NCERT Solutions for Class 9th English Chapter 1 How I Taught My Grandmother to Read (prose) — Listen and Respond
Book page 17 Updated on2026-09-08
Q1.
I. You will listen to a speaker talk about digital literacy. As you listen, complete the following sentences with one to three exact words that you hear. (Transcript for teacher on page 259)
1. Literacy these days includes the ability to use ____________.
Answer
digital tools
The transcript on page 259 reads: “Earlier, literacy meant just reading and writing. Now, it includes the ability to use digital tools effectively and responsibly.” The sentence in the book copies the speaker’s own words up to the blank, so the two or three words that follow — digital tools — are what must be written. “Effectively and responsibly” is how they are used, not what is used, so it does not belong in the blank.
Tip for gap-fill listening: the instruction says exact words that you hear. Do not improve the speaker’s phrasing — “computers” or “technology” would be wrong here even though the meaning is close.
Q2.
I. 2. Digital literacy is also about protecting ____________.
Answer
personal data
Transcript, page 259: “It’s not just about using gadgets but also understanding digital platforms, identifying reliable sources, and protecting personal data.” The listed items build to this one, and “protecting” in the question matches the speaker’s word exactly, so the blank takes the two words that follow it.
Q3.
I. 3. Digital literacy enables the elderly to ______________.
Answer
stay connected
Transcript, page 259: “it empowers individuals—students learn to research critically, professionals handle digital transactions, and senior citizens stay connected.” The book’s sentence replaces the speaker’s “senior citizens” with “the elderly”, so you must listen past that phrase for the two words that describe what they are enabled to do.
Why this item sits in this chapter: the speaker’s three examples are a student, a professional and an older person — and the chapter you have just read is about an older person who was cut off from information because she could not read. The listening passage updates the story’s question for a digital age.
Q4.
I. 4. Digital literacy encourages using the internet safely by helping us recognise ______________ and _______________.
Answer
misinformation and scams
Transcript, page 259: “Second, it promotes safe internet use by helping us recognise misinformation, scams, and cyber threats.” The speaker names three dangers; the book leaves only two blanks, so take them in the order spoken — misinformation first, scams second. (If your teacher accepts the last pair instead, scams and cyber threats is defensible, but the first two follow the sentence order exactly.)
Q5.
I. 5. The National Digital Literacy Mission helps people across the country by imparting ______________.
Answer
IT training
Transcript, page 259: “This is the reason the Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (DISHA) or National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM) Scheme has been formulated to impart IT training to people across the country.” The book turns the speaker’s “to impart” into “by imparting”, so only the object of the verb goes in the blank.
Did you know? The scheme is named in the transcript twice over — Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (DISHA) and National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM). It is the digital-age descendant of the National Literacy Mission mentioned in the “Do you know?” box on page 21 of this very chapter.