The Fun They Had
Exercise.
Q1. How old are Margie and Tommy?
Answer: Margie is eleven years old and Tommy is thirteen years old.
Q2. What did Margie write in her diary?
Answer: Margie wrote, “Today, Tommy found a real book.”
Q3. Had Margie ever seen a book before?
Answer: No, Margie had never seen a real printed book before. She was surprised to see one.
Q4. What things about the book did she find strange?
Answer: She found it strange that the words in the book were printed on paper and did not move, unlike the words on her screen.
Q5. What do you think a telebook is?
Answer: A telebook is an electronic book that can be read on a screen.
Q6. Where was Margie’s school? Did she have any classmates?
Answer: Margie’s school was in her house, right next to her bedroom. She did not have any classmates; she studied alone.
Q7. What subjects did Margie and Tommy learn?
Answer: They learned Geography, History, and Arithmetic from their mechanical teacher.
Q8. What kind of teachers did Margie and Tommy have?
Answer: They had mechanical teachers—large, black, screen-like computers that taught them lessons, gave tests, and checked their work.
Q9. Why did Margie’s mother send for the County Inspector?
Answer: Margie’s mother sent for the County Inspector because Margie was performing poorly in Geography.
Q10. What did the County Inspector do to help Margie?
Answer: The County Inspector adjusted the mechanical teacher’s geography sector, which had been too fast, making it difficult for Margie.
Q11. Why was Margie disappointed?
Answer: Margie was disappointed because she had hoped the Inspector would take the mechanical teacher away, but he only repaired it.
Q12. What had once happened to Tommy’s teacher?
Answer: Tommy’s teacher once got completely taken away for nearly a month because its history sector had broken down.
Q13. Did Margie have regular days and hours for school? If so, why?
Answer: Yes, Margie had regular days and hours for school because her mother believed that children learned better if they studied at fixed times daily.
Q14. How does Tommy describe the old school system?
Answer: Tommy explains that in old schools, students learned together in a building, teachers were human beings, and they taught the children face-to-face.
Q15. How does Margie feel about old schools?
Answer: Margie feels that old schools must have been fun because children could be together, laugh, shout, and learn from human teachers.
Q16. Do you think Margie was enjoying her school? Why/Why not?
Answer: No, Margie was not enjoying her school. She found her mechanical teacher boring and wished she had a real teacher and classmates.