NCERT Solutions Class 7 English (The Alian Hand Supplementry)
The NCERT Solutions in English Language for Class 7 English (The Alian Hand Supplementry) Chapter – 3 The Desert has been provided here to help the students in solving the questions from this exercise.
Chapter – 3 (The Desert)
Comprehension Check
1. From the first paragraph
(i) pick out two phrases which describe the desert as most people believe it is;
(ii) pick out two phrases which describe the desert as specialists see it.
Which do you think is an apt description, and why?
Answer –
(i) Two phrases which describe the desert as most people believe it is:
“dry, hot, waterless and without shelter”
“a flat, unchanging wasteland of dry sand”
(ii) Two phrases which describe the desert as specialists see it:
“a beautiful place”
“home of a variety of people, animals and plants”
The description of the desert as specialists see it is more apt as their description is based on actual studies, and not just on beliefs and assumptions.
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 |
Answer –
| (i) an endless stretch of sand | fertile place with water and plants in a desert |
| (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 |
Comprehension Check
1. A camel can do without water for days together. What is the reason given in the text?
Answer – The reason is that the camel sweats very little. It can therefore retain the water it drinks for long periods of time.
2. How do the smaller desert animals fulfil their need for water?
Answer – The smaller desert animals take various measures to fulfil their need for water:
Some of them burrow underground in the day time and come out only at night to eat.
Some others eat other animals and get the moisture from the meat.
Some eat plants and seeds and obtain plant juices.
3. In a desert the temperature rises during the day and falls rapidly at night. Why?
Answer – In humid climates, the moisture in the air acts like a blanket and protects the earth’s surface from the hot rays of the sun. The absence of this blanket in desert lands causes the desert to heat up rapidly during the day and to cool off rapidly at night.
Exercises
Answer the following questions:
1. Describe a desert in your own way. Write a paragraph and read it aloud to your classmates.
Answer – A desert is a place which is hot and receives less rainfall. It is not entirely dry. Oasis is a green island in the desert where a well/ spring gives water to the plants around. Camels can store water for a long time. Thus, they can survive on deserts for long. That’s the reason camel is called the ship of the desert.
2. Go to the library and collect information about the lifestyle of people in desert areas— their food, clothes, work, social customs, etc. Share this information with the group.
Answer – People living in Desert areas generally eat Grains like Jowar, Bajra and Ragi because these crops require less amount of water to grow. They are culturally diverse and rich. There are many folk music and dances performed by them.
