Practise Class 8 English Chapter 2 – A Concrete Example with this easy NCERT Poorvi worksheet. Includes important questions and revision exercises to help students understand the chapter, revise key ideas and prepare effectively for tests and exams.
Class 8 English – Poorvi
Unit 1 – Wit and Wisdom
🌿 A Concrete Example
Fresh Practice Worksheet
Name:
Class & Section:
Roll No.:
Date:
📌 Instructions
- Read the poem carefully before answering.
- Write complete and neat answers.
- Use your own words wherever possible.
- Read each question carefully.
🌸 A Concrete Example
My next-door neighbour, Mrs. Jones,
has got a garden full of stones:
A crazy path, a lily pond,
a rockery and, just beyond
A sundial with a strange device,
which Mrs. Jones thinks rather nice.
My next-door neighbour, Mrs. Jones,
puts little plants between the stones
They are so delicate and small,
they don’t mean anything at all.
I can’t think how she gets them in,
unless she plants them with a pin.
My next-door neighbour, Mrs. Jones,
once asked me round to see her stones.
We stood and talked about a flower
for quite a quarter of an hour.
“Where is this lovely thing?” I cried.
“You’re standing on it,” she replied.
Reginald Arkell
🌱 Before We Read
I
Read the names of garden items and write names against each picture.
Picture 1: ______________________________
Picture 2: ______________________________
Picture 3: ______________________________
Picture 4: ______________________________
Picture 5: ______________________________
Picture 6: ______________________________
Picture 7: ______________________________
Picture 8: ______________________________
Picture 9: ______________________________
Picture 10: _____________________________
II
Work in groups of four. What kind of garden would you like to have? Mention features and reasons. Share answers.
III
Read the title. What comes to your mind when you read “concrete”? Does it have more than one meaning? Share answers.
💬 Let us discuss
I
Complete the following summary with exact words from the poem.
The poem describes Mrs. Jones, the speaker’s next-door neighbour, who has a unique garden filled with 1. ____________. Her garden includes a peculiar 2. ____________, a pond, and a rockery, along with an unusual 3. ____________ that she finds charming. Mrs. Jones plants tiny, 4. ____________ plants between the stones, which the speaker thinks must be so small that they are planted with a 5. ____________. One day, Mrs. Jones invites the speaker to see her garden, and they discuss a 6. ____________ that Mrs. Jones treasures. When the speaker asks where the 7. ____________ flower is, Mrs. Jones says that the speaker has been 8. ____________ on it all along.
1. __________________________
2. __________________________
3. __________________________
4. __________________________
5. __________________________
6. __________________________
7. __________________________
8. __________________________
II
Select the correct option.
1. The tone of the poem is ____________.
(i) mocking
(ii) humorous
(iii) mournful
(iv) amusing
(v) light-hearted
A. (i), (ii), and (iii)
B. (i), (ii), and (v)
C. (ii), (iii), and (iv)
D. (ii), (iv), and (v)
Answer: __________________________
2. The speaker in the poem is ____________.
(i) Mrs. Jones
(ii) the poet
(iii) a gardener
(iv) a child
Answer: __________________________
3. The rhyme scheme of the poem is _________.
(i) AABBCC
(ii) ABABCC
(iii) AABCAC
(iv) ABBACC
Answer: __________________________
III
Complete the following sentences by choosing the correct answer given in the brackets.
1. The poet uses the word ‘stones’ in all stanzas in order to emphasise her ________. (obsession with a stony garden/pride in gardening skills)
2. The poet uses imagery to describe the features of the garden that help readers _____________. (understand Mrs. Jones’ love for plants/visualise the garden’s peculiar nature)
IV
Pick examples of alliteration from the poem.
V
A refrain is a repeated line or phrase that appears in each stanza. Identify the refrain from the poem.
VI
Irony is a literary device that emphasises the difference between what is expected and what actually happens. It often involves a situation where the outcome is the opposite of what is expected, creating a surprising or a humorous effect.
Identify the line(s) from the poem that display(s) situational irony.
VII
Complete the following sentences appropriately.
1. The word ‘concrete’ can refer to ______________ in Mrs. Jones’ garden.
2. The title also has a symbolic meaning, as the poem provides a clear or ‘concrete’ example of Mrs. Jones’ ______________ gardening habits.
VIII
The title ‘A Concrete Example’ carries both literal and symbolic (metaphorical) meaning. Such word play is called a pun. A pun is a figure of speech that uses words with multiple meanings or words that sound alike but have different meanings, creating a humorous effect.
🧠 Let us think and reflect
I
Read the given extract and answer the questions that follow.
My next-door neighbour, Mrs. Jones,
has got a garden full of stones:
A crazy path, a lily pond,
a rockery and, just beyond
A sundial with a strange device,
which Mrs. Jones thinks rather nice.
(i) What can be inferred about Mrs. Jones’s taste in gardening from the description of garden being ‘full of stones’?
(ii) The garden serves as a means to reveal more about Mrs. Jones herself. True or False?
Answer: __________________________
(iii) What does the poet mean by ‘crazy path’?
(iv) What does the sundial with a ‘strange device’ suggest about Mrs. Jones’ personality?
A. A fascination with unusual items
B. Traditional garden decorations
C. Uninterested
D. Modern and expensive
Answer: __________________________
II
Answer the following questions.
1. How does Mrs Jones feel about her garden? Support your answer with evidence from the poem.
2. Why describe plants so small they could be planted with a pin?
3. What know about Mrs Jones based on gardening style and interaction?
4. The poem portrays Mrs Jones in positive light. Support.
5. What poem tell about way people think differently about world around them?
📚 Let us learn
I
Select the appropriate word from the brackets that correctly replaces the underlined word in the sentences from the text.
1. A sundial with a strange device,
(unusual, peculiar, new, rare, external)
Answer: __________________________
2. … which Mrs. Jones thinks rather nice.
(pleasant, superior, agreeable, gentle, charming)
Answer: __________________________
3. They are so delicate…
(delicious, fragile, dainty, graceful, weak)
Answer: __________________________
4. “Where is this lovely thing?” I cried.
(exclaimed, wept, shouted, announced, whispered)
Answer: __________________________
II
The ‘sundial’ is referred to as a ‘device’ in the poem. Work in pairs to infer the meaning of ‘device’. Share your thoughts with your classmates and teacher.
Now, match the type of instruments in Column 1 with their definitions in Column 2. Column 3 shows one example of each type of instrument. Add more examples in Column 3.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 1. implement | (i) something electrical and used to do work in house | spade, knife More: __________________ |
| 2. tool | (ii) something small mechanical/electronic | hammer More: __________________ |
| 3. equipment | (iii) something that works on being moved by hand | cricket bat, helmet, batting gloves, etc. More: __________________ |
| 4. appliance | (iv) set of necessary items for particular purpose | mixer grinder More: __________________ |
| 5. gadget | (v) something used by hand to make or repair | mobile phone, laptop More: __________________ |
III
Complete the words using the hints.
Given word: nice
(i) dice cut into small pieces
Answer: __________________
(ii) grain that we cook
Answer: __________________
(iii) plural of mouse
Answer: __________________
(iv) bad habit
Answer: __________________
Given word: soil
(i) heat something
Answer: __________________
(ii) work very hard
Answer: __________________
(iii) length of wire in a circle
Answer: __________________
(iv) sheets to wrap food items
Answer: __________________
🎧 Let us listen
You will listen to a presentation about the wonderful Rock Garden of Chandigarh. As you listen, answer the following questions using one to three exact words from the presentation.
- Where was Nek Chand’s Rock Garden featured?
- What kind of sculptures does Rock Garden have?
- How is Rock Garden divided?
- Name any one thing transformed into a piece of art.
- Approximately how many statues border Rock Garden?
🗣️ Let us speak
I
Take turns to apologise for the following situations and respond to the apology.
(i) You have eaten your brother’s share of sweets.
(ii) You have broken your sister’s flower craft.
(iii) You accidentally spilled ink on your mother’s important documents.
(iv) You forgot your friend’s notebook after borrowing it.
II
When we apologise to someone in authority like a Principal or a teacher in a formal setting, we use formal language. Work in pairs and take turns to apologise for the following situations and respond to the apology.
(i) You did not bring an assignment that was due for submission.
(ii) You were late to school for the past three days and had to meet the Principal.
(iii) You did not submit your project work and were asked to explain.
✍️ Let us write
You are a member of the Nature Club of your school. Draft a notice informing the students of Grades 6–8 about the inauguration of the Herb Garden.
Mention the purpose of writing, date, time, venue, and any other relevant information—whom to contact, when, and where.
Use formal language in the third person form.
Write the notice in a box.
NAME OF ORGANISATION
NOTICE
Date: __________________________
Title: ________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Name: ______________________
Signature: __________________
Class/Designation: __________
🌿 Let us explore
I
Amrit Udyan is a garden spread over an expanse of 15 acres around Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. It has multiple attractions that include a specially curated garden for children called Bal Vatika, a treehouse, nature’s classroom, etc. It also has the Bonsai, Herbal-I, Herbal-II, Tactile Garden, Arogya Vanam, and Circular Gardens with a diverse variety of flora and fauna.
Now, find out about popular gardens in your region and share with your classmates and teacher.
Name of garden:
Location:
Special features:
II
A herbarium is a collection of plant samples preserved for long-term study, usually in the form of dried and pressed plants mounted on paper.
Now, collect some fallen flowers and leaves from your neighbourhood. Place them in folds of a newspaper carefully and put a pile of books on them. After one week, take them out and use them to make a card, wall hanging or any other artwork.
My Herbarium Activity
III
Read and enjoy the poem.
A sea of foliage girds our garden round,
But not a sea of dull unvaried green,
Sharp contrasts of all colours here are seen;
The light-green graceful tamarinds abound
Amid the mango clumps of green profound,
And palms arise, like pillars gray, between;
And o’er the quiet pools the seemuls lean,
Red—red, and startling like a trumpet’s sound.
But nothing can be lovelier than the ranges
Of bamboos to the eastward, when the moon
Looks through their gaps, and the white lotus changes
Into a cup of silver. One might swoon
Drunken with beauty then, or gaze and gaze
On a primeval Eden, in amaze.
Toru Dutt
Write three words that describe the garden in the poem.
1. __________________________
2. __________________________
3. __________________________
⭐ Self-Check
☐ I read the complete poem.
☐ I answered all questions.
☐ I checked the spelling.
☐ I used complete sentences.
☐ I revised the meaning of “concrete” and “pun”.
☐ I completed the writing activity.
☐ I completed the garden/herbarium activity.
Class 8 English Chapter 2, A Concrete Example, Class 8 English Chapter 2 Worksheet, A Concrete Example Worksheet, Class 8 English Revision Worksheet, A Concrete Example Questions and Answers, NCERT Class 8 English, NCERT Class 8 English Poorvi, CBSE Class 8 English, Class 8 English Practice Questions, Class 8 English Study Material, A Concrete Example Practice Worksheet