Important Questions for CBSE Class 7 English Honeycomb Chapter 5 - Quality

Very Short Answer Questions: 1 Mark

1. Word – Meaning from the given chapter:

i. Distinction

Ans: Difference

ii. Guttural

Ans: Throaty

iii. Contempt

Ans: Disrespect

iv. Creaked

Ans: Squeak

2. Fill in the blanks:

i. I knew him from the days of my extreme youth because he made my ______.

Ans: I knew him from the days of my extreme youth because he made my father’s boots.

ii. The shop had a certain quiet distinction. There was no sign upon it other than the name of Gessler Brothers; and in the window ______.

Ans: The shop had a certain quiet distinction. There was no sign upon it other than the name of Gessler Brothers; and in the window a few pairs of boots. 

iii. Without a word he would leave me ______ he came, or into the other portion of the shop, and I would continue to rest in the wooden chair ______ of his trade. 

Ans: Without a word he would leave me retiring whence he came, or into the other portion of the shop, and I would continue to rest in the wooden chair inhaling the incense of his trade.  

3. True - False:

i. Mr Gessler was a baker. 

Ans: False

ii. Mr Gessler was an Englishman.

Ans: False

iii. The writer asked Mr Gessler to make him Russian Leather boots.

Ans: True

iv. The last pair that the writer got from Mr Gessler had creaked and Mr Gessler declined to admit it.

Ans: True

4. What did Mr Gessler do?

Ans: Mr Gessler was a bootmaker.

5. Where did Mr Gessler live?

Ans: Mr Gessler lived in his shoe shop in London.

Short Answer Questions: 2 Marks

1. How do we know that Mr Gessler was not an Englishman? 

Ans: We know Mr Gessler was not an Englishman because his English had a tone that was similar to that of his own tongue.

2. What was the distinction of Mr Gessler’s shop?

Ans: The shops of Mr Gessler didn’t have any other signs except for the Gessler Brothers written on them. 

3. How does Mr Gessler find that the author was not comfortable in the boots he gave him?

Ans: Mr Gessler would press a particular point with his fingers and would make out that the left boot was uncomfortable for the author. 

4. What was the material used by Mr Gessler to make boots? 

Ans: Mr Gessler used only leather of the finest quality to make boots.

5. Was Mr Gessler a younger brother or an elder brother? What do the two brothers do? 

Ans: Mr Gessler was a younger brother. He along with his elder brother had a boot shop.

Short Answer Questions: 3 Marks

1. When the author says “Mr Gessler, that last pair of boots creaked, you know”, what was Mr Gessler’s reaction?

Ans: When the author said “Mr Gessler that last pair of boots creaked, you know”, Mr Gessler refused to agree that it got cracked. He first waited for the author to withdraw his sentence and then replied, “I shouldn't have greaked.”

2. “Dose are nodding my boods.” Who spoke these lines and why? 

Ans: These lines are spoken by Mr Gessler to the author because the author showed him the boots that he had bought from some large firm. Mr Gessler took the author’s order without showing him any leather and after observing a while he spoke these words.

3. Was Mr Gessler angry after knowing that the author showed him the wrong boots?

Ans: No, Mr Gessler was neither angry nor sad and not even contempt. There was something weird about the situation that froze the blood. That is when Mr Gessler found that the left boot was uncomfortable for the author.

4. What was special about Mr Gessler’s boots? 

Ans:  Mr Gessler made boots only on orders. They were always perfect in size. His boots lasted a long time and were made of the finest leather. He believed it is not a profession but an art.

5. Why are the boots bought from big firms ‘ill-omened’ to the author? 

Ans:  To the author, the boots were ill-omened because he learned how Mr Gessler made his trade. He had told him about the hardships of boot-making and surviving in this trade. Seeing the pain of Mr Gessler, the author, called the big firms that made boots the ill-omened ones. 

Long Answer Questions: 5 Marks

1. How did Mr Gessler feel about big firms?

Ans: Mr Gessler did not feel good about big firms. He told the author that the big firms do not have self-respect. He spoke long and bitterly about the big firms to the author. He told the author that the big firms take it away from the small traders. The big firms use advertisements for selling and not hard work. The situation is so bad that Mr Gessler doesn't have any work at the present and with the year the number of customers gets less and less.

2. What does the title “Quality” signify? To whom or to what does the title refer? 

Ans: The title “Quality” signifies the features of a thing. This chapter signifies the quality of a boot. Or the boots made by Mr Gessler. Boots by Mr Gesslers were of the finest quality leather and were always perfect in size. And the title is compared to the firms that do not worry about the quality of the boots but only money. Mr Gessler believed in quality. He used to work for long hours and did not allow anyone else to help him as he believed in hard work.

3. Did Mr Gessler fail as a bootmaker or did he rise as a competitive businessman?

Ans:  Mr Gessler did not fail as a bootmaker. Mr Gessler made sure that his customers were satisfied with his work. His boots fitted a person perfectly and they even lasted longer than any other boots. Sadly, he couldn’t rise as a competitive businessman as he was poor and didn’t have any money to spend on advertising. Due to the establishment of the big firms, he lost his business and doing the work alone, it took the brothers to deliver the boots on time. With the money he earned, he paid the shop rent and bought leathers.

4. How do we know that Mr Gessler did not live a healthy life?

Ans: Mr Gessler did not live a healthy life. Mr Gessler was the younger brother but still looked older than his elder brother. The author had mistaken him for his elder brother. He didn’t have much hair left and it was a thin line on his head. The author realized that Mr Gessler had grown around 10 years within one year. The bootmaker Mr Gessler always looked tired and weary. His memory was weakened and he couldn’t recognize the author either.

5. Describe trees in the eyes of the poetess, Shirley Bauer.

Ans: According to the poetess Shirley Bauer trees are for birds and for children. Trees are used to make tree houses in them and to have swing swings on them. Trees are also for the winds to blow and trees are to hide behind when playing hide and seek. Some people use trees for tea parties under them and some people get kites caught in trees. Trees provide cool shade in summers and no shade in winters. Trees give apples and pears and when chopped down they are called timber. Mothers get a picture to paint on seeing the trees and trees make fathers have a lot of leaves to rake during fall.