Class 8 English Chapter 8 Practice Question Answers - A Short Monsoon Diary

Q1: What is a diary? What do the extracts from Ruskin Bond’s diary portray?
Ans: A diary is a record of personal experiences/events that occur in one’s life. It is written day after day over a long period of time. The extracts from Ruskin Bond’s diary portray the monsoon season and the changes that occur as the rains progress from June to March.

Q2: How does the author describe the first day of monsoon mist?
Ans: On the first day of monsoon mist, all the birds suddenly fall silent and with it, absolute silence spreads. The hills get hidden by the mist. The forest is deadly still, as though it were midnight.

Q3: How does the author describe the scarlet minivets?
Ans: The scarlet minivets are seen during the rainy season. They flit silently among the leaves like brilliant jewels. No matter how leafy the trees are, these brightly coloured birds cannot hide themselves.

Q4: Why couldn’t the author sleep on August 2 night?
Ans: On August 2, it rained throughout the night. The rain had been drumming on the corrugated tin roof. There had been a steady swish of a tropical downpour. The author, therefore, couldn’t sleep.

Q5: What happened on August 12?
Ans: Heavy downpour started on August 12. The rain continued for eight or nine days. Everything got damp and soggy. The author had to stay inside during these days.

Q6: Name the flowers that you come across in the lesson.
Ans: Wild balsam, dahlias, begonias, ground orchids, cobra lilies, etc.

Q7: Sum up the main ideas of the author’s Monsoon Diary in about 100 words.
Ans: The writer was in Mussoorie, a hill station in U.P. The first day of monsoon brought mist. The birds got silent and the hills became invisible. On June 25, came the early monsoon rain. He described the hill station as A paradise’ that might have been’ to a school boy. With the onset of the monsoon one could see leopards and leeches and the colourful minivet birds. There was no dearth of insects for the birds to eat. On August 2, it rained heavily and non-stop. The roofs began to leak. The rain stopped on August 3. The sunlight fell on the hills and the song birds began to sing. On August 12, there was heavy downpour and mist for more than a week. Everything was damp. Meanwhile wild flowers began to appear. August 31 saw the greenery at its peak. Snakes and rodents came out of their flooded holes and hid in roofs or godowns. Winter rain, hailstones and snow came on October 3. The author couldn’t go outside and he felt very lonely in his room. Late March saw the end of winter. He received a cheque in the mail.

Q8: Who are the seasonal visitors? How does the author describe them?
Ans: The seasonal visitors are a leopard, several thousand leeches and different kinds of birds. The leopard created nuisance. It lifted a dog from near the servants’ quarter below the school. In the evening, it attacked one of Bijju’s cows. The scarlet minivets flitted silently among the leaves like brilliant jewels. No matter how leafy the trees, these brightly coloured birds could not conceal themselves. There was also a pair of drongos. They looked aggressive and chased the minivets away.
A tree creeper moved rapidly up the trunk of the oak tree, snapping up insects, all the way.

Q9: How many different kinds of birds do you come across in the lesson? How many varieties do you see in your neighbourhood? Are there any birds that you used to see earlier in your neighbourhood but not now? In groups discuss why you think this is happening.
Ans: We come across different kinds of birds in this lesson. These are minivets, drongos, tree creepers and crows. We see sparrows, pigeons, and nightingales in our neighbourhood. Earlier we used to see big birds like kites and parrots in our neighbourhood. But these have become extinct now.

Q10: Do you believe in superstitions? Why, or why not? Working with your partner, write down three superstitious beliefs that you are familiar with.
Ans: Truly speaking, I don’t believe in superstitions. These are blind beliefs. The ignorant and conservative people observe them. Superstitions have no scientific base or proof. The common superstitions are:
(i) 13 is an ominous number.
(ii) Don’t start a new project on Saturday.
(iii) Stop if a black cat crosses your path.