7th class-cbse english (An alien hand) Chapter-8 (The bear Story) (Axel Munthe)


Answer following questions in short.

Q1) Where did the lady find the bear cub? How did she bring it up?
Ans1) The lady found the bear cub in the forest. It was very small and at the verge of death due to hunger. It was brought up on milk by the lady and her cook.

Q2) What did the bear eat? There were two things he was not allowed to do. What were they?
Ans2) The bear ate bread, porridge, potatoes, cabbages and turnips. But he liked fruits the most. He was not allowed to touch or disturb the beehives. He was also not allowed to climb up the apple tree to eat apples.

Q3) When was the bear tied up with a chain? Why?
Ans3) When the bear created trouble with the beehives, he was tied up with a chain as a punishment. Apart from this, he was only kept on chain during the night and on Sundays.

Q4) What happened one Sunday when the lady was going to her sister’s house ? What did the lady do? What was the bear’s reaction?
Ans4) One Sunday when the lady was going to her sister’s house, a bear came up to her from behind. She thought that it was her bear. She scolded him for disobeying her. She saw that he had no collar on his neck; she became furious and hit him on the nose. The bear was very surprised. He shook his head and opened his big mouth several times as if he wanted to say something. Then he turned around and went away.

Q5) Why was the bear looking sorry for himself in the evening? Why did the cook get angry with her mistress?
Ans5) The bear had been chained for the whole Sunday afternoon and was lonely without his mistress. So, he was looking sorry for himself. The cook got angry with her mistress because she was scolding the bear for no fault. He had behaved very well the whole in her absence.

7th class-cbse english (An alien hand) Chapter-7 (Chandni) (Zakir Husain)


Answer following questions in short.

Q1) Why did Abbu Khan’s goats want to run away? What happened to them in the hills?
Ans1) Abbu Khan’s goats always wanted to live on the grassy hills slopes. They loved their freedom. They were of the best mountain breed. They did not like to be tied to some tree or pole in Abbu khan’s compound. So they wanted to run away.

Q2) Abbu khan said, “No more goats in my house ever again.” Then he changed his mind. Why?
Ans2) Abbu khan loved his pets and could not live without them. Moreover he was very old and lonely. So he changed his mind and bought a young goat.

Q3) Why did he buy a young goat?
Ans3) Abbu khan thought that a young goat would stay with him much longer. She would love him as well as the food that he would give her. She would never leave him.

Q4) Why did chadani hate the rope around her neck?
Ans4) Chadani hate the rope around her neck because it stopped her from running to the hills. She desperately wanted to go to the hills.

Q5) “Now Abbu Khan understood Chadani’s problem …’ What was chadani’s problem ?
Ans5) Chadani’s problem was that she was a mountain goat and she loved her freedom. She wanted to go to the hills. She hated to live with the rope around her neck. So she stopped eating and became moody.

Q6) Why did Chandani refuse to join the group of wild goats?
Ans6) Chandani refused to join the group of wild goats because she wanted to enjoy her newly got freedom alone.

Q7) Why did the wise old bird say, “Chandni is the winner”?
Ans7)   The wise old bird said that Chandni was the winner because though she was small and weak compared to the wolf, she put up really a brave fight. She did not try to run away but stood firmly to fight. She struggled all though the night but was killed in the morning. She chose death in an open field over life in a closed hut.

7th class-cbse english (An alien hand) Chapter-6 (I want something in cage) (L. E. Greeve)


Answer following questions in short.

Q1) Why is Mr Purcell compared to an owl?
Ans1) Mr. Purcell was a short man with big tummy, red cheeks, a tight, melon stomach and magnified eyes and he sat on the top of a high stool which gave him the look of an owl.

Q2) Do you think the atmosphere of Mr Purcell’s shop was cheerful or depressing? Give reasons for your answer?
Ans2) The atmosphere of Mr. Purcell’s shop was depressing. There were continuous cries of frightened birds and animals. They tried to move endlessly in restricted cages. It gave the shop a depressing atmosphere.

Q3) Describe the stranger who come to the pet shop. What did he want?
Ans3) The stranger’s look was peculiar. He was wearing a loose suit and shiny shoes. He had a shuttling glance and his hair was cut very short. He appeared to be a poor man. He wanted something in a cage.

Q4) The man insisted on buying the doves because he was fond of birds. Do you agree?
Ans4) I think the stranger was not fond of birds. He had sympathy for the birds. They had wings but even then they could not fly. They were caged against their wishes. The stranger himself had been in jail for ten years.

Q5) How had he earned the five dollars he had?
Ans5) He recieved those five dollars on being released from jail after ten years of imprisonment.

Q6) Was the customer interested in the care and feeding of the doves he had bought? If not, why not?
Ans6) The stranger was not interested in the care and feeding of the doves because he had bought doves to set them free.

Q7) Why did it make Mr. Purcell feel insulted?
Ans8 The man bought the doves from Purcell’s shop for five dollars and then went outside and set the birds free. It was Mr. Purcell who had kept these birds in cage and sold them. So he felt insulted. 

7th class-cbse english (An alien hand) Chapter-5 (Golu Grows a Nose) (Rudyard Kipling)


Answer following questions in short.

Q1) Whom does Golu ask, “why don’t you ever fly like other birds”?
Ans1) Golu asked this question to the ostrich.

Q2) Which uncle of Golu had red eyes?
Ans2)The hippopotamus, Golu’s huge uncle, had red eyes.

Q3) Golu’s relatives did not answer his questions because.
Ans3) Golu’s relatives did not answer because the questions were too difficult.

Q4) Who advised Golu to go the Limpopo river?
Ans4) The mynah bird advised Golu to go the Limpopo river.

Q5) Why did Golu go to the river?
Ans5) Golu went to the river to know what the crocodile had for his dinner.

Q6) The crocodile lay on the bank of the Limpopo river. Golu thought it was?
Ans6) Golu thought it was a log of wood.

Q7) What did the crocodile do to show that it was a real crocodile?
Ans7) To show that it was a real crocodile,he shed crocodile tears

Q8) Who helped Golu on the bank of the river?
Ans8) The python helped Golu on the bank of the river.

Q9) What did Golu take with him when he went to the Limpopo river?
Ans9) When he went to the Limpopo river he took with him a hundred sugarcanes, fifty dozens bananas and twenty –five melons.

Q10) How did Golu’s nose become long?
Ans10)  A crocodile that lived in the Limpopo river caught Golu’s nose and tried to pull him in river. Golu and the python pulled to free Golu’s nose in opposite direction. In this process Golu’s nose became long.

Q11) What according to the python, were the three things that Golu could not have done with his small nose?
Ans11) Golu could not have plucked, dusted and stuffed the bundle of grass in his mouth with his small nose. He couldn’t have killed the fly, biting on his shoulder with his small nose.

7th class -cbse english(An alien hand) Chapter-4 (The cop and the Anthem) (O. Henry)


Answer following questions in short.

Q1) What are some of the signs of approaching winter?
Ans1) Some of the signs of the approaching winter are - birds start flying to south, people need warm new coats and dead leaves fall.

Q2) What was Soapy’s first plan? Why did it not work?
Ans2) Soapy’s first plan was to enter in some fine restaurant and have dinner there. As he had no money, they would hand him over to a cop. And the judge would sentence him for three months in the prison on Blackwell’s Island.This plan could not work because as soon as Soapy stepped inside a fine restaurant, the head waiter saw his shabby clothing and immediately pushed him out.

Q3)   “But the cop‘s mind would not consider Soapy”. What did the cop not consider, and why?
Ans3) The cop did not consider Soapy as the culprit who threw a stone on the glass window of the shop. Because he thought that if this man had thrown the stone, he would not stop there to talk to cops.

Q4) “we have orders to let them shout.” What is the policeman referring to?
Ans4) The college students were allowed to shout outside the theatre. When Soapy shouted pretending to be drunkard; the policemen thought that he was also one of those harmless college students. So he said to another man standing beside him “we have orders to let them shout.”

Q5) “There was a sudden and wonderful change in his soul.” What brought about that change in Soapy?
Ans5) Soapy saw his old childhood home when returning to Madison Square. The soft light was shining from his living room windows. The sweet music reminded him of his childhood days when he led a happy and honest life with his mother and friends. Suddenly he realized that his present life was worthless and hopeless. So he decided to change his life.


Q6 ) Where did Soapy live? Where did he want to go during the winter?
Ans6) Soapy lived  on a seat in a park at Madison Square. During the winter he wanted to go to the prison at Blackwell’s Island.

Q7) What did Soapy wanted?
Ans7) Winter was approaching and he did not have a place to live. Soapy wanted food everyday; a bed every night; protection from the cold north winds and safety from cops for three months.

7th class-cbse english (An alien hand) Chapter-3 (The desert)


Answer following questions in short.

Q1) A camel can do without water for days together. How?
Ans1) Camels sweat very little; therefore they can do without water for days together. We need sweat to cool our body. Camels can tolerate a high body temperature so they don’t need to sweat. So, they can retain the water for a long period of time.

Q2) How do smaller desert animals fulfill their need for water?
Ans2) The smaller desert animals either get the water they need from plant juices or they eat other animals and get the water from their body.

Q3) In a desert the temperature rises during the day and falls rapidly at night. Why?
Ans3) The air in desert lands is extremely dry. The moistures in the air acts as a cover to protect the lands from the hot rays of the sun. In desert lands , this protective covering is absent. Therefore, the land get heats up quickly during the day due to the sun’s rays and cools down rapidly at night.

Q4) What is an Oasis?
Ans4) A green patch of land in the middle of a desert where a spring or well is surrounded by trees and plants is called an Oasis.

Q5) What are sand dunes?
Ans5) Sand dunes are heaps of sand with special shapes. They keep shifting their position across the desert by the strong winds.

Q6) What is the popular belief about deserts? What is the truth?
Ans6) The popular belief is that deserts are an endless stretch of sand without rain falls and vegetation. The truth is that the deserts have a different kind of vegetation. The plants and animals there have learned to survive in hot and dry condition.

7th class-cbse english (An alien hand) Chapter-2 (Bringing up kari) (Dhan Gopal Mukerji)


Answer following questions in short.


Q1) How did Kari enjoy his morning bath in the river?
Ans1) Kari lay for a long time in the river and on the sand and let the author rub his back. Also, he squealed with pleasure when his friend rubbed water down his back.

Q2) Finding good twigs for Kari took a long time. Why?
Ans2) Kari liked to eat only the most delicate and tender twigs. So his friend had to climb all kinds of trees to get twigs and saplings for him. Also, Kari did not touch twigs that got mudded.  Hence, collecting good twigs for Kari took a long time.

Q3 Why did Kari push his friend into the stream?
Ans3) A boy was drowning in the river. Kari himself could not pull the boy from the river bed, so he pushed his friend into the stream.

Q4) How did the author compare the Kari with a baby?
Ans4) The author compares Kari with a baby because Kari needed training to be good just like a baby. If he was naughty, author had to scold him. He understood words like children do. He had to be taught to sit down, walk, when to walk fast and when slow. Moreover, his call was more like that of a baby than an elephant.

Q5) How did Kari helped him to all the bananas in the house without any one noticing it?
Ans5) Kari stole the bananas from the table in the dining room. He put his trunk through the window and disappeared with the bananas without any one noticing it.

Q6) What were the instructions for commands sit and walk?
Ans6) His friend pulled Kari by his ear and said ‘Dhai’ to make him sit and he pulled his trunk forward and said ‘Mali’ to make him walk,.

Q7) What is “the master call”? Why is it the most important signal for an elephant to learn?
Ans7) The master call is a strange hissing, howling sound, as if a snake and a tiger were fighting each other. It is the most important signal for an elephant because whenever master is in trouble, one master call will bring the elephant near him.

Q8) Elephants are proud animals. How do we know it from the story?
Ans8) Kari stole bananas from the dining room. Whet he was caught and scolded, he realized his mistake. His pride was so hurt that he never repeated this mistake again. Elephants are proud animals and they accept their mistakes and punishment for it.

Q9) Why is it important to teach an elephant to sit down?
Ans9) Elephants grow taller than their masters. Keeper can reached his back only with the help of a ladder. As it is not possible to always carry about a ladder, an elephant must be taught to sit down.

7th class-cbse english (An alien hand) Chapter-1 (The tiny teacher)


Answer following questions in short.

Q1) In what ways is an ant’s life peaceful?
Ans1) Ant’s live together in peace and harmony. They do their own work and do not interface in the other’s work.  They never fight with other ants of the same group. So their life is peaceful.

Q2) How long does it take for a grub to become a complete ant?
Ans2) It takes five to six weeks for a grub to become a complete ant.

Q3) Why do the worker ants carry the grubs about?
Ans3) Worker ants carry the grubs about for daily exercise and sunshine.

Q4) What different jobs are learnt by new ants?
Ans4) The new ants learn the duties of workers, cleaners, soldiers, and builders from old ants.

Q5) Name some other creatures that live in ant hills?
As5) The greenfly, beetles, lesser breeds of ants, etc . …… some of the creatures who live in anthills.

Q6)   Mention three things we can learn from the “tiny teacher”.
Ans6) We can learn - hard work, sense of duty and loyalty from this tiny teacher.

Q7) How is the home of ants organized?
Ans7) An anthill has hundreds of little rooms and passages. Rooms are reserved for each member of the community- Rooms for the queen ant to lay eggs, nurseries for the young ones, quarters for workers, store houses for food and barrackers for soldiers.

9th class-cbse english (NCERT BOOK-Beehive)(long answers) chapter-1 (The fun they had)(Issac Asimov)


Answer following questions in about 100 words.

Q1) What are the main Features of the mechanical teachers and the schoolrooms that Margie and Tommy have in the story?
Ans1) Margie and Tommy were getting their education at home by a mechanical teacher. The mechanical   teacher was very punctual. The lesson was taken up regularly at the same time. They have to insert their homework in the slot. The teacher could evaluate the assignments in no time. It could tell how a child was performing. Margie and Tommy were not aware of the old system of education with building and human teachers. The mechanical teacher taught everything. The schoolrooms of Margie and Tommy were next to their bedroom.

Q2) Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think old schools must have been fun?
Ans2) Margie was unaware of old-styled building school. She was receiving education at home by a mechanical teacher. By the real book, Margie came to know about the school with special building and human teachers. She imagined that in that school all the students were of the same age. They all studied together. They shouted and laughed together. All the children from the neighborhood went together. They learnt the same thing and could help the one another.  She wished to study in that kind of school. She thought that these schools must have been fun.

Some more questions for practice.

Q1) How is our present school system different from that of Margie?

Q2) Discuss “The school plays a significant role in the education of the students”?  

7th class-cbse english(honey comb) Poem-9(Garden Snake)(Muriel L. Sonne)


Answer the following questions in short.

Q1) A snake has no legs or feet, but it moves very fast. Can you guess how?
Ans1) A snake has scales on its body which help it move fast by turning and twisting its body.

Q2) Which is the most poisonous snake?
Ans2) Black King cobra is the most poisonous snake.

Q3) Why was the child afraid of the snake first?
Ans3) The child was frightened of the snake first because he had heard that snakes are dangerous.

Q4) Why did the child attitude change towards the snake?
Ans4) The child’s attitude changed towards the snake because his mother told him that it was a harmless garden snake.

Q5) What did the snake eat?
Ans5) The snake ate insects for its food.