Class 8 English Honeydew Chapter 2 Question Answers - The Tsunami

Working with Language (Page 31)

Q1. 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?

Ans. 
   

There are more words in column A. These are related to fast movements of escape from the tsunami. It was natural for men and animals to make fast movements in such situation. The waves also overtook some people very fast and washed them away.

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)
 Ans. trembling/tremor

(ii) When the zoo was flooded, there was a lot of ............... and many animals escaped into the countryside. (confuse)
 Ans. confusion

(iii) We heard with ............... that the lion had been recaptured. (relieve)
 Ans. relief

(iv) The zookeeper was stuck in a tree and his ............... was filmed by the TV crew. (rescue)
 Ans. rescue

(v) There was much ............... in the village when the snake charmer came visiting. (excite)
Ans. excitement.

 Q3. 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.

(i) Someone stole my bicycle. 
Ans. A

(ii) The tyres were deflated by the traffic police
Ans. P

(iii) I found it last night in a ditch near my house
Ans. A

(iv) It had been thrown there.
Ans. P

(v) My father gave it to the mechanic.
Ans. A

(vi) The mechanic repaired it for me. 
Ans. A

Speaking and Writing (Page 32)

Q1. 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..

Ans. 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.

Q2. The story shows how a little girl saved the lives of many tourists when a tsunami struck the beach, thanks to the geography lesson that she had learnt at school. She remembered the visuals of a tsunami and warned her parents.
 Do you remember any incident when something that you learnt in the classroom helped you in some way outside the classroom?
 Write your experiences in a paragraph of about 90‑100 words or narrate it to the whole class like an anecdote.

Ans. For self-attempt