Oral Comprehension Check
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Question 1.
Where in the classroom does Wanda sit and why?
Answer:
Wanda Petronski used to sit on the corner most benches, lost in her world, where rough boys usually sat. She was a very poor, shy and quiet girl and did not want to mess with others so she preferred to sit in isolation.
Question 2.
Where does Wanda live? What kind of a place do you think it is?
Answer:
Wanda lives upon Boggins Heights, where poor people live. It is not a developed area and is covered with mud. There are no proper roads or streets and it is a kind of slum.
Question 3.
When and Why do Peggy and Maddie notice Wanda’s absence?
Answer:
Wanda didn’t come to school on Monday and Tuesday but nobody noticed her absence as she did not have friends in the class. When Peggy and Maddie waited for Wanda to make fun of her after the school was off, they noticed that she was absent, otherwise nobody bothered about her there.
Question 4.
What do you think “to have fun with her” means?
Answer:
“To have fun with her ” means to laugh at her as it is human tendency to make fun of others imperfections which are mostly about the appearance. Here in the story, Wanda is a source of amusement or pleasure because of her shy nature and her hundred dresses.
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Question 5.
In what way was Wanda different from the other children?
Answer:
Wanda Petronski was a polish girl whose parents had settled down in America. She was a source of fun because of her last name which made her different from others, because Americans did not have such names and it was difficult to pronounce.
She came to school alone and her feet were covered with mud. She preferred to sit alone in the last in the class. She had only one blue dress which was faded but claimed of having a hundred dresses. These qualities make her different from other children.
Question 6.
Did Wanda have a hundred dresses? Why do you think she said she did?
Answer:
Wanda was teased everyday by her classmates after school
hours. They used to make fun of her dress and her name. One day tired of all the teasing and taunting, she claimed of having a hundred dresses and sixty pairs of shoes, but nobody believed her.
She was a determined girl and had a great amount of self-confidence. For her number of dresses were not important but the inner talent which had the real value.
Question 7.
Why is Maddie embarrassed by the questions Peggy asks Wanda? Is she also like Wanda, or is she different?
Answer:
Maddie is embarrassed by the questions Peggy asks Wanda because she is also poor and understands the mental condition of Wanda. She also wears dresses handed down by rich family. Though, she is an American but she has the same mind-set as Wanda and doesn’t want anyone to tease Wanda because of her dress or her name.
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Question 8.
Why didn’t Maddie ask Peggy to stop teasing Wanda? What was she afraid of?
Answer:
Maddie didn’t ask Peggy to stop teasing Wanda because Peggy was the most popular girl in the school. She was a nice girl but when it came to Wanda she behaved differently, otherwise she helped everyone in trouble. Though, she wants Peggy to stop teasing Wanda, she didn’t ask her to do so as she was afraid of being the next target of such taunts and teasings.
Question 9.
Who did Maddie think would win the drawing contest? Why?
Answer:
Maddie always believed that Peggy would win the drawing contest as she was good in drawing and everybody in the school loved her. She had a good image and impression on her teachers and classmates. No other girl in the class could draw as well as her. So, Peggy definitely had very good chances of winning the drawing contest according to Maddie.
Question 10.
Who won the drawing contest? What had the winner drawn?
Answer:
Among the boys, Jack Beggles and among the girls, Wanda
Petronski won the drawing contest. To show her determination she did not attend the school for two days and had drawn a • hundred sketches of dresses of different colours.. Each of them was capable to win the contest individually.
Wanda had drawn all the dresses which she had claimed to have had in the class. Everybody was very impressed with her drawing skill and clapped for her.
Thinking about the Text
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Question 11.
How is Wanda seen as different by the other girls? How do they treat her?
Answer:
Wanda is a polish girl who has setded in America with her parents. She lived in Boggin’s Height. She came to school in same faded blue dress everyday with her feet always covered with mud. Her last name is quite funny and difficult to pronounce for her classmates. Her appearance was not perfect to be in a higher class so all the students made fun of her and teased her after the school hours. After being teased over her tolerance she ) claimed to have had a hundred dresses in her closet.
Question 12.
How does Wanda feel about the dresses game? Why does she say that she has a hundred dresses?
Answer:
Wanda feels very embarrassed but remains silent in the class. She doesn’t talk to anyone and sits on the back bench with rough boys so that nobody can give attention to her. She is deeply hurt but never complains about it. To avoid their taunts and humiliation, Wanda says that she has a hundred dresses and sixty pairs of matching shoes in her closet. Later on, she draws all of them on paper for the drawing competition.
Question 13.
Why does Maddie stand by and does not do anything? How is she different from Peggy? or (was Peggy’s friendship important to Maddie? Why? Which lines in the text tell you this?)
Answer:
Peggy is the most popular girl in the class and Maddie is her closest friend. Though, Maddie is poor, Peggy never teases her as she does with Wanda so Maddie is afraid of losing her friendship. That’s why, she does not risk to annoy Peggy and prefers to be silent. The line, “Peggy was the best-liked girl in the whole room. Peggy could not possibly do anything that was really wrong” illustrates this.
Question 14.
What does Miss Mason think of Wanda’s drawings? What do the children think of them? How do you know?
Answer:
Miss Mason is very impressed with Wanda’s drawings. She considers them really beautiful and worthy of winning individually. The children are also impressed by the drawing skills of Wanda that they all applaud and whistle when she wins among the girls.
Thinking about Language
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Question 1.
Combine the following to make sentences.
1. This is the bus (what kind of bus?). It goes to Agra, (use which or that).
2. I would like to buy, (a) shirt (which shirt?) (The) shirt is in the shop window, (use which or that)
3. You must break your fast at a particular time (when?). You see the moon in the sky. (use when)
4. Find a word (what kind of word?). It begins with the letter Z, (use which or that)
5. Now find a person (what kind of person ?) His or her name begins with the letter Z. (use whose)
6. Then go to a place (what place?). There are no people whose name begins with Z in that place, (use where)
Answers:
1. This is the bus that goes to Agra.
2. I would like to buy a shirt that is in the shop window.
3. You must break your fast at a particular time when you see the moon in the sky.
4. Find a word that begins with letter Z.
5. Now find a person whose name begins with letter Z.
6. Then go to a place where there are no people whose name begins with letter Z.
Question 2.
The Narrative Voice Here are two other sentences from the story. Can you say whose point of view the italicised words express?
1. But on Wednesday, Peggy and Maddie, who sat down in front with other children who got good marks and who didn’t track in a whole lot of mud, did notice that Wanda wasn’t there.
2. Wanda Petronski. Most of the children in room thirteen didn’t have names like that. They had names easy to say, like Thomas, Smith or Allen.
Answer:
1. The italicised words express the point of view of Peggy and Maddie.
2. These italicised words express the point of view of other children of Wandas’ class excluding Peggy and Maddie.
Question 3.
Other such adverbs are apparently, evidently, surprisingly, possibly, hopefully, incredibly, luckily. Use these words appropriately in the blanks in the sentences below. (You may use a word more than once and more than one word may be appropriate for a given blank.)
1. ____, he finished his work on time.
2. ____, it will not rain on the day of the match.
3. ____, he had been stealing money from his
employer.
4. Television is ____ to blame for the increase in violence in society,
5. The children will ____ learn from their mistakes.
6. I can’t ____ lend you that much money.
7. The thief had ____ been watching the house for many days.
8. The thief ____ escaped by bribing the jailor.
9. ____no one had suggested this before.
10. The water was ____hot.
Answers:
1. Surprisingly
2. Hopefully
3. Possibly
4. evidendy
5. hopefully
6. possibly
7. apparendy
8. luckily
9. Incredibly
10. incredibly
Class 10 English Chapter 5 The Hundred Dresses Part 1 Important Questions
Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1. Describe the reaction of Wanda Petronski to Peggy and Maddie.
Answer: When Peggy and Maddie made fun of Wanda Petronski, she did not speak to them and remained serious. As she had no American friend she walked alone with dull eyes and hitched her shoulders in a funny way.
Question 2. Why did Maddie write a note to Peggy and then tore it?
Answer: Maddie wrote a note to Peggy to stop making fun of Wanda. But she tore it because she thought that it could annoy Peggy and she would make fun of her instead.
Question 3. Explain two dresses of Wanda Petronski in brief. CBSE 2016
Answer: Each dress of Wanda was different from the other as one of the dresses was in a brilliant jungle green colour and the other was red sash. Actually each of them were beautiful enough to win the competition individually.
Question 4. What kind of a girl was Peggy?
Answer: Peggy was the most attractive and intelligent girl. She was very sentimental. She couldn’t bear an animal to be hurt and protected small children from bullies, but towards Wanda, she had a different attitude.
Question 5. What was the competition about in the school?
Answer: There was a drawing competition in the school. In the competition all boys had to draw a motorboat and all girls had to make sketches of a dress.
Question 6. Who won the drawing competition in each category? What had they drawn?
Answer: Jack Beggles who drew a motor boat won in the boys category and Wanda Petronski who drew hundred different dresses won the girls medal in the drawing competition.
Question 7. Did Wanda have a hundred dresses? Why do you think she said she did?
Answer: No, Wanda did not have a hundred dresses. She had only one dress. Wanda was a creative girl. She had a hundred designs of different dresses in her mind. She said that she had a hundred dresses to arouse curiosity among the girls who asked her this question mockingly.
Question 8. How does everyone in the class react to Wanda’s drawing?
Answer: Everyone clapped after having a look of Wanda’s drawing. Even the boys who were not interested in drawing applauded and whistled at the taw-dropping sketches that Wanda had made of the hundred dresses she claimed to have.
Question 9. How did the children react when Wanda was declared winner of the contest?
Answer: The children suddenly and spontaneously clapped hands. Even the boys were glad to have a chance to stamp on the floor. They put their fingers in their mouths and whistled, though they were not interested in dresses.
Question 10. What was the opinion of the judges about Wanda?
Answer: Wanda had drawn one hundred designs of dresses, which were all different and all beautiful. In the opinion of the judges any one of the drawings was worthy of winning the prize. So she was declared winner of the girls medal.
Question 11. Where in the classroom does Wanda sit and why?
Answer: Wanda sits in the seat next to the last seat in the last row in Room thirteen. She sits in the corner where there is mud and dirt on the floor. The atmosphere is noisy as well. It is because she has to come from muddy area.
Question 12. Where does Wanda live? What kind of place do you think it is?
Answer: Wanda lives at Boggins Heights. It is a place full of mud and dirt. There is earth all round. There are no metallic roads. The atmosphere must be unhygienic.
Question 13. When and why do Peggy and Maddie notice Wanda’s absence?
Answer: Peggy and Maddie notice Wanda’s absence on Tuesday. But on Wednesday again, Peggy and Maddie noticed that Wanda was not present in the class. They waited for her in the way and they became late on her account. Thus both noticed her absence.
Question 14. What do you think ‘to have fun with her’ means?
Answer: Here it means that Peggy and Maddie desired to enjoy with her. They did not want to tease her but it was a way to pass a happy time.
Question 15. In what way was Wanda different from the other children?
Answer: Wanda was different from other children. She had a funny name. It was hard to speak. She used to say that she had hundred of different dresses. She possessed sixty pairs of shoes.
Question 16. Did Wanda have a hundred dresses? Why do you think she said she did?
Answer: Wanda Petronski did not have a hundred dresses. She used to say that they were all lined up in closet. Wanda was not an ordinary person. She said so to arouse curiosity and she did. She had creative tastes.
Question 17. Why is Maddie embarrassed by the questions Peggy asks Wanda? Is she also like Wanda, or is she different?
Answer: Maddie is embarrassed when Peggy asks Wanda questions about different items like dresses, hats and other things. These questions are in Peggy’s funny voice. It is because Maddie is a poor girl. She wears the old clothes handed by others. Maddie is not like Wanda. She is quite different. She thanks herself that she does not live in Boggins Heights.
Question 18. Why didn’t Maddie ask Peggy to stop teasing Wanda? What was she afraid of?
Answer: One day Maddie was doing her arithmetic sums absentmindedly. She was happy that she had not made any fun of Wanda. She decided to write a note to Peggy requesting her to stop asking Wanda about her dresses. But she had no courage. She thought she would become the next target.
Question 19. Who did Maddie think would win the drawing contest? Why?
Answer: Maddie thought that Peggy would win the drawing and colour contest. It was because Peggy drew better than anyone else in the room. She could even copy a picture from a magazine or some film star’s head alike. Maddie was thus good at making pictures.
Question 20. Who won the drawing contest? What had the winner drawn?
Answer: The drawing contest was won by Wanda Petronski. There were drawings all over the room in dazzling colours. They were very brilliant and had lavish designs. For Wanda’s work, she was given a medal and applauses.
Question 21. How is Wanda seen as different by the other girls? How do they treat her?
Answer: Wanda is seen quite differently by the other girls. She lives in Boggins Heights. She remains quiet and rarely says anything at all. She never laughs loudly. Sometimes she would twist her mouth into a crooked sort of smile. The other girls made fun of her for hundred dresses.
Question 22. How does Wanda feel about the dresses game? Why does she say that she has a hundred dresses?
Answer: Wanda Petronski does not like the game of the dresses. The students bother her for the dresses. Wanda makes up the story about the dresses to show her taste. In the end she arranges hundreds of dress designs in the classroom and she is declared as the winner.
Question 23. What does Miss Mason think of Wanda’s drawings? What do the children think of them? How do you know?
Answer: Miss Mason thinks that the drawings of Wanda were the best in the entire Room Thirteen. These were put up everywhere in the room. They were in dazzling colours and lavish designs. They must have been a hundred of them all lined up. The children stopped to look at them. They whistled and admired this marvellous work of art.
Long Answer Type Questions
Question 1. Write down the character sketch of Wanda Petronski.
Answer: Wanda Petronski is a polish girl who has shifted in America from Poland with her parents. She is very poor and lives up on Boggins Heights. She is very shy and quiet. She does not talk to anyone. She has no friends and sits in the last row of the class with some naughty boys so that nobody notices her. She wears the same faded blue dress everyday which is not ironed but clean.
Everybody teases her in her class. In anger, she claims of having a hundred dresses and sixty pair of shoes at home. She- is very determined and shows her determination in the drawing competition by displaying the hundred sketches of dresses she claims to own. Each of them was so beautiful, that she wins the competition and surpasses Peggy.
Question 2. “The Hundred Dresses-I” is about teasing Wanda. It also borders on ragging and racism indirectly. Describe how does it affect you and how do you evaluate it?
Answer: The story ‘The Hundred Dresses-I’ is really all about teasing of Wanda being polish and having a strange name. They made fun of Wanda and made her feel inferior by asking her about her dresses. Their behaviour towards Wanda was completely undesirable as it shows racism and ragging. These are totally condemnable issues in the society which cannot be accepted.
Peggy and Maddie never thought of Wanda’s feelings and continued teasing her but her selection as a winner shows that colour, prejudice or racism are not the parameter of talent as everybody clapped for her drawings.
Question 3. It disturbs you that Peggy and Maddie make fun of Wanda. You don’t like it. You decide to speak about this as weak, ugly or poor. Write a speech to express your thoughts. [CBSE 2016]
Answer: Dear friends, Today I would like to express my thoughts about the issue of making fun of the students who are weak, ugly or poor by those who are bit superior to them in these aspects. But I would like to fetch your attention that being ugly or poor is not a personal choice or fault. God creates us with different qualities and we should see those qualities in others too. One may be poor or physically unattractive but he/she may have better qualities or skill than us. As in the story, Wanda Petronski is better than Peggy and Maddie in her creativity or drawing.
I hope we all give respect to one another and do not judge anyone on the basis of their monetary status o
Question 4. Why is Maddie embarrassed by the questions Peggy asks Wanda? Is she also like Wanda, or is she different?
Answer: Peggy always makes fun of Wanda by asking her how many dresses and shoes she had. She was amused when Wanda told that she had hundred dresses and sixty pairs of shoes. Maddie was also a poor girl and used to wear old clothes given by others. Peggy’s questions to Wanda used to embarrass Maddie. She was not like Wanda. She did not have a funny name. She did not live in a slum colony.
Question 5. Why does Maddie stand by and not do anything? How is she different from Peggy? (Was Peggy’s friendship important to Maddie? Why? Which lines in the text tell you this?)
Answer: Maddie does not want that Peggy should make fun of Wanda for her dresses and she thought Peggy would decide of her own accord to stop having fun with Wanda. She is different from Peggy. She wears old clothes while Peggy has her own dress. Peggy’s friendship was important to Maddie. She was her best friend. The following line says, “Peggy was the best liked girl in the whole room. Peggy could not possibly do anything that was really wrong.”