TELEVISION

MAKING CONNECTIONS

1. a. False
b. True
c. False
d. True

2. a. Or better still, just don’t install

The Idiotic thing at all.

i. Roald Dahl has written these lines.

ii. The poet is referring to the television.
iii. The poet has suggested that the parents should not allow their children to go
near the television set.

b. ‘All right!’ you’ll cry. ‘All right!’ you’ll say,

‘But if we take the set away,
What shall we do to entertain
Our darling children? Please explain!’

i. The poet is addressing the parents in these lines.

ii. In response to the question asked by the parents, the poet counter-questions
what the children used to do before the invention of the television.
iii. The poet says that the children used to occupy themselves with books before
television was invented.

c. And once they start- oh boy, oh boy!

You watch the slowly growing joy
That fills their hearts.

i. The poet refers to the children as ‘they’ and the parents as ‘you’.
ii. Reading books will bring about the ‘growing joy’.
iii. When the children discover the joy of reading they will wonder what on earth
they had found so entertaining in television earlier. They will no longer feel
the need to turn to the television. Instead, they will occupy themselves with
more books.

3.The poet says that the habit of watching television kills imagination. The children just stare
at the television screen and lose the power to use their brain. Enjoying fantasy and fairy tale
requires active imagination. But children, being addicted to television, can no longer think
for themselves and visualise stories.

The children of the past, according to the poet, used to read fabulous tales. They used to
read a lot of books. They used to imagine the setting, characters and actions of the stories
they read. But children of the present age don’t read books. Instead they are always hooked
to the television.

4. The poet’s suggestion in the poem is somewhat extreme. He is correct in saying that
television makes one lazy and dumb, but at the same time, it offers knowledge as well. The
key is to balance television viewing time and reading books. Excessive viewing of television
is harmful. One should carefully choose what they watch to benefit from it.

5. The tone of the poem makes it humorous. The way in which the poet addresses parents
and talks about the television makes it funny.

6. The message of the poem is directed both to children and grown-ups. Parents should
advise children to not watch meaningless stuff on the television. Whatever they choose to
watch should be informative and useful. Children too should exercise discretion and watch
programmes which help them develop a hobby or anything that helps them with their
studies.

APPRECIATION [PG 83]

1. a. – iv
b–v
c – ii
d–i
e – iii
3.b. bees buzz
c. The rose swayed happily, when the bee danced with her.