A Visit to Cambridge Summary & Notes - CBSE Class 8 English Honeydew

Summary of A Visit to Cambridge

Chapter 7 of the Class 8 English Main Coursebook – Honeydew, consists of prose – A Visit to Cambridge, which is an extract from a travelogue that highlights the exchange of views between two extraordinary people on what they thought of ‘being differently abled’. This chapter is a short tour through Cambridge, situated in England, which was both a pleasant and touching experience for the author. He met Stephen Hawking, a brilliant and completely paralysed astrophysicist and talked to him for a complete half-hour at a stretch. Read the prose summary of CBSE Class 8 English Prose Notes – A Visit to Cambridge in the form of CBSE English Notes Class 8 here. We hope this short summary will help students to get a comprehensive understanding of the chapter and gear up for their English exam.

To prepare for the writing section of the Class 8 English exam, students must practice essays on various topics. By doing so, they can easily score marks in essay writing.

CBSE Class 8 English A Visit to Cambridge Summary

A Visit to Cambridge is a travelogue written by Firdaus Kanga, a Mumbai-based journalist and writer. Despite being differently abled, he travelled to many places across the globe and never considered his disability as a hindrance. He was indeed an inspiration to the surrounding people. In this chapter, he shared one of his priceless visits to Cambridge University in England, where he met Stephen Hawking, the most brilliant and completely paralysed astrophysicist. Hawking was the author of ‘A Brief History of Time’, which is one of the biggest bestsellers worldwide.

During a walking tour to Cambridge University, he heard about Stephen Hawking, who was a genius astrophysicist with a disability. Mr Hawking succeeded Sir Isaac Newton’s chair in the Physics Department at Cambridge University. After Firdaus was done with the walking tour, he had the urge to meet Stephen Hawking. So, he called Hawking’s house and told the latter’s assistant that he had come all the way from India and was confined to a wheelchair. He expressed his desire to meet Stephen Hawking and also mentioned that he wanted to write a book based on his visit to England. Hearing this, the assistant gave him an appointment between 3:30 and 4 p.m. for the meeting.

When the author met Mr Hawking, he was surprised that such a brilliant astrophysicist was completely paralysed and confined to a wheelchair like him. He quickly composed himself and started asking a few questions to Mr Hawking. At first, he asked Mr Hawking how he dealt with things so courageously. To this, the genius replied that he had no other option than to be brave and accept his current situation. However, he found it funny when people patronized him. Firdaus then enquired if Mr Hawking ever got annoyed if they disturbed him. To this, Mr Hawking replied in an affirmative tone with a smile. As the author interviewed the astrophysicist, he realised that Mr Hawking appeared to be a man with a beautiful heart and soul to him.

Besides the author also questioned Mr Hawking if he was unable to see the humility and kindness in the world due to his disability. Hawking agreed to this with Firdaus. Finally, the interview came to an end with a message for all the readers. Mr Hawking said that disabled people should focus on the good in themselves rather than over-thinking about their disability. They should not become over-zealous, instead concentrate on things they are good at. Saying so, Mr Hawking went into his garden. Thus, the author felt that his journey to England was not just inspiring but successful too.

Conclusion of A Visit to Cambridge

The chapter – A Visit to Cambridge highlights to students that physical disability should not be considered a hindrance in someone’s path towards achieving greater heights in life. One should learn to conquer the disability of the mind rather than focusing on the physical disability. Presenting the CBSE Class 8 English Honeydew Prose Summary of A Visit to Cambridge that must have helped 8th Standard students to have a detailed understanding of the chapter.

Besides, BYJU’S offers a vast collection of resources such as CBSE Notes and CBSE study materials. They can also download BYJU’S: The Learning App and access CBSE sample papers and question papers of prior years.