The Snake and the Mirror Question Answers (Important)| Class 9 English Beehive Book

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The Snake and the Mirror Question Answers

 

CBSE Class 9 English Chapter 5 The Snake and the Mirror (Important) from Beehive Book

Class 9 English The Snake and the Mirror Question Answers – Looking for The Snake and the Mirror question answers (NCERT solutions) for CBSE Class 9 English Beehive Book Chapter 5? Look no further! Our comprehensive compilation of important questions will help you brush up on your subject knowledge. Practising Class 9 English question answers can significantly improve your performance in the exam. Our solutions provide a clear idea of how to write the answers effectively. Improve your chances of scoring high marks by exploring Chapter 5: A The Snake and the Mirror now. The questions listed below are based on the latest CBSE exam pattern, wherein we have given NCERT solutions to the chapter’s extract based questions, short answer questions, and long answer questions. 

Also, practising with different kinds of questions can help students learn new ways to solve problems that they may not have seen before. This can ultimately lead to a deeper understanding of the subject matter and better performance on exams.

 

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The Snake and the Mirror NCERT Solution

Discuss in pairs and answer each question below in a short paragraph (30–40 words).

1. “The sound was a familiar one.” What sound did the doctor hear? What did he think it was? How many times did he hear it? (Find the places in the text.) When and why did the sounds stop?
Ans –  The sound that the doctor heard was that of rats which moved on the beam overhead. He thought that it was the squeaking of the rats. He heard the sound thrice. The places in the text which indicate this are as follows –
1. “I heard a noise from above as I opened the door”.
2. “Again I heard that sound from above”.
3. “Again came that noise from above”.
When the doctor sat on the chair, the sound stopped suddenly as the rats had seen a snake.

2. What two “important” and “earth-shaking” decisions did the doctor take while he was looking into the mirror?
Ans –  When the doctor looked at himself in the mirror, he decided to improve his looks in order to appear more handsome. So, he made two “important and “earth – shaking” decisions. Firstly, he would shave daily and grow a thin moustache. Secondly, he would always keep smiling as he looked attractive when he smiled.

3. “I looked into the mirror and smiled,” says the doctor. A little later he says,“I forgot my danger and smiled feebly at myself.” What is the doctor’s opinion about himself when:
(i) he first smiles, and
(ii) he smiles again?
In what way do his thoughts change in between, and why?
Ans –  (i) when the doctor smiled for the first time, he thought that he was a valuable man as he was an unmarried doctor and there would be many girls who wanted to marry him. He was looking at himself in the mirror, admiring himself and planning to improve his looks.
(ii) when he smiled for the second time, he was helpless and thought that he was a foolish person. He was looking at himself in the mirror, feeling that he was so silly to have landed into trouble as he could not think of any way out.

 

Grammar Exercises

Here are some sentences from the text. Say which of them tell you, that the author: (a) was afraid of the snake, (b) was proud of his appearance,(c) had a sense of humour, (d) was no longer afraid of the snake.
1. I was turned to stone.
2. I was no mere image cut in granite.
3. The arm was beginning to be drained of strength.
4. I tried in my imagination to write in bright letters outside my little heart the words, ‘O God’.
5. I didn’t tremble. I didn’t cry out.
6. I looked into the mirror and smiled. It was an attractive smile.
7. I was suddenly a man of flesh and blood.
8. I was after all a bachelor, and a doctor too on top of it!
9. The fellow had such a sense of cleanliness…! The rascal could have taken it and used it after washing it with soap and water.
10. Was it trying to make an important decision about growing a moustache or using eye shadow and mascara or wearing a vermilion spot on its forehead.

Ans– 

S. No (a) was afraid of the snake (b) was proud of his appearance (c) had a sense of humour (d) was no longer afraid of the snake
1 I was turned to stone.
2 I was no mere image cut in granite.
3 The arm was beginning to be drained of strength.
4 I tried in my imagination to write in bright letters outside my little heart the words, ‘O God’. I tried in my imagination to write in bright letters outside my little heart the words, ‘O God’.
5 I didn’t tremble. I didn’t cry out.
6 I looked into the mirror and smiled. It was an attractive smile.
7 I was suddenly a man of flesh and blood.
8 I was after all a bachelor, and a doctor too on top of it!
9 The fellow had such a sense of cleanliness…! The rascal could have taken it and used it after washing it with soap and water.
10 Was it trying to make an important decision about growing a moustache or using eye shadow and mascara or wearing a vermilion spot on its forehead.

 

Can you find the expressions in the story that tell you that the author wasfrightened? Read the story and complete the following sentences.
1. I was turned _______________________________ .
2. I sat there holding _______________________.
3. In the light of the lamp I sat there like ______________________________ .
Ans.
1. I was turned to stone.
2. I sat there holding my breath.
3. In the light of the lamp I sat there like a stone image in the flesh.

Match the meanings with the words/expressions in italics,and write the appropriate meaning next to the sentence. The first one has been done for you.
1. I knew a man was following me, I was scared out of my wits. (very frightened)
2. I got a fright when I realised how close I was to the cliff edge.
3. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the bull coming towards him.
4. You really gave me a fright when you crept up behind me like that.
5. Wait until I tell his story — it will make your hair stand on end.
6. Paralysed with fear, the boy faced his abductors.
7. The boy hid behind the door, not moving a muscle.
Ans.
1. I knew a man was following me, I was scared out of my wits. (very frightened)
2. I got a fright when I realised how close I was to the cliff edge. (frightened by something that happens suddenly)
3. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the bull coming towards him.(very frightened)
4. You really gave me a fright when you crept up behind me like that.(frightened by something that happens suddenly)
5. Wait until I tell his story — it will make your hair stand on end. (makes another feel frightened)
6. Paralysed with fear, the boy faced his abductors. (too scared to move)
7. The boy hid behind the door, not moving a muscle.(too scared to move)

Report these questions using If/whether or why/when/where/how/which/what. (Remember the italicised verbs change into the past tense.)

1. Meena asked her friend, “Do you think your teacher will come today?”
2. David asked his colleague, “Where will you go this summer?”
3. He asked the little boy, “Why are you studying English?”
4. She asked me, “When are we going to leave?”
5. Pran asked me, “Have you finished reading the newspaper?”
6. Seema asked her, “How long have you lived here?”
7. Sheila asked the children, “Are you ready to do the work?”

Ans.
1. Meena asked her friend if she thought the teacher would come that day.
2. David asked his colleague where he would go that summer.
3. He asked the little boy why he was studying English.
4. She asked me when we were going to leave.
5. Pran asked me if I had finished reading the newspaper.
6. Seema asked her how long she had lived there.
7. Sheila asked the children if they were ready to do the work.

Class 9 English The Snake and the Mirror Question Answers Lesson 5 – Extract Based Questions

Extract-based questions are of the multiple-choice variety, and students must select the correct option for each question by carefully reading the passage.

A. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:

I had my meal at the restaurant and returned to my room. I heard a noise from above as I opened the door.
The sound was a familiar one.

Q1. Who does ‘I’ refer to?
Ans. In this extract, ‘I’ refers to the homoeopathic doctor who narrates his encounter with a snake.

Q2. When did he go back to his room? From where did he come back?
Ans. After dining at a restaurant till ten o’clock at night, the doctor went back to his room.

Q3. When did ‘I’ hear a noise?
Ans. When the doctor entered his room, he heard a noise.

Q4. What type of noise was it?
Ans. The sound was one that he was accustomed to hearing from the rodents that lived in his room as they moved about.

 

B. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:

“Has a snake ever coiled itself round any part of your body? A full-blooded cobra?” All of us fell silent. The question came from the homeopath. The topic came up when we were discussing snakes. We listened attentively as the doctor continued with his tale. It was a hot summer night; about ten o’clock. I had my meal at the restaurant and returned to my room. I heard a noise from above as I opened the door. The sound was a familiar one. One could say that the rats and I shared the room. I took out my box of matches and lighted the kerosene lamp on the table.

Q1. When the narrator entered the room, what noise did he hear?
Ans. As the narrator entered the chamber, he perceived what sounded like rats scampering.

Q2. Why does the narrator claim that the sound was familiar?
Ans. Since there were numerous rats in his chamber, the incessant squeaking or scampering around had grown accustomed to the narrator, who claims that the sound was familiar.

Q3. “Has a snake ever coiled itself round any part of your body? A full-blooded cobra?” Who asked this question?
Ans. This question came from the homeopath.

Q4. What did the narrator do when he came to his room.
Ans. He took out his box of matches and lighted the kerosene lamp on the table.

 

C. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:

There was no ceiling. There was a regular traffic of rats to and from the beam. I made my bed and pulled it close to the wall. I lay down but I could not sleep. I got up and went out to the veranda for a little air, but the wind god seemed to have taken time off. I went back into the room and sat down on the chair. I opened the box beneath the table and took out a book, the Materia Medica

Q1. What did the narrator do after entering the room?
Ans. The narrator made his bed after lighting the kerosene lamp.

Q2. Why would the narrator not sleep?
Ans. Rats regularly travelled to and from the beam and the gables, making it impossible for the narrator to get any sleep. Furthermore, the space was heated.

Q3. Where did he go and why?
Ans. He went out in the veranda for a breath of fresh air.

Q4. Why did he return to his room?
Ans. There was no wind outside.

D. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:

I went back into the room and sat down on the chair, I opened the box beneath the table and took out a book, the Materia Medica. I opened it at the table on which stood the lamp and a large mirror, a small comb lay beside the mirror. One feels tempted to look into a mirror when it is near one. I took a look. In those days I was a great admirer of beauty and I believed in making myself look handsome. I was unmarried and I was a doctor. I felt I had to make my presence felt. I picked up the comb and ran it through my hair and adjusted the parting so that it looked straight and neat. Again I heard that sound from above.

Q1. Where was he before entering the room once more? Why did he leave the room?
Ans. Before returning to the chamber, the narrator had left for the balcony. He had gone outside to get some air.

Q2. Why did he pull a book out of the box?
Ans. Due to the heat, the stillness, and the lack of electricity in his chamber, the narrator was unable to get any sleep. He pulled the book out to pass the time by reading.

Q3. What all objects were on the table?
Ans. On the table were a huge mirror and a kerosene lamp. There was a tiny comb next to the mirror.

Q4. What did the narrator do after this?
Ans. The speaker then considered his appearance as he gazed into the table-mounted mirror.

 

E. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:

One feels tempted to look into a mirror when it is near one. I took a look. In those days I was a great admirer of beauty and I believed in making myself look handsome. I was unmarried and I was a doctor. I felt I had to make my presence felt. I picked up the comb and ran it through my hair and adjusted the parting so that it looked straight and neat.

Q1. What caused the narrator to gaze into the mirror?
Ans. The mirror was right in front of the narrator, and he was inclined to gaze into it.

Q2. Why did the narrator want to look handsome?
Ans. The narrator, who valued beauty in others, aspired to appear attractive.

Q3. What did the narrator do to make himself look handsome?
Ans. He parted his hair properly and combed it.

Q4. What were the narrator’s two key actions to enhance his appearance?
Ans. The narrator made the decision to look better by regularly shaving and cultivating a short moustache. He also made the decision to smile his charming smile more frequently.

 

Class 9 English The Snake and the Mirror Short Question Answers (including questions from Previous Years Question Papers)

In this post we are also providing important short answer questions from Chapter 5 A Truly Beautiful Mind for CBSE Class 9 exam in the coming session.

Q1. Who narrated his encounter with a snake? To whom? Why did he narrate the incident?
Ans. The story’s narrator was a homoeopathic physician. The doctor related his own experience with a snake to the writer, during a conversation about snakes that took place one day.

Q2. When and where did the incident with the snake take place?
Ans. After the narrator finished his lunch in a restaurant and went back to his room around ten o’clock in the evening, the occurrence happened there.

Q3. Why did the narrator have to light the kerosene lamp on reaching his room?
Ans. It was dark and ten o’clock, so the storyteller had to ignite the kerosene lamp. The house was not electrified; it was a small rented room. He had just set up medical practice and his earnings were meagre.

Q4. Describe the narrator’s room.
Ans. The storyteller resided in a cramped, shoddily furnished rented room that was rat-infested. It was an exterior chamber with a wall that looked out onto the garden. The space featured two windows, and the gable supports for the room’s tiles sat on the wall’s beam. The ceiling didn’t exist. The space lacked electricity. The room had a verandah outside. His bed, a chair, a table with his medical books, a kerosene lamp and a mirror were among the sparsely furnished room’s items.

Q5. What circumstances prompted the doctor to live in a small, poor house?
Ans. The doctor had just recently started his practise, and his income was minimal. He could not afford to rent a larger and more pleasant home, so he stayed in a small, low-income dwelling. In addition, he wasn’t yet married, so he could get by in a little leased room till the day he got hitched.

Q6. The doctor was not a man with many material possessions. Elaborate.
Ans. The doctor had just recently started his practise, and his income was minimal. He could not afford to rent a larger and more pleasant home, so he stayed in a small, low-income dwelling. In addition, he wasn’t yet married, so he could get by in a little leased room till the day he got hitched.

Q7. Why was the narrator awake despite the lateness of the hour?
Ans. On a steamy July night, the narrator arrived at his room around ten o’clock. He made his bed and tried to get some sleep, but the heat kept him awake. To get some fresh air, he got up and stepped out onto the veranda, but there was no wind. He then returned to the space and sat down in the chair.

Q8. What did the doctor do after coming back inside?
Ans. The Materia Medica was the book the doctor pulled out of the box under the table as he sat in the chair. At the table, where the lamp and a sizable mirror were placed, he opened the book. He was immediately enticed to check himself out in the mirror, so he started working on his appearance.

Q9. The sound was a familiar one” What sound did the narrator hear? What did he think it was? How many times did he hear it? When and why did the sounds stop?
Ans. The familiar sound of various creatures moving on the beam was audible to the narrator. He assumed that the noise was generated as usual by rodents scampering in panic. Three times, he heard the sound. The sound ceased after the third repetition. This was most likely caused by the snake’s appearance which silenced the rats.

Q10. What were the narrator’s feelings as he looked into the mirror?
Ans. The narrator, a doctor who was single at the time, was a huge admirer of beauty and believed in grooming himself to look good. He believed that he needed to look better in order to be more noticeable. He started combing his hair, making the parting look straight and tidy to give him a more dapper appearance.

Q11. As he looked at himself in the mirror, which two important and earth-shaking decisions did the doctor make?
Ans. While looking in the mirror, the doctor made two crucial choices. He made the first and most crucial decision to shave every day and grow a short moustache to improve his appearance. The doctor’s second choice was a game-changing one. It was that, in order to appear more handsome, he should maintain his lovely smile on his face.

Q12. What kind of a woman did the doctor decide to marry? Why?
Ans. The doctor, who had only recently begun his medical practise, made the decision to wed a wealthy physician with a successful medical practise. Additionally, he wanted her to be overweight so that she would be unable to rush after him and catch him if he made a stupid mistake and had to flee.

Q13. How did the snake land on the doctor’s chair?
Ans. The snake landed on the narrator after quickly wriggling over the chair’s back after falling from the room’s roof with a loud crash. The snake wrapped itself around his left arm just above the elbow before slithering over his shoulder. The snake’s head was barely three or four inches away from his face, which made matters worse.

Q14. What was the narrator’s reaction to the sight of the snake?
Ans. The narrator was alarmed to see the snake coiling around his arm and sliding down his shoulder. He was unable to breathe for some time. Although he was terrified, he didn’t jump, tremble, or scream because he didn’t want to make a sudden movement that would alarm the snake.

Q15. How did the narrator show presence of mind when he faced the snake?
Ans. The doctor did not scream, shake, or jump when he discovered a snake on his shoulder. Since the snake’s hood was only four inches from his face, he held his breath and stood still as a stone because he knew that if he moved, the snake would become enraged and strike him.

 

Class 9 The Snake and the Mirror Long Answer Questions Lesson 5

 

Q1. What kind of room was the doctor living in and why did he decide to leave that room?
Ans. The doctor was living in a tiny, cramped space that was essentially an exterior chamber with two windows and one wall facing the open garden. He had to rely on a kerosene lamp to provide lighting because the room was not electrified. The roof was tiled and supported by tall gable ends that sat on a beam above the wall. The chamber had no ceiling and was filled with rats that made a constant squeaking noise.
The doctor didn’t make much money because his medical practice wasn’t well-established yet, therefore he couldn’t afford a better facility. Although he was dissatisfied with his subpar lodging, that was all he could afford with his low salary. However, he didn’t make the decision to leave until after his experience with the snake. He was disturbed by the terrifying encounter and made the decision to leave the room.

Q2. How would you describe the doctor? What kind of person did he want to be?
Ans. The doctor had only recently started business. His income was therefore quite low. He resided in a modest, non-electric rental room. Only 60 rupees were in his bag at the time. He just owned one black coat, a couple of shirts, and dhotis. He was a lone resident of a rat-infested room.
However, the doctor made a big deal out of the fact that he was a doctor and single. He had a deep appreciation for beauty and thought he might become gorgeous. He was happy with the way he looked. He made the decision to groom himself every day and develop a short moustache. He also made the decision to grin more because it made him look better.

Q3. This story about a frightening incident is narrated in a humorous way. What makes it humorous?
Ans. The narrative draws a comparison between fantasies and reality. Humorously, this contrast has been shown. As he had only recently begun his practise, the doctor had minimal revenues. He resided in a modest, non-electric rental room. He only had sixty rupees, a few shirts and dhotis, and one single black coat in his bag. Rats infested his home in droves. His aspirations and ideals, however, ran counter to this. He had a deep appreciation for beauty and thought he might become gorgeous. He made a big deal out of the fact that he was a doctor and single. He was happy with the way he looked and determined to make it better by shaving every day, growing a tiny moustache, and always smiling. The doctor had thought about the kind of person he would want to marry.
He wanted to marry a woman doctor who had plenty of money and a good medical practice because he did not have any of those. He wanted a fat wife so that whenever he made a silly mistake, he could escape his wife by running away from her. However, the woman he married was thin and could run like a sprinter. When the doctor looked into the mirror, he was full of appreciation for his good looks. He also arrogantly declared that he was a doctor and a bachelor.
He later transformed into a stone, though, when the snake wrapped around his arm. He came to the realisation that, should the snake bite him, he would not even have any first aid supplies in his room. At that time, he believed himself to be a lousy, idiotic, and ignorant doctor. The story is humorous because of this difference between reality and fantasies.

Q4. Describe the doctor’s feelings when the snake coiled round his arm.
Ans. When the snake touched the doctor’s shoulder, he was terrified. He didn’t scream, tremble, or jump. He became stone-like as he sat there holding his breath. He believed that his time was running out, so he prayed to God for protection while recalling the Almighty. He did, however, keep his mental clarity and sense of humour. He shrugged off the threat and grinned weakly in the mirror. The doctor considered himself to be “a poor, foolish, and stupid doctor,” despite his self-absorption, futile attempts to appear more attractive, and haughty declarations that he was a doctor and a bachelor.
Even the medicine he would have needed to survive a snake bite was not with him. The narrator did not flinch as death waited four inches away as he sat there. He waited patiently for a chance to flee, and as soon as the snake finally untied itself from his arm, the doctor silently got up from the chair, left, and raced to his friend’s house.

Q5. “I was, but a poor, foolish and stupid doctor. Justify.
Ans. The doctor initially had a very high opinion of himself in terms of both his appearance and his line of work. He placed considerable emphasis on the fact that he was single and a physician. He was aware of his appearance and desired to look even more attractive because he was a beauty enthusiast. He looked at himself in the mirror, combed his hair in different directions, and made the decision to grow a moustache and grin more to improve his appearance.
But a snake encounter cured him of his arrogance. The doctor was overcome with humility and was reminded of God’s existence when the snake wriggled over his shoulder and wound itself around his arm. He realised what a weak and foolish guy he had been until he was face to face with death. He felt foolish and helpless when he saw that there were no medications to treat the snake bite he had sustained in his room. As a result, the doctor’s encounter with the snake changed him from an arrogant and stupid person to a humble and god-fearing man.

Class 9 English Beehive Book Chapter-wise Question Answers

 The Fun They Had Question Answers  The Sound of Music Part 1 Question Answers  The Sound of Music Part 2 Question Answers
The Little Girl Question Answers  A Truly Beautiful Mind Question Answers The Snake and the Mirror Question Answers
My Childhood Question Answers  Reach for the Top Part 1 Question Answers Reach for the Top Part 2 Question Answers
Kathmandu Question Answers  If I Were You Question Answers

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