NCERT Solutions Class 6 English Desert Animals

NCERT Solutions for Class 6th for English for Chapter 9 Desert Animals

Page No: 117 - Working with Text

A. 1. Talk to your partner and say whether the following statements are true or false.

(i) No animal can survive without water.

Answer:  True

(ii) Deserts are endless sand dunes.

Answer:  False

(iii) Most snakes are harmless.

Answer:  True

(iv) Snakes cannot hear, but they can feel vibrations through the ground.

Answer:  True

(v) Camels store water in their humps.

Answer:  False

2. Answer the following questions.

(i) How do desert animals survive without water?

Answer - Desert animals cannot survive without water. They find different ways of coping with the harsh desert conditions. For example, gerbils spend the hottest part of the day in cool underground burrows. And darkling beetles catch moisture on their legs and then lift them into the air till the drops trickle down into their mouths.

(ii) How do mongooses kill snakes?

Answer - Mongooses kill snakes without getting hurt themselves. Their reactions are so fast that they dodge each time the snake strikes. They continually make a nuisance of themselves, and after a while, when the snake gets tired, they quickly dive in for the kill.

(iii) How does the hump of the camels help them to survive when there is no water?

Answer - The humps of the camels help the animal to survive in the desert, by acting as storage containers. The hump is full of fat that nourishes the camel when food is scarce. If they have nothing to eat for several days, their humps shrink as the fat is used up.

B. Read the words/phrases in the box. With your partner find their meaning in the dictionary.

Harsh conditions  harmless  survive  intruder  threatened  predators  prey  continually 

Fill in the blanks in the following passage with the above words/phrases.

All animals in forests and deserts struggle to ______ in ______. Though most of the animals are ______, some are dangerous when ______. If an ______ is noticed, they attack or bite to save themselves. They struggle ______ for food and water. Some animals are called ______ because they ______ on other animals.

Answer- 

All animals in forests and deserts struggle to survive in harsh conditions. Though most of the animals are harmless, some are dangerous when threatened. If an intruder is noticed, they attack or bite to save themselves. They struggle continually for food and water. Some animals are called predators because they prey on other animals.

Page No: 118 - Thinking about Language 

Look at these sentences.

• Most snakes are quite harmless, but a few are poisonous.

• Most snakes lay eggs, but the rattlesnake gives birth to its young.

Now write five sentences like these using ‘most’ and the clues below.

1. (90% of) people are honest (10%) are dishonest __________________________________________________

Answer:  Most people are honest, but about ten percent are dishonest.

2. (Lots of) fruit have plenty of sugar, (some) citrus fruit are low in sugar.

__________________________________________________

Answer:  Most fruits have plenty of sugar, but some citrus fruits have less sugar.

3. (Every soft drink except this one) has lots of ’empty calories’.

__________________________________________________

Answer:  Most soft drinks have lots of ’empty calories’, but this one does not have ’empty calories’.

4. (The majority of) films are romances, (a few) are on other topics.

__________________________________________________

Answer:  Most films are romances, but a few are on other topics.

5. (A majority of) people agree that he is a good leader, (just a few) disagree.

__________________________________________________

Answer:  Most people agree that he is a good leader, but a few disagree.

Page No: 119 - Look at these sentences.

• Animals cannot survive for long without water.

• So desert animals have to find different ways of coping.

The first sentence says what cannot happen or be done; the second tells us what must, therefore, be done, what it is necessary to do 

Complete these sentences using cannot and have to/has to.

1. You ______ reach the island by land or air; you ______ go by boat.

Answer:  You cannot reach the island by land or air; you have to go by boat.

2. We ______ see bacteria with our eyes; we ______ look at them through a microscope.

Answer:  We cannot see bacteria with our eyes; we have to look at them through a microscope.

3. He ______ have a new bicycle now; he ______ wait till next year.

Answer:  He cannot have a new bicycle now; he has to wait till next year.

4. Old people often ______ hear very well; they ______ use a hearing aid.

Answer:  Old people often cannot hear very well; they have to use a hearing aid.

5. Road users ______ do what they wish; they ______ follow the traffic rules.

Answer:  Road users cannot do what they wish; they have to follow the traffic rules.

6. She ______ accept this decision; she ______ question it.

Answer:  She cannot accept this decision; she has to question it.

7. You ______ believe everything you hear; you ______ use your own judgement.

Answer:  You cannot believe everything you hear; you have to use your own judgment.

Whatif - Shel Silverstein

1. (i) Who is the speaker in the poem?

Answer - The speaker in the poem is child.

(ii) With your partner list out the happenings the speaker is worried about.

Answer - The speaker is worried if he was dumb in school, if they had closed the swimming pool, if he got beaten up, if there was poison in his cup, if he started to cry, if he got sick and died, if he flunked that test, if green hair grew on his chest, if nobody liked him, if a bolt of lightning struck him, if he did not grow taller, if his head started getting smaller, if the fish would not bite, if the wind tore up his kite, if they started a war, if his parents got divorced, if the bus was late, if his teeth did not grow in straight, if he tore his pants, if he never learnt to dance.

(iii) Why do you think she/he has these worries? Can you think of ways to get rid of such worries?

Answer - She/he has these worries because in the night she/he is free therefore, these fearful thoughts started coming in his mind. To get rid of such worries she/he should involve their mind in creative work.

2. Read the following line. 

Some Whatifs crawled inside my ear

Can words crawl into your ear? This is an image. The poet is trying to make an image of what she/he experiences. Now with your partner try and list out some more images from the poem.

Answer - Some other images are:

• Pranced and partied all night long

• Sang their old whatif song. 

• Whatif a bolt of lightning strikes me