Chapter 2: The Tsunami

English
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Chapter 2: The Tsunami

Class: VIII

Exercise number – 1

Question 1

Say whether the following are true or false.

1. Ignesious lost his wife, two children, his father-in law, and his brother-in-law in the tsunami.
2. Sanjeev made it to safety after the tsunami.

• Meghna was saved by a relief helicopter.

1. Almas’s father realised that a tsunami was going to hit the island.
2. Her mother and aunts were washed away with the tree that they were holding on to.

 

Answer 1

1. True
2. False (Sanjeev was swept away when he jumped into the water to rescue the wife of the guesthouse cook.)

• False (Meghna saw relief helicopters overhead, but they did not see her. She was brought to the shore by a wave.)

1. True
2. True

 

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Question 1

Why did Tilly’s family come to Thailand?

 

Answer 1

Tilly came to Thailand along with her family to celebrate Christmas.

 

Question 2

What were the warning sign that both Tilly and her mother saw?

 

Answer 2

The rising and swelling up of the sea were the warning signs that both Tilly and her mother saw.

 

Question 3

Do you think Tilly’s mother was alarmed by them?

 

Answer 3

Initially Tilly’s mother couldn’t understand what was happening but she realized that it was serious when Tilly got frightened and she mentioned what a Tsunami was.

 

Question 4

Where had Tilly seen the sea behaving in the same strange fashion?

 

Answer 4

Tilly had seen the sea behaving in the same strange fashion in a video shown in her geography class which was about a tsunami which had hit the Hawaiian Islands (1946).

 

Question 5

Where did the Smith family and the others on the beach go to escape from the tsunami?

 

Answer 5

The Smith family and the others on the beach took refuge on the third floor of a hotel to escape from the tsunami.

 

Question 6

How do you think her geography teacher felt when he heard about what Tilly had done in Phuket?

 

Answer 6

Tilly’s geography teacher must have felt proud of her because she made use of what she was taught in the class to help save so many lives in Phuket.

 

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Question 1

In the tsunami 150,000 people died. How many animals died?

 

Answer 1

Not many animals died in the tsunami.

 

Question 2

How many people and animals died in Yala National Park?

 

Answer 2

Exactly Sixty visitors and two water buffaloes died at the Yala National Park.

 

Question 3

What do people say about the elephants of Yala National Park?

 

Answer 3

The people at the Yala Nationa Park said that they had seen three elephants running away from the Patanangala beach an hour before the tsunami hit it.

 

Question 4

What did the dogs in Galle do?

 

Answer 4

The dogs at Galle refused to go out to the beach for their daily run.

 

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Question 1

When he felt the earthquake, do you think Ignesious immediately worried about a tsunami? Give reasons for your answer. Which sentence in the text tells you that the Ignesious family did not have any time to discuss and plan their course of action after the tsunami struck?

 

Answer 1

No, Ignesious did not suspect a tsunami when he felt the tremors of the earthquake. He took his television set and placed it on the ground so that it would not get damaged. This shows that he did not have any thoughts regarding tsunami immediately. Else, he would have rushed out of the house at the very first instant.

‘In the chaos and confusion, two of his children caught hold of the hands of their mother’s father and mother’s brother, and rushed in the opposite direction.’ – This shows that the Ignesious family did not have any time to discuss and plan their course of action after the tsunami struck

 

Question 2

Which words in the list below describe Sanjeev, in your opinion? (Look up the dictionary for words that you are not sure of.)
cheerful, ambitious, brash, brave, careless, heroic, selfless, heartless, humorous.
Use words from the list to complete the three sentences below.
(i) I don’t know if Sanjeev was cheerful, ____________ or _____________.
(ii) I think that he was very brave, ______________ and ____________.
(iii) Sanjeev was not heartless, ____________ or _____________.

 

Answer 2

In my opinion the words that describe Sanjeev are ­ brave, heroic and selfless.
(i) ambitious or humorous.
(ii) heroic and selfless.
(iii) brash or careless.

 

Question 3

How are Meghna and Almas’s stories similar?

 

Answer 3

Meghna’s and Almas’ stories are quite similar. Both their families were washed away. Both the girls kept floating in the sea for days. Meghna floated in the sea for two days holding on to a wooden-door and was brought to the shore by a wave. Almus climbed on to a log of wood and fainted and later woke up in a hospital. Both of them were traumatised after the incident. While Meghna was seen walking on the seashore in haze, Almus didn’t talk about the incident to anyone.

 

Question 4

What are the different ways in which Tilly’s parents could have reacted to her behavior? What would you have done if you were in their place?

 

Answer 4

Not taking Tilly seriously, her parents could have tried to calm her down thinking that she had been frightened by something. As a result, they could have been washed away by the huge waves of the tsunami.
If I was in their place, I too would have listened to her and realised that there was a danger approaching.  As a consequence, I too would have rushed away from the beach.

 

Question 5

If Tilly’s award was to be shared, who do you think she should share it with — her parents or her geography teacher?

 

Answer 5

If Tilly’s award was to be shared, she should have shared it with none other than her geography teacher who made her aware about tsunami. It was this awareness that helped her save so many lives in Phuket.

 

Question 6

What are the two different ideas about why so few animals were killed in the tsunami? Which idea do you find more believable?

 

Answer 6

Many people believe that animals have a sixth sense that helps them in knowing when the earth is going to shake. On the other hand, few experts believe that their more acute hearing helps them hear or feel the earth’s vibrations. They can sense an approaching disaster long before humans can realise it. I find the experts’ view more believable.

 

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Question 1

Go through Part – I carefully, and make a list of a many words as you can find that indicate movement of different kinds. (There is one word that occurs repeatedly — count how many times!) Put them into three categories.

• fast movement
• slow movement
• neither slow nor fast

Can you explain why there are many words in one column and not in the others?

 

Answer 1

• Fast movement – Earthquake, Rushed, Tremors, Swept,
   Ran, Fell, Climb
• Slow movement – Floating, Recede
• Neither slow nor fast – Walking

The ‘fast movement’ column has much more words as compared to the other two columns. The main reason behind it is that the story is about tsunami, which is basically rapid movement of waters. All the immediate actions relating to it are also fast, such as running, climbing and sweeping away of people by water.

 

Question 2

Fill in the blanks in the sentences below (the verbs given in brackets will give you a clue).
(a) The earth trembled, but not many people felt the ____________. (tremble)
(b) When the zoo was flooded, there was a lot of ________and many animals escaped into the countryside. (confuse)
(c) We heard with _________that the lion had been recaptured. (relieve)
(d) The zookeeper was stuck in a tree and his _______ was filmed by the TV crew. (rescue)
(e) There was much ____________in the village when the snake charmer came visiting. (excite)

 

Answer 2
(a) trembling.
(b) confusion
(c) relief.
(d) rescue
(e) excitement

 

Question 3

Say whether the following sentences are in the Active or the Passive voice. Write A or P after each sentence as shown in the first sentence.
(a) Someone stole my bicycle. ____A____
(b) The tyres were deflated by the traffic police. _________
(c) I found it last night in a ditch near my house. __________
(d) It had been thrown there. __________
(e) My father gave it to the mechanic. ______________
(f) The mechanic repaired it for me. ______________

 

Answer 3
(a) A
(b) P
(c) A
(d) P
(e) A
(f) A