Telangana SCERT 8th Class English Study Material Telangana Unit 4B Preteen Pretext (Poem) Textbook Questions and Answers.
TS 8th Class English Guide Unit 4B Preteen Pretext (Poem)
My teeny bopper has a phone;
She really never is alone.
It beeps and jitters day and night,
Emitting tiny bluish light.
Her ring tone is the latest rage,
As other preteens text and page.
One- liner messages appear
That make her grin from ear to ear.
The latest crisis, who likes whom,
The rock star with the best perfume;
Such weight matters cause her thrill
And elevate our monthly bill.
And yet, the silver lining glows,
For we have never come to blows.
I never have to raise my voice,
Because I have a high-tech choice.
If school assignments pile sky-high,
I exhale with a weighty sigh.
Like every modern mom who cares,
I simply telephone upstairs.
When chores demand her energies,
I simply text her, asking “Please!”
No alibis or missing word,
Because it’s clear that she has heard.
And if my daughter goes outside
To visit friends, both far and wide,
Her curfew’s easy to enforce
With her new cellular resource.
This beeping tether holds her close,
While helping her feel grandiose.
If separation e’er occurs,
My speed-dial links my heart to hers.
Our handy cell phones help us out,
Convenient, easy, with no doubt.
Yes, certainly, they have their place.
But can’t we talk once, face to face?
– Linda Ann Nickerson
I. Answer the following questions :
Question 1.
Who do you think is the speaker of the lines?
Answer :
I think the speaker of the lines is a woman (a mother).
Question 2.
What attitude of the speaker is conveyed through the last two lines of the first stanza?
Answer :
The last two lines of the first stanza depict that the days have become so busy with the cell phone. It always beeps and jitters day and night making people i.e. teeny bopper and the lady attending the cell phone regularly.
Question 3.
In what ways are cell phones useful for us according to the poem?
Answer :
Cell phones help us in many ways. They are very convenient, easy to attend at anytime. We can share our ideas with the people who are even far away from us. If we want to get things done by others, simple text or call is enough. It alerts the other people to respond to our instructions immediately.
Question 4.
What does the last line of the poem convey to us?
Answer :
We are very much confined to cell-phone. We use cell-phone to fulfil many of our jobs. At the same time we should remember that human relations are compulsory. Technology shouldn’t widen the gap between any two persons. We people will have to meet and talk face-to-face keeping aside modern devices. Otherwise our lives will become monotonous and will be mechanized losing valuable human relations.
Preteen Pretext (Poem) Summary in English
The poet explains how the atmosphere in a home changes with the arrival of the cellphone. She describes the child psycology of pre-teenagers and how they would become busy being amused by the cell-phone.
The poet says that her teeny bopper has become busy with the phone. She says that her teeny bopper is never alone. She is always in the company of the phone. The cell phone beeps and jitters day and night, emitting bluish light. The child becomes busy playing and involving in giving voting to select the best rock star. But that elevates monthly bill. She never has to raise her voice for her needs. She can use the high-tech choice i.e. cell phone.
If school assignments are piled up sky high, the poet makes a call to her daughter who is upstairs using the cell phone.
Whenever she needs her daughter’s help in routine work, she simply makes a call or sends a message to get the work done. Despite living in the same house, they talk on phone. The poet sarcastically suggests that cell phone is the root cause for disturbing human relations. The poet asserts that, if she is separated from her child, she can easily contact her by phone. She can make her heart move closer to her daughter through talking on phone. The poet says that no doubt, there is a lot of use of cell phone. It is very convenient, easy and helpful to us. However, cell phone is hindering human relations. The cell-phone has in fact made lives mechanical. The poet reminds us that people are supposed to meet and talk face-to-face to maintain human relations and bond.
Glossary :
1. jitters (v) : makes nervous
2. emitting (v): sending out light
3. bluish (adj) : bright
4. grin (v) : smile broadly
5. elevate (v) : raise to a higher level
6. pile (v) : things lying one on top of another
7. exhale (v) : breathe out
8. chores (n) routine tasks
9. alibis (n) : excuses
10. tether (n) : a rope for tying an animal
11. grandiose (adj) : planned on a large scale
Additional Meanings :
12. curfew : the time decided by a parent by which a child must be home or a sleep in the night.
12. patted : stroke lightly
13. fun : a time of feeling amused
14. beneath : below
15. tuck : fold of a cloth
16. probably : more likely than not
17. teeny bopper : a teen-age girl (teen-age : age between thirteen to nineteen years)
18. preteen : girl in early teen age