8th English
Unit_2
- Three explanatory video lessons on 'The Tsunami'
- part-1 Video Lesson
- Part-2 Video Lesson
- Part-3 Video Lesson
- Summary of the Lesson (can be downloaded)
- Complete Teaching Notes on this UNIT
- Glossary
- Working with the text
- Working with the language
- Speaking and Writing
- Working with the poem
- Download Links of the above are at the BOTTOM
Glossary of ‘The Tsunami’
|
Sl No |
Word & Part of
Speech |
Meaning |
|
1 |
Archipelago (n) /ɑːʳkɪpeləgoʊ/ |
A group of many islands and the surrounding sea |
|
2 |
Rushed out (phr. V.) |
Went out |
|
3 |
Tremor (n) /treməʳ/ |
A slight shake
|
|
4 |
Chaos (n) /ˈkeɪɒs/ |
Complete disorder and confusion
|
|
5 |
Sweep away /swept away (phr. V.) |
to destroy or to completely remove something |
|
6 |
Rescue (v) /reskjuː/ |
Save the life of someone |
|
7 |
Daze(n) /deɪz/ |
In a confused state |
|
8 |
Recede (v) /rɪˈsiːd/ |
To move back gradually away |
|
9 |
Cling (v) /klɪŋ/ |
to hold on tightly to somebody/something |
|
10 |
Uproot (v) /ˌʌpˈruːt/ |
to pull a tree or plant out of the ground |
|
11 |
Faint (v)/ Fainted /feɪnt/ |
Becoming weak and tired and likely to become unconscious |
|
12 |
Traumatize (v) /ˈtrɔːmətaɪz/ |
Greatly shocked and distressed |
|
13 |
Deadly (adj) |
Causing death |
|
14 |
Trigger (v) /ˈtrɪɡə(r)/ triggered |
To make something happen |
|
15 |
Swell(v) |
To become larger |
|
16 |
To foam (v) /fəʊm/
|
To form foam |
|
17 |
Fly out / flew out |
To leave for somewhere by aero plane |
|
18 |
Whirlpool (n) /ˈwəːlpuːl/ |
a strong movement in
a river or stream that makes the water move around
and pulls things under |
|
19 |
Scream (v) /skriːm/
|
To make a loud high cry because
you are hurt, frightened or excited |
|
20 |
Hysterical (adj) /hɪˈsterɪk(ə)l/
|
Behaving in an uncontrolled way because you are extremely excited,
afraid, or upset |
|
21 |
Refuge (n) /ˈrefjuːdʒ/
|
A place where you go to protect yourself from something dangerous or
threatening |
|
22 |
Surge (n) /sɜː(r)dʒ/
|
force |
|
23 |
Forewarn (v) /fɔː(r)ˈwɔː(r)n/ |
To warn someone about a problem or dangerous situation that is likely
to happen |
|
24 |
Tale (n) /teɪl/ |
Story |
|
25 |
Slam into |
to crash into something with a lot of force |
|
26 |
Flee /Fled (v) |
run away from a place or situation of danger |
|
27 |
Flamingoes /fləˈmɪŋɡoʊz/ |
Flamingoes are a type of wading birds |
|
28 |
Entice /ɪnˈtʌɪs/ |
attract or tempt by offering pleasure or advantage. |
|
29 |
Sixth sense (n) |
a power of perception like but not one of the five senses |
|
30 |
Possess (v) /pəˈzɛs/ |
To own |
|
31 |
Acute hearing /əˈkjuːt/ |
Keen/sharp hearing |
|
32 |
Disaster(n) /dɪˈzɑːstə/ |
a sudden accident or a
natural catastrophe that causes great damage or loss of life. |
|
33 |
Realise (v) /ˈrɪəlʌɪz/ |
Understand / grasp |
|
34 |
Unharmed /ʌnˈhɑːmd/ |
Not harmed |
|
35 |
Perish (v) /ˈpɛrɪʃ/ |
die, especially in a violent or sudden way. |
|
36 |
Carcass (n) /ˈkɑːkəs/ |
The dead body of an animal |
Unit-2
The Tsunami
Summary of Part-1
Par-1 of the lesson ‘The Tsunami’ gives the details about the lives of four families in
‘Andaman and Nicobar Archipelago’ during the hit of Tsunami waves on 26th
December, 2004.
Ignesious’s family:
Ignesious was a manager of a cooperative
society in Katchall island. At 6 a.m. his wife felt an earthquake. All of the
family members rushed out.
When
the tremors stopped, they saw the sea rising. In that confusion (chaos) , they
did not decide the course of action. Immediately the sea waves hit them. The family members rushed in two directions.
Ignesious
lost his wife, two children, his father-in-law, his brother-in-law. Only three
children who came with him were saved.
Sanjeev’s family:
Sanjeev, a policeman from Katchall
island somehow managed to save himself and his wife and baby daughter from
Tsunami waves.
Later
Sanjeev went to save the life of the guest house cook’s wife, who cried for
help and was washed away by the waves.
Both of them did not survive.
Meghna’s family:
Meghna, a 13-year-old girl, was swept
away along with her parents and 77 other people by the sea waves. She spent two
days floating on the sea, holding on to a wooden door. The rescue helicopters eleven times passed
overhead but they did not see her. Fortunately, she was brought to the shore by
a wave and she was very unfortunate to miss her parents.
Almas Javed’s family:
Almas Javed, a ten-year-old girl student
from ‘Port Blair’ (the capital of Andaman and Nicobar islands), came with her
parents to celebrate Christmas at ‘Noncowry Island’.
When tremors came in the early morning, Almas’s
father saw the seawater go back (recede) and he guessed that the seawater would
come back to the shore with great force. He woke everyone and directed everyone
to the safer places.
As they were running to the safer places,
something hit on the head of Almas’s grandfather, and fell down. As her father was trying to save
(rescue) him, both of them were swept by
the waves.
Almas’s mother and aunt stood holding
(clinging) to the leaves of a coconut tree.
Immediately, a wave uprooted the tree and they too were washed away.
Almas climbed onto a floating wood and she
fainted. Finally, she found herself in a hospital. She was completely in shock
(trauma). She lost everyone in her family.
Unit-2
The Tsunami
Summary of Part-2
Tilly
Smith, a ten-year-old British school girl, went to celebrate Christmas at a
beach resort in Thailand along with her father Collin Smith, mother Penny smith
and seven year old younger sister.
While
they were on the beach resort on 26th of December, 2004, Tilly observed the sea
water rising and coming to the shore. Tilly could sense that something was
wrong with the sea. She immediately recollected the geography lesson by her
teacher in England.
She
observed the rising sea with foam and whirlpools. She remembered that she had
seen this in class in a video of tsunami that had hit the Hawaiian island in
1946. Her geography teacher had told them that tsunami can be caused by
earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides.
Tilly became nervous and warned her mother Penny Smith about the rising
sea. Her mother did not know what tsunami was but she could understand that
there was a danger on the seashore.
Tilly’s
parents took her and her sister away from the beach to the hotel and the other
tourists also left the beach with them.
All of them went to the third floor of the hotel. Three times the tsunami waves hit the hotel
but the building could withstand the force.
The
Smiths later met other tourists who had lost their entire families. Many thanked Tilly and her geography lesson
for saving their lives. Tilly went back to England and told her classmates this
terrific experience in Thailand.
Unit-2
The Tsunami
Summary of Part-3
part-3 deals with how the animals survived
during the tsunami. How could they
foresee the tsunami? Do they have a sixth sense? What happened on the Cuddalore
coast of Tamil Nādu? How did the animals of Yala National Park in Srilankan
beach run away during the time of the tsunami? How did the pet dog save the
life of his master? These are the questions
that are clarified in part-3 of ‘The Tsunami’.
Many
people died but very few animals were killed in the tsunami. Firstly, it was
believed that animals had a sixth sense to foresee the coming disaster and
could run away to safer places. Secondly, they could feel the tremors of the
earth before human beings. Along India’s Cuddalore coast (in Tamil Nādu), where
thousands of people died but the animals rescued themselves. Sixty visitors and
two water buffaloes died in Yala National Park in Sri Lanka. The dogs in Galle
(a city in Sri Lanka) did not like to go for their daily run on the beach thus
his master was saved.
Part-1 ‘The Tsunami’
Comprehension Check (pg.no.27)
1. Ignesious lost his wife, two children, his
father-in-law, and his brother-in-law in the tsunami. [True]
2. Sanjeev made it to safety after the tsunami. ]False]
3. Meghna was saved by a relief helicopter. [False]
4. Almas’s father realised that a tsunami was going to
hit the island. [True]
5. Her mother and aunts were washed away with the tree
that they were holding on to. [True]
Part-2 ‘The Tsunami’
Comprehension Check (pg.no.28)
Tilly’s family came to Thailand to celebrate Christmas at a beach resort.
2. What were the warning signs that both Tilly and her mother saw?
They saw the water swelling and kept coming in. They also saw the rising sea and started to foam, bubble, and form whirlpools.
3. Do you think Tilly’s mother was alarmed by them?
No, Tilly’s mother was not alarmed by them.
4. Where had Tilly seen the sea behaving in the same strange fashion?
Tilly had seen the sea behaving in the same strange fashion in a video shown by her geography teacher in the classroom.
5. Where did the Smith family and the others on the beach go to escape from the tsunami?
The Smith’s family and the others on the beach went to the third floor of the hotel to escape from tsunami.
6. How do you think her geography teacher felt when he heard about what Tilly had done in Phuket?
The geography teacher would definitely feel happy and proud.
Part-3 ‘The Tsunami’
Comprehension Check (pg.no.30)
1. In the Tsunami 150,000 people died. How many animals died?
Only a few animals died in the tsunami.
2. How many people and animals died in Yala National Park?
Sixty visitors and two water buffaloes died in Yala National Park in Sri Lanka.
3. What did people say about the elephants of Yala National Park?
People said that the elephants had run from the beach an hour before the Tsunami hit the coast.
4. What did the dogs in Galle do?
Working with the text (pg.no.30)
Discuss the
following questions in class. Then write your own answers.
1.
When he felt the
earthquake, do you think Ignesious immediately worried about a Tsunami? Give
reasons for your answer. Which sentence in the text tells you that the
Ignesious family did not have any time to discuss and plan their course of
action after the tsunami struck?
Answer:
No, Ignesious did not think about the
tsunami. He thought that it was just an earthquake. So, he took the television
off the table and put it on the ground. The following sentence tell that
Ignesious family did not have any time to discuss and plan their course of
action to escape tsunami.
‘In the
chaos and confusion, two of his children caught hold of the hands of their
mother’s father and mother’s brother, and rushed in the opposite direction.’
2.
Which words in
the list below describe Sanjeev, in your opinion? (Look up the dictionary for
words that you are not sure of.)
|
cheerful ambitious brash
brave careless heroic
selfless
heartless humorous |
i)
I don’t know
if Sanjeev was cheerful, ambitious or brash.
ii)
I think that
he was very brave, heroic and selfless.
iii) Sanjeev was not heartless, careless or humorous.
1. How are Meghna and Almas’s stories similar?
Both Meghna and Almas Javed were washed
away by the waves of tsunami. No one was there for their rescue. Finally, they
could survive by themselves by climbing onto some floating wooden materials.
Both of them reached the shore in a daze (in a state of confusion). Both were lucky enough to save their lives
from the dreadful tsunami.
2.
What are the
different ways in which Tilly’s parents could have reacted to her behaviour?
What would you have done if you were in their place?
Tilly had
imagined the danger of the behavior of sea waves. She started to scream at her family to get
off the beach. On seeing Tilly’s behaviour, her parents sensed something serious
was going to happen. They alerted
everyone on the shore and left the place for refuge.
If I were in the same
place, I would definitely do the same as the parents of Tilly.
3. If Tilly’s award was to be shared, who do
you think she should share it with— her parents or her geography teacher?
If Tilly’s award was to be shared, it must be shared with Tilly’s
parents and her geography teacher. Tilly’s parents deserve the share for
understanding the seriousness of the girl’s words. If they had not taken her
words seriously, they would not have saved the lives of the tourists on the seashore.
It must also be shared with the geography teacher for visualizing the Tsunami,
in the classroom, which made Tilly understand the behaviour of the seawater.
4. What are the two different ideas about why
so few animals were killed in the tsunami? Which idea do you find more
believable?
Many
people died but very few animals were killed in the tsunami. Firstly, it was
believed that animals had a sixth sense to foresee the coming disaster and
could run away to safer places. Secondly, they could feel the tremors of the
earth before human beings. I find the second idea is more believable than the
first one because the animals have acute senses.
Working with
Language (Page 31)
1.
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.
|
Fast movement |
Slow movement |
Neither fast nor slow |
|
hit Rushed out Swept away Washed away Running away Earthquake tremors |
Slowly rise Recede |
Floating Walking Cling |
Can you explain why there are many words in one column and not in the others?
There are
many words related to fast movement in this lesson since the tsunami is a force
that smashes and crushes everything on its way ruthlessly.
2. 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 trembling (tremble).
II. When the zoo was flooded, there was a lot of confusion and many animals escaped into the countryside.
(confuse)
III. We heard with relief that
the lion had been recaptured. (relieve)
IV. The zookeeper was stuck in a tree and his rescue was filmed by the TV crew. (rescue)
V. There was much excitement in the village when the snake charmer came visiting.
(excite)
3.
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 No.32)
1. 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.
Answer:
31 Decembeg, 2004,
Friday,
The
killer tsunami struck the Andaman and Nicobar Islands five days ago. But the
victims are being brought in even now. Each one has a different story of
survival. I have been there to volunteer for the victims of the tsunami. Many people have lost their kith and kin and
some have become homeless.
The people who luckily have survived have
shown a lot of courage to save the men at the nearest. All the victims have
been struggling to bring everything to a normal state amidst the chaos. We have
supplied medicines, necessary food, and drinking water to the victims. I have found
many in the trauma of the deadly might. Everyone said that they hadn’t seen
this kind of disaster in their lifetime.
This is the most unpleasant experience
for me to see the victims in that state of uncertainty.
Vathsav
2. 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.
Answer:
A narration of my Personal Life
experience
Hi, my dear friends! Now I am here
before you to share my real-life experience with all of you.
One day, my father came home very late
from his workplace. We were all waiting for his arrival to start our supper at
8 p.m. Surprisingly, my father was very
much tired and not interested to join us for the meal. I approached him and asked what had happened.
He said that his leg was paining. I
looked at his foot which was abnormal in its size.
Suddenly,
he had fallen unconscious. Then I could understand that something had bitten
him on his feet. Undoubtedly it was a snakebite since his foot turned blue.
Then
I recollected the lesson from my science teacher about rescuing a person from a
snake bite. I took the help of my mother, washed the foot with soap and lukewarm
water, and cut the area of the snake bite.
I sucked the blood forcefully with my mouth and spit it. Repeatedly, I did it. After that, we took my father to a nearby
hospital. The doctor had injected an
antivenom that made my father awake.
The
doctor appreciated my timely response in giving the first aid which helped my
father’s existence.
About the Poet
In 1969, Ghose emigrated (from
Pakistan) to the United States to begin teaching at UT Austin and has been with
the English Department and published almost two dozen books. His poetry was published
in magazines and journals such as ‘The Atlantic Monthly’, ‘The New York Times’ and
‘The New Statesman’.
Gist of the Poem
When we go (spring) into the sky by a
jet and look down, even a mile-long spread city appears like an inch.
Everything on the ground is unplanned and without any style.
When the jet reaches ten thousand feet,
it is very clear, from there, that the people have started to live by the
valleys and rivers because the water has attracted the man.
When the jet has risen six miles (9.6
kms) high, it is very clear that the Earth is round and has more sea than land.
The poet expresses that it is not clear, from that height, why people hate each
other, build walls across cities and kill.
Moral of the Poem
The poet feels that the man is such an
intellectual to find the natural resources (land and water) that fetch him and make
his life comfortable but he is not able to live with his fellow being in
harmony. He also expresses his agony for this and indirectly suggests us
develop brotherhood to make the earth beautiful as it is seen from the farthest
height.
Working with the Poem (pg.no.35)
1. Find three or four phrases in stanzas one
and two which are likely to occur in a geography lesson.
Ans
:
The following are the possible phrases we see in our Geography lesson in
Social Studies
a. Scaled six inches to the mile
b. Ground had looked haphazard and unplanned
c. Valleys were populated
d. The land and water attracted man
2. Seen from the window of an aeroplane, the
city appears
(i) as haphazard as on the ground.
(ii) as neat as a map.
(iii) as developed as necessary.
Ans : (i) as haphazard as on the ground
3. Which of the following statements are
examples of “the logic of geography”?
(i) There are cities where there are rivers.
(ii) Cities appear as they are not from six
miles above the ground.
(iii) It is easy to understand why valleys are
populated.
(iv) It is difficult to understand why humans
hate and kill one another.
(v) The earth is round, and it has more sea
than land.
Ans : (i), (iii) & (v)
4. Mention two things that are
(i) clear from the height.
(ii) not clear from the height.
Ans : (i) It was clear from the height that the
Earth was round and it had more sea than land.
(ii) It was
not clear from that height why the men on the Earth found causes to hate each
other, to build walls across cities and to kill.
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End of Unit-2 Notes ****
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The Tsunami Part_2 Summary
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