Martians on Earth:
In a funny play set in the 2Oth century, imaginary characters with strange names like Chief Think Tank and Sergeant Oop go on a mission to Earth to learn about humans, or as they call them, “earthlings.”
Library Confusion:
The Martians land in a library filled with books. Chief Think Tank, who thinks he’s the smartest because of his big head, mistakes the books for sandwiches. He believes humans keep their food in these strange places.
Pills and Misunderstandings:
Trying to figure out the purpose of the books, Noodle suggests taking vitamin pills to make them smarter. Under the influence of these pills, they attempt to read a rhyme book called Mother Goose. However, their literal understanding of the rhymes leads to confusion.
Escape Plan:
As they interpret a rhyme about Humpty Dumpty, Think Tank believes Earthlings have identified him and might harm him. In a panic, the Martians decide to postpone their invasion plans. A dusty book of rhymes unintentionally prevents an invasion from happening.
Lesson Learned:
The play teaches us a lesson: having only a little knowledge can be risky. The Martians’ misunderstanding of books shows that we need to be careful and understand things properly before making conclusions. It’s a funny reminder that learning should be thorough and thoughtful.
Extract Based Questions:
l. lota: I can’t figure it out, Captain, (holding up a book) I‘ve counted two thousand of these peculiar items. This place must be some sort of storage barn.
1) What could Iota not figure out?
Ans. Iota could not figure out what the books were because he had never seen a book before.
2) Where was lota?
Ans. Iota was at Centerville Public Library on Earth.
3) Find the antonym of the word ‘ordinary’ in the extract.
Ans. The antonym of ordinary is peculiar.
4) What part of speech is ‘peculiar’ as used in the extract?
Ans. It is an adjective.
2. Noodle: Where shall we go, sir?
THINK-TANK: A hundred million miles away from Mars. Order the invasion fleet to evacuate the entire planet of Mars. We are heading for Alpha Centauri, a hundred million miles away.
(Omega, lota, and Oop run off right as Noodle helps Think-Tank off left and the curtain closes. Spotlight shines on Historian down right.)
Historian: (chuckling) And that’s how one dusty old book of nursery rhymes saved the world from a Martian invasion. As you all know, in the twenty-fifth century, five hundred years after all this happened, we Earthlings resumed contact with Mars, and we even became very friendly with the Martians. By that time, Great and Mighty Think-Tank had been replaced by a very clever Martian – the wise and wonderful
Noodle! Oh, yes, we taught the Martians the difference between sandwiches and books. We taught them how to read, too, and we established a model library in their capital city of
Marsopolis. But as you might expect, there is still one book that the Martians can never bring themselves to read. You’ve guessed it Mother Goose! (She bows and exits right.)
1) What was the name of the book?
Ans. ‘Mother Goose’ was the name of the book.
2) Why did the Historian chuckle?
Ans. The historian chuckled at the idea that the misinterpretation of a book saved the Earth.
3) Which word in the extract is a synonym of ‘Conquer’?
Ans. ‘Invasion’ from the extract is the synonym of conquer’.
4) What part of speech is ‘And’ as used in the extract?
Ans. ‘And’ is a conjunction
Top 10 PYQs:
Short Answer Questions (40-50 words each)
1. How did a book change Think-Tank’s opinion about the Earthlings? [CBSE 2014]
Answer: This book is misunderstood by the Martians. The Martians thought that earthlings were planning to invade Mars. So, they canceled their invasion of Earth and went back. Think-Tank misunderstands the book. Phrases like ‘shell·, ‘silver’, and ‘garden’ gave him a false idea that earthlings grew silver and weapons. He starts thinking that earthlings are very advanced technologically.
2. What was Noodle’s version to describe the so-called ‘sandwich’?
Answer: Noodle hesitantly told Think-Tank that he had ‘insignificant, information about those ‘sandwiches’. He informed him that he had seen surveyor films of those sandwiches. He had noticed that the Earthlings did not eat them. They used them as some sort of communication devices.
3. What saved the Earth? How?
Answer: One dusty old book of nursery rhymes saved the earth from a Martian invasion. The Martian could not decipher the meaning of nursery rhymes. Their misinterpretation made the situation comical. They began to believe that the Earthlings had advance technology and were planning to invade the Mars. They called off their mission and even left the Mars isolated to escape to a far-off planet.
4. How did the book change Think-Tank’s opinion about the Earthlings?
Answer: Think-Tank used to believe that the Martian was a superior race to the Earthlings. But after cracking the so-called code of an old nursery rhyme book, he changed his view about the Earthlings. He now thought that the Earthlings has reached a high level of civilization and planning to invade the Mars. It made him call off his mission.
5. Noodle hails Think-Tank as the most powerful and intelligent creature in the whole universe, bo you agree? Write your opinion of Think-Tank citing instances from the given text.
Answer: Noodle is a trainee under Think-Tank. He bows before him and hails his ruler as the most powerful and intelligent creature in the universe. However, Think-Tank is not intelligent. He misinterprets the nursery rhymes completely. ‘Silver’, ‘shells’, and ‘garden’ for him mean that the earthlings are growing metals on farms. He thinks books to be sandwiches and wants the crew to eat them. When he is read the nursery rhyme which says, ‘Humpty-Dumpty had a great fall’ he is terrified and plans his escape from Mars Thus, Think-Tank is nothing more than a show-off and a pompous fool.
6. Why was the twentieth century called the ’Era of the Book’?
Answer: The twentieth century was often called the ‘Era of the book’. In those days, there were books about everything, from anteaters to Zulus. Books taught people how to, when to, where to, and why to. They illustrated, educated, punctuated, and even decorated.
7. Where did Captain Omega reach with her team?
Answer: Captain Omega landed on the earth with her team. They found themselves in the Centerville Public Library amidst thousands of books. They thought they were in some sort of storage bam.
8. Compare and contrast the characters of Noodle and Think-Tank. [CBSE 2012]
Answer: Noodle and Think-Tank have contrasting characters. Think- Tank likes to be called the ‘Great and the Mighty’. He orders and commands. He is the ruler of Mars but has no intelligence. He thinks books are sandwiches. He is wrong about everything. He demands that the crew obey him. He likes to pass on other’s ideas as his own. He is a coward who simply boasts about his power.
9. The play. The Book That Saved the Earth’ conveys the message that misunderstanding of cultural differences between various races can cause confusion and conflict. Based on your reading of the play, write how such confusion and conflicts can be checked so that peace and harmony is maintained. [CBSE 2015]
Answer: The confusion in the mind of Think-Tank occurred due to the literal interpretation of the nursery rhymes in the book Mother Goose. To ensure that conflicts are checked so that peace and harmony are maintained, cultural differences should be sorted out by initially sending mature and wise people from one culture to the other to establish contact before deciding to wage war. ThinkTank had sent an initial probe, but the crew members of the probe were not sufficiently intelligent or mature to understand Earth’s culture. That is why they interpreted the nursery rhymes and caused misunderstanding in the mind of Think-Tank.
10. Rushing to a conclusion without going into details may lead to chaos and failure. Elaborate this concerning the Martian invasion in the chapter ‘The Book That Saved the Earth’.
Answer: The Martians were very proud of themselves. Great and mighty Think-Thank regarded as the ruler of Mars was always caught in self-praise. He had a quick mind and wished to attack the earth in a great hurry. Martians misinterpreted the signals received from Earthling’s book of nursery rhymes and fled away. If they had planned the things decisively things would have been different. In any kind of situation, rash decisions would never give results. It is only through knowledge, perseverance.
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