Class-7 English: Honeycomb-The Ashes that made trees Bloom

 

Textual Questions and Exercises

 

Q1. Why did the neighbours kill the dog?

 Ans. The neighbours when heard about the good luck brought by the dog to the couple coaxed the dog into their garden in hope that he would find treasure for them. They dragged him out of doors and the dog scratched and pawed the ground under a pine tree. When on digging the ground, they saw that there was nothing but a dead kitten, they became furious at the dog. They beat him to death and then flung him into the hole.

 

Q2. Mark the right item.

 (i) The old farmer and his wife loved the dog

(a) because it helped them in their day-to-day work.

(b) as if it was their own baby.

(c) as they were kind to all living beings.

 Ans.  (b) The old farmer and his wife loved the dog as if it was their own baby.

(ii) When the old couple became rich, they

 (a) gave the dog better food.

(b) invited their greedy neighbours to a feast.

(c) lived comfortably and were generous towards their poor neighbours.

Ans. (c) When the old couple became rich; they lived comfortably and were generous towards their poor neighbours.

(iii) The greedy couple borrowed the mill and the mortar to make

(a) rice pastry and bean sauce.

(b) magic ash to win rewards.

(c) a pile of gold.

Ans. (c) The greedy couple borrowed the mill and the mortar to make a pile of gold.

 

Q2. The old farmer is a kind person. What evidence of his kindness do you find in the first two paragraphs.

 Ans. The old farmer was a kind person. He and his wife had a pet dog named Muko, as his baby. Having no children, they loved it as though it were a baby.They fed him fish from their own chopsticks and all the boiled rice he wanted. He was patient and kind to everything that had life and often turned up a sod on purpose to give food to the birds.

 

Q3. What did the dog do to lead the farmer to the hidden gold?

 Ans. The dog came running to the farmer and kept on whining and running to and fro till the farmer followed him. The dog began a lively scratching. Thinking it was possibly a buried bone or fish, the farmer struck his hoe in the earth and found the hidden gold.

 

Q4. How did the spirit of the dog help the farmer first? How did it help him next?

 Ans. The spirit of the dog asked the farmer in his dream to cut down the pine tree over his grave and make a mortar for rice pastry and a mill for bean sauce.

The spirit of the dog informed the farmer in his dream that his wicked neighbours had burnt the hand-mill. He advised him to take the ashes of the mill and sprinkle them on the withered trees and they would bloom again.

 

Q5. Why did the daimio reward the farmer but punish his neighbour for the same act?

 Ans. The farmer had the magical ashes. He made the old withered cherry tree blossom once again by sprinkling the ashes. So, the daimio rewarded the farmer for this.When his greedy neighbour heard about it, he took the ashes and when daimio was passing on the highway, he threw a handful of ashes over the tree. The tree did not blossom and wind blew the fine dust in the noses and eyes of the daimio and his wife. That is why his neighbour punished for the same act.

 

Working with language

 

Q1. Read the following paragraph and frame questions on the italicised phrases.

Anil is in school. I am in school too. Anil is sitting in the left row. He is reading a book. Anil’s friend is sitting in the second row. He is sharpening his pencil. The teacher is writing on the blackboard. Children are writing in their copybooks. Some children are looking out of the window.

Ans. (i) Where is Anil?

(ii) Where is Anil sitting?

(iii) What is he doing?

(iv) Where is Anil’s friend sitting?

(v) Who is writing on the blackboard?

(vi) What are some children doing?

 

Q2. Write appropriate question words in the blank spaces in the following dialogue.

Ans. NEHA: When did you get this book?

SHEELA: Yesterday morning.

NEHA: Why is your sister crying?

SHEELA: Because she has lost her doll.

NEHA: Whose room is this, yours or hers?

SHEELA: It’s ours.

NEHA: How do you go to school?

SHEELA: We walk to school. It is nearby.

 

Q3. Fill in the blanks with the words given in the box.     

How

What

When

Where

Which

Ans. (i) My friend lost his chemistry book. Now he doesn’t know what to do and where to look for it.

(ii) There are so many toys in the shops. Neena can’t decide which one to buy.

(iii) You don’t know the way to my school. Ask the policeman how to get there.

(iv) You should decide soon where to start building your house.

(v) Do you know how to ride a bicycle? I don’t remember when and where I learnt it.

(vi) “You should know when to talk and when to keep your mouth shut,” the teacher advised Anil.

 

Q4. Add im- or in- to each of the following words and use them in place of the italicised words in the sentences given below.

patient

Proper

Possible

sensitive

competent

(i) The project appears very difficult at first sight but it can be completed if we work very hard.

(ii) He lacks competence. That’s why he can’t keep any job for more than a year.

(iii) “Don’t lose patience. Your letter will come one day,” the postman told me.

(iv) That’s not a proper remark to make under the circumstances.

(v) He appears to be without sensitivity. In fact, he is very emotional.

Ans. (i) The project appears impossible at first sight but it can be completed if we work very hard.

(ii) He is incompetent. That’s why he can’t keep any job for more than a year.

(iii) “Don’t be impatient. Your letter will come one day,” the postman told me.

(iv) That’s an improper remark to make under the circumstances.

(v) He appears to be insensitive. In fact, he is very emotional.

 

Q5. Use a, an or the in the blanks.

Ans. There was once a play which became very successful. A famous actor was acting in it. In the play his role was that of an aristocrat who had been imprisoned in a castle for twenty years. In the last act of the play someone would come on the stage with a letter which he would hand over to the prisoner. Even though the aristocrat was not expected to read the letter at each performance, he always insisted that the letter be written out from beginning to end.

 

Q6. Encircle the correct article.

A: Would you like (a/an/the) apple or (a/an/the) banana?

B: I’d like (a/an/the) apple, please.

A: Take (a/an/the) red one in (a/an/the) fruit bowl. You may take (a/an/the) orange also, if you like.

B: Which one?

A: (a/an/the) one beside (a/an/the) banana.

 

Ans. A: Would you like an apple or a banana?

B: I’d like an apple, please.

A: Take the red one in the fruit bowl. You may take an orange also, if you like.

B: Which one?

A: The one beside the banana.