CLASS 10TH

ENGLISH ASSIGNMENT

THE BOOK THAT SAVED THE EARTH

1.THINK-TANK: Mirror, mirror, in my hand. Who is the most fantastically
intellectually gifted being in the land?
OFFSTAGE VOICE: (after a pause) You, sir.
THINK -TANK: (smacking mirror) Quicker. Answer quicker next time. I hate a
slow mirror. (He admires himself in the mirror.) Ah, there I am. Are we
Martians not a handsome race? So much more attractive than those ugly
Earthlings with their tiny heads. Noodle, you keep on exercising your mind,
and someday you’ll have a balloon brain just like mine.
NOODLE: Oh, I hope so, Mighty Think-Tank. I hope so.
THINK -TANK: Now, contact the space probe. I want to invade that primitive
ball of mud called Earth before lunch.
NOODLE: It shall be done, sir. (He adjusts levers on switchboard. Electronic
buzzes and beeps are heard as the curtains open.)
i Choose the option that lists the most appropriate meaning of think-tank
from those given below.
a) A tank that helps you think deeper than an average person, if you use
its contents regularly.
b) Non-stop flow of ideas from a fixed source about one particular issue.
c) A pool of ideas and solutions to various problems via an individual,
group or organisation.
d) A method by way of which people think collectively to identify stray
thoughts among them.
ii “Mirror, mirror, in my hand. Who is the most fantastically intellectually
gifted being in the land?”
Choose the option that lists the genre having the original reference to the
above lines.
a) Biography b) Science-fiction c) Mystery d) Fairy tale
iii Choose the option that correctly categorizes the phrase “(after a pause)”
based on the dialogue given above.
a) aside b) stage direction c) narration d) setting
iv Choose the option that gives you fits the example of an irony from the
ones given below.
a) “Who is the most fantastically intellectually gifted being in the land?”
b) “I hate a slow mirror.”
c) “Noodle, you keep on exercising your mind, and someday you’ll have
a balloon brain just like mine.
d) “I want to invade that primitive ball of mud called Earth before lunch.”

2. OOP: I haven’t a clue. I’ve been to seven galaxies, but I’ve never seen
anything like this. Maybe they’re hats. (He opens a book and puts it on his
head.) Say, maybe this is a haberdashery! OMEGA: (bowing low) Perhaps the
Great and Mighty Think-Tank will give us the benefit of his thought on the
 matter. THINK-TANK: Elementary, my dear Omega. Hold one of the items up
so that I may view it closely. (Omega holds a book on the palm of her hand.)
Yes, yes, I understand now. Since Earth creatures are always eating, the
place in which you find yourselves is undoubtedly a crude refreshment stand.
OMEGA: (to Iota and Oop) He says we’re in a refreshment stand.
OOP: Well, the Earthlings certainly have a strange diet.
i Why did Omega bow low before Think-Tank?
a) As a mark of respect and recognition of supremacy.
b) To flatter and appease the character.
c) As a sign of submission and understanding of his strength.
d) To curry favour and goodwill from the character.
ii Choose the option that associates the person to a haberdashery.
a) Jagdeep is a primary school teacher who teaches English.
b) Tanishq is a tailor who makes garments for men only.
c) Falguni is a chemist who manufactures her own medicine.
d) Asma is an engineer who works on designing space stations.
iii Choose the option that explains what Think-Tank meant by saying
Elementary, my dear Omega.
a) “It’s simple general knowledge, Omega.”
b) “It’s something that a primary school person won’t understand, Omega.”
c) “It’s quite obviously deducible, Omega”
d) “It’s a little more than complicated, Omega.”
iv The quality of being crude has been allotted to the refreshment stand
because
a) Earthlings have bad eating habits according to Think-Tank.
b) the temperature of the refreshment stand was too high.
c) the refreshment stands are responsible for poor health of the Earthlings.
d) it produces food that is unrefined and unprocessed in nature.
v.Earth inhabitants are Earthlings and those from Mars are Martians, what
are the inhabitants of Venus ddressed as in most sci-fi stories?
a) Venusites b) Venatians c) Venings d) Venusians

3. What guesses are made by about the books found on earth Who all made
the guesses? [Board Question]
4. Compare and contrast the characters of Great and MightyThink-Tank and
Noodles. [Board Question]
Ans. Great and Mighty Think-Tank and Noodles have contrasting characters.
Think-Tank likes to be called the ‘Great and the Mighty’. He orders
and commands. He is the ruler of Mars, but has no intelligence. He
thinks that the books found on Earth are sandwiches. He is wrong
about everything. He demands that the crew obey him. He likes to
pass on others’ ideas as his own. He is a coward who simply boasts
about his power.
Noodle, his apprentice, on the other hand, is very clever and wise.
He corrects the mistakes of the ruler Think-Tank very gently. He
never takes credit for his ideas and offers them to the ruler very
gently. Think-Tank, on the other hand, makes his ideas as his own.

4. How did the people on the earth help the Martian people?
How did this effort help the people on both the planets? [Board Question]
Ans. The people on earth taught the Martians how to read. They
helped them to understand letters along with interpreting their
meanings. They taught them the difference between a sandwich and
a book. People on the earth also helped the Martians to set up a
model library. This installed a cordial relationship between both the
planets. It helped people on both the planets to know each other as
they became friendly and did not consider invasion as an option.
Martians were no more afraid of the people on earth as they
understood that the meaning of their scripts and text was not to
attack the Martians or harm them in anyway.

5. Dark is the nation and insane the King’. Discuss in context

of the play ‘The Book that saved the Earth’.
Ans. Think-Tank was the ruler of all Martians. He was a pompous
fool who believed he was the most intelligent and beautiful creature
ever. A foolish person is unable to rule a country or even a small
group of people. Such a rule is bound to ruin the ruled. He had no
clue about anything on earth and was a bumbling fool. He heard a
nursery rhyme from earth and saw pictures in a book and started
believing that it was a code to attack Mars and himself. In his
foolishness, he escaped to another far away planet leaving all the
Martians behind. Under his rule, Mars neither could make contact
with Earth nor rule it. When Noodle became the ruler, there was
contact with Earth and mutual cooperation too. Thus, when the king
is insane, the nation is dark.
6. Is the title ‘The Book that saved the Earth’ justified? How?
Ans. On the face of it, the tittle does seem absurd. But as we dive
into the story, we find in a humorous way, that a book did actually
save the earth in the story. In the story/play, the Martians were
planning to invade Earth and rule it. They sent a team of three
Martians to explore and gather information. When they read out and
saw pictures of some nursery rhymes from the book ‘Mother Goose’,
their captain believed it to be a code to attack Mars and that the
Earthlings were more advanced than what they had thought them to
be. He got scared and ordered all to flee. He himself escaped to a
far off planet. This prevented an attack and the Earth was saved.
Thus, the book, Mother Goose saves the Earth, and the title of the
play is justified
The Book that Saved the Earth Overview – The topic of the play “The Book that
Saved the Earth” is that incomplete information is always hazardous. It also
describes how the world was saved from a Martian invasion by an old book of
rhymes called “Mother Goose”. The play takes place in the year 2550. However,
Historian activates the hysteroscope and transports us five centuries, to the twentieth
century.

Noodle was one of Think-Tank’s brilliant servants. He was quite intelligent and knew
how to manage Think-Tank. He tried not to offend Think-Tank.
Noodles is the apprentice of Think-Tank. Though he is the one to make the right
decisions, he makes sure that his boss gets all the praise. This shows his modesty
and humility. He is good at handling tasks by himself. He is wise and uses logical
reasoning, which is evident in the way he recognizes that the books are some means
of communication.
He has an act to tackle and flatter his boss. Whenever he had to correct him, he
would present his thought as being of no particular importance. He rectifies his
mistakes in a humble manner. He a polite member of Think-Tank’s crew and
cooperates with the other members and effectively carries out the order of the
commander. He is a practical man in real.

Captain Omega thinks of himself as the ruler of Mars and commands the Mars area.
Also he is leader of a crew that has Captain Omega, Lieutenant lota, Sergeant Oops
and Apprentice Noodle. He likes to be praised owing to his intelligence and authority.
As he’s from Mars, he considers books as communication sandwiches

Lieutenant Iota is a member of the Zogonian army who is sent to Earth along with
Oop to retrieve the book that contains information to save their planet. He is a tall,
muscular alien with a stern expression. Lieutenant Iota is a no-nonsense and serious
character. He is completely focused on the mission and sees the human characters
as obstacles to overcome rather than potential allies. He has a short temper and is
quick to resort to violence when provoked. Despite his intimidating demeanor,
Lieutenant Iota is shown to be a skilled fighter and strategist. He leads the attack on
the human base where the book is being kept, and his military training and tactics
help him to overcome the humans’ defenses

Sergeant Oops is a small, green alien from the planet Mars who is sent to Earth to
retrieve a book that contains information to save his planet from destruction. He has
a long, pointed nose and large, bulbous eyes that protrude out of his head. He is a
dedicated and determined character who takes his mission seriously. He is the one
who brings the book to Zog that contains the information needed to save their planet
from destruction. He is shown to be intelligent and resourceful, using his knowledge
of Earth’s customs and language to communicate with the human characters. He is
polite and friendly in his interactions with the humans, but also firm and willing to use
force to achieve his goal. Sergeant Oops is willing to go to great lengths to save his
planet and his people.