Tsunami

Animal's Sixth Sense!

NCERT Solution

Question 1: In the tsunami 150,000 people died. How many animals died?

Answer: Although no data is given in the story but it says the number of dead animals was far less compared to human casualties.

Question 2: How many people and animals died in Yala National Park?

Answer: 60 visitors and two water buffaloes died in Yala National Park.

Question 3: What do people say about the elephants of Yala National Park?

Answer: An hour before the tsunami hit, people saw three elephants running away from Patanangala beach.

Question 4: What did the dogs in Galle do?

Answer: Two dogs of a person living in Galle refused to go for their routine morning walk to the beach and thus saved their and their owner's lives.

Working With Text

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: When he felt the earthquake, Ignesious was not worried about tsunami. He was only worried about saving his valuables. This is evident from the way he handled the television. He and his family immediately rushed out of the house. This shows that they did not find time to discuss and plan their course of action.

Question 2: Which words in the list below describe Sanjeev, in your opinion? (cheerful ambitious brash brave careless heroic selfless heartless humorous)

I don’t know if Sanjeev was cheerful, ___________ or ___________.
I think that he was very brave,___________ and___________.
Sanjeev was not heartless, ___________or___________.

Answer: (a) selfless, humorous, (b) ambitious , heroic, (c) careless, brash

Question 3: How are Meghna and Almas’s stories similar?

Answer: Both Meghna and Almas lost their parents and other members of family. Both of them somehow survived the onslaught of tsunami. When they were finally rescued, they were found alone.

Question 4: What are the different ways in which Tilly's parents could have reacted to her behaviour? What would you have done if you were in their place?

Answer: Tilly's parents could have asked Tilly to shut up, thinking her reaction to be childish. Had I been in their place, I too would have shouted at Tilly and would have asked her to calm down.

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: Tilly could save her life and many other people's life because of geography lesson. Hence, Tilly should share her award with her geography teacher.

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: Some people believe that animals have sixth sense which helps them to get a forewarning of natural disasters. Some other people believe that animals have a highly developed sense of hearing and hence animals can hear even feeble sounds from a great distance. Human beings are not capable of doing so.