Class-6-Unit-8: The Banyan Tree
Visual Glossary
|
Sl. No |
Word
/ Phrase |
Meaning
in English |
Explanatory Picture / Telugu Meaning |
|
1 |
Banyan Tree (n) |
an Indian fig tree, the branches of which
produce wide-ranging aerial roots which later become
accessory trunks. |
|
|
2 |
Spy (n) |
A secret agent |
à°—ుà°¡ాà°šాà°°ి
|
|
3 |
Resent (n) |
Dislike/ feel angry about |
à°•ోపగింà°šుà°•ొà°¨ుà°Ÿ
|
|
4 |
Morsels (n) |
Small pieces of food |
|
|
5 |
Sniffing (n) |
To smell |
|
|
6 |
Grandstand view (phr) |
A clear view from the best position |
|
|
7 |
Gliding (v) |
Moving smoothly |
|
|
8 |
Fangs
(n) |
Long, sharp teeth of snake to inject venom |
|
|
9 |
Combatants (n) |
Participants in a fight |
|
|
10 |
Spectators (n) |
Those who watch a show |
|
|
11 |
Glistened (v) |
Shone |
|
|
12 |
Snout (n) |
The nose and mouth of an animal |
|
|
13 |
Aggressive
(v) |
Ready to attack |
|
|
14 |
Mongoose (n) |
A small, long-bodied mammal |
|
|
15 |
Flutter (v) |
Moving wings lightly and quickly |
|
Task-A: Complete the following sentences.
1.
The old
banyan tree “did not belong” to the grandfather, but only to the boy, because his
sixty-five-year-old grandfather could not climb it.
2. The small grey
squirrel became friendly when it found that the boy did not harm.
3. When the boy
started to bring him pieces of cake and biscuit, the squirrel grew quite
bold and was soon taking food from the author’s hand.
4. In the spring, the banyan tree was full of red figs, and birds of all kinds would come there.
5. The banyan tree served the boy as a library and a platform for reading.
6. The young boy spent his afternoons in the tree, sitting on the platform, reading or watching.
Task-B: Answer the following questions:
1.
“It was to
be a battle of champions.”
i) What qualities did the two champions have?
Answer:
1.
Mongoose: clever, aggressive, superb fighter.
2.
Cobra: skilful, experienced, swift, poisonous.
ii) What did the cobra and the mongoose do to show their readiness for
the fight?
Answer:
The cobra raised itself three feet from the ground. His forked tongue
darted in and out. He spread his hood also. The mongoose bushed his tail. The
long hair on his spine stood up.
2. Who were the other two spectators? What did they do?
Answer:
The crow and the myna were the other two spectators. They tried to join
but the crow was killed; the myna survived.
3.
Read the
descriptions below of what the snke did and what the mongoose did. Arrange the
actions of the snake and the mongoose in proper order:
Answer:
Answer:
What the
snake did:
i) tried to mesmerise the mongoose.
ii) struck on the side that the mongoose pretended to attack
iii) struck the crow
iv) struck again and missed
v) coiled itself around the mongoose
vi) ceased to struggle
What the
mongoose did:
i) refused to look into the snake’s eyes
ii) pretended to attack the cobra on one side
iii) darted away and bit the cobra on the back
iv) sprang aside, jumped in and bit
v) grabbed the snake by the snout
vi) dragged the snake into the bushes
4. (i) What happened to the crow?
Answer: It was
struck by the cobra and died.
(ii) What did the myna do?
Answer: It stayed away and flew
off at the end.
Task-A:
1. The word ‘round’ usually means a kind of shape. What is its meaning in
the story?
Answer: The word ‘round’ in the story means ‘phase’.
2. Find five words in the following paragraph which are generally
associated with trees. But here, they have been used differently.
Answer:
Branch (local branch of a firm)
Fruit (fruit
of labour)
Root (root
cause of a problem)
Bark (dog’s bark)
Task-B:
The words in the box are all words that describe
movement. Use them to fill in the blanks in the sentences below
Answer:
1.
When he began to trust me, the
squirrel began delving into my pockets for morsels of cake.
2.
I saw a cobra gliding out
of a clump of cactus.
3.
The snake hissed, his forked
tongue darting in and out.
4.
When the cobra tried to bite it,
the mongoose sprang aside.
5.
The snake whipped his head
back to strike at the crow.
6. The birds dived at the snake.
Task-C:
Find words in the story which show things striking
violently against each other
Answer:
1.
The cobra struck the crow, his
snout thudding against its body.
2.
The crow and the myna collided
in mid-air.
3.
The birds dived at the snake, but
bumped into each other instead.
Task-D:
Replace italicised words with would or could
1.
Elephants could fly in the
sky like clouds. They could change their shapes. They would fly
behind clouds and frighten them. People would look up at the sky in
wonder.
2.
Because there was no electricity,
he would get up with the sun, and he would go to bed with the
sun, like the birds.
3.
Like the owl, he could see
quite well in the dark. He could tell who was coming by listening to
their footsteps.
Speaking:
Answers:
1. Heights
o Zeba is taller than Ruby.
o Rani is as tall as Zeba.
2. Weight Lifters
o Vijay is as strong as Akshay.
o Anwar is stronger than both Vijay and Akshay.
3. City Temperatures
o Shimla is as cold as Gangtok.
o Srinagar is colder than both Shimla and Gangtok.
4. Lengths
o Romi’s pencil is as long as Raja’s pencil.
o Mona’s pencil is longer than both.
5. City Temperatures (Hot)
o Delhi is as hot as Nagpur.
o Chennai is cooler than Delhi and Nagpur.
Writing:
‘My Favourite Place’ (Activity-based Question)
Students have to write their own short paragraph. Example:
“My favourite place is the balcony in my
grandmother’s house. I sit there in the evenings and read storybooks. I like it
because it is quiet, airy, and full of green plants.”
*** End
of Unit-8 ***