CHAPTER 4 STUDENT BOOK (MCB) LISTENING TEXTS AND ANSWER KEY

Warm up

Free response

Comprehension

A. 1.

The ravine was so deep that it remained in

shadow for most of the day. This encouraged

many birds and animals to go there during the

daytime. As a result, the ravine had become

one of the few natural sanctuaries left near

Mussoorie. The narrator had seen barking

deer, kalij pheasants, pine martens, a red fox,

a spotted forktail and langurs there. He had

also seen the leopard.

2.

The narrator was

sure that some of the animals recognised his

footsteps because a spotted forktail stopped

flying away when he approached. The langurs

would also go leaping through the branches

earlier, just watched him with some curiosity

as they munched on the tender green shoots

of the oak.

3.

One evening as the narrator

passed through the forest, he heard the langurs

chattering in the trees and he knew he was not

the cause of their excitement. As he crossed the

stream and began climbing the hill, the grunting

and chattering increased as though the langurs

were trying to warn him of some hidden danger.

The cause of this chattering was an orange-

gold leopard.

4.

As the narrator crossed the

stream and began climbing the hill, a shower of

pebbles came rattling down the steep hillside

and he looked up to see a sinewy orange-gold

leopard on a rock, about twenty feet above him.

The leopard slowly turned his head and looked

down at the narrator. He seemed a little puzzled

at the narrator’s presence there; and when, to

give himself courage, the narrator clapped his

hands sharply, the leopard sprang away into

the thickets, making absolutely no sound as he

melted into the shadows.

5.

The hunters

were looking for the leopard so that they could

kill it and sell its skin in Delhi. The information

disturbed the narrator as he knew that these

hunters would not rest until they had hunted

the leopard down.

6.

After the hunters

appeared, there were fewer birds to be seen

in the forest, and even the langurs had moved

on. The red fox did not show itself; and the pine

martens dashed into hiding at the narrator’s

approach. The animals had become cautious

and mistrusted all humans.

7.

The narrator

noticed the silence that surrounded him on Pari

Tibba, the absence of birds and animals and

the sense of complete desolation. There was

something else that he noticed—the strong

feline odour of one of the cat family. He realized

that he must have found the lair of the leopard.

B.

1.

c. they wanted to warn the narrator.

2.

b. he had been disturbed while eating.

3.

c. they were afraid of the hunters.

4.

b. sensed the presence of the leopard.

C. 1.

The narrator gained the trust of the leopard

by not trying to harm it and by not carrying

around a gun with him in the forest. Yes, the

narrator felt that this trust harmed the leopard

because he wondered whether it had made the

leopard lose his own protective fear and left it

defenseless. He felt that the leopard had grown

too trusting of men because of him and that is

why the hunters had been able to shoot him

2.

The hunters were wary and keeping a lookout

for the leopard. They fired at almost anything

in the forest and asked the narrator to carry a

gun with him as they were sure that there was

a leopard in the forest. They were determined

to hunt it down. After killing the leopard, they

were in a celebratory mood. They shouted

and beat drums to celebrate their success.

I think that such indiscriminate hunting of

leopards for their skin would adversely affect

the leopard population in the country and lead

to them becoming endangered, if not extinct.

3.

At the end of the text, the narrator seems

to be filled with sadness. He wishes to tell the

readers that birds and animals have emotions

just as humans do. They welcome people who

empathise with them and do not want to harm

them. They are trusting by nature. Humans

should not break this trust and make them

live in constant fear to serve selfish ends. It is

important for humans to understand the beauty

and balance of wildlife and stop hunting them

down mindlessly.

Know your Values

Free response

Grammar

A. 2.

The supermarket did not have the ingredients

that I wanted

.

3.

I know a shop which sells

good vegetables

.

4.

I would like to speak to

the person who scribbled on the blackboard.

5.

Do you know the teacher whose children

also study in this school?

6.

This is the

school where my cousins and I studied.

B. 2.

This book, which my uncle wrote, is a best-

seller.

3.

Mr Cherian Thomas, who also

completes fifty years of service, is retiring this

year.

4.

Karthik, whom you haven’t met,

will sit next to you.

5.

A barometer is an

instrument that tells us about the weather.

6.

The desk that is cluttered with crayons is

Supriya’s.

Vocabulary

2.

pounce, bounded

3.

purrs, growls

4.

trotting, galloped

5.

swooped, soared

6.

whimpered, snarled

Listening

a. 4b. 1c. 8d. 2e. 7f. 6

g. 3h. 9i. 5

Spelling

1.

inertia

2.

delicious

3.

mansion

4.

species

5.

vacation

6.

admission

7.

physician

8.

quotient

9.

official

10.

discussion

11.

patient

12.

pretension

Writing

Leopard Spotted in Residential Building

Smita Gupta

5.30 p.m., 23 March, Mumbai: A leopard was spotted

at Menoka Apartments close to Sanjay Gandhi

National Park at 5.30 pm on Wednesday. The guard

of the building, Mr Kanan Ram, noticed the animal

crouching by a wall at the far end of the apartment

complex. “At first, I could not believe my eyes. Then I

ran to inform Mr Suri who lives in the nearest flat. He

too saw the animal and immediately called up the

forest authorities,” reports Mr. Ram.

The forest officials came very promptly. Very

carefully and with immense skill, they cornered the

animal and injected it with medicine so that it fell

asleep. Then they carried the animal away in a large

cage they had brought for this purpose.

The residents of the apartment complex were

left speechless. “I still can’t believe that a leopard

entered our complex,” said ten-year-old Rohit, “it

is so exciting and scary.” The residents were seen

ceaselessly clicking photographs of the animal from

the safe distance of the building terrace and talking

excitedly among themselves.

“We have encroached on the space of our wildlife,

leaving them homeless. It is no wonder then that

they are now entering neighbouring residential

areas to seek shelter. They are in search of their lost

home and seem to ask us where they might find it.

It is time we reconsidered our callous attitude to

our forests and wildlife.” said famous environment

activist Sarla Patnaik when she heard of the

incident.

Listening text

Kabir and I had almost reached the camp when

I spotted a dark form moving ahead in the distance,

about a hundred yards away. Initially, I thought it

was the forest ranger on his evening patrol. And

then we heard a growl and froze in our steps.

“That’s a bear, isn’t it?” I whispered in Kabir’s ear.

We watched silently for the next few minutes as

the bear came into view. We remembered that the

forest-ranger had told us to yell if we ever saw a bear.

So we began to yell at the bear. Within seconds, the

bear turned towards us. I began to panic but Kabir

remained calm.

We realised that we were facing a big grizzly bear.

While I was thinking of ways to save ourselves, the

bear began walking towards us. Immediately I yelled

to Kabir, “Run! Hide!” and ran to save my life.

“Stop running!” shouted Kabir. As soon as I heard

that, I stopped. I was shivering in fright and held

on to the nearest tree trunk. What followed was the

longest minute of my life!

“Pretend to be dead!” shouted Kabir, from

somewhere nearby. I closed my eyes and held my

breath. I could imagine the bear moving closer.

Suddenly, the bear sniffed my face. After this, the

bear gave a loud grunt and turned away.

After a long time, I opened my eyes. I was relieved

because I couldn’t see the bear anywhere. But

when I looked around to see where Kabir was, I was

shocked. He was hiding behind a tree and the bear

was slowly moving towards him.

The next instant, before I realised what I was doing,

I screamed with all my might. The bear paused for

a second. I wanted to distract the bear somehow

so I began to shout and clap my hands. The bear

stopped and looked from Kabir to me and back. At

that moment, we heard squeals coming from the

forest. The bear growled and ran towards the sound

of the squeals.

For some time, Kabir and I could not move. It was

only later that we realised that the bear’s cubs had

called out to their mother and that is what saved

our lives.