Chapter 9
A Bicycle in Good Repair
1. Who proposed the bicycle ride, and what was the narrator’s reaction?
Answer: A new proposed one evening that they should go for a long bicycle ride together on the following day, and the narrator agreed. He got up early, feeling pleased with himself.
2. What did the narrator notice about his friend’s arrival?
Answer: The friend came half an hour late, while the narrator was waiting for him in the garden.
3. How did the narrator describe the bicycle in the morning and after lunch?
Answer: The narrator said the bicycle “goes easily enough in the morning; goes a little stiffly after lunch.”
4. How did the friend first handle the bicycle, and how did the narrator feel about it?
Answer: The friend shook the bicycle violently by the front wheel and the fork. The narrator disapproved and said, “Don’t do that; you’ll hurt it.”
5. What did the friend say about the front wheel?
Answer: He said, “This front wheel wobbles.”
6. How did the narrator respond to the claim that the front wheel wobbled?
Answer: He said, “It doesn’t if you don’t wobble it,” meaning the wheel was fine as long as it wasn’t handled violently.
7. What tool did the friend ask for, and why?
Answer: He asked, “Have you got a hammer?” because he thought something was dangerous with the front wheel.
8. What did the narrator find when he returned from the tool shed?
Answer: He found the friend sitting on the ground with the front wheel between his legs, twiddling it round, and the remnant of the machine lying on the gravel path.
9. What did the friend discover when he unscrewed parts of the wheel?
Answer: Out rolled a dozen or so little balls, and he shouted, “Catch ’em! Catch ’em! We mustn’t lose any of them.”
10. How many balls were eventually found, and what did the narrator do with them?
Answer: They found sixteen balls, and the narrator put them for safety in his hat.
11. What did the friend decide to do after examining the wheel?
Answer: He said he would see to the chain and immediately began taking off the gear-case.
12. What advice had an experienced friend given the narrator about the gear-case?
Answer: He said, “If anything goes wrong with your gear-case, sell the machine and buy a new one; it comes cheaper.”
13. How did the friend respond to the narrator’s warning about the gear-case?
Answer: He said, “People talk like that who understand nothing about machines. Nothing is easier than taking off a gear-case.”
14. What actually happened when the gear-case was taken off?
Answer: In less than five minutes, the gear-case was in two pieces, lying on the path, and the friend was grovelling for screws.
15. How did the narrator feel about stopping the friend from working on the bicycle?
Answer: The narrator felt he should be firm, but he was weak when it came to hurting other people’s feelings, so he let him muddle on.
16. What did the friend do to the chain?
Answer: He tightened the chain until it would not move, then loosened it until it was twice as loose as it had been before.
17. What problem did they face when trying to put the front wheel back?
Answer: They realized they had forgotten the balls inside the wheel, which were necessary for it to function.
18. How did the narrator describe the friend’s disposition?
Answer: He said the friend was of a cheerful disposition and was hopeful, saying, “Well, we must put back all we can find, and trust to providence.”
19. How many balls were put back into the wheel, and what was the result?
Answer: They found eleven balls, fixed six on one side and five on the other. The wheel was then in its place, but it really did wobble.
20. What impressed the narrator about the friend’s skill?
Answer: The narrator was fascinated not only by the friend’s skill but also by his cheery confidence and inexplicable hopefulness.
21. How did the friend refix the gear-case?
Answer: He stood the bicycle against the house, then against a tree, worked from below while lying with his head between the wheels, and dropped oil upon himself.
22. How did the situation between the man and the bicycle develop?
Answer: The proceedings degenerated into a rough-and-tumble fight, with the bicycle and the man alternating positions, hitting each other.
23. What happened when the friend lost his balance?
Answer: He doubled himself across the bicycle, lost his balance, and slid over onto his head.
24. How did the narrator describe the bicycle’s behavior during the fight?
Answer: The bicycle showed spirit; it would free itself suddenly and hit the friend sharply over the head with one of its handles.
25. At what time did the friend finally give up?
Answer: At a quarter to one, dirty, dishevelled, cut, and bleeding, he said, “I think that will do,” and wiped his brow.
26. How did the narrator help the friend after the struggle?
Answer: He took him into the back kitchen, where he cleaned himself as far as possible, and then the narrator sent him home.
27. How did the narrator describe the initial wobble of the front wheel?
Answer: The narrator felt there was nothing worth calling a wobble; the wheel did not really wobble at first.
28. How did the friend handle the gear-case screws?
Answer: He said screws had a knack of turning up when least expected, showing a relaxed and confident attitude despite the confusion.
29. What phrase shows the narrator’s disapproval of the friend shaking the bicycle?
Answer: “Don’t do that; you’ll hurt it,” and “I did not see why he should shake it; it had not done anything to him.”
30. How did the friend treat the chain after examining it?
Answer: He tightened it too much, then loosened it excessively, showing his experimental and confident approach.
31. What lesson did the narrator feel he learned from watching the friend?
Answer: He learned from the friend’s skill, confidence, and hopefulness, which fascinated him and did him good.
32. How did the narrator describe the final condition of the friend and the bicycle?
Answer: Both were exhausted; the friend was dirty, cut, and bleeding, and the bicycle looked as if it had also had enough of the struggle.
33. What does the phrase “topsy-turvy” refer to in the story?
Answer: It refers to the narrator’s hat being upside down in the middle of the path, with balls scattered inside.
34. What does the text imply about the friend’s self-confidence?
Answer: He was absolutely sure of his skill and confident that he could fix the bicycle, as shown by phrases like “Nothing is easier than taking off a gear-case.”
35. Describe the “fight” between the man and the machine.
Answer: The fight involved the bicycle flipping and hitting the man, the man climbing over it, sliding on his head, and trying to control it; it was rough-and-tumble and humorous.
36. How did the narrator handle his conflicting feelings about stopping the friend?
Answer: He felt common sense told him to stop the friend, but he did not want to hurt his feelings, so he allowed him to continue.
37. How does the text show the friend’s cheerful disposition?
Answer: He remains hopeful, laughs at mistakes, and says, “Well, we must put back all we can find, and trust to providence.”
38. How did the friend react when he discovered they had forgotten the balls?
Answer: He laughed and admitted, “Well, I am an ass!” showing self-awareness and good humor.
39. How is humor used in the story?
Answer: Humor arises from exaggerated mishaps, the bicycle’s “rebellion,” the friend’s self-confidence, and the narrator’s reactions to the chaotic repair process.
40. What are some lessons or ideas that can be learned from the story?
Answer: The story teaches patience, observation, the limits of overconfidence, and the value of hopefulness and cheerful disposition, even in chaotic situations.
Answer by Mrinmoee
