Textbook Solutions: Feathered Friend | English (Voice Book) Class 8 PDF Download

A. Choose the correct answer from the options given.

1.
Ans: (b)

2.
Ans: (a)

3.
Ans: (c)

B. Answer these questions briefly.

1.
Ans: Claribel is compared to a hummingbird because she hangs in the air motionless like a hummingbird and uses her wings effortlessly in the absence of gravity.

2.
Ans: Sven did not reveal the presence of Claribel for a few days because he wanted to see how a bird would operate in weightlessness and was curious about her behavior.

3.
Ans: Sven brought Claribel to the space station out of scientific curiosity to observe how a bird would function in a weightless environment.

4.
Ans: Duncan examined Claribel because she appeared unwell and had passed out. He wanted to check if she had a heartbeat and determine the cause of her condition.

5.
Ans: The air quality had deteriorated because a part of the air purifier system had frozen up due to an eclipse by Earth's shadow, causing the alarm circuit to fail and the air to become contaminated.

6.
Ans: The space suit was very inconvenient because it was not the most convenient attire to work in. Its design and bulkiness made tasks more challenging to perform.

C. Answer these questions with reference to the context.

1.
a. 
Ans: The narrator is the speaker.

b. 
Ans: The speaker is talking about Sven's selection of bringing Claribel to the space station.

c. 
Ans: The selection of bringing Claribel to the space station was sensible because she weighed practically nothing, had minimal food requirements, and could adapt to the absence of gravity.

2.
a. 
Ans: Breakfast was unusually quiet because there was a sense of distress and concern among the people present.

b. 
Ans: Sven's seat was vacant.

c. 
Ans: Sven's seat was vacant because he was looking for Claribel and couldn't find her, causing worry and distress among the crew members.

3.
a.
Ans: Sven makes this comment when Claribel is found unconscious and unresponsive.

b. 
Ans: Sven does not understand why Claribel is in such a condition, as she had never experienced it before.

c. 
Ans: Claribel has become unconscious and unresponsive.

D. 

1.
Ans: The writer was never tired of watching Sven and his gang building the space station because it was a skilled and difficult job, resembling a giant jigsaw puzzle. The construction team had the advantage of being able to step back and admire their work without gravity interfering.

2.
Ans: The writer's first meeting with Claribel occurred in the writer's office, where a musical whistle caught their attention. When they looked up, they saw Claribel, a small yellow canary, hanging in the air motionless. They stared at each other, and Claribel performed a curious backward loop before departing with a few leisurely flicks.

3.
Ans: It was little trouble concealing Claribel from the Earth's VIPs because the space station had numerous hiding places. The only challenge was when Claribel got noisy when upset, and the crew had to explain the curious sounds coming from ventilation shafts and storage bulkheads.

4.
Ans: The three qualities of Claribel that made her suitable for space travel were her negligible weight, minimal food requirements, and ability to adapt to the absence of gravity.

5.
Ans: When Sven brought Claribel in, she appeared as a small yellow canary, hanging in the air motionless with her wings quietly folded along her sides.

6.
Ans: Claribel passed out and became unresponsive. The crew members gave her a shot of oxygen from the emergency cylinder, and she revived immediately. However, she subsequently keeled over again.

7.
Ans: The writer understood what was happening to them that morning when they remembered that miners used to carry canaries to detect the presence of gas. They realized that Claribel passing out indicated a problem with the air quality in the space station.

8.
Ans: The problem in the space station was caused by an eclipse by Earth's shadow, which led to the failure of the alarm circuit, and the air purifier freezing up, resulting in deteriorating air quality.

9.
Ans: The irony on which the story is based is that while Claribel, a canary, was brought to the space station to detect problems with air quality, the crew members failed to notice the deteriorating air until Claribel passed out.

10.
Ans: The story does not provide Claribel's point of view, so it cannot be accurately rewritten from her perspective.

11.
Ans: Another title for the story could be "Claribel's Melodic Mission" because the story revolves around the presence of Claribel, her role in detecting the problem with air quality, and the efforts made to revive her.

12.
Ans: The writer is talking about the accident where the single alarm in the circuit failed to go off due to the freezing of the air purifier. This led to a deteriorating air quality issue, which endangered the crew members' lives.