In the spring, birds of all kinds would flock into the banyan tree’s branches.
I would spend the afternoons there.
Grandfather, at sixty-five, could no longer climb the banyan tree.
I could hide myself in its branches.
I could look down through the leaves at the world below.
I could read there.
‘Would’ tells us what the author used to do, or what used to happen.
‘Could’ tells us what the author was usually able to do, or grandfather is now not able to do.
Choose would and could to replace the italicised words in the following sentences.
Grandfather says, in the old days,
1. elephants were able to fly in the sky, like clouds. They were also able to change their shapes. They used to fly behind clouds and frighten them. People used to look up at the sky in wonder.
2. because there was no electricity, he used to get up with the sun, and he used to go to bed with the sun, like the birds.
3. like the owl, he was able to see quite well in the dark. He was able to tell who was coming by listening to their footsteps.
shraddha, what are adjectives?
feeegGah
can mongoose kill all the snakes or only thye cobra?
what isdesplution
i have done sentences and phrases still they are showing orange circle?
Summary for chapter The Banyan Tree
In the spring, birds of all kinds would flock into the banyan tree’s branches.
I would spend the afternoons there.
Grandfather, at sixty-five, could no longer climb the banyan tree.
I could hide myself in its branches.
I could look down through the leaves at the world below.
I could read there.
‘Would’ tells us what the author used to do, or what used to happen.
‘Could’ tells us what the author was usually able to do, or grandfather is now not able to do.
Choose would and could to replace the italicised words in the following sentences.
Grandfather says, in the old days,
1. elephants were able to fly in the sky, like clouds. They were also able to change their shapes. They used to fly behind clouds and frighten them. People used to look up at the sky in wonder.
2. because there was no electricity, he used to get up with the sun, and he used to go to bed with the sun, like the birds.
3. like the owl, he was able to see quite well in the dark. He was able to tell who was coming by listening to their footsteps.
Find words in the story, which show things striking violently against each other.
1. The cobra struck the crow, his snout th _ _ _ing against its body. (15)
2. The crow and the myna c _ ll _ _ _ _ in mid-air. (13)
3. The birds dived at the snake, but b _ _ _ _ d into each other instead. (14)
The words in the box are all words that describe movement. Use them to fill in the blanks in the sentences below.
dived
gliding
Sprang
darting
whipped…back
delving
1. When he began to trust me, the squirrel began _________ into my pockets for morsels of cake.
2. I saw a cobra ___________ out of a clump of cactus.
3. The snake hissed, his forked tongue ____________ in and out.
4. When the cobra tried to bite it, the mongoose _____________ aside.
5. The snake _______________ his head ________________ to strike at the crow.
6. The birds _______________ at the snake.
1. The word ‘round’ usually means a kind of shape. What is its meaning in the story?
2. Find five words in the following paragraph, which are generally associated with trees. But here, they have been used differently. Underline the words.
Hari leaves for work at nine every morning. He works in the local branch of the firm of which his uncle is the owner. Hari’s success is really the fruit of his own labour. He is happy, but he has a small problem. The root cause of his problem is a stray dog near his office. The dog welcomes Hari with a loud bark every day.
1. “It was to be a battle of champions.” (8)
(i) What qualities did the two champions have? Pick out words and phrases from the paragraph above this line in the text and write them down.
Mongoose
Cobra
(a) ___________
(a) ___________
(b) ___________
(b) ___________
(c) ___________
(c) ___________
(ii) What did the cobra and the mongoose do, to show their readiness for the fight?
2. Who were the other two spectators? What did they do? (Did they watch, or did they join in the fight?) (10)
3. Read the descriptions below of what the snake did and what the mongoose did. Arrange their actions in the proper order. (11, 16)
(i)
Ceased to struggle
Grabbed the snake by the snout
(ii)
Tried to mesmerise the mongoose
Dragged the snake into the bushes
(iii)
Coiled itself around the mongoose
Darted away and bit the cobra on the back
(iv)
Struck the crow
Pretended to attack the cobra on one side
(v)
Struck again and missed
Refused to look into the snake’s eyes
(v)
Struck on the side that the mongoose pretended to attack
Sprang aside, jumped in and bit
4. (i) What happened to the crow in the end? (16)
(ii) What did the myna do finally? (17)