NCERT Solutions for Class 9

English Beehive
Chapter 11- If I were You

Thinking about the Text:

I. Answer these questions.
1. At last a sympathetic audience.”
i. Who says this?
Ans: Gerrard has said this.
ii. Why does he say it?
Ans: An intruder asked him to speak about himself. That's why he said so.
iii. Is he sarcastic or serious?
Ans: He said this in a sarcastic tone.

2. Why does the intruder choose Gerrard as the man whose identity he
wants to take on?
Ans: The intruder chose Gerrard because of the close resemblance between him
and Gerrard. He hoped to impersonate Gerrard to escape as he was a murderer
and the police were behind him.

3. I said it with bullets.”

i. Who says this?
Ans: Gerrard has spoken the above lines.
ii. What does it mean?
Ans: He shot someone with his gun to escape as things were going wrong.
iii. Is it the truth? What is the speaker’s reason for saying this?
Ans: This is not true. Gerrard said this only to save himself from the shot of the
intruder.

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4. What is Gerrard’s profession? Quote the parts of the play that support
your answer.
Ans: Gerrard’s profession is that of a playwright. There are number of instances
that reflect this but some of them are as follows:
• This is all very melodramatic, not very original, perhaps, but…”
• Finally, a sympathetic audience!”
• In most melodramas the villain is foolish enough to delay his killing long
enough to be frustrated”.
• I said, ``You were luckier than most melodramatic villains.”
• That’s a disguise outfit; false moustaches and what not”
• Sorry I can’t let you have the props in time for rehearsal, I’ve had a spot of
bother – quite amusing. I think I’ll put it in my next play.”

5. You’ll soon stop being smart.”

i. Who says this?
Ans: The line is said by the intruder.
ii. Why does the speaker say it?
Ans: The intention behind saying the line is to frighten the Gerrard.
iii. What according to the speaker will stop Gerrard from being smart?
Ans: Intruder assumed that once Gerrard got to know about what was going to
happen with him, he would stop acting smart. The intruder was planning to take
the identity of Gerrard by killing him.

6. They can’t hang me twice.”

i. Who says this?
Ans: The line is spoken by an intruder.
ii. Why does the speaker say it?
Ans: The speaker said so because he was telling Gerrard about his murdering of
a man and he won’t mind killing him too as the police cannot hang him twice for
the same offence.

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7. A mystery I propose to explain.” What is the mystery the speaker
proposes to explain?
Ans: The mystery was the story made by Gerrard in order to save his life from
an intruder. The story begins like that Gerrard told himself as a criminal like an
intruder. He asked the intruder to meet people of different trades and to be a bit
of a mystery man who is present here today and vanishes tomorrow. The game
became adverse after things started going wrong. As he murdered someone and
ran away from the crime scene. Unfortunately, one of his men got arrested and
things got revealed which otherwise must have been burnt by his men. With this,
he analysed that some troubles are in his way and that’s why he must escape from
the location.

8. This is your big surprise.”

i. Where has this been said in the play?
Ans: The line has been spoken twice in the play. First time, the intruder spoke it
while revealing his plan to kill Gerrard. On the second occasion, Gerrard spoke
this to reveal his fictitious identity to the intruder.
ii. What is the surprise?
Ans: The surprise was the plan of the intruder to kill Gerrard and copy his identity
in order to lead a secure life whereas on the other hand, Gerrard's secret was the
fictitious identity so that he could refrain himself from getting killed by the
intruder.

Thinking about the Language

II. Consult your dictionary and choose the correct word from the pairs given
in brackets.
1. The (site, cite) of the accident was (ghastly/ghostly).
Ans: The site of the accident was ghastly.

2. Our college (principle/principal) is very strict.

Ans: Our college principal is very strict.

3. I studied (continuously/continually) for eight hours

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Ans: I studied continuously for eight hours.

4. The fog had an adverse (affect/effect) on the traffic.

Ans: The fog had an adverse effect on the traffic.

5. Cezanne, the famous French painter, was a brilliant (artist/artiste).

Ans: Cezanne, the famous French painter, was a brilliant artist.

6. The book that you gave me yesterday is an extraordinary (collage/college)

of science fiction and mystery.
Ans: The book that you gave me yesterday is an extraordinary collage of science
fiction and mystery.

7. Our school will (host/hoist) an exhibition on cruelty to animals and

wildlife conservation.
Ans: Our school will host an exhibition on cruelty to animals and wildlife
conservation.

8. Screw the lid tightly onto the top of the bottle and (shake/shape) well
before using the contents.
Ans: Screw the lid tightly onto the top of the bottle and shake well before using
the contents.

III. Irony is when we say one thing but mean another, usually the opposite
of what we say. When someone makes a mistake and you say, Oh! That was
clever!” That is ironic. You’re saying ‘clever’ to mean ‘not clever’.
Expressions we often use in an ironic fashion are:
• Oh, wasn’t that clever! /Oh, that was clever!
• You have been a great help, I must say!
• You’ve got yourself into a lovely mess, haven’t you?
• Oh, very funny! /How funny!

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 We use a slightly different tone of voice when we use these words ironically.
Read the play carefully and find the words and expressions Gerrard uses in
an ironic way. Then say what these expressions really mean. Two examples
have been given below.
Write down three such expressions along with what they really mean.
What the author says What he means
1. Why, this is a surprise, Mr-er- He says that the intruder is a social
visitor and he is welcoming him. In
this way he helped himself in hiding
his fear.
2. At last, a sympathetic audience. He pretended that the intruder was
willing to listen to him. Intruder
wanted to find the information for his
own use.

Ans:
What the author says What he means
1. You won’t kill me for a very good As there is no reason but still Gerrard
reason. pretends that there is a very good
reason.
2. Sorry, I can’t let you have the props The ‘spot of bother’ which according
in time for rehearsal, I have had a to Gerrard is quite amusing is in reality
spot of bother- quite amusing. a life-threatening situation, where he
was threatened by a criminal who
wants to kill him.
3. You have been so modest Gerrard considers it immodest on the
part of the intruder to know about
Gerrard without revealing his own
identity to him.

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