NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English Chapter 2 - The Tsunami

Comprehension Check (Page 27)

Say whether the following are true or false.

Q1. Ignesious lost his wife, two children, his father-in-law, and his brother-in-law in the  tsunami.
Q2. Sanjeev made it to safety after the tsunami.
Q3. Meghna was saved by a relief helicopter.
Q4. Almas’s father realized that a tsunami was going to hit the island.
Q5. Her mother and aunts have washed away with the tree that they were holding on to.
Ans:
1. True
2. False - Sanjeev has swept away when he jumped into the water to rescue the wife of the guesthouse cook.
3. False - Meghna saw relief helicopters overhead, but they did not see her. She was brought to the shore by a wave.
4. True
5. True

Comprehension Check (Page 29)

Answer the following in a phrase or sentence.  

Q1. Why did Tilly’s family come to Thailand?
Ans: Tilly’s family came to Thailand to celebrate Christmas.

Q2. What was the warning sign that both Tilly and her mother saw?
Ans: Both Tilly and her mother saw the sea rising and swelling up.

Q3. Do you think Tilly’s mother was alarmed by them?
Ans: 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.

Q4. Where had Tilly seen the sea behaving in the same strange fashion?
Ans: 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.

Q5. Where did the Smith family and the others on the beach go to escape from the tsunami?
Ans: The Smith family and the others on the beach took refuge on the third floor of a hotel.

Q6. How do you think her geography teacher felt when he heard about what Tilly had done in Phuket?
Ans: Tilly’s geography teacher must have felt proud of her as she had made use of what she had learned in Class to help save so many lives.

Comprehension Check (Page 30)

Answer using a phrase or a sentence.

Q1. In the tsunami, 150,000 people died. How many animals died?
Ans: Not many animals died.

Q2. How many people and animals died in Yala National Park?
Ans: Sixty visitors and only two water buffaloes died at Yala National Park.

Q3. What do people say about the elephants of Yala National Park?
Ans: The people at the Yala National Park had seen three elephants running away from the Patanangala beach about an hour before the tsunami hit.

Q4. What did the dogs in Galle do?
Ans: The dogs at Galle refused to go out for their daily run on the beach. 

Working with the text

Q1. 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?
Ans: 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 about 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.’

Q2. Which words in the list below describe Sanjeev, in your opinion? (Look up the dictionary  for words that you are not sure of.) 

cheerful, ambitious, brash, brave, careless, heroic, selfless, heartless, humorous
Use words from the list to complete the three sentences below.
(i) I don’t know if Sanjeev was cheerful, ____________ or _____________.
(ii) I think that he was very brave, ______________ and ____________.
(iii) Sanjeev was not heartless, ____________ or _____________.
Ans:
The words that would describe Sanjeev are brave, heroic, and selfless.
(i) I don’t know if Sanjeev was cheerful, ambitious or humorous.
(ii) I think that he was very brave, heroic and selfless.
(iii) Sanjeev was not heartless, brash or careless

Q3. How are Meghna and Almas’s stories similar?
Ans: Both Meghna’s and Almas’ families have 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 onto 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 a daze, Almus does not talk about the incident to anyone.

Q4. 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?
Ans: 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.

Q5. If Tilly’s award was to be shared, who do you think she should share it with her parents or her geography teacher?
Ans: If Tilly’s award was to be shared, she should share it with her geography teacher who made her aware of the tsunami in the first place. It was this awareness that helped her save so many lives.

Q6. What are the two different ideas about why so few animals were killed in the tsunami?
Which idea do you find more believable?
Ans: 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.

Working with language

Q1. Go through Part – I carefully, and make a list of 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 others?
Ans:

• Fast movement – Earthquake, Rushed, Tremors, Swept, Ran, Fell, Climb
• Slow movement – Floating, Recede
• Neither slow nor fast – Walking

The ‘fast movement’ column has many more words as compared to the other two columns.

This is because the story is about a tsunami, which is a fast movement of waters. Due to the tsunami, all the immediate actions are fast, such as running, climbing and sweeping away of people by water.

Q2. Fill in the blanks in the sentences below (the verbs given in brackets will give you  a clue).
(i) The earth trembled, but not many people felt the ____________. (tremble)
(ii) When the zoo was flooded, there was a lot of ________and many animals escaped  into the countryside. (confuse)
(iii) We heard with _________that the lion had been recaptured. (relieve)
(iv) The zookeeper was stuck in a tree and his _______ was filmed by the TV crew. (rescue)
(v) There was much ____________in the village when the snake charmer came visiting.  (excite)
Ans:
(i) The earth trembled, but not many people felt the trembling.
(ii) When the zoo was flooded, there was a lot of confusion and many animals escaped into the countryside.
(iii) We heard with relief that the lion had been recaptured.
(iv) The zookeeper was stuck in a tree and his rescue was filmed by the TV crew.
(v) There was much excitement in the village when the snake charmer came visiting.

Q3. 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.
(i) Someone stole my bicycle. ________
(ii) The tyres were deflated by the traffic police. _________
(iii) I found it last night in a ditch near my house. __________
(iv) It had been thrown there. __________
(v) My father gave it to the mechanic. ______________
(vi) The mechanic repaired it for me. ______________
Ans:
(i) Someone stole my bicycle. A
(ii) The tyres were deflated by the traffic police. P
(iii) I found it last night in a ditch near my house. A
(iv) It had been thrown there. P
(v) My father gave it to the mechanic. A
(vi) The mechanic repaired it for me. A