Practice Sheet 10TH BOARD BOOSTER 2.

0 2024
The Proposal and The Book that Saved Earth
Extract Based Questions: (A) Which Martian invasion is being referred to
1. NATALYA : What proposal? here?
CHUBUKOV : Why, he came here to propose to (B) Which book stopped the invasion ?
you. (C) What is an ‘encyclopedia’?
NATALYA : To propose? To me? Why didn’t you (D) Name the chapter and the author.
tell me so before?
CHUBUKOV : So he dresses up in evening
5. You may take it that I know whether I have the right
clothes. The stuffed sausage!
The wizen-faced frump! [CBSE 2014] or not. Because, young man, I’m not used to being
(A) Who is being referred to as ‘he’? spoken to in that tone of voice, and so on. I, young
(B) Why did he meet Chubukov? man, am twice your age, and ask you to speak to
(C) Find the word from the extract which means me without agitating yourself, and all that.
‘Make an offer of marriage to someone’. (A) Who is the speaker here?
(D) Who was dressed in as a stuffed sausage? (B) How did the speaker want Lomov to talk to
him?
2. Iota : I can’t figure it out, Captain. (holding up a (C) Find the word from the extract which means
book) I’ve counted two thousand of these peculiar ‘to disturb, excite or anger someone’.
items. This place must be some sort of storage barn.
(D) Name the play and the author.
[CBSE 2014]
(A) What could Iota not figure out?
6. Noodle : (bowing) O Great and Mighty Think-
(B) Where was Iota?
(C) Find the antonym of the word ‘ordinary’ in the Tank, most powerful and intelligent creature in the
extract. whole universe, what are your orders?
(D) What part of speech is ‘peculiar’ as used in the Think-Tank : (peevishly) You left out part of my
extract? salutation, Apprentice Noodle. Go over the whole
thing again.
3. Yes, yes I understand now. Since Earth creatures (A) Who is Noodle?
are always eating, the place in which you find (B) What does the extract reveal about Think-
yourselves is undoubtedly a crude refreshment Tank?
stand.
(C) Find a word from the extract which means
(A) Who is the speaker of these words?
‘feeling or showing irritation’.
(B) What was considered by the speaker ‘a crude
refreshment stand’? (D) What is the opposite of ‘powerful’?
(C) Write the opposite of ‘crude’?
(D) What are the Earth creatures always doing? 7. Think-Tank : It can’t be worth much, but go
ahead. Give us your trifling bit of data.
4. You haven’t heard about the Martian invasion of (A) Whom was Think-Tank addressing?
book 2040? Tsk, tsk. What do they teach children (B) What was the data?
now-a- days? Well, you know, the invasion never (C) Find the word in the extract which is a
really happened, because a single book stopped it.
synonym of ‘insignificant’.
What was the book, you ask? A noble
(D) What part of speech is ‘It’ as used in the
encyclopedia?
extract?

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Short Answer Type question: Long Answer Type question:
8. How does Lomov come to Chubukov’s house? 12. Compare and contrast the characters of Noodle and
What does he come for? How is he received?[ Think-Tank. [CBSE 2012]
[CBSE 2012]
13. The play, The Book That Saved the Earth’ conveys
9. Think-Tank thinks that Earthlings are after him. the message that misunderstanding of cultural
What is the reason? [CBSE 2015] differences between various races can cause
confusion and conflict. Based on your reading of
10. How did one old book of nursery rhymes save the the play, write how such confusion and conflicts
Earth from a Martian invasion? [CBSE 2011] can be checked so that peace and harmony is
OR maintained. [CBSE 2015]
How did a book change Think-Tank’s opinion
about the Earthlings? [CBSE 2014] 14. Justify the title ‘The Book that Saved the Earth’.

11. What did the historian say about the books ? 15. Neighbours must have a cordial relationship which
[Board Term-II, 2012 Set EL] Lomov and Natalya do not have. Describe the first
OR fight between them. [CBSE 2015]
Why was the twentieth century called the ‘era of
books’ ? [Board Term-II, 2012 Set EL]

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 ANSWER KEY
1. (Check Solution) 10. (Check Solution)
2. (Check Solution) 11. (Check Solution)
3. (Check Solution) 12. (Check Solution)
4. (Check Solution) 13. (Check Solution)
5. (Check Solution) 14. (Check Solution)
6. (Check Solution) 15. (Check Solution)
7. (Check Solution)
8. (Check Solution)
9. (Check Solution)

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 HINTS AND SOLUTIONS
1. (A) Lomov is being referred to as ‘he’ in (B) The data was that the earthlings did not
the extract. eat those ‘sandwiches’. They used them
(B) Lomov met Chubukov to ask for for communication.
Natalya’s hand. (C) The synonym of ‘insignificant’ in the
(C) ‘Propose’ from the extract means extract is ‘trifling’.
‘make an offer of marriage to (D) ‘It’ is a pronoun.
someone’.
(D) Lomov was dressed as a stuffed 8. Lomov came to Chubukov’s house in the evening
sausage. dress with gloves on. He came to propose to his
daughter Natalya. He is received with all the
2. (A) Iota could not figure out what the book was respect by Chubukov.
because he had never seen a book before.
(B) Iota was at Centerville Public 9. Think-Tank crew read about Humpty-Dumpty’s
Library on Earth. fall in the rhyme and showed the picture to Think-
(C) The antonym of ordinary is peculiar. Tank. Think-Tank’s head resembled that of
(D) It is an adjective. Humpty-Dumpty. This makes Think-Tank feel that
earthlings were planning to invade Mars and
3. (A) ‘Think-Tank’ is the speaker of these capture him.
words.
(B) He considered books as a crude 10. This book is totally misunderstood by the Martians.
refreshment stand. The Martians thought that earthlings were planning
(C) The opposite of ‘crude’ is ‘finished’. to invade Mars. So, they cancelled their invasion of
(D) The Earth creatures are always eating. Earth and went back. Think-Tank totally
misunderstood the book. Phrases like ‘shell’,
4. (A) Here, a historian is telling the students how ‘silver’, ‘garden’ gave him a false idea that
the earth has been invaded by Martians in earthlings grew silver and weapons. He starts
2040. thinking that earthlings are very advanced
(B) It was a book of nursery rhymes. technologically.
(C) Encyclopedia is a book or set of books
giving information on many subjects or 11. The twentieth century was called the ‘era of books’
on many aspects of one subject and because they were the encyclopedias of knowledge.
typically arranged alphabetically. There were books for everything—from ant-eaters
(D) ‘The Book that saved the Earth’ is written to Zulus. Books were used to educate people and
by Claire Boiko. teach them. In fact, books were a very important
part of the life of the people.

5. (A) Chubukov is the speaker here. 12. Noodle and Think-Tank have contrasting
(B) Chubukov wanted Lomov to speak to him characters. Think-Tank likes to be called the ‘Great
without agitating himself. and the Mighty’. He orders and commands. He is
(C) The word ‘agitating’ from the extract the ruler of Mars, but has no intelligence.
means ‘to disturb, excite or anger He thinks books are sandwiches. He is wrong about
someone’. everything. He demands that the crew obey him. He
(D) The name of the play is ‘The likes to pass on others’ ideas as his own. He is a
Proposal’ by Anton Chekhov. coward who simply boasts about his power.
Noodle, his apprentice, is very clever and wise. He
6. (A) Noodle is the apprentice to Think- Tank, corrects the mistakes of the ruler (Think-Tank)
the ruler of Mars. very gently. He never takes credit for his ideas. But
(B) The extract reveals Think-Tank to be a vain he offers them to the ruler very gently. Think-Tank
and egoistic creature. makes them as his own.
(C) ‘Peevishly’ from the extract means
‘feeling or showing irritation’. 13. The confusion in the mind of Think-Tank occurred
(D) Its opposite is ‘weak’. due to the literal interpretation of the nursery
rhymes in the book-‘Mother Goose’. To ensure that
7. (A) Think-Tank was addressing his apprentice, conflicts are checked so that peace and harmony are
Noodle. maintained, cultural differences should be sorted
out by initially sending mature and wise people

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 from one culture to the other to establish contact 15. Lomov and Natalya meet and rather than
before deciding to wage war. proposing to her he gets off the point. He tells her
Think-Tank had sent an initial probe, but the crew how he inherited his land and how he respects her
members of the probe were not sufficiently father. He also tells Natalya that his Oxen meadows
intelligent or mature to understand Earth’s culture. touch Natalya’s Birchwood. On hearing this,
That is why they literally interpreted the nursery Natalya says that Oxen Meadows are theirs. They
rhymes and caused misunderstanding in the mind start arguing about it. Lomov clarifies that he is
of Think-Tank. talking about the Oxen Meadows that are between
her Birchwoods and Burnt marsh. Natalya again
14. Martians planned to attack on earth. The ruler of insists that they are theirs.
Mars, Think Tank, instructed one of his Martian- Lomov refuses. He tells her that his aunt’s
Noodle to gather information about Earth. He saw grandmother gave those meadows to her father’s
that other three crew members—Captain Omega, grandfather. The peasants used the land for forty
Lieutenant Iota and Sergeant Oop found some years and started regarding it as their own.
books in Centerville Public Library. A book named Natalya’s father comes and also starts quarreling
‘Mother Goose’ contained nursery rhymes. Omega with Lomov. They get into a heated argument and
managed to read some nursery rhymes like resort to name-calling. After some time, Lomov
‘Mistress Mary’, ‘Humpty-Dumpty’, etc. Think leaves their house.
Tank misinterpreted the rhymes. He was shocked
to discover that metals could be grown in fields. He
also thought that earthlings are intelligent enough
in warfare and have advanced technology to grow
high exposures. On seeing the image of Humtpy-
Dumpty, he thought its head resembled that of his
own. He feared invasion on Mars by earthlings. So
he decided to migrate to Alpha Centauri, one
hundred million miles away from Mars. The
Martians fear the book till date. Hence, we can say
that the title ‘The Book that Saved the Earth’ is apt.

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