In Conversation With J.K. Rowling
Match the words in column A to the definitions in column B.
=
MAKING CONNECTIONS
Quick answers
1. List the following in your notebook.
a. One job other than writing that J. K. Rowling enjoyed.
= Teaching.
b. Two characters Rowling based on real people.
= Gilderoy Lockhart and Ron Weasley.
c. Three places where Rowling has thought of ideas for her stories.
= Train, café and airplane.
d. The number of book in which we can read about creatures that Rowling invented.
= IV.
e. The story Rowling wrote when she was in the 5th grade.
= Seven Cursed Diamonds.
f. What Rowling wrote when she was 6 years old.
= Her first story.
2. Read the sentences given below. Put a tick mark against those that are true, Rewrite the ones that are false.
a. Rowling met a boy called Harry Potter on a train.[🗙]
= Harry just sort of strolled into her head, on a train journey. He wasn't based on anyone real.
b. The character of Hermione is based on Rowling herself. [✔]
c. Rowling's daughter gives her ideas for her stories. [🗙]
= The ideas are all hers only.
d. Rowling enjoyed being a teacher. [✔]
Reference to context
3. "Rowling: I haven't drawn it, because it would be difficult for the most shilled architect to draw, owing to the fact that the staircases and the rooms keep moving. However, I have a very vivid mental image of what it looks like."
i. What has Rowling not drawn?
= Rowling has not drawn the floorplan for Hogwarts.
ii. Why is it difficult to draw?
= It is difficult to draw because the staircases and the rooms keep moving.
iii. How is Rowling able to write about this even though she has not drawn it?
= Rowling is able to write about this even though she has not drawn it because she has a very vivid mental image of what it looks like.
4. "Student: How does it feel to know that millions of kids are reading your books?"
i. What does this question tells us about Rowling's popularity?
= This question tells us that Rowling is tremendously popular all over the world.
ii. When did Rowling realize that millions of kids were reading her books?
= Rowling realized that millions of kids were reading her books when she visited the States and met thousands and thousands of people at book signings.
iii. What does Rowling say in reply to this question?
= In reply to this question, Rowling says that she feels amazing to know that millions of kids are reading her books.
Read, reflect and write
5. In this interview, J. K. Rowling tells the students about her writing habits. Describe how she writes.
= She writes nearly every day. Some days she writes for ten or eleven hours. Other days she might only write for three hours. It really depends on how fast the ideas are coming.
6. J. K. Rowling gives three reasons why all young people must read. List these reasons and add one of your own.
= J. K. Rowling gives three reasons why all young people must read. They are -
i) It will give an understanding of what makes good writing.
ii) It will enlarge vocabulary.
iii) It is a lot of fun to do the same.
Another reason which I would like to add is - It also helps us understand grammar.
7. Apart from saying that they must read, what other advice does Rowling have for young people who want to write?
= Apart from saying that they must read, Rowling advices, the people who want to write, to start by writing about things they know - their known experiences, their own feelings.
8. List two qualities that you can see in J. K. Rowling through her answers to the questions. Give evidence from the interview to support your answer.
= Two qualities that I can see in J. K. Rowling through her answers to the questions are - she is hard working and she has very sharp and intelligent brain.
She is very hard working. She writes nearly every day. Some days she writes for ten to eleven hours.
She has a very sharp and intelligent brain. She has a very vivid mental image of what Hogwarts looks like.
9. Good interviewers have sufficient information about the people they interview, they are polite, they ask interesting questions and they are also good listeners. Were the students good interviewers? Give reasons to support your answer.
= Yes, the students were good interviewers. They had ample knowledge about J. K. Rowling. They had read her novels series of Harry Potter. They had sufficient information about the characters, the settings of the novel. They knew personal life of the author. They knew her writing habits, about her daughter. They were very polite while asking the questions. They were asking interesting questions relating to her childhood, her ideas about Hogwarts, her habit of keeping journals, her suggestions for the would be writers.
10. If you had the chance to interview J. K. Rowling, what question would you put to her? What do you think she would say in reply?
= If you had the chance to interview J. K. Rowling, I would have asked about the magic brooms and the magic wands. Those are the very interesting things in the novel series of Harry Potter. I would have asker her where did she got the ideas of the wand and the broom from.
I think she would say that she had got the ideas of the magic wands and the magic brooms while travelling on a water ride.