Summary: The Outlaws’ Report
Young schoolboy William is on his way to meet some friends. He is frowning and thinking about
the Beveridge Report. The report is a document published by the government of England in
1942 which proposed steps to improve the lives of citizens. He reaches the barn where his
friends—Ginger, Douglas and Henry—are waiting. They called themselves the Outlaws.
William tells his friends about the Beveridge Report and how it is unfair that the grown-ups are
about to have a good time because of that. He feels bitter that the report has nothing for
children and that if children want something they have to do it themselves. He suggests that
they come up with their own report with demands for children. The Outlaws agree. In their
report, they ask for as many holidays as there are term days, increased pocket money, no Latin,
French and Arithmetic, no punishments and six ice creams a day.
Now they want the Outlaws’ Report made into an Act of Parliament. Ginger has an idea.
According to him, Major Hamilton, a member of the War Office, is home for the weekend and
heading back to London with some important government papers. The Outlaws decide to slip
their report in with these papers so they will be taken to London and be made into an Act of
Parliament.
The Outlaws head to Major Hamilton’s house. They see his car parked outside. William slips
into the car to find the papers. But before he can find them, Major Hamilton comes out and
drives the car away. The remaining Outlaws are frozen but William remains calm. He continues
searching for the papers and finds them in a briefcase. He takes Major Hamilton’s papers out of
the case and stuffs them into his own bag so he can place the Outlaws’ Report in. But William
forgets to put Major Hamilton’s papers back. The car stops and William gets out and is headed
home when he realises his mistake. He immediately goes back and finds Major Hamilton in a
panic—his briefcase has been stolen. William returns the papers to him and narrates the entire
story. Instead of punishing him, Major Hamilton treats him to a wonderful meal.
When William tells the Outlaws that the briefcase along with the Outlaws’ Report has been
stolen, they are disappointed. But they forget all about the report when William tells them
Major Hamilton is to take them all to a pantomime during Christmas.
The Outlaws’ Report is a story about children, their dreams and the adventures they have as
they attempt to make their dreams come true. Like most children, William and his friends think
that adults treat them unfairly. They think that adults get everything while children get nothing.
This story brings out the children’s point of view with great humour. The heart of the story is
William—a strong-willed boy with bold and wacky ideas. William has an unusual way of thinking
and he goes ahead with crazy plans to get what he wants. The plan falls to pieces but in the
end, William and his friends get to have a good time.
Comprehension
A. 1. the government of England
2. improve the lives of the citizens of England
3. the Outlaws—William, Ginger, Douglas, Henry
4. improve the lives of the children of England
5. better conditions, shorter hours, higher wages, freedom from want and fear
6. as many holidays as school working days; pocket money of six pence a week that should not be
taken away for any reason; no Latin, French, Arithmetic; free ice cream; no punishments
B. 1. a. William said this to the other Outlaws.
b. William thinks children are punished for things grown ups are allowed to do like breaking
things, forgetting things and being rude to each other. This is the equality he thinks he doesn’t
have.
c. William is angry, bitter and determined to get children what he thinks they deserve.
2. a. William had gotten into Major Hamilton’s car to search for the papers, only Major Hamilton
had come back too soon and had driven away with William still in the car. This was what the
Outlaws were staring at with horror.
b. The Outlaws were horrified because Major Hamilton could discover William and they would all
get into trouble.
c. Not all the Outlaw reacted the same way. William, who was in the car with Major Hamilton, was
not worried. He continued looking for the papers quietly.
3. a. ‘He’ is William. The word ‘them’ refers to Major Hamilton’s papers that William had taken out of
the briefcase in order to place the Outlaws’ Report inside.
b. If Major Hamilton found only the Outlaws’ Report inside the briefcase and not his own papers,
he would think that the Outlaws had stolen them.
c. William immediately went back to the hotel to return the papers to Major Hamilton.
C. 1. The Outlaws were angry with the grown ups because the Beveridge Report was going to
make their lives so much easier but the children still had to deal with school, difficult subjects,
punishments and other things that made their life difficult. The Outlaws were going to come up
with their own report that had demands for children.
2. The Outlaws’ demands would make the lives of children much more relaxed and fun. They
would get a lot of free time if they got as many holidays as school working days. The increased
pocket money would allow them to buy as many sweets and toys as they liked. Even school
would become easier without Latin, French and Arithmetic. Having no punishments would
mean that they can do anything they like. These demands are fun, but they are not sensible.
Firstly, no one would actually give them the things they asked for. Secondly, they would
hardly learn anything if they get so many extra holidays and so many subjects are removed.
No punishments would also mean no discipline. The demands, though they are fun, would
ultimately not be good for them.
3. The thieves had stolen the briefcase to get their hands on Major Hamilton’s documents but they
would not find it. They would only find the Outlaws’ Report. The Outlaws had decided to place
their report in Major Hamilton’s briefcase so that it would go to the government in London and
become an Act of Parliament. William had taken the Major’s papers out of the briefcase to put the
Outlaws’ Report in. But he had forgotten to put them back in.
4. The pantomime was more important to the Outlaws. The Outlaws were disappointed when they
realised that their Report would not be made into an Act of Parliament. But when they heard
that Major Hamilton had promised to take them to a pantomime as reward, they cheered up
immediately and forgot all about the Report.
D. William is an intelligent boy with lots of ideas. When he hears about the Beveridge Report, he
immediately realises that it does not say anything about children. He wants to have a report of his
own so that the government will improve children’s lives as well. Along with the other Outlaws, he
comes up with creative demands for children. Like many of us school students, he dislikes the difficult
subjects and wants more time for fun and games. William is also innocent because he really believes
that his report will be taken seriously by the government and that the Outlaws will get what they
want. He is a brave boy who is determined to get what he wants. He has crazy ideas that he is not
afraid to carry out. He gets into Major Hamilton’s car, finds the documents and replaces them with
his own without worrying too much about the Major who was sitting in the front seat! But William is
also honest. The minute he realises that he has forgotten to put the Major’s papers back, he fearlessly
walks up to the Major and hands it back to him.
Grammar
A. 1. from 2. on 3. of 4. from 5. by 6. out of 7. on 8. in 9. at
10. towards 11. on 12. after 13. for
B. 1. because of 2. in search of 3. thanks to 4. except for 5. instead of
6. with reference to
C. 1. in comparison to 2. in spite of 3. along with 4. regardless of 5. in place of
Vocabulary
A. 1. very pale, especially from shock 2. covered in bruises 3. feeling sad
4. become angry 5. feel embarrassed
B. FAST—bolted, dashed, scampered; SLOW—crept, plodded
Listening Text:
The Global School is conducting an intra-school cultural fest. Listen to the announcements
about the various events and as you listen, complete the table in your book.
Welcome one, welcome all to Waves Cultural Fest. Your week of fun, games and competition is here at
last. We have many, many exciting events in store for you.
1. The Quiz Club is back with their annual mega event, ‘Battle of the Brains’. Bring your GK and your
team of three to the Main Auditorium at 2 p.m. on Monday, 5 August. Don’t lose your chance to be
crowned Quizard of the year!
2. On Tuesday, 6 August, the Western Dance Association brings to you—‘Step Up’, the most awaited
solo dance competition of the year. Show off your fancy moves at the Outdoor Stage. Be there at
10 a.m. sharp!
3. Are you a drama queen or perhaps, a drama king? We have the perfect event for you. On
Wednesday, 7 August, come to the basketball court at 3 p.m. along with your team of five to
participate in ‘Future Stars’—the impromptu skit competition. The funniest play wins!
Answers:
1. Battle of the Brains – GK Quiz: Main Auditorium; 5th August, Monday; 2 p.m.
2. Step Up – solo dance competition: Outdoor Stage; 6th August, Tuesday; 10 a.m.
3. Future Stars – impromptu skit competition: Basketball court; 7th August, Wednesday; 3 p.m
Writing
Global School
NOTICE
30th July 2018
Battle of the Brains
GK Quiz
All quizzing stars are invited to prove their GK knowledge at the mega
event of the year, ‘Battle of the Brains’. The brainiest team of the lot will be
crowned Quizards of the year!
day and date: Monday, 5th August 2018
venue: Main Auditorium
time: 2 p.m.
participants: team of three
what to bring: just yourselves and all your GK skills!
contact: Arthi Venkat
Secretary, Quiz Club
Punctuation
1. “Who are you?” asked the old man. “I haven’t seen you before.”
2. “Let me go!” shouted Nikhil. “I want to stay here,” he continued softly.
3. “Leave this room at once!” shouted Father.
4. The girl ran away with the biscuits. “Come back!” demanded her mother.
5. “I’m not coming! Why don’t you let me be?” pleaded Pooja.
Life Skills
1. e 2. f 3. a 4. b 5. e 6. c 7. d
THE OUTLAWS’ REPORT
A. Answer in brief.
1. What was William’s complaint?
Ans: William was dejected and angry because of what he overheard at the houses he had visited.
He felt the grown-ups were indifferent towards the needs of the children and were involved in
solving their own issues. He was upset that the adults would find ways to get their demands
fulfilled while the children would be ignored.
OR
2. Why did William want to reach their report to the Government? How did he want to do it?
Ans: William wanted to do all that the adults had decided to do with their report. He thought that
they were planning to make their report into an Act of Parliament. Hence he too wanted their
report to be made into a law. He wanted someone influential who was going to London, to the
Government, to do that task for him.
3. How did the Outlaws forget about the report in the end?
Ans: Major Hamilton was greatly pleased with William when he came to know that William saved
the Government papers from theft. As a reward he promised to take them to the pantomime
during Christmas. The Act of Parliament became totally insignificant for them in comparison to
going to a pantomime and they forgot all about the report.
B. Answer in detail.
1. How did William unknowingly help Major Hamilton in protecting the important papers from theft?
Ans: William wanted to keep their report in the brief case which was already full of papers.
He wanted to place his report at the bottom of the suitcase and for that reason he stuffed his
school bag with the other papers. After that he leapt out of the car when it slowed down without
realising that he had the important papers with him in his bag. Soon he went back to keep it in
the box. It was then that he saw Major Hamilton white with fear as his brief case had been stolen.
Luckily for Major Hamilton, the important papers were with William. Thus William, without his
knowledge, helped Major Hamilton by protecting the important papers in his school bag.
2. The Outlaws behaved and talked like adults though they were innocent and childish. Give
examples from the text to prove this.
Ans: William and his friends decided to be Outlaws. They were against school, the strict teachers
and parents making unreasonable demands. They wanted to have a law of their own and like
adults, meticulously prepared a report to be sent to the Government, though their demands
were childish and unreasonable. They wanted their demands to be made an Act of Parliament
for the only reason that Beveridge Report was going to be made into an Act of Parliament. They
innocently believed that if their report was sent through someone ‘high up’ it would be approved.
The best example of their carefree attitude can be seen in the end. The report, which was of major
importance to them at one time became insignificant when they were promised a pantomime
during Christmas.
C. Read the lines and answer the questions.
1. When we’ve worn out our brains in school for three months, we ought to have three months for our
brains to grow back to the right size again!”
a. Who speaks the above lines to whom?
b. Why does he say so?
c. Is the speaker’s demand sensible?
Ans: a. William is speaking to his friends, the other Outlaws.
b. One of their demands in the Outlaws report was to have three months holidays after
every term of three months in school.
c. No. No school would give three months holidays every term and the absurd reason
being for ‘the brains to grow’.
2. He’s high up in the War Office, an’ he’s been home for the weekend. They say he’s got some jolly
important papers with him. He’s going to take them back to London this morning.
a. Who is the speaker?
b. Who is ‘he’ in the above lines?
c. How does the speaker want to use his high position?
Ans: a. The speaker is Ginger, one of the Outlaws.
b. ‘He’ refers to Major Hamilton who has come home for the weekend.
c. Ginger says this in response to William’s suggestion that they should find someone highup to take their report to the Government.
D. Answer in brief. (Think and Answer)
1. Why do you think William was not much worried about being driven away in the car while his
friends were shocked?
Suggested Ans: William was very hopeful that their plan would work. So when he was driven
away he was not much perturbed. His sole aim was to put the report in the briefcase. He did not
want to let down his friends with whom he had made the plan. William was a leader by nature
and focused on his work, whatever may be the risk involved in it.
2. What does William inform the Outlaws about the stolen report. Bring out the humour in his
conversation.
William explained to his friends that the briefcase was stolen only because of the report he had
kept inside. The seriousness with which he said it was funny because no one would bother to steal
their report which had nothing but their childish demands. It was obvious that he wanted to project
themselves as very important people and that their activities were being constantly watched.
E. Answer in detail. (Think and Answer)
Why do you think William and his friends called themselves the Outlaws?
Suggested Ans: William and his band of friends, Ginger, Douglas and Henry called themselves Outlaws,
which literally means those who have broken the law and hence are not protected by law. That could
probably be because they knew they were trouble makers and always indulged in something which
was not considered right by ‘grown-ups’. William, in particular, possibly got into trouble often with
his parents and got reprimanded for that. They seemed very fond of adventure and in the process
displeased the elders in the family. So, as if to irritate them further, they must have given that name to
their group. There is also the possibility that they wanted to stand out as a unique group of children.
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