The Microbe By Hilaire Belloc

HILAIRE BELLOC (1870−1953) was born in France. As a young man, he worked as a journalist and later went on to serve in the French military. His first known published work was A Lost World on Calderon, that was published in September 1891. In 1895 he published Verses and sonnets. Besides poetry, he also authored over 150 books on a variety of subjects.

The Microbe is so very small
You cannot make him out at all,
But many sanguine people hope
To see him through a microscope.
His jointed tongue that lies beneath
A hundred curious rows of teeth;
His seven tufted tails with lots
Of lovely pink and purple spots,
On each of which a pattern stands,
Composed of forty separate bands;
His eyebrows of a tender green;
All these have never yet been seen
But Scientists, who ought to know,
Assure us that they must be so...
Oh! let us never, never doubt
What nobody is sure about!

−Hilaire Belloc

1.
Tick the correct options.
1. The word 'microbe' means a ___________________.
  1. small monster.
  2. micro-organism.
  3. ghost.
2. The microbe needs a ____________________ to be seen.
  1. magnifying glass.
  2. pair of spectacles.
  3. microscope.
3. The word 'tufted' here means _________________________.
  1. knotted into a bunch.
  2. hairy.
  3. thick.
4. According to the poet, ____________________ must know about the microbe,
  1. other poets.
  2. everyone.
  3. scientists.
5. The last four lines of the poem convey a sense of ________________-.
  1. humour.
  2. mystery.
  3. adventure.
2.
But scientists, who ought to know,
Assure us that they must be so...
1. What do the scientists ought to know?
2. What do scientists assure us?
3.
Oh ! Let us never, never doubt
What nobody is sure about!
1. What is nobody sure of − that microbes exist or that they look as described in the poem?
2. What should we never doubt?
4.
Fill in the details to describe these parts of the microbe as seen through the eyes of the poet.
1. the tongue :
2. the tail :
3. the teeth :
4. the eyebrows :

Read the prefixes and their meanings in the first column. In the second column, add a word or letter to the given prefix to complete a scientific word.

1. amphi (of both kinds)
2. bio (of life)
3. multi (many)
4. semi (almost)
5. micro (very small)
6. aqua (of or with water)
7. thermo (related to heat)
8. aero (air)
9. eco (related to the environment)
10. omni (all)

6.
What is the rhyme scheme of the poem?

3 more answer(s) available.

Gem's English Reader 8

Ratna Sagar

Chapters

The Microbe

Hilaire Belloc

Available Answers