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A VILLAGE CRICKET MATCH A.G. - Class 10 1st Language English Textbook Solutions

 ENGLISH FIRST LANGUAGE
PROSE: - A VILLAGE CRICKET MATCH A.G.

MACDONELL  

I. About the Author


A.  G.  Macdonell    (1895–1941)  British  novelist,  born in India, educated at Winchester. Following two years of  active  service  in  Flanders,  he  was  invalided  out  of the  army  in  1918  and  rapidly  established  himself  as  a freelance  journalist,  becoming  drama  critic  for  the London Mercury in 1919. From 1922 to 1927 he was a member  of  staff  with  the  League  of  Nations;  he subsequently  produced  a  succession  of  thrillers  using the pseudonyms ‘Neil Gordon’ and ‘John Cameron’.   England,  Their  England,  the  first  of  his  books  to appear  under  his  own  name,  was  published  in  1933; the work's good-humoured but incisive satire of a wide range of English institutions appealed to the prevailing disillusionment  of  the  time  and  earned  Macdonell considerable  renown.  Class  pretensions  and  political insincerity  were  among  the  chief  targets  of  the elegantly  written  and  memorably  comic  novel Autobiography of a Cad (1938).   His  numerous other works include the  historical study Napoleon  and  His  Marshalls  (1934),  the  short  stories of The Spanish Pistol (1939), and the novels How Like an  Angel  (1934),  What  Next  Baby?  (1939),  and  The Crew  of  the  Anaconda  (1940).  Macdonell  also contributed  regularly  to  the  Observer  and  made  a highly  valued  series  of  broadcasts  for  the  BBC's Empire  Service  in  1940,  applying  his  keenly  satirical sense of the absurd to undermining the claims of  Nazi propaganda.  

 I. Question and Answers

1. Name the two teams.  
Ans:  - 
The  two  teams  were  in  the  Scottish  and  the English teams.   

2.  Name  the  fielders  in  the  field  mentioned  in paragraph 1.  
Ans:  -
  The  fielders  mentioned  are  Mr.  Shakespeare Pollock, Mr. Southcott and Mr. Hodge.   

3.  What  behaviour  of  Livingstone,  Pollock  and Southcott show that they are tense?  
Ans:
- Livingstone was  balancing  himself on  his  toes. Pollock  hopped  about  almost  on  top  of  the  batsman and breathed excitedly. Southcott was chewing steadily ban some piece of grass.  

4.  What  is  the  humorous  reference  to  the  Major  in the first paragraph?  
Ans:
- The humorous reference to the major  is that he had already downed a quartan a half of drinks.   

5.  Why  didn't  Sexton  and  the  postman  take  a  run when it was possible?  
Ans:  -
  The  sexton  was  old,  therefore  was  of  cautious nature and the postman was a government official who did not take any risks. Therefore they both did not take a run when it was possible.   

6. How does the writer take a dig at the government officials?  
Ans: 
-  The  writer  mocks  at  the  government  officials that  they  never  do  any  work  citing  the  reason  of  not wanting to take any risks.  

7.  The  ball  struck  powerfully  by  the  Sexton  went straight and hit Boone's stomach. 
a. What comparison does the writer make?  
Ans:  - 
The  writer  compares  the  ball  striking powerfully  and  hitting  Boone's  stomach  as  a thunderbolt  striking  him  in  the  midriff  like  a  red-hot cannonball upon a Spanish galleon.   

b. What is humorous about the comparison?  
Ans:  - 
Comparing  a  red  cricket  ball  to  a  red-hot cannonball is very humorous.   

8. Why was Boone angry after catching the ball?  
Ans:  -
  Boone  was  angry  even  after  catching  the  ball because  it  had  hit  his  midriff  very  hard  causing  great pain.  

9. a. What is the chief invention of Sir Isaac Newton referred to here?  
Ans:  - 
The  chief  invention  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton referred to here is the Theory of Gravity.   

b.  What  does  the  ball  in  the  sky"  battling  against the chief invention" mean here?  
Ans: -
It means that according to the theory of gravity, the  ball  had  to  crash  down  immediately,  but  it  defied gravity  and  remained  suspended  in  the  air  for  quite some time before falling down.   

10.  Who  ran  like  "a  pair  of  high-stepping hackneys"?  
Ans: -
The blacksmith and the  baker ran  like a pair of high-stepping hackneys.

11.  a.  Why  were  the  three  batsmen  running  for  a run?  
Ans: -
The  ball  hit  by the  blacksmith  went high  up  in the  air  and  fell  back  quite  slowly.  Therefore  the batsman  the  blacksmith,  the  baker  who  was  his substitute  runner  and  Joe  began  running  for  getting  a run.   

b. How were they running?  
Ans: -
All the three had their heads turned towards the balling  ball,  and  did  not  notice  the  batsman  running from  the  other  end  they  also  did  not  see  where  they were  going.  Therefore  they  crashed  into  one  another and fell down.   

12. What fatal mistake did Hodge make?  
Ans:  - 
Initially,  Hodge  ordered  Livingstone  to  catch the  falling  ball.  Then  he  remembered  Livingstone's two  missed  catches  and  so  reversed  his  decision  and roared  to  Bobby  to  catch  it  that  was  the  fatal  mistake committed  by  him  because  Livingstone  had  not  heard the second-order of Hodge and continued running and all crashed together.  

13. How did Mr. Pollock finally catch the ball?  
Ans:  - 
The  ball  landed  on  the  head  of  the  professor and  it  leapt  up  into  the  air  a  foot  or  so,  hit  Boone's head  and  trickled  slowly  down  the  wicket  keeper's broad  back.  When  it  was  only  a  foot  from  the  ground Mr. Pollock sprang with a loud roar and grabbed it off the seat of the wicket keeper's trousers.   

14. The writer  says that  Mr. Hodge disagreed  with Napoleon's dictum.  
a. What was Napoleon's dictum?  
Ans:  -
  Napoleon  laid  a  dictum  that  it  was  impossible to have too many men upon a battlefield but used to do everything in his power to call up every available man for a battle.   

b. How did Mr. Hodge disagree with the dictum?  
Ans: -
When Mr. Hodge saw his fielders getting ready to  catch the  descending  ball,  he  disagreed  with  the dictum  that  it  was  bad  to  have  too  many  men  in  the field.  

15. Who won the match?  
Ans: -
Neither of the teams won the match. It ended in a tie.
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