the fun they had Flashcards
(240 cards)
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BEFORE YOU READ
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• The story we shall read is set in the future
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when books and
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schools as we now know them will perhaps not exist. How
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will children study then? The diagram below may give you
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some ideas.
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Learning
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through
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computers
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Virtual
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classroom
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Moving
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e-text
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Schools of
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the Future
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• In pairs
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discuss three things that you like best about your
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school and three things about your school that you would
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like to change. Write them down.
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• Have you ever read words on a television (or computer) screen?
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Can you imagine a time when all books will be on computers
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and there will be no books printed on paper? Would you like
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such books better?
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- MARGIE even wrote about it that night in her diary.
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On the page headed 17 May 2157
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she wrote
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Tommy found a real book!”
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It was a very old book. Margie’s grandfather once
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said that when he was a little boy his grandfather
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1. The F 1. The F1. The Fun They Had
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Robotic
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teacher
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2024-25
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6 / Beehive
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told him that there was a time when all stories
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were printed on paper.
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They turned the pages
which were yellow and
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crinkly
and it was awfully funny to read words
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that stood still instead of moving the way they were
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supposed to — on a screen
you know. And then
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when they turned back to the page before
it had
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the same words on it that it had had when they
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read it the first time.
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2. “Gee
” said Tommy
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through with the book
you just throw it away
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guess. Our television screen must have had a million
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books on it and it’s good for plenty more. I wouldn’t
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throw it away.”
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“Same with mine
” said Margie. She was eleven
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and hadn’t seen as many telebooks as Tommy had.
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He was thirteen.
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She said
“Where did you find it?”
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“In my house.” He pointed without looking
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because he was busy reading. “In the attic.”
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“What’s it about?”
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“School.”
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3. Margie was scornful. “School? What’s there to write
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about school? I hate school.”
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Margie always hated school
but now she hated
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it more than ever. The mechanical teacher had been
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giving her test after test in geography and she had
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been doing worse and worse until her mother had
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shaken her head sorrowfully and sent for the County
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Inspector.
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4. He was a round little man with a red face and a
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whole box of tools with dials and wires. He smiled
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at Margie and gave her an apple
then took the
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teacher apart. Margie had hoped he wouldn’t know
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how to put it together again
but he knew how all
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right
and
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large and black and ugly
with a big screen on which
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all the lessons were shown and the questions were
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asked. That wasn’t so bad. The part Margie hated
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attic: a space just
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below the roof
used
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as a storeroom
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scornful:
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contemptuous;
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showing you think
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something is
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worthless
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crinkly: with many
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folds or lines
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The Fun They Had / 7
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most was the slot where she had to put homework
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and test papers. She always had to write them out
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in a punch code they made her learn when she was
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six years old
and the mechanical teacher calculated
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the marks in no time.
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5. The Inspector had smiled after he was finished and
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patted Margie’s head. He said to her mother
“It’s
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not the little girl’s fault
Mrs Jones. I think the
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geography sector was geared a little too quick. Those
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things happen sometimes. I’ve slowed it up to an
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average ten-year level. Actually
the overall pattern
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of her progress is quite satisfactory.” And he patted
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Margie’s head again.
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Margie was disappointed. She had been hoping
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they would take the teacher away altogether. They
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had once taken Tommy’s teacher away for nearly a
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month because the history sector had blanked out
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completely.
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So she said to Tommy
“Why would anyone write
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about school?”
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6. Tommy looked at her with very superior eyes.
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“Because it’s not our kind of school
stupid. This is
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the old kind of school that they had hundreds and
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hundreds of years ago.” He added loftily
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pronouncing the word carefully
“Centuries ago.”
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Margie was hurt. “Well
I don’t know what
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kind of school they had all that time ago.” She read
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the book over his shoulder for a while
then said
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“Anyway
they had a teacher.”
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loftily: in a superior
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way
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slot: a given space
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time or position
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geared (to): adjusted
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to a particular
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standard or level
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They had a teacher... It was a man.
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2024-25
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8 / Beehive
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“Sure they had a teacher
but it wasn’t a regular
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teacher. It was a man.”
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“A man? How could a man be a teacher?”
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“Well
he just told the boys and girls things and
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gave them homework and asked them questions.”
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7. “A man isn’t smart enough.”
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“Sure he is. My father knows as much as my
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teacher.”
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“He knows almost as much
I betcha.”
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Margie wasn’t prepared to dispute that. She said
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“I wouldn’t want a strange man in my house to
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teach me.”
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Tommy screamed with laughter. “You don’t know
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much
Margie. The teachers didn’t live in the
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house. They had a special building and all the
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kids went there.”
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“And all the kids learned the same thing?”
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“Sure
if they were the same age.”
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8. “But my mother says a teacher has to be adjusted to
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fit the mind of each boy and girl it teaches and that
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each kid has to be taught differently.”
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“Just the same they didn’t do it that way then.
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If you don’t like it
you don’t have to read the book.”
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“I didn’t say I didn’t like it
” Margie said quickly.
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She wanted to read about those funny schools.
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They weren’t even half finished when Margie’s
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mother called
“Margie! School!”
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Margie looked up. “Not yet
Mamma.”
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“Now!” said Mrs Jones. “And it’s probably time
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for Tommy
too.”
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Margie said to Tommy
“Can I read the book some
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more with you after school?”
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9. “May be
” he said nonchalantly. He walked away
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whistling
the dusty old book tucked beneath
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his arm.
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Margie went into the schoolroom. It was right
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next to her bedroom
and the mechanical teacher
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was on and waiting for her. It was always on at the
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same time every day except Saturday and Sunday
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betcha (informal):
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(I) bet you (in fast
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speech): I’ m sure
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dispute: disagree
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with
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nonchalantly: not
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showing much
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interest or
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enthusiasm;
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carelessly
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regular: here
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normal; of the usual
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kind
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2024-25
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The Fun They Had / 9
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because her mother said little girls learned better
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if they learned at regular hours.
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The screen was lit up
and it said: “Today’s
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arithmetic lesson is on the addition of proper
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fractions. Please insert yesterday’s homework in the
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proper slot.”
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10. Margie did so with a sigh. She was thinking about
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the old schools they had when her grandfather’s
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grandfather was a little boy. All the kids from the
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whole neighborhood came
laughing and shouting
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in the schoolyard
sitting together in the schoolroom
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going home together at the end of the day. They
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learned the same things
so they could help one
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another with the homework and talk about it.
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And the teachers were people…
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The mechanical teacher was flashing on the
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screen: “When we add fractions ½ and ¼...”
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Margie was thinking about how the kids must
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have loved it in the old days. She was thinking
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about the fun they had.
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ISAAC ASIMOV
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The mechanical teacher was flashing on the screen...
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2024-25
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10 / Beehive
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Thinking about the Text
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I. Answer these questions in a few words or a couple of sentences each.
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1. How old are Margie and Tommy?
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2. What did Margie write in her diary?
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3. Had Margie ever seen a book before?
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4. What things about the book did she find strange?
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5. What do you think a telebook is?
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6. Where was Margie’s school? Did she have any classmates?
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7. What subjects did Margie and Tommy learn?
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II. Answer the following with reference to the story.
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1. “I wouldn’t throw it away.”
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(i) Who says these words?
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(ii) What does ‘it’ refer to?
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(iii) What is it being compared with by the speaker?
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2. “Sure they had a teacher
but it wasn’t a regular teacher. It was a man.”
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(i) Who does ‘they’ refer to?
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(ii) What does ‘regular’ mean here?
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(iii) What is it contrasted with?
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III. Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (about 30 words).
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1. What kind of teachers did Margie and Tommy have?
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2. Why did Margie’s mother send for the County Inspector?
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3. What did he do?
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4. Why was Margie doing badly in geography? What did the County Inspector
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do to help her?
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5. What had once happened to Tommy’s teacher?
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6. Did Margie have regular days and hours for school? If so
why?
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7. How does Tommy describe the old kind of school?
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8. How does he describe the old kind of teachers?
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IV. Answer each of these questions in two or three paragraphs (100 –150 words).
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1. What are the main features of the mechanical teachers and the schoolrooms
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that Margie and Tommy have in the story?
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2. Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school must
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have been fun?
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Calculate how many years and months ahead from now Margie’s
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diary entry is.
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Activity
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2024-25
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The Fun They Had / 11
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3. Do you agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the school in
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the story? Give reasons for your answer.
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