Available Answers

1. 1.

   Read the passage carefully.

   Long ago, when men were just beginning to be human, they lived almost like then animals. For shelters, they used the forests and caves in the rocks. For defense against enemies, they had only their hands and teeth. For food, they gathered fruits and caught what animals and fish they could. The body of a man differs from other animals' bodies in many ways. He has a better brain and he has hands. Thanks to his better brain, he can think. Some animals can think a little, but man's power of thought is very much greater than theirs. Again some animals wave paws which are something like hands, but the human hand is more useful than a paw. If you look at your hand, you will notice that the thumb can touch each of the fingers. Your hand  is so made that you can hold things well and do many things with it. And, of course, hands were the first tools men had. So using brain and hands men slowly learned to make shelters of stone or wood or earth to make simple tools and weapons and to grow food of their own use. But remember that the very tools that they had were their hands. We still use hands as tools in many ways. For example, the potters still shape clay by hand. For many kinds of work hands are not very good. You cannot shape a piece of wood with your hands alone.

   So, because men are able to think, they made tools to help their hands.

   Answer the following questions in your own words:

   Questions:

   1. Mention three examples to show that the people long ago were just like animals.
   2. How do you differentiate between men and animals?
   3. "Hands were the first tools of men". Justify this statement.
   4. What do we still use hands for?
   5. Why are hands not good for many kinds of work?
2. 2.

   Read the passage carefully.

   Guru Nanak and one of his disciples Mardana were on their way to Multan. The city was famous for the religious teachers. People went to that town to seek blessings of those priests and religious teachers. The religious teachers feared that people would not listen to them if they came to know about Nanak's arrival.

   They thought of an idea. They filled up a bowl with milk to its brim and asked one of their messengers to take the bowl to Guru Nanak without spilling a drop.

   Messenger reached Guru Nanak with bowl. He understood the message: 'Just as there is no room for another drop of milk in the bowl, there is no room for another teacher in the city.' Guru Nanak also sent a message. He gently dropped a Jasmine flower on the surface of milk in the bowl. It not only floated on the surface of milk, but its fragrance scented the milk. He didn't say anything. The religious teachers understood the unsaid message: 'There is always room for holiness and goodness in the world'. The religious teachers rushed to welcome Guru Nanak and Mardana into their city.

   Read the questions. Choose the correct option and write in the given space.

   1. Why did people go to Multan so often?

   1. to buy new clothes
   2. to meet priests
   3. to seek the blessings of priests and religious teachers
   4. to give message

   2. Why were the religious teachers afraid of the visit of Guru Nanak?

   1. people would not attend them
   2. people would not listen to them
   3. people would not respect them
   4. people would not talk to them

   3. What did Guru Nanak do after receiving the message of religious teachers?

   1. he left out the place
   2. he scolded the messenger
   3. he threw the milk out of bowl
   4. he also sent a message

   4. Which of the following words are used to describe religious teacher?

   1. tolerant, happy, kind
   2. selfish, jealous, crooked
   3. helpful, generous, afraid
   4. kind, simple, talkative

   5. Which of the following are abstract nouns?

   1. religious, milk, gently
   2. city, teacher, people
   3. bowl, Guru Nanak, message
   4. fragrance, blessing, goodness

   6. Make sentences of the following words:

   1. disciple
   2. priests
   3. religious
   4. arrival

   7. Give meaning of the following words:

   1. blessings
   2. brim
   3. spilling
   4. fragrance
3. 3.

   Read the given passage carefully.

   Indians are known to like their food hot and spicy. So to imagine your food without spices is rather unimaginable, isn't it? They say wherever you find an Indian, chances are you will find a range of aromatic spices. But along with the taste that spices provide, they also have several medicinal benefits as well. Spices have been used for centuries for their medicinal qualities and researchers continue to study their healing properties.

   Chilli powder relieves painful joints. Research shows that capsaicin, found in chilli peppers, has an anti-inflammatory effect, which may help ease arthritic swelling and pain. Cinnamon protects against diabetes and heart disease. A study has discovered that about half a teaspoon of cinnamon lowers blood glucose and cholesterol. Garlic improves your heart's health. Its consumption can lower your cholesterol and triglyceride levels by an average of 10 per cent. Clove oil is a well known treatment for toothache and its antiseptic properties makes it an excellent mouthwash. It is also an anti-inflammatory that helps to ease the stiffness and pain in arthritis. It is a warming spice, which can help to reduce congestion and stimulate digestion. Ginger contains antioxidants and can help protect against diseases. It is also known as an excellent treatment for nausea.

   Answer the given questions in your own words.

   1. What are the spices used for?
   2. What substance of chilli helps to ease arthritic swelling and pain?
   3. Which spice is called warming spice? Why?
   4. What are the benefits of consumption of cinnamon?
   5. Which of the following adjectives in the passage is made from noun? (a) healing (b) medicinal (c) painful (d) consumption
   6. Give a suitable title to the passage.
4. 4.

   Read the passage and answer the questions given below:

   While my mind was occupied with thoughts of holidays and having fun with my friends, the doorbell rang. I ran to answer it and found the postman standing outside my door with a parcel and letter for me. I signed for the parcel and took it inside my room as my hands were itching to open it. My curiosity knew no bounds.

   I ripped open the parcel as soon as I was in the privacy of my room and was spellbound to see that the parcel contained a tape recorder which my uncle had sent me from the U.S.A. What was more exciting was the contents of his letter. It was an invitation to spend my summer vacation with him in the U.S.A. Every thing had already been arranged, my visa and ticket. I already had a passport. My heart skipped several beats as I ran to give this exciting news to my mother. At first she was taken aback. Initially, her thoughts went straight to the fact that I would be going away for so long across the seven seas but then she realised that this opportunity might not come my way again and so she consulted my father and both of them gave their consent.

   That day I pranced around from room to room, packing, occasionally sitting and dreaming about all the sights I would visit which till date I had seen only in movies and magazines. I also hugged my pillow and enjoyed planning some good times with my cousins who I would be meeting for the first time. I was so thrilled I could not contain my joy.

   Questions

   1. What did the writer find more exciting and why?
   2. What arrangement did the writer's uncle make for him to go on a holiday to the U.S.A.?
   3. Explain "My curiosity knew no bounds".
   4. Which word in the passage means 'at first'?
   5. What occupied the writer's thoughts when the doorbell rang?
   6. What papers are required for a person to visit another country?
   7. What was the writer dreaming about occasionally, while packing?
   8. What did the writer feel when he ran to give the news to his mother?
   9. Why did his mother hesitate to give her consent?
   10. What made her realise that she should give her consent?
5. 5.

   Read the passage and answer the questions that follow:

   People have used colour to paint their world since ancient times. Many colours can be made from natural materials. These include minerals, soil and parts of plants and animals. The substance that gives paint its colour is called a pigment.

   Most pigments are powdered substances that are mixed with liquids to give paint its colour. Today, most pigments are made synthetically.

   Soil dug from the ground comes in many different colours. After the soil has been washed, it can be mixed with a paint base to make yellow, red, brown or even green colour.

   The ink from a squid can be used as paint. It makes a dark brown colour.

   Different parts of trees including the sap, nuts, flowers, leaves and roots make natural dyes. Liquid pressed from the flowers can be used for colouring things.

   Charcoal is used for making black colour.

   Lead, zinc and titanium are used for making white. Soil and the ink squirted by the squid are used for making brown. Red paint can be made by grinding up the mineral cadmium. A blend of the minerals cadmium, chromium and lead produces orange. Yellow is made from the same minerals as orange. But they are mixed in different proportions. Green is made from natural elements cadmium, chromium, copper and cobalt.

   Our world is so full of colours and it is so interesting to know how we can use this on paper, cloth, ceramic, canvas etc.

   Answer the following questions

   1. What is said about most pigments?
   2. How is soil useful in regard to colours?
   3. How do we get natural paints?
   4. What is charcoal used for?
   5. What natural materials are used for making different colours?
   6. Give a suitable title to the passage.
6. 6.

   Read the given passage carefully.

   Though Grandfather provided the household with as large a variety of pets as one could wish for, my favourite was the little black goat who followed me home from the mustard fields one day.

   Each year, before the monsoon rains came, I liked watching the fields and tea gardens. I had been sitting on the bank of a small irrigation canal, gazing at a couple of fishermen fishing in the muddy water, when I felt something bump my elbow. Looking around, I found at my side a little goat, jet black and soft as velvet with lovely grey eyes.

   She continued to look at me. I looked in my pockets for nourishment and, finding a ginger biscuit, held it out to her. A little later, when I got up to leave, the goat rose too. She started following me unsteadily.

   I set out for home at a brisk pace, feeling sure that I would soon leave the little goat behind But her legs were stronger than I had supposed. There was nothing I could do but carry her home and present her to Grandfather.

   "Not another pet!" said Grandmother when she saw the goat in the veranda. It was easy to understand Grandmother's objections. The recent destructiveness of Toto, our monkey, who had tom curtains and broken dishes, had set Grandmother dead against having any more pets Grandfather, by my side, had to pretend that he had purchased the goat as an investment. "Goat's milk is very good for your health," he told Grandmother.

   The prospect of milk made Grandmother more tolerant of the new pet, even though she knew it would be some time before the goat could give any.

   My, goat was soon named Tinker Bell, after the fairy in Peter Pan. I tied a little bell to her neck so that I'd always knew by its tinkling where she was.

   Answer the following questions

   I. Find words in the passage which mean the opposite of the following. (Antonyms)

   1. lost  ____________
   2. doubtful ____________
   3. hard ____________
   4. sold ____________

   II. Find words in the passage which mean the same as the following. (Synonyms)

   1. most likeable ____________
   2. fast ____________
   3. bought ____________
   4. patient ____________

   III. Complete the following sentences.

   1. I liked watching the ____________ and the ____________.
   2. The little black goat followed me from ____________ to ____________.
   3. ____________ by my side pretended that he had ____________ the ____________.

   IV. Answer the questions briefly.

   1. Who followed the child back home from the fields?
   2. How did Grandfather persuade Grandmother to keep the goat?
   3. What did they name the goat?
   4. Find words in the passage that describe the goat
      1. ____________
      2. ____________
      3. ____________
      4. ____________