The Book That Saved the Earth

 

'The Book That Saved The Earth,' written by Claire Boiko, is a fictional, comedic drama about a nursery book called "Mother Goose." The play's plot is set in the twentieth century, and it depicts an attempt by a Martian named Think-Tank and his crew to attack Earth. When his crew arrived at an Earth library, they were perplexed as to what books were for.  They were initially misled by Think-Tank, which mistook those weird things (books) for 'sandwiches.' They eventually discovered that the books are intended for 'communication' with the help of Noodle's (Think-Tank's assistant's) advice. They took vitamins and were able to read the book after that because it was tough for them to read stuff from the books.

 

The book they chose to read was "Mother Goose," a collection of nursery rhymes. Think-Tank felt terrified and disturbed after hearing lines like "a cow jumped over the moon, and a little dog laughed to see the cow's act, and a dish ran away with a spoon" transcribed by the crew. Think-Tank believed that Earthlings have advanced to the point where even pets are raised with emotions and that Earthlings could invade Mars with millions of cows.

 

Furthermore, since the image of 'Humpty Dumpty' resembled Think-Tank, he was terrified of the lines 'Humpty Dumpty had a great fall,' fearing that Earthlings would seize Mars and overthrow Think-Tank.

 

As Think-Tank was afraid of the poetry words from 'Mother Goose,' he ordered his crew to return to Mars rather than invade Earth. He also fled to Alpha Centauri, a star closer to our solar system. The play concludes with the moral that things should be analysed rather than taken at face value.

Meaning of difficult words from the lesson "The Book That Saved the Earth":
S.No	Words	Meaning	HINDI MEANING
1	Curiosity	A strong desire or eager to learn or know about	सीखने या जानने की प्रबल इच्छा या उत्सुकता
2	Era	A long and significant period in history	इतिहास में एक लंबा और महत्वपूर्ण काल
3	Invade	To take control of another country	दूसरे देश पर कब्ज़ा करना
4	Encyclopedia	A book or set of books that gives information on many subjects	वह पुस्तक या पुस्तकों का समूह जो अनेक विषयों की जानकारी देता हो
5	Missile	A tube-shaped weapon that travels long distances and explodes	एक ट्यूब के आकार का हथियार जो लंबी दूरी तय करता है और फट जाता है
6	Apprentice	A person who works under a skilled person in order to gain experience	वह व्यक्ति जो अनुभव प्राप्त करने के लिए किसी कुशल व्यक्ति के अधीन कार्य करता है
7	Easel	A wooden frame that supports a picture	एक लकड़ी का फ्रेम जो किसी चित्र को सहारा देता है
8	Peevish	Easily annoyed	जल्दी गुस्सा आता है
9	Space probe	An unmanned device sent to space to explore and gather scientific information	वैज्ञानिक जानकारी का पता लगाने और इकट्ठा करने के लिए अंतरिक्ष में भेजा गया एक मानवरहित उपकरण
10	Primitive	Refers to the earliest period or age	प्रारंभिक काल या युग को संदर्भित करता है
11	Earthling	A word used by aliens to refer to humans	एलियंस द्वारा मनुष्यों को संदर्भित करने के लिए इस्तेमाल किया जाने वाला शब्द
12	Goggle	A protective glass that guards eyes against chemicals, wind, water, etc	एक सुरक्षात्मक कांच जो आंखों को रसायनों, हवा, पानी आदि से बचाता है
13	Crew	A group of people who works together under someone	लोगों का एक समूह जो किसी के अधीन मिलकर काम करता है
14	Bookcase	A shelf to keep books	किताबें रखने के लिए एक शेल्फ
15	Riffle	To turn over the pages of books quickly	किताबों के पन्ने जल्दी-जल्दी पलटना
16	Catalogue	A list of all items	सभी वस्तुओं की एक सूची
17	Incident	Refers to unexpected or unpleasant thing	अप्रत्याशित या अप्रिय बात को दर्शाता है
18	Barn	A large building used for storing something	किसी चीज़ के भंडारण के लिए उपयोग की जाने वाली बड़ी इमारत
19	Galaxy	Refers to a collection of stars and planets held together by gravity	गुरुत्वाकर्षण द्वारा एक साथ बंधे तारों और ग्रहों के संग्रह को संदर्भित करता है
20	Haberdashery	Refers to men's clothing and accessories	पुरुषों के कपड़े और सहायक उपकरण को संदर्भित करता है
21	Refreshment	Refers to a snack or drink	नाश्ते या पेय को संदर्भित करता है
22	Crude	In a raw or natural state	कच्ची या प्राकृतिक अवस्था में
23	Squint	To look at something with one or two eyes partly closed	एक या दो आँखों को आंशिक रूप से बंद करके किसी चीज़ को देखना
24	Strange	Something unusual	कुछ असामान्य
25	Pantomime	Refers to exaggerating mime	अतिशयोक्तिपूर्ण माइम को संदर्भित करता है
26	Bound	To beat	मारना पीटना
27	Delicious	Refers to something tasty or pleasant	किसी स्वादिष्ट या सुखद चीज़ को संदर्भित करता है
28	Haughtily	In a way showing proud and superior attitude	एक प्रकार से गौरवपूर्ण एवं श्रेष्ठ मनोवृत्ति को प्रदर्शित करना
29	Surveyor	A person who investigates or examines something	वह व्यक्ति जो किसी चीज़ की जाँच या जाँच करता हो
30	Whisper	To speak in a soft, low voice	धीमी, धीमी आवाज में बोलना
31	Intently	In a way that shows great attention to something	एक तरह से जो किसी चीज़ पर बहुत अधिक ध्यान देता है
32	Bow	To move your head and body forward as a way of showing respect to someone or something	किसी व्यक्ति या चीज़ के प्रति सम्मान दिखाने के एक तरीके के रूप में अपने सिर और शरीर को आगे की ओर ले जाना
33	Alongside	Together with something	किसी चीज़ के साथ
34	Unfold	To reveal something	कुछ प्रकट करना
35	Decipher	To make the meaning of something difficult	किसी बात का अर्थ कठिन करना
36	Simultaneously	At the same time	एक ही समय पर
37	Instant	Happening immediately	तुरंत हो रहा है
38	Transcribe	To convert something into a written or spoken format	किसी चीज़ को लिखित या मौखिक प्रारूप में परिवर्तित करना
39	Levity	Refers to lack seriousness	गंभीरता की कमी को दर्शाता है
40	Mistress	A woman who employs servants	वह स्त्री जो नौकर रखती है
41	Mining	Refers to the act or process of extracting metals	धातुओं को निकालने की क्रिया या प्रक्रिया को संदर्भित करता है
42	Explosive	A substance that can burst violently	वह पदार्थ जो तीव्र गति से फट सकता है
43	Fleet	Refers to a vehicle or aircraft being operated under someone's order	किसी के आदेश के तहत संचालित किए जा रहे वाहन या विमान को संदर्भित करता है
44	Take over	To take control of	नियंत्रण में लेना
45	Diddle	To play with something	किसी चीज़ से खेलना
46	Notify	To inform about something in an official way	किसी बात की आधिकारिक तरीके से जानकारी देना
47	Launching	To send something out	कुछ बाहर भेजने के लिए
48	Interplanetary	Between planets	ग्रहों के बीच
49	Scream	To give out a loud cry or noise	जोर से चिल्लाना या शोर मचाना
50	Capture	To take control of something	किसी चीज़ पर कब्ज़ा करना
51	Chuckle	To laugh quietly	चुपचाप हंसना
52	Establish	To permanently set up a firm, business, etc	किसी फर्म, व्यवसाय आदि को स्थायी रूप से स्थापित करना

The Book That Saved The Earth

Read and Find Out (Page No. 63)

Question 1. Why was the twentieth century called the ‘Era of the Book’?

Answer: The twentieth century was called the ‘Era of the Book’ because there were books about everything,

from anteaters to Zulus. Books taught people how to and when to and where to and why. Books are

illustrated, punctuated and even decorated.

Question 2. Who tried to invade the earth in the twenty-first century?

Answer: Martians tried to invade the earth in the twenty-first century.

Read and Find Out (Page No. 65)

Question 1. What guesses are made by Think–Tank about the books found on earth?

Answer: The Think-Tank initially guesses that the books are sandwiches. Noodle corrects him and says that

he thinks that books are some sort of communication devices. Then he thinks that the books are used for

ear communication. Finally, he concludes that they are used for eye communication.

Think About It

Question 1. Noodle avoids offending Think-Tank but at the same time he corrects his mistakes. How does

he manage to do that?

Answer: Noodle avoids offending Think-Tank, but at the same time, he corrects his mistakes. Each time he

thinks that Think-Tank is wrong, he first adulates Think-Tank and then presents his own thoughts saying that

they are just insignificant pieces of data in his head. In this way, he lets Think-Tank know what is correct and

does not make him feel that he is being corrected.

Question 2. If you were in Noodle’s place, how would you handle Think-Tank’s mistakes?

Answer: If I were in Noodle’s place, I would try to politely correct Think-Tank’s mistakes and suggest

corrections.

Question 3. Do you think books are being replaced by the electronic media? Can we do away with books

altogether?

Answer: Yes, books are being replaced by electronic media with the emergence of digitization. We now

have e-books and online classes, which do not require paperback books.

No, I don’t think that we can do away with books altogether because although there is a tendency to move

towards electronic media, books still have their own importance. There are millions of people who love to

read books. The feel and satisfaction of reading a book while holding it in your hands and turning its pages

is altogether a different experience that e-books will never be able to replace.

Question 4. Why are books referred to as a man’s best companion? Which is your favourite book and why?

Write a paragraph about that book.

Answer: Books are referred to as a man’s best companion because they guide us, teach us, make us

laugh, make us cry, make us introspect and help us to become a better version of ourselves. Books are

companions who will never leave us. They impart knowledge and wisdom. We can learn from them, enjoy

them and get inspired.

(Students can write the name of their favourite book and explain what they like about the book.)

Talk About It

Question 1. In what ways does Think-Tank misinterpret innocent nursery rhymes as threats to the

Martians? Can you think of any incidents where you misinterpreted a word or an action? How did you

resolve the misunderstanding?

Answer: Think-Tank misinterprets innocent nursery rhymes as threats to the Martians.

Omega reads the lines from the rhyme:

“Mistress Mary, quite contrary,

How does your garden grow?

With cockle shells and silver bells

And pretty maids all in a row”

Listening to the above lines, Think-Tank thinks that people on Earth are so advanced that they can actually

grow crops of rare metals and high explosives.

Iota reads another rhyme from the book:

“Hey diddle diddle! The cat and the fiddle,

The cow jumped over the moon,

The little dog laughed to see such sport,

And the dish ran away with the spoon.”

Listening to the above lines, Think-Tank thinks that Earthlings have taught their domesticated animals

musical culture and space techniques. Even their dogs have a sense of humour.

Oop reads lines from another rhyme:

“Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall,

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall…”

Listening to this, Think-Tank gets frightened because the picture of the Humpty-Dumpty resembles ThinkTank’s mighty balloon brain. He thinks that the Earthlings have seen him and are after him. He infers that

the people on Earth are planning to capture Mars Central Control and him.

(Students can include any incident when they misinterpreted a word or an action and explain how they

resolved the misunderstanding.)

Question 2. The aliens in this play speak English. Do you think this is their language? What could be the

language of the aliens?

Answer: No, I don’t think that English is their language because they are not able to understand what is

written in the book Mother Goose. They think the words are codes written in little lines and squiggles and

dots.

As these aliens are Martians, they might have a Martian language