Chapter 4 The Treasure Within Important Questions Class 8 It So Happened English
Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1. What does the title of the lesson ‘The Treasure Within’ mean and highlight?
Answer
The Treasure Within’ refers to the hidden talent of every child who has his own style of learning and area of interest. Not every topper in the academics becomes an achiever in life. Every child can achieve greatness in his area of interest.
Question 2. Why was Hafeez advised to join architect classes?
Answer
Once Hafeez was sitting in an architect’s office where he found a fault in the architect’s drawing of a window and he was correct. Therefore, he was advised to join architect’s classes.
Question 3. Why was Hafeez punished by his teachers?
Answer
Hafeez was careless in studies. He was often so interested in games so he received punishment every week.
Question 4. Why did the interviewer say that “giftedness and learning disabilities go hand in hand”.
Answer
Hafeez Contractor told Ms. Bela Raja, Editor of Newsletter and his interviewer that there were many students of his class who always stood first or second but in the present day are doing very ordinary jobs.
Question 5. Do you agree with Hafeez that learning disabilities do not go hand in hand with gifted?
Answer
There is a general belief that the genius usually do not shine in studies. Those who always stand first or second do very ordinary jobs later on. Personality and skills ultimately decide the careers of boys.
Question 6. Why could Hafeez not join Army or Police Force?
Answer
Hafeez could not join Army because his aunts did not want him to join it and he could not join Police Force because his mother wanted him to do graduation.
Question 7. Mr Hafeez at school was more interested in other things than his books. How does he support this statement?
Answer
At school he used to be interested in games and playing jokes. He was a good sportsman, the cricket captain. He used to copy in class during exam times. Maths was a terror for him. Though he did badly in school, he was good at designing. This skill helped him become an architect.
Question 8. How have schooling give opportunities to the students.
Answer
Schooling provides various opportunities they made them street smart. Not only academics, personality and skills also get improved in the school’s.
Question 9. How does Hafeez decide as to what kind of structure he should give to a client?
Answer
Hafeez looked at a client’s face, his clothes and the way he talked and pronounced, the way he ate and he knew what his taste would be like.
Question 10. How does Hafeez give to his client the kind of structure he wants?
Answer
Hafeez is good at drawing the design of a house on the spot. He looks at the client’s face and the way he talks to know what his taste would be like. Then he sketches on the spot and gives it to his client in the office.
Question 11. What was his ‘terrible nightmare’ about?
Answer
His ‘terrible nightmare’ was about appearing for a math’s examination.
Question 12. Why did the principal advise him?
Answer
The principal called him to make him responsible. He told him that he ignored his studies; he wanted to take his responsibility. He advised him that he should rise to the occasion and study.
Question 13. Why did he take admission in Jaihind college?
Answer
Hafeez had decided to join the army, but his accent did not allow him. When his mother asked him to take admission in college, he gave up his idea to join Army and police force.
Question 14. How did he help fellow students who had lost a button?
Answer
When his fellow students lost a button, he helped them by cutting a button from chalk, by using a blade.
Long Answer Type Questions
Question 1. When did he decide to do architecture?
Answer
Hafeez took admission in college where he had to choose between French and German. He opted for German but he had to give it up because of his teacher’s death. Then he went to his cousin’s office to learn French. His cousin’s husband was impressed with his drawing and advised him to join architecture.
Question 2. In the architects office. Hafeez contractor was advised to drop everything and join architecture. Why?
Answer
When Hafeez contractor was in the architect’s office, he saw somebody drawing a window detail. He told him that his drawing was wrong and that the window he had drawn would not open. Later, it was found that the drawing was indeed wrong. Seeing this, his cousin’s husband asked him to draw a few specific things. Which he immediately did. He then asked him to design a house and he completed this task as well. His potential for architecture was clearly visible from these incidents. Thus, he was told to drop everything and join architecture.
Question 3. Who in your view is an “unusual learner”?
Answer
There are many examples/exceptions which can be quoted as “unusual learners”. One of such unique example is of Mr. Hafeez Contractor who lived life in his own style. He defied learning yet imagined in his own peculiar way where he felt comfortable. He could easily judge his clients by their facial expressions, dress code and relate to them similarly. He possessed will power to achieve something and had confidence in himself which helped him to gain heights in success.
Question 4. What did the principal say to him, which influence him deeply?
Answer
When Hafeez was in the eleventh standard, his principal said to him that he had been seeing him since day one. He was a good student. However, he had never studied. The principal told him that so far he had taken care of him, but from then on he was by himself. He mentioned how Hafeez’s mother had worked extremely hard to bring him up and had paid all his fees for all those years. However, he had only played games. He thus told Hafeez to rise to the occasion and study. These words influenced Hafeez in a deep manner.
Question 5. How is the attitude and understanding of self-worth help a person succeed in life? ‘
Answer
Hafeez is a trendsetter, who had a normal childhood yet became a renowned Indian architect. His interest was more in sports rather than academics. He violate class room activities. He dreamt of making dams, he drew sketches, he planned strategies. His mind was more observant and creative. His success was his curiously and understanding of his clientele.
Question 6. Which rules did he break as a school boy?
Answer
As a school boy, he was more interested in things other than academics. If it started raining outside, he would think of the flowing water, and how much of water the dam would be able to hold. He was interested only in games, running around and playing jokes and pranks on others. He copied in class during exams. He used to get hold of the examination paper that had been prepared, and study it as he could not remember thing that had been taught to him in class.
Question 7. How did the. Principal’s words influence Hafeez Contractor?
Answer
The Principal was a sensible man. He had been seeing Hafeez from day one. He thought it as his duty to guard him on right time. So, when Hafeez approached his eleventh standard, he called him and told him that he was a good student but he never studied. He had lost his father and his poor mother had worked hard to bring him up and pay his fees. It was the time now to rise to the occasion and study. These words of the Principal influenced Hafeez deeply. He forgot games that year and studied day and night. As a result, he got a second class, 50 per cent in his SSC. His Principal was very happy because he had got 50 per cent on his own.
Question 8. (i) What is Hafeez contractor’s definition of mathematics.
(ii) How would you want to define mathematics’. Do you like the subject?
Answer
(i) He said the putting design. Construction, psychology and sociology together and making a sketch from all that is ‘mathematics’.
(ii) I would like to define mathematics as the science of number, quantity and shape. Arithmetic, algebra geometry and trigonometry are some of its branches.
Question 9. (i) What was Mrs. Gupta’s advice to Hafeez contractor?
(ii) What made her advise him so?
Answer
(i) Mrs. Gupta, who was Hafeez contractor’s teacher in the second and third grades, advised him to become an architect when he grew up.
(ii) She always said to him that he was quite useless in everything, except for his sketches, which were always very good. Therefore, she advised him to take up architecture.
Question 10. Who is Hafeez Contractor? What does he tell about himself to his interviewer? How does he find his calling?
Answer
Hafeez Contractor is a leading architect in India at present. In this interview he traces the story of his childhood and schooldays. He had little interest in studies. He passed the annual examinations by copying. He used to be a good sportsman. But his cousin’s husband once noted his hidden talent and told him to become an architect.
Question 11. ‘Cooperation and friendship’ are key traits for a human being. How?
Answer
Human should have humane quality. He should believe in co-existence, cooperation. One can be creative and learn social traits for development of healthy society ‘live and let live’ is the keys to the development of a social structure. Hafeez was cooperative to his friends, he made buttons out of chalk. He sacrificed lunch; he became the leader of his gang. His imagination and observation were distinct traits, he learnt during his stay with his friends.
Question 12. What was the rattle of his cousin’s husband in his career?
Answer
Hafeez was studying in JaiHind college. When he went to learn French to his cousin’s husband office, where his drawing impressed him. He then met Hafeez’s principal to allow him to sit in the entrance test of architecture. When he qualified with A4- grade, he was given admission. Thus Hafeez’s relative changed his life forever.
Question 13. Is it likely that someone who is original and intelligent does not do very well at school? Should such a learner be called a failure? If not, why not?
Answer
It is a probability that someone who is original and intelligent does not do very well at school because every child has a different personality. Such a learner cannot be called a failure because a “differently abled” child is different from other children in his/ her style of learning and area of interest. He/She can achieve success in specialized field of his/her own interest and desire.
Question 14. What were the early memories of school of Hafeez Contractor? Describe.
Answer
Hafeez Contractor was a good student in the first and second year but lost interest in 3rd standard. He was interested in games, running around, playing jokes and pranks on others, he would copy in class during exam times. He would even try to get hold of the examination paper to study as he could not remember things taught previously in the class.