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NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First

Flight Unit 5
The Hundred Dresses - I Class 10
Unit 5 The Hundred Dresses - I Exercise Answers & Summary

Oral comprehension check : Solutions of Questions on Page Number : 65

Q1 :

Where in the classroom does Wanda sit and why?

Answer :
Wanda sat in the seat next to the last seat, in the last row, in Room Thirteen. She sat in
the corner of the room where the rough boys who did not get good marks sat. It was
also the place where there was the most scuffling of feet, most roars of laughter when
anything funny was said, and most mud and dirt on the floor.

Q2 :

Where does Wanda live? What kind of a place do you think it is?

Answer :
Wanda lived at Boggins Heights. It seems that it was a place far away from the school
and also, where there was a lot of dry mud, thereby indicating that it was not a very rich
locality.

Q3 :

When and why do Peggy and Maddie notice Wanda's absence?

Answer :

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Peggie and Maddie noticed Wanda's absence after three days, i.e., on Wednesday.
They finally noticed her absence because Wanda had got them late for school. They
had waited for her in order to have some fun, but she did not turn up.

Q4 :

What do you think "to have fun with her" means?

Answer :
In this context, 'to have fun with her' means that Peggy and Maddie would have made
fun of Wanda and teased her for their own pleasure.

Q5 :

In what way was Wanda different from the other children?

Answer :
Wanda was different from other children. She did not have any friends. She came to
school alone and went home alone. She always wore a faded blue dress that did not fit
her properly. Unlike other children, she did not talk to anybody.

Q6 :

Did Wanda have a hundred dresses? Why do you think she said she did?

Answer :
No, she did not have a hundred dresses because she was poor and wore the same
faded dress to school everyday.Probably, it was a child's fantasy to possess a hundred
dresses - a child who had only one dress to wear for school. The other children used to
make fun of her poverty, and would have laughed at her whatever she might have said.
This could have been the reason for her exaggerating everything.

Q7 :

Why is Maddie embarrassed by the questions Peggy asks Wanda? Is she also like
Wanda, or is she different?

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Answer :
Maddie was embarrassed by the questions Peggy asked Wanda because she was poor
herself. She usually wore old clothes, which were handed down by someone else. She
did not feel sorry for Wanda. She was worried that perhaps later, everyone would start
teasing her too. She thought she was different from Wanda in the sense that she would
never claim that she had a hundred dresses. She was not as poor as Wanda. Yet she
was afraid that the others might mock her too.

Thinking about the textoral comprehension check : Solutions of Questions on Page Number
: 70
Q1 :

How is Wanda seen as different by the other girls? How do they treat her?

Answer :
Wanda was different from other girls. She did not have any friends. She came to school
alone and went home alone. She always wore a faded blue dress that did not fit her
properly. Unlike others, she did not talk to anybody. The other girls teased her and had
fun with her. They would surround her, and Peggy would ask how many dresses she
had. Wanda would reply that she had a hundred and they would continue teasing her.
Then, they would let her go. Before she could go very far, they would burst into
laughter. They kept asking her how many hats she had, or shoes, etc. All of them
mocked her and made fun of her.

Q2 :

Why didn't Maddie ask Peggie to stop teasing Wanda? What was she afraid of?

Answer :
Maddie tried to tell Peggy to stop teasing Wandaby writing a note to her. She knew she
would never have the courage to speak to Peggy about this matter. As she was writing
the note, she pictured herself in the school yard as a new target for Peggy and the girls.
She thought Peggy might ask her where she got the dress she had on and she would
have to say that it was one of Peggy's old ones. This was what she was afraid of.
Consequently, she ended up tearing the note.

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Q3 :

How does Wanda feel about the dresses game? Why does she say that she has a
hundred dresses?

Answer :
Wanda did not show any feelings regarding the dresses game. It is most likely that she
was deeply hurt. It could have been one of the reasons why her family left the place and
moved to the city.
Probably, it was a child's fantasy to possess a hundred dresses - a child who had only
one dress to wear for school. The other children used to make fun of her poverty, and
would have laughed at her whatever she might have said. This could have been the
reason for her exaggerating everything.

Q4 :

Who did Maddie think would win the drawing contest? Why?

Answer :
Maddie thought that Peggy would win the drawing contestbecause Peggy drew better
than anyone else. She could copy a picture in a magazine, or some film star's face so
well that one could tell who it was.

Q5 :

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 always stood by and never did anything as she was afraid that if she did, she
would be the next target of the children. She herself was poor and therefore, felt that if
she spoke against the others, they would target her next. Unlike her, Peggy was a rich
girl. This was also the reason why Maddie could think from Wanda's point of view, but
Peggy could not. Maddie was Peggy's best friend. It seemed as if she was in awe of
Peggy. She admired her quite a lot as she said that Peggy was the most liked girl in the
room and that she drew better than anyone else. She did not have the courage to go
against her. Some of the lines from the text which show that Peggy's friendship was
important to Maddie are as follows.

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(i) Peggy, who had thought up this game, and Maddie, her inseparable friend, were
always the last to leave.
(ii) She was Peggy's best friend, and Peggy was the best-liked girl in the whole room.
(iii) Peggy could not possibly do anything that was really wrong, she thought.
(iv) Oh, Maddie was sure Peggy would win.

Q6 :

Who won the drawing contest? What had the winner drawn?

Answer :
Wanda won the drawing contest. She had drawn a hundred dresses, which were
dazzling with colours, and had brilliant and lavish designs. They were all drawn on great
sheets of wrapping paper. They were all different from each other and all beautiful. The
judges said that any one of the drawings was worthy of winning the prize.

Q7 :

What does Miss Mason think of Wanda's drawings? What do the children think of
them? How do you know?

Answer :
Miss Mason said that Room Thirteen should be proud of Wanda as she had drawn one
hundred designs of dresses, all of which were beautiful and different. She told the
students that in the opinion of the judges, any one of the drawings was worthy of
winning the prize. She was very happy to announce Wanda as the winner. As Wanda
was absent that day, Miss Mason hoped that she would be back the next day. She then
asked the entire class to look at Wanda's exquisite drawings.
The children also admired the drawings. Everybody stopped and whistled or murmured
admiringly. After Miss Mason had announced that Wanda was the winner, they burst
into applause, and even the boys were glad to have a chance to stamp on the floor and
whistle. Also, just as Peggy and Maddie entered the room, they stopped short and
gasped. Later they recognized the designs as those which Wanda had described to
them. And in the end, Peggy exclaimed, “...and I thought I could draw.” This shows that
she also realized how good Wanda's drawings were.

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Thinking about language : Solutions of Questions on Page Number : 71

Q1 :

Combine the following to make sentences like those above.

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)

Answer :
1.This is the bus which goes to Agra.
2.I would like to buy the shirt that is in the shop window.
3. You must break your fast when you see the moon in the sky.
4.Find a word which begins with the letter Z.
5. Now find a person whose name begins with the letter Z.
6.Then go to a place where there are no people whose name begins with Z.

Q2 :

1. Can you say whose point of view the italicised words express?
(i) But on Wednesday, Peggy and Maddie, who sat down 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.
(ii) Wands 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.

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(i)In the given sentence, the italicised words express the point of view of Peggy and
Maddie.
(ii) In the given sentence, the italicised words express the point of view of the narrator.

Q3 :

Look at this sentence. The italicised adverb expresses an opinion or point of

view.
Obviously, the only dress Wanda had was the blue one she wore every day. (This
was obvious to the speaker.)
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 then 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.

Answer :
1. Surprisingly, he finished his work on time.
2. Hopefully, it will not rain on the day of the match.
3. Evidently, he had been stealing money from his employer.
4. Television is evidentlyto blame for the increase in violence in society.
5. The children will hopefullylearn from their mistakes.
6. I can't possiblylend you that much money.

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7. The thief had apparentlybeen watching the house for many days.
8. The thief possiblyescaped by bribing the jailor.
9. Surprisingly, no one had suggested this before.
10.The water was incrediblyhot.

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