NCERT Solutions for Class 6th English Chapter 9 : Desert Animals
CBSE NCERT Solutions for Class 6th English Chapter 9 Desert Animals And Whatif (Poem) – Honeysuckle English
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2. Answer the following questions.
(i) How do desert animals survive without water? (1)
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? (6)
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? (9)
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 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.
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.
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► Most people are honest, but about ten percent are dishonest.
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► Most people agree that he is a good leader, but a few disagree.
Look at these sentences.
• So desert animals have to find different ways of coping.
► Old people often cannot hear very well; they have to use a hearing aid.
► She cannot accept this decision; she has to question it.
► You cannot believe everything you hear; you have to use your own judgment.
Whatif
Shel Silverstein
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