WBBSE Solutions For Class 9 English Reading Skill Lesson 1 Tales of Bhola Grandpa

Lesson 1 Tales of Bhola Grandpa Reading Skill

Reading is of vital importance to anyone learning a language. Like listening. reading is a receptive skill, and only by reading the student can acquire a fair amount of skill in a language.

Through reading texts which are sufficiently interesting in themselves and which are within the students’ range of comprehension, the students can obtain the fullest possible information from the text. Reading is an active skill.

It constantly involves guessing, predicting, checking, and asking relevant questions and topics.

Read And Learn More WBBSE Class 9 English Reading Skill

It is possible to develop a student’s power of inference through systematic practice of reading.

The syllabus in English for Secondary classes lays emphasis on the development of reading and writing skills of the students.

This can be achieved through exhaustive reading of passages of different natures.

Answering Questions:

Texts on Reading Skills are usually matters taken from newspapers, books on history, geography, literature, science fiction, etc.

Testing of Reading Skills is done mostly through objective-type questions set to check the power of understanding of the students.

When students read any kind of material they must grasp the meaning of what they read.

Such exercises require the students, to write little or no writing at all but require them to concentrate on their reading.

One major change that has been introduced this year in the Reading Seen (Text Based) portion is that the question pattern for this section will be a little different from that of the previous years.

Students will have to answer three different types of questions:

1. Multiple Choice Type Questions where the correct answer will have to be found out from some given alternatives.
2. Very Short Answer Type Questions: The answers will have to be written within fifteen words.
3. Short Answers Type Questions: The answers will have to be written within twenty- five words.
4. The above guidelines have been followed in all the examples provided in the Reading Seen section.

How to proceed:

1. Read the whole passage carefully.
2. Read the passage again and again to grasp the meaning of what has been said in the passage.
3. Read the questions carefully too. The questions in most cases provide the answers.
4. Pick out the correct ones through ticks, crosses, drawing arrows, writing a word or a number, etc.
5. This chapter presents various exercises on reading skills and the students will be well advised to study them carefully.

Lesson 1 Tales of Bhola Grandpa Word Meanings

Para 1-3

• western end (ওয়েস্টার্ন এন্ড)- last area on the western side
• overshadowed (ওভার শ্যাডোড)- cast a shadow over something cottage
• hut (হাট)- Cottage
• troop (টুপ)- gang, herd
• festival (ফেস্টিভাল )- Celebration, fair
• foggy (ফগি)- covered with fog, misty
• let out a loud wail (লেট আউট চিৎকার করে আর্তনাদ করে এ লাউড ওয়েইল)- ried out in a loud voice
• surprised (সারপ্রাই)- amazed
• halted (হল্টেড্)- stopped suddenly
• enquiry (একোয়ারি) – asking for information
• revealed (রিভিলম্- made known, disclosed
• grandson (গ্র্যান্ডসন) -son of one’s son or daughter
• held on (হেল্ড অন ) – kept holding on to something
• realize (রিয়েলাইজ) – understand
• slipped out ( স্লিপড আউট)-failed to grasp
• continue as before (কন্টিনিউ)-went on going
• sharp-eyed (শার্প-আইড্‌)- able to notice something quickly
• Before long- soon
• cozy (কোজি)- Comfortable and safe
• shelter (শেল্টার)- a safe refuge

Para 4-6

• funny (ফানিমজার- amusing
• incident (ইনসিডেন্ট) ঘটনা- event
• related (রিলেটেড) বিবরণ দিয়েছিলেন- narrated.
• excitement (এক্সাইটমেন্ট) উত্তেজনা-a feeling of happiness and enthusiasm
• pirates (পাইরেটস্) জলদস্যু- sea-robbers
• burying (বেরিয়িং)-hiding under the earth
• sand dunes (স্যান্ড-ডিউস্‌) মাটির নীচে পুতেছিল বালিয়াড়ি- heaps of sand formed by the wind
• seashore (সি শোরস- coast, land along the edge of a sea
• treasure (ট্রেজার)-valuable wealth
• howling (হাউলিং)-cry of jackals
• nap (ন্যাপ)- a short sleep
• confessed (কনফেসড)-admitted
• adventure (অ্যাডভেঞ্চার)-daring activity
• roamed (রোমড্)-wandered about
• dense (ডেনস্ )-thick
• sundown (সান ডাউন)-sunset
• weekly market (উইকলি মারকেট) সাপ্তাহিক হাট-a market that sells once a week
• growl (গ্রাউল) -roar
• gaze (গজ)- stare, steady look

para 7-10

• instantly (ইন্‌স্ট্যান্টলি )-immediately
• nearby- close
• circled (সার্কলড্)- moved in a circle
• settled down (সেটলড্ ডাউন) বসে পড়ল – sat, rested
• nightfall (নাইটফল) রাত্রি নেমে আসা- the time in the evening when it becomes dark.
• silent (সাইলেন্ট)- queit
• beating (বিটিং)-striking repeatedly
• dawn (ডন)- early morning
• mound (মাউন্ড) – dune
• confused, puzzled
• bewildered (রিউইন্ডারড)- confused, puzzled
• Secret- mystery
• Stretching- extending
• Yawning- opening the mouth wide and expressing tiredness
• Sense- consciousness
• Century- one hundred years
• Forver- for good
• Lamented- mourned
• Sigh- breath expressing sadness
• Breathe- inhale and exhale air to live

Summary: It is the amazing story of Bhola Grandpa who lives with his wife at the western end of the village.

Forgetful by nature, his innate simplicity drags him into several amusing incidents like losing his grandson while returning from a festival.

He walks ahead supposedly holding with a tight grip the hand of his grandson.

The grandson is ultimately found in the shelter of a cow’s belly.

He tells his friends about pirates hiding a box of treasures under the dunes in the seashore.

Immediate searching throughout the night by his friends failing to find out any hidden treasure, Bhola Grandpa confesses his mistake that he had imagined all these in his dream during the midday nap.

His encounter with the Royal Bengal Tiger is equally interesting.

He comes across a tiger on his way home and climbs up a banyan tree and stays there the whole night to save himself.

But in forgetfulness, he dreamily comes down in the morning. To everybody’s utter amazement, nothing happens between him and the tiger.

Finally, when he passes away in his sleep, his wife believes he must have forgotten to breathe.

Lesson 1 Tales of Bhola Grandpa Textual Questions With Answers

Tick the correct answer from the given alternatives:

Question 1. In the bokal tree, there lived

1. Crows
2. Monkeys
3. Tigers
4. Sparrows

Answer: 1. Crows

Question 2. On the way back from the festival, Bhola grandpa tightly held onto the two fingers of his

1. Son
2. Cousin
3. Grandson
4. Nephew

Answer: 3. Grandson

Question 3. A gang of pirates was burying a

1. Large box
2. Small box
3. Large bag
4. Small bag

Answer: 1. Large box

Question 4. Bhola’s grandpa was returning from the

1. Yearly market
2. Monthly market
3. Daily market
4. Weekly market

Answer: 4. Weekly market

Question 5. Bhola’s grandpa died at the age of

1. Eighty-five
2. Ninety-five
3. Fifty-five
4. Seventy-five

Answer: 2. Ninety-five

Answer the following questions within fifteen words:

Question 1. When did Bhola’s Grandpa let out a loud wail?
Answer: Bhola’s Grandpa let out a loud wail when he realized that his grandson had slipped out of his hand.

Question 2. Where had the grandson found a cozy shelter?
Answer: The grandson had found a cozy shelter under a cow’s belly.

Question 3. What request did Bhola Grandpa make to the first man he saw on the mound?
Answer: Bhola’s Grandpa requested the first man he saw on the mound to give him some water to drink.

Question 4. How old was Bhola Grandpa’s wife when he died?
Answer: When Bhola Grandpa died, his wife was eighty years old.

Answer the following questions within twenty-five words:

Question 1. Why was no real treasure found under the sand dunes?
Answer: No real treasure was found under the sand dunes because the entire episode of the pirates was dreamt by Bhola’s Grandpa during his midday nap.

Question 2. What did the tiger do after Bhola Grandpa had climbed up the banyan tree?
Answer: The tiger roared and circled around the tree about a hundred times, and finally settled down under a bush without taking his eyes off him.

Question 3. What was the reason for Bhola Grandpa’s death according to his wife?
Answer: Bhola Grandpa’s wife thought that he had died because he was a forgetful man and must have forgotten to take his breath.

Change the mode of narration of the following sentences:

Question 1. Bulbuli said to his friend, “Will you come tomorrow?”
Answer: Bulbuli asked his friend if he would go the next day.

Question 2. Paulami says, “I am fine.”
Answer: Paulami says that she is fine.

Question 3. The teacher said to the students, “Keep quiet.”
Answer: The teacher ordered the students to keep quiet.

Question 4. My mother said to me, “May your dreams come true.”
Answer: My mother wished that my dreams might come true.

Question 5. The students said, “Sir, please allow us to play in the field.”
Answer: The students politely requested their teacher to allow them to play on the field.

Question In each of the sentences of the following passage some articles and prepositions are used in an incorrect manner.

Underline them and replace them with the appropriate ones:

On a winter night, I was aboard a boat. It was a moonlit night full of stars. The boat was anchored up a great river. I was thrilled to see a beauty of nature.

Answer: On a winter night I was aboard a boat. It was a moonlit night full of stars.

The boat was anchored in a great river. I was thrilled to see the beauty of nature.

Lesson 1 Tales of Bhola Grandpa Examples Worked Out

1. Bhola Grandpa and his wife lived at the western end of our village.

A large bokal tree overshadowed their hut. In the Bokal tree lived a small troop of monkeys. Bhola’s Grandpa and his wife did not mind it.

One moonlit night, we were returning from a festival. The road was long and foggy.

I was riding on the village chowkidar’s shoulders. Suddenly, Bhola’s Grandpa let out a loud wail.

Everyone in our party was surprised. We halted. Inquiry revealed that Bhola’s Grandpa had taken his grandson to the festival.

He had tightly held on to the two fingers of the boy. He did not realize when those fingers slipped out. Bhola Grandpa was continuing as before.

Then someone asked Bhola’s Grandpa what he was gripping. He remembered his grandson and let out a loud wail.

My father chose two sharp-eyed men from our party to go back with Bhola Grandpa to the festival. The grandson was found before long. He had taken a cozy shelter under a cow’s belly.

Read the above text and answer the following questions.

Tick the correct answer from the given alternatives:

Question 1. Bhola’s Grandpa and his wife lived in the village’s

1. Southern Part
2. Western Part
3. Eastern Part
4. Northern Part

Answer: 2. Western part

Question 2. The hut of Bhola Grandpa was overshadowed by a

1. Banyan tree
2. Mango tree
3. Bokal tree
4. Palm tree

Answer: 3. Bokal tree

Question 3. Bhola’s Grandpa went to the festival with his

1. Son
2. Friend
3. Wife
4. Grandson

Answer: 3. Wife

Question 4. Bhola Grandpa was returning from a festival

1. At night
2. At noon
3. In the afternoon
4. In the evening

Answer:1. At night

Question 5. The narrator was riding on the shoulders of

1. His father
2. The village chowkidar
3. Bhola grandpa
4. A sharp-eyed man

Answer: 2. The village chowkidar

Question 6. When Bhola’s Grandpa realized that he had lost his grandson, he

1. At once ran home
2. Let out a shrill cry
3. Let out a loud wail
4. Tarted shouting

Answer: 3. Let out a loud wail

Question 7. The narrator’s father chose two men to accompany Bhola Grandpa to the festival

1. For finding out his grandson
2. For helping Grandpa with marketing
3. For searching out the lost pet dog,
4. To assist Grandpa in the festival’s merriment.

Answer: 1. For finding out his grandson

Question 8. The grandson took shelter

1. Under a tree
2. Under a cow’s belly
3. In a cowshed,
4. In police custody.

Answer: 2. Under a cow’s belly

Answer the following questions within fifteen words:

Question 1. Where did Bhola’s Grandpa and his wife live?
Answer: Bhola Grandpa and his wife lived at the western end of the narrator’s village.

Question 2. Who lived in the Bokal tree?
Answer: A small troop of monkeys lived in the Bokal tree.

Question 3. When was Bhola’s Grandpa coming back home from a festival?
Answer: Bhola Grandpa and his men were coming back home from a festival on a moonlit night.

Question 4. Why did the people returning from the festival halt on the way?
Answer: People returning from the festival halted on the way when Bhola Grandpa let out a loud wail.

Question 5. What could not Bhola Grandpa realize while returning from the festival?
Answer: Bhola Grandpa could not realize that the boy’s fingers which he had been tightly holding on had slipped out of his hand.

Question 6. How was the road along which the narrator and others were returning from the festival?
Answer: The road along which the narrator and others were returning was long and foggy.

Question 7. “Enquiry revealed that…..”-What did the inquiry reveal?
Answer: Enquiry revealed that the boy had slipped out of Grandpa’s grip and was missing.

Question 8. What happened to the boy ultimately?
Answer: The boy was ultimately found taking a cozy shelter under a cow’s belly.

Answer the following questions within twenty-five words:

Question 1. Give a picture of Bhola’s Grandpa and his wife’s life in the village.
Answer: Bhola Grandpa and his wife lived peacefully at the western end of the village in a peaceful co-existence with a small troop of monkeys living in a bokal tree nearby.

Question 2. Why did Bhola’s Grandpa let out a loud wail?
Answer: Bhola Grandpas was holding on to the two fingers of his grandson while returning from the festival.

Question 3. What does the above incident reveal about Bhola’s Grandpa?
Answer: The above incident reveals that Bhola’s Grandpa was very forgetful in nature. He was continuing to walk as before without noticing that his grandson had slipped out of his hand.

Question 4. How was the missing child found?
Answer: Two sharp-eyed men were chosen to go back to the festival with Bhola Grandpa for finding out the lost child. He was ultimately found taking a cozy shelter under a cow’s belly.

2. I remember another funny incident about Bhola Grandpa related by my father. It had been a rainy afternoon.

Bhola Grandpa, wild with excitement, told my father and his friends that he had seen a gang of pirates.

They were burying a large box under one of the sand dunes on the seashore by our village.

At once Father and his friends started looking for the hidden treasure.

The evening passed on tonight. Moonlight came in through the clouds.

A pack of jackals was howling. It was past midnight. At this point in time, Bhola’s Grandpa confessed that there was no real treasure.

It was all a dream which he had during his midday nap.

Read the above text and answer the following questions.

Tick the correct answer from the given alternatives:

Question 1. Bhola Grandpa told the narrator’s father and his friends that he had seen

1. A troop of monkeys
2. Some fishermen
3. A gang of pirates
4. A sand dune

Answer: 3. A gang of pirates

Question 2. While telling about the pirates, Bhola Grandpas was very much

1. Frightened
2. Excited
3. Delighted
4. Angry

Question 3. The pirates were burying a large box under

1. A tree
2. A heap of garbage
3. A sand dune on the seashore
4. The earth in a forest

Question 4. When the jackals were howling, it was

1. Past midnight
2. Dawn
3. Evening
4. Midnight

Answer: 1. Past midnight

Question 5. Bhola’s Grandpa saw the pirates

1. In the moonlight
2. With open eyes
3. In his daydreams
4. With a telescope

Answer: 3. In his daydreams

Answer the following questions within fifteen words:

Question 1. What did Bhola Grandpa tell the narrator’s father and his friends?
Answer: Bhola’s Grandpa told the narrator’s father and his friends that he had seen a gang of pirates.

Question 2. What were the pirates doing?
Answer: The pirates were burying a large box under a sand dune on the seashore by the narrator’s village.

Question 3. When did Bhola’s Grandpa tell the narrator’s father about the pirates?
Answer: Bhola’s Grandpa told the narrator’s father about the pirates on a rainy afternoon.

Question 4. What did the narrator’s father and his friends do on hearing about the pirates?
Answer: On hearing from the Bhola Grandpa, the narrator’s father and his friends started looking for the hidden treasure.

Question 5. What did Bhola’s Grandpa confess at last?
Answer: Bhola’s Grandpa confessed that there was no real treasure. It was all a dream he dreamt during his midday nap.

Answer the following questions within twenty-five words:

Question 1. What did Bhola Grandpa tell the narrator’s father and his friends on a rainy afternoon?
Answer: Bhola Grandpa told the narrator’s father and his friends that he had seen some pirates burying a large box under a sand dune on the seashore by their village.

Question 2. How did the narrator’s father and his friends respond to the story about the pirates?
Answer: On hearing about the pirates and burying of the box, they immediately started a search operation as they thought there might be some hidden treasure in the box.

Question 3. How long did they continue the job?
Answer: They carried on the searching operation for the hidden treasure all through the evening till past midnight.

Once Bhola Grandpa had a great adventure in the Sunderbans. In those days Royal Bengal tigers freely roamed the dense jungles of the Sunderbans.

People took care to move about only in groups, particularly after sundown.

One evening, Bhola Grandpa was returning from the weekly market.

Suddenly at a distance of about five yards behind him, he heard the growl of a Royal Bengal tiger.

Bhola’s Grandpa turned and found the bright gaze of the tiger on his face.

Bhola Grandpa instantly climbed up a nearby banyan tree. The tiger roared and circled the tree about a hundred times.

Then it settled down under a bush without taking its eyes off him.

With nightfall, the forest grew dark and silent. Bhola’s Grandpa could hear the tiger beating its tail on the dry leaves. Hours passed.

Dawn broke with the cooing of doves. Bhola’s Grandpa came down. There was a group of men on a mound a little away.

Bhola Grandpa climbed the mound and requested the first man he saw for some water to drink.

The man had seen the tiger waiting. He was much bewildered. “What is your secret that you simply walked past the hungry beast and it did nothing?” he asked Bhola Grandpa.

The tiger was stretching its limbs and yawning. Then, Bhola’s Grandpa remembered the tiger and looked at it.

Bhola’s Grandpa almost lost his senses in fear. He ran back home.

Half a century later, Bhola Grandpa left us forever one morning at the age of ninety- five.

His eighty-year-old wife lamented much. She said with a sigh, “The old man must have forgotten to breathe.”

Read the above text and answer the following questions.

Tick the correct answer from the given alternatives :

Question 1. In the dense jungles of the Sunderbans roamed freely

1. The lions
2. The Royal Bengal tigers
3. The pirates
4. The hunters

Answer: 2. The royal Bengal tigers

Question 2. Particularly after sunset, people took care to move about

1. Only in groups
2. With arms
3. Alone
4. With lights

Answer: 1. Only in groups

Question 3. One evening Bhola’s Grandpa was returning from

1. A friend’s house
2. The weekly market
3. Jatra show
4. A film show

Answer: 2. The weekly market

Question 4. Bhola’s Grandpa heard the

1. Voice of some pirates
2. Roar of a lion
3. Laugh of some people
4. Growl of a royal Bengal tiger

Answer: 4. Laugh of some people

Question 5. Seeing the tiger, Bhola Grandpa climbed up a nearby

1. Mango tree
2. Banyan tree
3. Bokal tree
4. Palm tree

Answer: 2. Banyan tree

Question 6. Question From the tree, Bhola’s Grandpa could hear the sound of

1. Howling jackals,
2. The tiger’s beating tail
3. The tiger snoring
4. The hunter fires shots

Answer: 2. The tiger’s beating tail

Question 7. The tiger settled down under

1. The banyan tree,
2. A bush
3. The mango tree
4. The nest of the doves

Answer: 2. A bush

Question 8. Bhola Grandpa came down from the banyan tree

1. In the afternoon
2. At night
3. At dawn
4. In the morning

Answer: 3. At dawn

Question 9. Bhola’s Grandpa requested the man to give him some

1. Milk
2. Food
3. Water
4. Money

Answer: 3. Water

Question 10. Bhola’s grandpa died at the age of

1. Seventy,
2. Ninety
3. Ninety-five
4. Eighty five

Answer: 3. Ninety-five

Answer the following questions within fifteen words:

Question 1. “Once Bhola Grandpa had a great adventure…..”. Where did he have the adventure?
Answer: Bhola’s Grandpa once had a great adventure in the Sunderbans.

Question 2. What type of animals freely roamed in the Sunderban jungles in those days?
Answer: In those days the Royal Bengal tigers roamed freely in the dense jungles of the Sunderbans.

Question 3. When did Bhola’s Grandpa see the Royal Bengal tiger?
Answer: Bhola’s Grandpa saw the Royal Bengal tiger one evening while returning from the weekly market.

Question 4. What did Bhola’s Grandpa do seeing the tiger behind him?
Answer: Immediately upon seeing the tiger, Bhola Grandpa climbed up a banyan tree nearby.

Question 5. What did the tiger do after Bhola Grandpa had climbed up a tree?
Answer: The tiger roared and circled around the tree about a hundred times on seeing Bhola Grandpa climbing up a tree.

Question 6. Where did the tiger settle down?
Answer: The tiger settled down under a bush without taking its eyes off Bhola Grandpa.

Question 7. When did Bhola Grandpa come down the banyan tree?
Answer: Bhola Grandpa came down the banyan tree as dawn broke.

Question 8. Why did Bhola Grandpa climb the mound?
Answer: Bhola Grandpa climbed the mound to request the first man he met for some water to drink.

Question 9. What did Bhola Grandpa’s wife say about his death?
Answer: She said that Bhola’s Grandpa had died because he must have forgotten to breathe while sleeping.

Answer the following questions within twenty-five words:

Question 1. Why would people move about only in groups in the Sunderbans, particularly after sundown?
Answer: The Royal Bengal tigers used to roam freely in the jungles of the Sunderbans. So people took care to move about only in groups-particularly after sundown.

Question 2. What did Bhola Grandpa notice on the mound and what did he do?
Answer: Bhola Grandpa noticed a group of men on a mound a little away. He climbed the mound and requested the man he met first for some water to drink.

Question 3. How could Bhola’s Grandpa escape unheard even though the tiger was present there all through the night?
Answer: Watching Grandpa all through the night might have made the tiger too tired and unmindful. So while it was yawning and stretching its limbs, Bhola Grandpa escaped
unnoticed.

Question 4. How long was Bhola Grandpa alive after the Royal Bengal tiger incident?
Answer: Bhola Grandpa was alive for fifty years after he met the Royal Bengal tiger, and escaped miraculously by climbing up a tree, and then got away unnoticed.