NCERT Solutions 09th English Chapter 13 Villa for Sale

1.If you could buy your dream house today what are some specific features you would want for your house? Write them in the bubbles below:

Answer:

2.Copy and complete the following paragraph about the theme of the play using the clues given in the box below. Remember that there are more clues than required. sell, buying, house, enthusiastic, comes, 200 thousand francs, taking, favour, get, sleeps, money, 300 thousand francs, unhappy, his in-laws, walks in, strikes, keep Juliette, the owner of a Villa, wants to 1. it as she is in need of 2. Moreover, she is not in 3. of the house. Jeanne and Gaston, a couple, visit her with the aim of 4. the villa. While Jeanne is 5. high ceiling good surroundings about buying, Gaston detests the idea as he does not want his 6. in that house. Also, he finds the asking price of 7. to be expensive. When Jeanne and Juliette go around the house another customer 8. and starts talking to Gaston 9. him to be Juliette’s husband. Gaston 1o. a deal with the customer by which he is able to give 11. to the owner and 12. himself.
Answer:
1. sell
2. money
3. favour
4. buying
5. enthusiastic
6. in-laws
7. 200 thousand francs
8. walks in
9. taking
10. strikes
11. two hundred thousand francs
12. keep
3.Answer the following questions briefly: (a) Why does Jeanne want to buy a villa? (b) Why is Gaston not interested in buying the villa in the beginning? (c) Mrs. A1 Smith makes many statements about the French. Pick out any two and explain them. (d) Juliette says “ now I have only one thought that is to get the wretched place off my hands. I would sacrifice it at any price.” Does she stick to her words? Why/ Why not? (e) Who is better in business—Juliette or Gaston? Why? (f) Do you like/dislike Gaston? Give your reasons. Answer: (a) Jeanne wants to buy a villa for her old parents.
(b) Gaston is not interested in buying the villa in the beginning. He is very clear that his wife Jeanne is not buying the villa for themselves. She wants to put her father and mother in it. Her parents would take possession of it every year from April to September. They would also bring all her sister’s children with them. Therefore, he starts finding fault with the villa and its excessive price.
(c) Mrs. A1 Smith makes many statements about the French. She asks Gaston to consult his wife before making a deal. Gaston replies that he need not consult her. Mrs. A1 Smith considers Gaston an ‘exception’. She comments, “Frenchmen usually have to consult about ten people before they get a move on.” Her next comment is that “the French think about the past all the time while Americans always think about the future. She also mocks at the funny way of the Frenchmen while doing business deals.
(d) Juliette tells her maid that she wants “of get the wretched place off’ her hands. She is ready to sacrifice it at any price. But she doesn’t stick to her words. She demands two hundred and fifty thousand francs. Gaston finds it “decidedly excessive”. Then she tells him that she can’t let it go for less than two hundred thousand francs. She is interested in making a bargain. She accepts two hundred thousand francs when the final deal is made.
(e)Gaston is definitely better in business. Juliette is also a hard bargainer. She pretends that she is going to sell the wretched place at any price. But she makes a bargain at two hundred thousand francs. She thinks that she is outsmarting Gaston. But Gaston proves more than her. He outsmarts both—Juliette and Mrs. A1 Smith. He buys the house in two hundred thousand and sells it for three thousands francs to Mrs. A1 Smith. In the bargain he saves a cool hundred thousand francs.
(f)It is rather difficult to dislike Gaston. He is a man of this world with the vices and virtues of a worldly-wise businessman. He is not interested in buying the villa : He knows that his wife is simply trying to put up her father and mother in it. What is more, all the children of his wife’s sister will live with them. However, he changes his stand in the end. He realises that he can earn one hundred thousand francs by outwitting both Mrs. A1 Smith and Juliette.
4.Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow by choosing the correct options:
(A) But the sign has been hanging on the gate for over a month now and I am beginning to be afraid that the day I bought it was when I was the real fool.
(a) Why is Juliette disappointed?
(i) She is unable to get a role of cook in the films.
(ii) Her maid is leaving as she has got a role in the films.
(iii) She is unable to find a suitable buyer for her villa.
(iv) Gaston is offering a very low price for the villa.
Answer:
(iii) She is unable to find a suitable buyer for her villa.
(b) Why does she call herself a fool?
(i) She has decided to sell her villa.
(ii) There are no buyers for the villa.
(iii) She had bought the villa for more than it was worth.
(iv) The villa was too close to the film studios.
Answer:
(i) She has decided to sell her villa.
(B) ‘But your parents would take possession of it, every year from the beginning of spring until the end of September. What’s more, they would bring the whole tribe of your sister’s children with them.’ (a) What does Gaston mean by ‘take possession’?
(i) Her parents would stay with them for a long time.
(ii) Juliette’s sister has many children.
(iii) Gaston does not like children.
(iv) Juliette’s sister’s children are badly behaved.
Answer:
(a) (i) Her parents would stay with them for a long time.
(C) ‘While you were upstairs, I have been thinking a lot about your Papa and Mamma. ’
(a) What is the discrepancy between what Gaston said earlier and what he says now?
(i) Earlier he did not want Jeanne’s parents to stay with them but now he is showing concern for them.
(ii) Earlier he wanted Jeanne’s parents to stay with them but now he does not want them to come over.
(iii) Earlier he wanted to buy a house for them but now he wants them to come and stay in their villa.
(iv) Earlier he stayed in Jeanne’s parents’ villa but now he wants them to stay with him and Jeanne’s.
Answer:
(i) Earlier he did not want Jeanne’s parents to stay with them but now he is showing concern for them.
(b) What does the above statement reveal about Gaston’s character?
(i) He is selfish.
(ii) He is an opportunist.
(iii) He is a caring person.
(iv) He is a hypocrite.
Answer:
(ii) He is an opportunist.