Class 9 English · Chapter 4

Samacheer Class 9 English - The Cat and the Painkiller

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Chapter-wise textbook exercise answers for The Cat and the Painkiller with validation-aware solutions.

Answers marked verified were checked during generation against the chapter context and source question text.
Sections in this chapter
Warm up 4A 4B 1C 1D 1E 1F 1G 1H 1I 1Role play 4
Your Progress - Chapter 40% complete
1Warm up4 questions
Q.W1Do you have a pet at home?v
Solution

Personal question — give your own answer. Example provided above.

Answer:

Example: Yes. I have a dog named Bruno.

Q.W2If yes, what animal is it and what is its name?v
Solution

Personal question — give your own answer. Example provided above.

Answer:

Example: A dog named Bruno.

Q.W3Did you have any humourous moments with it? If yes, what was it?v
Solution

Personal question — give your own answer. Example provided above.

Answer:

Example: Once Bruno chased his tail and fell into a shallow puddle — everyone laughed.

Q.W4How do you care for your pets?v
Solution

Personal question — give your own answer. Example provided above.

Answer:

Example: I feed them twice a day, give regular exercise, keep their bed clean and visit the vet for check-ups.

2A4 questions
Q.1Tom was disturbed because _____________v
  1. a. he didn't sleep well.
  2. b. his scores were low at school.
  3. c. his friend Becky Thatcher had stopped coming to school.
  4. d. he had picked up a fight with Becky Thatcher.
Answer:

(c) Tom was disturbed because his friend Becky Thatcher had stopped coming to school.

Q.3Tom used the pain-killer to ___________________v
  1. a. take care of his health.
  2. b. mend the crack on the sitting room floor.
  3. c. cure Becky Thatcher.
  4. d. help his aunt.
Solution

Tom pretended to like the medicine but actually used some of the pain-killer to fill and mend a crack on the sitting-room floor.

Answer:

b

Q.4Peter sprang a couple of yards in the air as __________v
  1. a. he had a teaspoon of the pain-killer.
  2. b. his tail was caught in the mouse trap.
  3. c. Tom threw him out of the window.
  4. d. Aunt gave him a push.
Solution

The pain-killer had an adverse effect on Peter the cat; after ingesting about a teaspoon he began to leap about wildly, springing into the air.

Answer:

a

Q.5Finally Aunt Polly said to Tom that he ____________________v
  1. a. need not take any more medicine.
  2. b. has to go to school regularly.
  3. c. should not meet any of his friends.
  4. d. must take medicines every day.
Answer:

Aunt Polly finally told Tom that he need not take any more medicine.

3B1 questions
Q.BIdentify the character or speaker of the following lines. 1. He banged against furniture, upsetting flower-pots and making general havoc. 2. She stood petrified with astonishment peering over her glasses. 3. 'That is, I believe they do.' 4. 'What has that got to do that with it?' 5. 'I done it out of pity for him.'v
Solution

1. The description refers to Peter, Aunt Polly's cat, who created havoc after taking the medicine. 2. The woman peering over her glasses is Aunt Polly, astonished at the scene. 3. The line 'That is, I believe they do.' appears in the dialogue in the extract; the immediate speaker is not unambiguously identified in the provided OCR. 4. The question 'What has that got to do with it?' is a curt retort given by Tom in context. 5. Tom admits giving the medicine out of pity for the cat.

Answer:

1. Peter (the cat)
2. Aunt Polly
3. (likely Aunt Polly / a bystander) — see validationNotes
4. Tom Sawyer (spoken in reply)
5. Tom Sawyer

4C1 questions
Q.CBased on your reading, rearrange the following sentences in the correct sequence. 1. Since all her methods failed, finally she gave him a pain-killer. 2. He told his aunt that Peter had no aunt, so he gave him the medicine. 3. The pain-killer triggered adverse reactions on Peter. 4. It jumped out of the open window. 5. Tom was dull and depressed. 6. This incident upset Aunt Polly and she questioned him. 7. But, Tom gave that painkiller to the cat Peter. 8. So, Aunt Polly tried different types of remedies on him.v
Solution

Logical sequence: Tom was dejected (5); Aunt Polly tried various remedies (8); when nothing worked she gave him a pain-killer (1); Tom secretly gave the pain-killer to Peter (7); it caused wild behaviour in Peter (3); Peter jumped and sailed through the window (4); Aunt Polly was upset and questioned Tom (6); Tom excused himself saying Peter had no aunt, so he gave the medicine (2).

Answer:

5, 8, 1, 7, 3, 4, 6, 2

5D1 questions
Q.DBased on your understanding of the story, write the answers for the following questions in a sentence or two. 1. Why did Tom lose the charm of his life? 2. Why did Aunt Polly try different remedies on Tom? 3. How did the medicine diminish? 4. Did Tom compel Peter to have the painkiller? 5. Why did Peter wish to taste the painkiller? 6. How did Aunt Polly discover the reason for Peter's absurd behaviour? 7. What was the reason given by Tom for giving the painkiller to the cat? 8. Why did Aunt Polly's eyes water?v
Solution

Concise answers provided for each question, based on the extract: Tom's depression (Becky's absence), Aunt Polly's concern, Tom's misuse of the medicine, Peter's reaction revealing the truth, Tom's stated motive (pity), and Aunt Polly's emotional reaction.

Answer:

1. Tom lost the charm of his life because Becky Thatcher had stopped coming to school, making him feel dejected. 2. Aunt Polly tried different remedies because she was worried about Tom's health and wanted to cheer him up. 3. The medicine diminished because Tom secretly used it for other purposes (for example, to mend a crack in the floor) and gave some to the cat. 4. Tom did not force Peter; he gave the medicine to the cat covertly. 5. Peter did not wish to taste it—Tom tricked him into ingesting some. 6. Aunt Polly saw the cat's strange behaviour and found traces of the medicine (a little pain-killer) stuck to the teaspoon/crevice, which revealed Tom’s actions. 7. Tom said he gave it to the cat out of pity for him. 8. Aunt Polly's eyes watered from a mixture of astonishment and anger when she realised what Tom had done.

6E1 questions
Q.EAnswer the following questions in about 80-100 words. 1. Describe the different types of remedies tried by Aunt Polly on Tom. 2. Narrate the funny sequence between Tom Sawyer and Peter, the cat.v
Solution

Two answers of about 80–100 words each describing Aunt Polly's remedies and the comic incident with Tom and the cat; both summaries are faithful to the narrative.

Answer:

1. Aunt Polly resorted to many remedies because Tom had become dull and dejected after Becky stopped coming to school. She tried home remedies and consoling measures, altered his diet, and administered tonic medicines and nostrums commonly used then. When gentle measures failed, she finally resorted to giving him a pain-killer, hoping it would improve his spirits. Her repeated efforts show a loving but anxious aunt trying every available cure to restore Tom’s health and cheerfulness.

2. Tom pretended to relish the pain-killer so Aunt Polly would continue giving it. Secretly he used some to mend a crack in the sitting-room floor and then slyly fed a little to Peter, the cat. The medicine affected Peter violently — he began to leap, upset flower-pots, banged into furniture and finally sailed out the open window. Aunt Polly, entering the room, was astonished; finding traces of the medicine exposed Tom’s deception. The sequence is comic because Tom’s trick backfires and the cat’s acrobatics reveal the truth.

7F1 questions
Q.FComplete the summary of the extract using the appropriate words from the box below. [pain-killer, stopped, cruelty, remedies, teaspoon, school, summersets, Peter, pretended, dejected, health, crack] Tom Sawyer felt _________ as Becky Thatcher had stopped coming to _______. His Aunt Polly was very concerned about his ________ condition. So, she began to try various ________ on him. Tom became fed up with his Aunt's brand of remedies and __________ to like the pain-killer. He started to ask for it very often. But, Tom used the medicine to mend the ______ on the floor. One day, Tom gave the pain-killer to his Aunt's cat, _____. The ________ had an adverse effect on the cat and it started to jump around the room. Aunt Polly entered the room in time to see the cat throw a few ____________ and sail through the open window. She found the ___________ with a little pain-killer sticking to it and knew that Tom had treated the cat with it. She realised that, what was _________ to the cat should be the same to the boy too and __________ giving medicines to him.v
Solution

All blanks filled using the words provided in the box to form a coherent summary that matches the extract.

Answer:

Tom Sawyer felt dejected as Becky Thatcher had stopped coming to school. His Aunt Polly was very concerned about his health condition. So, she began to try various remedies on him. Tom became fed up with his Aunt's brand of remedies and pretended to like the pain-killer. He started to ask for it very often. But, Tom used the medicine to mend the crack on the floor. One day, Tom gave the pain-killer to his Aunt's cat, Peter. The teaspoon had an adverse effect on the cat and it started to jump around the room. Aunt Polly entered the room in time to see the cat throw a few summersets and sail through the open window. She found the teaspoon with a little pain-killer sticking to it and knew that Tom had treated the cat with it. She realised that, what was cruelty to the cat should be the same to the boy too and stopped giving medicines to him.

8G1 questions
Q.GIn the story we find a lot of American slang usage of English. Complete the tabular column with standard English. Finally hit 'pon. There ain't anything mean about me. 'Deed I don't know. Yes'm. That is, I believe they do. 'She'd a roasted bowel out of me.' 'Oh, go 'long with you, Tom.'v
Solution

Standard English equivalents supplied. Note that some colloquial lines (especially the roasted line) are idiomatic; the standard rendering conveys the intended meaning rather than a literal word-for-word match.

Answer:

Finally hit 'pon. -> finally hit upon.
There ain't anything mean about me. -> There isn't anything mean about me. / There is nothing mean about me.
'Deed I don't know. -> Indeed, I don't know.
Yes'm. -> Yes, ma'am.
That is, I believe they do. -> That is, I believe they do. (standard)
'She'd a roasted bowel out of me.' -> She would have roasted me. (i.e., she would have scolded/beat me severely.)
'Oh, go 'long with you, Tom.' -> Oh, go on with you, Tom. / Oh, go away, Tom.

9H1 questions
Q.HComplete the mind map based on the inputs from the extract. Becky Thatcher, Tom's friend had ___________________ coming to school. So, Tom became _________ ______________________ ______________________. Aunt Polly ______________ ______________________ about Tom. She tried________________ _______________________ _______________________. Tom pretended to like _____ ______________________ and asked for it very often. One day Tom gave the pain-killer to _____________ _______________________. The incidents that followed made his aunt ___________________.v
Solution

Mind-map style fill-ins: (1) stopped coming to school; (2) dejected / dull / depressed; (3) became very concerned; (4) tried various remedies; (5) pretended to like the pain-killer; (6) gave it to Peter (the cat); (7) the incidents made Aunt Polly astonished/angry and she stopped giving medicines.

Answer:

Becky Thatcher, Tom's friend had stopped coming to school. So, Tom became dejected, dull and depressed. Aunt Polly became very concerned about Tom. She tried various remedies and medicines to cure him. Tom pretended to like the pain-killer and asked for it very often. One day Tom gave the pain-killer to Peter, the cat. The incidents that followed made his aunt astonished and angry.

10I1 questions
Q.IRole play I. Students can volunteer and take roles of Tom and Peter and enact the story in class. The other students who witness the role play can discuss the following. a. How well did your classmates enact the story? b. Which part did they do well? c. Which part of their role play, according to you, could have been enacted better? d. If asked to give suggestions to improve their acting skill, what would you suggest?v
Solution

Provide feedback using the listed criteria. For example: Voice — Good projection (Good); Expression — Convincing in parts, needed stronger emotion in climax (Needs improvement); Body language — Coordinated; Props — Minimal, could be improved. Conclude with 2–3 concise suggestions for practice.

Answer:

Use these evaluation criteria and a simple rubric: (1) Voice and diction — clarity, projection, appropriate volume; (2) Expression and emotion — believable feelings, facial expressions; (3) Body language and gestures — natural, purposeful movement; (4) Timing and pace — smooth transitions, appropriate pauses; (5) Memorization and fluency — few hesitations; (6) Use of props/costume and stage space; (7) Teamwork and coordination. Give marks or qualitative ratings (Excellent / Good / Needs improvement) for each criterion and give 2–3 specific positive points and 1–2 constructive suggestions.

11Role play4 questions
Q.I.aHow well did your classmates enact the story?v
Answer:

They enacted the story fairly well overall: dialogues were clear, basic emotions were conveyed, and the sequence of events was followed. Some scenes lacked stronger emotional depth and occasional voice projection was low.

Q.I.bWhich part did they do well?v
Answer:

They performed the opening scene and the conversational exchanges between Tom and Peter especially well — their timing and clarity in dialogue delivery were strong.

Q.I.cWhich part of their role play, according to you, could have been enacted better?v
Answer:

The emotional peak/climax could have been stronger — actors should have used more expressive facial cues and varied vocal pitch. Also, some transitions between scenes were a bit slow.

Q.I.dIf asked to give suggestions to improve their acting skill, what would you suggest?v
Answer:

Suggest regular rehearsals, voice projection and diction exercises, practising facial expressions and gestures in front of a mirror, working on timing with scene partners, using simple props/costumes for realism, and seeking peer feedback after each run-through.