2.2. The House-builder - My English Book - Std 8 - Marathi and Semi-English Medium - Maharashtra Board

SECTION 1 — Chapter Information / पाठ परिचय

मराठी टीप: हा पाठ शालेय परीक्षेत येतो. हे पाठ्यपुस्तक इयत्ता ८ वी साठी आहे — MSBSHSE च्या मार्गदर्शक तत्त्वांनुसार तयार केलेले.

SECTION 2 — About the Story / कथेविषयी

This chapter is a story about a mason who worked for a building contractor. It teaches us the importance of doing our work with full dedication and perfection. It highlights how carelessness in our duties can eventually cause harm to ourselves.  

मराठी टीप: ही कथा एका गवंड्याची आहे, जो आपले काम नेहमी परिपूर्ण करायचा. यातून 'कोणतेही काम निष्काळजीपणे करू नये' हा महत्त्वाचा धडा आपल्याला मिळतो.

SECTION 4 — Summary / सारांश

The story revolves around a highly dedicated mason who always strove for perfection in his work. After working hard for many years, he became a grandfather and decided to retire. His contractor convinced him to build one last house as a special favour. However, the mason did it carelessly, using low-quality materials and a poor finish, just to complete the job in haste. When the house was ready, the contractor handed the ownership documents to the mason, revealing that this new house was a gift for him.  

मराठी सारांश: हा सारांश एका गवंड्याच्या शेवटच्या घराबद्दल आहे. निवृत्त होण्यापूर्वी त्याने नाईलाजाने एक शेवटचे घर बांधले. पण घाईघाईत त्याने ते घर अत्यंत निकृष्ट दर्जाचे बांधले. शेवटी मालकाने त्याला त्याच घराची चावी भेट म्हणून दिली आणि त्याला स्वतःच्याच चुकीचा फटका बसला.

SECTION 5 — Characters / पात्रे

The Mason (गवंडी): He was a firm-minded person who always strove to do his work to perfection. He worked with great zeal, diligence, and loyalty for many years. Unfortunately, he lost his dedication during his last project and built his final house very roughly and carelessly. मराठी टीप: हा गवंडी अतिशय प्रामाणिक आणि कष्टाळू होता, पण शेवटचे काम त्याने पूर्णपणे निष्काळजीपणे केले.  

The Building Contractor (कंत्राटदार): He was a generous employer who recompensed the mason handsomely with a very good salary. He was disheartened to lose such an excellent workman and planned a beautiful new house as a special retirement gift for the mason. मराठी टीप: हा कंत्राटदार खूप चांगला होता. त्याने गवंड्याला चांगला पगार दिला आणि निवृत्तीनिमित्त त्याला एक घर भेट देण्याचे ठरवले.  

SECTION 6 — Central Theme and Values / केंद्रीय भाव आणि मूल्ये

6A. Theme Table / विषय सारणी

6B. Values / मूल्ये

• Diligence (मेहनत) — The mason initially worked with great devotion, displaying persistence in his efforts.  

• Integrity (प्रामाणिकपणा) — We must keep our integrity intact till the very end, unlike the mason who compromised on quality for his last job.  

6C. Central Message / केंद्रीय संदेश

We must always do our best in whatever we do. What we build today with our attitude and actions is exactly what we will have to live with tomorrow.

मराठी टीप: आपण जे आज बांधतो, त्यातच आपल्याला उद्या राहायचे असते, म्हणून काम नेहमी प्रामाणिकपणे करावे.

SECTION 7 — Vocabulary in Context / शब्दसंग्रह

SECTION 8 — Practice Questions / सराव प्रश्न

Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions (Types 1 to 6):

TYPE 1 — True/False (1M each · 5 questions)

1. State True or False: 'The last house was beautifully designed and located at a sought-after location.' Answer: True.  

2. State True or False: 'The mason put his mind and heart into his final work.' Answer: False.  

3. State True or False: 'The building material used for the last house was of high quality.' Answer: False.  

4. State True or False: 'The mason did his work very roughly and carelessly.' Answer: True.  

5. State True or False: 'The mason simply wanted to complete the job slowly and perfectly.' Answer: False. मराठी टीप: उताऱ्यातील माहितीवरूनच उत्तर द्या. (True म्हणजे बरोबर, False म्हणजे चूक).  

TYPE 2 — Choose the Correct Alternative (1M each · 5 questions)

1. How was the final house designed to be? a) Simply b) Beautifully c) Roughly d) Badly Answer: b  

2. How did the mason do his work? a) With full dedication b) Very carefully c) Roughly and carelessly d) With great interest Answer: c  

3. What kind of building material was used by the mason? a) Of low quality b) The best material c) Very expensive d) High quality Answer: a  

4. What did the mason simply want to do? a) Build another house b) Earn more money c) Complete the job in haste and retire d) Go on a holiday Answer: c  

5. The mason worked without... a) Money and tools b) Interest or dedication c) Plans and designs d) Cement and bricks Answer: b मराठी टीप: चुकीचे पर्याय गाळून उताऱ्यात दिलेली अचूक माहिती निवडा.  

TYPE 3 — Answer in One Word/Phrase (1M each · 4 questions)

1. Who could not put his mind and heart into his work? Answer: The mason.  

2. What was used that was of low quality? Answer: Building material.  

3. In what manner did the mason want to complete the job? Answer: In haste.  

4. At what kind of location was the house built? Answer: A sought-after location. मराठी टीप: उत्तर एका शब्दात किंवा वाक्यांशात द्या. पूर्ण वाक्य लिहिण्याची गरज नाही.  

TYPE 4 — Complete the Sentences (1M each · 4 questions)

1. Complete the sentence: 'The ________ started.' Answer: construction  

2. Complete the sentence: 'He did his work very roughly and ________.' Answer: carelessly  

3. Complete the sentence: 'Even the building material used was of low ________.' Answer: quality  

4. Complete the sentence: 'He simply wanted to complete the job in haste and finally ________.' Answer: retire मराठी टीप: उताऱ्यात काळजीपूर्वक शोधून रिकाम्या जागी योग्य तोच शब्द भरा.  

TYPE 5 — Answer in 2-3 Sentences (2M each · 5 questions)

1. Why could the mason not put his mind and heart into his work?

   Answer: The mason had already made up his mind to retire. He only agreed to build this last house as a special favour, so he did it with great reluctance and could not put his heart into it.

   मराठी टीप: त्याने आधीच निवृत्त होण्याचा निर्णय घेतला होता आणि हे काम तो अनिच्छेने करत होता, हे सांगा.  

   
   

2. How did the mason build the final house?

   Answer: The mason did his work very roughly and carelessly. He worked without interest and intentionally used low-quality building material to finish it in haste.

   मराठी टीप: त्याने निष्काळजीपणे आणि निकृष्ट दर्जाचे साहित्य वापरून घाईघाईत घर बांधले.  

   
   

3. Why was the contractor disheartened earlier? (From the chapter)

   Answer: The contractor was very disheartened because he was losing such an excellent workman. The mason was in great demand and fetched good business for the contractor.

   मराठी टीप: गवंडी हा खूप उत्तम कारागीर होता, त्याच्या जाण्यामुळे कंत्राटदाराला वाईट वाटले.  

   
   

4. What was the physical result of the mason's carelessness? (From the chapter) Answer: Because of his carelessness, the house was ready earlier than expected but had very roughly made structures. It had weak walls, a poor finish, and did not look good at all. मराठी टीप: घर दिसायला खराब होते, भिंती कमकुवत होत्या आणि बांधकाम ओबडधोबड होते.  

   
   

5. What shock awaited the mason at the end? (From the chapter)

   Answer: When the mason handed over the keys, the contractor did not step forward to enter the house. Instead, he handed the legal ownership documents back to the mason, saying the house was a gift for him. मराठी टीप: कंत्राटदाराने त्यालाच त्या घराची कागदपत्रे आणि चावी भेट म्हणून परत दिली, हा धक्का त्याला बसला.  

   
   

TYPE 6 — Answer in 4-5 Sentences (3M each · 3 questions)

1. Describe the mason's work style before he decided to retire. (From the chapter) Answer: Before retiring, the mason always strove to do his work to perfection. He took great interest in his building work and did it with full dedication. He ensured that he used the best quality construction material and that the measurements were perfect. His zeal, diligence, and persistence left the owners of the new houses completely satisfied.

   मराठी टीप: १. तो काम परिपूर्ण करायचा. २. उत्कृष्ट दर्जाचे साहित्य वापरायचा. ३. त्याच्या मेहनतीमुळे घरमालक खुश असायचे, हे मुद्दे लिहा.  

   
   

2. Why did the mason decide to retire and how did the contractor react? (From the chapter)

   Answer: The mason decided to retire because he had become a grandfather and wanted to spend time playing with his grandchildren. The contractor was very disheartened to lose such an excellent workman. He strongly urged the mason to continue his job, but the mason was a firm-minded person and refused. Finally, the contractor convinced him to build one last house as a special favour.

   मराठी टीप: गवंडी आजोबा झाल्यामुळे त्याला निवृत्त व्हायचे होते. कंत्राटदाराला वाईट वाटले पण शेवटी त्याने एका शेवटच्या घरासाठी त्याची समजूत काढली.  

   
   

3. What is the grand twist at the end of the story? (From the chapter)

   Answer: The mason built his final house very carelessly, using low-quality material just to finish it quickly. When he handed the keys to the contractor, the contractor gave them right back along with a file of legal documents. The contractor beamingly announced that the new house was a retirement gift for the mason. Because of his own bad work, the mason ended up with a poorly built, weak house for himself.

   मराठी टीप: गवंड्याने घाईत निकृष्ट घर बांधले, पण शेवटी कंत्राटदाराने तेच घर त्याला भेट दिले. स्वतःच्याच चुकीमुळे त्याला खराब घर मिळाले, हा कथेचा शेवट आहे.  

   
   

TYPE 7 — Word Meanings / Vocabulary in Context (1M each · 5 questions)

(Note: Drawn from the whole chapter)

1. The word 'reluctance' means... Answer: unwillingness. मराठी अर्थ: अनिच्छा / इच्छा नसताना. मराठी टीप: शेवटचे घर बांधण्यास त्याची अनिच्छा (reluctance) होती.  

2. The word 'haste' means...

   Answer: hurry.

   मराठी अर्थ: घाई.

   मराठी टीप: त्याला काम घाईत (in haste) पूर्ण करायचे होते.

3. The word 'strove' means... Answer: made great efforts. मराठी अर्थ: खूप प्रयत्न केले. मराठी टीप: काम परिपूर्ण करण्यासाठी तो प्रयत्न (strove) करायचा.  

4. The word 'zeal' means... Answer: great enthusiasm and energy in one's efforts. मराठी अर्थ: उत्साह / जोश. मराठी टीप: तो पूर्वी अतिशय उत्साहाने (zeal) काम करायचा.  

5. The word 'beaming' means... Answer: smiling with great joy. मराठी अर्थ: आनंदाने हसत. मराठी टीप: कंत्राटदाराने हसत हसत (beaming) त्याला घर भेट दिले.  

TYPE 8 — Personal Response (2M each · 2 questions)

(Note: Drawn from the whole chapter)

1. What important lesson do you learn from this story?

   Answer: I learn that we should always do our work honestly and with full dedication, even if it is our last task. If we do our work poorly or carelessly, it will eventually bring bad results to us.

   मराठी टीप: 'आपले काम नेहमी प्रामाणिकपणे करावे, अन्यथा स्वतःचेच नुकसान होते,' हा धडा यातून मिळतो, हे साध्या इंग्रजीत लिहा.

   
   

2. How would you feel if you were the mason at the end of the story?

   Answer: If I were the mason, I would feel extremely guilty, shocked, and sad. I would deeply regret my own carelessness because it ruined a beautiful and expensive gift given by my generous boss.

   मराठी टीप: 'मला खूप अपराधी वाटले असते आणि स्वतःच्याच चुकीचा पश्चात्ताप झाला असता', असे स्वमत मांडा.

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