Class 7 English: 4.3. The Red-Headed League (Part 1)/Maharashtra State Board/Question and Answers /Textual exercise

Class 7 English: 4.3. The Red-Headed League (Part 1)

Meanings of words:

• (1) fiery (adj): glowing

• (2) pawn-broker (n): a person who lends money on interest against things of value

• (3) efficient (adj): able to work well and produce good results

• (4) assured (v): guaranteed

• (5) diligently (adv): carefully, sincerely

• (6) bade (v): to tell

• (7) dissolved (v): disbanded; here it means the organisation was closed down

• (8) league (n): an association or a formal group of people

• (9) prank (n): playful trick that causes no harm

Q.1. Answer the following questions:

1.Who was well suited for the job?

Ans: Mr. Wilson was well suited for the job.

2.What would you suggest/advise Mr. Wilson to do in the given situation?

Ans: The best thing to do when you know a crime is being committed or you are being cheated is to go to the lawful authority.

I would suggest/advise Mr. Wilson to go to the police and file a complaint.

It is better to do so rather than taking matters into your own hands and making the situation worse.

3.What did Holmes want to see? Why?

Ans: Holmes wanted to see the knees of Mr. Spaulding's trousers.It was to see if they were dirty.

4.Guess where Mr. Merryweather took the others.

Ans: Mr. Merryweather led the others through an iron gate, down a narrow passage, and through a dark passage into a huge cellar full of big boxes.

5.How did Mr. Merryweather come to know about the crime?

Answer: Mr. Merryweather got a hint of the crime from Mr. Sherlock Holmes.

6.Why did Mr. Holmes think the criminals would act that night?

Ans: It was a Friday, and banks/offices would be closed for the weekend, making the criminals' work easier.

7.How did the criminals enter the cellar?

Answer: They made a square gash on the wall separating Mr. Wilson's house and the bank's cellar.

They removed a broad stone, leaving a square hole to enter the cellar.

8.Who were the two criminals?

Answer:Mr. Vincent Spaulding (alias Clay) and Mr. Duncan Ross.

9.Why did Holmes become suspicious?

Answer: He heard that Mr. Spaulding worked for only half the normal wages.

10.How did Holmes find out that the assistant was a criminal?

Answer:He used Mr. Wilson's description, made enquiries, and found Spaulding was actually Clay.

11.How did Mr. Holmes guess that Mr. Spaulding was digging a tunnel?

Answer: When Spaulding answered the door, the knees of his trousers were wrinkled and stained.

Passage - I (Textbook Page no. 86-87)

Q. 2.Read the following passage and do the activities:

A.1. Simple Factual Questions (Match the Columns):

(i) Mr. Hopkins — (c) American Millionaire

(ii) Mr. Wilson — (b) Pawn broker

(iii) Vincent Spaulding — (d) Assistant to Wilson

(iv) Mr. Duncan Ross — (a) Representative of the Red-headed league

A.3. Vocabulary:

Noun forms: Smartness, Efficiency, Development, Seat, Announcement, Explanation.

A.4. Grammar:

There was nothing in the office but a couple of chairs and a table.

(Remove Negative): There were only a couple of chairs and a table in the office.

A.5. Personal Response:

1.Who do you think is smarter- Mr. Wilson or his assistant?

 Answer: I think Mr. Wilson's assistant, Spaulding was smarter. It was he who showed the advertisement to Mr. Wilson and urged and encouraged him to apply for the job. Seeung the large number of people trying to get the job, Mr. Wilson wanted to go back but Spaulding pushed through the crowed and took hom inside the office and saw to it that he got the job.

2. Would you like to do auch a job?

Answer: I would not like to do such a meaningless mundane and uninteresting job. Jobs should be interesting, challenging and provide scope for further learning and application of different skills which is totally absent in the job taken up by Mr. Wilson

(3) Why would anyone want to copy an encyclopedia?

​Ans. No one in their right sense would copy an encyclopedia/ However, for reference in some study, students as well as teachers could copy down specific matter they need.  

​In the same very, someone who is challenging some matter given or want to upgrade it can copy relevant portion of an encyclopedia.  

​(4) What would we do today, if we needed copies of text from a big book?

​Ans. Today, one would just take a photocopy (xerox) of the required material.  

​(5) What is the difference between a dictionary and an encyclopedia?

​Ans. An encyclopedia is a set of books with a collection of information about various topics and subjects while a dictionary contains meanings of different words.  

​Both are arranged in alphabetical order.  

​(6) Suggest a few words that may appear under 'A' after 'Archery' in an encyclopedia.

​Ans. Words that may appear under 'A' after 'Archery' in an encyclopedia could be as follows: architect, aromatics, asparagus, assassinator, astrobiologist, astrophysical, etc. 

Passage - II (Textbook Page no. 87-88)

Q. 3.Read the following passage and do the activities

A.1. Simple Factual Questions:

​(1) Complete the following

​(i) And then suddenly the whole...

Ans. business came to an end.

​(ii) The rooms had been rented...

​Ans. under a false name.

(iii) Holmes found Mr. Wilson's story...

​Ans. very unusual.

​(iv) Small, stout, with...

​Ans. no hair on his face.

A.2. Complex Factual Questions:

​(1) Why was Mr. Wilson shocked?

​Ans. Mr. Wilson has been working for eight weeks and as usual when he reached the office at ten o' clock, he found the door shut and locked. He found a little note nailed on, it which said that the Red-headed league was dissolved. This shocked him.

​(2) What did Mr. Wilson do next?

​Ans. Mr. Wilson enquired at the nearly offices, but no one knew anything about the league.

​(3) Why did Mr. Wilson go to Mr. Holmes?

​Ans. Mr. Wilson felt cheated when he suddenly lost his job with a good pay. He was curious to find out about the league and why they played a prank upon him. He had also heard about the ability of Mr. Holmes to solve mysteries.

​(4) How did Mr. Wilson describe his assistant?

​Ans. Mr. Wilson described his assistant as small, stout, with no hair an his face and had a white splash of acid on his forehead..

​(5) What kind of a man was Mr. Wilson?

​Ans. Mr. Wilson was a simpleton. He could be easily taken for a ride. He was hardworking and diligent.

A.3. Vocabulary (One word for):

(i) Sincerely and tirelessly: diligently

(ii) Playful trick: prank

(iii) Something unexplained: mystery

(iv) Quickly/unexpectedly: suddenly

(v) Solidly built: stout

(2) Frame a sentence of your own with ‘diligently’.

Ans. We must always work diligently.

A.4. Grammar:

1.On Saturday I got my salary. (Identify the subject and predicate)

Ans. Subject – I

Predicate – got my salary on Saturday

2.I had written Abbots, Archery etc. (Begin with ‘Abbots ...’)

Ans. Abbots, Archery etc. Had been written by me.

3.He did not come at all. (Add a question tag)

Ans. He did not come at all, did he?

4.Mr. Wilson wrote diligently for four hours. (Identify the part of speech of the underlined words)

Ans. Diligently – adverb

Four – adjective

5.He locked the door of the office. (End with ‘... the office’)

Ans. Didn’t he lock the door of the office?

A.5. Personal Response:

What would you advice Mr. Wilson to do in the given situation?

Ans. I feel Mr. Wilson made the right decision to take the help of Mr. Holmes about whom he had heard a lot.