The Tsunami 8th Class CBSE English Honeydew Chapter 2

The Tsunami 8th Class CBSE English Honeydew Chapter 2

Question: Say whether the following are true or false.

1. Ignesious lost his wife, two children, his father-in law, and his brother-in-law in the tsunami.
2. Sanjeev made it to safety after the tsunami.
3. Meghna was saved by a relief helicopter.
4. Almas’s father realised that a tsunami was going to hit the island.
5. Her mother and aunts were washed away with the tree that they were holding on to.

Answer:

1. True
2. False
3. False
4. True
5. True

Question: Why did Tilly’s family come to Thailand?

Answer: Tilly’s family came to Thailand to celebrate Christmas.

Question: What were the warning sign that both Tilly and her mother saw?

Answer: Both Tilly and her mother saw the sea rising and swelling up.

Question: Do you think Tilly’s mother was alarmed by them?

Answer: Tilly’s mother could not understand what was happening and only realized that it was serious when Tilly got frightened and mentioned what a Tsunami was.

Question: Where had Tilly seen the sea behaving in the same strange fashion?

Answer: Tilly had seen the sea behaving in the same strange fashion in a video of a tsunami (shown in her geography class) which had hit the Hawaiian Islands in 1946.

Question: Where did the Smith family and the others on the beach go to escape from the tsunami?

Answer: The Smith family and the others on the beach took refuge on the third floor of a hotel.

Question: How do you think her geography teacher felt when he heard about what Tilly had done in Phuket?

Answer: Tilly’s geography teacher must have felt proud of her as she had made use of what she had learnt in class to help save so many lives.

Answer using a phrase or a sentence.

Question: In the tsunami 150,000 people died. How many animals died?

Answer: Not many animals died.

Question: How many people and animals died in Yala National Park?

Answer: Sixty visitors and only two water buffaloes died at the Yala National Park.

Question: What do people say about the elephants of Yala National Park?

Answer: The people at the Yala National Park had seen three elephants running away from the Patanangala beach about an hour before the tsunami hit.

Question: What did the dogs in Galle do?

Answer: The dogs at Galle refused to go out for their daily run on the beach.

Question: When he felt the earthquake, do you think Ignesious immediately worried about a tsunami? Give reasons for your answer. Which sentence in the text tells you that the Ignesious family did not have any time to discuss and plan their course of action after the tsunami struck?

Answer: No, Ignesious did not suspect a tsunami when he felt the tremors. He took his television set and placed it on the ground so that it would not fall and break. This shows that he did not get worried of a tsunami immediately. Otherwise, he would have rushed out of the house at the first instant. The sentence in the text which shows that the Ignesious family did not have any time to discuss and plan their course of action after the tsunami struck is: ‘in the chaos and confusion, two of his children caught hold of the hands of their mother’s father and mother’s brother, and rushed in the opposite direction.’

Question: Which words in the list below describe Sanjeev, in your opinion? (Look up the dictionary for words that you are not sure of.)

Use words from the list to complete the three sentences below.

1. I don’t know if Sanjeev was cheerful, ____________ or _____________.
2. I think that he was very brave, ______________ and ____________.
3. Sanjeev was not heartless, ____________ or _____________.

Answer: The words that would describe Sanjeev are brave, heroic, and selfless.

1. I don’t know if Sanjeev was cheerful, ambitious or humorous.
2. I think that he was very brave, heroic and selfless.
3. Sanjeev was not heartless, brash or careless.

Question: How are Meghna and Almas’s stories similar?

Answer:
Both Meghna’s and Almas’ families were washed away. Both of them kept floating in the sea for days. Meghna floated in the sea for two days holding on to a wooden door. She was brought to the shore by a wave. Similarly, Almus climbed on to a log of wood and fainted. She woke up in a hospital. Both the girls were traumatized after the incident. While Meghna was seen walking on the seashore in daze, Almus does not talk about the incident to anyone.

Question: What are the different ways in which Tilly’s parents could have reacted to her behavior? What would you have done if you were in their place?

Answer: Not taking her seriously, Tilly’s parents could have tried to calm her down thinking that she had been frightened by something. As a result, they could have been washed away by the tsunami waves.

If I were in their place, I too would have listened to her and realized that there was a danger approaching. Consequently, I too would have rushed away from the beach.

Question: If Tilly’s award was to be shared, who do you think she should share it with – her parents or her geography teacher?

Answer: If Tilly’s award was to be shared, she should share it with her geography teacher who made her aware of tsunami in the first place. It was this awareness that helped her save so many lives.

Question: What are the two different ideas about why so few animals were killed in the tsunami? Which idea do you find more believable?

Answer: Many people believe that animals possess a sixth sense and know when the earth is going to shake. On the other hand, some experts believe that animals’ more acute hearing helps them hear or feel the earth’s vibrations. They can sense an approaching disaster long before humans can realize it. This second idea is more believable.

Question: Go through Part-I carefully, and make a list of as many words as you can find that indicate movement of different kinds. (There is one word that occurs repeatedly-count how many times!). Put them into three categories. fast movement slow movement neither slow nor fast Can you explain why there are many words in one column and not in the others?

Answer:

The ‘fast movement’ column has many more words as compared to the other two columns. This is because the story is about tsunami, which is a fast movement of waters. Due to tsunami, all the immediate actions are fast, such as running, climbing and sweeping away of people by water.

Question: Fill in the blanks in the sentences below (the verbs given in brackets will give you a clue).

1. The earth tremzbled, but not many people felt the………………………… (tremble)
2. When the zoo was flooded, there was a lot of……………………. and many animals escaped into the countryside, (confuse)
3. We heard with………………. that the lion had been recaptured, (relieve)
4. The zookeeper was stuck in a tree and his ……………………… was filmed by the TV crew, (rescue)
5. There was much……………….. in the village when the snake charmer came visiting. (excite)

Answer:

1. trembling / tremors
2. confusion
3. relief
4. rescue
5. excitement.

Question: Study the sentences in the columns A and B.

Compare the sentences in A to the ones in B. Who is the ‘doer’ of the action in every case? Is the ‘doer’ mentioned in A, or in B? Notice the verbs in A: ‘was swept away’, ‘was hit’, ‘were washed away’, ‘were found’. They are in the passive form. The sentences are in the Passive Voice. In these sentences, the focus is not on the person who does the action.

In B, the ‘doer’ of the action is named. The verbs are in the active form. The sentences are in the Active Voice.

Say whether the following sentences are in the Active or the Passive voice. Write A or P after each sentence as shown in the first sentence.

1. Someone stole my bicycle. A
2. The lyres were deflated by the traffic police. ____________
3. I found it last night in a ditch near my house.  _____________
4. It had been thrown there. ________
5. My father gave it to the mechanic.  __________
6. The mechanic repaired it for me.  ___________

Answer: (ii) P (iii) A (iv) P (v) A (vi) A

Question: Suppose you are one of the volunteers who went to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for relief work after the tsunami. You work in the relief camps, distributing food, water and medicine among the victims. You listen to the various stories of bravery of ordinary people even as they fight against odds to bring about some semblance of normalcy in their lives. You admire their grit and determination. Write a diary entry. You may start in this way. 31 December, 2004 The killer tsunami struck these islands five days ago. But the victims are being brought in even now. Each one has a story to tell….

Answer: The killer tsunami struck these islands five days ago. But the victims are being brought in even now. Each one has a story to tell. Their stories are hair raising as well as heartening or inspiring. Many were determined to start a new life. They don’t want to stay in the camp for long. They feel small because living on charity was disgraceful. Most of them want to return to their cottages which are no more there, and to get a fishing boat to earn their livelihood. One woman, though old, recalled how she had saved a child from drowning.

Question: What is a Tsunami? When did it hit so many countries and sea coasts?

Answer: A tsunami is a very large and powerful wave. It is caused by earthquakes under the sea. The deadly tsunami hit Thailand, India and the Andaman Islands on 26 December, 2004.

Question: Do animals get foreknowledge of the tsunami coming?

Answer: Yes, it is true that animals sense the coming disaster earlier than human beings. It became evident in 2004. The tsunami killed more than 1,50,000 people in a dozen countries. But very few animals were reported dead. Buffaloes, goats and dogs remained unharmed. So did elephants and leopards. They ran away to higher places to save their lives.

Question: Who was Ignesious? Why did he put his television down on the ground from table?

Answer: Ignesious was the manager of a cooperative society in Katchall. When his wife told him about an earthquake, he immediately took his television set off its table and put it down on the ground so that it would not fall and break.

Question: How did Sanjeev lose his life?

Answer: When Sanjeev heard cries for help from the wife of John, the guest house cook, he immediately jumped into the water to rescue her. But unfortunately they were both swept away by the powerful waves.

Question: What is the view of some experts about the animals?

Answer: Some experts believe that animals more acute hearing helps them to hear or feel the earth’s vibration. They can sense an approaching disaster long before humans realise what’s going on.

Question: How did Tilly Smith save her family from the deadly waves?

Answer: Tilly Smith with her family was celebrating Christmas at a beach in Thailand. She was only 10 years old. She noted the sea water flowing towards, the beach. She was reminded of a geography lesson and the video of Hawaiian Islands in 1946. She started shouting to her parents to clear off the beach. Her parents heeded her. They all took shelter in the third floor of the hotel and were saved.

Question: Give a brief account of how the animate saved themselves when the giant waves hit India and Sri Lanka.

Answer: Before the great waves moved towards the coast in India and Sri Lanka, the wild and domestic animals foresaw the danger. Elephants ran for higher ground. Dogs refused to go outdoors. Zoo animals rushed into their shelters. This was perhaps the animals possess a sixth sense, which is very sharp and work as warning during disasters. So not many animals lost their lives in 2004 Tsunami while thousands people were washed away.

Question: What happened to Almas and her family?

Answer: When the tremors came early in the morning, Almas and her family were sleep­ing. Suddenly Almas’s father saw the sea water recede. He understood that the water would come rushing back with great force. He woke everyone up and tried to rush them to a safer place. As they ran, her grandfather was hit on the head by something and fell down. Her father rushed to help him. But soon a giant wave came and swept both of them away. Her mother and ants too were washed away by the mighty waves. Almas was somehow saved. But she became the victim of trauma.