LESSON 7: WATER - A TRUE ELIXIR
SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
1. Why should we preserve the quality of water available to us?
- Because only one percent of water is available for drinking.
2. What is the result of the excessive decline in the water table in the state?
- Due to excessive decline in water, nitrate presence in water has gone up by ten times, and farmers have to dig deeper into the ground to pump out water.
3. What did the Punjab Agriculture Minister admit on the floor of the House?
- He admitted that groundwater was continuously declining in 85% of areas of the state.
4. Why is water conservation the need of the day?
- Because the level of underground water is falling sharply day by day.
5. How do the rural communities and the poor urban classes suffer due to the shortage of water?
- In villages, people have to go for miles to collect water from streams and ponds. The poor urban classes have to drink polluted water.
6. Why is only one percent of the water available on our planet fit for drinking?
- Only three percent of water is fresh water, in which two percent is frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps. 97 percent of the water is salty ocean water. So only one percent of the water is available for drinking.
7. What technology can be used to save water?
- Technologies like planting and transplanting time of crops, sprinklers, drip irrigation, and furrow can be used to save water.
8. What type of water supply and sewerage system prevailed during the Indus Valley Civilization period?
- The Indus Valley Civilization period had one of the most sophisticated urban water supply and sewage systems in the world.
9. Why did civilizations generally grow on the banks of big rivers?
- Because people had access to fresh water easily.
10. What role do forests play in the conservation of water?
- In the forest, water seeps gently into the ground as vegetation breaks the flow of water. This groundwater feeds wells, lakes, and rivers.
LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
1. Write a short paragraph on: ‘Water, A True Elixir’.
- Water is the foundation of food and life. It is the basis of all life. We can live without food for a number of days but we can’t do without water for even a day. It is essential to life, just like air. In the forest, water seeps gently into the ground as vegetation breaks the flow of water. This groundwater feeds wells, lakes, and rivers. Many poets are inspired by waterfalls. However, with advancement, we are wasting and polluting water. We are cutting down forests, which disrupts the water cycle. As a result, the water level is sinking year after year. If this continues, a day will come when life will become impossible on Earth. So, we must conserve every drop of water.
2. How and why is the groundwater level falling in Punjab with every passing year? Explain.
- Groundwater levels in Punjab are falling due to a number of factors. Our consumption of water has increased year after year. The state's main crops, wheat and paddy, require a lot of water for irrigation. Farmers often use groundwater instead of canal water. The number of tube wells in the state has increased, while the availability of canal water has decreased. Paddy cultivation is a major contributor to groundwater depletion. The state's groundwater is being extracted faster than it can be recharged. We have reduced groundwater recharge sources. We have filled up lakes to make airports, playgrounds, and housing societies. We dig deeper and deeper every year for bore wells.
3. How does the cropping pattern affect the water table?
- Cropping patterns can affect the water table in several ways. When farmers cultivate more water-intensive crops, they may over-exploit groundwater for irrigation, leading to a decline in the water table. Crops consume groundwater, which increases discharge as the water table depth decreases. To combat groundwater decline, experts often advise diversifying crop rotations, incorporating more profitable crops that require less water, and including fallow periods in the rotation cycle.
4. How is water a source of beauty and joy? Explain.
- Water is a source of beauty and joy when it flows in streams down the rocks. It is a feast for the eyes to watch the beautiful rivers flowing down hills. The water present on Earth is a joy to watch for human eyes. Just as the eyes make a human face beautiful, water makes the Earth beautiful. As a great writer wrote: “Water in a landscape may be compared to the eyes in a human face.” He further suggests that it reflects the mood of the hour—being bright and happy when the sun shines, turning dark and gloomy when the sky is overcast. C.V. Raman calls it the true elixir of life.
5. Write a note on the necessity of conserving water.
- Water conservation has become the need of the day because rising population, growing industrialization, and expanding agriculture have increased the demand for water. Besides this, we are also wasting and polluting water. We are cutting down forests, disturbing the water cycle. As a result, the water level is sinking year after year. If this continues, a day will come when life will become impossible on Earth. So, we must conserve every drop of water.
LESSON 8: NO TIME FOR FEAR
SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
1. What did Barb do when she saw Malcolm after the grizzly had gone?
When the grizzly had gone, Barb came to Malcolm. She was deeply shocked to find Malcolm seriously wounded. His face was swollen. His red knee-cap was torn off. His front teeth were broken and his one eye was badly wounded. Barb threw her coat on Malcolm and ran back towards the lodge to call for help.
2. Who were Malcolm and Barb?
Malcolm and Barb, described in this story, were two young Canadians. Malcolm was a young boy of 19 and Barb was his girlfriend. She was 18 years old. Barb and Malcolm loved each other very much.
3. What made Malcolm almost sick?
When Malcolm looked at himself in the mirror, he saw that he had become very ugly. His face was disfigured and horribly ugly. He had no hair left on his head. Thick scars crisscrossed one side of his face. His skin was puffy and ugly shiny-red. All this made him almost sick.
4. Why did he ignore Barb’s letters?
After his encounter with the grizzly, Malcolm was reduced to a freak. He had no hair left on his head. His face was a crisscross of scars. His skin was puffy. It was ugly shiny-red. This was the reason why he ignored Barb’s letters. He thought that she couldn't love an ugly person like him.
5. Who attacked Barb?
When Malcolm and Barb were coming back after their trip to the Balu Pass, suddenly a grizzly bear came over a ridge and attacked Barb. It was a she-bear. The grizzly stood on Barb’s leg and started biting hard near the back of her neck.
6. Who was Ned Clough? How did he help Malcolm?
Ned Clough was a first-aid attendant. When Malcolm was badly wounded by the grizzly, Ned Clough came there with the rescuers. He wrapped Malcolm’s face. Then, Ned strapped Malcolm in a stretcher and also sent a wireless message and arranged for a helicopter to take him to a hospital.
7. What technology can be used to save water?
Technologies like planting and transplanting time of crops, sprinklers, drip irrigation, and furrow can be used to save water.
8. What, according to the doctor, was like putting a jigsaw puzzle together?
According to the doctor, restoring Malcolm’s face was like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. Malcolm was seriously injured by the grizzly. There were several cuts on his face. His one eye was torn off. This was the reason that the doctor said that restoring Malcolm’s face was like putting a jigsaw puzzle together.
9. Why did Barb write to Malcolm: "It’s a leap year"? What is the significance of this term?
It refers to an old custom. In a leap year, if a woman proposed to a man, he would be considered to accept it unless he was already engaged. Barb sent her marriage proposal to Malcolm in January 1972, a leap year. She wanted to draw his attention to the leap year because she sincerely wished him to accept her proposal.
10. When did they get married?
They got married on 21 July 1973.
LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
1. Describe in brief Malcolm’s meeting with Barb in the hospital after the attack of the grizzly.
Malcolm had stopped responding to Barb’s letters. He thought that nobody could love a man with such an ugly face. He refused to meet even his parents and close friends. But one morning in the hospital, Malcolm was filled with surprise when he saw Barb walking into his hospital room. She had traveled a distance of 1250 kilometers. She came in there to meet Malcolm. The two sat together and talked for a long time. Malcolm was emotionally aloof. But Barb’s presence forced him to think of the good past days he had spent with her company. However, he could not yet believe that Barb still loved him.
2. Why did Barb continue writing letters to Malcolm?
After his encounter with the grizzly, Malcolm was reduced to a freak. He had no hair left on his head. His face was a crisscross of scars. His skin had become ugly shiny-red. When Malcolm discovered that he had become very ugly, he started ignoring Barb’s letters. He thought that Barb could not love an ugly person like him. But Barb didn’t give up writing to him. She continued writing to Malcolm faithfully five to seven letters a week—even though he never responded. Barb did so because she loved Malcolm before as well as after the accident. Scars don’t change the person, she said. She also sent her marriage proposal to Malcolm through a letter in January 1972. In that letter, she pointed out that it was a leap year meaning that Malcolm must accept her proposal of marriage if he was not already engaged.
3 . How did the grizzly injure Malcolm?
The grizzly threw Malcolm off with one swat of her paw. Malcolm went blank for a moment. Then the grizzly attacked Barb. She stood on Barb’s leg and started biting hard at the back of Barb’s neck. When Malcolm saw this, he realized that there was no time for fear. So without losing a moment, he rushed at the grizzly and plunged his hunting knife into her neck. The grizzly at once twisted her head so powerfully that Malcolm’s right wrist was broken. Then the grizzly caught Malcolm in her paws and squeezed him tightly. The grizzly gave Malcolm such a blow that his scalp along with the hair was gone. Malcolm’s face had been split. His front teeth were broken and one of his eyes was torn off.
