From the “Warming Up!” page

1) What do you see in the picture?
Ans: I see a girl in a flood or river carrying a puppy on her head.

2) What do you think the girl is trying to do? Why?
Ans: The girl is trying to save the puppy from drowning. She wants to ensure both her and the puppy remains safe from the rising water.

3) If you were in the place of that girl, what would you do?
Ans: I would do the same thing and try to save the puppy from drowning.

4) Do you think she will become successful in her mission?
Ans: Yes, I think she will become successful in her mission.

Match the appropriate headings with the images.

Answers:

1) Our luxurious Bungalows – C
2) My favourite passtime – A
3) What a commotion! – D
4) Engrossed in my book – B

From the main chapter pages:

1) What was the profession of the writer’s father?
Ans: The writer’s father was a medical professional.

2) Describe the campus where the writer’s family lived.
Ans: The campus where the writer’s family lived, housed individual bungalows. The writer’s house was in the corner of the campus with the officer’s club adjacent to their garden boundary wall. The campus had tall and majestic trees with luxurious green grass and colourful flowers.

3) How did the family relax after lunch?
Ans: The family relaxed after lunch by laying down for an afternoon nap.

4) What wicked custom is practised by animal who live in groups?
Ans: The wicked custom practised by animal who live in groups is that the dominant male usually does not allow another male baby or adult to survive within its group.

5) What attempts helped the baby langur to revive?
Ans: The baby langur revived after he was provided first aid to clean his wounds and stop the bleeding. Splashes of cold water made the baby stir and sit up. He was also provided with a banana for food.

6) When did baby langur finally find comfort?
Ans: The baby langur finally found comfort when his mother cuddled him tightly in her bosom.

7) What truth about animal-human relationship did this incident reveal to the narrator?
Ans: The incident revealed to the narrator that interspecies communication and mutual trust is indeed a reality and should anyone strike the right chord, the relationship hums into action.

8) What did the mother seem to convey to the narrator?
Ans: The mother conveyed her gratitude to the narrator for saving her child.



English Workshop Questions and Answers

1) State whether you agree or disagree with the following statements. Justify your choice with proper reasons.

a) The compound where the writer was living, rich in nature’s bounty.
Ans: I agree with this statement as the compound where the writer was living was luxurious with green grass, colourful flowers and a host of tall and majestic trees.

b) Holidays provide us an opportunity to read various magazines and storybooks.
Ans: I agree with this statement as during the holidays, we do not have to worry about school, studies or any homework. This gives us time to read various magazines and storybooks as per our interests.

c) The narrator made a mistake by saving the baby langur.
Ans: I do not agree with this statement. If the narrator did not save the baby langur, then the male adult langur would have surely killed the baby as is the custom in some animals where the dominant male usually does not allow another male baby or adult to survive within its group.

d) Animals cannot convey emotions.
Ans: I do not agree with this statement. Even though animals may not be able to speak our language, they can convey their emotions through gestures, eye contact and overall behaviour around us.

e) The narrator was fifty-five years old when this incident occurred.
Ans: I do not agree with this statement. The incident happened fifty-five years ago when the narrator was fifteen years old.

2) Match the phrases given in Group ‘A’ with their meanings in Group ‘B’.

Direct answers given below:

a) to be part and parcel of – vi) to be an essential or integral part.
b) to be engrossed in – v) to be completely occupied in.
c) to take notice of – i) to observe and give attention.
d) to figure out – ii) to be able to solve a problem.
e) to ponder over – iv) to think about seriously.
f) to be overwhelmed by – vii) to be affected emotionally in a powerful way.
g) in a flash – viii) very quickly.
h) to find a solace – iii) to find comfort and peace.

3) Write in your own words.

a) Why did the narrator ignore the barking of dogs?

Ans: The narrator ignored the barking of dogs because:

i) He was engrossed in his book.
ii) Initially he thought the dogs were after a hapless pig.

b) Why did mother-langur make no effort to grab her baby from the coop?

Ans: The mother-langur made no effort to grab her baby from the coop because:

i) She was convinced no harm was being done to her baby.
ii) She also realized the narrator was caring for her baby by providing first-aid and food.

4) Read the text carefully and arrange the occurrence of happenings in the text in a sequential order.

Corrected order given below:

6 – I was engrossed in various magazines and story books.
5 – I became deeply absorbed in the book.
3 – I heard the disturbance approaching closer.
10 – I saw something horrible.
4 – I recalled the terrible custom in the animal clan.
9 – I gathered a stout stick and then started throwing stones.
12 – I managed to catch hold of the baby langur’s tail.
1 – I took the baby langur to the backyard.
7 – I offered him a peeled banana.
13 – I allowed the mother, access to her baby.
2 – I cannot forget the look in her eyes.
11 – I was showed that food was not the only means of communication.
8 – I still fondly remember that encounter.

5) Discuss the following and write about it in your own words in 5-6 lines.

a) What would you do, if you found an injured bird while returning from your school?

Ans: If I found an injured bird while returning from school, first I would pick the bird up and get it to my home. I would then try to provide first-aid on the bird’s injured parts and check if it can move its parts properly. I would also try to feed the bird some food and provide water. If the bird is still not able to move properly, I would ask my parents to take us to a vet so that the bird could get proper medical attention.

b) What opinion do you form about the narrator, from the story?

Ans: I feel the narrator was a kind and caring person. He could have easily ignored the barking of the dogs and continued with reading his book. However, when he found out about the baby langur being mercilessly attacked by the adult male langur, he ensured he helped the baby survive and scare the bad langur away. He also took the baby langur to his backyard and provided first-aid and food till the baby felt better and was able to go to his mother. All this showed the kind and caring nature of the narrator.

6) Complete the following and write a paragraph on each of the given activities.

a) Mother-Child –> Relationship

  • Love and affection.
  • Bonding and caring
  • Protection
  • Warmth
  • Supportive

Mother-child relationship is one of the most special relationships in the world. The love and affection between a mother and her child is incomparable to any other relationship. No one can care for their children like a mother and this forms an unique bond between the mother and child. Children also continuously look for protection as well as support from their mother as they grow and well into their adult life as well. The warmth of the mother and child relationship is truly something to celebrate.

b) Injured Animal –> How will you help? 

  • Provide first-aid.
  • Clean the wound.
  • Provide water/food.
  • Provide shelter.
  • Take to vet.

When an animal is injured, we must do our best to care for them. Firstly we need to ensure they are given first-aid as soon as possible. The injured part or wound needs to be cleaned before applying any kind of medicine. We also need to provide both food and water so that the animal does not become too weak and is able to get better soon. If possible, we must provide shelter to the animal till it is able to move around on its own. If the injury is severe, we should take the animal to a vet so that they can get professional medical assistance.

7) Work in pairs and make as many words as you can, using letters in the word ‘ENCOUNTER’.

Three letter words:

  • Ten
  • Run
  • Nut
  • Con
  • Ton
  • Net
  • One
  • Nor
  • Cot
  • Not

Four letter words:

  • Torn
  • Noun
  • Tour
  • Corn
  • Cent
  • Tree
  • Tone
  • Tune
  • True
  • Teen

Five/Six letter words:

  • Enter
  • Count
  • Center
  • Court
  • Route

8) Translate the following proverbs in English.

Direct answers provided below:

i) Social service is true service to God.
ii) Reap as you sow.

9) Write a paragraph and given an appropriate title to it. Use the following points.

  • Birds and Animals
  • Loyal
  • Serve Us
  • Kindness, honest and compassion
  • Love and Affection
  • Our Best Friends
  • Protection and Security
  • Do not hurt or destroy us
  • Loneliness avoided

Title: Our Relationship With Our Animal Friends

The relationship between humans and the animal kingdom including birds is a special relationship. Although birds and animals may not be able to communicate in words, they can do so using gestures and eye contact. Unlike what many people believe, animals do not hurt or try to destroy us just like that. In fact they are usually extremely loyal and have love and affection for us in their hearts. Some animals can be our best friends by being there for us, provide protection and security and help us avoid loneliness by always being around. In fact animals serve us in several ways in which we do not even come to know in our daily lives. We owe it to our animal friends to have a relation with them that is full of kindness, honesty and compassion.

10) A) Complete the remaining blocks determining the types of news.

Types of News:

  • Business
  • Finance
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Politics
  • National and International news

10) B) News Reports

For all news reports in the chapter ‘An Encounter of a Special Kind’, please click here.



Language Study

1. Present Participle: The form of a verb, ending in ‘ing’, which is used in forming continuous tenses. For example, He is sitting here.
Now, find out the ‘ing’ forms from the story and classify them into the following table.

Present Participle

  • Twinkling eyes
  • Dogs barking
  • Marauding langur
  • Sloping roof
  • Uncanny feeling
  • Caring arms

Use in the Continuous Tense

  • Started trembling
  • Barking became louder
  • What was going on
  • Mercilessly biting it all over
  • Nearby watching the baby
  • Started throwing more stones

2. Spot the error and correct the following sentences.

Direct answers given below:

a) My grandparents lay down for an afternoon nap.
b) A stranger was knocking at our door.
c) My sister and I share a study room.
d) One of my friends is leaving school.
e) A flock of birds was flying overhead.

3. Rewrite the sentences as per instructions given alongwith.

a) I took the baby langur to our backyard. – Rewrite the sentence in the Past Perfect Tense.
Ans: I had taken the baby langur to our backyard.

b) She simply sat there quietly. – Rewrite the sentence in the Present Continuous Tense.
Ans: She is simply sitting there quietly.

c) The mother langur looked straight into my eyes. – Rewrite the sentence in the Simple Present Tense.
Ans: The mother langur looks straight into my eyes.

d) She surveyed the area for the vicious male langur. – Rewrite the sentence in the Simple Future Tense.
Ans: She will survey the area for the vicious male langur.