Listen to the passage and answer the questions that follow. A Visit to Bhitarkanika The sun was warm but the sea breeze kept up its cooling effect all along. Soon the steamer turned away and anchored near a creek by the river. The muddy fringe and the mangrove vegetation declared the gateway to the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary in Odisha. The steamer could not negotiate these creeks at low tide, so a similar motorboat was hired to ferry us to the Dangmal forest rest-house in the heart of the mangrove forest. From the motorboat we had a good look at a large crocodile basking in the sun. The boat moved on, taking us deeper into the forest. Here we felt as though we had stepped into a time warp. In this awesome and mysterious place, birds of extraordinary plumage appeared before us. For the moment we revelled in the magnificence of nature which had us completely in its thrall. Among the birds, the kingfishers were the stars of the show. Crocodiles, large and small, slid into the water at our approach. Through the foliage we could see chital deer delicately browsing on fresh outcrops of leaves. A herd of wild boar was spotted searching for succulent roots. High above us, open-billed storks stood sentry-like following our progress through their remarkable kingdom. The evening sun was beginning to paint the tree-lined horizon crimson and gold and a brooding silence enveloped us all. (Source: Steps to English, Workbook for Class IX, NCERT, 2003) 1. Where was the author going? 2. Where was the forest rest-house? How did the group manage to get there? 3. Which creature did they see first? 4. What does the author mean by ‘the magnificence of nature’? 5. How are the kingfishers and the open-billed storks described? 6. What were the chital deer and the wild boar doing when the motorboat went past them?
Answers
The author was going to Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary in Odisha. He had a boat ride through the mangrove forest.
The author and his group took a motorboat and started their journey to stay at Dangmal rest-house in the heart of mangrove forest.
On the way to the rest-house they first saw a large crocodile basking in the sun.
When the boat moved on they saw a mysterious and beautiful place where they could see huge number of birds. At that moment the author felt that he was completely in a control and says they were in the magnificence of nature.
The kingfishers are described as the Stars of the show and open- billed strokes stood sentry like following their progress in the remarkable kingdom.
During their travel, they saw the chital deer was eating the fresh outcrops of the leaves and the Wild boar is in search of succulent roots.
Answer of first candidate is totally right as i have also copied his answer only