NCERT Solutions Class 8 English (Honeydew) Chapter 9 The Great Stone Face – I

NCERT Solutions Class 8 English (Honeydew) 

The NCERT Solutions in English Language for Class 8 English (Honeydew) Chapter – 9 The Great Stone Face – I 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 – 4 : Bepin Choudhury’s Lapse of Memory
• 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 – 10 : The Great Stone Face 2

Chapter – 9 (The Great Stone Face – I) 

Comprehension Check

Write ‘True’ or ‘False’ against each of the following statements.
1. The Great Stone Face stood near where Ernest and his mother lived. ______
2. One would clearly distinguish the features of the Stone Face only from a distance. ______
3. Ernest loved his mother and helped her in her work. ______
4. Though not very rich, Gathergold was a skillful merchant. ______
5. Gathergold died in poverty and neglect. ______
6. The Great Stone Face seemed to suggest that Ernest should not fear the general. ______

Answer –
1. The Great Stone Face stood near where Ernest and his mother lived. – False
2. One would clearly distinguish the features of the Stone Face only from a distance. – True
3. Ernest loved his mother and helped her in her work. – True
4. Though not very rich, Gathergold was a skillful merchant. – False
5. Gathergold died in poverty and neglect. – True
6. The Great Stone Face seemed to suggest that Ernest should not fear the general. – False

Working with the text

Answer the following questions.

1. (i) What was the Great Stone Face?
Answer – The Great Stone Face was a work of nature. It was formed on the side of a mountain by huge rocks. They had been thrown together in such a position that they resembled a human face.

(ii) What did young Ernest wish when he gazed at it?
Answer – Young Ernest gazed at the Great Stone Face. It smiled on him. Ernest wished that it could speak because it looked very kindly. Its voice must be pleasant. He would love the man whoever bore such a face dearly.

2. What was the story attributed to the Stone Face?
Answer – When Ernest read his poems, he hoped that the poet was like the Stone Face. The poet had celebrated the Great Stone Face in his poems. Ernest believed that the poet’s thoughts were worthy of him bearing resemblance to the Stone Face.

3. What gave the people of the valley the idea that the prophecy was about to come true for the first time?
Answer – There was a rumour in the valley that the great man resembling the Great Stone Face had appeared. A young man, named Gathergold had left the valley. He had grown a rich merchant by the time he became old. He had decided to return to his native valley. The rumour went that he had the living likeness of the Great Stone Face. It made the people of the valley think that the prophecy was about to come true.

4. (i) Did Ernest see in Gathergold the likeness of the Stone Face?
Answer – No, Ernest did not see the likeness of the Stone Face in Gathergold.

(ii) Who did he confide in and how was he proved right?
Answer – Ernest confided in the valley, where the Stone Face was formed. He was proved right because Gathergold died after sometime. He was then a poor man. All the people, then, said that he had no likeness with the stone face.

5. (i) What made people believe General Blood-and-Thunder was their man?
Answer – General Blood-and-Thunder was a heroic soldier. He fought and won many battles. Stories of his bravery made people think him to be the incarnation of the Great Stone Face.

(ii) Ernest compared the man’s face with the Stone Face. What did he conclude?
Answer – Ernest was not convinced with the General’s face as well. He was still waiting for the prophecy to come true.

Working with language

1. Look at the following words.
like – likeness
punctual – punctuality
The words on the left are adjectives and those on the right are their noun forms.
Write the noun forms of the following words by adding -ness or -ity to them appropriately. Check the spelling of the new words.
(i) lofty ______________ (vi) enormous ______________
(ii) able ______________ (vii) pleasant ______________
(iii) happy ______________ (viii) dense ______________
(iv) near ______________ (ix) great ______________
(v) noble ______________ (x) stable ______________

Answer –
(i) lofty loftiness
(ii) able ability
(iii) happy happiness
(iv) near nearness
(v) noble nobility
(vi) enormous enormity
(vii) pleasant pleasantness
(viii) dense density
(ix) great greatness
(x) stable stability

2. Add -ly to each of the following adjectives, then use them to fill in the blanks.

Answer –
(i) Why didn’t you turn up at the meeting? We all were eagerly waiting for you.
(ii) Kindly write your name and address in capital letters.
(iii) I was pleasantly surprised to see him at the railway station. I thought he was not coming.
(iv) It is perfectly believable that I am not responsible for this mess.
(v) He fell over the step and nearly broke his arm.

3. Complete each sentence below using the appropriate forms of the verbs in brackets.
(i) I _________ (phone) you when I _________ (get) home from school.
(ii) Hurry up! Madam _________ (be) annoyed if we _________ (be) late.
(iii) If it _________ (rain) today, we _________ (not) go to the play.
(iv) When you _________ (see) Mandal again, you _________ (not/recognise) him. He is growing a beard.
(v) We are off today. We _________ (write) to you after we _________ (be) back.

Answer –
(i) I shall phone you when I will get home from school.
(ii) Hurry up! Madam will be annoyed if we are late.
(iii) If it rains today, we shall not go to the play.
(iv) When you see Mandal again, you will not recognise him. He is growing a beard.
(v) We are off today. We shall write to you after we are back.