The Invention of Vita-Wonk : Summary , Class 7 Questions and Answers , NCERT Solutions

Summary

Wonka—Vite and its Impact

Mr Willy Wonka, the owner of the chocolate factory has decided to invent Wonke-Vite. This will make people younger, but it is too strong. After taking this, there is rapid decrease in age, some people have disappeared because their age has reached in Minus! One person’s age has become minus 87 so he needs to wait for 87 years to be visible to others. Mr Wonka must invent a new thing to reverse these changes.

Ingredients for Vita-Wonk

Inside the chocolate factory Mr Wonka is searching for new recipe which will make people older. He asked Charlie about the oldest thing in the world? Charlie’s reply was a tree. Mr Wonka added that it is the Bristlecone pine trees growing in the slopes of Wheeler Peak in Nevada, USA. It is the tree that lives longer than anything else. Mr Wonka then went into the Great Glass Elevator to travel across the world to collect items from some of the oldest living things.

He collected a pint of sap from a 4000 years. Bristlecone pine tree, toe-nail clippings from a 168 years old Russian Farmer, an egg laid by a 200 years old tortoise, the tail of 51 years old horse and so on. In his Inventing Room after working with all these elements for hours, he prepared a cupful of oily black liquid. He gave four drops of it to a 20 years old Oompa-Loompa volunteer. Charlie asked what happened after that. Mr Wonka informed him that the creature after a bit of shivering and wrinkling became a 75 years old and he confirmed the invention of Vita-Wonk to Charlie.

Word Meaning

Word Meaning in English

Rolled up my sleeves to prepare for hard work

Fir an evergreen coniferous tree with uptight cones and flat needle- shaped leaves, typically arranged in two rows

Oak a large tree which bears acorns and typically has lobed deciduous leaves. Chinar trees found in Kashmir are an example of Oak tree

Cedar an evergreen tree with a sweet smelling wood used as a timber

Pine an evergreen coniferous tree that has a cluster of long needle- shaped leaves

Dendoch ronolog the study of climate change and past events by comparing

Pint a unit of liquid or dry capacity equal to one eighth of a gallon

Whiskers a long hair growing from face of many animals

Crumpets a thick fat savoury cake with soft porous texture

Grimalkin a cat

Knucklebones a bone corresponding to a knuckle

Cattaloo blend of cattle and buffalo

Tracked down to search where someone or something is

Bobolink a North-American bird that can sing

Curlicue a decorative curl

Stinging wound or pierce with a wound

Slug a tough-skinned terrestrial insect

Swallowed cause or allow to pass down the throat

Shriveling wrinkle or contract

NCERT Solutions

Comprehension Check

(NCERT Page 60)

Choose the right answer.

(i) Mr Willy Wonka is

(a) a cook (b) an inventor

Ans. (b) an inventor

(ii) Wonka-Vite makes people

(a) older (b) younger

Ans. (b) younger

(iii) Mr Wonka wants to invent a new thing which will make people

(a) younger (b) older

Ans. (b) older

Can anyone’s age be a minus number? What does ‘minus 87’ mean?

Ans. No, age cannot be in minus because we all start growing up from the moment we are born. ‘Minus 87’ means the man is 87 years back to his actual age.

Mr Wonka begins by asking himself two questions. What are they?

(i) What is …………..….?

(ii) What lives …………?

Ans. (i) What is the oldest thing in the world?

(ii) What lives longer than anything else?

Working with the Text

(NCERT Page 102)

(i) What trees does Mr Wonka mention? Which tree does he say lives the longest?

(ii) How long does this tree live? Where can you find it?

Ans.

(i) Mr Wonka mentions fir, oak, cedar and Bristlecone pine trees lives the longest.

(ii) Bristlecone pine lives for over 4000 years and one can find them upon the slopes of Wheeler Peak in Nevada, USA.

How many of the oldest living things can you remember from Mr Wonka’s list? (Don’t look back at the story!) Do you think all these things really exist, or are some of them purely imaginary?

Ans. Mr Wonka has mentioned some very oldest things.

He said he had collected a pint a pint of sap from a 4000 years Bristlecone pine tree, toe-nail. clippings from a 168 years old Russian Farmer, an egg laid by a 200 years old tortoise, the tail of 51 years old horse, whiskers of a 36 years old cat called Crumpets, a flea that lived on Crumpets for 36 years, tail of a 207 years old rat, the black teeth of a 97 years old Grimalkin and knucklebones of a 700 years old Cattaloo.

Very few of these things would have really existed; a majority of them are purely imaginary.

Why does Mr Wonka collect items from the oldest things? Do you think this is the right way to begin his invention?

Ans. Mr Wonka wanted to create an item that will make people older so he collected items from the oldest things. This is in fact a foolish way to begin an invention.

What happens to the volunteer who swallows four drops of the new invention? What is the name of the invention?

Ans. The Oompa-Loompa volunteers was 20 years old before swallowing the drops, he became 75 years old after it. The invention is name Vita-Wonk.

Working with Language

(NCERT Pages 103 and 104)

What do you call these insects in your language?

Add to this list the names of some insects in common in your area.

Ans. Please write there Hindi names yourself. Beetle, Honeybee, Spider, Bee, Butterfly and

Moth are some of the insects found in our area.

Fill in the blanks in the recipe given below with words from the box.

shred cooker

times tomatoes

half onion oil

Easy Palak Dal

INGREDIENTS

One …………..
One cup dal
Two thin green chillies
……… a teaspoon red chilli powder.
Eight small bunches of palak
Two …………..
Salt to taste

Wash and cut the vegetables; ………….. the palak. Put everything in a pressure …………..

Let the cooker whistle three …….., then switch it off. Fry a few cumin seeds in ………….. and add to the palak dal.

Ans. INGREDIENTS

One onion
One cup dal
Two thin green chillies
Half a teaspoon red chilli powder
Eight small bunch of palak
Two tomatoes
Salt to taste

Wash and cut the vegetables; shred the palak.

Put everything in a pressure cooker. Let the cooker whistle three times, then switch it off. Fry a few cumin seeds in oil and add to the palak dal.

A ‘family tree’ is a diagram that shows the relationship between the different members of a family. Fill in the family tree below with names, ages and other details you think are relevant (you may even stick photographs, if you have them). Put your family trees up in the class.

Ans. Do it yourself.

Speaking (NCERT Page 105)

Using Do for Emphasis

Charlie asks, “What did happen?”

This is a way of asking question “What happened?” with emphasis.

Given below are a few emphatic utterances.

Say them to your partner. Let your partner repeat your utterance without the emphasis.

Your partner may also add something to show she/he disagrees with you.

YOU : I did study.

PARTNER : You studied I don’t believe you. Look at your MARKS!

YOU : I did go there.

PARTNER : You went there? Then …………

YOU : I do play games.

PARTNER : ……..

YOU :He does read his books.

PARTNER : ……..

YOU : You do say the most unbelievable things!

PARTNER : ……..

YOU : The Earth does spin around,

PARTNER : ……..

YOU : We all do want you to come with us.

PARTNER : ……..

YOU : Who does know how to cook?

PARTNER : ……..

YOU :I do believe that man is a thief.

PARTNER : ……..

Ans.

YOU : I did study.

PARTNER : You studied I don’t believe you. Look at your marks!

YOU : I did go there.

PARTNER : You went there? Then how come I didn’t see you?

YOU : I do play games.

PARTNER : You play games? Then why don’t you take part in Sports Day?

YOU : He does reads his books.

PARTNER : I don’t think so, because he couldn’t answer my questions.

YOU : You do say the most unbelievable things!

PARTNER : What makes you think so?

YOU : The Earth does spin around.

PARTNER : It spins? Then why don’t I feel that?

YOU : We all do want you to come with us.

PARTNER : Is it? Then why no one invited me?

YOU : Who does know how to cook?

PARTNER : Not sure, but I don’t know.

YOU : I do believe that man is a thief.

PARTNER : It is hard to believe because he looks so innocent.

Writing (NCERT Page 106)

1.(i) Make a list of the trees Mr Wonka mentions. Where do these trees grow? Try to find out from an encyclopaedia. Write a short paragraph about two or three of these trees.

(ii) Name some large trees commonly found in your area. Find out something about them (How old are they? Who planted them? Do birds eat their fruits), and write two or three sentences about each of them.

Ans. (i) Mr Wonka mentioned the name of the following trees

(a) Douglas Fir (b) Oak

Douglas Fir is native tree of Western North America. Its scientific name is Pseudotsuga menziesii. It is also called Oregon pine or Douglas spruce. It is named in honour of David Douglas. He was a Scotish botanist and a collector and was the first one to report about the nature and potential of the species.

Oak trees are native of Northern hemisphere and include deciduous and evergreen species. It is found in abundance in Northern America with over 90 species found in United States and 160 in Mexico. Oak wood has a wide application because of its resistance to fungal and insect attack.

Cedar trees are found in abundance all across the world. Cedar woods have a wide application like used to make pencils. Australian red cedar is highly valued and is used for making furniture and shipbuilding.

Bristlecone pine trees have some species that are more than 5000 year old and are the oldest known individuals of any species. The tree got its name from the prickles on the female cones. They are found in abundance in United States of America.

(ii) Some of the commonly found trees in our area include eucalyptus, mango, neem, pipal and banyan trees. Eucalyptus trees are very tall in structure. They have medicinal properties and are available in large number in our area.

Mango trees are generally planted in houses for their use in religious purpose. It is also planted in large numbers for the fruit. Neem is found in houses as well as parks.

They have medicinal properties and is widely scattered in all across sour area.

Pipal and banyan trees are mostly found in temples. They are worshipped by Hindus. Some of these trees are over 100 years old.

2.Find out something interesting about age or growing old and write a paragraph about it. Following are a few topics as suggested as examples.

The age profile of a country’s population- does it have more young people than old people or vice versa? What are the consequences of this?
How can we tell how old a tree, a horse, or a rock is?
What is the ‘life expectancy’ of various living things and various population (how long can they reasonably expect to live)?

Ans. All living beings start ageing from the moment they are born. The best part with the process of growing old is that we are able to witness many changes. India is one of the most populous nations in the world. In India we have more of youth population than old people.

It increases the productivity and earning capacity in the society. We can guess the age of a tree by counting the rings in its trunk. The age of rock and horse can be identified by carbon dating process. Microorganisms have the shortest life cycle.

Insects too live a short life. Animals like elephant and tortoise live more than 100 years. Life expectancy of human is around 85 years.

Questions and Answers

Very Short Answer Type Questions

According to Charlie, what lives the longest.

Ans. According to Charlie a tree lives the longest.

Bristlecone pine trees live the longest. Whom did Mr Wonka asked Charlie to confirm his fact with?

Ans. Mr Wonka asked Charlie to confirm this fact with any dendrochronologist.

What was unique about the Great Glass Elevator?

Ans. Mr Wonka used to travel across the world in the Great Glass Elevator.

Whose knucklebones were collected by Willy Wonka?

Ans. Mr Willy Wonka collected the knucklebones of a 700 years old Grimalkin that lived in a cave on Mount Popocatepetl.

Where did the old flea collected by Mr Wonka live?

Ans. The old flea used to live on Crumpets that was a 36 years old cat.

What was special about the Arabian horse?

Ans. The Arabian horse lived for 51 years which is quite unusual for any normal horse.

Mr Wonka collected whose toe-nail?

Ans. Mr Wonka collected the toe-nail clipping of a 168 years old Russian farmer called Petrovitch Gregorovitch.

How did Mr Wonka collected all those ancient items?

Ans. Mr Wonka went all across the world in his Great Glass Elevator to collect all those ancient things.

Where did Mr Wonka carry on his experiments?

Ans. Mr Wonka carried on his experiments in his Inventing room.

On whom did Mr Wonka tested the oily black liquid?

Ans. Mr Wonka tested the oily black liquid over an Oompa-Loompa volunteer.

Short Answer Type Questions

What was the need for Mr Wonka to invent Vita-Wonk?

Ans. Vita-Wonk had gone wrong. After taking it many people have grown younger to an extent that their ages have gone in minus. All such people have disappeared and will be back only after they spend all those minus years being invisible. To alter these changes Mr Wonka decided to invent a new drug which will help people to grow older.

Name five ancient things collected by Mr Wonka.

Ans. Mr Wonka collected a pint of sap from a 4000 years old Bristlecone pine tree, whiskers of a 36 years old cat called Crumpets, an egg laid by a 200 years old tortoise that belonged to the King of Tonga.

He also collected tail of 207 years old rat from Tibet and tail of 51 years old horse in Arabia.

What happened to the Oompa-Loompa volunteer after taking the drops of Vita-Wonk?

Ans. After taking drops of Vita-Wonk, the Oompa-Loompa volunteer began to wrinkle and shrivel. Its hair started falling.

Within no while the changes were visible and he became an old man who looked around 75 years old.

Long Answer Type Questions

1.Describe Mr Wonka.

Ans. Mr Willy Wonka was a strange man. He used to make all strange inventions. He had a subordinate called Charlie. There was Oompa-Loompa volunteers on whom he used to carry out the testing of his inventions.

He had an Inventing Room where he carried out all such mysterious works.

He had earlier invented Wonka-Vite that had made people younger to an extent that their ages have gone into minus and they have become invisible.

He then invented Vita-Wonk after collecting ancient items from across the world which could help people grow older.

2.Describe the process of invention of Vita-Wonk.

Ans. Mr Willy Wonka travelled across the globe in his Great Glass Elevator to collect items for Vita-Wonk. He collected samples from some of the oldest living creatures in the world. He mixed these items, boiled and bubbled them several times in his inventing room and then invented a one tiny cupful of an oily black liquid. He tested this on a 20 years old Oompa-Loompa volunteer and within minutes it turned into a 75 years old creature. This was how Vita-Wonk was discovered.

Extra Questions and Answers

Extract 1

Directions (Q. Nos. 1-6) Read the extract given below and answer the following questions.

“So once again I rolled up my sleeves and set to work. Once again I squeezed my brain, searching for the new recipe….I had to create age… to make people old…old…older, oldest…”Ha-ha! I cried for now the ideas were beginning to come. ‘What is the oldest living thing in the world? What lives longer than anything else?”

1.Name the speaker in the above lines.

Ans. Mr Willy Wonka is the speaker in the above lines.

2.Who is he talking to?

Ans. He is talking to Charlie.

3.Why he needs to work?

Ans. He needs to invent a new drug that could help people grow older and alter the changes done by Wonka-Vite.

4.What is the new recipe he is searching for?

(a) Recipe for Wonka-Vite

(b) Recipe for Vita-Wonk

(d) None of the above

Ans. (b) Recipe for Vita Wonk.

5.What is the oldest living thing in the world?

(a) Cedar (b) Oak

Ans. (c) Bristlecone Pine

6.What lives longer than anything else?

(a) Cattaloo (b) Crumpets

Extract 2

Directions (Q. Nos. 7-12) Read the extract given below and answer the following questions.

“All over the world, Charlie,” Mr Wonka went on “I tracked down very old and ancient animals and took an important little bit of something from each one of them − a hair or an eyebrow or sometimes it was no more than an ounce or two of the jam scraped from between its toes while it was sleeping. I tracked down the whistle-pig, the Bobolink, the skrock, the Pollyfrog, the Giant Curlicue, the Stinging Slug and the Venomous Squerkle who can spit poison right into your eye from fifty yards away. But there’s no time to tell you about them all now, Charlie.

1.What is the quality of venomous squerkle that has been talked about in the passage?

Ans. A venomous squerkle can spit poison right into on eye from 50 yards away.

2.What does Mr Wonka say that he has no time to tell about? To whom does he say this?

Ans. Mr Wonka tells Charlie that he had observed and studied many of very old and ancient animals and collected some parts of their bodies. But he didn’t have time to tell in detail about his expedition.

3.How did he produce his magic liquid?

Ans. He took some body parts of all very old animals and boiled them together. This is how he produced the magic liquid.

4.Where did Mr Wonka take the jam from?

(a) From the stings of venomous curlicue

(b) From the paws of whistle pig

(d) From the mouth of the animals when they were awaken.

Ans. (c) From the between the toes of an animal when it was sleeping

5.Which parts of the animal body did Mr Wonka collect?

(a) Toes and fingers (b) Tongue or sting

Ans. (b) Tongue or sting

6.Which of the following animals has not been mentioned by Mr Wonka?

(a) Giant curlicue (b)A blue whale

Ans. (b) A blue whale