Mr Nobody Drill: MCQs

This is easier then the cloze exercise as answers are given. The important thing to do first is to cross out all the answers that are 'remote'. Once you can cross out two of them, then the remaining two will give you a 50-50% chance of hitting the right answer.

Before we start, do put on your thinking cap.

Choose the correct answers by circling it.

1. The main theme (message) of the poem is

      a. funny happenings in the home
      b. family life
      c. a naughty child
      d. untidiness

    2. All the  poetic devices except one are used in the poem. Which one isn't?

      a.simile
      b. imagery
      c. repetition
     d. alliteration

     3. Who is responsible for 'cracking' the plates?

      a. The servant
      b. The mother
      c. Mr. Nobody
      d. Mr. Everybody

     4. Mr. Nobody has been described as

        a. amusing
        b. noisy
        c. serious
        d. tidy

    5.  Mr Nobody likes doing the following except

        a. throws the pins around
        b. closes the doors shut
        c. buttons from shirts
        d. tears books

   6.  The fire is not burning properly as the wood is

        a. wet
        b. damp
        c. dry
        d. dirty

  7.  What causes the house curtains to fade?

      a. moonlight
      b.starlight
      c.sunlight
     d.headlight

  8.  Reading the poem, we can say that Mr.Nobody likes to

      a. do homework
      b. cleans his boots
      c. walk on carpets
      d. play in the fire-place

  9. The tone of the poem is

     a. justifying
     b. accusing
     c. advising
     d. suggesting

 10. The persona in the poem is probably one of the following except

    a. a youth
    b. a boy
    c. a baby
   d. an teenager

This is much easier,right? So I would expect a 10/10 success rate here. Did we get that?

The answers are as below.

(1)b (2)d (3)c (4)c (5)b (6)b (7)c (8) c (9)b (10)c

Mr Nobody: A Cloze Drill

Let us have a revision drill on the simple poem,"Mr Nobody". It is a cloze exercise and so I do hope you have good memory cells. Let's go!

The persona says every household has a little man called Mr. Nobody. He moves around as (1).......as a mouse. He does a lot of (2).........and yet no one has seen his face. He does things like (3).......pages from books,leaving door ajar,pulling (4)........from shirts and (5)........pins.The squeaking door will continue to (6)......... because Mr. Nobody is supposed to oil it.Mr. Nobody has also put in (7) ........wood so the fire will not light for anyone to boil water.The floor and carpet has(8)..........foot-prints and the paper are tossed around. Mr. Nobody also leaves (9)........upon the door, does not draw the (10).......... and leaves his boots all around the house. Then, there are ink stains on the floor. Mr Nobody did it.

So ,did you get it all correct?

Look at the answers below:

(1)quiet(2)mischief (3)tearing (4)buttons(5)scattering(6)squeak (7)damp(8)muddy (9) finger marks (10)blinds

Up close with Valerie Bloom

Valerie Bloom was a Jamaican before she came to England in 1979. After studying English with African and Caribbean Studies at the University of Kent at Canterbury, she started wiring poems  in English and Jamaican patois for all ages. She has performed her work throughout the world, with many television and radio appearances. Her poetry is included in a number of anthologies. I guess "The River" could be one of them.She tutors regularly for schools and colleges too.

Her books include the Jamaican poetry collections Touch mi! Tell mi! (1983); and Duppy Jamboree and other Jamaican Poems (1991); Hot Like Fire (2002), a collection of poems in English and Jamaican patois; and more recently, Whoop an'Shout! (2003).

She is also a book editor,having edited several collections of poetry such as On a Camel to the Moon and other poems about journeys (2001) and One River, Many Creeks: poems from all around the world (2003). Her children's novel, Surprising Joy, was published in 2003.

Valerie Bloom has been awarded an Honorary Masters Degree from the University of Kent, and lives in Kent. Her latest books are The Tribe and A Soh Life Goh, both published in 2008.

The River: Its Literal and Figurative Meaning

There are two ways of viewing and interpreting Valerie Bloom's interesting poem called, "The River".

The first manner is to look at it literary or at the surface or on its face as to what is a  river naturally. The second way is to perceive it figuratively with a deeper meaning.

The Literal Meaning:

The river is a natural phenomenon and is a physical feature on earth. The genesis of a river is something like this. It forms originally after a heavy downpour. Water accumulated at the top of a hill, mountain or steep uplands. The accumulated water become a force and cuts its way down the highland.

As it is strong, it will cut deeply into rocks and wash away soil debris and whatever that is uprooted on its way. These are used as 'tools' for it to cut its path downwards.It moves from the source to the mouth unstopped, across valleys and hills, twisting and turning around rocks that it cannot cut through. The heavy load that it carries sinks to the bottom of its bed.

Across the lowlands, it gurgles as if in a happy mood. At waterfalls and rapids it swirls and 'dances' and the roar is heard as a 'song' to the countryside in the vicinity. Yest, for all the happy sounds it makes, it can be a monster when it floods. Its raging water can destroy and kill whatever is in its way be it man, animal or plant.

The Figurative Meaning:

This is more a symbolic comparison with the life of man. The life of a man is like that of a river. At certain parts of his life, he wanders about. This is normally so in his restless youth period. He may want to see the world. He may jump from job to job. As such he is nomadic, a traveler and a wanderer. Like a tramp, he refuses to make home permanently at any one place or even sit at one job long enough to see some promotion and growth. He makes his own decision and move as his fancy takes him.

On his travels, men will collect the 'souvenirs' of his life. We call these experiences. Man can be child-like when he is happy to bask in  the sunshine of Mother Earth. He shows this in sheer joy and abandonment such as in singing and in dancing when he achieves something his heart desires. His happiness radiates to those all around him, be it relatives or friends.

However, like the river, man is also subjected to moods and bouts of unhappiness that can unleash uncontrolled anger and violence.This can include the frustration of failure. When that happens, his senses may leave him and he will destroy and kill to relieve himself of pain and sorrow or to get whatever he wants, be it by fair means or foul.

Nicholas Fisk and the Characters of 'One is One and All Alone'

Let us get to know who is the author of the short story, " One is One and All Alone".

Nicholas Fisk wrote this short story. Who is he? His real name is David Higginbottom. He is a science fiction writer, writing books for older children. He has written more than 40 booksincluding the popular series of novels called Starstormers.  Born in London in 1923, he has been a musician,actor, photographer,journalist,lecturer, editor and publisher of science fiction and horror stories for some 30 years.

Some of his best known books include Grinny, You Remember Me,Space Hostages and Trillions.

Let us now look at the characters in this short story.

Trish:

She is independent and can take care of herself on the 2-year space voyage.However, she feels lonely as she is the only child aboard the spaceship.

She is an active child, interacting with the Voice Printer which is also her tutor and  converses with it as if it is another human being.

She is smart and can even clone herself with the help of Voice Printer and the Space Lab.

She is single-minded and does thing on her own without the help of an adult. That she did not consult her father or thought through the ethical issues involved in cloning may show some immaturity and irresponsibility.

She is adventurous and sort of ' push the envelope' with the assistance and knowledge from the Voice Printer.

She thinks she is smart until she was outwitted by her clone.

The Father:

A minor character in this short story. He is always busy as he is the executive officer of the spaceship. He is a multi-tasker, talking to Trish as well as perusing computer printouts at the same time.

He is caring and looks in on Trish once in a while.

The Mother:

She is at somewhere in Planet Trion building up a space station. It takes 2 years to reach Trion from Earth.

Clo:

Has the same character traits as Trish as she is her clone. The name, Clo is a short form of Clone.

He outwits Trish the original genetic material that she is cloned from.

Voice Printer:


An informative machine, she provides all the information that Trish requires. In fact it is her reference source and tutor as well.

It is a versatile machine and can perform many functions.

The Voice Printer is a loyal machine and stays by the side of Trish at all times.

One is One and All Alone

Nicholas Fisk's short story," One is One and All Alone" is founded on dialogue and diary.

I wonder why are the short stories for the new Form One and Form Two this time around is inferring from diary entries particularly ' Flipping Fantastic". In this story there is dialogue thrown in between the protagonist and a machine called the Voice-Printer besides diary entries of the girl,Trish and the clone,Clo.

Premised on the process of cloning and inter-stellar travel, there is a better twist to this story as compared to the dour' Flipping Fantastic'.

 Let us go to the plot-line of this short story.

A  little girl on a two year journey to a space station bored out of her wits decided to use the space-ship lab to clone herself with the help from a machine called the Voice-Printer. Having a clone as a companion was fun at first but soon the clone wore the girl down. She was so fed up that she decided to get rid of the clone. However, there is a twist to the story.

As clones can think alike, it was Clo who actually got rid of Trish by dumping her outside the space-ship as space rubbish. She then took on the role of Trish for the rest of the journey.

Just like, 'Flipping Fantastic' there is little that is fascinating in this short story  to hold and sustain  the interests of the students, I am sure.

Punishment for Teasing the Boys

This is an interesting picture that speaks for itself. Enjoy.