This is a very common exam question from the Class 9 English story 'The Fun They Had' by Isaac Asimov.
Story: The Fun They Had by Isaac Asimov.
Diary Entry: 'Today Tommy found a real book!' — 17 May, 2157.
Setting: A future where mechanical teachers have replaced human teachers.
Theme: The value of human connection and traditional education.
The story opens with this exact line:
"Today Tommy found a real book!"
Margie wrote this in her diary on 17 May, 2157. The year is set far in the future, where real paper books no longer exist and all learning is done through mechanical computer teachers. So finding an actual printed book was a remarkable event for the children.
In the futuristic world of the story, children learn at home using a mechanical teacher — a giant screen with a slot to submit homework. When Margie's mechanical teacher broke down, an inspector came to fix it.
While waiting, Tommy found an old, yellowed paper book from his grandfather's attic. Reading it, the children learn about old schools where children sat together in a building, had a human teacher, and went home together.
Margie thinks deeply about how much fun those old schools must have been — learning together, playing in the schoolyard — and wishes she could have experienced them.
Margie wrote: 'Today Tommy found a real book!' in her diary on 17 May, 2157. This diary entry begins the story 'The Fun They Had' by Isaac Asimov.
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