If I Were You

 AP 9th Class English Beehive 9th Lesson If I Were You 

Questions and Answers

Before You Read :

Question.
Gerrard lives alone in a lonely cottage. An intruder, who is a criminal, enters his cottage. He intends to murder Gerrard and take on his identity. Does he succeed ?

Answer: No, he does not

Question.
The following words and phrases occur in the play. Do you know their meanings? Match them with the meanings given, to find out?

Answer:

Thinking About the Text : I. Answer these

Questions:

Question 1.
"At last a sympathetic audience."?

1. Who says this
2. Why does he say it
3. Is he sarcastic or serious

Answer:

1. Gerrard says this
2. He says this because the intruder becomes sympathetic towards him
3. He is, no doubt, sarcastic

Question 2.
Why does the intruder choose Gerrard as the man whose identity he wants to take on?

Answer: The intruder chooses Gerrard as the man whose identity he wants to take on because Gerrard is a mystery man. He phones his orders and sometimes goes away suddenly and comes back just the same

Question 3.
"I said it with bullets."?

1. Who says this
2. What does it mean
3. Is it the truth? What is the speakers reason for saying this

Answer:

1. Gerrard says this
2. It means that when he was in trouble, he shot someone to escape
3. No, it is not the truth. Gerrard says this to manipulate the intruder so that he does not kill him

Question 4.
What is Gerrards profession? Quote the parts of the play that support your answer?

Answer: Gerrard is a dramatist. The following parts of the play support this : "In most melodramas, the villain is foolish enough to delay his killing long enough to be frustrated.". "Sorry I cant let you have the props in time for rehearsal." "I think Ill put it in my next play." "At last, a sympathetic audience!"

Question 5.
"Youll soon stop being smart."?

1. Who says this
2. Why does the speaker say it
3. What, according to the speaker, will stop Gerrard from being smart

Answer:

1. The intruder says this
2. The intruder says this to scare Gerrard and know more about him
3. The speaker intends to kill Gerrard. According to the speaker, when Gerrard gets to know that he came to Gerrard to kill him and steal his identity, he would become scared and stop being smart

Question 6.
"They cant hang me twice."?

1. Who says this
2. Why does the speaker say it

Answer:

1. The intruder says this
2. The speaker says it because he wants to murder Gerrard. And he has already murdered someone. So the police cannot hang him twice

Question 7.
"A mystery I propose to explain." What is the mystery the speaker proposes to explain?

Answer: The mystery is about Gerrards placing his orders on telephone. And he goes out suddenly and returns in the same way

Question 8.
"This is your big surprise."?

1. Where has this been said in the play
2. What is the surprise

Answer:

1. This statement is said two times in the play. First time : when the intruder is trying to scare Gerrard. Second time : when Gerrard is explaining to the intruder why he wont kill him for a good reason
2. The surprise in the first utterance of the statement is that the intruder expresses his intention to kill Gerrard. The surprise in the second utterance of the statement is that Gerrard explains to him that he himself is a criminal on the run, that is why it wont do any good to the intruder to kill him and steal his identity

Thinking About Language :

QuestionI.
Consult your dictionary and choose the correct word from the pairs given in brackets?

1. The (site / cite) of the accident was (ghastly/ghostly)
2. Our college (principle/principal) is very strict
3. I studied (continuously/continually) for eight hours
4. The fog had an adverse (affect/effect) on the traffic
5. Cezanne, the famous French painter, was a brilliant (artist/artiste)
6. The book that you gave me yesterday is an extraordinary (collage/college) of science fiction and mystery
7. Our school will (host/hoist) an exhibition on cruelty to animals and wildlife conservation
8. Screw the lid tightly onto the top of the bottle and (shake/shape) well before using the contents

Answers:

1. The site of the accident was ghastly
2. Our college principal is very strict
3. I studied continuously for eight hours
4. The fog had an adverse effect on the traffic
5. Cezanne, the famous French painter, was a brilliant artist
6. The book that you gave me yesterday is an extraordinary collage of science fiction and mistery
7. Our school will host an exhibition on cruelty to animals and wildlife conservation
8. Screw the lid tightly onto the top of the bottle and shake well before using the contents

QuestionII.
Irony is when we say one thing but mean another, usually the opposite of what we say. When someone makes a mistake and you say, "Oh! that was clever!", that is irony. Youre saying clever to mean not clever?

Expressions we often use in an ironic fashion are :

• Oh, wasnt that clever!/Oh that was clever
• You have been a great help, I must say
• Youve got yourself into a lovely mess, havent you
• Oh, very funny!/ How funny

We use a slightly different tone of voice when we use these words ironically. Read the play carefully and find the words and expressions Gerrard uses in an ironic way. Then say what these expressions really mean. Two examples have been given below. Write down three more such expressions along with what they really mean

Answer:

What the author says	What he means
1. You have been so modest	Gerrard says this to express how immodest the intruder has been by not talking about himself at all
2. At last a sympathetic audience	Gerrard says this sarcastically as the intruder is asking about Gerrard while holding a revolver
3. You wont kill me for a very good reason	Gerrard says this as if he has some very good reason to be spared by the intruder. He says this so as to create a doubt in the intruder about killing him

Dictionary Use :

Question.
A word can mean different things in different contexts. Look at these three sentences/

The students are taught to respect different cultures. The school is organising a cultural show. His voice is cultured

In the first sentence, culture (noun) means way of life; in the second, cultural (adjective) means connected with art, literature and music; and in the third, cultured (verb) means sophisticated, well mannered. Usually a dictionary helps you identify the right meaning by giving you signposts. Look at the dictionary entry on culture from Oxford Advanced Learners

(Noun, verb, adjective, adverb, synonyms, etc. are signposts which help you locate the right meaning and usage, and give information about the part of speech that the word is.)

Look up the dictionary entries for the words sympathy, familiarity, comfort, care, and surprise. Use the information given in the dictionary and complete the table

Answer:

Speaking :

Question 1.
Imagine you are Gerrard. Tell your friend what happened when the Intruder broke into your house. [Clues : Describe (i) the intruder-his appearance, the way he spoke, his,plan, his movements, etc., (ii) how you outwitted him.]?

Answer: One day I was about to leave my house to deliver props for a rehearsal. Just then, an intruder entered my home. He was carrying a revolver. He was just like me in appearance. He wanted to kill me and live on my identity. The intruder had committed a murder and was wanted by the police

So, he thought of stealing my identity so that he could live peacefully. He wanted to know details about me before killing me so that he could imitate me well. I tried to delay his plan by telling him a made-up story about myself

I won his trust by declaring that I too was a crook like him and that I could help him to escape. I told him to exit by a door, which actually was of a wardrobe. I pushed him inside and locked him up. Then I called the sergeant to hand over the intruder to the police

Question 2.
Enact the play in the class. Pay special attention to words given in italics before a dialogue. These words will tell you whether the dialogue has to be said in a happy, sarcastic or ironic tone and how the characters move and what they do as they speak. Read these carefully before you enact the play?

Answer: (Classroom Activity by Students with the help of teacher)

Writing :

QuestionI.
Which of the words below describe Gerrard and which describe the Intruder Write a paragraph each about Gerrard and the Intruder to show what qualities they have. (You can use some of the words given above.)?

Answer: The words that describe Gerrard: cool, confident, witty, humorous and clever. The words that describe the Intruder : flashy, clever, nonchalant and smart

Gerrard : Gerrard was a playwright. He lived alone in a cottage. He was an intelligent person with a good sense of humour. He knew how to handle an adverse situation. He had a lot of patience too. One day an intruder entered his cottage. When Gerrard came to know about his intention he was not scared at all. He had presence of mind

He was very good at story making. He immediately convinced the intruder that Gerrard himself was a criminal and police was after him. The intruder got convinced by him. Gerrard managed to get rid of the intruder by locking him into the cupboard. One learns from him that one should never lose ones wit in adversity. His presence of mind, wit and sense of humour saved him

The Intruder : The intruder was a clever and smart person. He planned to flee from the eyes of the police. He wore flashy clothes and some what resembled with Gerrard in terms of his appearance. He was a nonchalant person with a very casual attitude which could especially be seen when he revealed his plan of killing Gerrard and telling about his previous criminal record. However, his casual attitude ultimately threw him in Gerrards trap because of which he was ultimately handed over to the police

QuestionII.
Convert the play into a story (150-200 words). Your story should be as exciting and as witty as the play. Provide a suitable title to it?

Answer: A strange fellow with a strange plan Gerrard was a playwright. He lived in a cottage One day he was busy packing his bags for a relaxing holiday at the countryside. But an intruder silently entered his cottage with a revolver in his hand. The intruder asked Gerrard to sit still at one place

Then as their conversation progressed, the intruder revealed that he was a jewel thief. He further told him that he had killed a policeman and therefore the police was after him

In addition to this, the intruder told him that due to his criminal record, he further wanted to kill Gerrard and take on his identity by which he could get away with the police and lead a normal life

However, Gerrard very cleverly made up a story and told him that he too was a criminal and already had planned of running away. He also told the intruder that by killing him, he would be accused of double murder and as a proof, showed his travelling bag

Gerrard told the intruder that his friend was standing on the nearby road, waiting for him and as soon as the police arrived, the friend would inform him. Gerrard took the intruder to the door to show the man

But as soon as they reached near the cupboard, Gerrard pushed him inside and immediately locked it from outside. Screaming and shouting, the intruder pleaded him to take him out of the cupboard but Gerrard called the police and finally the police arrested the intruder

If I Were You Summary in English

This story is about a man named Gerrard who is getting ready to go to a rehearsal for a play. While he is packing his bag, he sees someone who looks like him and is holding a revolver. The stranger tells Gerrard to put his hands up, but Gerrard stays calm and starts talking to him. Gerrard asks the intruder his name and they have a conversation

The intruder asks Gerrard about his personal information, and Gerrard suggests they sit down to talk more comfortably. During their conversation, Gerrard tells the intruder that he often travels for work and keeps a bag packed for emergencies. He also mentions that he talks to people on the phone instead of meeting them in person

Gerrard also asks the intruder about himself, and the intruder admits that he is a criminal who stdals jewelry and has even killed a policeman. He wants to kill Gerrard and take his identity to avoid being caught by the police. Gerrard realizes that the intruder is not very clever and decides to trick him

Gerrard makes up a story about his own mysterious life and convinces the intruder that the police are after him for a murder. He tells the intruder that if he kills Gerrard, the police will catch him for Gerrards crimes too. Surprisingly, the iritruder believes Gerrards story and agrees to escape through the garage

Gerrard opens the garage door, but instead of escaping, he pushes the intruder into a cupboard and locks him inside. Then he calls the police and informs them about the criminal in his house

If I Were You Summary in Telugu

Glossary: