English Balbharati Std 5 Digest Chapter 17 On the Water Textbook Questions and Answers
1. Answer the following questions.
Question 1.
List the insects, birds, trees and plants mentioned in the poem.
Answer:
- insect – dragonfly
- birds – swallow, kingfisher
- flower – lilies
- plants – bulrush, water-mace, reeds
Question 2.
List the rhyming words in the (On the water) poem.
Answer:
- Glide – wide
- bright – delight
- run – sun
- see – tree
- large – marge
- place – water-mace
- dragonfly – by
- gleam – stream
- too – blue
- boat – float
Question 3.
Write what the following do, with the help of the poem.
- ripples
- lilies
- swallow
- fishes
- kingfisher
Answer:
- ripples – run
- lilies – float
- swallow – skims
- fishes – spring
- kingfisher – darts
Question 4.
Write what the poet is doing.
Does the poet like the experience? Write the line which tells us about it.
Answer:
Yes, the poet enjoys the experience of travelling in a boat. The line that tells us that the poet likes the boat ride experience is …….. ‘what could give us more delight?
2. Activities
Question 1.
Write a short essay on your own journey in a boat.
Answer:
Journey in a boat
Children love to play in the water. There is no end to their excitement when they know that they are going to travel by boat. I, too was excited when I came to know that I would be travelling in a boat. I had never travelled in a boat.
Our family had gone to Mahableshwar for a short holiday. I overheard my father saying that we were going to hire a boat for the whole day. I was so excited. I behaved my best. As decided we were given a boat along with a boatman in case we had some trouble. The boat was not a huge one but spacious enough for our family. My father started rowing the boat with the help of the oars. I watched him and wanted to row the boat too. My father was a little scared when I told him what I wanted.
He told me it was not easy. I was unhappy and sat quietly. The boatman suggested to my father to allow me to row the boat. He promised my father that nothing scary would happen. My father reluctantly agreed. I took the oars in my hands and began rowing the boat. The boatman was guiding me all the time. I rowed the boat for some time and then handed the oars to my father. Rowing is fun but also difficult.
I felt great to have rowed the boat. We ate and had a lot of fun on the boat. I also threw bread crumbs into the water. Through the clear water, I could see fishes eat them up quickly. How the day passed was a mystery to me. I can truly say that I enjoyed the boat ride. Travelling by boat was a wonderful experience.
Question 2.
Prepare and present a speech on ‘My Favourite Place’.
Use the following points.
Name of the place
Its special features
The reason why you like it
Answer:
Do it yourself.
Question 3.
Make a painting or a collage to show the different things described in the poem.
Answer:
Do it yourself.
English Balbharati Std 5 Answers Chapter 17 On the Water Additional Important Questions and Answers
Answer the following:
Question 1.
What is the poet doing?
Answer:
The poet is taking a ride in his little boat on the blue waters of the stream.
Question 2.
How do the ripples run?
Answer:
The ripples run, twinkling brightly in the sun.
Question 3.
What does the poet see reflected on the water?
Answer:
The poet sees the shadows of hills and trees reflected on the water.
Question 4.
What do the lilies look like?
Answer:
The lilies look round and large.
Question 5.
Name the grass like plants mentioned in the poem.
Answer:
The grass like plants mentioned in the poem are bulrush and water-mace.
Question 6.
What do the fishe do after they spring and gleam?
Answer:
The fishe splash into the stream after they spring and gleam.
Question 7.
What is the colour of the kingfisher?
Answer:
The kingfisher is bright blue and green in colour.
Activities :
Question 1.
Write down as many words you can find from the poem related to nature.
Answer:
Water, sky, sun, hill, tree, lilies, reeds, bulrush, water-mace, dragonfly, swallow, fishes, stream, kingfisher.
Question 2.
List the adjectives used for the following:
sky, lilies, dragonfly, kingfisher, water-mace.
Answer:
- sky – smooth, bright
- lilies – round and large
- dragonfly – great and green
- kingfisher – bright, green and blue
- water-mace – heavy
Question 3.
Pick out words from the poem which combine together to make a word.
Answer:
- dragon + fly = dragonfly
- king + fisher = kingfisher
- in + to = into
Note: Such words are called compound words.
Reading Skills Vocabulary and Grammar
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below:
Question 1.
What is the size of the poet’s boat?
Answer:
The poet’s boat is small.
Question 2.
What does the line ‘while the sky is smooth and bright’ mean?
Answer:
The above line means that it is a cloudless sky which is lit bright because of the sun.
Question 3.
Why do you think there are ripples on the water?
Answer:
There are ripples on the water because of the gentle breeze.
Question 4.
Why do you think the ripples are twinkling?
Answer:
The rays of sunlight falling on the water are making the ripples twinkle.
Question 5.
Which shadows are reflected on the water?
Answer:
The shadows of each hill and tree are reflected on the water.
Question 6.
Pick out two pairs of rhyming words from the last four lines of the extract.
Answer:
Run – sun, tree – see
Question 7.
Pick out the adjectives used for water, in the extract.
Answer:
blue, wide
Question 8.
Pick out nouns from the poem (extract) with article ‘the’ used before it and use it in your own sentence.
Answer:
1. the sky – The sky was filled with dark grey clouds.
2. the sun – The sun gives life to the whole world.
On the Water Summary in English
Summary:
The poem ‘On the Water’ describes the wonders of nature one gets to see while boating, The poet is trying to tell us that we should take some time out of our busy schedule and enjoy the wonders of nature. He wants us to appreciate the blue water and the clear skies which make things bright, lovely and lively.
The poet tells us to appreciate how the water twinkles in the sun and the reflection of the hills and trees on the stream which make it look like a beautiful painting. Further, the poet, tells us to enjoy the flora and fauna while taking a short trip in the boat.
Meanings :
- reedy marge (n) – water’s edge where reeds or tall grasses grow thick
- bulrush, water-mace (n) – wetland grass like plants
- ere (adv) – before
- dart (u) – move suddenly and rapidly
- whilst (conj) – while
- glide (v) – to move softly and smoothly
- delight (n) – joy, pleasure
- ripples (n) – a movement in the surface of a liquid
- twinkle (u) – to shine
- swallow (n) – a small migratory bird
- skimming (o) – to glide, pass near the surface
- gleam (u) – to shine, to glitter
- kingfisher (n) – a small bird with a large head and bright colourful feathers
- stream (n) – a small river wherein the water keeps on moving