The Desert
Solutions For All Chapters An Alien Hand Class 7
Comprehension Check (Page 16)
Question 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) The two such phrases are :
(a) “an endless stretch of land where no rain falls”, and
(b) “no vegetation grows”
(ii) (a) “a beautiful place”.
(b) “home of variety of people, animals and plants that have learnt to live under very hot and dry conditions”. I think the description of the specialists is more apt because a desert is not always dry, hot and sandy. It can also be covered with hills.
Question 2: The phrases on the left in the following box occur in the text. Match each of them with a phrase on the right.
Answer:
Comprehension Check (Page 19)
Question 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.
Question 2:
How do the smaller desert animals fulfill their need for water?
Answer:
The smaller desert animals spend the day in the underground burrows to escape the heat. Some of them eat other animals and get the water they need from the moisture in the meat. Others eat plants and get the water they need from plant juices.
Question 3:
In a desert the temperature rises during the day and falls rapidly at night. Why?
Answer:
In humid climates, the air has moisture that protects the earth’s surface from the heat of the sun. Since deserts have no moisture cover, they heat up rapidly during the day and cool off rapidly at night.
MORE QUESTIONS SOLVED
I. SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Question 1:
Who finds it difficult to imagine what a desert is Uke?
Answer:
Some people living in regions covered with forests and surrounded with hills find it difficult to imagine what a desert is like.
Question 2:
What happens when it rains in deserts?
Answer:
Rains are rare in the deserts. Whenever it rains, desert flowers start blooming The sight becomes as rewarding as that of any tropical garden.
Question 3:
What is an oasis? How is it useful for desert plants?
Answer:
An oasis is like a green island in the middle of a desert where a spring or a well gives plants and trees a better chance to grow.
Question 4:
How do desert plants and animals differ from most plants and animals?
Answer:
Desert plants and animals have developed the ability to require less water than most plants and animals.
II. LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Question 1:
How do the desert plants fulfill their need for water?
Answer:
Some desert plants adopt themselves to the life they lead. The cactus plants have thick stems. They store water in them. Their roots lie close to the surface of the ground. The roots quickly absorb the moisture from the light rains that occasionally fall. In this way, their fulfill their need for water. A few plants that live in deserts have developed the ability to require less water than most plants in other regions.
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