NCERT Solutions for Class 7 English Chapter 3 The Desert provides answers to all the questions of the English supplementary reader The Alien Hand. These solutions are prepared carefully by our expert teachers to help students in their studies. All the answers are as per the CBSE guidelines and help you to can score good marks in the exam. Here we have also given NCERT Solutions for Class 7 English An Alien Hand Chapter 3 The Desert in PDF format for free.
NCERT Solutions for Class 7 English An Alien Hand Chapter 3 The Desert
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 phrases which describe the desert as most people believe it is are: endless stretch of sand, hot, dry, waterless, without shelter.
(ii) The phrases which describe the desert as specialists see it are: a beautiful place; the home of a variety of people, animals and plants; the sight can be as rewarding as that of any tropical garden.
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.
| (i) an endless stretch of sand | fertile place with water and plants in a desert |
| (ii) waterless and without shelter | not visible because the grass is thick |
| (iii) an oasis | nothing but sand as far as one can see |
| (iv) hidden by a cover of grass | no water and no shade |
Answer:
| (i) an endless stretch of sand | nothing but sand as far as one can see |
| (ii) waterless and without shelter | no water and no shade |
| (iii) an oasis | fertile place with water and plants in a desert |
| (iv) hidden by a cover of grass | not visible because the grass is thick |
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 camels can do without water for days together because they sweat very little. They can stand a high body temperature. They do not need to sweat. Therefore, they can retain the water they drink for long periods of time.
Question 2. How do the smaller desert animals fulfill their need for water?
Answer: The smaller animals fulfill their need for water by burrowing underground during the hot day and come out at night to eat. Some of them eat other animals and get the water they need from the moisture in the meat. Others eat plants and seeds 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 moisture in the air acts like a blanket and protects the earth’s surface from the hot rays of the sun. The absence of this blanket in desert lands causes the desert to heat up rapidly during the day and to cool off rapidly at night.
Exercises
Do the following activities in groups.
Question 1. Describe a desert in your own way. Write a paragraph and read it aloud to your classmates.
Answer: A desert is a place which is hot and receives less rainfall. It is not entirely dry. Oasis is a green island in the desert where a well/ spring gives water to the plants around. Camels can store water for a long time. Thus, they can survive on deserts for long. That’s the reason camel is called the ship of the desert.
Question 2. Go to the library and collect information about the lifestyle of people in desert areas— their food, clothes, work, social customs, etc. Share this information with the group.
Answer: Students need to do this question by themselves.