Short Answer Type Questions
1. Why is mist called Melancholy?
Answer: Melancholy means very sad. And it is called so because as the mist comes climbing up the hills birds fall silent, forest becomes deathly still and it shows the unhappy environment.
2. What happened on June 24?
Answer: June 24 was the first day of monsoon mist. Due the which birds become silent and all forests are deathly still as though it were midnight.
3. How did the author describe the hill station and valley?
Answer: When a school boy asked him to describe the hill station & valley in one sentence, he said that “A paradise that might have been”.
4. How can you say that “Plants to know that monsoon rain had come”?
Answer: When monsoon rain (warm & humid) comes the first cobra lily rears its head from the ferns. So we can say that “Plants to know that monsoon had come”.
5. Write the name of seasonal visitors that rain heralded.
Answer: The rain heralded the arrival of some seasonal visitors i.e., a leopard, several thousands of leeches, scarlet minivets, drongos, a tree creeper etc.
6. Where did the author find the leopard and what was he doing there?
Answer: The leopard was near the servant’s quarter below the school and he was lifting a dog. In the evening leopard attacked one of Bijju’s cows. He approached Bijju’s mother who was screaming imprecations.
7. Why can scarlet minivets not conceal themselves under the trees?
Answer: Scarlet minivets (bright red bird like a cuckoo) they flit among leaves like brilliant jewels. But they cannot conceal themselves. No matter how leafy the tree because they are very bright in colour.”
8. What were creeper doing at the trunk of tree?
Answer: The creeper were moving rapidly up the trunk of the oak tree. They were snapping up insects all around. As there is rain so these is no dearth of insectivorous birds.
9. What were the feeling of author on August 2?
Answer: On August 2, all night rain were falling on the corrugated tin roof. There was no storm, no thunder. His tin roofs were springing unaccountable leaks. So there was a feeling of being untouched by yet in touch with the rain.
10. What happened on August 3?
Answer: On August 3, the rain stops the clouds begin to break up, the sun strikes the hills, he heard the tinkle of cowbells and suddenly, clean & pure the song of whistling thrush emerges like a dark sweet secret from the depths of the ravine.
11. Why were hillsides lush?
Answer: The hillsides were as late-monsoon flowers begin to appear wild balsam, dahlias, begonias and ground orchids.
12. What were the natural phenomenon which were showing that rains are coming to an end?
Answer: Lush monsoon growth has reached its peak, the seeds of the cobra lily are turning red, this all were signifying that rains are coming to an end.
13. Why grandmother stops small children to kill chuchundars?
Answer: Shrews are weak of eyesight, Grandmother stops children to kill them because according to her “chuchundars are lucky they bring money”.
14. Do you really think that “chuchundar are lucky”. Explain why?
Answer: Yes, we really think that chuchundar are lucky because the author received a cheque in the mail. Not a large amount of money but something was there.
15. Why was author feeling alone on January 26?
Answer: The author was feeling alone in the hushed silence of house because his friend went away from him. So it was very lonely and quiet in the silence.
16. What happened in the late March or end of winter?
Answer: At the end of winter, he saw the blackest cloud over Mussorie and then it hailed marbles for half an . hour. As he wrote, he saw a rainbow forming.
17. Why is the author not able to see Bijju?
Answer: The author is not able to see Bijju because of the mist that concealed the hills. So he could only hear the voice of Bijju.
18. What are the two ways in which the hills appear to change when the mist comes up?
Answer: When the mist comes up, the hills cover with silence. It also conceals the hills with its cover blanket.
19. When does the monsoon season begin and when does it end? How do you prepare to face the monsoon?
Answer: The monsoon enters India from east and south somewhere around mid of May. It reaches northern part of the country around second week of June. The monsoon ends around September. We take out our rain coats and umbrellas to face the monsoon.
20. Which hill-station does the author describe in this diary entry?
Answer: Mussoorie.
21. For “how many days does it rain without stopping? What does the author do on these days?
Answer: It rained without stopping for eight or nine days. The author has nowhere to go but to sit in the room and look out of the window at few bobbing umbrellas.
22. Where do the snakes and rodents take shelter? Why?
Answer: The snakes and rodents take shelter in roofs, attics and godowns in order to save themselves from rain water.
23. What did the author receive in the mail?
Answer: The author received a cheque in the mail.
24. Why did the grandmother ask the children not to kill the chuchundar?
Answer: The grandmother asked the children not to kill the chuchundar because it was considered lucky. She said that it brought money.
25. What signs do we find in Nature which show that the monsoon are about to end?
Answer: By the end of the monsoon, the greenery is at its peak. The seeds of the cobra lily turn red. A rainbow is formed in the sky.
A. Very Short Answer Questions: (1 Marks)
1. Word – Meaning from the given chapter
i. Insectivorous
Ans: Plants or animals that eat insects are known as Insectivorous.
ii. Dearth
Ans: An excessively small amount of something: a scarcity.
iii. Hailstorm
Ans: A hailstorm is a rare weather occurrence in which ice balls.
iv. Suffused
Ans: Gradually diffused over or through.
2. Of which great lady, the diary was published as a book?
Ans: Anne Frank’s diary was turned into a book called “The Diary of Anne Frank.”
3. “A short Monsoon Diary” is an extract from whose diary?
Ans: “A brief Monsoon Diary” is an excerpt by Ruskin Bond, a brilliant novelist.
4. Name the flowers mentioned in the lesson.
Ans: Wild balsam, dahlias, begonias, ground orchids, cobra lies, and other flowers are discussed in the class.
5. What does the author see on its way to the bank and post office on June 25?
Ans: On his walk to the bank and post office, the author notices the first cobra lily emerging from the ferns.
B. Short Answer Questions: (2 Marks)
1. What happens when the mist climbs up the hill?
Ans: The time the mist rises the hill, the birds fall silent. As a result, the mist appears melancholy as it blankets the hills. At midnight, the woodland becomes as ominous as it gets.
2. Bijju is calling whom? And who cannot see Bijju?
Ans: Through the mist, Bijju is calling to his sister. The author can only hear him racing down the hillside since he cannot see him.
3. How is the weather on June 25 mentioned by the author?
Ans: On June 25, the author wrote in his diary that there is early monsoon rain, warm and humid, and the temperature is not as cold as the inhabitants of the mountains have experienced in the past.
4. How does the condition change on June 27?
Ans: Seasonal visitors have arrived, including a leopard and thousands of leeches, scarlet minivets, and drongos, as indicated by the rains.
5. What does the author have to say about the leeches during the monsoon?
Ans: There was no other option, the author let the leeches suck his blood during the rainstorm.
C. Short Answer Questions: (3 Marks)
1. What does the leopard do to domestic animals?
Ans: During the monsoon, the leopard would emerge. It had attacked a dog from the servants’ section below the school on the afternoon of June 27. It attacked one of Bijju’s cows in the evening, but when Bijju’s mother shouted, it flew away.
2. What does the author observe about the creepers?
Ans: A treecreeper climbed quickly up the trunk of the oak tree as soon as the monsoon began, snapping any insects in its path, according to the author. The birds would not go hungry because the monsoon season is also an insect-filled season.
3. What can the mist afford? What does the schoolboy ask about the hill? What does the author tell him?
Ans: The mist, according to the author, provides some privacy. When a student asked him to characterize the hill station and valley in one line, the author could only say, “A paradise that might have been.”
4. What does the author observe about scarlet minivets and the drongos?
Ans: Scarlet minivets flitted through the leaves like pearls, softly. He sees that the brightly coloured birds cannot hide in the green trees, but they can sometimes hide by remaining silent. The minivets are chased away by a pair of ferocious drongos.
5. What does the author write in his diary on August 2?
Ans: The rain that poured down all night on the tin roof was reported in the author’s diary on August 2nd. There was no thunder or storm, simply the screech of a tropical downpour. The rain both kept the author awake and helped him sleep.
D. Long Answer Questions: (5 Marks)
1. How was the weather different on August 3 from August 12 according to the author’s diary?
Ans: The weather has been somewhat unpredictable, according to the author. The rain ceased and the clouds parted on August 3, and the sun shone out on the left. Cowbells were grazed by a woman who came chopping sticks. The bird thrush whistled tunes from the ravine’s depths, like a dark sweet secret. On August 12, it’s raining nonstop and there’s a constant mist. For over eight or nine days, the sun remained buried once more. People were unable to leave their homes because the land was damp and soggy. However, because it was late summer, flowers such as wild balsam, dahlias, begonias, and ground orchids bloomed.
2. What changes does the author see in the environment and the weather on the last day of August?
Ans: August 31 is the last day of the month. The lush monsoon growth has reached its apex, according to the author. The cobra lily’s seeds turned red, signalling that the rains were coming to an end. On the grassy slopes of Landour, the ferns turned yellow, the ground orchids, mauve lady’s slippers, and white butterfly orchids put on a fashion show. Reptiles and rats crawled out of their tunnels and holes, seeking refuge in roofs, attics, and godowns. Shrews are lucky and bring luck, according to the author’s grandmother. When the author receives a check, he believes her.
3. In what way has the author Ruskin Bond described January 26? Elaborate what he has written in simple words.
Ans: Ruskin Bond wrote a poem called “Winter Rains in the Hills” to represent the 26th of January. He’s mentioned the house’s silence when he’s alone and his pal has gone. How lonely and quiet the house has become. He is surrounded by the rhythm of rain and the steady flow of water on leaves, lemons, and the roof, as well as how the water is drowning the dahlias and window panes. When he glances out the window, he notices the rain stopping and starting. The trees, which had been green, had turned grey and scared him with their loneliness.
4. What do you understand from diary writing?
Ans: A diary is a written record of personal happenings in one’s life. People keep diaries for a lengthy period to record their everyday activities and experiences. A person can be honest about his or her feelings, thoughts, and opinions in a diary. It is a secure environment in which to share your belongings. Only one person has access to one’s diary. It’s for and about you. Someone’s thoughts, feelings, and ideas that they pour into their diary are expressed and assembled in a diary entry.
5. Write a summary of the poem “On the Grasshopper and Cricket”.
Ans: The grasshopper represents summer, and the cricket represents winter in the poem “On the Grasshopper and Cricket.” The earth, according to John Keats, is continually chanting tunes. The grasshoppers come out chirping and soaring from the hedge in the hot summers when the birds stop singing and leave to a cooler spot. And when the birds remain mute in the cold, the ground communicates its joy by becoming a cricket. The soil sings wonderful songs through the stones, as the temperature rises with each passing instant.
Long Questions
1. What is the importance of diary entry? How does it reflect the mood and phases of the writer?
Answer: Diary entry is a form of literature when one expresses his thoughts without hesitation. A diary writer make entries that reflects his mood. He also writes to keep a record of events and happenings that he would like to remember forever. It is also helpful in understanding the journey a person go through.
2. The lesson is a record of personal experiences that is helpful in understanding the nature. Give your opinion.
Answer: The lesson is a personal account of Ruskin Bond, who described nature and its bounties. It is a writer’s document that is helpful for any traveller. It gives confidence and detailed account of the hill station. The weather and miracle of nature is narrated so well, that anyone can feel association with the surrounding.
3. Look carefully at the diary entries for June 24-25, August 2 and March 23. Now write down the changes that happen as the rains progress from June to March.
Answer: June 24 was the first day of monsoon mist. All the birds fell silent as the mist climbed up the hills. The author calls the hills, it blankets them in silence too. On June 25, there was some genuine early monsoon rain. It was warm and humid, contrary to the cold high-altitude weather that the author had been experiencing all year. It seemed to the author that the plants knew it too, and the first cobra lily reared its head from the ferns. He described the weather as ‘a paradise that might ‘have been’ on August 2, it rained all night. There had been no storm or thunder. The. author experienced a feeling of “being untouched by, and yet in touch with, the rain”. March 23 marked the end of winter. The blackest cloud he had ever seen spread over Mussoorie and then it hailed marbles for half an hour. The hailstorm cleared the sky and he saw a rainbow forming.
Find detailed extra questions and answers for each chapter at CBSEJanta.com!
Enhance your understanding of key concepts and perform well in your exams!
Why Choose CBSEJanta.com?
- Complete Chapter Solutions: In-depth explanations for all chapters in Honeydew and the Supplementary Reader. Visit CBSEJanta.com for more details.
- Comprehensive Grammar Coverage: Detailed grammar rules and practice exercises available on CBSEJanta.com.
- Writing Skills: Practice and guidance for all composition topics.
- Extra Resources: Additional exercises to reinforce learning and improve skills.
- User-Friendly Interface: Easy access to all resources through our app.
Download Our App! For easy access to Class 8 English NCERT solutions, grammar guides, and composition practice, download our app from CBSEJanta.com. With CBSEJanta.com, mastering English is straightforward and engaging.
Excel in Class 8 English with CBSEJanta.com! Get FREE NCERT solutions, grammar guides, and composition practice. Visit CBSEJanta.com or download our app now to enhance your English skills!