NCERT Solutions for Class 6 English Honeysuckle Chapter 9 Desert Animals is given here. These Solutions covers answers for all the questions given in the chapter. These solutions will help students to prepare well and face the English exam with full confidence. You can also download the PDF of these solutions for free.
Class 6 English Honeysuckle Chapter 9 Questions and Answers
Working with Text
Question A.
1. Talk to your partner and say whether the following statements are true or false.
(i) No animal can survive without water.
(ii) Deserts are endless sand dunes.
(iii) Most snakes are harmless.
(iv) Snakes cannot hear, but they can feel vibrations through the ground.
(v) Camels store water in their humps.
Answer:
(i) True
(ii) False
(iii) True
(iv) True
(v) False
Question 2. Answer the following questions.
(i) How do desert animals survive without water?
Answer. Desert animals cannot survive without water. They find different ways of coping with the harsh desert conditions. For example, gerbils spend the hottest part of the day in cool burrows. And darkling beetles catch moisture on their legs and then lift them into the air till the drops trickle down into their mouths.
(ii) How do mongooses kill snakes?
Answer. Mongooses kill snakes without getting hurt themselves. Their reactions are so fast that they dodge each time the snake strikes. They continually make a nuisance of themselves, and after a while, when the snake gets tired, they quickly dive in for the kill.
(iii) How does the hump of the camels help them to survive when there is no water?
Answer. The humps help the camels to survive by acting as storage containers. These humps are full of fat. The fat nourishes the camels in the absence of food and water.
Question B. Read the words/phrases in the box. With your partner find their meaning in the dictionary.
| Harsh | conditions | harmless | survive | intruder |
| threatened | predators | prey | continually |
Fill in the blanks in the following passage with the above words/phrases.
All animals in forests and deserts struggle to ______ in ______. Though most of the animals are ______, some are dangerous when ______. If an ______ is noticed, they attack or bite to save themselves. They struggle ______ for food and water. Some animals are called ______ because they ______ on other animals.
Answer: All animals in forests and deserts struggle to survive in harsh conditions. Though most of the animals are harmless, some are dangerous when threatened. If an intruder is noticed, they attack or bite to save themselves. They struggle continually for food and water. Some animals are called predators because they prey on other animals.
Speaking
Look at these sentences.
- Deserts are the driest places on earth.
- Gerbils spend the hottest part of the day in cool underground burrows.
Now form pairs. Ask questions using a suitable form of the word in brackets. Try to answer the questions too.
Do you know
1. Which animal is the _______________________ (tall)?
2. Which animal runs the _______________________ (fast)?
3. Which place on earth is the _______________________ (hot) or the _______________________ (cold)?
4. Which animal is the _______________________ (large)?
5. Which is the ————————————— (tall) mountain in the world?
6. Which is the _______________________ (rainy) place on earth?
7. Which is the ________________________ (old) living animal?
Can you add some questions of your own?
Answer:
1. Which animal is the tallest (tall)?
Answer: Giraffe is the tallest animal.
2. Which animal runs the fastest (fast)?
Answer: Leopard runs the fastest.
3. Which place on earth is the hottest (hot) or the coldest (cold)?
Answer: Aziza Libya is the hottest and Verkhoyansk is the coldest place on earth.
4. Which animal is the largest (large)?
Answer: Blue Whale is the largest animal.
5. Which is the tallest (tall) mountain in the world?
Answer: Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world.
6. Which is the rainiest (rainy) place on earth?
Answer: Mawsynram in Meghalaya is the rainiest place on earth.
7. Which is the oldest (old) living animal?
Answer: The giant tortoise is the oldest living animal.
Thinking about the language
A. Look at these sentences.
- Most snakes are quite harmless, but a few are poisonous.
- Most snakes lay eggs, but the rattlesnake gives birth to its young.
Now write five sentences like these using ‘most’ and the clues below.
1. (90% of) people are honest (10%) are dishonest.
—————————————————————————
2. (Lots of) fruit have plenty of sugar, (some) citrus fruit are low in sugar.
———————————————————————————————
3. (Every soft drink except this one) has lots of ‘empty calories’.
—————————————————————————————
4. (The majority of) films are romances, (a few) are on other topics.
——————————————————————————————
5. (A majority of) people agree that he is a good leader, (just a few) disagree.
————————————————————————————————
Answer:
1. Most of the people are honest but a few are dishonest.
2. Most of the fruits have plenty of sugar but a few citrus fruits are low in sugar.
3. Most of the soft drinks except this one has lots of empty calories.
4. Most of the films are romances but a few are on other topics.
5. (A majority of) people agree that he is a good leader, (just a few) disagree.
Most of the people agree that he is a good leader but a few disagree.
B. Look at these sentences.
- Animals cannot survive for long without water.
- So desert animals have to find different ways of coping.
The first sentence says what cannot happen or be done; the second tells us what must, therefore, be done, what it is necessary to do.
Complete these sentences using cannot and have to/has to.
1. You —————————— reach the island by land or air; you —————————— go by boat.
2. We —————————— see bacteria with our eyes; we —————————— look at them through a microscope.
3. He—————————— have a new bicycle now; he ——————— wait till next year.
4. Old people often —————————— hear very well; they ——————————use a hearing aid.
5. Road users —————————— do what they wish; they —————follow the traffic rules.
6. She —————————— accept this decision; she ——————— question it.
7. You —————————— believe everything you hear; you —————————— use your own judgement.
Answer:
1. You cannot reach the island by land or air; you have to go by boat.
2. We cannot see bacteria with our eyes; we have to look at them through a microscope.
3. He cannot have a new bicycle now; he has to wait till next year.
4. Old people often cannot hear very well; they have to use a hearing aid.
5. Road users cannot do what they wish; they have to follow the traffic rules.
6. She cannot accept this decision; she has to question it.
7. You cannot believe everything you hear; you have to use your own judgement.
Writing
Imagine you are journeying through a desert. Write a couple of paragraphs describing what you see and hear.
Answer: A desert is not a place worth living. It is a nightmare to journey through the Thar Desert.From my personal experience I know how hot the deserts are. I saw endless expanse of sand and sand dunes. Only here and there I saw a few thorny bushes. There are very few birds. The camel is a common sight. There are only small villages around oases. Life is very hard there. Water is scarce, so is greenery.
We hear the blowing of hot winds and the howling of sand storms. We can hear the calling of mongooses and the howling of jackals. Now and then we can hear the tinkling of bells round the neck of camels.