NCERT Class 9 English Moments Chapter 9 The Accidental Tourist
Bryson was a frequent air
traveller. He finds himself always
uneasy during his air travels.
In this lesson, the author describes
some of his experiences during
these travels. He says that once
he was going to England with his
family. He had a carry-on bag with him.
The trouble started at the airport
when the checking staff asked
him to open the bag. He tried
hard to open the zip of the bag
but it would not open. He pulled
it harder and it broke. All the
things in the bag were discharged
like a fluttery cascade. The
newspaper cuttings, other
documents, the tin of pipe tobacco, magazines, passport and coins
all spread over an area about
the size of a tennis court.
बिल ब्रायसन अक्सर हवाई यात्री थे। वह
अपनी हवाई यात्राओं
के दौरान खुद को हमेशा
असहज पाता है। इस पाठ
में, लेखक इन यात्राओं के
दौरान अपने कुछ अनुभवों
का वर्णन करता है। उनका
कहना है कि एक बार वे अपने परिवार के
साथ इंग्लैंड जा
रहे थे। उनके पास एक कैरी
-ऑन बैग था।
एयरपोर्ट पर परेशानी तब
शुरू हुई जब चेकिंग स्टाफ ने उनसे बैग खोलने को कहा।
उसने बैग की जिप खोलने की काफी
कोशिश की लेकिन वह नहीं खुला।
उसने उसे जोर से खींचा और वह टूट गया। बैग
में सभी चीजें एक झरझरा
झरने की तरह डिस्चार्ज हो
गईं। अखबार की कटिंग,
अन्य दस्तावेज, पाइप तंबाकू
का टिन, पत्रिकाएं, पासपोर्ट
और सिक्के सभी एक टेनिस कोर्ट के
आकार के क्षेत्र में फैले हुए हैं।
Then he describes another
experience. He says that once
on an aeroplane, he leaned over
to tie a shoelace. Just at the
moment someone in the seat
ahead of him threw his seat back
into full recline and found himself
pinned helplessly in the crash
position. It was only by clawing
the leg of the man sitting next to
him that he managed to get
himself freed.
On another occasion, he
knocked a soft drink onto the
lap of a lady. He repeated this
mischief many times. But it was
not his worst experience on
the aeroplane. He says that
his worst experience took place
on a plane flight, when he
was writing something in a
notebook and then he fell into
conversation with an attractive
young lady in the next seat.
He was sucking his pen on
one of the ends. After about
20 minutes, when he went
to the lavatory he discovered
that the pen had leaked and
that his mouth, chin, tongue,
teeth and gums were now
navy blue and would remain
so for several days.
Despite being a frequent flyer
he never got any air card.
Ile says that he used to fly
100,000 miles a year but due
to his carelessness or some other
फिर वह एक और अनुभव
का वर्णन करता है। उनका
कहना है कि एक बार एक
हवाई जहाज में, वह एक
फावड़े को बांधने के लिए
झुक गए। ठीक उसी समय
उसके आगे की सीट पर
किसी ने अपनी सीट को
पूरी तरह से पीछे की ओर
फेंक दिया और खुद को
दुर्घटना की स्थिति में
असहाय रूप से पिन किया
हुआ पाया। बगल में बैठे
व्यक्ति के पैर में पंजों से ही
वह खुद को छुड़ाने में सफल
रहा।एक अन्य अवसर पर
उसने एक महिला की गोद में शीतल पेय ठोक दिया।
उसने इस शरारत को कई
बार दोहराया। लेकिन यह
उनका हवाई जहाज पर
सबसे खराब अनुभव नहीं था। उनका कहना है कि उनका
सबसे बुरा अनुभव एक प्लेन फ्लाइट में हुआ। वह कहता
है कि वह एक नोटबुक में
कुछ लिख रहा था। झूठ
अगली सीट पर एक
आकर्षक युवती के साथ बातचीत में पड़ गया।
वह एक सिरे पर अपनी
कलम चूस रहा था।
लगभग 20 मिनट के बाद,
जब वह शौचालय में गया,
तो उसने पाया कि पेन लीक
हो गया था और उसका मुंह, ठुड्डी, जीभ, दांत और मसूड़े
अब गहरे नीले रंग के थे
और कई दिनों तक ऐसे
ही रहेंगे।
फ़्रीक्वेंट फ़्लायर होने के
बावजूद उन्हें कभी कोई
एयर कार्ड नहीं मिला। इले
का कहना है कि वह एक
साल में 100,000 मील की उड़ान भरते थे लेकिन उनकी लापरवाही या कुछ अन्य
कारणों से उन्हें एयर कार्ड
नहीं मिल सका।
1.Bill Bryson says, “I am, in
short, easily confused.” What
examples has he given to justify this?
Ans1-Bill Bryson says, “I am, in short, easily confused.” What examples has he given to justify this by telling cinema hall incidents where end up standing in an alley on the wrong side of a self locking door. He says that his particular specialty was returning to hotel desks two or three times a day and asking what his room number was.
2.What happens when the zip on his carry-on bag gives way?
Ans2- when the zip on his carry-on bag gave a way everything in the bag, newspaper cuttings and other loose papers, a 14-ounce tin of pipe tobacco, magazines, passport, English money, film—was extravagantly ejected over an area about the size of a tennis court.
3.Why is his finger bleeding? What is his wife’s reaction?
Ans 3- He had gashed his finger on the zip and was shedding blood in a lavish manner.
His wife looked at him with an expression of wonder—not anger or exasperation, but just simple wonder— and she said, “I can’t believe you do this for a living.”
4.How does Bill Bryson end up in a “crash position” in the aircraft?
Ans 4-Bill Bryson ended up in a “crash position” in the aircraft when he bent
while sitting on seat for tying at the moment someone in the seat ahead of him
threw his seat back into full recline, and found
himself pinned helplessly in the crash position. It was only by clawing the leg
of the man sitting next to me that he managed to get himself freed.
5.Why are his teeth and gums navy blue?
Ans 5- he got his teeth and gums navy blue because while writing thoughts he was sucking the pen and he continued sucking the pen while talking to a lady for 20 minutes. Due to this carelessness the cap of pen got loose and he coloured his gums in navy blue.
6.Bill Bryson “ached to be suave”. Is he successful in his mission? List his
‘unsuave’ ways.
Ans 6- No, Bill could never manage to be suave in his ways. He would rise from a dinner table without looking as if he had
just experienced “an extremely localised seismic event”. He would get in a car and close the door leaving fourteen inches of coat outside. He would wear light-coloured trousers, discovering at the end of the day that he had at various times sat on
chewing gum, ice cream, cough syrup and motor oil. He tried to be suave, but it
was not to be.
7.Why do you think Bill Bryson’s wife
says to the children, “Take the lids off the food for Daddy”?
Ans 7-Bill Bryson’s wife asked the
children to take the lids off the food for Bill because if Bill had tried to do that himself, then he might have taken it off in such a manner that the lid would be flying away to some part of the plane and the food might spill all over the place.
8.What is the significance of the title?
Ans 8- The title ‘The Accidental Tourist’ signifies the accidental nature of Bill
Bryson who was a frequent flyer. He travelled
a lot to all parts of the world. However, he always managed to cause some kind
of an accident on the way in the aeroplane. Once he leaned over to tie his shoelace at
the same moment when someone in the seat ahead of him threw his seat back into full recline. That was when he found himself pinned helplessly in the ‘crash position’. He had to claw at the leg of the man sitting next to him in order to get himself freed. On another occasion, he knocked a soft drink onto the lap of a lady sting beside him. The flight attendant cleaned her up and brought him a replacement drink. He knocked it onto the woman again, who of course was very angry and annoyed. On yet another occasion, his lips, gum, mouth, chin, tongue, and teeth were covered with navy blue ink as he had been chewing on the end of his pen that had leaked. He realised this quite late. Not only in the plane, but he was also prone to accidents otherwise. He always forgot his room number and went to the hotel desk again and again to enquire about it. He was so prone to accidents that when the food was delivered on planes, his wife asked their children to take the lids off the food for him. When travelling alone, he did not eat, drink or lean over to tie his shoelaces. Thus, he travelled a lot for his living and was accident-prone, hence justifying the title of the story.
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