CBSE Class 8 · English · Honeydew

A Visit to Cambridge

Chapter summary, hard words and model exam answers for Class 8 English.

Free online summary and notes (Class 8 English). Read it here, no PDF download needed.

About the author

Firdaus Kanga (born 1960) is a Mumbai lawyer and writer with osteogenesis imperfecta. This essay describes meeting Stephen Hawking - two disabled men discussing life, science and courage.

Summary

Kanga came to Cambridge as his metaphor for England - dreaming of meeting Hawking.

He phoned Hawking's house from a phone booth and arranged a meeting.

Hawking sat in his motorised wheelchair, guided by assistants.

They talked about disability; Hawking's voice synthesiser clicked out answers.

He joked about being 'unlucky' and advised disabled people not to be disabled in spirit.

Kanga felt he could ask anything; Hawking was frank and funny.

The visit proved that a trapped body can still explore the universe.

Hard words & meanings

synthesiser	machine that speaks for him
able-bodied	physically fit people
protagonist	main character
narrator	person telling the story
conflict	struggle or problem
climax	most exciting point
Cambridge	see chapter context
metaphor	see chapter context

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Model exam answers, grammar & audio

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