledge.

3. Study the sentences in the columns below.

Compare the sentences in the two columns, especially the verb forms.
Answer the following questions about each pair of sentences.
(i) Which column tells us that Bepin Babu is still working at the same place?
(ii) Which column suggests that Chunilal is now waiting for a reply from the publisher?
(iii) Which column suggests that the person still remembers the movie he saw?
(iv) Which column suggests that the experience of visiting Ranchi is still fresh in the speaker’s mind?
Answer –
(i) Column B
(ii) Column A
(iii) Column B
(iv) Column B

4. Given below are jumbled sentences. Working in groups, rearrange the words in each sentence to form correct sentences.
You will find that each sentence contains an idiomatic expression that you have come across in the lesson. Underline the idiom and write down its meaning. Then use your dictionary to check the meaning.
One sentence has been worked out for you as an example.
Jumbled sentence: vanished/ The car/ seemed to/ into thin/ have/ air.
Ans: The car seemed to have vanished into thin air.
Idiom: vanished into thin air: disappeared or vanished in a mysterious way
(i) Stop/and tell me/beating about/what you want/the bush
Ans: _______________________________________________________
Idiom: _____________________________________________________
(ii) don’t pay/If you/ attention/you might/the wrong train/to the announcement/board
Ans: _______________________________________________________
Idiom: _____________________________________________________

(iii) The villagers/tried/the crime/on the young woman/to pin
Ans: _______________________________________________________
Idiom: _____________________________________________________
(iv) Bepin Babu/orders to/telling people/under/loved/doctor’s/eat early/that he was
Ans: _______________________________________________________
Idiom: _____________________________________________________
(v) the students/The teacher/his eyebrows/when/said that/all their lessons/raised/they had revised
Ans: _______________________________________________________
Idiom: _____________________________________________________

Answer –
(i) Stop beating about the bush and tell me what you want.
Idiom: beating about the bush – To avoid coming to the main point and talk vaguely
(ii) If you don’t pay attention to the announcement, you might board the wrong train.
Idiom: pay attention – To listen carefully
(iii) The villagers tried to pin the crime on the young woman.
Idiom: pin the crime – To place the blame or responsibility of a crime and implicate it on a wrong person
(iv) Bepin Babu loved telling people that he was under doctor’s orders to eat early.
Idiom: under doctor’s orders – To follow someone’s instructions
(v) The teacher raised his eyebrows when the students said that they had revised all their lessons.
Idiom: raised his eyebrows – To express surprise or doubt