NCERT Solutions Class 7, English, The Alian Hand (Supplementary Reader), Chapter "The Desert".
Comprehension Check
1. From the first paragraph
(i) pick out two phrases which describe the desert as most people believe it is;
Solution:
Two phrases which describe the desert as most people believe it is “an endless stretch of sand, where no rainfalls and no vegetation grows.” “A place that is dry, hot, waterless and without shelter.”
(ii) pick out two phrases which describe the desert as specialists see it.
Which do you think is an apt description, and why?
Solution:
Two phrases which describe the dessert as specialists see it are “a beautiful place”, “home of a variety of people, animals and plants that have learnt to live under hot and dry conditions.”
Both are apt descriptions as they both describe the desert.
2. The phrases on the left in the following box occur in the text.
Match each of them with a phrase on the right.
| (i) |
an endless stretch of sand |
- fertile place with water and plants in a desert
|
| (ii) |
waterless and without shelter |
- not visible because the grass is thick
|
| (iii) |
an oasis |
- nothing but sand as far as one can see
|
| (iv) |
hidden by a cover of grass |
|
Solution:
| (i) |
an endless stretch of sand |
nothing but sand as far as one can see |
| (ii) |
waterless and without shelter |
no water and no shade |
| (iii) |
an oasis |
fertile place with water and plants in a desert |
| (iv) |
hidden by a cover of grass |
not visible because the grass is thick |
Comprehension Check
1. A camel can do without water for days together. What is the reason given in the text?
Solution:
A camel can do without water for days together because they sweat very little. Camels can stand high body temperature. They don’t need to sweat and therefore can retain the water they drink for long periods of time.
2. How do the smaller desert animals fulfill their need for water?
Solution:
The smaller desert animals spend the day in the underground burrows to escape the heat. Some of them eat other animals and get the water they need from the moisture in the meat. Others eat plants and get the water they need from plant juices.
3. In a desert the temperature rises during the day and falls rapidly at night. Why?
Solution:
In humid climates, the air has moisture that protects the earth’s surface from the heat of the sun. Since deserts have no moisture cover, they heat up rapidly during the day and cool off rapidly at night.
Exercises
Do the following activities in groups.
1. Describe a desert in your own way. Write a paragraph and read it aloud to your classmates.
Solution:
A desert is generally without water and vegetation but it as beautiful as a forest. A desert may be too hot or too cold but plants and animals there have learned to survive in hot and dry and cold condition. Deserts also have a different kind of vegetation.
2. Go to the library and collect information about the lifestyle of people in desert areas— their food, clothes, work, social customs, etc. Share this information with the group.
Solution:
The nomads are homeless people in desert areas. They keep shifting to places where they can get food and fodder. Their life is very hard. They use camels for transportation. They eat mainly meat and dates. They weave their clothes from the wool of camel or sheep. Their life style is very simple. They look to the sky for rain water. Thev have developed their own customs.
