A Bicycle in Good Repair Summary and Question Answers

Here is a new blog post in Class 7th English. “A Bicycle in Good Repair” is Chapter 9 taken from the newly introduced textbook Melody English for students of Class 7^th of JKBOSE and Honeycomb English for NCERT students. Jerome K. Jerome an English writer and humourist, best known for the comic travelogues wrote it. This post concerns A Bicycle in Good Repair Summary and Question Answers. In my previous post, you read about Meadow Surprises Poem 8 Summary and Question Answers with you. So, let’s not waste any more time and get started with today’s post.

A Bicycle in Good Repair Summary and Question Answers

Introduction

The author’s friend and author decided to go for a bicycle ride together. When his friend turned up, he started repairing of the author’s bicycle. To the surprise of the author, he dismantled all the machines. The author wanted to check him, but could not do so. Some balls and screws were lost. When the bicycle was refixed, both his friend and bicycle had been badly injured. Then the author sent him home.

A Bicycle in Good Repair Word Meaning

A Bicycle in Good Repair Summary in English

Once, the author agreed to go bicycling with a man he knew. The next morning, he eagerly got up early, happy to make an effort for a change. Though the man was late, the author enjoyed the lovely day while waiting. When the man finally arrived, he complimented the author’s bicycle and asked about its condition.

The author described the bicycle as working like any other but mentioned it got a bit stiff after lunch. The man, seemingly unconvinced, violently shook the bicycle, which irritated the author. The man claimed the front wheel wobbled, and despite the author’s assurance that it only happened when he made it wobble, the man insisted on fixing it. He asked the author for a hammer to fix it. The author went to his tool shed and when he returned, he found the man lying on the ground with the cycle’s front wheel in between his legs. The man told the author that the bearing of the front wheel was not working properly. 

The author told him not to bother himself and leave it as such. Ignoring the author’s advice to leave it be, the man started disassembling the bicycle. He unscrewed something, causing all the balls in the bearings to roll out. They spent half an hour searching for and collecting sixteen balls. The man then examined the chain and dismantled the gear case, despite the author’s friend’s advice to replace the entire bicycle if the gear case had issues.

As the man continued, the author hesitated to stop him, considering defending his property. However, his reluctance to hurt the man’s feelings allowed the chaos to persist. The man encountered the mystery of disappearing screws but dismissed it. He tightened and loosened the chain, attempting to get the front wheel back in place.

After numerous failed attempts, the man finally realized he had forgotten the balls. Admitting his mistake made the author respect him a bit. They struggled to fix the wheel, and after finding eleven balls, they successfully reassembled it. Unfortunately, the front wheel now wobbled more than ever.

The man shrugged it off, and the author decided to compliment his hard work and optimistic nature. Encouraged, the man attempted to refix the gear case, employing various awkward positions. Despite the messy process, he achieved a short-lived victory, holding the bicycle triumphantly between his legs.

However, in a surprising turn, the bicycle retaliated. With a quick movement, it freed itself and hit the man over the head with one of its handles. The man, cut and bleeding, declared it was enough for the day. It was almost 1 o’clock, and the man cleaned up in the back kitchen before leaving for home.

Reflecting on the day, the author couldn’t help but acknowledge the chaos and mishandling of the bicycle. Yet, he found himself respecting the man for his honesty about the forgotten balls and his persistence. The bicycle, on the other hand, seemed to have a spirit of its own, resisting the man’s attempts to fix it.

In the end, the day was a mix of frustration, laughter, and unexpected challenges. The bicycle, despite its wobbling front wheel, emerged as a character with a personality, fighting back against the man’s efforts to control it. The author, torn between protecting his property and avoiding confrontation, learned to appreciate the value of honesty, resilience, and humour in the face of unexpected situations.

As the man left, the author couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity of the day’s events. The bicycle, though battered, stood as a symbol of resilience, refusing to be tamed by the man’s attempts to fix it. And so, the tale of a seemingly simple bicycle ride turned into a humorous adventure, reminding the author that sometimes, it’s the unexpected twists that make life truly interesting.

Intext Exercises

Comprehension Check Page No. 128

1. “I got up early, for me.” It implies that

(i) he was an early riser.

(ii) he was a late riser.

(iii) he got up late that morning. 

Mark the correct answer.

Ans. (ii) he was a late riser.

2. The bicycle “goes easily enough in the morning and a little stiffly after lunch,” The remark is …….

(i) humorous….

(ii) inaccurate

(iii) sarcastic

(iv) enjoyable

(v) meaningless.

Mark your choice/choices.

Ans. (i) humourous

(ii) sarcastic

3. The friend shook the bicycle violently. Find two or three sentences in the text which express the author’s disapproval of it.

Ans. (i) I said, “Don’t do that; you’ll hurt it.”

(ii) “It doesn’t if you don’t wobble it.”

(iii) “Don’t you trouble about it any more; you will make yourself tired.”

4. ………… if not, it would make a serious difference to the machine.” What does “it” refer to?

Ans. “It” refers to the small ball bearings of the bicycle, which had been dropped when the author’s friend opened the bicycle.

Working with the Text Page No. 132

Answer the following questions:

Working with Language Page No. 133

1. Read the following sentences:

• We should go for a long bicycle ride. 
• I ought to have been firm.
• We mustn’t lose any of them.
• I suggested that he should hold the fork and that I should handle the wheel.

The words in italics are modal auxiliaries. Modal auxiliaries are used with verbs to express notions such as possibility, permission, willingness, obligation, necessity, etc. ‘Should, “must’ and ‘ought to’ generally express moral obligation, necessity and desirability.

Look at the following.

• We should go on a holiday. (suggestion: It is a good idea for us to go on a holiday.)
• He is not too well these days. He must see a doctor before he becomes worse. (compulsion or necessity: It is absolutely essential or necessary for him to see a doctor.)
• You ought to listen to me. I am well over a decade older than you. (more emphatic than ‘should’: Since I am older than you, it is advisable that you listen to me.)

NOTE: ‘Should’ and ‘ought to are often used interchange- ably.’

Rewrite each of the following sentences using should/ ought to / must in place of the italicised words.

Make other changes wherever necessary.

(i) You are obliged to do your duty irrespective of consequences.

(ii) You will do well to study at least for an hour every day. 

(iii) The doctor says it is necessary for her to sleep eight hours every night.

(iv) It is right that you show respect towards elders and affection towards youngsters.

(v) If you want to stay healthy, exercise regularly. 

(vi) It is good for you to take a walk every morning.

(vii) It is strongly advised that you don’t stand on your head.

(viii) As he has a cold, it is better for him to go to bed.

Ans.

(i) You ought to do your duty irrespective of consequences.

(ii) You should study at least for an hour every day. 

(iii) The doctor says she must sleep eight hours every day.

(iv) You should show respect towards elders and affection towards youngsters.

(v) You should exercise regularly if you want to stay healthy. 

(vi) You should take a walk every morning.

(vii) You must not stand on your head.

(viii) As he has a cold, he ought to go to bed.

2. Use should/must/ought to appropriately in the following sentences.

(i) People who live in glass houses …………. not throw stones.

(ii) You …………. wipe your feet before coming into the house, especially during the rain.

(iii) You ……… do what the teacher tells you.

(iv) The pupils were told they …………. write more neatly.

(v) Sign in front of a park: You …………. not walk on the grass.

(vi) You …………. be ashamed of yourself for having made such a remark.

(vii) He left home at 9 o’clock. He ……….. be here any minute. 

(viii) “Whatever happened to the chocolate cake?” “How …………. I know? I have just arrived.”

Ans.

(i) People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.

(ii) You must wipe your feet before coming into the house, especially during the rain.

(iii) You ought to do what the teacher tells you.

(iv) The pupils were told they should write more neatly.

(v) Sign in front of a park: You must not walk on the grass.

(vi) You ought to be ashamed of yourself for having made such a remark.

(vii) He left home at 9 o’clock. He should be here any minute. 

(viii) “Whatever happened to the chocolate cake?” “How should I know? I have just arrived.”

3. Two or more single sentences can be combined to form a single sentence.

Read the following:

I made an effort and was pleased with myself.

This sentence is infact a combination of two sentences.

I made an effort.

I was pleased with myself.

Now read this sentence.

I did not see why he should shake it. This is also a combination of two sentences.

• I did not see (it). A
• Why should he shake it?

Divide each of the following sentences into its parts. Write meaningful parts. If necessary, supply a word or two to make each part meaningful.

(i) I went to the tool shed to see what I could find. (3 parts)

(ii) When I came back he was sitting on the ground. (2 parts)

(iii) We may as well see what’s the matter with it, now it is out. (3 parts)

(iv) He said he hoped we had got them all. (3 parts)

(v) I had to confess he was right. (2 parts)

Ans. (i) (a) I went to the tool shed.

(b) I wanted to see.

(c) What could I find there?

(ii) (a) I came back.

(b) He was sitting on the ground.

(iii) (a) We may as well see.

(b) What is the matter with it. 

(c) Now it is out.

(iv) (a) He said (it).

(b) He hoped.

(c) We had got them all.

(v) (a) I had to confess it.

(b) He was right.

4. ‘en’ acts as a prefix (put at the beginning) or as a suffix (put at the end) to form new words.

encourage = encourage

weaken = weaken

‘en’ at the beginning or at the end of a word is not always a prefix or a suffix. It is then an integral part of the word.

ending 

barren

(i) Now arrange the words given in the box under the three headings-prefix, suffix and part of the word.

Encourage   Dampen       Listen

Barren          Endanger     Soften

Fasten          Enclose        Weaken

Even            Enable         Enclave

Ans.

en (prefix)   en(suffix)    en (part of word)

Encourage   Soften          Listen

Enable         Dampen       Barren

Enclose        Fasten          Even

Endanger     Weaken       Enclave

(ii) Find new words in your textbook and put them under the same headings.

Ans. 

en (prefix)   en(suffix)    en (part of word)

Encounter    Hasten         Given

Enact           Lessen         Taken

Enclosure

Endear 

Enchant 

Encroachment 

That’s it about A Bicycle in Good Repair Summary and Question Answers. Hope it has helped. Do share your views about this post in the comment section below.