MAK LABS — Class 7 English Ch 7 My Brother's Great Invention

IComplete the cause-and-effect table.

Causes	Effects
1. Anand set up his burglar alarm and rigged it to work when the door was opened softly.	Papa, who always opens the door softly, got soaked by the water bag and was very angry.
2. Anita warned Anand, “If Papa asks, I’m not involved.”	Anita was able to avoid any responsibility as Anand faced the consequences alone.
3. We watched the movie ‘Back to the Future’.	Anand decided to make a time machine too.
4. Papa firmly said ‘NO’ to trying out the time machine.	Anand looked crestfallen, so Ma asked Papa to at least take a look at it.

IIDo you think Anand was able to keep his promise regarding the time machine? If yes, why? If no, why not?

Yes, in a way he kept his promise. Anand himself did not try out the time machine. It was the thief, Boppa, who started it by mistake.

Arrange the events in the correct order of occurrence.

4. Anita wakes Anand up, informing him that someone is trying to get into the house.

1. The door swings open, and they see Boppa, standing there with an evil grin.

5. Anand misleads Boppa into entering his room instead of his father’s room.

3. Mrs. Sharma, her husband, and Dr. Mohan unlock the door and enter the house to help the children.

2. Boppa is nowhere to be found, but his green scarf is lying near the time machine.

I.1Read the extract and answer the questions.

Before beginning this story, let me put you in the picture. I am Anita, fourteen years old. My brother Anand, one year younger than me, caused all that hoo-ha with his burglar alarm. …

(i) When Anita says, “…let me put you in the picture”, she wants to ______ the situation.
introduce

(ii) Anand loves ‘tinkering’ with all sorts of electrical gadgets. This means that he enjoys ______ gadgets.
A. dismantling and creating

(iii) Which option most suitably describes Anand’s personality?
B. creative and experimental

(iv) Compare what Anita thinks of her brother Anand with what he thinks of himself.
Anita thinks Anand only pretends to be a scientist, as his inventions never work. Anand, however, believes that he is a real scientist and a genius.

I.2Read the extract and answer the questions.

I was about to direct him upstairs, when Anand said quickly, “The one next to this one.” “You silly goose!” I said angrily as soon as the man had gone. …

(i) Anita was angry with Anand because ______.
he sent the thief to his own room instead of Papa’s room. She feared the thief would come back angrier.

(ii) Which action of Anand shows his presence of mind?
He quickly sent the thief to his own room, next door. This kept the thief away from Papa’s room and gave them time to think.

(iii) What might be the cause of the strange noises emerging from the next room?
B. Anand’s time machine getting activated

(iv) Which of the following best describes the atmosphere in this extract?
(c) C and E — tense and suspenseful

IIComplete the table with suitable traits of the characters.

Character	Traits	Evidence from the Text
Anand	1. bothersome	And this is not the first time he’s got on Papa’s nerves…
Anand	2. creative	He loves tinkering with all sorts of electrical gadgets… he keeps creating ‘inventions’…
Anand	3. confident	“Nothing will go wrong this time. I’ve planned it out carefully.”
Anita	1. responsible	“We’re old enough to look after ourselves, Ma…”
Anita	2. curious	“But how does the alarm know that a burglar is opening the door?”
Anita	3. careful	“Now clean up this mess before anyone gets home.”

IIIAnswer the following questions.

1. What prompted Anand to create the burglar alarm?
There had been a rush of thefts in the colony. So, Anand thought a burglar alarm was needed.

2. How did Anand’s father become the target of the burglar alarm?
The alarm was rigged to work only when the door was opened gently, as a thief would do. Papa always opens the door softly. So, the water bag fell on him.

3. How did Anand’s parents and sister react to his ideas?
Papa got angry. He locked up his tool box and refused to let Anand try the time machine. Ma was kind and felt sorry for Anand, but she kept a careful eye on her oven and mixer. Anita was doubtful and did not want to be involved.

4. How did Anand behave when he was on his ‘inventing binges’?
He took apart all the gadgets in the house to collect parts. He made a lot of noise with hammering and sawing. He did not let anyone into his room. He looked like a savage and did not even comb his hair.

5. Why did Mr. Sharma not believe Anand when he spoke about his time machine?
Mr. Sharma thought a time machine was impossible. He felt it was only the boy’s imagination. He believed Boppa had simply run away.

6. Give an ending to this story, explaining what might have happened to Boppa.
When Boppa pressed the switches, the machine flashed and hummed loudly. Scared, he dropped his scarf and hid in the store room. Early next morning, he quietly slipped away and ran out of the town, never to return.

IComplete Column 2 by matching the sound words with expressions.

(i) Crash – sudden loud sound of breaking
(ii) Humming – a continuous low and soothing sound
(iii) Hissed – whispered angrily
(iv) Hammering, sawing, clattering – constant and loud construction noises

II.1Match the words to make binomials.

safe and sound
odds and ends
make or break
pros and cons
now or never
give and take

II.2Complete the sentences with suitable binomials.

This project will be a make-or-break moment for our team’s success.
After a long journey, we were relieved to arrive home safe and sound.
Every friendship works well when there is a balance of give and take.
She organised all the odds and ends in the cupboard, to make space for new clothes.
Before making a decision, it is important to weigh the pros and cons carefully.
This is our final chance to perform on stage, it is now or never.

II.3Complete the paragraph using the phrasal verbs.

It had been raining and we (i) ran out of time to set up for the function, so we quickly (ii) rigged up some decorations using whatever materials we had. We accidentally (iii) tripped off the fire alarm because of the smoke from the bonfire. Thankfully, the rain (iv) let up just as the guests were arriving, and despite all the chaos, the function (v) turned out to be a huge success.

IIIComplete the sentences with suitable idioms.

Shekhar knew he would get a shelling for breaking his mother’s favourite flower vase.
We fell over ourselves trying to help the injured dog and get it to the vet as quickly as possible.
Faizy distracted Kanchan, leaving the coast clear for us to get inside the room to prepare the birthday surprise.
The constant power fluctuations during meetings can get on our nerves.
When I am alone at home, any unexpected loud noise in the night can frighten me half to death.

IV.1Underline the verbs in simple past and past perfect tense.

Ma had rushed (past perfect) in to see what the racket was (simple past) all about and found (simple past) Papa standing there, sopping wet and scowling.
Anand had vanished (past perfect) by this time and reappeared (simple past) only after dinner when Papa had cooled (past perfect) down.

IV.2Fill in the blanks with the simple past or past perfect form of the verbs.

(i) After Rohan A. had finished his homework, he B. decided to go for a walk. He C. left the house and D. realised he E. had forgotten his keys inside.

(ii) By the time we A. reached the station, the train B. had already left. We C. waited for the next one to arrive.

IV.3Combine the pairs of sentences using the past perfect tense.

(i) Rohan had packed his suitcase before he left for the airport.
(ii) We had started work before he arrived in the morning.
(iii) They had set up the tents by the time the others brought food and medicine.
(iv) The students had become quiet when they heard the teacher coming.
(v) The villagers had left the village before the flood submerged the entire area.

IChoose the true statements from 1–5.

True statements: 2 3

2. Anita accepts Toby as her friend.
3. Anita asks Toby about one of his facial features.

IIFill in the blanks with the exact words you hear.

Toby: I miss my people and home.
Toby: Well, we Martians don’t need to eat anything. We get our energy from the Sun.
Anita: Oh! Don’t you ever feel like having ice creams and chocolates?
Anita: How are you able to see with only one eye?
Toby: I can see beyond mountains and clouds, woods and even metals.

IPut the ‘-ough’ words in the correct boxes.

Sounds like ‘oo’ – through
Sounds like ‘off’ – cough (also trough)
Sounds like ‘o’ – though, dough (also although)
Sounds like ‘ow’ – bough, plough (also drought)
Sounds like ‘aw’ – thought (also bought, brought, fought)

‘enough’, ‘rough’ and ‘tough’ sound like ‘uff’.

II & IIIRead the story aloud and say the tongue twister.

These are oral practice activities. Students should read aloud and check pronunciation with the teacher.

Choose a vocation and write a paragraph.

My Dream Vocation: Electrician

I would like to become an electrician. I enjoy fixing switches, fans and lights at home with my father. To become an electrician, I need training from an ITI. I would use tools like a tester, pliers, screwdrivers, wires and a multimeter. My co-workers would be other electricians, helpers and engineers. Teamwork is important because big jobs like wiring a building need many hands. I would talk politely to customers and explain the problem clearly. I would always follow safety rules. Electricity lights up homes, schools and hospitals, so I would do this work with a sense of pride.

Find out more Indian inventors and their inventions.

Jagadish Chandra Bose – crescograph (to measure plant growth) and pioneering work on radio waves
C.V. Raman – Raman Effect (scattering of light)
Prafulla Chandra Ray – founded India’s first pharmaceutical company, Bengal Chemicals
Homi J. Bhabha – father of India’s nuclear programme

My Brother’s Great Invention

Let us discuss (Part I)

Let us discuss (Part II)

Let us think and reflect

Let us learn

Let us listen

Let us speak

Let us write

Let us explore