NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English Chapter 2 - The Tsunami

Comprehension Check Page No:27

Say whether the following are true or false.

1. Ignesious lost his wife, two children, his father-in-law, and his brother-in-law in the tsunami.

Ans: True

2. Sanjeev made it to safety after the tsunami.

Ans: False

3. Meghna was saved by a relief helicopter.

Ans: False

4. Alma's father realised that a tsunami was going to hit the island.

Ans: True

5. Her mother and aunts were washed away with the tree that they were holding on to.

Ans: True

Comprehension Check Page No: 28-29 

Answer the following in a phrase or sentence.

1. Why did Tilly's family come to Thailand?

Ans: Tilly Smith’s family visited a beach resort in southern Thailand from England, to celebrate Christmas at the beach resort.

2. What were the warning signs that both Tilly and her mother  saw?

Ans: Tilly's mother saw that the beach was getting smaller and smaller. They had already experienced massive earthquakes, early that morning, off the coast of Northern Sumatra.

3. Do you think Tilly's mother was alarmed by them?

Ans: Tilly's mother didn't know what a tsunami was. She could not understand what was happening but got serious when Tilly got frightened and told her about what it actually was.

4. Where had Tilly seen the sea behaving in the same strange fashion?

Ans: A video of a tsunami was shown to Tilly in a class by her geography teacher. That was the first time Tilly saw the sea behaving in such a strange fashion.

5. Where did the Smith family and the others on the beach go to escape from the tsunami?

Ans: They all ran back to the hotel and took refuge on the 3rd floor. This was a good escape plan.

6. How do you think her geography teacher felt when he heard about what Tilly had done in Phuket?

Ans: Since the geography teacher’s lesson helped Tilly and it made her aware of what a tsunami was, she must have felt happy that because of her lesson she could save her family and many other families because of the knowledge provided.

PageNo: 30 

Answer using a phrase or a sentence.

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

Ans: Less number of animals died than humans. However, there is no specific data related to that in the story.

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

Ans: Dead bodies of two water buffaloes and sixty visitors who visited the park were found in Yala National Park

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

Ans: The elephants ran away from the Patanangala beach about an hour before the tsunami hit. People who visited the park saw it. 

4. What did the dogs in Galle do?

Ans: The dogs refused to go for their daily walk in Gale.

Working With Text

Discuss the Following in Class. Then Write Your Own Answers.

1. When he felt the earthquake, do you think Ignesious immediately worked 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?

Ans: Ignesious didn't get an idea about the tsunami when the earthquake came. They concluded that they were just tremors and took the television off the table and placed it on the ground. After the tsunami struck, there wasn't enough time to discuss and plan their course of action and it led to only chaos and confusion. The following tells it clearly: “In the chaos and confusion, two of his children caught hold of the hands of their mother’s father and mother’s brother and rushed in the opposite directions.”

2. Which words in the list below describe Sanjeev, in your opinion? (Look up the dictionary for words that you are not sure of.)

cheerful ambitious brash     brave         careless

heroic             selfless           heartless           humorous

Use Words From the List to Complete the Three Sentences Below.

(i) I don't know if Sanjeev was cheerful, _____________or _____________.

Ans: I don't know if Sanjeev was cheerful, ambitious or humorous.

(ii) I think that he was very brave, _______________and ______________.

Ans: I think that he was very brave, heroic and selfless.

(iii) Sanjeev was not heartless, ______________or ___________.

Ans: Sanjeev was not heartless, brash or careless.

3. How are Meghna and Almas's stories similar?

Ans: Meghna and Almas were the only members of their families who were saved after the tsunami hit. The rest of the family was washed away in the tsunami. Both were floating in the sea for days. Meghna held onto a wooden door and floated in the sea for about two days. She was brought to the shore by a wave. Almas fainted after she climbed onto a log of wood and woke up in the hospital. Almas after the incident couldn't talk about it and Meghna was seen walking on the seashore in a daze.

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?

Ans: Tilly's parents instead of listening to her, alternatively, could have calmed her down and told her that there was nothing to worry about. If they would have done that the family would have been washed away by the tsunami. If I were in their place, I would have done the same and realised that we were in danger and acted the way she would have guided.

5. If Tilly's award was to be shared, who do you think she should share it with - her parents or her geography teacher?

Ans: I believe she should share her award with her geography teacher. She was a dedicated teacher and taught her students about tsunamis and the awareness helped her to save many lives.

6. What are the two different ideas about why so few animals were killed in the tsunami? Which idea do you find more believable?

Ans: The first idea is that animals have a heightened sixth sense. When they felt the earth trembling, they ran away from the place. This protected most of the animals from the tsunami. The second idea is that they have a heightened sense of hearing. They could hear the vibrations produced from the earth. The acute sense of hearing and feeling the vibrations of the earth helped them to protect themselves, before the human being could even realize what was happening.

Working With Language

1. Go through Part-I carefully, and make a list of as many words as you can find that indicate movement of different kinds. (There is one word that occurs repeatedly-count how many times!)Put them into three categories.

fast movement                            slow movement                           neither slow nor fast

Can you explain why there are many words in one column and not in the others?

Ans:

The ‘fast movement’ column has many more words as compared to the other two columns. This is because the story is about a tsunami, which is a fast movement of waters. Due to the tsunami, all the immediate actions are fast, such as running, climbing and sweeping away people by water.

2. Fill in the blanks in the sentences below (the verbs given in brackets will give you a clue).

(i) The earth trembled, but not many people felt the ____________. (tremble)

Ans: The earth trembled, but not many people felt the trembling.

(ii) When the zoo was flooded, there was a lot of ______________and many animals escaped into the countryside. (confuse)

Ans: When the zoo was flooded, there was a lot of confusion and many animals escaped into the countryside.

(iii) We heard with ____________that the lion had been recaptured. (relieve)

Ans: We heard with relief that the lion had been recaptured.

(iv) The zookeeper was stuck in a tree and his____________ was filmed by the TV crew. (rescue)

Ans: The zookeeper was stuck in a tree and his rescue was filmed by the TV crew.

(v) There was much____________ in the village when the snake charmer came visiting. (excite)

Ans: There was much excitement in the village when the snake charmer came visiting.

3. Say whether the following sentences are in the Active or the Passive voice. Write A or P after each sentence as shown in the first sentence.

(i) Someone stole my bicycle.

Ans: A

(ii) The tyres were deflated by the traffic police.  

Ans: P

(iii) I found it last night in a ditch near my house. 

Ans: A

(iv) It had been thrown there. 

Ans: P

(v) My father gave it to the mechanic. 

Ans: A

(vi) The mechanic repaired it for me. 

Ans: A

Class 8 English Chapter 2 - The Tsunami Summary 

The prose - The Tsunami of NCERT Class 8 English Honeydew textbook is divided into three parts, each explaining the destruction caused by the Tsunami, and how it wreaked havoc leading to immense loss of life and damage of property.

Part 1 starts with stories of four people who witnessed the destruction of the deadly Indian Ocean Tsunami that hit the shores on December 26, 2004. It discusses how the dreadful disaster destroyed the lives of different people in different ways, and the lifelong impact it had on them. 

The second part tells the story of a young girl from Thailand who sensed the Tsunami before it hit, and how she was able to save the life of her family and other people. 

In the third part, the NCERT Class 8 English Chapter 2 revealed facts about the sixth sense of animals, which can identify disastrous natural calamities such as tsunamis and earthquakes. This is the reason why around lakhs of people were killed in the Tsunami while the number of animals was very less. In fact, some animals also helped save the lives of their owners as well. 

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