Class-7 Supplementary Reader (An Alien Hand) Chapter-3, The Desert, Additional Exercises with Solutions / NCERT/CBSE

 

      The Desert

Exercises

 

 

Fill in the blanks with the words given:

 

1)    Whenever it rains, which is rare, desert flowers bloom

2)    A desert may be hot like the Thar or cold like Ladakh.

3)    The major feature of all deserts is, dryness and variations of temperature.

4)    An oasis is like a green island in the middle of a desert where a spring or a well gives plants and trees a better chance to grow.

 

State whether these statements are true or false:

 

1)    All living things need water in order to survive. (True)

2)   A desert is always a flat, unchanging wasteland of dry sand. (False)

3)    The few plants and animals that live in deserts have developed the ability to require less water than most plants and animals. (True)

4)   Deserts are an important part of nature’s great plan. (True)

 

Click here to read the translation of this chapter

 

 

Match the meanings:

 

Word - Meaning

Regions - big heaps

Mounds - change

Burrow - areas 

Moisture - move underground by digging

Adapt -  take in completely 

Absorb - wetness

 

Answer-

Word - Meaning

Regions - areas

Mounds - big heaps

Burrow - move underground by digging 

Moisture - wetness

Adapt -  change 

Absorb - take in completely

 

 

From the first paragraph

(i) pick out two phrases which describe the desert as most people

believe it is;

Ans- These are two phrases that describe the desert as most people perceive it:

 1) endless stretch of sand

 2) dry, hot, waterless and without shelter

 

(ii) pick out two phrases which describe the desert as specialists

see it.

Which do you think is an apt description, and why?

Ans-  Two phrases which describe the desert as specialists see it:

1)    a beautiful place

2)    home of a variety of people, animals and plants that have learnt to live under very hot and dry conditions’

I think both the descriptions are apt in their own way because the it is the variety of species and their adaptations that make the place beautiful.

 

2. The phrases on the left in the following box occur in the text. Match each of them with a phrase on the right.

 

(i) an endless stretch of sand	fertile place with water and plants in a desert
(ii) waterless and without shelter	not visible because the grass is thick
(iii) an oasis	nothing but sand as far as one can see
(iv) hidden by a cover of grass	no water and no shade

 

Ans-

 

(i) an endless stretch of sand - nothing but sand as far as one can see

(ii) waterless and without shelter - no water and no shade

(iii) an oasis - fertile place with water and plants in a desert

(iv) hidden by a cover of grass - not visible because the grass is thick

 

 

Q. A camel can do without water for days together. What is the reason given in the text?

Ans-  Camel can go days without drinking water. This is because they can stand high body temperatures and they sweat little. Therefore, they can retain the water they drink for long periods of time.

 

 

2. How do the smaller desert animals fulfil their need for water?

Ans- The smaller desert animals do not drink water. They burrow underground during the hot day and come out at night to eat. Some of them eat other animals and get the water they need from the moisture in the meat. Others eat plants and seeds and get the water they need from plant juices.

 

 

3. In a desert the temperature rises during the day and falls rapidly at night. Why?

 

      Ans- In humid climates, moisture in the air protects the Earth's surface from the sun's hot rays. The absence of this blanket in deserts causes the desert to heat rapidly during the day and cool quickly at night.

 

Q. One should not look upon them as useless parts of the earth. Why?

 

Ans- Deserts are an important part of nature’s great plan. They are there like the dense forests and the deep oceans. Just because they are hot and dry, one should not look upon them as useless parts of the earth.

 

Q. Camel is called the ship of desert. Why?

 

Ans- Camel is popularly known as the ‘ship of the desert’. Camels can do without water for days together. The reason is they sweat very little. Camels can stand high body temperature. They don’t need to sweat and can, therefore, retain the water they drink for long periods of time.

 

Q. What are sand dunes?

Ans- In deserts that are totally without water, strong winds blow raising heaps of sand and depositing them as mounds. These are called ‘sand dunes’ that shift and move endlessly across the desert. Few plants can survive on such dry, shifting sands

 

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