NCERT Solutions for Class VII English: Chapter 10 The Story of Cricket Honeycomb

Ramachandra Guha

Page No: 143

Comprehension Check

1. Cricket is originally a/an

(i) Indian game.

(ii) British game.

(iii) international game.

Mark the right answer.

Answer

Cricket is originally a (ii) British game.

2. “There is a historical reason behind both these oddities.” In the preceding two paragraphs, find two

words/phrases that mean the same as ‘oddities’.

Answer

peculiarities
curious characteristic.

3. How is a cricket bat different from a hockey stick?

Answer

In early days, cricket bat and hockey stick had very slight difference. Now, hockey stick is made of single piece of wood and curved at bottom while cricket bat is flat and straight and made up of two pieces, the blade and the handle.

Page No: 146

Comprehension Check

Write True or False against each of the following sentences.

(i) India joined the world of Test cricket before Independence.

(ii) The colonisers did nothing to encourage the Parsis in playing cricket.

(iii) Palwankar Baloo was India’s first Test captain.

(iv) Australia played its first Test against England as a sovereign nation.

Answer

(i)True

(ii)True

(iii) False

(iv)False

Page No: 148

Comprehension Check

1. A ‘professional’ cricket player is one who makes a living by playing cricket. Find the opposite of ‘professional’ in the last paragraph.

Answer

Amateur

2. In “the triumph of the one-day game”, ‘triumph’ means the one-day game’s
(i) superiority to Test cricket.
(ii) inferiority to Test cricket.
(iii) achievement and success over Test cricket.
(iv) popularity among viewers.
Mark the right answer.

Answer

(iv) popularity among viewers.

3. “…the men for whom the world is a stage”.
(i) It refers to the famous cricket fields in the world.
(ii) It means that there are many cricket playing countries in the world.
(iii) It implies that cricketers are like actors and every cricket ground is like a stage on which the drama of cricket is enacted the world over.
Mark the right answer.

Answer

(iii) It implies that cricketers are like actors and every cricket ground is like a stage on which the drama of cricket is enacted the world over.

Working with the Text

1. Name some stick-and-ball games that you have witnessed or heard of.

Answer

Hockey, Cricket, Baseball, Polo, Billiards are the few games.

2. The Parsis were the first Indian community to take to cricket. Why?

Answer

The Parsis were the first Indian community to take to cricket as they were in close contact with the British because of their interest in trade and the first Indian community to westernise.

3. The rivalry between the Parsis and the Bombay Gymkhana had a happy ending for the former. What does ‘a happy ending’ refer to?

Answer

The ‘happy ending’ refers to the victory of a Parsis team over the Bombay Gymkhana in a game of cricket in 1889, just four years after the foundation of the Indian National Congress in 1885.

4. Do you think cricket owes its present popularity to television? Justify your answer.

Answer

Definitely, cricket owes its present popularity to television. It helps in expansion of its audience as well as popularity to different countries and even in small towns and villages by broadcasting services. Matches played at one place can be viewed worldwide which resulted in its popularity as well as finance.

5. Why has cricket a large viewership in India, not in China or Russia?

Answer

Cricket is popular mostly in the colonial countries of British empire not the sovereign countries. India was only the part of the British empire not the China or Russia. Therefore, Cricket has large viewership in India, not in China or Russia. Moreover, TV companies have created a global market for cricket in India.

6. What do you understand by the game’s (cricket) ‘equipment’?

Answer

The things which are necessary for playing the game are game’s (cricket) ‘equipment’. Like in cricket, ball, bat, wicket, helmets, gloves, pads are the requires things to play the match.

Page No: 149

7. How is Test cricket a unique game in many ways?

Answer

Test Game is Unique in the sense that even though it is played for five days, It ends in a draw. No other modern team sport takes even half as much time to complete.

8. How is cricket different from other team games?

Answer

Cricket is different from other team games because it goes on for a longer time than any other games. It also has different formats like Test Cricket, One-day International and T-20 match and each game takes different time to get completed. Another a strange feature of Cricket is the play ground that it can be of any size, only the length of the pitch is specified while in other games the dimensions of the playing area is specified.

9. How have advances in technology affected the game of cricket?

Answer

After the advancement of technology, players started wearing more protective equipment. The invention of vulcanized rubber made possible the use of pads. Satellites helped in increasing the popularity and audience of cricket. One can now watch live matches while sitting at home. Technology also helped in taking fair decisions while playing the game.

10. Explain how cricket changed with changing times and yet remained unchanged in some ways.

Answer

With the change of time, technology get more advanced and players started wearing protective equipment. Earlier the bat was made of one piece, today it has a separate blade and handle. Decisions became more fair with motion sensor cameras. But still, both bat and ball are handmade, not industrially manufactured.

Working with Language

1. Wordsearch

• Twelve words associated with cricket are hidden in this grid.

• Six can be found horizontally and the remaining six vertically.

• Two words have been found for you.

Clues to the hidden words are given below.

Horizontal : six deliveries, four runs, attacked while out of arena, no result, stumps, fielder to the off

                    side of the wicketkeeper

Vertical : stumps flying, back to the pavilion, a lofty one, mid-air mishap, not even one out of six,

                goes with bat

Answer

Page No: 150

2. Add -ly to the italicised word in each sentence. Rewrite the sentence using the new word. See the examples first.

• He runs between wickets as if his legs were stiff.
He runs between wickets stiffly.

• Why did the batsman swing the bat in such a violent manner?
Why did the batsman swing the bat so violently?

(i) It is obvious that the work has not been done in a proper way.

► It is obvious that the work has not been done properly.

(ii) He made the statement in a firm manner.

► He made the statement firmly.

(iii) The job can be completed within a week in an easy way.

► The job can be completed within a week easily.

(iv) You did not play in a serious manner, or else you would have won the match.

► You did not play seriously, or else you would have won the match.

(v) She recited the poem in a cheerful manner.

► She recited the poem cheerfully.

3. Use the following phrases appropriately in place of the italicised words in the sentences given below.

(i) Actually, I didn’t intend to come to your place. I reached here without planning.
► Actually, I didn’t intend to come to your place. I reached here by accident.

(ii) Sunil, there’s a letter for you in today’s post. There’s one for me also.
► Sunil, there’s a letter for you in today’s post. There’s one for me as well.

(iii) Everybody thought I had composed the poem. The truth is my younger sister did it.
► Everybody thought I had composed the poem. As a matter of fact, my younger sister did it.

(iv) The doctor told the patient to make sure that he took his pills on time.
► The doctor told the patient to see to it that he took his pills on time.

(v) It will be better for us to plan our trip before setting out.

► We had better plan our trip before setting out.