Let us think and reflect NCERT Poorvi pages 20–21

Last updated at August 26, 2026 by

I
Read the given extract and answer the questions that follow.
1.
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.
Question 15
(i) What can be inferred about Mrs. Jones’s taste in gardening from the description of her garden being ‘full of stones’?
How to answer: State what kind of taste she has, then support it with one detail from the garden.
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Answer: Mrs. Jones has an unusual and individual taste in gardening.

Reason: Her garden gives a major place to stones, a rockery and other unusual features rather than looking like a simple flower garden.

Question 16
(ii) Identify whether the following statement is true or false.
The garden serves as a means to reveal more about Mrs. Jones herself.
How to answer: Ask whether the garden tells us something about Mrs. Jones’s likes and personality.
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Answer: True.

Reason: The unusual garden, sundial and tiny plants show her personal taste, creativity and interest in gardening.

Question 17
(iii) What does the poet mean by ‘crazy path’?
How to answer: Use the meaning of “crazy” that fits the shape of a path, not a person.
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Answer: A crazy path means an irregular, winding or unusually shaped path.

Reason: The word adds to the unusual look of Mrs. Jones’s garden.

Question 18
(iv) What does the sundial with a ‘strange device’ suggest about Mrs. Jones’ personality?
A. She has a fascination with unusual items.
B. She prefers traditional garden decorations.
C. She is uninterested in her garden’s appearance.
D. She likes modern and expensive items.
How to answer: Choose the option that matches the fact that she likes an object the speaker finds strange.
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The sundial with a “strange device” suggests that Mrs. Jones has a fascination with unusual items .

Therefore, the correct answer is A. She has a fascination with unusual items.

Reason: The speaker calls the device strange, but Mrs. Jones thinks it is “rather nice”.

II
Answer the following questions.
Question 19
1. How does Mrs. Jones feel about her garden? Support your answer with evidence from the poem.
How to answer: State her feeling first, then use two details from the poem as evidence.
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Answer: Mrs. Jones is proud of and deeply interested in her garden . She thinks the unusual sundial is “rather nice”, invites the speaker round to see her garden, and talks about one flower for a quarter of an hour. These details show that she values and enjoys her garden.

Question 20
2. Why do you think the speaker describes the plants as being so small that they could be planted with a pin?
How to answer: Explain the exaggeration and what it tells us about the size of the plants.
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Answer: The speaker is joking about how extremely tiny the plants are. A pin is not a real gardening tool, so the image is an exaggeration. It makes the description funny and also shows why the flower is easy for the speaker to miss later.

Question 21
3. What do we get to know about Mrs. Jones—based on her gardening style and her interaction with the speaker?
How to answer: Give 3–4 qualities and support them with actions from the poem.
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Answer: Mrs. Jones appears creative, unusual in her taste, enthusiastic and friendly . Her stone-filled garden and strange sundial show personal taste. Her care for tiny plants shows attention to small details. She also invites her neighbour to see the garden and happily talks about a flower with him.

Question 22
4. The poem portrays Mrs. Jones in a positive light. Support this statement.
How to answer: Mention the positive qualities shown through her actions; do not focus only on the speaker’s teasing.
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Answer: Mrs. Jones is shown positively as someone who enjoys her garden, cares for delicate plants and has confidence in her own taste. She is also friendly enough to invite her neighbour into the garden. The humour is gentle, and the final joke actually turns back on the speaker rather than making Mrs. Jones look foolish.

Question 23
5. What does the poem tell us about the way people think differently about the world around them?
How to answer: Compare what Mrs. Jones notices and values with what the speaker notices and values.
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Answer: The poem shows that two people can look at the same place and notice different things. Mrs. Jones values the tiny plants and unusual garden features, while the speaker focuses on the stones and treats the small plants as unimportant. The ending shows how strongly our own way of seeing things affects what we notice.

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