NCERT Solutions Class 7 English (Honeycomb) Chapter 4 The Ashes that Made Trees Bloom

NCERT Solutions Class 7 English (Honeycomb) 

The NCERT Solutions in English Language for Class 7 English (Honeycomb) Chapter – 4 The Ashes that Made Trees Bloom has been provided here to help the students in solving the questions from this exercise. 

Chapter – 4 (The Ashes that Made Trees Bloom) 

Comprehension Check

Answer the following questions:

1. Why did the neighbours kill the dog?
Answer – The neighbors killed the dog in anger. They have expected the dog to help them get a treasure, but the dog had rather taken them to a foul-smelling dead kitten.

2. 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
Answer –  (b) 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.
Answer –  (c) 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.
Answer –  (c) a pile of gold.

Working with the text

Answer the following questions.

1. The old farmer is a kind person. What evidence of his kindness do you find in the first two paragraphs?
Answer –  The old farmer was a kind person. It is evident from the fact the way he loved his dog as his own baby. He fed it with fish with his own chopsticks and all the boiled rice it wanted. He was patient and kind to everything that had life, and often dug up a sod on purpose to give food to the birds.

2. What did the dog do to lead the farmer to the hidden gold?
Answer – The dog took the old man to a place and began scratching the ground. The old man dug the earth and found the hidden gold.

3.
(i) How did the spirit of the dog help the farmer first?
(ii) How did it help him next?

Answer –  
(i) The spirit of the dog came in the dream of the farmer and asked him to cut down the pine tree over his grave and make a mortar for rice pastry and a mill for bean sauce from it.

(ii) 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 so they would bloom again.

4. Why did the daimio reward the farmer but punish his neighbour for the same act?
Answer –  The daimio rewarded the farmer for making an old withered cherry tree blossom once again. Like the farmer, his greedy neighbour also sprinkled ashes over a withered cherry tree. However, the result this time was different. The tree did not blossom, while the wind blew the dust into the noses and eyes of the daimio and his wife. This was the reason why the greedy neighbour was punished.

Working with language

1. Read the following conversation.
RAVI : What are you doing?
MRIDU : I’m reading a book.
RAVI : Who wrote it?
MRIDU : Ruskin Bond.
RAVI : Where did you find it?
MRIDU : In the library.
Notice that ‘what’, ‘who’, ‘where’, are question words. Questions that require information begin with question words. Some other question words are ‘when’, ‘why’, ‘where’, ‘which’ and ‘how’.
Remember that
• What asks about actions, things, etc.
• Who asks about people.
• Which asks about people or things.
• Where asks about place.
• When asks about time.
• Why asks about reason or purpose.
• How asks about means, manner or degree.
• Whose asks about possessions.

Read the following paragraph and frame questions on the italicized 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.
(i) ________________________
(ii) ________________________
(iii) ________________________
(iv) ________________________
(v) ________________________
(vi) ________________________
(vii) ________________________

Answer –
(i) Where is Anil?
(ii) Which row is Anil sitting in?
(iii) What is he doing?
(iv) Which row is Anil’s friend sitting in?
(v) What is his friend doing?
(vi) Who is writing on the blackboard?
(vii) What are some of the children doing?

2. Write appropriate question words in the blank spaces in the following dialogue.
NEHA : ________ did you get this book?
SHEELA : Yesterday morning.
NEHA : ________ is your sister crying?
SHEELA : Because she has lost her doll.
NEHA : ________ room is this, yours or hers?
SHEELA : It’s ours.
NEHA : ________ do you go to school?
SHEELA : We walk to school. It is nearby.

Answer –
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.

3. Fill in the blanks with the words given below.

(i) My friend lost his chemistry book. Now he doesn’t know ________ to do and ________ to look for it.
(ii) There are so many toys in the shops. Neena can’t decide ________ one to buy.
(iii) You don’t know the way to my school. Ask the policeman ________ to get there.
(iv) You should decide soon ________ to start building your house.
(v) Do you know ________ to ride a bicycle? I don’t remember ________ and ________ I learnt it.
(vi) “You should know ________ to talk and ________ to keep your mouth shut,” the teacher advised Anil.

Answer –
(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 when 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.

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

(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.

Answer –

(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.

5. Read the following sentences.
It was a cold morning, and stars still glowed in the sky.
An old man was walking along the road.

The words in italics are articles. ‘A’ and ‘an’ are indefinite articles and ‘the’ is the definite article. ‘A’ is used before a singular countable noun. ‘An’ is used before a word that begins with a vowel.

Use ‘a’, ‘an’ or ‘the’ in the blanks:

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

Answer –
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.

6. Encircle (underlined here) the correct article.
Nina was looking for (a / the) job. After many interviews she got (a / the) job she was looking for.
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.

Answer –
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.