NCERT Solutions Class 8, English, Honeydew, Prose, Chapter " The Great Stone Face - I ".
Comprehension check
Write ‘True’ or ‘False’ against each of the following statements.
1. The Great Stone Face stood near where Ernest and his mother lived. ______
Solution: False
2. One would clearly distinguish the features of the Stone Face only from a distance. ______
Solution: True
3. Ernest loved his mother and helped her in her work. ______
Solution: True
4. Though not very rich, Gathergold was a skilful merchant. ______
Solution: False
5. Gathergold died in poverty and neglect. ______
Solution: True
6. The Great Stone Face seemed to suggest that Ernest should not fear the general. ______
Solution: False
Working with the text
Answer the following questions.
1. (i) What was the Great Stone Face?
Solution:
The Great Stone Face was a work of nature. It was formed on the perpendicular side of a mountain by some immense rocks that had been thrown together so that when viewed at a proper distance, they resembled the features of a human face.
(ii) What did young Ernest wish when he gazed at it?
Solution:
Gazing at the Great Stone Face, young Ernest wished that it could speak because it looked so very kindly that he thought its voice must be pleasant. He also said that if he ever saw a man with such a face, he would love him very much.
2. What was the story attributed to the Stone Face?
Solution:
The story that was attributed to the Stone Face was that at some future day, a child would be born near there, and he would be destined to become the greatest and noblest person of his time. His face, in manhood, would bear an exact resemblance to the Great Stone Face.
3. What gave the people of the valley the idea that the prophecy was about to come true for the first time?
Solution:
The people got the idea that the prophecy was about to come true from a rumour that went throughout the valley. The rumour was that the great man, who was to bear a resemblance to the Great Stone Face, had appeared at last. Many years before, a young man named Gathergold had left the valley and settled at a distant seaport. He had set up as a shopkeeper and being sharp in business matters, had become so rich that it would have taken him a hundred years only to count his wealth. In time, he thought of his native valley, and decided to go back there and end his days where he had been born. The people believed that this was the prophesied man.
4. (i) Did Ernest see in Gathergold the likeness of the Stone Face?
Solution:
No, Ernest did not see in Gathergold the likeness of the Stone Face.
(ii) Who did he confide in and how was he proved right?
Solution:
He confided in the Great Stone Face. When everybody else believed that Gathergold resembled the Stone Face, he turned away from the wrinkled shrewdness of that unpleasant face and gazed up the valley, where the Stone Face seemed to say “He will come! Fear not, Ernest; the man will come!” He was proved right when later Gathergold died and was buried. His wealth, which was the body and spirit of his existence, had disappeared before his death. Since the time he lost his gold, it had been generally agreed that there was no likeness between him and the majestic face upon the mountain.
5. (i) What made people believe General Blood-and-Thunder was their man?
Solution:
General Blood-and-Thunder rose to his present position in defence from a soldier. He desired to return to his native valley. The residents of the valley said that he bore the likeness of the Great Stone Face. His childhood friends also said that the General had always looked like the Great Stone Face. It made people believe ‘General Blood-and-Thunder’ was their man.
(ii) Ernest compared the man’s face with the Stone Face. What did he conclude?
Solution:
Ernest compared the face of Blood-and-thunder with the Great Stone Face. He could not recognize any similarity between them. His heart assured him that the General was not the right person he was waiting for. So Ernest concluded that the greatest and the noblest man of his time bearing the resemblance to the Great Stone Face had yet to come.
Working with Language
1. Write the noun forms of the following words by adding -ness or -ity to them appropriately. Check the spelling of the new words.
(i) lofty _____
(ii) able ______
(iii) happy _______
(iv) near ______
(v) noble ______
(vi) enormous ______
(vii) pleasant ______
(viii) dense _______
(ix) great ______
(x) stable _____
Solution:
(i) loftiness
(ii) ability
(iii) happiness
(iv) nearness
(v) nobility
(vi) enormity
(vii) pleasantly
(viii) density
(ix) greatness
(x) stability
2. Add -ly to each of the following adjectives, then use them to fill in the blanks.
(i) Why didn’t you turn up at the meeting? We all were _______ waiting for you.
(ii) _________ write your name and address in capital letters.
(iii) I was _________ surprised to see him at the railway station. I thought he was not coming.
(iv) It is _________ believable that I am not responsible for this mess.
(v) He fell over the step and _________ broke his arm.
Solution:
(i) Why didn’t you turn up at the meeting? We all were eagerly waiting for you.
(ii) Kindly write your name and address in capital letters.
(iii) I was pleasantly surprised to see him at the railway station. I thought he was not coming.
(iv) It is perfectly believable that I am not responsible for this mess.
(v) He fell over the step and nearly broke his arm.