Class 7 English Chapter 7 My Brother’s Great Invention Notes and Book Solutions based on NCERT Poorvi. Get easy explanations, summary, word meanings and textbook question answers for CBSE Class 7 English.

Class 6 English Poorvi Unit 3 My Brother’s Great Invention Notes

💡 My Brother’s Great Invention

Class 6 English Poorvi | Unit 3 – Dreams and Discoveries

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🌟 Chapter Summary

“My Brother’s Great Invention” is a funny and exciting story about Anita and her younger brother Anand. Anand loves science, electrical gadgets and inventions. He enjoys making new things, although many of his inventions do not work as planned.

Anand first makes a burglar alarm to protect the house from thieves. Unfortunately, his father opens the door softly and gets completely soaked by the water bag attached to the alarm.

Later, after watching the film Back to the Future, Anand decides to make a time machine. He spends many days building it. One night, while Anita and Anand are alone at home, a thief named Boppa enters their house. Anand tricks him into entering the room containing the time machine. Strange noises are heard and Boppa disappears.

Amazingly, Boppa is never seen again. Anand believes that his time machine worked and sent Boppa into the past. The machine is later dismantled by Papa because he thinks it is unsafe. Anand, however, continues to believe that he is a genius and starts planning another invention.

🌈 Main Message: The story teaches us that curiosity, creativity and experimentation can lead to discoveries. It also shows that inventions may involve failures before they succeed.

📘 Let us do these activities before we read.

I Work in pairs and guess the invention.

1. I am a concept invented by ancient Indian mathematicians. I add value to numbers. Without me, calculations in the modern digital world would be impossible. Who am I?

Answer: Zero (0).

2. I am an ancient Indian practice, now popular globally. I focus on physical and mental well-being. What am I?

Answer: Yoga.

II Discuss in groups of four what you think the world today would have been like without inventions and discoveries.

Answer: Without inventions and discoveries, life would be much harder. We would not have modern transport, electricity, computers, medicines, phones and many other useful things.

III Fill the grid given below with missing letters to complete the words. These words display qualities of an inventor.

Possible qualities: Creative, Curious, Original, Innovative, Intelligent, Imaginative, Determined, Risk-taking and Persistent.

📖 Let us read

Important Characters

Character	Role
Anita	A fourteen-year-old girl and the narrator of the story.
Anand	Anita’s younger brother who loves inventing things.
Papa	Anita and Anand’s father.
Ma	Anita and Anand’s mother.
Boppa	A thief who enters the house.
Mrs. Sharma, Mr. Sharma and Dr. Mohan	Neighbours who come to help Anita and Anand.

📚 Important Words from the Story

Word	Easy Meaning
racket	a loud and disturbing noise
scowling	having an angry or frowning expression
rigged up	assembled something temporarily
tinkering	experimenting or fiddling with things
dynamos	electric generators
sopping	soaking wet
stealthily	quietly or carefully so that one is not seen or heard
sceptical	doubtful
smugly	proudly
clanging	a loud ringing sound
elaborate	detailed
frantic	hurried and disorganised
crestfallen	sad and disappointed
offended	upset or hurt
groggily	sleepily
ruffianly	rough or violent looking
gasped	took a short, deep breath in surprise
brandishing	waving something as a threat
cudgel	a short, thick stick used as a weapon
muffled	not very clear or loud
clattering	continuous loud noises
eerie	strange and frightening
peering	looking carefully
unison	together
hastily	quickly
indulgently	fondly and patiently
intruders	people who enter a place without permission
dismantled	taken apart
niggling	a slight or small feeling

💭 Let us discuss

I Complete the cause-and-effect table given below.

Causes	Effects
1. Anand set up his burglar alarm and rigged it to work when the door was opened softly.	Papa opened the door softly and got soaked by the water bag.
2. Anita was able to avoid any responsibility as Anand faced the consequences alone.	Anand faced Papa’s anger alone.
3. We watched the movie ‘Back to the Future’.	Anand decided to make a time machine.
4. Papa firmly said ‘NO’ to trying out the time machine.	Anand could not try the time machine that day.

II Do you think Anand was able to keep his promise regarding the time machine? If yes, why? If no, why not?

Answer: No. Anand did not keep his promise. When his parents went away, he became involved with the time machine again.

🌙 The Night Incident

Anita hears strange sounds at night. She wakes Anand. A thief named Boppa enters the house. Anand cleverly sends him towards the room containing the time machine. Strange sounds come from that room, and Boppa disappears.

Important Events

Anita hears scratching and strange sounds at the front door.
She wakes Anand.
Boppa enters the house.
Anand tricks Boppa into going towards the time machine.
The machine starts making strange sounds.
The neighbours arrive.
Boppa cannot be found.
His green scarf is found near the time machine.
Anand believes the time machine worked.

🔢 Let us discuss

Arrange the following events in the correct order of occurrence.

1. The door swings open, and they see Boppa, standing there with an evil grin.

2. Boppa is nowhere to be found, but his green scarf is lying near the time machine.

3. Mrs. Sharma, her husband, and Dr. Mohan unlock the door and enter the house to help the children.

4. Anita wakes Anand up, informing him that someone is trying to get into the house.

5. Anand misleads Boppa into entering his room instead of his father’s room.

Answer: 4 → 1 → 5 → 3 → 2

🧠 Let us think and reflect

I Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

“Before beginning this story, let me put you in the picture. I am Anita, fourteen years old. My brother Anand, one year younger than me, caused all that hoo-ha with his burglar alarm. The trouble with him is that he thinks he is a scientist. He loves tinkering with all sorts of electrical gadgets, tools, dynamos, planks of wood, and things like that. And he keeps creating ‘inventions’ that never work out as they are supposed to.”

(i) Complete the following sentence suitably by choosing the correct option from those given in the brackets.

When Anita says, “…let me put you in the picture”, she wants to _________ (introduce/summarise) the situation for the benefit of the readers.

Answer: introduce

(ii) Anand loves ‘tinkering’ with all sorts of electrical gadgets. This means that he enjoys _________ gadgets.

A. dismantling and creating

B. labelling or naming

C. repairing or improving

D. collecting and displaying

Answer: A. dismantling and creating

(iii) Which of the following options most suitably describes Anand’s personality?

A. methodical and cautious

B. creative and experimental

C. energetic and hasty

D. shy and reserved

Answer: B. creative and experimental

(iv) Based on the extract, compare what Anita thinks of her brother Anand with what he thinks of himself.

Answer: Anita thinks Anand is troublesome and his inventions often fail. Anand thinks he is a talented scientist and inventor.

2. Read the second extract.

“I was about to direct him upstairs, when Anand said quickly, ‘The one next to this one.’”

(i) Complete the sentence given below with a suitable reason.

Anita was angry with Anand because ____________.

Answer: Anand told Boppa that the room next to them was their father’s room, but it was actually Anita’s room.

(ii) Which action of Anand shows his presence of mind?

Answer: He quickly misled Boppa by directing him towards the room containing the time machine.

(iii) What might be the cause of the strange noises emerging from the next room?

A. The intruder moving furniture around

B. Anand’s time machine getting activated

C. The intruder locating the light switch

D. Anand’s invention malfunctioning

Answer: B. Anand’s time machine getting activated

(iv) Which of the following best describes the atmosphere in this extract?

A. relaxing

B. peaceful

C. tense

D. sad

E. suspenseful

F. joyful

(a) A, D and E

(b) B and F

(d) Only D

Answer: (c) C and E

II Complete the table with the suitable traits of the characters based on evidence from the text.

Traits: creative curious careful responsible bothersome confident

Character	Traits	Evidence from the Text
Anand	1. bothersome	And this is not the first time he’s got on Papa’s nerves or frightened someone half to death in the house.
	2. creative	He loves tinkering with all sorts of electrical gadgets, tools, dynamos, planks of wood, and things like that. And he keeps creating ‘inventions’ that never work out as they are supposed to.
	3. confident	“Nothing will go wrong this time. I’ve planned it out carefully. See the blueprint.”
Anita	1. responsible	“We’re old enough to look after ourselves, Ma…”
	2. curious	“But how does the alarm know that a burglar is opening the door?”
	3. careful	“Now clean up this mess before anyone gets home.”

Answer the following questions.

1. What prompted Anand to create the burglar alarm?

Answer: There had been many thefts in the colony, so Anand wanted to protect the house.

2. How did Anand’s father become the target of the burglar alarm?

Answer: Papa opened the door softly, which activated Anand’s alarm and dropped the water bag on him.

3. How did Anand’s parents and sister react to his ideas?

Answer: They were often worried or doubtful, but Ma and Anita were also curious and sometimes supported him.

4. How did Anand behave when he was on his ‘inventing binges’?

Answer: He became completely absorbed in his inventions, made lots of noise and took apart household gadgets for parts.

5. Why did Mr. Sharma not believe Anand when he spoke about his time machine?

Answer: He thought Anand was imagining things because the time machine sounded impossible.

6. Give an ending to this story, explaining what might have happened to Boppa.

Answer: Boppa may have accidentally activated the time machine and disappeared into the past. His green scarf was left behind.

📚 Let us learn

I Onomatopoeic Words

Onomatopoeic words are words that imitate or suggest the sound they describe.

Sound Word	Expression
Crash	sudden loud sound of breaking
Humming	a continuous low and soothing sound
Hissed	whispered angrily
Hammering, sawing, clattering	constant and loud construction noises

II Binomials

Binomials are expressions made of two words that are commonly used together in a fixed order, often joined by and or or.

1. Match the words in Column 1 with the correct pairs in Column 2 to make binomials.

Column 1	Conjunction	Column 2
(i) safe	and / or	A. break
(ii) odds	and / or	B. cons
(iii) make	and / or	C. never
(iv) pros	and / or	D. take
(v) now	and / or	E. sound
(vi) give	and / or	F. ends

Answers:
(i) safe and sound
(ii) odds and ends
(iii) make or break
(iv) pros and cons
(v) now or never
(vi) give or take

2. Complete the following sentences with suitable binomials from 1.

(i) This project will be a ______________ moment for our team’s success.

Answer: make or break

(ii) After a long journey, we were relieved to arrive home ______________.

Answer: safe and sound

(iii) Every friendship works well when there is a balance of ______________.

Answer: give and take

(iv) She organised all the ______________ in the cupboard, to make space for new clothes.

Answer: odds and ends

(v) Before making a decision, it is important to weigh the ______________ carefully.

Answer: pros and cons

(vi) This is our final chance to perform on stage, it is ______________.

Answer: now or never

3. Complete the paragraph by using the phrasal verbs given in the box below.

It had been raining and we (i) ___________ time to set up for the function, so we quickly (ii) ___________ some decorations using whatever materials we had. We accidentally (iii) ___________ the fire alarm because of the smoke from the bonfire. Thankfully, the rain (iv) ___________ just as the guests were arriving, and despite all the chaos, the function (v) ___________ to be a huge success.

Answers:
(i) didn’t have
(ii) put up
(iii) set off
(iv) stopped
(v) turned out

III Idioms

An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is different from the literal meaning of its individual words.

Idioms:
leaving the coast clear | get on our nerves | fell over ourselves | frighten me half to death | get a shelling

1. Shekhar knew he would _______________________ for breaking his mother’s favourite flower vase.

Answer: get a shelling

2. We _______________________ trying to help the injured dog and get it to the vet as quickly as possible.

Answer: fell over ourselves

3. Faizy distracted Kanchan, _______________________ for us to get inside the room to prepare the birthday surprise.

Answer: leaving the coast clear

4. The constant power fluctuations during meetings can _______________________.

Answer: get on our nerves

5. When I am alone at home, any unexpected loud noise in the night can _______________________.

Answer: frighten me half to death

IV Simple Past and Past Perfect

Simple Past: an action completed in the past.
Past Perfect: an action that happened before another past action. It is formed using had + past participle.

1. Underline the verbs in simple past and past perfect tense for the following sentences from the text.

(i) Ma had rushed in to see what the racket was all about and found Papa standing there, sopping wet and scowling.

Answer: Past Perfect – had rushed
Simple Past – found

(ii) Anand had vanished by this time and reappeared only after dinner when Papa had cooled down.

Answer: Past Perfect – had vanished, had cooled
Simple Past – reappeared

2. Fill in the blanks with the simple past or past perfect form of the verbs given in brackets.

(i) After Rohan A. __________ (finish) his homework, he B. __________ (decide) to go for a walk. He C. __________ (leave) the house and D. __________ (realise) he E. __________ (forget) his keys inside.

Answers:
A. had finished
B. decided
C. left
D. realised
E. had forgotten

(ii) By the time we A. __________ (reach) the station, the train B. __________ (already/leave). We C. __________ (wait) for the next one to arrive.

Answers:
A. reached
B. had already left
C. waited

3. Combine the pairs of sentences using the time expressions in the boxes given below and rewrite them using the past perfect tenses. An example has been done for you.

Old Actions	Time Expressions	New Actions
Rohan packed his suitcase.	before, after, by the time, when	He left for the airport.
We started work.	before, after, by the time, when	He arrived in the morning.
They set up the tents.	before, after, by the time, when	The others brought food and medicine.
The students became quiet.	before, after, by the time, when	They heard the teacher coming.
The villagers left the village.	before, after, by the time, when	The flood submerged the entire area.

Possible answers:

(i) Rohan had packed his suitcase before he left for the airport.

(ii) We had started work before he arrived in the morning.

(iii) They had set up the tents before the others brought food and medicine.

(iv) The students had become quiet before they heard the teacher coming.

(v) The villagers had left the village before the flood submerged the entire area.

🎧 Let us listen

I You will listen to a conversation between Anita and Toby.

Toby is a Martian and is stranded on Earth. He has become Anita’s friend. As you listen, choose the true statements from 1–5 given below.

1. Toby misses his school.
☐ True ☐ False

2. Anita accepts Toby as her friend.
☐ True ☐ False

3. Anita asks Toby about one of his facial features.
☐ True ☐ False

4. Toby tells Anita that she had a banana for breakfast.
☐ True ☐ False

5. Toby shares that he can see much clearer with a closed eye.
☐ True ☐ False

Answers:
1. True
2. True
3. True
4. True
5. False

II Listen to the conversation again and fill in the blanks with the exact words you hear.

1. Toby: I miss my _________________ and home.

Answer: school

2. Toby: Well, we _________________ don’t need to eat anything. We get our _________________ from the Sun.

Answer: Martians; energy

3. Anita: Oh! Don’t you ever feel like having ice creams and _________________?

Answer: chocolates

4. Anita: Okay, tell me one thing. How are you able to see with only_________________ eye?

Answer: one

5. Toby: I can see beyond mountains and _________________, woods and even _________________.

Answer: buildings; clouds

Teacher note: Listening answers should be checked with the official audio/transcript because the exact wording depends on the listening material.

🗣️ Let us speak

I Read the following sentences from the text.

As usual, I had to be involved, though I’d have preferred to finish my novel.

“We’re old enough to look after ourselves, Ma,” I said.

The word ‘though’ is pronounced to rhyme with the word ‘low’.
The word ‘enough’ is pronounced to rhyme with the word ‘puff’.

Sounds like ‘oo’	Sounds like ‘off’	Sounds like ‘o’	Sounds like ‘ow’	Sounds like ‘aw’
through	cough	though	bough	thought
			plough

II Read the story given below aloud. Check the correct pronunciation with the teacher.

In spite of a nagging cough, the woman continued working in her farm, right through the rough weather. She filled up the trough with water for her cows and ploughed the fields to plant the seeds. She then plucked some raw mangoes from a low bough of a mango tree to make a spicy chutney. Though the day had been tough, she smiled peacefully as she had already prepared dough to make enough rotis for dinner.

III Now try saying this tongue twister fast as many times as you can clearly.

The boy with the tough dough on the rose bough fell in the trough and caught a cough.

✍️ Let us write

Think about different vocations that you see around or you are currently studying.

For example: electrician, mechanic, chef, nurse, graphic designer. You may add more vocations to the list given here.

Now, choose a vocation and write a paragraph.

• why you like this vocation

• what training is needed

• what tools and equipment are required

• who would your co-workers be

• highlight the importance of team work

• how you would deal with the customers

• how you plan to pursue it with a sense of pride

🌟 Sample Answer – Electrician

I would like to become an electrician because I enjoy working with electrical things. I would need proper training and safety knowledge. I would use tools such as wires, testers, screwdrivers and pliers. I would work with other electricians and helpers. Teamwork is important because it helps us complete work safely and quickly. I would speak politely to customers and understand their problems. I would do my work honestly and proudly.

🔭 Let us explore

Creativity is ‘thinking new things’; innovation is ‘doing new things’ and an invention is ‘bringing ideas or objects together in a novel way to create something that did not exist before’.

Important Indian Scientists and Inventors

Person	Contribution
Sushruta	A pioneer in medical science. His innovations in surgery helped develop modern surgery.
Dr. Janaki Ammal	A brilliant Indian woman scientist who made important contributions to cytogenetics.
Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam	Under his directorship, ISRO launched the Rohini satellite using India’s first Satellite Launch Vehicle in 1980.
Dr. Narinder Singh Kapany	Known as the Father of Fibre Optics and played a major role in the development of fibre optics.

💡 Think About It

1. What is creativity?

Answer: Creativity means thinking of new and useful ideas.

2. What is innovation?

Answer: Innovation means putting new ideas into action.

3. What is an invention?

Answer: An invention is something new created by using ideas, knowledge or objects in a new way.

⭐ Quick Revision

Topic	Remember
Main character	Anand
Narrator	Anita
First invention	Burgl ar alarm
Second invention	Time machine
Thief	Boppa
Important quality of Anand	Creative and experimental
Main theme	Curiosity, creativity and invention
Important grammar	Past Perfect Tense
Vocabulary	Onomatopoeic words, binomials and idioms

🎯 Self-Check

1. I can explain the story. ☐ Yes ☐ Need more practice

2. I can identify past perfect tense. ☐ Yes ☐ Need more practice

3. I know what binomials are. ☐ Yes ☐ Need more practice

4. I know the meaning of important idioms. ☐ Yes ☐ Need more practice

5. I can explain the difference between creativity, innovation and invention.
☐ Yes ☐ Need more practice

Practise Class 7 English Chapter 7 with this easy NCERT Poorvi worksheet. Includes important questions and revision exercises to help students understand the chapter and prepare for tests and exams.

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Chapter 7-My Brother’s Great Invention

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