Hi Everyone!! This article will share Books Make Good Pets Questions & Answers.
This poem is written by John Agard. In my previous posts, I have shared the questions and answers of Chuskit Goes to School, Pandora’s Box and A Chameleon Named Henry so, you can check these posts as well.
Books Make Good Pets Questions & Answers
Word Galaxy
- Vet – a veterinary surgeon
- Flick – make or cause to make a sudden quick movement
- Dog-eared – used so much that the corners of the pages are turned over or torn
- Purring – make a low continuous vibratory sound expressing contentment
- Browser – one who looks through the pages of book, magazine, etc. without a particular purpose
- Cushion – something providing support against impact
- Aside – used to indicate that one is dismissing a topic
- Nine lives – to escape dangerous situations safely
- Hibernate – here, remain in condition
- Spine – the part of a book that the pages are fastened onto
Question 1: Read and answer the questions:
One curious look sets them purring…..
(a) Who is giving the curious look?
Answer: The reader is giving the curious look.
(b) What is being compared to what here?
Answer: Here books are compared to cats/pets.
(c) Do you think the comparison is suitable?
Answer: Yes, the comparison is suitable because there are some similarities between books and pets. When we throw a stick towards the dog, it wags its tail. Similarly, if we touch the torn pages of a book, they also move or shake.
(d) What do you understand by the phrase ‘have more than nine lives’?
Answer: Nine lives is a famous proverb in reference to cats as it is often believed that cats can escape dangerous situations safely nine times. Here, nine lives tells that a book is like a cat which has nine lives which means the content of books never die.
Question 2: Read and answer the questions:
…….Some reader rolls them over on their cracked spine.
(a) What are the books being compared to here?
Answer: Here, the books are being compared to tortoise.
(b) What does ‘roll them over’ mean here?
Answer: ‘Roll them over’ means that new readers will turn the pages of these books.
(c) What does ‘cracked spine’ tell us about the thing it describes?
Answer: ‘Cracked spine’ tells us that the books are been kept for a very long time.
Question 3: Explain: ‘They’ll hibernate in the shell of their covers……..’
Answer: As the tortoise hibernate in the shell, the books also hibernate in their covers on the book shelves. If the books are not touched, they will wait for centuries. They never die. Books preserve themselves and live a long life like tortoises. They will always be a companion and will always serve us company generation after generation. And when some good readers come, the books are rediscovered by them.
Question 4: How can even old, neglected books be useful?
Answer: Old, neglected books could be useful as they may hold new knowledge like any other book and each book has something special and different in it.
Books Make Good Pets Questions & Answers
Question 5: Comment on the comparison between books and dogs.
Answer: Dogs are said to be faithful pets. Similarly, books are also faithful to us. The control of the books is in our hands and not like dogs who move here and there. When we throw a stick towards the dog, it wags its tail. Similarly, if we touch the torn pages of a book, they also move or shake. The dogs are needed to be taken to the vet if they get sick but books do not require such things.
Question 6: How can a book be like a goldfish?
Answer: Books are attractive and colourful like goldfish. Books can also glow and swim in the bowl of knowledge and can lead its reader to a world of imagination.
Question 7: What characteristics of cats is the poet talking about in the poem?
Answer:
- Just like the cats, our curious look draws all the attention of the books.
- In any danger situation, a cat may leave you but a book will always remain with you.
- A book too has more than nine lives. It can patiently wait for another reader.
Question 8: How can even old, neglected books be useful?
Answer: A book can be old or neglected but it can never be useless. A book can survive more than centuries. It is rediscovered when a new reader selects and reads it. This shows that a book is always useful no matter what generation of readers it serves.
Question 9: In the poem, books have been compared to various pets. In what ways do you think can books be better than pets?
Answer:
- Books can never be taken to a doctor.
- Books are low maintenance.
- They can live for more than centuries.
- In our difficult times, books serve as great companion.
- Books can glorify one’s world of imagination.
Question 10: Explain what do you understand by the phrase ‘bowl of imagination’.
Answer: ‘Bowl of imagination’ here means the world of our imagination. The books can glow and swim in this bowl of imagination. Books are colourful and beautiful just like a goldfish. With all its stillness, the books can develop our imagination skills.
So, these were Books Make Good Pets Questions & Answers.