NCERT Class 6:Honey Suckle:An Indian- American Woman in Space: Kalpana Chawla

 

Textual Questions and Exercises

 

Q1. Where was Kalpana Chawla born? Why is she called an Indian – American?

 Ans. Kalpana Chawla was born in Karnal, Haryana. She was called an Indian-American because she went to US and became its naturalised citizen.

 

Q2. When and why did she go to the U.S.? Who did she marry?

 Ans. She went to US after completing a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering for pursuing master’s degree. She married flight instructor Jean-Pierre Harrison.

 

Q3. How did she become an astronaut? What gave her the idea that she could be an astronaut?

 Ans. After qualifying as a pilot, Chawla applied to NASA space shuttle program. She was first hired as a research Scientist at NASA. In 1994 she was selected at NASA for training as an astronaut. It was her success as a pilot which gave her the idea that she could become an astronaut.

 

Q4. What abilities must an astronaut have, according to the journalist?

 Ans. According to the journalist, it takes enormous ability to be an astronaut. An astronaut must know a lot about everything, from biology to astrophysics to aeronautical engineering. In this age of super-specialisation, you must have encyclopedic knowledge to be an astronaut.

 

Q5. Describe Kalpana Chawla’s first mission in space.

 Ans. Kalpana Chawla’s first mission was in the space shuttle Columbia. It was a 15 days, 16 hours and 34 minutes. During this time, she went around the earth 252 times travelling 1.45 million km. The crew performed experiments such as pollinating plants to observe food growth in space. It also made test for making stronger metals and faster computer chips. It was all done for a price tag of 56 million dollars.

 

Q6. What does Kalpana Chawla say about pursuing a dream? Do you agree with her that success is possible?

 Ans. Kalpana Chawla said that the path from dreams to success does exist. One needs to have the vision to find it, and the courage to get onto it. Yes, success is possible.

 

Q7. Read the newspaper report to find the following facts about the Columbia’s ill-fated voyage.

Ans. 1. Date and place of lift off: 16th January, 2003; Kennedy Space Center, Florida

2. Number of astronauts on board: 7 (Seven)
3. Number of days it stayed in space: 16 Days
4. Number of experiments done by scientists: 80 experiments
5. Date of return journey: Sunday, 1st February, 2003
6. Height at which it lost contact: 200,000 feet

 

Working with Language

 

Q1. Match the Following:

Ans. 1. Unprecedented space tragedy = a sad accident of a kind that has never happened before in space

2. Certified flight instructor = a person with the correct qualification to teach people to fly planes
3. Space mission = a set of jobs to be done in space by a group
4. Super specialization = great expertise in a limited field or a particular subject
5. Encyclopedic knowledge = having knowledge of a wide variety of subjects
6. Awe-inspiring = something that causes feelings of respect and wonder
7. In this age = nowadays, in these times

 

Q2. Use these phrases in sentences of your own, after finding out their meanings.

Ans.

Phrase	Meaning	Usage
1. Broke apart	break violently	The laptop broke apart when it slipped from the hands.
2. Streaked over	went over it quickly	A meteor streaked over cloud in the night.
3. Spread across	Distributed over a given area	Pollution is spread across the world.
4. Lifted off	Start flying	Pilot finally lifted off the aeroplane.
5. Blast off	Take off	The rocket blasted off yesterday.
6. Went on	to continue	He went on reciting his poems.
7. Cheered along	Encourage	Audience cheered along for their favourite participant.
8. On board	Participation	Children were on board for the picnic.
9. Carry on	Continue	Scientists carried on their research work.

 

Q3. We add ‘un-’ to make opposites. For example, true — untrue. Add ‘un’– to the words below to make their opposites. Then look up the meanings of the words you have formed in the dictionary.

 

1. Identified = Unidentified
2. Controlled = Uncontrolled
3. Attended = Unattended
4. Successful = Unsuccessful
5. Important = Unimportant
6. Educated = Uneducated
7. Interesting = Uninteresting
8. Qualified = Unqualified
9. Trained = Untrained
10. Answerable = Unanswerable

 

Q4. Given below are some words that are spelt differently in British and American English. Fill in the blanks accordingly.

Ans.

British	American	British	American
1. Colour	Color	1. Theatre	Theater
2.Labour	Labor	2. Organise	Organize
3.Traveller	Traveler	3.Realise	Realize
4.Counsellor	Counselor	4.Defence	Defense
5.Centre	Center	5.Offence	Offense