NCERT Solutions for Class 5th English Chapter 9 B. Listen and speak — Let us Speak

Think of one real day when you had too many things to do and too little time. Do not invent a story — a real day is always easier to speak about.

Sample answer: Last Saturday I wanted to do many things but I could not do them all. It was the only holiday I had that week. My cousin had come from Kanpur, my school project on water was due on Monday, and my friends had planned a cricket match on the ground behind our house. There were only a few hours between breakfast and evening, and I wanted to be in three places at once.

Make a short list. Say each one in a full sentence, not as a single word.

Sample answer: I wanted to do four things that day. First, I wanted to finish my project on water, because the chart paper was still blank. Second, I wanted to play the cricket match, because I was the wicket-keeper and my team needed me. Third, I wanted to take my cousin to the fair near the temple, because he had never seen it. And fourth, I wanted to simply sit and read the new library book I had brought home on Friday.

Say what actually went wrong. This is the most useful part of the answer, so give real details.

Sample answer: I faced three difficulties. The first was time. Each thing needed an hour or more, and I had only about five hours in all. The second was that I could not give my mind fully to any one thing. While I was drawing the chart I kept looking out at the ground, and while I was fielding I kept thinking about the chart. The third difficulty was that other people were waiting for me. My team could not start without a wicket-keeper, and my cousin sat alone in the room while I painted. In the end my chart was untidy, because I finished it in a hurry at nine at night.

Name the feeling honestly, and then say what you learnt from it.

Sample answer: At first I felt excited, because all four things were things I liked. By the afternoon I felt hurried and a little tense, as though somebody were pushing me from behind. When I saw my untidy chart at night I felt disappointed, because I knew I could have done it much better. But I did not feel sad for long. I learnt something useful: it is better to do two things properly than four things badly. The next Saturday I made a small list in the morning and put a time against each thing, and that day went much better.

How to share well:

1. Stand where everybody can see you and speak a little louder than usual.
2. Begin with the day itself: “Last Saturday I wanted to do four things …”
3. Give your list, then your difficulty, then your feeling. Keep that order — it is easy to follow.
4. Finish with one sentence about what you learnt.
5. When a classmate is speaking, listen right to the end. Then you may say whether the same thing has happened to you.

Sample answer — what one child said to the class: “Last Saturday I wanted to do four things — finish my water project, play the cricket match, take my cousin to the fair and read my library book. I could not do them all, because each one needed an hour and I had only five. The hardest part was that my mind was never fully on the thing in front of me. By night I felt disappointed with my untidy chart. What I learnt is that I should choose two things and do them well, and that is what I do now. Has this happened to any of you?”