8th standard English FL POEM-9
BENJAMIN JONES GOES SWIMMING
Pre-reading task:
1. Have you ever participated in a competition?
Answer: Yes. I have participated in running race competition.
2. How did you feel at the start of the competition?
Answer: I felt little bit nervous at the start of the competition. However, overcame from that at the end.
3. Did you win a prize?
Answer: Yes. I got third prize.
4. How did you feel then?
Answer: Then I felt very happy.
Glossary :
confident : sure
free-for-all meet : anyone can participate
absurd : foolish
blush : feel shy
acclaim : praise
swimmers : group of swimmers
poised : stood ready
spectators : onlookers
contest : competition
venture a bite : to try to bite
grab : catch hold of
claw : sharp nails of an animal’s or bird’s foot
foe : enemy
like a swimmer : a swimmer controlled by an extraordinary spirit possessed
Comprehension:
I. Answer the following questions in two or three sentences each:
1. What did Benjamin inform his wife?
Answer: Benjamin informed his wife that he will going to compete in the free-for-all meet swimming competition on fourth of July. He said that he will win if he try’s.
2. Why did Benjamin’s wife discourage him?
Answer: Benjamin had not gone swimming for some years. So his wife thought that he can’t compete with other famous fast swimmers. She sure that he will be the last in the race. Therefore, Benjamin’s wife discouraged him.
3. How did Benjamin win the swimming competition?
Answer: When the swimming competition started, Benjamin was very slow. One crab came and saw his toe. Benjamin noticed the crab as it started to grab and came near him. He frightened. Immediately he started swim like a swimmer and won the swimming competition.
4. What do you learn from this poem?
Answer: Sometimes luck along with our success. The poem teaches how to turn the unexpected incidents to our favour. The poem ‘Benjamin Jones Goes Swimming’ teaches us that if we make up our mind for something, then nothing can stop us. Benjamin informed his wife that he will going to participate in swimming. His wife sure that he will be the last in the race. But the crab incident make Benjamin the winner.
II. Appreciation:
Answer the following as directed :
1. The poem is in the style of ____________
a. a dialogue
b. anti-climax
c. satire
d. climax
Answer: satire
2. Appreciate the following expressions in 3-4 sentences each:
a. With others so fast, you’re sure to be last.
Answer: Benjamin’s wife thought that others could swim fast than him. So he will be the last in the race. This saying highlights the importance of self-awareness and self-acceptance. Sometimes, constantly comparing yourself to others can be detrimental to your mental health and motivation. But this one is the common funny, light, humorous conversation between the couples.
b. His pace was so slow that a crab saw his toe and thought it would venture a bite.
Answer: This is a humorous and memorable way to describe someone’s slow pace. The image of a crab considering a bite on a human toe means both are very slow. This creates a humorous image and indicates the man’s lack of speed.
c. She fell in the lake with a splash.
Answer: This was one of the poet’s imagination. She confirmed that Benjamin would be the last in swimming competition. She can’t believe the truth. She shocked when Benjamin winning the race. So the poet describes as ‘she fell in the lake with a splash’. This is the way she reacts to Benjamin’s win.
3. Compose a four-lined poem with any humorous situation, which you have come across and present it to the class.
Answer:
I was in a high jump competition
This time I jumped very high
I jumped a record high, higher than anyone else did
When I woke up, I was lying under the bed
Exercises
III. Let’s read and respond:
A. Fill in the blanks based on your understanding of the poem:
1. Benjamin told his wife that he would compete and win the swimming competition.
2. It was a free for all swimming competition.
3. Benjamin’s wife said that he would come last because he haven’t gone swimming for years.
4. The swimmers galore waited for praise on the day of the competition.
5. The competition took place on Fourth of July
6. Other Swimmers passed Benjamin on the right and the left because his pace was very slow.
7. The crab thought of biting Benjamin’s toe because it must have looked like food.
8. Benjamin won the race as he swam fast to escape the crab.
9. His wife fell into the water because she was shocked to see her husband win the race.
B. Make a list of all the rhyming words in the poem. There are rhyming words in the same lines and at the end of the lines.
Answer: Jones-tones, compete-meet, word-absurd, fast-last, July-try, years-ears, came-acclaim, place-race, galore-shore, began-man, left-right, slow-toe, thought-bite, crab-grab, guessed-possessed, toe-foe, shore-roar, him-swim, dash-splash, dock-shock
