9th important questions

Important  Questions for CBSE Class 9 English Chapter 1 Gulliver’s Travels

LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS (150-200 WORDS EACH)

Question.1. Write vivid and detailed description about the land, the people and the king of Laputa. (CBSE 2014)
Answer. Gulliver noticed that the island, which he came to know later was called Laputa, was floating in the air. Sometimes the island moved and sometimes it stood still. This island had covered a huge area. The fate of the island rested upon a huge loadstone which was in the shape of a weaver’s shuttle. It was sustained by a strong axle of adamand. It was the loadstone that made the island fall and rise.
People living on the island looked strange. Their heads were inclined to the right and to the left. Their eyes were at variance with each other. Gulliver discovered later that Laputians were often overcome by speculations. They were also forgetful. They wore garments decorated with the figures of suns, moons, stars or musical instruments. Their king tried to prove himself to be a mathematical genius. He was also authoritarian and strict. He punished those who broke the rules severely.

Give an account of Gulliver’s experience on the land of Laputa.
(CBSE 2014)
Answer. When Gulliver came to the floating island of Laputa, he found its people very strange. Laputians had mathematical genius, though their houses were ill built. The women of Laputa were quite vivacious and free. They had been allowed freedom to do whatever they liked. Gulliver studied the habits of Laputians. He found them pre-occupied and forgetful. They wore clothes adorned with the figures of musical instruments and planets and stars.
The king of Laputa and the people treated Gulliver kindly. They proved to be good hosts. The king arranged a tour for Gulliver so that he could himself learn about the island and the principles that went into the floating of the island. Thus, Gulliver observed Laputians closely. He also observed the expertise of astronomers and their reasonings. He was not impressed by the conduct of Laputians who were quite clumsy in their common actions. Their looks were also strange. In short, he found his visit to Laputa less interesting than his visits to other islands.

Question.3. The Lord of Laputa wrote a letter of recommendation to a friend of his in Lagado where Gulliver wanted to go next. How was he welcomed at Lagado ? (CBSE 2014)
Answer. Gulliver wanted to go to Lagado, the Metropolis. The king of Laputa agreed to his visit. He gave him a letter of recommendation to his friend in Lagado. Gulliver was let down from the lowest gallery. Gulliver walked to the city. He did not care for wearing the dress like a native. As he could talk to people, he found no difficulty in Lagado. He was able to locate the house of the person to whom he had been recommended by the king of Laputa. He was Munodi. Munodi received Gulliver with much kindness. He gave Gulliver a separate apartment to stay. The apartment was in his own house. Gulliver stayed there comfortably during his stay. The next morning after his arrival, Munodi took Gulliver with him in his chariot to see the city. As he was taken around, Gulliver was told about different farming methods adopted by farmers on their lands.

Question.4. Describe the academy of Lagado. (CBSE 2014)
Answer. Gulliver’s visit to the academy of Lagado is quite significant. The academy of Lagado was located in a series of buildings on both sides of a street. There were about five hundred rooms. In each room a project was carried on studiously. Gulliver was amused by the nature of several projects, which he thought were most whimsical and useless. He saw a scientist who had been working on extracting sun-beams from cucumber for eight years, without any result. Another scientist was found to be engaged in reusing human excrement. In a room there was an architect who was exploring a technique to build houses by beginning at the roof and working downwards to the foundation as bees and spiders do. There was a mathematician who wrote propositions and demonstrations on a thin wafer and forced his students to swallow it. In short, the academy of Lagado was busy with projects which are of no use to people. Scientists there were wasting their time, money and energy.