Lesson 4 The Shop That Never Was
Word meanings:
Part-I
- From Afar (ফ্রম অ্যাফার ) – অনেকদূর থেকে
- Laughing At (লাফিং অ্যাট) – হাসাহাসি করছিলাম
- Several Times (সেভরেল টাইম্স) – কয়েকবার
- Tricks (ট্রিক্স) – জাদুর কৌশল
- Dragged (ড্রাগ) – জোর করে টেনে নিয়ে গেল
- Scratched – চুলকাল
- Keenness (কীনেস্) – আগ্রহ
Read And Learn Also WBBSE Class 6 English Reading Skills
- Unexpected (আন্এক্সপেকটেড) – অপ্রত্যাশিত
- Forced (ফোর) – বাধ্য করা হয়েছিল
- Stretched (স্ট্রেড) – বাড়িয়ে দিল (হাত)
- Narrow (ন্যারো) – সংকীর্ণ, সরু
- Merely (মেয়ারলি) – শুধুমাত্র
- Lit (লিট্ ) – আলোকিত
- Blank (ব্ল্যাংক) – ফাঁকা
- Counter (কাউন্টার্) – তাক
- Palm (পাম্) – হাতের তালু
- Crystal Balls (ক্রিস্টাল্ বল্স) স্ফটিক নির্মিত বল

Part – II
- Charge (চার্জ ) – দাম
- Politely (পোলাইট্লি ) – বিনীতভাবে
- Sword (সোর্ড) – শ্রদ্ধা তরবারী
- Genuine (জেনুইন্ ) – আসল, প্রকৃত
- Unique (ইউনিক্) – জুড়িহীন (যে রকম আর কোনও নেই)
- Friendly (ফ্রেন্ডলি ) – বন্ধুভাবাপন্ন
- Discovered (ডিসকাভার্ড ) – আবিষ্কার করল
- Distrust (ডিস্ট্রাস্ট্) – সন্দেহ
- Surprise (সারপ্রাইজ ) – বিস্ময়
- Clockwork (ক্লওয়ার্ক) – ঘড়ির ন্যায়
- Was Making Fun Of – পরিহাস করছিলেন কলকব্জা
- Tugged (টাগ্ড্) – জোরে টানল
- Swept (সোয়ে) – ভরে দিল
- Fancied (ফ্যাসিড) – কল্পনা করেছিল
- Amazement (অ্যামেজমেন্ট – বিস্ময়
- Astonishing (অ্যাস্টনিশিং ) – বিস্ময়কর
Class 6 English Lesson 4 summary
Part – III
- Uneasy (আইজি) – অস্বস্তি
- Genuine (জেনুইন্) – আসল
- The Way Out – বাইরে বের হবার রাস্তা
- Hide And Seek – লুকোচুরি খেলা
- Thud (থাড্) – দুম্ শব্দ
- Collided (কোলাইডেড্ – ধাক্কা লাগল বাধা দেওয়া
- Scared (স্কেয়ার্ড) – ভীত
- At A Loss – হতভম্ব হয়ে যাওয়া
- Frighten (ফ্লাইটেন) – ভয় পাইয়ে দেওয়া
- Ran Off (র্যান অফ্ ) – ছুটে পালাল
- Emptiness (এম্পটিনেস্) – শূন্যতা
- Stared (স্টেয়ার্ড) – হতচকিতভাবে তাকালাম
- Displaying (ডিসপ্লেয়িং) – দেখিয়ে
- Cab (ক্যাব) – ট্যাক্সি
- Disappeared (ডিএ্যাপিয়ার্ড) অদৃশ্য হয়ে গেছে
- Interior (ইটিরিয়র্) – অভ্যন্তর, ভিতর
- Disturbed (ডিস্টার্বড ) বিরক্ত – অক্ষত
Lesson 4 The Shop That Never Was Examples Worked Out
Read the texts below and do as directed:
I had seen the Magic Shop from afar several times. I had passed it once or twice, but never had I thought of going in. One day, my son, Gip dragged me up to the shop. There was such keenness in him that I was forced to get in.
It was a little narrow shop, not very well lit. On the shop counter, there were several crystal balls. On the floor, there were magic mirrors: one to draw you out. long and thin and one to make you short and fat. While we were laughing at all these, the shopman appeared.
“How can I help you?” said he.
“I want to buy my little boy a few simple tricks,” I said.
1. Answer the questions below:
Question 1. Why did the narrator go to the Magic Shop?
Answer:
Dragged by his son Gip, the narrator was forced to go to the Magic Shop to buy a few simple tricks for him.
Question 2. What was there on the shop counter?
Answer:
There were several crystal balls on the shop counter.
Question 3. What did they see on the floor?
Answer:
On the floor, they saw magic mirrors.
Question 4. What was interesting about the magic mirrors?
Answer:
The magic mirrors were very interesting as they would make one appear long and thin or short and fat.
Question 5. What did the narrator want to buy for his son ?
Answer:
He wanted to buy his son a few simple tricks.
Class 6 English Reading Skills
2. Write True Or False Statements.
Question 1. The narrator used to visit the Magic Shop quite often.
Answer:
False
Question 2. The magic mirrors were hung on the wall.
Answer:
False
Question 3. The narrator saw the Magic Shop several times from a distance.
Answer:
True
Question 4. The shop was a small one, not so well-lit.
Answer:
True
Question 5. The narrator went to the shop with his son and daughter.
Answer:
False
3. Rearrange the following sentences in the correct order as they come in the text. Put the numbers in the boxes.
Question 1. Gip dragged his father to the Magic Shop.
Answer:
The narrator has passed the shop once or twice.
Question 2. The narrator had passed the shop once or twice.
Answer:
Gip dragged his father to the magic shop.
Question 3. There were different kinds of magic mirrors in the shop.
Answer:
The shop was a small one, not so well-lit.
Question 4. The shop was a small one, not so well-lit.
Answer:
There were different kinds of magic mirrors in the shop.
Question 5. The narrator told the shopman what he wanted to buy.
Answer:
The shopman appeared.
WBBSE English Lesson 4 Answers
Question 6. The shopman appeared.
Answer:
The narrator told the shopman what he wanted to buy.
4. Fill in blanks with suitable words taken from the list. There are a few extra words.
List of words: keenness, laughing, tricks, several, draw, narrow, counter.
- I went to his place several times.
- The lane is very narrow.
- He had a great keenness to learn the subject.
- The lady at the counter received me smilingly.
- Don’t try to play tricks with me.
2. “It’s in your pocket,” said the shopman, and there it was.
“How much does it cost?” I asked.
“There is no charge for glass balls,” said the shopman politely. “We get them free.” He drew a business card from his cheek and handed it to me. “Genuine Magic Goods, sir,” he said.
He now turned towards Gip with a friendly smile and said, “You wanted a magic box, didn’t you ?”
“Yes,” Gip said.
“It’s in your pocket,” he said. Gip discovered the box with surprise. Then the shopman quickly went behind the counter and was absent for a while.
“Let’s look behind the counter, Gip,” I said. “He’s making fun of us.’ Just then, he appeared again from a dark corner of the room. “You’d like to see our showroom, Sir ?” said he. Gip tugged my finger forward.
1. Answer the questions below:
Question 1. “It’s in your pocket”, said the shopman-What is meant by ‘It’ here?
Answer:
‘It’ here means the glass balls.
Question 2. Where were the glass balls found?
Answer:
The glass balls were found in Gip’s pocket.
Question 3. Why was there no charge for the glass balls?
Answer:
The glass balls were of no charge as the shopman got them free.
WBBSE Class 6 Reading Skills PDF
Question 4. From where did the shopman draw his business card?
Answer:
The shopman drew his business card from his cheek.
Question 5. Why was Gip surprised?
Answer:
Gip was surprised because he unexpectedly found a magic box in his pocket.
2. Writing True Or False statements.
Question 1. Gip found the glassballs in his bag.
Answer:
False
Question 2. The shopman demanded no money as cost for the glassballs.
Answer:
True
Question 3. Gip found the magic box in his pocket.
Answer:
True
Question 4. The shopman was absent for a while as he left the shop.
Answer:
False
Question 5. The shopman proposed to show them his showroom.
Answer:
True
3. Rearrange the following sentences in the correct order. Write the numbers in the boxes.
Question 1. The shopman disappeared behind the counter.
Answer:
The shopman handed over a business card to the narrator.
Question 2. The shopman handed over a business card to the narrator.
Answer:
Gip found a magic box in his pocket.
Class 6 English Lesson 4 Summary
Question 3. Gip tugged the narrator’s finger.
Answer:
The shopman disappeared behind the counter.
Question 4. Gip found a magic box in his pocket.
Answer:
The narrator felt that the shopman was making fun of them.
Question 5. The shopman appeared from a dark corner.
Answer:
The shopman appeared from a dark corner
Question 6. The narrator felt that the shopman was making fun of them.
Answer:
Gip tugged the narrator’s finger.
4. Find words in the text which mean the following:
- Real = genuine
- Courteously = politely
- Pulled = tugged
- Amazement = surprise
- Found = discovered
3. In the showroom, there were many things that Gip fancied. He turned to this astonishing man with respect. “Is that a magic sword ?” he said.
Class 6 English Reading Skills
“A Magic Toy Sword-this is a unique one! It neither bends, breaks, nor cuts the fingers,” replied the shopman. I tried to find out what they cost, but the shopman did not pay attention to me. He had got Gip now. I saw, with a feeling of distrust, that Gip was holding this person’s finger as usually he held mine.
The shopman showed Gip magic-trains that ran without steam, clockwork and a box of soldiers that all came alive when one said a magic word. “You’ve never seen such a one !” said the shopman. “You’ll take that box ?”
“We’ll take that box,” I said.
And the shopman swept the soldiers back again, shut the lid, and waved the box in the air. And there it was, in brown paper, tied up and with Gip’s full name and address on the paper. He laughed at my amazement.
1. Answer the questions below:
Question 1. What is the speciality of the Magic Toy Sword?
Answer:
The speciality of the Magic Toy Sword is that it neither bends, breaks, nor cuts fingers.
Question 2. Why did the narrator fail to find out the cost of the magic items?
Answer:
The shopman did not pay any heed to the narrator’s queries, and was more interested in showing Gip the magic tricks. So the narrator could not know the cost of the magic items.
Question 3. Why did the narrator have a feeling of distrust?
Answer:
The narrator had a feeling of distrust because he saw that Gip was holding the shopman’s finger as he usually held the narrator’s.
Question 4. What items did the shopman show to Gip?
Answer:
The shopman showed Gip a magic toy sword, magic-trains that ran without steam, clockwork and a box of soldiers that came alive when one said a magic word.
2. Write True Or False Statements.
Question 1. The toy sword was a unique one.
Answer:
True
Question 2. The sword was breakable.
Answer:
False
Question 3. The shopman kept telling the price of the magic items.
Answer:
False
Class 6 English Reading Skills
Question 4. The toy sword was a magic item.
Answer:
True
Question 5. The magic train was run by steam engine.
Answer:
False
3. Find out from the text words opposite in meaning of the following words:
- Hatred X Respect
- Confidence X Distrust
- Rarely X Usually
- Dead X Alive
- Close X Shut
4. I felt very uneasy and began to look for the way out. Turning to Gip, I saw him standing on a stool. The shopman was holding a big drum in his hand.
“We’re playing hide and seek, daddy!” cried Gip.
And before I could prevent him, the shopman had put the big drum over him. “Take that off,” I cried, “this instant. You’ll frighten the boy.”
The shopman did so without a word. He held the big. drum towards me to show its emptiness. The stool was empty, too. My boy had disappeared! “Where is my boy?” I said.
“You see,” he said, displaying the drum’s interior, “this is genuine magic !” I jumped at him and fell into utter darkness.
1. Complete the sentences with information from the text.
Feeling very uneasy, the narrator looked for the way out.
The narrator cried at the shopman to take off the drum because he thought that his son would be frightened in the darkness inside the drum.
The shopman held the big drum to show that it was empty.”
When the narrator found that his son had disappeared, he jumped at the shopkeeper.
1. Complete the sentences with information from the text.
1. Feeling very uneasy, the narrator looked for the way out.
2. The narrator cried at the shopman to take off the drum because he thought that his son would be frightened in the darkness inside the drum.
3. The shopman held the big drum to show that it was empty.”
4. When the narrator found that his son had disappeared, he jumped at the shopkeeper.
WBBSE English Lesson 4 Answers
2. Answer the following questions :
Question 1. What was the shopman holding?
Answer:
The shopman was holding a big drum.
Question 2. What did the shopman do with the drum ?
Answer:
He made Gip stand on a stool and then put the big drum over him and vanished him.
Question 3. What type of game was Gip playing?
Answer:
Gip was playing hide and seek game.
Question 4. What did the shopman do with the drum and what was the narrator’s feeling at that?
Answer:
The shopman put the big drum over Gip who was standing on a stool. At this the narrator cried out asking him to take the drum off as that would frighten the boy.
Question 5. What happened to Gip’s father when he jumped at him?
Answer:
When Gip’s father jumped at the shopman he fell into utter darkness.
Question 6. What was the genuine magic?
Answer:
The genuine magic was that the shopman put a big drum over Gip, and when he took it off, Gip was found totally vanished.
3. Multiple Choice Questions
Question 1. Gip was made to stand on a
- Chair,
- Stool,
- Sofa.
Answer: 3. Stool
Question 2. Looking inside the drum the narrator found
- His Son Sitting Inside-It,
- It Was Empty,
- A Magic Box Inside It.
Answer: 2. It Was Empty
Question 3. About the shopman’s show, the narrator thought that his son would
- Be Frightened,
- Enjoy It,
- Be Very Angry.
Answer: 2. Be Frightened
WBBSE Class 6 Reading Skills PDF
Question 4. On removal of the drum, the narrator found his son
- Has Completely Disappeared,
- Sitting On The Stool,
- Standing On The Ground.
Answer: 1. Has Completely Disappeared
4. Complete the chart below with words from the text:

Answer:

5 “Sorry, Sir, I didn’t see you coming,” someone said. I saw I was in Regent Street and I had collided with a man, and a yard away was Gip. He was carrying four parcels in his arm. He smiled at me. He did not look scared.
For a second I was at a loss. I stared round to see the door of the magic shop. It was not there. There was no door, no shop, nothing. I did the only thing possible in that mental state. I called for a cab.
I got in with Gip. “Dad !” said Gip at last, “that was a proper magic shop!” Gip looked completely undamaged.
He was neither scared, nor disturbed. There in his arms were four parcels containing items from the magic shop. Since then I have been up and down Regent Street several times looking for that shop. After all, I had not paid for the items.
1. Answer the questions below:
Question 1. Where did the narrator again find his son ?
Answer:
He found his son in Regent Street standing a yard away from him.
Question 2. What did Gip have in his hand?
Answer:
Gip had four parcels in his hand.
Question 3. How did he respond to his father?
Answer:
He responded to his father smilingly, not looking scared.
Question 4. Why was the narrator at a loss?
Answer:
The narrator was at a loss as he was totally confused for not being able to find the magic shop.
Question 5. Why did the speaker move up and down Regent Street?
Answer:
The speaker went up and down Regent Street to find the magic shop as he had not paid for the magic items.
2. Write True Or False Statements.
Question 1. Gip looked completely devastated.
Answer:
False
Question 2. The narrator collided with a man in Regent Street.
Answer:
True
Question 3. Gip considered it a proper magic shop.
Answer:
True
WBBSE Class 6 Reading Skills PDF
Question 4. The narrator could find the magic shop later on.
Answer:
False
Question 5. He did not pay for the magic items.
Answer:
True
3. Make sentences of your own with the following words:
The taxi collided with the car while trying to overtake it.
We hired a cab to go to his place.
He has gone to see a magic show.
It is not possible for me to go today.
I stared blankly at the paper in front of me.