Summary & Question-answers of The Chapter : 10- The Banyan Tree with the concerned video

Summary of The Banyan Tree

Part I

A boy who came to live with his grandparents became the owner of a large old banyan tree that housed squirrels, snails and butterflies. A squirrel became his friend on the tree. They became so friendly that the squirrel started taking tit bits of food from his hand. In spring, the tree was the noisiest place in the garden with a variety of birds chirruping on it.  The boy made a rough platform on which he used to sit and read adventurous books during hot summers. From here, he also watched the world under the tree. One day he watched a fight between a mongoose and a cobra while sitting on the tree.

 Part II

Because of the hot summer  everyone was indoors. The boy was thinking of going to the pond and have a swim with the buffaloes and Ramu. Suddenly,  a huge black cobra and a mongoose came out. The cobra was aware of the superb fighting skills of the mongoose. However, the cobra was no less. He was also fast and had sharp fangs of deadly poison. None of them knew that the boy was watching them. Other than the boy, two other spectators, a myna and a crow were also watching them from the clump of cactus. The mongoose opened the attack. The crow and the myna also joined them in the fight and attacked at each other in the air but returned safely to the cactus twice. The third time, the myna returned safely but the crow was hit  by the cobra. The injured crow fell on the ground. The fight between the mongoose and the snake was still continued. Finally,  the mongoose defeated the snake. The snake resigned and stopped struggling. The mongoose dragged and pushed it  inside the bushes. The myna was watching all this. It gave a congratulatory shrill and flew away.

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Question A:

A. Complete the following sentences.

1. The old banyan tree “did not belong” to grandfather, but only to the boy, because

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

2. The small gray squirrel became friendly when

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

3. When the boy started to bring him pieces of cake and biscuit, the squirrel

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

4. In the spring, the banyan tree _________________________________, and

___________________________________ would come there.

5. The banyan tree served the boy as a _____________________________

__________________________________________________________________

6. The young boy spent his afternoons in the tree

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

ANSWER:

1. The old banyan tree “did not belong” to grandfather, but only to the boy, because the grandfather at sixty-five could no longer climb it.

2. The small grey squirrel became friendly when he found that the boy did not arm himself with catapult or air-gun.

3. When the boy started to bring him pieces of cake and biscuit, the squirrel grew quite bold and was soon taking morsels from the author’s hand.

4. In the spring, the banyan tree was full of small red figs, and birds of all kind would come there.

5. The banyan tree served the boy as a library.

6. The young boy spent his afternoons in the tree when it was not too hot.

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Question B:

1. “It was to be a battle of champions.” (8)

(i) What qualities did the two champions have? Pick out words and phrases from the paragraph above this line in the text and write them down.

Mongoose

Cobra

(a) ___________

(a) ___________

(b) ___________

(b) ___________

(c) ___________

(c) ___________

(ii) What did the cobra and the mongoose do, to show their readiness for the fight?

2. Who were the other two spectators? What did they do? (Did they watch, or did they join in the fight?) (10)

3. Read the descriptions below of what the snake did and what the mongoose did. Arrange their actions in the proper order. (11, 16)(i)

Ceased to struggle

 

Grabbed the snake by the snout

(ii)

Tried to mesmerise the mongoose

 

Dragged the snake into the bushes

(iii)

Coiled itself around the mongoose

 

Darted away and bit the cobra on the back

(iv)

Struck the crow

 

Pretended to attack the cobra on one side

(v)

Struck again and missed

 

Refused to look into the snake’s eyes

(v)

Struck on the side that the mongoose pretended to attack

 

Sprang aside, jumped in and bit

4. (i) What happened to the crow in the end? (16)

(ii) What did the myna do finally? (17)

ANSWER:

1.

(i)

Mongoose

Cobra

(a) superb fighter

(a) skilful

(b) clever

(b) experienced

(c) aggressive

(c) swift

(ii) To show its readiness for the fight, the cobra hissed defiance, its forked tongue darting in and out. It raised three of its six feet off the ground, and spread its broad, spectacled hood. The bushing of its tail and the standing up of the long hair on its spine showed that the mongoose was also ready for the fight.

2. The other two spectators were a crow and a myna. They settled on a cactus to watch the outcome. But they did not just watch. They tried to join the fight by hurling themselves at the cobra.

3.

Snake

Mongoose

(ii) Tried to mesmerise the mongoose

Refused to look into the snake’s eyes

(vi) Struck on the side that the mongoose pretended to attack

Pretended to attack the cobra on one side

(v) Struck again and missed

Sprang aside jumped in and bit

(iv) Struck the crow

Darted away and bit the cobra on the back

(iii) Coiled itself around the mongoose

Grabbed the snake by the snout

(i) Ceased to struggle

Dragged the snake into the bushes

4.

(i) In the end, the crow was flung nearly twenty feet across the garden by a blow from the cobra’s snout. The crow fluttered about for a while and then lay still.

(ii) Finally, the myna dropped cautiously to the ground, hopped about, peered into the bushes from a safe distance, and then, with a shrill cry of congratulation, flew away.

Summary & Question-answers of The Chapter : 9-What Happened to the Reptiles with the concerned video

What happened to the Reptiles Summary

This lesson is a story of religious harmony depicted through reptiles who lived in the village of Pambupatti and retold by an old man to a boy named Prem who suffered religious riots in his village and while running to save his life reached Pambupatti. Prem, the narrator of the story was so scared of the riot incident that he was not willing to go back to the place. An old man shared the story of Pambupatti to change his mind.Pambupatti was the land ruled and lived by reptiles alone. Makara was the crocodile who ruled the forest. He was the most powerful amongst all and was the biggest in size. One day, Makara held a meeting of the reptiles, misusing his power told the tortoises to leave the forest as they were stupid and slow.After a few months, he repeated the order for snakes to leave the forest. Gradually, he told every animal to leave the forest except crocodiles. No one could ever dare to go against his orders and question him. After some time all the animals left. Consequently, very weird things started happening in the forest. The forest was full of foul smell and the rats and insects started coming out. Seeing the plight of the jungle, other crocodiles made a decision to call back all the animals of the forest .All the animals came back and the forest was back to normal again.Hearing this , Prem changed his mind and thought of going back to his village and sharing all this with his people to help them have a better perspective of living together in harmony and to understand the unique role of each person in the society.

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Question 1:

In what way is Pambupatti different from any other village?

Answer:

Pambupatti was different from other villages because many kinds of people lived there—dark, fair, tall, short. They spoke many languages. Some ate meat, some did not. Some prayed in a small temple at the edge of the forest. Others prayed in a mosque some miles away.

Question 2:

Why is Prem determined not to return to his village?

Answer:

Prem was determined never to return to his village because he burned with shame at the hate and violence in his village.

Question 3:

Why did Makara dislike tortoises, snakes and lizards? Write a line about each.

Answer:

Makara disliked tortoises because he thought they were slow and stupid, and they carried their houses on their backs. He disliked snakes because according to him they were slimy and made funny noises. The reason he disliked lizards was because they had the strangest habits and some of them even changed colours.

Question 4:

What went wrong when the tortoises, snakes and lizards left the forest?

Answer:

When the tortoises, snakes and lizards left the forest, everything went wrong. Awful things began to happen. The dead bodies of animals started rotting, and the smell of rot spread all over the forest. The rats grew bolder by the day. The frogs grew bigger and started eating the baby crocodiles. The insects were there in millions, and they were growing bigger and nastier by the day.

Question 5:

Why do you think Prem wants to tell the story of the reptiles to the people of his village?

Answer:

Prem wanted to tell the story of the reptiles to the people of his village so that they would realize their mistake. He wanted them to stop hating each other and put an end to the violence.

Summary & Question-answers of The Poem : 9- Whatif with the concerned video

What if Summary In English

There are times when fears and doubts fill our minds and we begin to think whatif something unpleasant happens. The poet has written this poem about it.

“Last night I lay in bed thinking. I wondered what would happen if I am dumb in school ? Whatif they don’t let me enter the swimming pool and beat me ? May be, someone puts poison in my cup. Who knows I might start crying, get sick and die. ? Am I going to fail the test ?

There can be other mishappenings. I may grow green hair on my chest and am disliked by all. I may be a victim of lightning. I may not grow taller and in stead begin to grow smaller. The wind may tear my kite.

There may be a war; my parents might get divorced. All such ideas go on increasing in number and I remain disturbed.”What If 

1. (i) Who is the speaker in the poem?

Ans: The speaker in the poem is child.

(ii) With your partner list out the happenings the speaker is worried about.

Ans: The speaker is worried if he was dumb in school, if they had closed the swimming pool, if he got beaten up, if there was poison in his cup, if he started to cry, if he got sick and died, if he flunked that test, if green hair grew on his chest, if nobody liked him, if a bolt of lightning struck him, if he did not grow taller, if his head started getting smaller, if the fish would not bite, if the wind tore up his kite, if they started a war, if his parents got divorced, if the bus was late, if his teeth did not grow in straight, if he tore his pants, if he never learnt to dance.

(iii) Why do you think she/he has these worries? Can you think of ways to get rid of such worries?

Ans: She/he has these worries because in the night she/he is free therefore, these fearful thoughts started coming in his mind. To get rid of such worries she/he should involve their mind in creative work.

Summary & Question-answers of The Chapter : 9- Desert Animals with the concerned video

Desert Animals Summary In English

Although deserts are the driest places on earth, there are certain animals that survive in the desert. They use different methods to cope with the harsh climate. Gebrils spend the hottest part of the day in cool underground burrows. Darkling beetles catch drops of moisture on their legs. Then they lift the legs in the air until the drops of water trickle down into their mouths. Camels get water from desert plants.Some snakes also live in desert. In the rocky deserts of America is found the frightening rattler which can strike with a lightning speed. It avoids people if it possibly can but when threatened it coils ready to bite. Rattlers feed on a variety of prey including mice. Snakes do not eat more than once a week but some snakes such as pythons can survive for a year or more without eating. The other animal found in deserts are mongooses that like to hunt together. They have to be careful of dangerous predators. Their food is beetles and other small creatures. They warn each other with a special alarm call of they see anything suspicious. All the female mongooses have their kittens at about the same time. They are raised by the whole group in a den. Mongooses are famous snake-killers. Their reactions are so fast that they can dodge each time the snake strikes. In the end the snake gets tired. Then, the mongoose quickly dives in for a kill. Another animal that lives in the desert is the camel. They were tamed by man long long ago, Camels get the water they need from desert plants. They can survive without drinking water up to ten months. A thirsty camel can drink as much as thirty gallons of water in just ten minutes. Camels are of two kinds dromedary and bacteria. Dromedary camel has one hump while bacteria camel has two. These humps are full of fat which helps them to survive for many days without food and water.Answer the following questions

(i) How do desert animals survive without water?

A.They adopt varied ways to survive without water like Gerbils move to underground burrows, darkling beetles drag drops of moisture on their legs to their mouths and camels have fat in humps to live without water.

(ii) How do mongooses kill snakes?

A. They kill snakes by annoying them continuously with their attacks and making them

tired with their quick reactions.

(iii) How does the hump of the camels help them to survive when there is no water?

A.Camels eat the fat stored in hump to survive without water.