Class 9 - Unit 03 - Reading B - THE DENTIST AND THE CRORODILE

UNIT - 3	AWARENESS ABOUT HEALTH
READING - B	THE DENTIST AND THE CRORODILE

Comprehension

1. Pick out the words that express the dentist’s fear of the crocodile.

Answer – Quivered, quaked and shook are the words that express the dentist’s fear of the crocodile.

 

2. How is the dentist’s fear of the crocodile expressed?

Answer – The dentist’s fear of the crocodile is expressed as his face was turning white.

 

3. What steps does the dentist take to examine the crocodile’s teeth?

Answer – The dentist chooses the longest probe he has to search the crocodile’s teeth and stands two yards away from him.

 

4. Why did the crocodile tell the dentist to do the back ones properly?

Answer – The crocodile told the dentist to do the back ones properly because he wanted to frighten him. He was actually playing the trick to scare him. He insisted the dentist to put his head deep down inside his great big mouth to examine the back molars.

 

5. Why was the crocodile grinning?

Answer – The crocodile was grinning because he was playing the trick on the dentist to make his frighten thought he didn’t mean any harm.

 

6. Pick out the phrases that describe Crocky’s physical appearance?

Answer – The phrases that describe crocodile’s physical appearance are 

(i) He opened wide his massive jaws.

(ii) Three hundred pointed teeth, all sharp and shining white.

(iii) Deep down inside my great big mouth.

 

7. Which line shows that the crocodile was playing a trick?

Answer – The line which shows that the crocodile was playing a trick was –

“Oh, Croc, you naughty boy, you’re playing the tricks again!”

 

8. What is the most comic sight in the poem?

Answer – The most comic sight in the poem was when the crocodile sat on the chair and asked the dentist to check his molars by opening his massive jaws where at least three hundred pointed, sharp and shining white teeth were present. The frightened dentist added more comical element to the poem.

 

9. Pick out the lines which describe the dentist in the most pitiable condition.

Answer – “The poor old dentist wrung his hands and, weeping in despair, He cried.” – it was the line which describes the dentist in the most pitiable condition.

Vocabulary

The dentist ‘quivered, quaked and shook.’ These three verbs describe how scared the dentist was. Look up a dictionary and see how each one of these words describe a different state. Here are some more words:

scare, dread, horror, terror, unease, nightmare, cold feet

Look them up in a dictionary and see how each one of them is used. Use them in your own sentences.

Answer – Meanings of ‘‘quivered, quaked and shook.’ Quivered – to shake slightly, moved slowly because of fear Quaked – shook because of fear Shook – the quick movement of the body because of fear

Answer –

Scare – to become frightened

Sentence - The crocodile scared the dentist.

 

Dread – to be very afraid of something

Sentence - The dentist was in dreadful condition to see the crocodile.

 

Horror – a feeling of great fear or shock

Sentence - The dentist felt a surge of horror when the crocodile opened his big mouth.

 

Terror - a state of intense or overwhelming fear

Sentence - The dentist lived in the state of terror of being eaten.

 

Unease – mental discomfort, anxiety

Sentence - A feeling of unease came over the dentist.

 

Nightmare - a frightening dream that usually awakens the sleeper

Sentence - The visit of the crocodile was a nightmare to the dentist.

 

Cold feet – extremely frightened

Sentence - The dentist had cold feet when he saw the three hundred teeth of the crocodile.

 

(I have made the sentences related to the poem to help the students recognise them in the context with the help of the text. But, they are always free to frame their own sentences to unleash their creativity.)

©Anupam Agrawal