The detailed Poorvi Class 8 Solutions and Unit 3 Mystery and Magic Chapter 7 The Case of the Fifth Word Question Answer serve as excellent models for writing neat exam answers.
The Case of the Fifth Word Class 8 Question Answer
Class 8 English Poorvi Chapter 7 Question Answer
Class 8 English Chapter 7 The Case of the Fifth Word Question Answer
Let Us Do These Activities Before We Read (Ncert Page 101)
I. Work in pairs. Solve the crossword puzzle given below with the clues in the form of anagrams.
Note An anagram is a word or phrase that is made by rearranging the letters in a different order to make a new word or phrase. For example, ‘Neat’ is an anagram of ‘a net’.
Across 3. Declare 6. Tucks 7. Heart 9. Felt 10. Sown 12. Sword 13.
Evil Down 1. Aces 2. Read 4. Tool 5. Alps 6. Hooks 8. Mane 11. Loves
Answer:
Across
3. Declare – Declared (or ‘declare’ itself)
6. Tucks – Stuck (anagram of ‘tucks’)
7. Heart – Earth (anagram of ‘heart’)
9. Felt – Left (anagram of ‘felt’)
10. Sown- Owns
12. Sword – Words (anagram of ‘sword’)
13. Evil – Vile (anagram of ‘evil’)
Down
1. Aces – Case (anagram of ‘aces’)
2. Read – Dare (anagram of ‘read’)
4. Tool – Loot (anagram of ‘tool’)
5. Alps – Laps (anagram of ‘alps’)
6. Hooks – Shook (anagram of ‘hooks’)
8. Mane – Name (anagram of ‘mane’)
11. Loves – Solve (anagram of ‘loves’)
II. Work in pairs. Match the different meaning of ‘case’ in column 2 with the correct usage in the sentences in Column 1. Share your answers with your classmates and teacher.
Answer:
| Column 1 | Column 2 | ||
| 1. | Lalit said that he could not sing but that was not the case as he sang melodiously later. | (i) | writing format |
| 2. | The lawyer was waiting for the case to be taken up in court. | (ii) | container |
| 3. | My pencil case is a gift from my grandmother. | (iii) | situation |
| 4. | The subject of a formal letter is written in title case. | (iv) | matter |
Let Us Discuss (Ncert Page 104)
I. Complete the following statements with suitable reasons. Share your answers with your classmates and teacher.
Question 1.
Leroy’s nickname was Encyclopedia and everyone called him by that name because …………
Answer:
he had an amazing memory and knew a lot of facts, just like an Encyclopedia book
Question 2.
At the dinner table on Tuesday night, Chief Brown stared at his cream-of-mushroom soup as …………
Answer:
he was thinking deeply about a difficult mystery he could not solve
Question 3.
Encyclopedia sat quietly at the dinner table because ………….
Answer:
he was listening carefully and thinking about the clues his father was sharing
Question 4.
Nolan put the will on the kitchen table because ………….
Answer:
he wanted to make sure it was found and read after his death and he used his last strength to leave instructions
II. Do you think Chief Brown would need Leroy’s help to solve this case? If yes, why? If no, why not?
Yes, because Leroy (Encyclopedia) is very clever and notices small details and hidden clues that adults might miss. His ability to think carefully and solve puzzles helped find the secret message Nolan left behind.
Let Us Discuss (Ncert Pages 107-108)
A fact is something that can be proven true or false. A fact is not based on people’s beliefs. An opinion on the other hand is a belief, feeling or judgement, and can vary from one person to another. An opinion cannot be proven.
Identify which of the following statements from part I and II of the story are facts or opinions. One example has been done for you. Share your answers with your classmates and teacher.
1. Encyclopedia’s father was the Chief of Police. Fact
2. Everyone thought that Chief Brown must be the smartest police chief in the country.
3. An encyclopedia is a book or set of books filled with facts from A to Z.
4. Leroy’s friends said that he was like a library and computer rolled into one and more user-friendly.
5. Two masked men held up the Diamond Mart on Sixth Avenue.
6. Nolan and Davenport had met while both were in prison in South Carolina.
7. Chief Brown’s hunch was that Davenport and Nolan decided to hide the loot until things cooled down.
8. Nolan wrote a four words code to tell Davenport where he had hidden the stolen jewellery.
Answer:
2. Opinion
3. Fact
4. Opinion
5. Fact
6. Fact
7. Opinion
8. Fact
II. Complete the table by choosing the character traits of Leroy given in the box below. There is an extra word that you do not need. One example has been done for you.
Answer:
2. humble
3. listener
4. cleverness
Let us think and reflect (ncert pages 108-110)
I. Read the given extracts and answer the questions that follow.
1. Chief Brown would have liked to tell everyone about his only child. But who would believe him? Who would believe that the best detective alive was an eighth grader? So, he said nothing.
Encyclopedià never spoke of the help he gave his father. He didn’t want to seem different from other boys. But there was nothing he could do about his nickname. He was stuck with it.
Only his parents and teachers called him by his real name, Leroy. Everyone else called him Encyclopedia.
(i) Complete the following sentence with a suitable reason.
Chief Brown’s dilemma can be called unique because …………
Answer:
he knows his son is the best detective but cannot openly share this fact with others who would find it hard to believe
(ii) What can be inferred about why Encyclopedia never spoke of the help he gave his father?
(a) He is shy and lacks confidence in his abilities to share his insights.
(b) He wants to avoid the jealousy others might feel about his skills.
(c) He desires to blend with the other boys to prevent seeming different.
(d) He is embarrassed about being smarter than most adults around him.
Answer:
(c) He desires to blend with the other boys to prevent seeming different.
(iii) The parents choose not to call their son “Encyclopedia”. Select the reason that is false.
(a) For them he is more than his unique abilities; he is their child, with a personal identity.
(b) Calling him by his real name reflects their affection and the desire to acknowledge him as an ordinary boy.
(c) They want him to be remembered as different from the others around.
Answer:
(c) They want him to be remembered as different from the others around.
(iv) What does the writer mean by the fact that Leroy was ‘stuck with’ the name Encyclopedia?
Answer:
It means that although Leroy did not want the nickname, everyone else used it so often that he could not get rid of it or change it.
2. Chief Brown studied the four words: Nom Utes Sweden Hurts. He shook his head and passed the notebook to Mrs. Brown again. ‘Can you figure it out?’
‘Nom is a shortening of nominative, a grammatical term,’ stated Mrs. Brown, who had taught English and other subjects in high school. ‘Utes is an American Indian tribe. Sweden is a country in northern Europe. Hurts is hurts.’
She lifted her gaze to Encyclopedia and shook her head.
‘I can’t figure it out,’ she confessed.
‘Davenport disappeared right after the hold-up,’ Encyclopedia reminded her.
(i) What does Chief Brown’s reaction of shaking his head suggest about his understanding of the four words?
(a) He is confident that the words are a clue.
(b) He is confused, unable to make sense of the words.
(c) He believes the words are random and meaningless.
(d) He thinks the words are unrelated to the case.
Answer:
(b) He is confused, unable to make sense of the words.
(ii) Identify whether the given statement is true or false.
Mrs. Brown explained the actual meanings of the individual words rather than decoding the hidden message behind them.
Answer:
True
(iii) What does Mrs. Brown’s inability to decode the words suggest about the message?
Answer:
It suggests that the message is a code or puzzle that requires special knowledge or insight to understand, not just the literal meanings of the words.
(iv) Complete the following sentence suitably.
The purpose of Encyclopedia’s reminder in the last line of the extract was to ……………,(refocus the discussion on the context of the crime/suggest that the coded message was meant for Davenport/imply that the message was likely a clue about the location of the stolen jewellery)
Answer:
suggest that the coded message was meant for Davenport
II. Answer the following questions.
Question 1.
Nolan and Davenport were very close. Support this statement with evidence from the text.
Answer:
Nolan and Davenport were very close, as shown by the fact that they met in prison and were believed to have planned the jewellery robbery together. After the robbery, Nolan risked being caught by going to see Davenport in hospital, which suggests a strong bond. Nolan even used a secret four-word code to inform Davenport about the location of the hidden loot, showing their trust and secret communication.
Question 2.
Why did Davenport disappear right after the jewellery hold-up? What might his plans have been if Nolan had not died?
Answer:
Davenport disappeared immediately after the robbery to avoid being caught by the police and to keep the loot hidden until it was safe. If Nolan had not died, it is likely they would have waited for the situation to calm down and then retrieved the hidden jewellery together.
Nolan’s coded message was probably meant to guide Davenport once it was safe to act.
Question 3.
What does Mrs. Brown’s interest in the case tell us about her?
Answer:
Mrs. Brown’s active involvement in discussing the code shows that she is intelligent, observant and analytical. Her attempt to decode the message indicates her willingness to engage with puzzles and contribute meaningfully to solving crimes.
It also shows that detective thinking is a shared value in the Brown family.
Question 4.
Explain why Chief Brown was proud of his son.
Answer:
Chief Brown was proud of his son because, despite being only in eighth grade, Encyclopedia had the intelligence and logical thinking skills to solve complex cases that even adults struggled with.
Let Us Learn (Ncert Pages 111-117)
I. Match the phrasal verbs from the text given in Column 1 with their meanings in Column 2. You may refer to a dictionary.
Answer:
| Column 1 | Column 2 | ||
| 1. | put on | (iv) | wear (clothes, hat, etc.) |
| 2. | cooled down | (iii) | became normal or calmed |
| 3. | turned up | (i) | appeared, been discovered |
| 4. | make of | (iv) | wear (clothes, hat, etc.) |
| 5. | figure out | (ii) | solve a problem |
| 6. | got away with | (v) | escaped without being punished |
Now, fill in the blanks using the phrasal verbs from Column 1
A. Finally, some important evidence about the case has ………….
B. After I ………… I understood that I had made a big mistake.
C. I couldn’t ………… why he was angry with me.
D. He ………… his special coat and went to his friend’s birthday party.
E. Ravi usually ………… not doing his homework, but the teacher asked for it that day.
F. I do not know what to ………… his behaviour.
Answer:
A. turned up
B. cooled down
C. figure out
D. put on E. gets away with
F. make of
II. Fill in the blanks in the following sentences by choosing the correct words pairs from the box given below.
1. After running for 50 kilometres last ………… I felt ……….. for two days.
2. When the committee met yesterday, they brought a ………… of local cases to the ………… .
3. While learning to drive, Rina used too much force on the ………… causing the car to ………… down.
4. He has composed a beautiful ………… of music in order to bring ………… to thousands of people.
5. She was busy ………… her hair, not caring about the ………… flowers in her garden.
Answer:
1. week, weak
2. piece, peace
3. brake, break
4. piece, peace
5. dyeing, dying
IV. Spoonerism is a mistake made when speaking, where the first sounds of the words in a phrase or a sentence are exchanged with each other. This usually gives a funny meaning.
Some examples of spoonerism are saying ‘wrong load’ instead of ‘long road’, ’round of mice’ instead of ‘mound of rice’.
Find the correct order for the following spoonerisms.
1. knowing sits
Answer:
snowing kits
2. it’s roaring with pain.
Answer:
it’s pouring with rain.
3. plaster man
Answer:
master plan
4. blarm wanket
Answer:
warm blanket
5. tars and crucks
Answer:
cars and trucks
6. shake a tower
Answer:
take a shower
7. bead a rook
Answer:
read a book
8. mardon me padam
Answer:
pardon me madam
V. Read the following sentences from the text and study the highlighted words.
1. Everyone thought that he must be the smartest police chief in the country.
2. She read what he had copied.
3. They tell where the jewellery is hidden.
4. “Nom is a shortening of nominative, a grammatical term,” stated Mrs. Brown, who had taught English and other subjects in high school.
5. “Nolan and Davenport had met,” Chief Brown said, “while both were in prison in South Carolina.”
6. When he came up against a case he couldn’t solve, he acted at once.
7. The code is simple, especially as it’s written on a sheet from a calendar.
8. They became friendly because of shared interests.
9. Encyclopedia solved the case for him before dinner was over.
Now, fill in the blanks with the words in the box given below to complete the following sentences. There are two extra words that you do not need.
Detective stories are exciting, keeping readers guessing (i) ………… the real culprit is. They take place in settings (ii) ………… hidden carefully. (iii) ………… clues are few, the mystery seems tricky, a clever detective always finds answers. Readers often wonder (iv) ………… criminals leave small but important clues. The challenge is to decide (v) ………… suspect is guilty.
(vi) ………… the truth is revealed, everything makes sense. But one may wonder (vii) ………… could have solved it themselves. These stories are fun (viii) ………… they make readers think till the very end.
Answer:
(i) who
(ii) where
(iii) Though
(iv) why
(v) which
(vi) When
(vii) who
(viii) because
Vl. Combine the following pairs of sentences using the word given in brackets. One example has been done for you.
Question 1.
We gave him the signal. He was waiting for the signal. (that)
Answer:
We gave him the signal that he was waiting for.
Question 2.
We went to a place. The incident occurred there. (where)
Answer:
We went to a place where the incident occurred.
Question 3.
Teacher said she would retire soon. She is now nearly sixty. (who)
Answer:
The teacher who is now nearly sixty said she would retire soon.
Question 4.
It was the day. Half the class was absent. (when)
Answer:
It was the day when half the class was absent.
VII. Read the following sentences from the text.
1. “What’s suspicious about that?” Mrs. Brown asked.
2. “What do you make of the four words, Leroy?”
3. “Wasn’t he mixed up in a Jewellery robbery a few years ago?”
4. “Didn’t you search Nolan’s house, dear?”
5. “Is there a young fir tree in Mr. Nolan’s palm-tree nursery?”
The given sentences are the direct words of the speaker, hence, they are in direct speech.
While reporting these direct words to someone else at some other time and some other place, we make certain modifications in person, tense and adverbs of place and time.
Tense Changes (Time Shift)
- Present → Past
- Past → Past Perfect
- Past Perfect → No change
- Present Progressive → Past Progressive
- Past Progressive → Past Perfect Progressive
- Present Perfect → Past Perfect
- Present Modal (e.g., will) → Past Modal (e.g., would)
- Past Modal → No change
Pronoun Changes (Subject-Perspective Shift)
- I → she/he
- you (singular) → she/he
- you (plural) → us
- we → they
- my → her/his
- our → their
- your → her/his/their
- me → her/him
- us → them
- mine → hers/his
- ours → theirs
- yours → hers/his/theirs
Time and Place Changes
- now → then
- ago → before
- today → that day
- tomorrow → the following day
- yesterday → the day before
- next week/month/year → the following week/month/year
- here → there
- this → that
- these → those
There are two types of Interrogative sentences. They are Wh- questions and Yes/No questions.
Steps for Reporting Wh- questions and Yes/No questions
1. Replace the reporting verb ‘said’ with words like ‘asked’, ‘inquired’, ‘interrogated’, or ‘questioned’.
2. Convert the interrogative sentence into a declarative one.
3. Apply the appropriate tense shift as per the rules of tense changes.
4. Remove quotation marks and the question mark.
5. Omit the conjunction ‘that’ in the reported speech.
6. In Wh-questions, place the Wh-word immediately after the reporting verb in the reported speech.
7. In Yes/No questions, use ‘If or whether’ immediately after the reporting verb in the reported speech.
Now, follow these steps to transform the sentences given as examples form direct speech to indirect speech.
Indirect speech
(i) Mrs. Brown asked …………
Answer:
what was suspicious about that
(ii) Mrs. Brown questioned Leroy ………… .
Answer:
about what he made of the four words
(iii) Mrs. Brown inquired ………… ,
Answer:
whether he had been mixed up in a jewellery robbery a few years ago
(iv) Mrs. Brown asked Chief Brown ………… .
Answer:
if he had searched Nolan’s house
(v) Mrs. Brown inquired ………… .
Answer:
whether there was a young fir tree in Mr. Nolan’s palm-tree nursery
VIII. Rewrite the following sentences in Reported Speech
Question 1.
“Why did you stop talking to me？” asked Rohan. Rohan questioned …………
Answer:
why I had stopped talking to him
Question 2.
“Did you enjoy the family gathering yesterday?” asked my aunt. My aunt asked …………
Answer:
If I had enjoyed the family gathering the day before
Question 3.
“When will you visit us again” asked my grandmother．
My grandmother inquired …………
Answer:
when I would visit them again
Question 4.
Madavi said to Ravi,”Will you come with me to meet our old teacher tomorrow？”
Madavi asked Ravi …………..
Answer:
if he would come with her to meet their old teacher the next day
Question 5.
My friend said,”What gift are you planning to give your brother?”
My friend inquired …………
Answer:
what gift I was planning to give my brother
Question 6.
“Shall I carry these notebooks to the staffroom, Maam？” asked Veenu
Veenu asked her teacher …………
Answer:
if she should carry those notebooks to the staffroom
IX. Read the conversation between Aditi and Rahul
ADITI：Did you see anyone leave a package near the lift？
RAHUL：I noticed a man wearing a blue jacket drop it off
ADITI：What time did you see this happen？
RAHUL：It was around 6：45 p.m.
ADITI：Were you able to see his face？
RAHUL：He wore a hood and so I couldn’t see his face
Complete the following paragraph by transforming the dialogue in indirect speech
Aditi asked Rahul 1. …………
Rahul replied that he had noticed a man wearing a blue jacket drop it off
Aditi asked Rahul 2. …………
Rahul replied that it had been around 6:45 p.m.
Aditi further inquired 3. …………
Rahul said that he had worn a hood, so he couldn’t see his face.
Answer:
1. if he had seen anyone leave a package near the lift
2. what time he had seen it happen
3. whether he had been able to see the man’s face
Let Us Write (Ncert Pages 119-121)
I. A report is written for an event that has already occurred. The purpose of a report is to provide first-hand details of an incident or event. It presents the information in a proper sequence. Read the sample report written about the ‘Inter-school Football Tournament’ organised by your Vidyalaya.
Now, as a member of the Art and Craft Club, write a report on an ‘Inter-school Art Exhibition’ organised by your school. Include the necessary details.
Answer:
Inter-school Art Exhibition
by Sharmishtha, VIII B
An Inter-school Art Exhibition was organised by the Art and Craft Club of our school on 2nd June, 20XX in the school auditorium. The event saw enthusiastic participation from five neighbouring schools.
The exhibition showcased a variety of art forms including paintings, sketches, clay modelling and craftwork. The theme for this year’s exhibition was ‘Nature and Environment’, which inspired students to express their creativity through different mediums.
The event began at 10 a.m. with a welcome speech by the school principal, who appreciated the efforts of the young artists. The chief guest, a renowned local artist, also addressed the gathering and encouraged students to pursue art with passion.
Visitors admired the creativity and skill displayed by the participants. Our school team won several prizes, including the ‘Best Painting’ and ‘Most Innovative Craft’ awards.
The exhibition was well-organised, with proper arrangements for display, seating and refreshments. The event ended on a high note at 3 p.m., with a vote of thanks delivered by the Art and Craft Club coordinator.
Overall, the Inter-school Art Exhibition was a great success, providing a wonderful platform for students to showcase their talent and learn from each other.