NCERT Solutions for Class 5th English Chapter 9 Vocation
Updated on 2026-09-19
About this chapter
Stanza 1 — the hawker (page 105). The gong sounds ten in the morning. The child must walk to school by his own lane. On the way he meets the hawker calling, “Bangles, crystal bangles!” Nothing hurries the hawker on. There is no road he must take, no place he must reach, no time by which he must be home. So the child wishes he were a hawker. Stanza 2 — the gardener (page 106). At four in the afternoon the child comes back from school. Through the gate of a house he sees the gardener digging the ground. The gardener does what he likes with his spade, gets dust on his clothes, and nobody scolds him whether the sun bakes him or the rain wets him. So the child wishes he were a gardener, with nobody to stop him from digging. Stanza 3 — the watchman (page 107). As it gets dark the child’s mother
- Vocation
- A. Answer the following questions
- B. Think and discuss
- A. Match each word with its meaning
- Group activity
- A. Listen and repeat
- B. Listen and speak
- Job Mix–Up!
Quick revision
| Word | What it means | The line it appears in | A sentence of your own |
|---|---|---|---|
| vocation | The work a person does — especially work that a person feels made for. | The title of the poem, Vocation | My aunt says teaching is not just her job, it is her vocation. |
| gong | A round metal disc that makes a loud sound when it is hit with a small hammer. | “When the gong sounds ten in the morning” | The gong sounds at eight and we run to the assembly ground. |
| hawker | A person who sells things by carrying them through the streets and calling out. | “Every day I meet the hawker crying” | A hawker sells roasted peanuts near the bus stand. |
| crystal | Clear, shining glass. | “Bangles, crystal bangles!” | My sister bought two crystal bangles at the village mela. |
| lane | A narrow path or a narrow road. | “I walk to school by our lane” | Our house is in the third lane behind the temple. |
| hurry him on | To make somebody move faster. | “There is nothing to hurry him on” | Nobody hurried us on, so we walked home slowly. |
| spade | A tool with a flat metal blade and a long handle, used for digging. | “He does what he likes with his spade” | The gardener loosened the soil with a spade. |
| soils | Makes dirty. | “he soils his clothes with dust” | Do not soil your uniform while playing kabaddi. |
| takes him to task | Scolds somebody for something he has done. | “nobody takes him to task” | My teacher took me to task for coming late. |
| baked | Dried and made very hot by the sun. | “if he gets baked in the sun” | The field was baked hard by the May sun. |
| giant | An imaginary man-like creature of great height and strength. | “the street-lamp stands like a giant” | In the story a giant guards the gate of the castle. |
| lantern | A case that holds a candle or a light of any kind, and that can be carried easily. | “The watchman swings his lantern” | Grandfather carried a lantern to the cowshed at night. |
| watchman | A person whose work is to guard a place, especially at night. | “the watchman walking up and down” | Our watchman blows his whistle once every hour. |
Exercises
- Vocation — Let us Recite Page 105–107
- A. Answer the following questions — Let us Think Page 108
- B. Think and discuss — Let us Think Page 108
- A. Match each word with its meaning — Let us Learn Page 109
- B. There is one mistake in each sentence. Underline it and rewrite the sentence correctly — Let us Learn Page 109–110
- C. Look at the pictures. Have you seen these objects? Where have you seen them? What are they used for? — Let us Learn Page 111
- Group activity — Let us Listen Page 112
- A. Listen and repeat — Let us Speak Page 112–113
- B. Listen and speak — Let us Speak Page 113
- . What’s missing? · 2. Vocations in your family · 3. Five well-known Indians — Let us Write Page 1141
- Job Mix–Up! — Let us Do Page 115
- Eight vocations in pictures · A. Which one would you choose? · B. Any other dream job? · C. Draw yourself in it — Let us Explore Page 116–118