NCERT Solutions Class 6 English (Honeysuckle) Chapter 8 Fire : A Game of Chance

NCERT Solutions Class 6 English (Honeysuckle)

The NCERT Solutions in English Language for Class 6 English (Prose) (Honeysuckle) Chapter – 8 Fire : A Game of Chance has been provided here to help the students in solving the questions from this exercise.

Chapter – 8 (Fire : A Game of Chance)

Working with the Text 

A. Complete the following sentences from memory choosing a phrase from those given in brackets.

1. __________ was held at the time of the Eid festival.
(A big show, A big fair, A big competition)

2. Tradesmen came to the village with all kinds of goods __________ .
(to display, to buy, to sell)

3. Uncle told me __________ while he was away.
(not to buy anything, not to go anywhere, not to talk to anyone)

4. The owner of the Lucky Shop wanted everybody present __________ .
(to play the game, to win a prize, to try their luck)

5. The first time I took a chance I got __________ .
(a bottle of ink, two pencils, a trifle)

6. Uncle told me that the shopkeeper had made __________ .
(a fool of me, a good profit, friends with many people)

Answer – 

1. A big fair was held at the time of the Eid festival.

2. Tradesmen came to the village with all kinds of goods to sell.

3. Uncle told me not to buy anything while he was away.

4. The owner of the Lucky Shop wanted everybody present to try their luck.

5. The first time I took a chance I got two pencils.

6. Uncle told me that the shopkeeper had made a fool of me.

B. Answer the following questions.

1. Why do you think Rasheed’s uncle asked him not to buy anything in his absence? (3)
Answer – Rashid’s uncle told him not to buy anything in his absence because he knew that the shopkeepers would make a fool of Rashid and cheat him.

2. Why was the shop called ‘Lucky Shop’? (4)
Answer – The shop was named Lucky Shop so as to tempt the people to try their luck and win prizes.

3. An old man won a clock and sold it back to the shopkeeper. How much money did he make? (5)
Answer – The old man earned 15 rupees by selling the clock back to the shopkeeper.

4. How many prizes did the boy win? What were they? (6)
Answer – The boy won four prizes-a combs, a fountain pen, a wristwatch and a table lamp.

5. Why was Rasheed upset? (7, 8, 9)
Answer – Rasheed was upset because he thought he was unlucky at the game of chance.

6. In what way did the shopkeeper make a fool of Rasheed? (11)
Answer – The shopkeeper gave Rasheed things of small value. He encouraged the boy to try his luck again and again. Innocent Rasheed lost all his money.

Working with Language

A. The words given against the sentences below can be used both as nouns and verbs. Use them appropriately to fill in the blanks.

1. (i) The two teams have ________ three matches already. (play)
(ii) The last day’s ________ was excellent.

2. (i) She has a lovely ________. (face)
(ii) India ________ a number of problems these days.

3. (i) He made his ________ in essay-writing. (mark)
(ii) Articles ________ ‘sold’ are reserved.

4. (i) The police are ________ the area to catch the burglars. (comb)
(ii) An ordinary plastic ________ costs five rupees.

5. (i) He gave a ________ in answer to my question. (smile)
(ii) We also ________ to see him smile.

6. (i) He said he ________ to be invited to the party. (hope)
(ii) We gave up ________ of his joining the party.

7. (i) The boys put up a good athletic________ . (show)
(ii) The soldiers ________ great courage in saving people from floods.

8. (i) You deserve a ________ on the back for your good performance. (pat)
(ii) The teacher ________ the child on the cheek to encourage her.

Answer – 

1. (i) The two teams have played three matches already.
(ii) The last day’s play was excellent.

2. (i) She has a lovely face.
(ii) India faces a number of problems these days.

3. (i) He made his mark in essay-writing.
(ii) Articles marked ‘sold’ are reserved.

4. (i) The police are combing the area to catch the burglars.
(ii) An ordinary plastic comb costs five rupees.

5. (i) He gave a smile in answer to my question.
(ii) We also smiled to see him smile.

6. (i) He said he hoped to be invited to the party.
(ii) We gave up hope of his joining the party.

7. (i) The boys put up a good athletic show.
(ii) The soldiers showed great courage in saving people from floods.

8. (i) You deserve a pat on the back for your good performance.
(ii) The teacher patted the child on the cheek to encourage her.

B. Notice the use of ‘there’ in the following sentences.

• There was a big crowd at the fair.
• There were many things I’d have liked to buy.

Now rewrite the following sentences using ‘there’ in the beginning. Look at the following examples.

• I can do nothing to help you.
• There is nothing I can do to help you.
• A man at the door is asking to see you.
• There is a man at the door asking to see you.

1. This park has beautiful roses.
2. Your story has no fun in it.
3. We have no secrets between us.
4. My village has two primary schools.
5. This problem can be solved in two ways.

Answer – 

1. There are beautiful roses in this park.
2. There is no fun in your story.
3. There are no secrets between us.
4. There are two primary schools in my village.
5. There are two ways to solve this problem.

C. Fill in the blanks in the paragraph below with words from the box.

There was a ________ Eid fair in our village. We could buy anything from a ________ toy to a ________ camel. I went to the fair on its ________ day with Uncle and Bhaiya. We went to the Lucky Shop. It was very________. I tried my luck but did not win any prize. Later, Uncle told me that I was more ________ than ________.

Answer – 

There was a huge Eid fair in our village. We could buy anything from a tiny toy to a big camel. I went to the fair on its last day with Uncle and Bhaiya. We went to the Lucky Shop. It was very interesting. I tried my luck but did not win any prize. Later, Uncle told me that I was more foolish than unlucky.

Dictation

1. Some words are given below. Listen carefully to the word from the list the teacher speaks, and write against it another word that has the same pronunciation but different spelling. The first is an example.

Answer – 

Poem

Vocation

When the gong sounds ten in the morning and
I walk to school by our lane,

Every day I meet the hawker crying, “Bangles,
crystal bangles!”

There is nothing to hurry him on, there is no
road he must take, no place he must go to, no
time when he must come home.

I wish I were a hawker, spending my day in
the road, crying, “Bangles, crystal bangles!”

When at four in the afternoon I come back from
the school,
I can see through the gate of that house the
gardener digging the ground.
He does what he likes with his spade, he soils
his clothes with dust, nobody takes him to
task, if he gets baked in the sun or gets wet.
I wish I were a gardener digging away at the
garden with nobody to stop me from digging.

Just as it gets dark in the evening and my
mother sends me to bed,
I can see through my open window the
watchman walking up and down.

The lane is dark and lonely, and the streetlamp stands like a giant with one red eye in
its head.

The watchman swings his lantern and walks
with his shadow at his side, and never once
goes to bed in his life.

I wish I were a watchman walking the street
all night, chasing the shadows with my lantern.
  – RABINDRANATH TAGORE

Working With Poem

1. Your partner and you may now be able to answer these questions.

(i) Who is the speaker in the poem? Who are the people the speaker meets? What are they doing?
Answer – The speaker in this poem is a school-going child. Every day he happens to meet the hawker selling bangles, the gardener digging away at the garden, and the watchman walking the street all night.

(ii) What wishes does the child in the poem make? Why does the child want to be a hawker, a gardener, or a watchman?
Pick out the lines in each stanza, which tell us this.
Answer – The little child is innocent. He watches the people keenly around him. He is sick of checks on his movement. He wants to enjoy the same freedom as do the hawker, the gardener, and the watchman. They do what they like. The child says:

1. I wish I were a hawker, spending my day in the road.
2. I wish I were a gardener, digging away at the garden.
3. I wish I were a watchman walking the street all night.

(iii) From the way the child envies the hawker, the gardener and the watchman, we can guess that there are many things the child has to do, or must not do.

Make a list of the do’s and don’ts that the child doesn’t like. The first line is done for you.

Now add to the list your own complaints about the things you have to do, or must not do.

Answer –