NCERT Class 9 English Chapter 11 If I Were You

 NCERT Class 9 English Chapter 11 If I Were You

NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 11 If I Were You

Textbook Questions

I. Answer these questions.

Question 1.
“At last a sympathetic audience.”

  1. Who says this?
  2. Why does he say it?
  3. is he sarcastic or serious?

Answer:

  1. Gerrard says this.
  2. He says this because the intruder becomes sympathetic towards him.
  3. He is, no doubt, sarcastic.

Question 2.
Why does the intruder choose Gerrard as the man whose identity he wants to take on?
Answer:
The intruder chose Gerrard as the man whose identity he wants to take on because he is a kind of a mystery man. He phones his orders and sometimes goes away suddenly and come back just the same.

Question 3.
“I said it with bullets.”

  1. Who says this?
  2. What does it mean?
  3. Is it the truth? What is the speaker’s reason for saying this?

Answers:.

  1. Gerrard says this.
  2. It means that he is not an ordinary person. He is very dangerous.
  3. NO, he wants that the intruder should change his idea of killing him.

Question 4.
What is Gerrard’s profession? Quote the parts of the play that support your answer.
Answer:
Gerrard is a dramatist. He says, “Sorry I can’t let you have the props in time for rehearsal.

Question 5.
“You’ll soon stop being smart.”

  1. Who says this?
  2. Why does the speaker say it?
  3. What according to the speaker will stop Gerrard from being smart?

Answers:

  1. The intruder says this.
  2. He says it because Gerrard does not seem afraid of his gun even.
  3. According to the speaker, the bullet will stop Gerrard from being smart.

Question 6.
“They can’t hang me twice.”

  1. Who says this?
  2. Why does the speaker say it?

Answer:

  1. The intruder says this.
  2. The speaker says it because he wants to murder Gerrard. And he has already murdered someone. So the police cannot hang him twice.

Question 7.
“A mystery I propose to explain.” What is the mystery the speaker proposes to explain?
Answer:.
The speaker wants that the intruder should explain what mystery is associated with him. The mystery is about Gerrard’s placing his orders on telephone. And he goes out suddenly and returns in the same way.

Question 8.
“This is your big surprise.”

  1. Where has this been said in the play?
  2. What is the surprise?

Answer:

  1. Gerrard speaks this line. He tells the intruder that if he is not hanged for his murder, he will certainly be hanged being Vincent Charles Gerrard. At this time he utters these words.
  2. The big surprise is that Gerrard will not be killed by him. He is right in saying this.

Thinking about the Text
I. Answer these questions.
1. “At last a sympathetic audience.”

  1. Who says this ?
  2. Why does he say it ?
  3. Is he sarcastic or serious ?

2. Why does the intruder choose Gerrard as the man whose identity he wants to take on ?
3. “I said it with bullets.”

  1. Who says this ?
  2. What does it mean ?
  3. Is it the truth ? What is the speaker’s reason for saying this ?

4. What is Gerrard’s profession ? Quote the parts of the play that support your answer.
5. “You’ll soon stop being smart.”

  1. Who says this ?
  2. Why does the speaker say it ?
  3. What according to the speaker will stop Gerrard from being smart ?

6. “They can’t hang me twice.”

  1. Who says this ?
  2. Why does the speaker say it ?

7. “A mystery I propose to explain.” What is the mystery the speaker proposes to explain ?
8. “This is your big surprise.”

  1. Where has this been said in the play ?
  2. What is the surprise ?

Answers
1.

  1. Gerrard says this.
  2. He says it because the Intruder shows some sympathy towards him.
  3. He is sarcastic.

2. The Intruder chooses Gerrard. It is because he finds him closely similar to him. If he wears clothes like Gerrard does, no one will know that they are two persons.
3.

  1. Gerrard says this.
  2. It means that he is a very dangerous person.
  3. It is not the truth. He says so to make the Intruder change his mind.

4. Gerrard is a playwright by profession. The supporting words are : ‘Sorry I can’t let you have the props in time for rehearsal…
5.

  1. The Intruder says this.
  2. The speaker says it because Gerrard hasn’t felt any fear so far though he has a gun in his hand.
  3. According to the Intruder, Gerrard would stop being smart after being hit by one of his bullets.

6.

  1. The Intruder says this.
  2. He says it because he has already committed a murder. The penalty of death can’t be given to him twice.

7. Gerrard says this. The mystery is about Gerrard’s calling his orders. Then he would be suddenly disappearing, but again coming back. The Intruder wants to do very things like Gerrard does.
8.

  1. This has been said in the play when Gerrard tells the Intruder not to shoot him. If he shoots him he’d hang if not as himself, then as Vincent Charles Gerrard.
  2. The big surprise is that the Intruder won’t kill him. Gerrard is right in saying this.

Thinking about language
(Page 145)

I. Consult your dictionary and choose the correct word from the pairs given in brackets.

  1. The (site, cite) of the accident was (ghastly/ghostly).
  2. Our college (principle/principal) is very strict.
  3. I studied (continuously/continually) for eight hours.
  4. The fog had an adverse (affect/effect) on the traffic.
  5. Cezanne, the famous French painter, was a brilliant (artist/artiste).
  6. The book that you gave me yesterday is an extraordinary (collage/college) of science fiction and mystery.
  7. Our school will (host/hoist) an exhibition on cruelty to animals and wildlife conservation.
  8. Screw the lid tightly onto the top of the bottle and (shake/shape) well before using the contents.

Answers

  1. site, ghastly
  2. principal
  3. continuously
  4. effect
  5. artist
  6. collage
  7. host
  8. shake

Speaking
(Page 147)

Question 1.
Imagine you are Gerrard. Tell your friend what happened when the Intruder broke into your house.
[Clues: Describe (i) the Intruder—his appearance, the way he spoke, his plan, his movements, etc., (ii) how you outwitted him.
Answer:
Yesterday I was standing near the telephone and an intruder entered my cottage. He had a gun in his hand and he tried to threaten me. He intended to kill me and shouted at me. The intruder forced me to tell everything about me. But I did not tell him the reality and misguided him. I told him that he would not gain anything after murdering me. I told him that I was to safeguard myself from the police. So I posted a man on the road. When we tried to come out of the cottage I locked him inside a cupboard and called the police. Eventually, the police arrested him.

Question 2.
Enact the play in the class. Pay special attention to words given in italics before a dialogue. These words will tell you whether the dialogue has to be said in a happy, sarcastic or ironic tone and how the characters move and what they do as they speak. Read these carefully before you enact the play.
Ans.
For self attempt.

Writing
(Page 147)

I. Which of the words below describe Gerrard and which describe the Intruder ?

  1. smart
  2. humorous
  3. clever
  4. beautiful
  5. cool
  6. confident
  7. flashy
  8. witty
  9. nonchalant

Write a paragraph each about Gerrard and the Intruder to show what qualities they have. (You can use some of the words given above.)

II. Convert the play into a story (150-200 words). Your story should be as exciting and as witty as the play. Provide a suitable title to it.

Answers
I. The words that describe Gerrard are : cool, confident, witty, clever, nonchalant, humorous.
The words that describe the Intruder are : smart, beautiful, flashy, clever, confident.

How Gerrard Outwits the Intruder

Gerrard resides in his cottage all alone. It is situated in a lonely place. He is a young man of cool and confident nature. He is a playwright. He doesn’t meet many people. By nature he is a witty and humorous person. He takes things humorously. But he handles them with a cool mind. He is not easy to be outwitted. He doesn’t get nervous easily. He remains confident till the end. That’s why, he outsmarts the Intruder with success.

The Intruder is a smart and handsome young man. He wears flashy clothes. In his dress he looks like a detective. He is very clever and confident. He has the ability to pretend what he is not. He is greatly intelligent to create fear in Gerrard by his gun. He understands things. He tries to put them to his advantage. But he is helpless before Gerrard. Gerrard outsmarts him in his false story of being himself a murderer. Gerrard at last puts him in a cupboard. Then he gets him arrested.

II. Gerrard is a cultured playwright. He lives in a small cottage. He does meet many people. He is to go out soon. But before he does so, an Intruder enters his cottage. He has a gun in his hand. He bumps accidentally against the table. Gerrard welcomes him with confidence.

The Intruder opens up. He asks Gerrard many questions. These are about his life, his cottage, how many people come there etc. Gerrard is cool and confident. He under-stands the Intruder’s design. He answers his questions with humour, wit and irony. He says that the Intruder didn’t ‘require a great brain’ to break into his little cottage. He . even asked him about his ‘speciality’.

At last Gerrard understood. The Intruder wanted to murder him and live as Gerrard because he looked like him. Gerrard at once understood everything. He told the Intruder that he was also a murderer. Therefore, the police were after him.

Gerrard explained that unfortunately one of his men had been caught. He was expecting trouble that night because of that. He was to be off that night. He then made [ the Intruder understand that it was good for him if he went with him. He also told him that if it was a frame, he could shoot him in the car.
The Intruder agreed. But when he was about to cross the door, Gerrard pushed him into the nearby cupboard in a split second. He then slammed it. Thereafter, he telephoned the police for his arrest.

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