D.A.V.
School, Pallikaranai
English Notes
Class 8, July (24-25)
The Tsunami by Sonali Deraniyagala
I) Read the extract and answer the questions:
Tilly saw the sea slowly rise, and starts to foam …………… I thought something serious
must be going on. (pg. no. 28, para 2)
1. Tilly had seen a video in her class. What was the video about?
The video that Tilly had seen was about a tsunami that hit the Hawaiian Islands in 1946.
2. List out the reasons for the occurrence of tsunami.
Tsunami can be caused by earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides.
3. Find out the word from the extract which means – uncontrollably agitated.
The word is hysterical.
4. They observed something unusual. What was it?
Tilly observed that the waves in the sea slowly rose and whirlpools were formed.
5. “I didn’t know what a tsunami was.” Who said this words?
These are the words of Tilly’s mother – Penny Smith.
II) Answer the following in 30 – 40 words:
1. Who was the first to feel an earthquake at Andaman and Nicobar?
Ignesious was working as the manager of a cooperative society in Katchal. His wife was the
first to feel an earthquake at 6a.m. Ignesious immediately placed his television on the ground
to save it from the quake.
2. Write briefly about Almas’ tragedy.
When the earthquake woke Almas’ father, he tried to rush the family members to a safer
place. As they ran, Almas’ grandfather was hit on the head by something and he fell down.
Her father rushed to help him. Then came the first wave that swept both of them away.
Almas’ mother and aunt stood clinging on the leaves of a tree. A wave uprooted the tree, and
they too were washed away.
3. The animals’ behaviour shows that they already get to know about their disasters.
Explain.
Nature has provided the animals to sense such disasters. In the lesson ‘The Tsunami’,
elephants screamed and ran for higher ground, dogs refused to go outdoors, flamingos
abandoned their low-flying breeding areas and zoo animals rushed into their shelter.
III) Answer the following in 100 - 120 words:
1. Elucidate on how Sanjeev lost his life and Meghna survived.
Sanjeev was a policeman serving in Katchall Island. He was able to save himself, his wife
and his daughter from the waves. Suddenly, he heard cries for help. These came from John’s
wife, the guest house cook. Sanjeev jumped into the water to rescue her. Both of them were
swept away. Thus, Sanjeev met a heroic death.
Meghna was a 13-year-old girl. She was swept away along with her parents and seventy-
seven other people. She caught hold of a wooden door. On it, she kept on floating for two
days. Eleven times she saw relief helicopters overhead, but they did not see her. Ultimately, a
wave brought her back to the shore. She was found walking on the seashore in a daze.
Geography Lesson
I. Read the following extract lines and answer the following questions.
When the jet reached ten thousand feet,
it was clear why the country
had cities where the rivers ran
and why the valleys were populated.
The logic of geography that
land and water attracted man -
was clearly delineated
when the jet reached ten thousand feet.
1.Mention the altitude of the jet?
The jet attained a height of ten thousand feet.
2. As soon as the jet reached that altitude, what were the changes observed by the poet?
As the jet reached an altitude of ten thousand feet it became clear, why cities had developed
near the flowing rivers.
3. What did the poet view from that height?
From that height, it became obvious to the poet that land and water were essential.
4. Identify and explain the poetic devices ‘refrain’ in the stanza
A refrain is a verse or phrase that is repeated at intervals throughout a song or poem. The
entire first line repeats again at the end of the stanza.
5. Pick out the synonym for delineated.
The synonym for delineated is describe.
II. Answer the following
1.What did the poet learn when he flew above the city?
As the poet travels in a jet, he noticed that the cities are not planned properly. From a height
of 10,000 feet, he noticed that valleys were populated. It was quite reasonable and
understandable. It was the compulsion of geography that people should settle down in places
with flat land and plenty of water and food. It is quite illogical why people hate and kill one
another. It is inhumane.
2. List two things that are (i) clear from the height. (ii) not clear from the height.
According to the poet.
(i) The earth is round and that land and water attracts man. This is clear from the sky.
(ii) It is not clear why men hate and kill each other and build walls across the city.
III. Answer in Detail
Bring out the central idea of the poem “Geography Lesson”.
The central idea of "Geography Lesson" is the contrast between the order and reason the
speaker observes in the natural world from a plane, and the senselessness of human conflict.
In this poem the poet learns a lesson of geography from a height of six miles, he noticed that
the earth was round and had more of sea than land. The poet had a wider view of the city and
found the city haphazard. From the hight he could understand why the valleys and river
banks were populated. But he failed to understand why people hated each other and built
walls across cities and to kill and divided the land into separate units.
The poem suggests that while we may be geographically literate, we lack the wisdom to live
together peacefully on this planet.
