NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English Honeydew Chapter 10 The Great Stone Face II

Comprehension Check (Page 136)

Questions:

Write ‘True’ or ‘False’ against each of the following statements.

Ernest’s words reminded people of the wise old sayings. __________
Total strangers from far away, who visited Ernest in the valley, found his face familiar. _______
The Great Stone Face confirmed Ernest’s view that the poet could be worthy of its likeness. _______
When Ernest and the poet met, they respected and admired each other equally. ________
The poet along with Ernest addressed the inhabitants of the valley. ___________
The poet realised that Ernest’s thoughts were far nobler than his own verses. _________

Answers:

True
True
False
True
False
True

Working With the Text (Page 137)

Answer the following questions.
Question 1:
How was Ernest different from others in the valley?
Answer:
Ernest was unlike other commoners in the valley. He was a good, simple hearted, noble and thoughtful person. He had been under observation. He did not go with the crowd. He welcomed total strangers as the prophets.

Question 2:
Why did Ernest think the poet was like the Stone Face?
Answer:
The poet wrote wonderful songs. He had celebrated the Great stone Face in one of his poems. When Ernest read this poem he became convinced that the poet was like the stone face.

Question 3:
What did the poet himself say about his thoughts and poems?
Answer:
The poet confessed that he was not worthy to be compared with the Stone Face. His actions did not match with his thoughts.

Question 4:
What made the poet proclaim Ernest was the Stone Face?
Answer:
Ernest and the poet together went to a meeting place. Ernest addressed the gathering. His words had power and his thoughts had depth. They were the words of life, a life of good deeds and selfless love. The poet was convinced that Ernest – was much nobler than him. Ernest’s face had such a grand expression that he declared that Ernest bore the likeness of the Great Stone Face.

Question 5:
Write ‘Ernest’ or ‘Poet’, against each statement below.

(i) There was a gap between his life and his words.
(ii) His words had the power of truth as they agreed with his thoughts.
(iii) His words were as soothing as a heavenly song but only as useful as a vague dream.
(iv) His thoughts were worthy.
(v) Whatever he said was truth itself.
(vi) His poems were noble.
(vii) His life was nobler than all the poems.
(viii) He lacked faith in his own thoughts.
(ix) His thoughts had power as they agreed with the life he lived.
(x) Greatness lies in truth. Truth is best expressed in one’s actions. He was truthful, therefore he was great.

Answer:

(i) Poet (ii) Ernest (iii) Poet (iv) Poet (v) Ernest
(vi) Poet (vii) Ernest (viii) Poet (ix) Ernest (x) Ernest

Question 6:

(i) Who, by common consent, turned out to be like the Great Stone Face?
(ii) Did Ernest believe that the old prophecy had come true? What did he say about it?

Answer:

(i) Ernest was accepted by common consent exactly like the Great Stone Face.
(ii) No, Ernest still was not convinced that the old prophecy had come true. He hoped that some day, a man wiser and nobler than him would come, and would look truly similar to the Great Stone Face.

Working With Language (Page 137)

Question 1:
Mark the meaning that best fits the word or a phrase in the story.

(i) (sun) going down

(a) becoming smaller
(b) weakening
(c) setting

(ii) brightening

(a) making (it) look bright and cheerful
(b) lending (it) a special glow
(c) causing (it) to appear hopeful

(iii) spacious

(a) lonely and wild
(b) big and wide
(c) special and important

(iv) prophecy

(a) proverb
(b) prediction
(c) rumour

(v) marvellous

(a) wonderful
(b) surprising
(c) shocking

(vi) proclaim

(a) reveal
(b) declare
(c) shout

(vii) cease

(a) happen
(b) stop
(c) remain

(viii) (a night’s shelter)

(a) stay
(b) safety
(c) hospitality

(ix) gazed

(a) wandered about
(b) stared at
(c) thought of

(x) took on (an expression)

(a) challenged
(b) resembled
(c) assumed

Answers:

(i) c          (ii) a    (iii) b      (iv) b
(v) a (vi) b         (vii) b      (viii) a
(ix) b    (x) c

Question 2:
(i) Read the following sentences.

(a) I do hope I’ll live to see him.
(b) He will come! Fear not, Earnest: the man will come.
(c) Gathergold is arriving tomorrow, people said.
(d) Blood-and-Thunder starts his journey back to the valley next week, everyone proclaimed.
(e) The great man is going to spend his old age in his native town.
Notice that in the above sentences, verbs in bold type are in four different forms, denoting four important ways of expressing future time. None of these can be said to be exclusively used to show future time, though each is used to refer to some action in future.

(ii) Which form of the verb is more natural in these sentences? Encircle your choice.

(a) I’m not free this evening. I will work/am working on a project.
(b) Have you decided where you will go for your higher secondary? Yes, I have. I will go/ am going to the Kendriya Vidyalaya.
(c) Don’t worry about the dog. It won’t hurt/isn’t hurting you
(d) The weatherman has predicted that it will snow/is snowing in Ranikhet tonight.
(e) Swapna can’t go out this evening. Her father will come/is coming to see her.

Answers:

(a) am working
(b) am going
(c) won’t hurt
(d) will snow
(e) is coming.

Question 3:
(i) Complete these pieces of conversation using will or going to with the verbs
Answer:

(a) am going to listen
(b) will lend
(c) is going to rain
(d) will have
(e) am going to make
(f) will go
(g) am going to get, will get

(ii) Let pairs of children take turns to speak aloud the dialogues.
Answer:
For class activity

Speaking and Writing (Page 139)

Question 1:
Each of the following words has the sound /f/ as in feel/ The words on the left have it initially. Those on the right have it finally. Speak each word clearly.

flail life

philip puff

flowed deaf

fact tough

fail laugh

fast stiff

Answer:

Attempt yourself.

Question 2:
Underline the letter or letters representing / f/in each of the following words.

file                      slough                faint                lift
cough                defence              afford             enough
photograph staff                   tough              aloof
affront              philosophy       sophistry

Answer:

file                       slough                     faint                    life
cough                 defence                   afford                  enough
photograph       staff tough    aloof
affront               philosophy              sophistry

Question 3:
Imagine that you are the poet. You have come to your native valley to meet a famous preacher called Ernest. the incident of your first meeting with him.
Answer:
I lived so far away from the valley. But I had heard about Ernest’s character and wisdom. One summer day I called on him. I found him reading a book. We sat down together and talked. I found Ernest wise, gentle and kind. Ernest greeted me warmly and called me a ‘gifted guest’ Then I introduced myself as one who wrote the poems Ernest was reading.
Ernest compared my face with the Stone Face. He had hoped to see the fulfilment of the prophecy but he was disappointed. I told him I was not worthy of that likeness. I said that my thoughts and actions had no harmony.
I went with my host to a meeting place. I heard his address and found depth in his thoughts. In the golden light of the setting sun, Ernest appeared to me exactly like the Great Stone Face. The gathering also agreed with me.

Question 4:
(i) Put each of the following in the correct order to construct sentences.

a resident of Noida near Delhi/is visually impaired/George Abraham.
confidence and competitive spirit/and infuses discipline among the participants/It provides.
he has helped/The brain behind the World Cup Cricket, /the disabled to dream.
to the blind school in Delhi/It was a chance visit/that changed his life.
sport is a powerful tool/the disabled/He believes that/for rehabilitation of.

Answer:

George Abraham, a resident of Noida near Delhi, is visually impaired.
It provides confidence and competitive spirit and infuses discipline among the participants.
The brain behind the World Cup Cricket, he has helped the disabled to dream.
It was a chance visit to the blind school in Delhi that changed his life.
He believes that sport is a powerful tool for rehabilitation of the disabled.

(ii) Now rearrange the sentences above to construct a paragraph.

Answer:
George Abraham, a resident of Noida near Delhi, is visually impaired. The brain behind the World Cup Cricket, he has helped the disabled to dream. It was a chance visit to the blind school in Delhi that changed his life. He believes that sport is a powerful tool for rehabilitation of the disabled. It provides confidence and competitive spirit and infuses discipline among the participants.

MORE QUESTIONS SOLVED

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Question 1:
What changes come to be seen in Ernest with passing of time?
Answer:
Ernest was now a man of middle age. His hairs turned white and there were wrinkles across his forehead and furrows in his cheeks. He had become wiser with profound thoughts. The valley people respected him and took his advice on several occasions.

Question 2:
Why did Ernest become sad after he examined the poet’s features?
Answer:
The poet had celebrated the Great Stone Face in one of his poems. When Ernest read that poem he became convinced that the poet had the likeness of the Great Stone Face. But when he met the poet, all his hopes shattered. He found no resemblance between the poet and the Stone Face. This was the reason why he became sad.

Question 3:
Why did the poet’s eyes fill with tears?
Answer:
The poet became sentimental to listen to Ernest. His words had power because they had depth. They were the words of life, a life of good deeds and selfless love. The poet felt that the life and character of Ernest were nobler strain of poetry that he had ever written. His eyes filled with tears and he said to himself that never was there so worthy a sage as that thoughtful face, with the glim of white hair diffused about it.

II. LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Question 1:
Give a character-sketch of Ernest.
Answer:
Ernest was a small boy when he became interested in the Great Stone Face. He felt that the face smiled on him. He wished to love the man with such a face. He was dutiful and helpful to his Mother. He grew up to be a gentle and quiet youth. He regarded the Stone Face as his teacher. He turned to the face for advice. He was not influnced by the common belief that Gathergold or Blood- and-Thunder General had any resemblance with the Stone Face. Even the poet’s face made him sad. And he was right when the poet himself admitted that he wasn’t worthy to be the likeness of the face. Finally, the same poet shouted with joy that Ernest himself was the likeness of the Stone Face. But Ernest remained humble to the last. He kept hoping that some wiser and better man than himself would appear.

Question 2:
How did Ernest feel when people hailed him as the likeness of the Stone face?
Answer:
Ernest was truly noble and humble. His deeds matched with his thoughts. He received the poet warmly. For a while he thought the writer of those poems was truly the greatest and wisest person. The poet and the people ultimately hailed him as the man with the likeness of the Stone Face. But Ernest did not agree with them. He kept hoping that a wiser and better man than himself would appear to make the prophecy true.

Question 3:
Describe in brief Ernest’s reaction on three occasions when Gathergold, General Blood-and-Thunder and the poet came to the valley.
Answer:
The inhabitants of the valley believed the story that one day a man bearing resemblance to the Stone Face would come there. The first one to arrive was a rich merchant Gathergold. The people were greatly excited. But Ernest noticed no resemblance between Gathergold’s face and that of the Stone Face. Likewise he did not agree with the people who welcomed General Blood-and-Thunder as the greatest man. But Ernest almost believed that the poet was the person he had been waiting for. But again he was disappointed. In fact, Ernest himself was accepted as the Prophet.

NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English Honeydew Chapter 10 The Great Stone Face II