Feathered Friend – Class 8 English Poorvi Question Answer (NCERT 2026–27)

Complete solutions for Class 8 English Poorvi Unit 5 (Science and Curiosity) – “Feathered Friend” by Arthur C. Clarke: summary, theme, word meanings and every textbook exercise (Let us discuss, think and reflect, learn, listen, speak, write, explore) answered in full text. We keep the questions exactly as in the NCERT book and write out every box, true/false, match and fill-in activity as readable text.

Class: 8 Subject: English Book: Poorvi Unit: 5 – Science and Curiosity Type: Story Author: Arthur C. Clarke Session: 2026–27
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About the story

“Feathered Friend” is a short science-fiction story set on a space station orbiting in permanent sunlight. It is told by a member of the construction crew, who describes how Sven Olsen smuggled a little yellow canary named Claribel aboard. The story belongs to Unit 5, ‘Science and Curiosity’, and blends the wonder of life in zero gravity with a real scientific idea – that canaries, being very sensitive to a lack of fresh air, can warn humans of danger long before instruments do.

Summary

On a manned space station, there is no rule against keeping pets, so when the wiry construction worker Sven Olsen secretly brings a yellow canary called Claribel up on a ferry from Earth, no one stops him. The narrator first meets Claribel when he hears her musical whistle near his ear and looks up to see the tiny bird hanging motionless in the air, perfectly at home in the absence of gravity. She even performs a backward loop no earthbound canary could manage. Claribel soon becomes a general favourite, and the crew cleverly hides her whenever VIPs visit from Earth.

One ‘morning’ the narrator wakes with a nagging headache after disturbed sleep. At breakfast Sven walks in holding Claribel’s limp body. Jock Duncan, the cook-doctor-dietitian, cannot detect a heartbeat, so the crew gives her oxygen. Claribel revives at once, sings, then collapses again. Something stirs in the narrator’s sluggish memory and suddenly it strikes him: just as miners once carried canaries down mines to warn them of gas, Claribel is warning them that something is wrong with the air. The duty engineer, Jim, dismisses this until his assistant admits the second alarm circuit is not yet connected.

Jim returns sheepishly: a rare eclipse by Earth’s shadow had frozen part of the air purifier, and the single working alarm had failed. Costly engineering had let them down completely, and without Claribel the whole crew would soon have died. The narrator ends by saying that an unexplained snatch of birdsong on a space station is nothing to fear – it means a feathered friend is keeping everyone doubly safe.

Theme, characters & message

Theme: The story shows that nature can succeed where advanced technology fails, and that curiosity and small living creatures can prove unexpectedly valuable. Characters: the unnamed narrator (an observant storekeeper-type crew member); Sven Olsen, a skilled, curious construction worker who loves his pet; Claribel, the spirited little canary; Jim, the duty engineer; and Jock Duncan, the cook-doctor-dietitian. Message: we must never over-rely on machines alone; a humble, sensitive creature like a canary can save lives, and human curiosity often leads to useful discoveries. The story also reminds us how fragile and uncertain life can be in the hostile environment of space.

About the author

Arthur C. Clarke (1917–2008) was a celebrated British science-fiction writer, science writer and futurist who spent the later part of his life in Sri Lanka. He is best known for the novel and film 2001: A Space Odyssey and for popularising the idea of communication satellites in geostationary orbit. Trained in mathematics and physics, Clarke grounded his fiction in real science, which is why stories like “Feathered Friend” feel believable. His writing combines technical accuracy with wonder, optimism and a gentle sense of humour, and he is regarded as one of the great masters of the science-fiction genre worldwide.

Word meanings

WordMeaning (English)Hindi meaning
regulationofficial ruleनियम
forbidsdoes not allowमना करना
wirythin but strongदुबला पर मजबूत
assortedof various types mixed togetherविविध प्रकार के
girdersthick steel/concrete beams that support a structureमजबूत शहतीरें
dovetailedfitted together exactlyठीक से जुड़े हुए
garbsclothing of a special kindविशेष पोशाक
abruptlysuddenly, unexpectedlyअचानक
cubbyholea small enclosed space or roomछोटी सी कोठरी
ceasedstoppedरुक गया
canarya small yellow songbird kept as a petकनेरी (पीली चिड़िया)
witsability to think quicklyसूझबूझ, बुद्धि
concealinghidingछिपाना
bulkheadsdividing walls between compartmentsविभाजक दीवारें
naggingpersistently painful or worryingलगातार परेशान करने वाला
retortto answer back sharplyतुरंत जवाब देना
clenchedpressed together tightlyकसकर बंद किए हुए
keeled (over)collapsed, faintedञेहराकर गिर पड़ना
sluggishslow, inactiveसुस्त, मंद
sheepishembarrassedशर्मिंदा
inexplicablethat cannot be explainedअस्पष्ट, अव्याख्य
safeguardedprotectedसुरक्षित

Before you read

I. Work in pairs and discuss the questions given below.

ANSWER1. A ‘feathered’ friend can be any bird that we keep, befriend or watch – for example a parrot, canary, pigeon, sparrow, mynah or lovebird.2. (Sample) I like the parrot, because it is colourful, intelligent and can imitate human speech, which makes it a lively companion. (Share your own choice and reason.)3. (Sample) I would choose a furry friend like a dog or cat, as it is more affectionate, can be cuddled and protects the home; but a feathered friend is easier to keep and sings sweetly. (Give your own preference with reasons.)4. (Sample) Yes, a small, light feathered friend like a canary could accompany astronauts, because it weighs almost nothing, needs very little food and – as the story shows – can warn them of bad air. A heavy furry pet would be harder to manage in zero gravity. (You may also argue ‘no’, since space is risky for animals; explain your view.)

II. Complete the words given below by inserting vowels. Refer to their meanings given alongside.

ANSWER1. official rule that controls how something is done → REGULATION2. to not allow something → FORBID3. join or blend to form a single entity → FUSE4. suddenly → ABRUPTLY5. admit one’s mistake → CONFESS6. a person who advises what to eat to keep healthy → DIETITIAN

Let us discuss

I. (After Part I) Answer the following questions briefly.

ANSWER1. The narrator thought Sven had sneaked the bird aboard because Sven did not admit owning her for several days and had brought her up secretly on the last ferry from Earth. Sven’s scientific reason was sheer curiosity – he wanted to see how a bird would behave and fly when it had no weight but could still use its wings.2. Claribel adjusted very easily. Weighing almost nothing and needing little food, she was not troubled by the absence of gravity; she hung motionless in the air, folded her wings, and even did a backward loop, showing she had already learnt to operate without gravity.3. The narrator mistook the musical whistle for an intercom sound because such whistles usually came over the station intercom before an announcement, so he waited for one to follow. Only the long, involved melody made him look up and discover Claribel.4. (Sample) Yes, the canary could lead the spacers into trouble – she sometimes got noisy when upset, and the crew had to invent explanations and hide her from visiting VIPs, risking discovery. (One may also say the trouble was minor and worth it, since she later saved their lives.)

I. (After Part II) Identify whether the following statements from parts I and II are true or false.

ANSWER1. The alarm failed to work properly because they were not connected. – True (the second alarm circuit was not yet connected, and the single circuit failed).2. Claribel was brought to the space station for an official experiment on animal behaviour in space. – False (Sven smuggled her up privately, out of personal curiosity, not an official experiment).3. The canary’s suffering helped the crew discover a problem with the air purifier. – True.4. The air purifier froze because there was a rare eclipse. – True (the eclipse by Earth’s shadow froze part of the purifier).5. Claribel could fly gracefully in the space station, performing loops in the air. – True.6. The space station crew was uninterested in Claribel and hardly noticed her presence after she was discovered. – False (she became a general pet and favourite of the whole crew).7. Claribel had fainted and had to be revived with oxygen supply. – True.

Let us think and reflect

I.1. Extract – “Sven was one of our best construction men… for a space suit is not the most convenient of garbs in which to work.”

ANSWER(i) B. He possesses a strong understanding of working in space.(ii) We can conclude Sven worked in zero gravity because the girders ‘floated around in free fall’ and had to be moved in a slow-motion, three-dimensional ballet before being fused – objects float and move freely only when there is no gravity.(iii) A. Both (A) and (R) are true, and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).(iv) “During the festival, people wore colourful outfits…” → garbs (“people wore colourful garbs…”).

I.2. Extract – “‘Jim!’ There’s something wrong with the air!… we stood arguing and passing the oxygen bottle around like a pipe of peace.”

ANSWER(i) The narrator references canaries and miners in order to explain the reason that caused Claribel to faint suddenly.(ii) Jim initially dismisses the warning about the air because he believed the duplicate alarm circuits, operating independently, would surely have gone off if there were any danger.(iii) Jim was – B. startled by unexpected information.(iv) Passing the oxygen bottle around ‘like a pipe of peace’ suggests that, instead of panicking, the crew stayed calm and united; they shared the oxygen and faced the emergency together in a composed, cooperative way.

II. Answer the following questions.

ANSWER1. The purpose of the alarm was to warn the crew if anything went wrong with the air or other systems on the station. It failed because a rare eclipse by Earth’s shadow froze part of the air purifier, the single working alarm circuit did not go off, and the duplicate (second) circuit had not yet been connected.2. At first the crew is puzzled and amused by Claribel and keeps her hidden; soon she becomes a beloved general pet. When she faints they grow anxious and try hard to revive her, and finally they are deeply grateful, realising she has saved all their lives.3. The last part shows that unusual, simple methods of problem-solving can be more reliable than expensive technology. A little canary detected the bad air that half a million dollars’ worth of engineering missed, proving that human curiosity and nature’s sensitivity are valuable safeguards.4. The title ‘Feathered Friend’ is very appropriate because Claribel, a feathered creature (a bird), proves to be a true friend – her fainting warns the crew about the poisonous air and saves their lives, so she is both literally feathered and truly a friend.5. The line shows how fragile and uncertain life is in space: the crew were only minutes away from death without realising it, and survival depended on a chance warning from a bird. In space, a small, silent failure of equipment can turn fatal almost at once.6. The writer presents science fiction with humour through light touches – calling the tiny office a ‘cubbyhole’, describing Claribel’s “Come to the cookhouse, boys” trills, the men passing the oxygen bottle ‘like a pipe of peace’, Jim’s ‘sheepish’ return, and the wry remark that they would have been ‘slightly dead’ – all keeping the tone amusing despite the danger.7. (Sample) Sven would feel a deep mix of relief and pride. He would be thankful that Claribel survived the oxygen scare, and amazed that his pet – brought aboard out of mere curiosity – ended up saving the entire crew. The experience would make him value her even more and feel that his small act of bringing her along was wonderfully worthwhile.

Let us learn

I. Choose the appropriate adjectives from the box to match the words 1–8.

ANSWER1. narrow path   2. nagging worry   3. vague plan   4. sheepish look5. inexplicable reason   6. sluggish traffic   7. hushed voices   8. delighted expression(In the text: “a couple of narrow escapes”; “I had a nagging headache”; “vague memories of fitful… dreams”; “came back… with a sheepish expression”; “an inexplicable snatch of birdsong”; “My mind seemed to be very sluggish”; “We all waited in hushed silence”; “To our delighted surprise, she revived”.)

II. Combine the words in Column 1 with Column 2 to make merged words.

Column 1 + Column 2Merged wordMeaning
breakfast + lunch(i) brunchmeal eaten between breakfast and lunch hours
motor + hotel(ii) motela roadside hotel for motorists/travellers with cars
smoke + fog(iii) smogfog mixed with smoke and pollution
situation + comedy(iv) sitcoma comedy TV series based on everyday situations
video + log(v) vloga personal diary or blog kept in video form
spoon + fork(vi) sporkan eating utensil that is part spoon, part fork
web + seminar(vii) webinara seminar or talk conducted online over the internet

III. ‘will’ denotes which time?

ANSWERIn “It will mean that you’re being doubly safeguarded”, the word ‘will’ denotes future time.

IV. Fill in the blanks with the correct form (Simple Present, Present Progressive, ‘will’, or ‘going to’) to indicate future time.

ANSWER1. Our flight leaves at 10.00 a.m. tomorrow.2. They will finish the project by the end of this week.3. The weather forecast says it is going to rain later today.4. We are moving into our new house next month.5. I am starting my new hobby class next Monday.6. She is going to go to the mall this afternoon.7. The team is having a meeting at 3.00 p.m. tomorrow.8. I will help you with your homework after dinner.

V. Fill in the blanks with suitable forms of verbs to express future time reference.

ANSWERBy 2040, artificial intelligence 1. will revolutionise medical treatments. Researchers 2. are developing AI-powered diagnostic tools that 3. will transform healthcare by the end of this decade. Next week, the International Science Congress 4. opens to showcase advancements in AI and robotics. In the coming years, robots 5. will assist surgeons in performing complex operations. Years ago, experts had predicted that AI would reshape our world, and now, as we approach the future, this 6. is going to be our new reality.

Let us listen

(Listening activity – conversation between Monika and Toby, a stranded Martian. Answers depend on the audio/transcript; the responses below match the printed transcript.)

ANSWER – I (tick / cross)1. Toby misses his school. – ✓ (correct)2. Monika accepts Toby as her friend. – ✓ (correct)3. Monika asks Toby about one of his facial features. – ✓ (correct) (she asks about his eye)4. Toby tells Monika that she had a banana for breakfast. – ✗ (wrong)5. Toby shares that he can see much clearer with a closed eye. – ✓ (correct)
ANSWER – II (fill in the exact words)1. Toby: I miss my school and home.2. Toby: Well, we Martians don’t need to eat anything. We get our energy from the Sun.3. Monika: Oh! Don’t you ever feel like having ice-creams and chocolates!4. Monika: Okay, tell me one thing. How are you able to see only with one eye?5. Toby: I can see beyond mountains and valleys, woods and even oceans.(Exact words depend on your teacher’s transcript; fill in what you hear.)

Let us speak

I. Read the words aloud and circle the silent letters.

ANSWER (silent letters in bold)ballet (the ‘t’ is silent – ba-lay); alarm? – actually the ‘l’ is pronounced; whistle (silent ‘t’); psychologist (silent ‘p’).More words: receipt? – the ‘p’ is silent (receipt); debris (silent ‘b’); pneumonia (silent ‘p’); island (silent ‘s’)? – the ‘s’ is silent; wreck (silent ‘w’); aisle (silent ‘s’); almond (silent ‘l’); campaign (silent ‘g’); foreign (silent ‘g’); fasten (silent ‘t’).(Summary of silent letters: ballet–t, whistle–t, psychologist–p, receipt–p, debris–s, pneumonia–p, island–s, wreck–w, aisle–s, almond–l, campaign–g, foreign–g, fasten–t.)

II. The pair-work activity (asking for and giving suggestions about a solar-system model or a Chandrayaan-3 quiz) is a speaking-practice task. Use prompts such as “What should I do…?” / “How can I…?” to ask, and “I feel you should…” / “It is best to use…” to advise; practise in pairs.

Let us write

I. Complete the social-media web with uses of the internet, then write an article titled ‘The Importance of Internet’.

ANSWER – uses of the internet (web)Education and online learning • communication (email, video calls, social media) • information and research • entertainment (music, videos, games) • online shopping and banking • news and updates • work from home • navigation and maps.
SAMPLE ARTICLEThe Importance of Internet – by [Your Name]The internet has become one of the most powerful tools of the modern world, touching almost every part of our daily lives. From a child doing homework to a scientist sharing research, everyone depends on this vast network of connected computers.The internet is important for many reasons. It allows us to learn through online classes, videos and e-books, and to find information on any topic within seconds. It connects people across the world through email, video calls and social media, so families and friends never feel far apart. It supports online shopping, banking, ticket booking and work-from-home jobs, saving time and effort. It also entertains us with music, films and games, and keeps us updated with the latest news.Used wisely, the internet can open endless doors of knowledge and opportunity. As someone once said, “The internet is the world’s largest library – but we must choose what we read.” Let us use it responsibly to learn, connect and grow. (Write your own article in three paragraphs.)

Let us explore

ANSWERI & II. These are reading/research tasks. The phrase ‘a canary in the coal mine’ means an early warning of danger – just as canaries, being very sensitive to carbon monoxide, warned coal miners (including in places like Arunachal Pradesh) of poisonous gas. Read also how astronauts adapt routine tasks (writing with a special Space Pen, exercising with resistance equipment, eating preserved foods, and restraining themselves while sleeping) in the absence of gravity, and discuss with your class.III. Yes, this is true – many animals can sense natural calamities. Before the 2004 Indonesian tsunami, elephants fled to higher ground and flamingos left low nesting areas; oxen, dogs and geese gave alarm calls before the 1805 Naples quake; migratory birds dodge Pacific storms; and sharks and dolphins move to deeper or safer waters before hurricanes. Scientists explain that ultra-low-frequency electromagnetic waves, generated by stresses in deep rock before an earthquake, can be sensed by animals.IV. Salim Ali, the ‘Birdman of India’, was an Indian ornithologist (a person who studies birds), the first Indian to conduct systematic bird surveys across India and the author of several books on birds. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1958 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1976.V. This is a group craft activity – make a simple bird feeder from cardboard or chart paper to help conserve our feathered friends.

Extra questions

Short answer (30–40 words)

1. Who was Claribel and who brought her to the space station?

ANSWERClaribel was a small yellow canary. Sven Olsen, one of the best construction men on the station, secretly brought her up on the last ferry from Earth, partly out of scientific curiosity about how a bird would behave without weight.

2. Why was Sven able to qualify easily for the 150-pound bonus?

ANSWERSven was a wiry, thin little fellow like most early spacers. Because he was naturally light, he easily qualified for the 150-pound weight bonus that kept many crew members on a reducing diet.

3. How did the crew first try to revive Claribel?

ANSWERWhen Claribel was found limp, Jock Duncan checked for a heartbeat but heard none. Someone suggested oxygen, so she was tucked into a face mask used as an oxygen tent, and she revived at once.

4. What had actually gone wrong with the air on the station?

ANSWERA rare eclipse by Earth’s shadow had frozen part of the air purifier. The single working alarm failed to go off, and the second alarm circuit had not yet been connected, so the bad air went undetected by the machines.

5. Why does the narrator say a snatch of birdsong on a space station is nothing to fear?

ANSWERAn unexplained birdsong means a canary is being kept as a living air-monitor. As long as it sings, the air is safe; so the song actually shows that the visitors are being doubly safeguarded at almost no extra cost.

Long answer (100–120 words)

6. How does ‘Feathered Friend’ show that nature can succeed where advanced technology fails?

ANSWERThe story makes its point through a life-and-death emergency. The space station was protected by expensive, sophisticated equipment – air purifiers and alarm circuits worth half a million dollars. Yet when a rare eclipse froze part of the purifier, the single alarm failed and the back-up circuit was not connected, so the deadly drop in air quality went completely undetected by the machines. It was Claribel, a tiny canary highly sensitive to bad air, who collapsed and gave the warning – just as canaries once warned miners of gas. Thanks to a humble bird, the crew was saved. Clarke thus shows that nature’s sensitivity and simple, time-tested methods can sometimes outdo the most advanced human technology.

7. Describe Claribel and explain why she becomes so important to the crew.

ANSWERClaribel is a small yellow canary, light as a feather and needing very little food. Unlike most animals, she is untroubled by the absence of gravity; she hangs motionless in the air, folds her wings, and even performs a graceful backward loop no earthbound canary could manage. Lively and musical, she greets the crew with cheerful trills and quickly becomes a general pet whom everyone protects from visiting VIPs. Her importance grows enormously when she faints from the poisonous air, alerting the narrator to a failure the instruments had missed. By collapsing, she warns the crew in time and saves all their lives, becoming a true ‘feathered friend’ and a living safeguard.

MCQs & Assertion–Reason

1. Who is the author of ‘Feathered Friend’?

(a) Walter de la Mare   (b) Arthur C. Clarke   (c) Ruskin Bond   (d) Salim Ali

ANSWER(b) Arthur C. Clarke.

2. What kind of bird was Claribel?

(a) A parrot   (b) A pigeon   (c) A yellow canary   (d) A sparrow

ANSWER(c) A yellow canary.

3. Why did Sven bring Claribel to the space station?

(a) For an official experiment   (b) Out of personal/scientific curiosity   (c) To detect gas   (d) On the captain’s orders

ANSWER(b) Out of personal/scientific curiosity.

4. How did Claribel behave in the absence of gravity?

(a) She could not fly   (b) She fell ill at once   (c) She floated and did a backward loop   (d) She refused to eat

ANSWER(c) She floated and did a backward loop.

5. What made the air on the station turn bad?

(a) A meteor strike   (b) An eclipse froze part of the air purifier   (c) A fire   (d) Too many people

ANSWER(b) An eclipse froze part of the air purifier.

6. Who was Jock Duncan?

(a) The duty engineer   (b) The captain   (c) The cook-doctor-dietitian   (d) Claribel’s owner

ANSWER(c) The cook-doctor-dietitian.

7. How was Claribel first revived after she fainted?

(a) With water   (b) With food   (c) With a shot of oxygen in a face mask   (d) By warming her

ANSWER(c) With a shot of oxygen in a face mask.

8. What gave the narrator the clue about the bad air?

(a) A loud alarm   (b) The memory of miners carrying canaries to warn of gas   (c) A message from Earth   (d) A flashing light

ANSWER(b) The memory of miners carrying canaries to warn of gas.

9. Why did Jim first dismiss the warning about the air?

(a) He disliked Sven   (b) He trusted the duplicate alarm circuits   (c) He was asleep   (d) He was joking

ANSWER(b) He trusted the duplicate alarm circuits.

10. The phrase ‘we should soon have been slightly dead’ is an example of the author’s:

(a) anger   (b) humour/understatement   (c) sadness   (d) fear

ANSWER(b) humour/understatement.
MCQ Answer Key: 1-(b), 2-(c), 3-(b), 4-(c), 5-(b), 6-(c), 7-(c), 8-(b), 9-(b), 10-(b).

Assertion–Reason – choose: (a) A and R true, R explains A; (b) A and R true, R does not explain A; (c) A true, R false; (d) A false, R true.

1. Assertion (A): Claribel was not disturbed by the absence of gravity.

Reason (R): She weighed practically nothing and had tiny food requirements.

ANSWER(b) Both A and R are true, but R does not directly explain why she was comfortable in zero gravity (her light weight relates to the bonus and food, not to coping with weightlessness).

2. Assertion (A): Claribel’s fainting warned the crew that the air had gone bad.

Reason (R): Canaries are very sensitive to a lack of fresh air and react before humans do.

ANSWER(a) Both true, and R correctly explains A.

3. Assertion (A): The station’s alarm failed to warn the crew.

Reason (R): A rare eclipse froze part of the purifier, the single alarm did not go off, and the second circuit was not connected.

ANSWER(a) Both true, and R correctly explains A.

4. Assertion (A): Sven brought Claribel aboard for an official animal-behaviour experiment.

Reason (R): He smuggled her up secretly on the last ferry, partly out of his own curiosity.

ANSWER(d) A is false (it was not official; he smuggled her up privately), while R is true.

5. Assertion (A): The crew kept Claribel hidden when VIPs visited from Earth.

Reason (R): There was an official regulation forbidding pets on the space station.

ANSWER(c) A is true, but R is false – the narrator says there was never any regulation forbidding pets; they hid her only from visiting officials.

Exam tips & common mistakes

Exam tips

Always name the author Arthur C. Clarke and the bird Claribel correctly. Remember the chain of cause and effect: eclipse → air purifier froze → single alarm failed → second circuit not connected → bad air → Claribel fainted → crew warned. Link the title to the theme – a feathered creature proves a true friend. When asked about humour, quote phrases like ‘slightly dead’, ‘cubbyhole’ and ‘pipe of peace’.

Common mistakes to avoid

Do not write that Sven brought Claribel for an official experiment – he brought her privately, out of curiosity. Do not say the alarms were perfect; the failure was caused by the eclipse plus the unconnected second circuit. Do not confuse the canary with a parrot, and do not forget that miners (not sailors) used canaries to detect gas. Avoid spelling errors in ‘canary’, ‘Claribel’ and ‘dietitian’.

FAQs

Who wrote ‘Feathered Friend’ and what type of story is it?

It was written by Arthur C. Clarke and is a science-fiction story set on a space station in zero gravity.

Why is Claribel called a ‘feathered friend’?

Because she is a bird (feathered) who proves to be a true friend – by fainting she warns the crew that the air has turned bad and saves all their lives.

How did a canary end up saving the crew?

Canaries are extremely sensitive to a lack of fresh air. When the air purifier froze and the alarms failed, Claribel collapsed first, which made the narrator realise the air was dangerous – just as miners once used canaries to detect gas.

Questions are taken verbatim from the NCERT Poorvi textbook; summaries and answers are written originally by ClearStudy.

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