If one early June morning you are suddenly stopped in your walk by a ringing “piu-piu-piu-pee-
pee-piu-piu” call coming from the trees in your park or garden, you will feel your heart
suddenly lifted. Look around and you may see two large, handsome, black-and-white birds with long
coattails chase each other through the trees. They are pied cuckoos that have come from Africa, and
are said to announce the arrival of the greatest show on earth – the Indian monsoon. Be assured,
the curtain will rise in a month or so.
2. To get a proper view of the onset of the monsoon, you really need to be stationed
anywhere on the coastline of India or up in the hills. Spear of lighting flickers in the sky and the
sound of thunder make you feel excited. And then, it pours. The cracked earth without any green
cover sucks down the flood of water-and then Mother Nature goes mad. Seeds scattered or buried
like grains of sand or pebbles in the ground suddenly come to life. Shoots of plants rocket skywards,
roots plunge into the soft, spongy earth sucking up water and nutrients. And bugs, beetles,
caterpillars, centipedes, etc. emerge in their billions, feasting on the fresh green plants in the fields
3. There are miracles and there is music too: singing golden frogs appearing in large numbers in a
rain-filled ditch, taking part in a group song that Bollywood would have envied. They vanish the very
next day. All this is what the birds have been waiting for. Most birds have spent the spring and
summer courting and now it’s time to settle down. Baby birds need a lot of high protein at frequent
intervals, which the rich supply of insect life so happily provides : Caterpillars are eaten up in their
millions, as are furry moths, earthworms slurped down like noodles, spiky dragonflies beaten to
bits to soften them up into baby food. The long-legged storks and herons – get busy with fishing.
5. As for the big guys like lions and tigers in the jungles, they too had it relatively easy during the
summer when their thirsty prey came to the waterholes. Now with water easily available, in streams
and ponds all over, they need to work harder for their meals. The animals get a rest from us, too, as
parks and sanctuaries close down, not so much out of kindness as because the roads become
impassable.
6. And then, just as you are beginning to tire of the green mould on your shoes, belts and bags, and
of all the sniffles and snuffles that the rains also bring (bacteria and viruses also love this season), the
clouds begin to disperse and float away in large armies. But before this happens, at least once, do go
out in the midst of a downpour, raise your face to the heavens and dance and sing and celebrate
this, the greatest show on earth.1.1 On the basis of your understanding of the above passage answer each of the questions given
below by choosing one of the options that follow: 1 × 6 =6 (Any six)
(a) The winged messengers from Africa:
(i) Bring rain from Africa
(ii) Bring the message that the rains are coming soon.
(iii) Create a lot of horrible noise.
(iv) Are not welcome.
(b) What according to the author is the advantage of staying near the coast?
(i) For the proper view of the onset of the Moon
(ii) For the proper view of the rains
(iii) For the proper view of the hills
(iv) For the proper view of the migratory birds
(c) The bugs, beetles, caterpillars, etc.
(i) Emerge and feast
(ii) Nest on the plants
(iii) Disturb the farmers
(iv) Suck up water and nutrients
(d) Baby birds benefit from the rains because:
(i) The mummy bird cannot fly in the rain.
(ii) They need a lot of noodles.
(iii) The rain brings a lot of insects which they eat.
(iv) They like wet nests.
(e) Lions and tigers have to work harder to catch their prey during the rainy season because:
(i) Preys do not often come out because ponds are rivers are full
(ii) Animals do not roam due to rain
(iii) During the rainy season lions and tigers get enough insects
(iv) None of these
Answers
Answered by
6
(a) The winged messengers from Africa:
Ans: (ii) Bring the message that the rains are coming soon.
(b) What according to the author is the advantage of staying near the coast?
Ans: (i) For the proper view of the onset of the Moon
(c) The bugs, beetles, caterpillars, etc.
Ans: (i) Emerge and feast
(d) Baby birds benefit from the rains because:
Ans: (iii) The rain brings a lot of insects which they eat.
(e) Lions and tigers have to work harder to catch their prey during the rainy season because:
Ans: (i) Preys do not often come out because ponds are rivers are full
Answered by
4
Answer:
a. (ii) bring the message that the rains are coming
d. iii the rain brings a lot of insects which they eat
c. i emerge and feast
e. i preys do not often come out because ponds and rivers are full.
b. iv proper view of onset of monsoon
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