The Banyan Tree

Chapter 8


WORKING WITH THE TEXT

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 —————————
————–—————————————–—————————————–———–––—

Ans- 1) because his grandfather was sixty-five years old and he no longer could climb it.

2) when he found that the boy didn't arm himself with the catapult or air gun.

3) grew quite bold and was soon taking a small bite from his hand.

4) library where he made a simple basic platform to read books.

5) when it was not too hot, leaning against it and reading story books.

B. Answer the following questions.
1. “It was to be a battle of champions.”(8)

Ans- In a clearing beneath the banyan tree, in bright sunshine, they came face to face. The cobra knew only too well that the gray mongoose, three feet long, was a superb fighter, clever and aggressive. But the cobra too was a skillful experienced fighter. He could move swiftly and strike with the speed of light, and the sacs behind his long sharp fangs were full of deadly poison. It was to be a battle of champions.
 

(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.



Ans- Mongoose                               Cobra

a) superb fighter                                    a) skillful

b)  clever                                               b) experienced fighter

c) aggressive                                        c) swift

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

Ans- To show the readiness for their fight, the cobra hissed his tongue in and out, he raised half his total length off the ground and spread his broad. On the other hand, the mongoose bushed his tailed, and the long hair on his spin stood up.

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

Ans- The other two spectators were the myna and the jungle crow. They settled on the cactus to watch the outcome. Yes, they took part on the fight.

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                                                        dragged the snake into  the bushes
the mongoose

(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 th snake’s eyes                                    
        
(vi) struck on the side that the mongoose                                 sprang aside, jumped in and bit
 pretended to attack 


Ans-           Snack                                                                 Mongoose

ii) tried to mesmerise                                                       refused to look into th snake’s eyes
 the mongoose

iv) struck on the side that the mongoose                  pretended to attack the cobra on one side
pretended to attack

(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) What happened to the crow in the end? (16)

Ans- At the end the crow flung twenty feet across the garden as the cobra whipped his head back and heat back with grate force. His snout thudded against the crow's body and it fluttered for a while, and it lied dead. 
 

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

Ans- The myna dropped slowly, to the ground hopped about, peered into the bushes from a safe distance and then with a shrill cry of congratulation she flew away.


WORKING WITH LANGUAGE

A. 1. The word ‘round’ usually means a kind of shape. What is its meaning in the story?

Ans- The word means in the story was the fight taken place between the snake and the mongoose.

2. Find five words in the following paragraph, which are generally associated with trees. But here, they have been used differently. Underline the words.

Hari leaves for work at nine every morning. He works in the local branch of the firm of which his uncle is the owner. Hari’s success is really the fruit of his own labour. He is happy, but he has a small problem. The root cause of his problem is a stray dog near his office. The dog welcomes Hari with a loud bark every day.

Ans- Hari leaves for work at nine every morning. He works in the local branch of the firm of which his uncle is the owner. Hari’s success is really the fruit of his own labour. He is happy, but he has a small problem. The root cause of his problem is a stray dog near his office. The dog welcomes Hari with a loud bark every day.


B. The words in the box are all words that describe movement. Use them to fill in the blanks in the sentences below.



1. When he began to trust me, the squirrel began ————————— into my pockets for morsels of cake.
2. I saw a cobra ———————————out of a clump of cactus.

3. The snake hissed, his forked tongue ———————————— in and out.

4. When the cobra tried to bite it, the mongoose —————————— aside.

5. The snake ——————————— his head ———————————to strike at the crow.

6. The birds ——————————— at the snake.

Ans-1) delving

2) gliding

3) darting

4) sprang

5) whipped, back

6) dived

C. Find words in the story, which show things striking violently against each other.

1. The cobra struck the crow, his snout th — — — ing against its body. (15)

2. The crow and the myna c — ll  — — — — in mid-air. (13)

3. The birds dived at the snake, but b — — — — d into each other instead. (14)

Ans- 1) thudding

2) collided

3) bumped

D. Look at these sentences.



Choose would and could to replace the italicised words in the following sentences.
Grandfather says, in the old days,

1. elephants were able to fly in the sky, like clouds. They were also able to change their shapes. They used to fly behind clouds and frighten them. People used to look up at the sky in wonder.

2. because there was no electricity, he used to get up with the sun, and he used to go to bed with the sun, like the birds.

3. like the owl, he was able to see quite well in the dark. He was able to tell who was coming by listening to their footsteps.


Ans-1. elephants could fly in the sky, like clouds. They could also able to change their shapes. They would fly behind clouds and frighten them. People would look up at the sky in wonder.

2. because there was no electricity, he would get up with the sun, and he would go to bed with the sun, like the birds.

3. like the owl, he could see quite well in the dark. He could tell who was coming by listening to their footsteps.






Question Type By : Himashree Bora.