NCERT Solutions Class 7 English (Honeysuckle)
The NCERT Solutions in English Language for Class 7 English (Poetry) (Honeysuckle) Poem – 4 Chivvy has been provided here to help the students in solving the questions from this exercise.
Poem – 4 (Chivvy)
Grown-ups say things like:
Speak up
Don’t talk with your mouth full
Don’t stare
Don’t point
Don’t pick your nose
Sit up
Say please
Less noise
Shut the door behind you
Don’t drag your feet
Haven’t you got a hankie ?
Take your hands out of
your pockets
Pull your socks up
Stand up straight
Say thank you
Don’t interrupt
No one thinks you’re funny
Take your elbows off the table
Can’t you make your own
mind up about anything ?
– MICHAEL ROSEN
Working with the Poem
1. Discuss these questions in small groups before you answer them.
(i) When is a grown-up likely to say this?
Don’t talk with your mouth full.
Answer – A grown-up is likely to say this when the child speaks loudly.
(ii) When are you likely to be told this?
Say thank you.
Answer – When the child is given something, he is likely to be told “Say thank you”.
(iii) When do you think an adult would say this?
No one thinks you are funny.
Answer – An adult would say these words when the child is trying to catch attention.
2. The last two lines of the poem are not prohibitions or instructions. What is the adult now asking the child to do? Do you think the poet is suggesting that this is unreasonable? Why?
Answer – In these lines, the adult is asking the child to behave like an adult. The poet is rightly suggesting that this is most unreasonable. The truth is that the child is not allowed to make up his/her own mind.
3. Why do you think grown-ups say the kind of things mentioned in the poem? Is it important that they teach children good manners, and how to behave in public?
Answer – The grown-ups say such things with different intentions. Many a time, they are trying to teach children good manners. They tell him how to behave in public. They consider it their duty to do so. It is very important for them.
4. If you had to make some rules for grown-ups to follow, what would you say? Make at least five such rules. Arrange the lines as in a poem.
Answer – Rules for the grown ups :
(i) Don’t talk to your child loudly.
(ii) Listen to him when he says something.
(iii) Take him with you whenever you go to a party.
(iv) Ask him his preference about food.
(v) Don’t disturb him during his favourite TV programme.
