Class 9th  

Lesson 1 The fun they had    Isaacs Asimov 

About the author :   Isaac  asimov was born on 2nd January 1920 in Russia. His family moves to the 

United States when he was a toddler .His family owned a  series of Candy shops and called upon him to 

work in the store as a youngster . 

In 1949 Isaac Asimov began a stint at Boston University School of medicine ,where he was hired as an 

associate professor of biochemistry in 1955. He eventually became a professor at this University by the 

late 1970s . 

Asimov was a prolific and varied writer.  Apart from science fiction, he was also known for writing books 

on astronomy ,biology ,mathematics ,religion and literary biography .Over the course of his career, he 

won several Hugo and Nebula Awards. He also received several accolades from Science institutions .At 

the age of 72 , Asimov died in New York city on April 6 ,1992 from heart and kidney failure. 

Theme of the story 

The present story unfolds the picture of future schools where the mechanical teacher will teach the 

students and books will be meaningless. Actually, the students will learn only from the e‐books and the 

class tests will be conducted online .The Internet will have wide applications and the subjects like history 

and geography will be no more difficult for the students.They will get the hard books only kept in the 

library .Of course, this Future School will be quite different from our present school and the old school. 

Short summary (introduction) 

This story deals with a boy and a girl ,Tommy and Margie. They find out something about the school of 

the past .On 17th May 2157 ,Tommy ,a 13 year old boy finds a 'real book' in the attic which has been 

printed on paper Tommy and Margie both take a look at it. 

The Real Book:‐‐The book is really old and the pages are yellow and crinkly. In the year 2157 this kind of 

books will not exist anymore .At that time words will move on a TV screen . These TV's can contain over 

a million books. That is why Tommy thinks that they are much better than the old schools. 

Margie's hatred for school:‐ 

Tommy says that the book is about school .But Margie hates school and she does not understand why 

someone would write about it. She is having problems with learning geography from her 'mechanical 

teacher '. It is black ,large and has a screen on it .It teaches the students, gives them exercises and ask 

them questions. It works from a special room in her own house. It can also calculate the marks in no 

time. Margie hates this slot where she has to insert her homework and the test papers. Once the 

geography sector of the mechanical teacher was too quick, so she got worse marks than before.The 

County Inspector rebuilt it after 1 hour .He was nice to Margie. She hoped that her mechanical teacher 

would be taken away for a longer time like Tommy's. His history's sector blank out completely. 

Tommy's  opinion about the book:Tommy says that the book he has found is not about their type of 

school .Actually, it is about the school of the centuries ago. He finds that students in the past had a real 

man as a teacher who taught the boys and girls. He gave them homework and asked them questions. 

They had a special building and all children went to school. All of them learned the same thing. 

Margie's  opinion about the old school: 

First, Margie could not understand how a real man could be a teacher nor could she understand how 

every student were taught the same thing. Her mother says that education must fit each child's mind. 

But in her opinion, those schools were funny and she wants to read more about them. Now, it is time for 

Margie and Tommy for their school.  Margie goes into the schoolroom in her house, where the 

mechanical teacher stands. It is already waiting because the lessons are always at regular hours. She 

thinks about the old school and the fun the students had in them. 

Assignment for students 

1. Read your lesson twice and answer the following questions( in one word or in one sentence) 

A) How were the pages of the book? 

B) Who had been giving Margie test after test in geography? 

C) 'All stories were printed on paper '.Who spoke this sentence and to whom? 

D) Where did Margie's mother send Margie? 

E). Who was Mrs Jones? 

F) Why should a teacher be adjusted? 

G) How old are Margie and Tommy? 

H) What do you think a telebook is? 

I) What subjects did Margie and Tommy learn? 

J) How was Margie's overall pattern of progress? 

 

 

2. Make adverbs from these adjectives: 

A) angry 

B) happy 

C) Merry 

D) sleepy 

E) easy 

F) noisy 

G) tidy 

H) gloomy 

Now use these adverbs and make sentences of your own. 

3. The schools of the future will have no books and no teachers. Write speech for the motion or against 

the motion.( 100 to 120 words) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UNIT -2Self Management Skill -I

Unit 2 – Self Management Skills

• Self Control

• Self Confidence

• Self Awareness

• Self motivation

• Personal Hygiene

• Personal Grooming

• Problem –solving

• Goal setting

• Time management

• Team work

• Positive Attitude

Self-management

After writing an exam, have you ever felt that you should have studied more? Do you think that you could manage your hobbies, interests, and studies better if you could manage your time well?

Self-management involves understanding yourself, understanding what your interests and abilities are, having a positive attitude and grooming yourself in order to develop self-confidence

Self-management can also help in:

• Developing good habits

• Overcoming bad habits

• Reaching your goals

• Overcoming challenges and difficulties

Self-management skills include

Strength and Weakness Analysis

Identifying strengths

• Take time off to think about what you do well

• Think of anything that you are always good at

• Think about what others appreciate about you

Identifying weaknesses

• Point out the areas where you struggle and what you find difficult to do

• Look at the feedback you receive from others

• Be open to feedback and accept your weaknesses without feeling small about it. Look at it as an area of improvement.

Find your strengths and weaknesses

Difference between interests and abilities• Interests are the things that we enjoy doing.

• Ability, on the other hand, is an acquired or natural capacity that enables an individual to perform a particular job or task with considerable proficiency.

Self-confidence

• Self-confidence is a sense of trusting own’s abilities and self. If you are an intelligent, hardworking and talented person, but lack confidence, and avoid taking initiative, then it may be difficult for others to recognize your talent. Self-confidence can be developed through changes in attitude and practice.

Qualities of self-confident people

• Self-belief

• Hard Work

• Positive Attitude

• Commitment

Building self-confidence

Factors that decrease self confidence

(a) When we think we cannot do a particular work.

(b) When we keep thinking of our past mistakes and feel bad about it, instead of learning from them.

(c) When we expect to be successful at the first attempt itself and do not try again.

(d) When we are surrounded by people who have a negative attitude, which is reflected in their speech.

Positive thinking and its importance

A person’s attitude can be considered either ‘positive’ or ‘negative’. Positive thinking requires a person to look at the good in things, observe, understand and patiently work towards improving them rather than worrying and/or looking for the bad in things. Positive thinking leads to good results for you like

• overcoming challenges,

• making you do well or making you an energetic individual,

• helping you get better at work, and

• making you and people around you happy.

How to keep your thinking positive?

Self Management Skills for student

• Become more organized

• Achieve their academic goals

• Priorities their work

• Develop good habits

• Control and reduce bad habits

• Overcome challenges and disputes

Personal hygiene is important because, it helps us• stay healthy.

• create a good image of ourselves.

• avoid feeling ashamed in public due to our bad

breadth, body odor etc.

Personal Hygiene Awareness

Toilet Hygiene

Nail Hygiene

Oral Hygiene

Hand Hygiene

Hair Hygiene

Skin Hygiene

Ear Hygiene

Cloth Hygiene

Three steps to personal hygiene

Grooming and its Importance

Dressing is the action of putting on clothes. Grooming is the process of making yourself look neat, tidy and smart. The way you dress, and groom can either send the message that you are confident, smart and sincere or possess opposite qualities.

Dressing and grooming are important because they help us

• look smart

• feel confident about ourselves

• make a good impression of ourselves

Guidelines for dressing and grooming

Clothes should be clean, neat, and ironed

Shoes should be clean and polished

Change socks everyday and always wear clean socks

Keep accessories like belts, jewellery, etc., simple

In certain jobs display of bodily tatoos and piercing is not accepted

Hair should be washed regularly to keep clean

Simple hair styles and well combed hair gives a smart look

Face looks clean if you shave regularly

Moustache should be neatly trimmed

Teeth should be kept clean, without any stains

Brush the teeth twice a day to maintain dental hygiene

Avoid eating Paan or chewing betle.

Short answer questions

• Write a short note on the factors influencing self management.

• List any 05 self-management skills.

• Draw an outline of your right hand and label each finger with different factors that influence you in managing yourself.

• What are the factors that affect self-confidence?

• List three things you will do for personal grooming in each of CARE, WASH and AVOID to keep clean.

Multiple choice questions

1. Which of the following is not a self-management skill?

(a) Problem solving

(b) Bargaining

(c) Understanding self

(d) Confidence building

2. Grooming is a term associated with

(a) time management

(b) problem solving

(c) neat and clean appearance

(d) self-management

Multiple choice questions

3.What steps should one take to build confidence?

(a) Set goals in life

(b) Appreciate oneself for all the achievements

(c) Always think positively

(d) Talk to people who are confident

4. Which of the following is a quality of a self-confident person?

(a) Patient

(b) Compassionate

(c) Committed

(d) Passionate

Multiple choice questions5. What is the best way to start our day positively?

(a) Think about all that can go wrong.

(b) Think about the difficult test you will face during the day.

(c) Think about all your accomplishment so far and feel good about it.

(d) Think about the traffic on the road and feel stressed.

6. Rahul gets feedback on his project work from his class teacher. Which of these options demonstrates positive attitude in this situation?

(a) Rahul ignores the feedback.

(b) Rahul takes the feedback but does not use it.

(c) Rahul tells others that the teacher is wrong.

(d) Rahul learns from the feedback and makes his project work better.

7. What can you do to get rid of negative thoughts or feelings?

(a) Meditate to calm down and feel positive.

(b) Ignore them and move on in life.

(c) Act based on the negative thoughts or feelings.

(d) Talk to a friend and share all your negative feelings.‘

Multiple choice questions

8. Do you think people living in hill stations can skip taking a bath for many days?

(a) No, irrespective of the climate, one should take a bath regularly.

(b) Yes, not taking bath for many days is acceptable for people staying in cold climate.

(c) Yes, if they wipe themselves with a wet cloth, then it is fine.

(d) None of the above

9. Radha wants to grow her hair and she applies a lot of hair oil. She does not wash her hair for days and sometimes it smells bad too. What would be your suggestion to her?

(a) She can leave the oil in her hair, after all it helps her hair to grow.

(b) She can leave it on at night and wash her hair every day before leaving home.

(c) She should not apply the oil at all.

(d) She can apply the oil and pour a little water on her hair before leaving home to reduce the smell.

Multiple choice questions10. Dressing and grooming are important because they help us to look_____________________.

(a) smart

(b) untidy

(c) shabby

(d) All of the above

11. The following image is an example of _________________ shirt.

(a) informal

(b) formal

(c) Both of the above

(d) None of the above

12. The following image is an example of _________________ T-shirt.

(a) informal

(b) formal

(c) Both of the above

(d) None of the above

NotesCompliment: a polite way of saying something good about someone

Express: to show

Goal Setting: a way of finding out what we want to achieve in life

Gratitude: being grateful towards something or someone

Grooming: the things that you do to make your appearance clean and neat

Guidelines: a general rule, principle or piece of advice

Imagine: forming a picture of or about something in your mind

Impression: an idea, a feeling or an opinion about something or someone

Presentable: clean, smart and decent enough to be seen in public

Qualities: a distinctive attribute or characteristic possessed by someone or something

Receptionist: a person who is employed to receive and help the guests in a hotel

Lesson 2  The sound of Music‐‐‐ Deborah Cowley 

About the author ‐‐. Deborah Cowley was born in India, grew up in Toronto ,Canada graduated in 

theEnglish from the University of Western Ontario and moved to Ottawa for a job with the Unitarian 

Service Committee. She then spent two years with the United Nations  Relief and Works Agency 

( UNRWA) in Beirut, Lebanon before moving back to Ottawa to join the Canadian International 

Development Agency (CIDA).  

Her broadcasting career began when she was posted to Washington with her husband .She worked as a 

freelance reporter for CBC radio. When she and her husband were posted to Cairo , Egypt, she was 

commissioned to write first official guide book of Cairo and is currently in its 17th edition. Subsequently 

postings to London and Brussels gave Deborah the opportunity to write articles for the British and 

International editions of  Reader's Digest . 

Part 1 Evelyn Glennie listens to sound without hearing it. 

THEME OF THE STORY      Evelyn Glennie is a multi percussionists. She can play about 1000 instruments 

with perfection. She listens to sound without hearing it. Evelyn fought againsts a physical disability and 

became a source of inspiration for thousands of disabled persons. 

Short Summary 

Early life of Evelyn: Evelyn was profoundly deaf.  She was 11 years old when she was discovered that she 

had the hearing disability. She wanted to pursue her career in music but her teachers discouraged her.It 

was a Ron Forbes who recognized her potential and supported her in achieving her goal. He advised her 

not to listen through her ears but try to sense and feel it in some other way. Soon she was excited. She 

felt the vibrations of higher drum from the waist above and lower drum  from the waist down . Later she 

realised that she could feel the vibrations in her every part of her body. These tingled in  her skin, her 

cheekbones and even hair. She had learned to open her body and mind to the sounds and 

vibrations .After that ,she never looked back. 

Achievements of Evelyn:. Evelyn joined the prestigious Royal Academy of Music and scored the highest 

marks in the history of the academy. She worked with strong determination. 

Source of inspiration for deaf children:. She got right to the top. In 1991, she was presented with the 

Royal Philharmonic Society's prestigious soloist of the year award. Apart from the regular concerts, 

Evelyn gave free concerts in prisons and hospitals. She is a shining inspiration for deaf children.she 

accomplished more than most people twice her age do. She earned name in Orchestra. She inspired 

handicapped and made them believe if she could do that, why they cannot. 

Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow: 

1.  Evelyn Glennie's loss of hearing had been gradual. Her mother remembers noticing something was 

wrong when the eight ‐ year‐ old Evelyn was waiting to play the piano."They called her name and she 

didn't move. I suddenly realised she hadn't heard,"says Isabel Glennie. 

Questions: 

a) Did Evelyn Glennie's loss of hearing occur  all of a sudden? 

b) How old was she when her mother realised her deafness? 

c) Why did Evelyn Glennie not move to play the piano? 

d) How did her mother realise that Evelyn did not hear her name? 

Answers: 

a) No, her loss of hearing had been gradual. 

b) She was eight years old when she realised her deafness. 

C) Evelyn Glennie did not move to play the piano because she did not hear her name. 

d) When her  friends called her name she did not move. 

2. " Don't listen through your ears," he would say, " Try to sense it some other way." Says Evelyn, 

"Suddenly I realised I could feel the higher drum from the waist up and the lower one from the waist 

down." Forbes repeated  the exercise and soon Evelyn discovered that she could sense certain notes in 

different parts of her body. 

a) What advice did Ron Forbes give to Evelyn? 

b) What did Evelyn realise all of a  sudden? 

c) What sort of exercise did Forbes repeat? 

d) How did Evelyn sense the notes? 

Answers: 

a) Ron Forbes advised Evelyn not to listen to sound through her ears instead try to sense  it some other 

way . 

b) She suddenly realised the sound of higher drum from the waist up and the lower one from the waist 

down. 

c) Forbes played some notes on drums. 

d) She sensed the notes through different parts of her body. 

3..        Do the back exercise of the lesson ? 

Part 2 The Shahnai of Bismillah Khan 

Theme of the Story: There is no substitution to hard work and dedication.The people who reached the 

Zenith of life were endowed with such qualities. Such persons need to be down to earth in spite of 

achieving all the success in life. 

Short Summary: Introduction :‐‐ The shehnai is the improved form of pungi. Pungi was a musical 

instrument. It was banned by emperor Aurangzeb for its unpleasant sound. But a barber decided to 

improve the tonal quality of the pungi. Later when it was improved and played on it produced soft and 

melodious sounds. 

Early days of Bismillah Khan : ‐‐ Bismillah Khan was born on 21 March,1916 in a well known family of 

musicians. His family lived in Bihar. Rasul Bux Khan was his grandfather and the Shehnai Nawaz of the 

Bhojpur  King's court. His father, Paigambar Bux was also a great shehnai player. 

When he was a five years old boy, he used to play gilli‐ danda near a pond of Dumraon. He often visited 

the Bihari temple to sing the Bhojpur ' Chaita'. At the end the local Maharaja used to give him a very big 

laddu as a reward. 

Bismillah' s introduction with Ali Bux: Ali Bux was his maternal uncle who lived in Benaras / Varanasi.  

When he went there with his mother,he watched his uncle practise the shehnai and was extremely 

fascinated. Ali Bux was employed as a shehnai player in the Vishnu temple of Benaras. He started 

learning shehnai from him. Slowly he received lessons in playing this instrument from him. Later he used 

to play shehnai throughout the day . The temples of Balaji and Mangala Maiya and the Banks of the 

Ganga were the favourite places for this young apprentice. 

Achievements of Bismillah Khan:. When he was fourteen‐ years old, he accompanied his uncle to the 

Allahabad Music Conference. In 1938 , he was selected for the All India Radio, Lucknow.He was the first 

Indian to greet freedom with shehnai on 15 th August, 1947.The king of Afghanistan was fascinated with 

his music. The film director Vijay Bhatt named a film after this instrument called ' Gunj Uthi Shehnai' and 

his own composition " Dil ka khilona hai toot gaya..." became a nation wide chart buster.But he was not 

attracted towards films. 

He was the first Indian to be invited to perform at the prestigious Lincoln Centre Hall in the United 

States of America. He also participated in the World Exposition in Montreal and the Osaka Trade Fair. He 

was awarded with the Padmashri, the  Padma Bhushan and the Padma Vibhushan.Finally in the year 

2001 he was awarded the Bharat Ratna.On this occasion he said,"Teach your children music, this is 

Hindustan's richest tradition ."  

His love for the country: He had travelled all over the world . Still he was greatly attached to Benaras and 

Dumraon. He was unable to forget the sound made by the Ganga in Benaras and the mattha of 

Dumraon 

 He had no desire to be settled in the foreign countries. He was the perfect example of rich, cultural 

heritage of India. 

Reference to Context 

Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow:‐‐ 

1.  The  sound of the shehnai began to be considered auspicious. And for this the reason it is  still played 

in temples and is an indispensable component of any North Indian wedding. In the past, the shehnai was 

part of the naubat or traditional ensemble of nine instruments found at Royal courts. 

Questions: 

a) What did the sound of the Shehnai begin to be considered? 

b) When is an indispensable component of any North Indian wedding? 

c) When and where is the shehnai generally played? 

d) What was the shehnai part of in the past? 

Answers: 

a) The sound of the shehnai began to be considered as auspicious. 

b) Playing on the shehnai is an indispensable component of any North Indian wedding. 

c) Shehnai is generally played in temples and wedding. 

d) In the past, the shehnai was the part of the naubat or traditional ensemble. 

2.  He poured his heart out into Raag Kafi from the Red Fort to an audience which included Pandit 

Jawaharlal Nehru, who later gave his famous' Tryst with Destiny' speech. Bismillah Khan has given many 

memorable performances both in India and abroad. 

Questions:‐‐ 

a) ' He poured his heart out into Raag Kafi.' Explain. 

b)   Who was the Prime Minister of India when Khan greeted the nation with his shehnai from the Red 

Fort? 

c). Name the speech given by Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru at the Red Fort on 15 August 1947. 

d)  Were Bismillah Khan's performances limited to India? 

Answers: 

a)  It means he played his shehnai on raag Kafi wholeheartedly. 

b). Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister of India at that time. 

c). ' Tryst with Destiny' . 

d). No, his performances were appreciated in aboard also. 

Answer all the questions given at back of the lesson. 

Extra Questions:‐‐. Evelyn Glennie 

a)  How was Evelyn a source of great pleasure for audience? 

b)  Why was Evelyn nervous while on the way to the Royal Academy of Music? 

c). How did Evelyn's parents come to know about deafness? 

d)  Why did Evelyn say that men with bushy beards gave her trouble? 

Ustad Bismillah Khan 

a). What do people fondly call Bismillah? 

b). Where did the young Bismillah Khan practice the musical instrument? 

c). What did Bismillah invent? 

d). How was 'Pungi ' named Shehnai?