My Brother's Great Invention Textual notes

 My Brother's Great Invention

 Let us do these activities before we read. 

I.  Work in pairs and guess the invention. 

1. I am a concept invented by ancient Indian mathematicians. I add value to numbers. Without me, calculations in the modern digital world would be impossible. Who am I? 

Zero: This concept, invented by ancient Indian mathematicians, is the foundation of the modern digital world and gives value to numbers.

 2. I am an ancient Indian practice, now popular globally. I focus on physical and mental well-being. What am I? 

Yoga: This is the ancient Indian practice focused on physical and mental well-being that has become popular globally.

II Discuss in groups of four what you think the world today would have been like without inventions and discoveries.

Without inventions and discoveries, human life would be drastically different and much more primitive. We would lack basic modern conveniences like electricity, medicine, the internet, and fast transportation. Everyday life would be focused entirely on raw, manual survival rather than technological progress or comfort.

III Fill the grid given below with missing letters to complete the words. These words display qualities of an inventor.

1. CREATIVITY
   
   
2. CURIOSITY
   
   
3. RISK TAKING
   
   
4. DETERMINATION
   
   
5. IMAGINATION

Let us discuss 

Complete the cause-and-effect table given below

Causes	Effects
1. Anand set up his burglar alarm and rigged it to work when the door was opened softly.	Papa got soaked with water when he opened the door.
2. Anita warned Anand that she was not involved in his invention.	Anita was able to avoid any responsibility as Anand faced the consequences alone.
3. We watched the movie ‘Back to the Future’.	Anand: decided to invent a Time Machine.
4. Papa firmly said ‘NO’ to trying out the time machine.	Anand looked crestfallen and disappointed.

II Do you think Anand was able to keep his promise regarding the time machine? If yes, why? If no, why not?

Yes, Anand was able to keep his promise regarding the time machine.

Why:

• Anand obeyed his parents and did not attempt to test or operate the time machine himself.
  
  
• When the burglar (Boppa) broke into their home at night, Anand cleverly directed him into his room to keep them safe.
  
  
• It was Boppa who accidentally tampered with and activated the time machine while inside Anand's room, causing the sudden chaos. Since Anand never personally tested or tried out the device, he maintained his promise.

Let us discuss

Arrange the following events in the correct order of occurrence. 

1. The door swings open, and they see Boppa, standing there with an evil grin.

2. Boppa is nowhere to be found, but his green scarf is lying near the time machine.

3. Mrs. Sharma, her husband, and Dr. Mohan unlock the door and enter the house to help the children.

4. Anita wakes Anand up, informing him that someone is trying to get into the house.

5. Anand misleads Boppa into entering his room instead of his  father’s room.

Answer:

1. 4. Anita wakes Anand up, informing him that someone is trying to get into the house.
   
   
2. 5. Anand misleads Boppa into entering his room instead of his father’s room.
   
   
3. 1. The door swings open, and they see Boppa, standing there with an evil grin.
   
   
4. 3. Mrs. Sharma, her husband, and Dr. Mohan unlock the door and enter the house to help the children.
   
   
5. 2. Boppa is nowhere to be found, but his green scarf is lying near the time machine.

Let us think and reflect 

Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

Extract 1:

Question (i)

When Anita says, “…let me put you in the picture”, she wants to _________ (introduce/summarise) the situation for the benefit of the readers.

Answer: introduce

Question (ii)

Anand loves ‘tinkering’ with all sorts of electrical gadgets. This means that he enjoys _________ gadgets.

A. dismantling and creating

B. labelling or naming

C. repairing or improving

D. collecting and displaying

Answer: C. repairing or improving

Question (iii)

Which of the following options most suitably describes Anand’s personality?

A. methodical and cautious

B. creative and experimental

C. energetic and hasty

D. shy and reserved

Answer: B. creative and experimental

Question (iv)

Based on the extract, compare what Anita thinks of her brother Anand with what he thinks of himself.

Answer:

Anand's view of himself: He sees himself as a passionate scientist capable of creating real inventions.

Anita's view of Anand: She views him as an overambitious sibling whose "inventions" never work properly and only cause unnecessary chaos and trouble.

Extract 2:

Question (i)

Complete the sentence given below with a suitable reason.

Anita was angry with Anand because ____________.

Answer: he directed the intruder into his own room next door instead of directing him upstairs, which she feared would make the intruder even angrier.

Question (ii)

Which action of Anand shows his presence of mind?

Answer: Quickly misleading the burglar into entering his own room to buy them time to think and call for help while the intruder searched for the light switch.

Question (iii)

What might be the cause of the strange noises emerging from the next room?

A. The intruder moving furniture around

B. Anand’s time machine getting activated

C. The intruder locating the light switch

D. Anand’s invention malfunctioning

Answer: B. Anand’s time machine getting activated

Question (iv)

Which of the following best describes the atmosphere in this extract?

A. relaxing        B. peaceful        C. tense        D. sad     

E. suspenseful    F. joyful

(a) A, D and E

(b) B and F

(c) C and E

(d) Only D

Answer: (c) C and E

II Complete the table with the suitable traits of the characters based on evidence from the text. Choose the traits given in the box below. An example has been done for you. 

creative     curious     careful     responsible     bothersome     confident

Character	Traits	Evidence from the Text
Anand	1. bothersome	And this is not the first time he’s got on Papa’s nerves or frightened someone half to death in the house.
	2. creative	He loves tinkering with all sorts of electrical gadgets, tools, dynamos, planks of wood, and things like that. And he keeps creating ‘inventions’ that never work out as they are supposed to.
	3. confident	“Nothing will go wrong this time. I’ve planned it out carefully. See the blueprint.”
Anita	1. responsible	“We’re old enough to look after ourselves, Ma…”
	2. curious	“But how does the alarm know that a burglar is opening the door?”
	3. careful	“Now clean up this mess before anyone gets home.”

III Answer the following questions.

1. What prompted Anand to create the burglar alarm?

Answer: A recent wave of thefts in their neighbourhood prompted Anand to invent the burglar alarm to protect their home and catch any intruders.

2. How did Anand’s father become the target of the burglar alarm?

Answer: The alarm was designed to trigger whenever the door was opened softly. When Anand's father opened the front door gently upon returning home, the mechanism activated and dropped a bag of water on him, soaking him completely.

3. How did Anand’s parents and sister react to his ideas?

Answer:

Parents: His parents were sceptical and cautious. His father was often annoyed by the mess and noise and forbade him from testing new inventions, while his mother was slightly more sympathetic but stayed watchful.

Sister (Anita): She was doubtful and hesitant, warning Anand that she did not want to be held responsible for his failed inventions.

4. How did Anand behave when he was on his ‘inventing binges’?

Answer: Anand became deeply absorbed, messy, and wild in appearance. He would stop combing his hair, create loud hammering and sawing noises, and dismantle household appliances to collect parts for his inventions.

5. Why did Mr. Sharma not believe Anand when he spoke about his time machine?

Answer: Mr. Sharma found the idea of a time machine unbelievable and unrealistic. He assumed Anand was just imagining things and that the intruder, Boppa, had simply escaped through a window or back door.

6. Give an ending to this story, explaining what might have happened to Boppa.

Answer: While searching for valuables in Anand's room, Boppa accidentally pressed a switch that activated the time machine. The machine vanished him into another era (either the distant past or the future), leaving behind only his green scarf near the control panel as proof.

Let us learn

I.  Read the highlighted word in the following sentence. 

It’s quite simple. The moment the door opens, this alarm is tripped off and makes a clanging sound.  Such sound words are called onomatopoeic words.

1. Read the sound words used in the story in Column 1. Complete Column 2 by matching expressions from the box given below. An example has been done for you.

Column 1	Column 2
(i) Crash	sudden loud sound of breaking
(ii) Humming	a continuous low and soothing sound
(iii) Hissed	whispered angrily
(iv) Hammering, sawing, clattering	constant and loud construction noises

II Read the highlighted phrase in the following sentence from the text. 

Well, that was the end of peace and quiet in the house. 

The highlighted phrase displays a combination of two words generally used together in a fixed order. Such phrases are called binomials. 

1. Match the words to form binomials:

(i) safe and E. sound             safe and sound

(ii) odds and F. ends               odds and ends

(iii) make or A. break             make or break

(iv) pros and B. cons             pros and cons

(v) now or C. never              now or never

(vi) give and D. take              give and take

2. Complete the sentences with suitable binomials:

(i) This project will be a make or break moment for our team’s success.

(ii) After a long journey, we were relieved to arrive home safe and sound.

(iii) Every friendship works well when there is a balance of give and take.

(iv) She organised all the odds and ends in the cupboard, to make space for new clothes.

(v) Before making a decision, it is important to weigh the pros and cons carefully.

(vi) This is our final chance to perform on stage, it is now or never.

3. Complete the paragraph using the phrasal verbs:

 It had been raining and we (i) ran out of time to set up for the function, so we quickly

(ii) rigged up some decorations using whatever materials we had. We accidentally 

(iii) tripped off the fire alarm because of the smoke from the bonfire. Thankfully, the rain 

(iv) let up just as the guests were arriving, and despite all the chaos, the function 

(v) turned out to be a huge success.

III Read the highlighted expressions in the following sentence from the text. 

And this is not the first time he’s got on Papa’s nerves or frightened someone half to death in the house. 

The highlighted expressions are called idioms.

Complete the following sentences by filling in the blanks with suitable idioms from the text given in the box below. 

leaving the coast clear          get on our nerves          frighten me half to death                        get a shelling                         fell over ourselves 

1. Shekhar knew he would get a shelling for breaking his mother’s favourite flower vase.
   
   
2. We fell over ourselves trying to help the injured dog and get it to the vet as quickly as possible.
   
   
3. Faizy distracted Kanchan, leaving the coast clear for us to get inside the room to prepare the birthday surprise.
   
   
4. The constant power fluctuations during meetings can get on our nerves.
   
   
5. When I am alone at home, any unexpected loud noise in the night can frighten me half to death.

IV Read the highlighted words in the given sentence. 

 It was indeed the fellow who had recently begun sweeping out the compounds in our row of houses. 

Here we refer to two completed actions─ the recent past (new action) and the later past (old action). 

1. Underline the verbs in simple past and past perfect tense for the following sentences from the text.

1. Verbs in Simple Past and Past Perfect Tense

(i) Ma had rushed in to see what the racket was all about and found Papa standing there, sopping wet and scowling.

• Past Perfect: had rushed
  
  
• Simple Past: was, found
  
  

(ii) Anand had vanished by this time and reappeared only after dinner when Papa had cooled down.

• Past Perfect: had vanished, had cooled
  
  
• Simple Past: reappeared
  
  

2. Fill in the blanks with Simple Past or Past Perfect form

(i) After Rohan A. had finished  (finish) his homework, he B. decided (decide) to go for a walk. He C. left (leave) the house and D. realised (realise) he E. had forgotten (forget) his keys inside.

(ii) By the time we A. reached (reach) the station, the train B. had already left (leave). 

We C. waited (wait) for the next one to arrive.

3. Combine the pairs of sentences using the time expressions in the boxes given below and rewrite them using the past perfect tenses. An example has been done for you. 

(i) Rohan had packed his suitcase before he left for the airport. (Example)

(ii) We had started work by the time he arrived in the morning.

(Alternative: We had started work before he arrived in the morning.)

(iii) They had set up the tents before the others brought food and medicine.

(iv) The students had become quiet when they heard the teacher coming.

(v) The villagers had left the village by the time the flood submerged the entire area.

(Alternative: The villagers had left the village before the flood submerged the entire area.)

Let us listen 

You will listen to a conversation between Anita and Toby. Toby is a Martian and is stranded on Earth. He has become Anita’s friend. As you listen, choose the true statements from 1–5 given below. (Transcript for the teacher on pg. 136)

1. Toby misses his school. (False)

2. Anita accepts Toby as her friend. (True)

3. Anita asks Toby about one of his facial features. (True)(She asks about his single big eye)

4. Toby tells Anita that she had a banana for breakfast. (False)

5. Toby shares that he can see much clearer with a closed eye. (True)

(Note: Statements 1 and 4 are False. Toby misses his "people and home," not school, and mentions an apple instead of a banana.)

II. Fill in the Blanks

1. Toby: I miss my people and home.
   
   
2. Toby: Well, we Martians don’t need to eat anything. We get our energy from the Sun.
   
   
3. Anita: Oh! Don’t you ever feel like having ice creams and chocolates?
   
   
4. Anita: Okay, tell me one thing. How are you able to see with only one eye?
   
   
5. Toby: I can see beyond mountains and clouds, woods and even metals. 

Let us speak

I. Now, work in pairs. Pronounce these words out loud and put them in the correct boxes given below

Sound Category	Given Words	Similar Sounding Words
Sounds like 'oo' (as in too)	through	flew, blue, shoe
Sounds like 'off' (as in scoff)	cough	trough, scoff
Sounds like 'o' (as in low)	dough	though, go, slow
Sounds like 'ow' (as in cow)	bough, plough	drought, cow, how
Sounds like 'aw' (as in saw)	thought	bought, brought, caught

II. Pronunciation Guide for Reading Aloud

When reading the paragraph aloud, pay attention to the different pronunciations of the highlighted -ough words:

cough -- sounds like koff

through -- sounds like throo

rough -- sounds like ruff

trough -- sounds like troff

ploughed --sounds like plowd

bough -- sounds like bow (rhymes with cow)

Though -- sounds like Tho

tough -- sounds like tuff

dough -- sounds like do

enough -- sounds like enuff

III. Tongue Twister Practice

"The boy with the tough (tuff) dough (doh) on the rose bough (bow) fell in the trough (troff) and caught a cough (koff)."

 Let us write

Think about different vocations that you see around or you are currently studying. 

For example: electrician, mechanic, chef, nurse, graphic designer. You may add more vocations to the list given here.

Vocation: Electrician

I choose to become an electrician because I enjoy solving practical problems and bringing light and power to people's homes. To pursue this vocation, proper technical training is required through a diploma or vocational course in electrical work, along with safety certifications. An electrician uses basic tools and equipment such as wire strippers, screwdrivers, multimeters, pliers, and safety gear like rubber gloves and protective goggles. My co-workers would include engineers, construction workers, interior designers, and fellow technicians. Teamwork is essential in this field because handling electricity safely requires clear communication and coordination to prevent accidents. When dealing with customers, I would speak politely, listen to their concerns carefully, and explain the problem and costs clearly before starting the work. I plan to pursue this vocation with a deep sense of pride, knowing that my skills keep homes safe and help communities run smoothly every day.

(Optionally, if you prefer Chef as your vocation, here is a quick alternative version):

Vocation: Chef

I choose to become a chef because I have a passion for cooking and bringing joy to people through delicious food. To enter this vocation, one needs formal training from a culinary arts school and hands-on practice under an experienced mentor. A chef relies on tools like chef knives, cutting boards, pans, measuring cups, and ovens. My co-workers would include assistant cooks, kitchen helpers, and waitstaff. Teamwork is crucial in a busy kitchen because everyone must coordinate seamlessly to prepare orders on time. I would deal with customers warmly by welcoming their feedback and catering to their dietary needs with care. I plan to pursue this vocation with pride by constantly creating wholesome meals that make people happy.

Let us explore 

 

Creativity is ‘thinking new things’; innovation is ‘doing new things’ and an invention is ‘bringing ideas or objects together in a novel way to create something that did not exist before’. All it takes is a simple idea. 

Human beings are naturally very curious and creative, and this has led to many scientific and technological inventions. You must have heard about many famous inventions. Some of them are mentioned below. You may look for the names of more such Indian inventors and their inventions.

You can collect images of the following famous Indian inventors and scientists along with their significant inventions and contributions: 

Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose: Invented the Cresco graph, a device used to measure growth and responses in plants. He was also a pioneer in wireless radio telecommunication.

Sir C.V. Raman (Nobel Laureate): Discovered the Raman Effect, which explains how light changes direction and energy when passing through transparent materials.

Dr. Vikram Sarabhai (Padma Vibhushan): Known as the Father of the Indian Space Programme. He played a key role in setting up the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Dr. Yellapragada Subbarow: Developed important medical drugs, including Methotrexate (used in cancer treatment) and Diethylcarbamazine (used to treat filariasis/elephantiasis).

Dr. Tessy Thomas: Known as the 'Missile Woman of India', she served as the Project Director for the Agni-IV missile system, making major contributions to India's defence technology.