NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 3 The Midnight Visitor

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 3 The Midnight Visitor is part of NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English. Here we have given NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 3 The Midnight Visitor.

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 3 The Midnight Visitor

TEXTUAL EXERCISES

Read and Find Out (Pages 14 & 15)

Question 1.
How is Ausable different from other secret agents ?
Answer:
Ausable was not an alert and smart secret agent as Fowler had expected. He was very fat. He spoke French and German with a slight American accent. He used ordinary telephones to make calls. He lived in a mediocre and dark French hotel. This way he did not fit the description of any secret agent.

Question 2.
Who is Fowler and what is his first authentic thrill of the day ?
Answer:
Fowler is a writer. He wants to meet Ausable to cover him up for writing for his publication. His first authentic thrill of the day is quite clear. It is that he outwitted Ausable in a simple way.

Question 3.
How has Max got in ?
Answer:
Max has used a passkey to enter Ausable’s room in his absence. He wants to get a ‘report’ on some new missiles.

Question 4.
How does Ausable say he got in ?
Answer:
Ausable says that Max got in his room through an ordinary window. It was in the balcony. He would complain against it (balcony) to the hotel authorities. It needed to be closed.

Think About It (Page 18)

Question 1.
“Ausable did not fit any description of a secret agent Fowler had ever read”. What do secret agents in books and films look like, in your opinion ? Discuss in groups or in class some stories or movies featuring spies, detectives and secret agents, and compare their appearance with that of Ausable in this story. (You may mention characters from fiction in languages other than English. In English fiction you may have come across Sherlock Holmes. Hercule Poirot, or Miss Marple. Have you watched any movies featuring James Bond ?)
Answer:
In my opinion, secret agents in books and films look differently. They wear flowing . robes. These are like long overcoats and a hat on their head. This hat hides their faces. Then they have very keen and sharp eyes.

The comparison with prominent secret agents can be done at class level. These secret agents can be Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot or Miss Maple. This may be done with the guidance and supervision of the class teacher.

I saw some movies featuring James Bond. It is titled : 007 James Bond, The Golden Eye, Tomorrow Never Dies, etc.

Question 2.
How does Ausable manage to make Max believe that there is a balcony attached to his room ? Look back at his detailed description of it. What makes it a convincing story ?
Answer:
First Ausable says that there is a balcony before his room. It is also before the other room adjoining it. It is the next room. Ausable tells Max that there is police at the door when knocking is heard. Max is frightened at this. He asks Ausable to send the police back. He would go and wait on the balcony. But there is no balcony. Max falls down.

Question 3.
Looking back at the story, when do you think Ausable thought up his plan for getting rid of Max ? Do you think he had worked out his plan in detail right from the beginning ? Or did he make up a plan taking advantage of events as they happened ?
Answer:
Ausable saw Max in his room when he switched on the light. Max had a small automatic pistol in his hand. Ausable felt shocked to see him. He decided there and then to get I rid of Max.

No, he had not worked out his plan in detail right from the beginning. He made the plan there and then when he saw Max there. Max had a pistol in his hand.

Talk About It

Question 1.
In this story, Ausable shows great ‘presence of mind’, or the ability to think quickly, and act calmly and wisely, in a situation of danger and surprise. Give examples from your own experience, or narrate a story, which shows someone’s presence of mind.
Answer:
I remember one similar incident that happened to me. Once as a small boy, I was sleeping in the house. I was very afraid of ghosts or thieves. At midnight there was some sound of utensils from the kitchen. It was quite near my room. I was greatly scared. But the sound continued. After a few moments I heard the movement of footsteps on the floor. I do not know what happened to me then. I got up silently. I held the leg of the thief tightly. I dug my teeth into his calf. Actually I had come out of my bed. Then I saw the leg in the moonrays there. I do not know what had made me do so. My parents came crying “A thief! A thief!” They declared me ‘a hero’.

Question 2.
Discuss what you would do in the situations described below. Remember that presence of mind comes out of a state of mental preparedness. If you have thought about possible problems or dangers, and about how to act in such situations, you have a better chance of dealing with such situations if they do arise.

• A small fire starts in your kitchen.
• A child starts to choke on a piece of food.
• An electrical appliance starts to hiss and gives out sparks.
• A bicycle knocks down a pedestrian.
• It rains continuously for more than twenty-four hours.
• A member of your family does not return home at the usual or expected time.

You may suggest other such situations.

Answer:

For discussion at class level with the supervision, advice and direction of the teacher.

• If there is a small fire in the kitchen, a blanket should be put over it at once. Water may be thrown on it. In case of a short circuit, all members should go out at once.
• When a child starts choking on a piece of food, his or her back should be thumped slowly. This way the piece of food may be thrown out. He or she should at once be hospitalised if the condition worsens.
• If an electrical appliance starts to hiss and gives out sparks, the current should be stopped. The appliance should be got repaired or its use be stopped.
• The pedestrian should at once be attended to. If there is a serious mishap, calling for an ambulance is desirable. Public help may be sought.
• In that case one should go to the roof and contact the neighbours. Necessary things like food articles, medicines etc, should be collected at one place. Distress signals may be sent.
• His places of visit, his office, his friends, etc, should be contacted at once. One shouldn’t be panicky. One should think about the hurdles that could have withheld him. If he comes, it is O.K. If not police should be contacted.

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