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

Q1: 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 is spread. The hills got hidden by the mist. The forest is deadly still as though it were midnight.

Q2: When was there no dearth of food for insectivorous birds?
Ans: There was no dearth of food for insectivorous birds when there were rains.

Q3: 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.

Q4: 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.

Q5: 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.

Q6: How did the author describe the valley in one sentence?
Ans: The author described the valley as ‘A paradise that might have been.’

Q7: 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, these brightly coloured birds cannot hide themselves.

Q8: How do the hills look like in mist?
Ans: The mist in the hills provides privacy. Nothing can be seen. The hills are completely surrounded by mist making them silent. The birds sitting on the tree fly away to different places. As soon as the mist surrounds the hills, birds too fall silent.

Q9: What does the author’s grandmother ask him not to kill? Why?
Ans: The author’s grandmother asked him not to kill chuchundars because they are lucky and bring money. The author got the cheque on the very same day.