CBSE Class VII English (Poorvi) Unit 2: WIT AND HUMOUR — A Funny Man Questions and Answers

Chapter 5: A Funny Man - Solutions

Let us do these activities before we read

Figure 1: Things I Find Funny - Pre-reading Activity

Look around you for things or people that make you laugh. Write them in the bubbles given below. Share the reasons for your answers with your classmates and the teacher.

Answers to fill in the thought bubbles:

• A clown juggling colorful balls at a circus.
• A puppy chasing its own tail.
• Someone making funny facial expressions.
• A monkey making funny gestures at the zoo.
• Silly cartoons on TV.

Reason: These activities, gestures, and innocent behaviors bring joy, surprise us, and make us laugh.

Let us discuss

I. Work in pairs. Identify the true statements. Check your answers with the teacher.

1. The poet says that she had never heard such an amusing song.
2. The funny man was quite ill-mannered.
3. The funny man wore two hats on his feet.
4. The funny man hopped on his head to reach home.
5. The funny man gave a rose to the poet.
6. The funny man smiled at the poet.

True Statements:

• Statement 3: The funny man wore two hats on his feet.
• Statement 4: The funny man hopped on his head to reach home.
• Statement 6: The funny man smiled at the poet.

(Note: Statement 1 is false because she heard a "funny feeling sound"; Statement 2 is false because his manners were polite; Statement 5 is false because he offered a currant bun instead of a rose).

II. Identify the words from the poem based on the meanings given. Share your answers with your classmates and the teacher.

1. a small seedless raisin
2. moved unsteadily

1. currant
2. staggered

III. Complete the following sentences with a reason.

1. The tone of the poem is __________ because __________.
2. The rhyme scheme of the poem is __________; and it gives a __________ quality to the poem.
3. The poet has frequently repeated the word 'funny' in order to __________.

1. The tone of the poem is humorous and playful because it describes nonsensical, silly, and strange actions of a peculiar man.
2. The rhyme scheme of the poem is ABCB; and it gives a musical and rhythmic quality to the poem.
3. The poet has frequently repeated the word 'funny' in order to emphasize the absurd and amusing nature of the man's actions and appearance.

IV. Choose the correct answer from the options given in the brackets.

1. The poem uses vivid imagery to create a __________ (humorous and nonsensical/ confusing but thought-provoking) scene.
2. The structure of the poem is in __________ (monologue/dialogue) form.
3. The phrases 'sounding sight' and 'hopped home' are examples of __________ (alliteration/simile).

1. humorous and nonsensical
2. dialogue
3. alliteration

V. 1. Rewrite the following line from the poem in the correct order:
"But never had I seen before / Such a funny sounding sight."
(Sometimes, the poets change the word order (inversion) in a line in order to maintain a rhythm.)

Correct Order: "But I had never seen such a funny sounding sight before."

V. 2. Why has the poet used phrases like 'funny sounding sight' and 'funny feeling sound' with reference to the funny man?

Answer: The poet mixes up sensory attributes (combining sound with sight, and feeling with sound) to highlight the nonsensical, surreal, and absurd nature of the funny man's actions.

VI. Can you think of any real-world situations where people do similar things for fun, entertainment, or performance? Share with your classmates and the teacher.

Answer: Yes, in real life, circus clowns, street performers, magicians, and pantomime actors perform absurd and funny actions to make people laugh and entertain them.

Let us think and reflect

I. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

Extract 1:

He said, "Allow me to present
Your Highness with a rose."
And taking out a currant bun
He held it to my nose.
I staggered back against the wall
And then I answered, "Well!"

(i) Why does the funny man address the poet as 'Your Highness'?

Answer: He addresses her as 'Your Highness' in a mock-polite and humorous way to act pretend-regal and playful.

(ii) Choose a phrase from the extract which indicates a polite request.

Answer: "Allow me to present"

(iii) Choose the option which shows a 'currant bun'.
A. Image 1    B. Image 2    C. Image 3    D. Image 4

Answer: C. Image 3 (A bun embedded with small dried currants/raisins).

(iv) Complete the sentence with an appropriate reason.
When the poet says, 'Well!', it expresses surprise. This was so because __________.

Answer: ...the funny man said he was presenting a rose, but instead held a currant bun to her nose.

Extract 2:

You never heard in all your life
Such a funny feeling sound.
"My friend, why do you wear two hats
Upon your feet?" I said.
He turned the other way about,
And hopped home on his head.

Figure 2: The funny man hopping home on his head

(i) Choose the line from the extract which tells us that the sound was unique.

Answer: "You never heard in all your life / Such a funny feeling sound."

(ii) Complete the sentence with an appropriate reason.
The poet calls the funny man 'my friend' because __________.

Answer: ...despite his odd appearance, he was polite, amiable, and entertained her cheerfully.

(iii) What does the reaction of the funny man to the poet's question tell us about him?

Answer: It shows that he is playful, carefree, unpredictable, and likes to respond to questions with playful actions rather than logical explanations.

(iv) Choose the correct option to complete the sentence.
The last line of the extract makes the readers feel __________.
A. dreamy    B. impatient    C. worried    D. cheerful

Answer: D. cheerful

II. Answer the following questions.

1. Which character trait of the funny man was most appealing to you? Why?

Answer: His politeness and cheerful playfulness were most appealing. Even though he did absurd things, he spoke politely ("Allow me to present", "Your Highness") and brought laughter without causing harm.

2. The funny man does unusual things in the poem. How does it affect the overall mood of the poem?

Answer: It makes the overall mood light-hearted, whimsical, joyous, and full of humour.

3. What alternative title would you suggest for the poem? Give reason(s) for your choice.

Answer: "The Upside-Down Stranger". Reason: Everything about the man—from wearing shoes on his head to walking on his head—was completely reversed and silly.

4. Why do you think the poet has included dialogues in the poem?

Answer: Dialogues make the poem interactive, lively, and dramatic, allowing readers to directly feel the interaction between the narrator and the funny man.

5. What does the poet wish to convey by highlighting the unusual behaviour of the funny man?

Answer: The poet wishes to celebrate imagination, innocence, and pure nonsense, reminding us to enjoy lighthearted moments in life.

Let us learn

I. Match the phrasal verbs in Column 1 with their correct meaning in Column 2.

Column 1	Column 2
1. take up	(iii) to begin to study, practice, or do something
2. take after	(v) to resemble or look similar to (usually a family member)
3. take in	(i) to understand or comprehend something
4. take over	(ii) to assume control or responsibility for something
5. take off	(iv) to become successful or popular quickly

Now, fill in the blanks with suitable phrasal verbs from the table given in I. You may change the tense of the verb, if required.

1. The new technology is set to __________ traditional methods of communication.
2. I tried hard to __________ what the writer wanted to say but was unsuccessful.
3. Arjun decided to __________ painting as a hobby.
4. The smartphone quickly __________ the sales in the market.
5. Sheela __________ her father; they have the same smile.

1. take over
2. take in
3. take up
4. took off
5. takes after

II. Match the verbs in Column 1 with any suitable adverbs or prepositions in Column 2. Write their meanings in Column 3.

Column 1 (Verbs)	Column 2 (Prepositions/Adverbs)	Column 3 (Phrasal Verbs & Meanings)
1. look	after, for, in	look after: take care of look for: search for something
2. run	away, into, out	run away: escape run into: meet by chance
3. put	on, off, down	put on: wear clothing put off: postpone
4. break	down, into, out	break down: stop working (machines) break into: enter forcibly
5. call	off, in, on	call off: cancel an event call on: pay a short visit

Now, frame sentences of your own using any five phrasal verbs.

• Look after: We should always look after our elderly parents.
• Run into: I ran into my primary school teacher at the market yesterday.
• Put off: Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.
• Break down: Our bus broke down on the way to the school picnic.
• Call off: The match was called off due to heavy rain.

III. Read the following words from the poem: walking, staggered, hopped. Arrange the words given in the box in increasing order of pace: sprint, trot, jog

Figure 3: Pace ladder from stagger to sprint

Increasing order of pace:

1. stagger
2. walk
3. trot
4. hop
5. jog
6. run
7. sprint

Let us listen

I. You will listen to a girl narrate a personal incident. As you listen, select the picture related to the narration.

Figure 4: Girl performing various daily activities

Selected Picture: Picture 3 (The girl sitting at a dining table eating dal-chawal / lunch).

II. You will once again listen to the girl narrate a personal incident. As you listen, arrange the events in order of occurrence.

1. Ate lunch
2. Took off shoes
3. Put shoes in the room
4. Laughed at the mistake
5. Placed the plate in the room
6. Prepared for the presentation
7. Put the plate in the kitchen

Correct Sequence of Events:

1. Prepared for the presentation
2. Took off shoes
3. Ate lunch
4. Placed the plate in the room (by mistake)
5. Put shoes in the room (correcting mistake)
6. Put the plate in the kitchen
7. Laughed at the mistake

Let us speak

Figure 5: Man talking to God joke illustration

Read the joke given below and perform it in pairs:

A man is talking to God.
The man says, "God, how long is a million years?"
God replies, "For me, it's about a minute."
The man asks, "How much is a million rupees?"
God smiles and replies, "It's less than a rupee for me."
The man quickly requests, "God, may I have a rupee?"
God promptly says, "Wait a minute."

Classroom Activity Answer: Practice speaking in pairs using the required voice modulations (Narrator: matter-of-fact; Man: loud and respectful; God: deep and pleasant).

Let us write

I. Study the limericks given below and identify the rhyme scheme.

1. There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said, "It is just as I feared!
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!" - Edward Lear

Figure 6: Visual illustration for limericks

2. There were two friends in Bengaluru's lanes,
One loved books, the other flew planes.
They'd laugh and they'd play,
In their own unique way,
Creating stories and flying in dreams' trains.

Rhyme Scheme for both Limericks: AABBA

II. Follow the structure given below and write a limerick on your own.
Line 1: Introduction of a person or place
Line 2-4: A silly story
Line 5: An unexpected ending

Sample Student Limerick:

There was a young child from Assam, (A)
Who loved to eat spoonfuls of jam. (A)
He slipped on a floor, (B)
And bumped into the door, (B)
And landed right inside a pram! (A)

Let us explore

I. In ancient Indian literature and mythology, there are several humorous or funny characters who play important roles in the stories (Tenali Rama, Birbal, Mullah Nasruddin, King Vikramaditya and Betal). Take any story to read and share it with your classmates and the teacher.

Sample Sharing (Birbal's Wit): Once Emperor Akbar lost his ring and suspected a courtier stolen it. Birbal remarked, "The courtier with a straw in his beard has the ring." The actual thief immediately touched his beard to check, revealing his guilt. Akbar praised Birbal's wit.

III. Sukumar Ray, an Indian poet and illustrator, wrote poems in a similar style in his book Abol Tabol. Share a similar poem from your native language with your classmates and teacher.

Figure 7: Abol Tabol by Sukumar Ray

Classroom Activity Answer: Students can share nonsense rhymes from their mother tongue, similar to Sukumar Ray's famous Bengali nonsense verses in Abol Tabol.