JANDKNCERT |Tulip Series | English 5th

The Idiot Box | Poem 1 | English | Class 5th | Questions and Answers |

Poem 1: The Idiot Box

He plays with the remote control and watches the spider man,

He doesn’t know how to play football and shape a snowman.

He made his daddy and mummy buy an LED for him,

He shuts himself in his private room and doesn’t let anyone in

 

He hasn’t seen a mountain, a flower garden and a waterfall,

He laughs when he sees an untrue man fly over a hill.

He doesn’t turn the leaves of a picture book or comics,

He changes the channels to suit his shifting moods.

 

He doesn’t relish the food stuffed in his mouth,

He is excited seeing pirates eat fishes and fruits.

He wears thick glasses and contracts his eyes to see

Men, women and children walk in the drawing rooms.

 

(Arvind Gigoo)

 

Words to Remember

remote:    distant دور دراز

shape:      to make سانچے میں ڈالنا

untrue:    false, جھوٹا

comics:    a magazine for children containing comic strips مزاحیہ

channel:  a band of radio waves used for broadcasting television ذریعہ

shifting:   changing بدلنا

relish:      taste, enjoy مزا اُٹھانا

stuffed:    filled

pirates:    persons who sail the seas and rob other ships سمندری لُٹیرے

glasses:    spectacles عینک

contract:  to make smaller تنگ کرنا

 

Reading is Fun

 

Q1. What do you understand by the idiot box?

Ans. The idiot box is a television box that makes a person lazy and an idiot.

Q2. Who is “He” in the poem?

Ans. ‘He’ in the poem is the idiot boy.

Q3. Why can’t he play football or shape a snowman?

Ans. He cannot play football or shape a snowman because he has never left his room to learn such things so he does not know how to play football or shape a snowman

Q4. Why is he not interested in things around him?

Ans. He is not interested in things around him because he is only interested in watching television programs.

Q5. What is it that makes him laugh?

Ans. Flying of an untrue man over a hill makes him laugh.

Q6. Why is he not interested in books?

Ans. He is not interested in books because his interest lies only in changing channels to suit his mood on television.

Q7. Why does he have to wear thick glasses?

Ans. He has to wear thick glasses as he has difficulty in seeing the men, women and children walking in the drawing-room because his eyesight has become very weak due to excessive watching of television.

 

Language Work

 

A. Use the clues to find the missing letters. Then re-arrange the first letter of each word to find out the hidden name.

 

1. An officer of law: _ _ d _ e.

Ans. Judge

2. Children like it most: _ c _ _ r _ _ _.

Ans. Icecream

3. A green/yellow fruit: _ _ n _ o.

Ans. Mango

4. Affectionate and loving: _ _ n _ _ r.

Ans. Tender

5. A cow-like animal: _ _k.

Ans. Yak

6. Another word for a clown: _ o _ e _.

Ans. Joker

7. Curious to do something: _ _ g _ _.

Ans. Eager

8. Not fat: _ _ _ n.

Ans. Thin

 

B. Use the clues to find the missing letters. Then re-arrange the first letter of each word to find out the hidden name.

 

1. Doing no work: _ d _ _.

Ans. Idle

2. Not easy to do: _ _ _ f _ _ _ _ t.

Ans. Difficult

3. Very wise: _ n _ _ l _ _ _ _ n _.

Ans. Intelligent

4. Single: _ _ e.

Ans. One

5. 13 to 19 years of age: _ _ _ n _ _ e.

Ans. Teenage

6. People play cricket with it: _ _ t.

Ans. Bat

7. Opposite of close: _ p _ _.

Ans. Open

8. A musical instrument: _ _ l _ _ h _ _ _.

Ans. Xylophone

 

Let’s Talk

 

Nowadays mobile phones are being used excessively like T.V. Share with your class the harmful effects of excessive mobile phone use.

        It is well said ‘excess of everything is bad’ and using an electronic device excessively affects our health badly. It is good to use a mobile phone in a constructive way to increase knowledge but at the same time, we should be aware of its harmful effects. Mobile phones not only affect the health of humans but indirectly also affects the health of other living organisms of the earth. When we use a mobile device, we get some harmful rays from signal towers that affect our health. The rays that come out from the screen of the mobile damages our eyes. Excessive use may result in the total loss of eyesight. It is the major reason for heart problems. Continuous usage may cause headaches, neck pains, depression, etc. It makes a person lazy and disinterested in other, day to day life processes. So, it is advised to use these kinds of devices carefully. Save your precious life. A mobile device can be repaired if damaged but your life has fewer chances of recovery. Prevention is better than cure.

 

Let’s Write

 

The poem teaches in a funny way that television should not be watched excessively. Now write a sentence on the following harmful effects of excessive T.V. watching:

 

1. Wastage of time

Excessive usage of T.V. is a wastage of time.

2. Couch potatoes

He has become a couch potato as he spends most of his time watching television.

3. Reduces concentration

Watching T.V. continuously reduces concentration.

4. Addiction

He has a T.V. addiction.

5. Affects reading habits

Watching T.V. unnecessarily affects reading habits.

6. Harmful for eyes

Excessive usage of T.V. is harmful to the eyes.

7. Loss of creativity

Continuous usage of T.V. results in loss of creativity.