Summary Writing
Question 1. Make a summary of the following passage.
A man had a cat which usually slept in the kitchen at night.
One day at about 3 o’clock in the morning it came to its master’s bedroom and began to mew in order to wake him up. But his sleep was too deep to be disturbed by the cat’s mewing.
It then got upon the bed and put one of its feet on his face near the left ear. The man once woke up and saw the cat running towards the kitchen. He followed it to the kitchen and found a thief quietly gathering the utensils that were in the room.
He caught the thief from behind and called his neighbours by raising a hue and cry. The intelligent cat had seen the thief entering the kitchen and had gone at once to tell its master. If it had not done so, the man would have lost all his valuable utensils.
Read and Learn More WBBSE Solutions for Class 9 English Bliss
Answer: A cat used to sleep at night in its master’s kitchen. One night it saw a thief entering the kitchen. It at once ran to its master, sprang upon his bed and touched his face to wake him up. The master woke up and followed the cat that was running towards the kitchen. Coming to the kitchen, he caught the thief from behind. It was the intelligence of the cat that saved the valuable utensils of his master.
Question 2. Make a summary of the following passage.
On a summer evening, a fisherman met a plainly dressed lady walking alone on the beach.
He ventured to accost her, saying that he had a petition that he wished to present to the Duchess de Berri, but that he did not know how to proceed in order to do so.
“ Did you ever see the Duchess?” asked the lady. “No,” was the answer, “but I am told she is very ugly.” “Give me the petition at all events,” said the questioner, and it shall be placed in the hands of the princess herself.” The fisherman complied with the request and, a few days later, was summoned to the villa of the Duchess.
What was his dismay, on being introduced to the presence of the princess, to find that she was the very person to whom he had given the petition? He commenced to stammer forth some incoherent excuses, but the princess interrupted him.
“Your petition is granted,” said she smiling, “and henceforth, when people say that the Duchess has an ugly face, do you add, but she has also a kind heart.”
Answer: A fisherman told a lady walking on the beach that he had a petition to present to the Duchess, but he did not know how to proceed. The lady asked him if he had ever seen the Duchess. The fisherman replied that he had not. He only heard that she was very ugly.
The lady took the petition and assured him that it would be placed in the hands of the Duchess. After a few days when the fisherman was summoned to the palace, he saw, to his great astonishment, that the Duchess was that very lady to whom he had given the petition.
The Duchess granted his petition and asked him to tell people that the Duchess was ugly, but she was kind-hearted.
Question 3. Make a summary of the following passage.
Once there came to sing at king Vikramaditya’s court a blind bard from Persia.
The king was greatly pleased to hear the poet’s songs. He applauded and burst forth, “Tell me what you desire and you shall have your wish. Your song has enchanted me.” Bowing low the bard said, “ By the grace of our Lord, I have all I may require for myself.
But if your Majesty may grant me ten thousand gold pieces, I shall go back to my country and start an academy of arts there.” King Vikramaditya was very happy to hear this, for he himself was a great patron of the arts. He immediately asked his treasurer to give the poet ten thousand gold pieces.
Answer: Once a blind poet from Persia came to king Vikramaditya’s court. The king was pleased as well as enchanted to hear his songs. He asked the poet to tell him what he desired.
The poet wanted nothing for himself. He requested the king to give him ten thousand gold coins so that he might set up an academy of arts in his own country. Himself a patron of arts, the king gladly granted his prayer.
Question 4. Make a summary of the following passage.
A poor woman once came to Buddha to ask him whether he could give her any medicine to restore her dead child to life. The holy man, touched by the great sorrow of the woman, told her that there was only one medicine that could revive her son.
He bade her bring him a handful of mustard seeds from a house where death had never entered. The sorrowing mother went from door to door seeking the mustard seeds, but at every door, she met with sad replies. One said, “ I have lost my husband.” Another said, “Our youngest child died last year.”
She returned with a heavy heart to the teacher and told him the result of her quest. Then Buddha told her gently and tenderly that she must not think much of her own grief, since sorrow and death are common to all.
Answer: Once a poor woman came to Buddha and requested him to restore her dead child to life. Buddha asked her to bring some mustard seeds from a house where death had never occurred. The woman moved from door to door, but she found no such house.
At last, she returned and told Buddha all about her fruitless quest. He then advised her to accept death as the inevitable(TRft^f) end of human life and not to grieve over her dead child.
Question 5. Make a summary of the following passage.
Antonio was the kindest man that lived, the best conditioned, and had the most unwearied spirit in doing courtesies; indeed he was one in whom the ancient Roman honour more appeared than in any that drew breath in Italy. He was greatly beloved by all his fellow citizens; but the friend who was nearest and dearest to his heart was Bassanio, a noble Venetian,
who had but a small patrimony and had nearly exhausted his little fortune by living in too expensive a manner for his slender means, as young men of high rank with small fortune are too apt to do. Whenever Bassanio wanted money, Antonio assisted, and it seemed as if they had but one heart and one purse between them.
Answer: Antonio was the kindest and most honourable of men of his time. He was very much loved and liked by all his fellow citizens for his unwearied spirit of doing good to others. His dearest friend was Bassanio, a noble Venetian.
Bassanio inherited little torture which he lost by his extravagant manner of living. Whenever he was in distress and needed money, Antonio helped him generously without the slightest hesitation on his part.
Question 6. Make a summary of the following passage.
Long afterwards, when the name of Nelson was known as widely as that of England itself, he spoke of the feelings which he endured. “I felt depressed,” said he, “with a feeling that I should never rise in my profession. My mind was staggered with a view of the difficulties I had to surmount, and the little interest I possessed.
I could discover no means of reaching the object of my ambition. After a long and gloomy reverie, in which I almost wished myself overboard, a sudden glow of patriotism was kindled within me, and presented my king and country as my patron.”
“ Well then”, I exclaimed, “ I will be a hero and confiding in Providence, brave every danger!”
Answer: Entering the navy, Nelson was at first overcome with a feeling of hopelessness and despondency He found not the slightest ray of hope before him.
He thought that it would never be possible for him to shine in life. After a long period of gloom and despair, his pessimism began to disappear. His heart was filled with lovely patriotism and he firmly resolved to face every danger like a true hero.
Question 7. Make a summary of the following passage.
The Santals preserve two features of an early stage of civilization. Though now for the most part settled cultivators, they excel in clearing forests and have special skills in converting jungles and wasteland into fertile ricefields.
When through their own labour the spread of cultivation has effected denudation they select a new site, however prosperous they may have been on the old, and retire into backwoods, where their harmonious flutes sound sweeter, their drums find deeper echoes, and their bows and arrows may once more be utilized.
In the second place, they are ardent hunters, as destructive of the game as of the jungle. The happiest day in the year is that on which they have a common hunt, when, armed with spears, axes, bows and arrows, clubs, sticks and stones, they beat through the jungle in thousands killing every beast and the bird they come across.
In their ordinary dealings, they display a cheerfulness which is refreshing to a European accustomed to the somewhat gloomy denizen (Pidi’Hl) of the plains. Their word is their bond, and a knot on a string is as good as a receipt. They are plucky to a degree.
Answer: The Santals can be said to have become only partially civilized nowadays because they still retain two chief characteristics of the primitive people.
In the first place, they show their great dexterity in clearing jungles and are always fond of living in the vicinity of jungles, where they find a very congenial atmosphere for their musical pursuits.
In the second place, they possess great courage and are experts in hunting and find great pleasure in pursuing the chase. To the Europeans, their cheerful disposition forms an agreeable contrast to the prevailing sadness of the people of the plains.
Question 8. Make a summary of the following passage.
Old people say that childhood is the best part of life. They look back at their childhood and remember all its days – the jolly games, the long rambles in the country, the fun, they had at school, the kind father and mother and the little sisters and brothers, the old home, the sweets and cakes they used to eat, the jokes they used to play and the presents they got.
Perhaps these old folk are right. And yet I think they forget many things that were not so pleasant in their childhood. Perhaps if some Fairy took them at their word and turned them into childhood again, they would not like it.
There is a funny story called vice versa (which means “turned the other way round”) that tells of a boy who was crying because he had to go back to school after the holidays and his father scolded him and said, “Why, I only wish I could be a boy and go to school again.”
And the Fairy heard him and all in a moment the father was a little boy and the son was a grown-up man like his father. And the father, in the shape of a little boy, had to go to school; and I can tell you he did not like it at all. A child’s troubles may seem small to grown-up people, but they are very big to him.
Answer: Some grown-up people remember only the happy and cheerful days of their childhood – the fun, frolic, the pleasant things they enjoyed at school as well as at home and the good treatment they received from their loving parents. But they forget the unpleasant things they experienced in their childhood days.
If they got back their childhood like the father in the fairy tale, they would not perhaps like it, just as the father, in the shape of a little boy, disliked going to school. A child’s joy is not an unmixed one. A child has immense joys no doubt (free), but it has its troubles too.
Question 9. Make a summary of the following passage.
When anyone is ill, he is looked after by a doctor and probably a nurse and it is very likely that he will be sent to a hospital. There he will be put to bed in a large airy room or ward.
He will have nurses to take care of him, make his bed, give him wholesome food, and help him to get well and strong again in a very short time.
The hospital will be a large and very carefully planned building, where nothing is allowed to get dirty and where all work is done in a quite orderly fashion. The doctors and nurses are all thoroughly trained men and women whose only purpose is to see that the many patients in their care get well as soon as possible.
Such is the modern hospital. Almost every town of any size has one of its own and if it has not, someone is sure to be planning one for it. There are so many hospitals which take only men and women with special kinds of diseases.
But every hospital in every part of the world has nearly the same standards of cleanliness, order and kindness. Everywhere the men and women who work in these hospitals devote their lives to fighting diseases of all kinds.
Two hundred years ago there were very few hospitals. Doctors were few, for all the skilful doctors preferred attending to wealthy private patients. Nurses were not trained but were usually poor women who could find nothing better to do.
No woman of good birth would dream of becoming a nurse. To do so would be to disgrace herself and her family. But things have changed altogether nowadays.
Answer: Modern hospitals are by far superior to those of two centuries ago. The number of hospitals has also increased considerably. Standards of cleanliness, comfort and service in hospitals have greatly improved.
The hospital buildings are large and well-planned, and the rooms for the patients are spacious and airy. All work is done very carefully and methodically. Doctors and nurses are well-trained and imbued with a spirit of rendering selfless service to patients.
But two hundred years ago the picture was completely different. The number of doctors and nurses was hopelessly inadequate. Besides, there were two great drawbacks to old hospitals.
One was the mercenary motive of the doctors who bestowed their service only on rich patients. The other was the social prejudice against the profession of a nurse. These are now gone.
Question 10. Make a summary of the following passage.
Who can describe the horrors of a voyage in a tropical climate where no land is seen week after week, while the hot sun pours fiercely down upon the salt water, dazzling the eyes of the sailors; when the victuals fall short and only salt meat and rotten maggoty biscuits are left to appease the growing pangs of hunger; when every day a sailor is added to the sick list,
while red blotches appear all over his skin and his gums begin to bleed so that the doctor shakes his head mournfully and mutters, “scurvy”! When every now and again the captain reads the burial service over some poor lad whose body is cast overboard,
while the sailors stare gloomily and ask, “who will be the next?” when the captain sits in his cabin studying his chart, or stands on deck straining his eyes for land, and wonders how long it will be before the half-starved scurvy-stricken and woe-begone crew break out into open mutiny? He who can imagine all this can realise the sufferings of Cook and his sailors.
Answer: A voyage through the tropical South seas is a very terrible affair, causing unbearable suffering to the sailors. What they see every day around them is only diseases, pangs of hunger, extreme physical pain and deaths. Often no land can be seen for days together.
The scorching rays of the sun dazzle the eyes of the sailors. They have to depend upon salt meat and rotten biscuits for want of a supply of fresh food. The result is that there are many illnesses leading to sure deaths. The captain helplessly wonders how long their sufferings will continue. Cook and his companions had to undergo all these terrible sufferings.
Question 11. Make a summary of the following passage.
If we should profit from our study, we must be careful not only to select proper books but also to pursue them right. The same book will affect the readers differently according to the purpose with which they read it. The butterfly sits over the flower bed, gathering nothing; the spider collects poison from it; but the bee finds and stores up honey.
So, the object for which we go to a book will determine the kind of fruit it will yield us. The same volume may be made to minister to instruction to rational amusement or to a mere morbid love of excitement. The child takes off the lid of the tea kettle for sport, the housewife for use – but James Watt for science, which ended in the invention of the steam engine.
Answer: In order to profit from our study, we should attach equal importance to the right method of reading and the right selection of books. The same book may influence different readers in different ways according to their moods, tastes and intellectual equipment.
To a child, the lid of a tea kettle is like a. toy to play with, but James Watt used it in his invention of the steam engine. Similarly, the same book may render instructions to one and mere childish sensations to another. So, the purpose of the reader determines what he will receive from the book he reads.
Question 12. Make a summary of the following passage.
It is almost a definition of a gentleman to say that he is one who never inflicts pain. The description is both refined and as far as it goes, accurate. He is mainly occupied with removing the obstacles which hinder the free action of those around him and he concurs with their movements rather than taking the initiative himself.
The true gentleman carefully avoids whatever may cause a jar or a jolt in the minds of those with whom he is the cast-all clashing of opinion, or collision of feeling, all restraint or suspicion or gloom or resentment; his great concern being to make everyone at his ease and at home.
He has his eyes on all his company; he is tender towards the bashful and gentle towards the absurd; he can recollect to whom he is speaking; he guards against unreasonable allusions or topics, which may irritate; he is seldom prominent in conversations, and never wearisome. He makes light favours while he does them and seems to be receiving when he is conferring.
He never speaks of himself except when compelled, never defends himself by a mere retort, has no ears for slander or gossip, is scrupulous in imputing motives to those who interfere with him, and interprets everything for the best.
Answer: A true gentleman is one who never causes trouble or inflicts pain on others; rather he is eager to help others and remove their difficulties. He respects the feelings and opinions of others and never does any such thing as may hurt them. He is never unscrupulous or arrogant or self-assertive.
He never unnecessarily speaks of himself. He does so only when he is compelled. He is tender and merciful, careful and pleasing in his talks. Slander or gossip is not for him, and jealousy is foreign to his nature. He is gentle and polite, and to him everything is good.
Question 13. Make a summary of the following passage.
A useful book always teaches us something-in fact many things, directly or indirectly, if the mind is willing to learn. Books are the best company, they also give us the best society. They help us in establishing contact with many great men. We hear what such men said and did through books we even see them as if they were really alive. As we read, we share great thoughts with great minds, we hope and grieve with great men.
The scenes in which they appeared are described for us, and as we turn the pages, we come to know what nobleness is. Books work as agents and help us in being better than we are. Even in books on the lives of common men, the power of literature is strongly felt. Such works help us in understanding life. Books should be regarded as friends and guides.
Answer: Books make us feel the power of literature. This power elevates us upwards and helps us in understanding life. Books introduce us to the best society and bring us into the presence of great minds. Through books, we become participators in their thoughts and dreams.
We hope and grieve with them. In this, we are made better men. This is the ennobling (3TM) influence of books. Indeed, there are no better friends or guides of ours than books.
Question 14. Make a summary of the following passage.
Among all living creatures in the world, only human beings have the power and means to destroy the ecological system surrounding them. Of course, they may be excused for doing so on the ground of bringing about greater benefit to mankind, but one cannot deny the fact that progress and industrialization have left a trail of devastation.
But civilization must make progress and the wheels of industry must continue to move – it is not safe to stop them just because we want to keep our environment clean.
Here society faces a twofold problem. If the environment is to be kept clean and pure, we should get rid of our factories and industries. But if we are to go ahead with technological progress, we must accept pollution as an inevitable hazard.
Perhaps the only solution is to find out a scientifically worked-out method which can solve both problems. Since it is not possible to stop industrial progress we can at least introduce planned and scientific administration, controlled and cautious use of fuels and follow a few rules that may keep the rate of pollution tolerable.
People all over the world are becoming increasingly conscious of the danger caused by pollution and pollutants. A big mistake in the ecological system may wipe out the entire human race from the face of the earth. Probably the destructive mechanism is already at work as is evident from several deaths from emphysema, cancer, bronchitis etc.
In big industrialized cities of the world. All natural cycles are connected to each other in a significant manner and damage imparted to a single part is soon spread to other areas of the whole system.
Answer: The industrial and technological progress of the country is very much needed. At the same time, the need to get rid of environmental pollution is equally felt.
But the former affects the latter and vice versa. This is thus a twofold problem and our country faces this. The only solution is to find out a scientifically worked out method which can solve both problems. It is not possible, nor is it desirable, to stop industrial progress.
We can at least introduce planned and scientific administration and controlled use of fuels to reduce the rate of pollution. Disturbance of the ecological system will have a disastrous effect on mankind.
So, pollution must be checked at all costs, but not at the cost of industrial progress. What is needed is a reasonable balance between the ecological system and the industrial progress of the country.
Question 15. Make a summary of the following passage.
The sudden hike in petrol price threw the capital out of gear. From petrol to cooking gas it seemed that denizens of Delhi had no way to escape what they saw as the catastrophic consequences of the price of ‘spill-over’.
For Delhites, it was not the most pleasant of mornings, having to wake up to the news of an increase in petrol prices and cooking gas. This sudden across-the-board rise meant that now the price of petrol would go up by 25 per cent and the price of diesel and cooking gas by 30 per cent.
However, it was after the printed technicalities had sunk in and citizens hit the streets that the full import of the price hike struck. Auto-rickshaw drivers took it upon themselves to see that their interests were protected.
The average commuter, it seemed, was not too concerned about the economic crisis, which drove the Government to hike the price of something as essential as petrol. What mattered more was the direct impact of the hike on them and their daily lives.
Answer: Delhi went out of gear owing to the sudden rise in prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas. Petrol prices would go up by 25 per cent and the prices of diesel and cooking gas would go up by 30 per cent.
The people of Delhi felt that this price hike would have a great impact on their daily life from an economic point of view. The auto-rickshaw drivers were concerned about their interests being protected. The average commuter was concerned more about the adverse effect on them than the needs of this price rise.
