Tag: water

The Conceited Stag- Audio Story

 The Conceited Stag

Listen to and read the story The Conceited Stag and answer the questions given below:

Once upon a time… there was a stag with splendidly long antlers, who was
very conceited. Every time he drank at a pool, he would stand and admire his
reflection in the water. “I am handsome,” he would tell himself. “There’s no
finer set of antlers in the forest!” And off he would prance. Like all stags,
he had long slender legs, but folks said he’d rather break a leg than lose a
single branch of his splendid antlers. Poor foolish stag! How vain he was.
   One day, as he grazed peacefully on the tender shoots on some low branches,
he heard a distant shot. He heard with fear the baying of the hounds.
Terrified, he knew what terrible enemies the hounds were and that, if they
caught his scent, it would not be easy to outrun them. He had to flee at once,
and as quickly as possible. Faster and faster, he sped along the woodland
track, his heart in his mouth. He could hear the baying of the pack at his
heels. Without ever looking back, he ran in a straight line, trying to shake
off his pursuers. Then the wood thinned out into a clearing. “With luck I’ll be
safe now,” he said to himself, running swiftly over the smooth ground. And
indeed, the yelping of the hounds seemed to die away in the distance.
   Only a little further now, and the stag would reach safety. Suddenly, as he
swept under a tree, his antlers caught in the low-hanging branches. He shook
his head desperately, trying to break free, but although he struggled, his
antlers were held fast. The hounds were coming closer and closer. Just before
the stag met his doom, he had time to think: “What a mistake I made in
regarding my antlers as the best and most precious part of my body. I should
have had more respect for my legs. They tried to carry me to safety, while my
antlers will be the death of me!”

  1. Why was the stag conceited?
  2. Where did he admire his reflection?
  3. What did he hear one day while he was grazing?
  4. Why was he terrified?
  5. What did he do to save himself?
  6. Was he able to save himself? Why?
  7. What were the stag’s last thoughts?
  8. Give the meaning of the underlined words in the story. (You can also search for these words in the dictionary given here.) 

Giraffe

The giraffe is an African mammal. Giraffes are well known for their long necks, long legs and spotted patterns. No two giraffes have the same pattern of spots. Male giraffes are larger than females. Both male and female giraffes have small ”horns” or knobs on top of their heads. These knobs are used to protect the head in fights.

Giraffes live in the Savannas of Africa, where they roam freely among the tall trees, grasslands and open woodlands. Their long necks help giraffes to eat leaves from tall trees, typically the thorny leaves of the acacia tree. This is their favorite meal. They also browse on the twigs of trees and other vegetable food. A giraffe can eat 63 kg of leaves and twigs daily. Giraffes drink large quantities of water but if they need to, they can go for several days without water. They get most of the water from the plants they eat.

A giraffe cleans off any bugs that appear on its face with its extremely long tongue. The giraffe usually sleeps standing up, because it can take too long for a giraffe to get back up on its feet if a predator should approach.

The only natural predators of the giraffe are lions, hyenas and wild dogs. Young giraffes are very vulnerable and cannot defend themselves.  But otherwise the giraffes’ height (almost 19 feet) and excellent vision gives them a wide view of the grasslands, where they live, making it easy for them to spot predators from a distance.

Exercise:- Answer the following questions:

  1. Where are giraffes found?
  2. Do all giraffes have the same pattern of spots?
  3. What do giraffes eat?
  4. How much can a giraffe eat everyday?
  5. From where do giraffes get most of the water?
  6. How does a giraffe clean its face?
  7. How does a giraffe sleep and why?
  8. Name some natural predators of the giraffe?
  9. What helps giraffes spot predators from a distance?
  10. Give the meaning of – protect, roam, favorite, predator, defend, vulnerable

The Foolish Fox

There flowed a small river through a forest. A tortoise lived with his friends in this river. Sometimes, he would come out of the river and take a stroll on the bank.

One day, a hungry fox came to the bank of the river. He saw the tortoise and his friends walking slowly. He pounced and caught the tortoise. But the tortoise was very clever. He pulled himself into his shell. The tortoise has a very hard shell. The fox tried hard to eat the tortoise but he could not break the hard shell.

Suddenly, the tortoise had an idea. He said, ”Dear fox, I have a hard shell which will not break so easily. You put me back into the river for sometime. When the shell is soaked in water, it will become very soft. Then you can eat me up very easily.
The foolish fox believed the tortoise and pushed him into the river. The tortoise quickly swam to the middle of the river.
The hungry fox lost his prey and repented his folly.

Exercise:- Answer the following questions:

  1. Where did the tortoise live?
  2. What did the tortoise do sometimes?
  3. Who came to the bank of the river one day?
  4. What did the fox do?
  5. How did the tortoise save his life?
  6. What lesson do you get from this story?
  7. Find the meaning of the following words:
  • stroll
  • pounced
  • foolish
  • clever
  • prey
  • repented

Negative Sentences

 

  • Compare the following sentences:

 

  1. I am happy.                                                         1. I am not happy.
  2. He is lazy.                                                             2. He is not lazy.
  3. She is honest.                                                      3. She is not honest.
  4. The mangoes are ripe.                                       4. The mangoes are not ripe.
  5. The food was enough.                                        5. The food was not enough.
  6. There is some water in the jug.                         6. There is no water in the jug.
  7. They have some money.                                     7. They have no money.
  8. He had a fast car.                                                  8. He had no fast car.
  9. She is watering the plants.                                  9. She is not watering the plants.
  10. They have reached Paris.                                    10. They have not reached Paris.

 

  • The sentences on the left-hand side are positive statements. The sentences on the right –hand side have not or no in them. They are negative sentences.  A sentence having not or no in them is called a Negative Sentence.
  • Note: When the Verb is made up of two or more words (Sentence – 9 and 10), we put not/no after the first word to make the sentence, Negative.

 

  • Now compare the following sentences:

 

  1. Close the doors and windows.                        1.  Do not/Don’t close the doors and windows.
  2. Go out of the room.                                          2.  Do not/Don’t go out of the room.
  3. Stand up.                                                             3.  Do not/Don’t stand up.
  4. Read this aloud.                                                  4.  Do not/Don’t read this aloud.
  5. Keep quiet.                                                           5.  Do not/Don’t keep quiet.

 

  • To make a command sentence, negative, we put do not/don’t at the beginning of the sentence. Don’t is the short form of ‘do not’.

 

 

 

Words

CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD.

There are some universal saying that are always true look at the following sentences:

  1. The sun shines during the day.
  2. The moon shines at night.
  3. The stars twinkle at night.
  4. The sun rises in the east.
  5. The sun sets in the west.
  6. Fish live in water.
  7. Birds fly in the sky.
  8. Cows give us milk.
  9. Cows eat grass.
  10. The whale is the largest water animal.
  11. Peacocks dance in the rainy season.
  12. The sunflower always faces the sun.
  13. A crow is black.
  14. The sky is blue.
  15. A week has seven days.
  16. There are twelve months in the year.
  17. The earth is round.
  18. The earth revolves round the sun.
  19. The moon revolves round the earth.
  20. Two and two make four.
  21. There are but two sides of a coin.
  22. There are millions of stars in the sky.
  23. Plants gives us fresh air.
  24. Plants help to bring rain.
  25. We cannot live without air.

There are numerous such saying which are true. We cannot quote them all here. Here are some exercises where you have to choose/ pick the right word .

Exarcise 1 :- Choose the right words from the brackets and fill in the blank spaces . The first one has been done for you;-

  1. Fish line in water. (in water/on land)
  2. Birds ______ in the sky.(swim/ fly)
  3. We see with our ______ . (eyes/ears)
  4. We smell with our ______ . (ears/nose)
  5. We hear with our ______ . (ears/eyes)
  6. We taste with our ______ . (tongue/lips)
  7. We need ______ and _____ to line. (air and water/milk and bread)
  8. _______ are good for our health. (fruits/chocolates)
  9. Sugar is ______ . (sweet/sour)
  10. Butter and cheese are made of _______ . (milk/water)
  11. Bread is made of _______ . (floor/flour)
  12. Apples are _______ . (red/blue)
  13. A dog is a faithful ______ . (animal/bird)
  14. Lion is a ________ animal. (domestic/wild)
  15. Ships sail on _____ . (water/land)
  16. A rainbow has ________ colours. (seven/ten)
  17. We must eat _______ food. (fresh/stale)
  18. We should not play with _______ . (fire/toys)

Exarcise 2 :- Here are some sentences with almost similar sounding words. Fill in the blanks with the right word .

  1. Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a _____ of water. (pale/pail)
  2. Baa, Baa Black _______ . (ship/sheep) Have you any ______ . (wool/cool)
  3. My grandmother told me a _______ . (tail/tale)
  4. The monkey has a long ______. (tail/tale)
  5. The hen lays _______. (eggs/legs)
  6. Birds lay eggs in ______. (nests/vests)
  7. Ship _____ in water. (sail/rail)
  8. A lion lines in a _____. (den/pen)
  9. Goat’s baby is called a ______ . (kid/lid)
  10. _______ gives us wool. (Ship/Sheep)
  11. Mother cooks foods in a _______. (pen/pan)
  12. Birds have ______ (rings/wings)
  13. He plays in a _______ . (band/hand)
  14. We ______with our hands. (clap/tap)
  15. We ______ with our feet. (clap/tap)