Question Let us Discuss I
Arrange the listed events in order and predict whether the cherry tree survives.
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F
Answer
7, 2, 5, 10, 3, 1, 8, 4, 6, 9. Yes, it survives and grows new shoots.
CLASS 8 · POORVI · CHAPTER 4
Environment
Original, student-friendly answers for The Cherry Tree, Harvest Hymn, and Waiting for the Rain.
21 worked answersOriginal sample responses
21 worked answers · short steps first, explanations when you need them
The Cherry Tree
Textbook pages NCERT Poorvi, Class 8
Question Let us Think and Reflect
Explain how Rakesh and his grandfather care for the tree and what the tree represents.
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C
Answer
They care for it patiently. The tree represents resilience because it grows back after damage.
Question Let us Learn
Explain selected words from the story and describe one stage in the tree’s growth.
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U
Answer
Tang: sharp taste; yielding: soft; peered: looked closely; foliage: leaves. The sapling grows into a flowering tree.
Question Let us Write
Write a short paragraph about caring for a plant.
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S
Answer
Describe planting, regular care, and what you observed.
Question Before Reading I–III
Discuss growing a plant, why trees matter, and which fruit trees grow in your region.
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Think of a plant you have seen grow
Answer
A plant needs suitable water, light, and protection. Trees provide shade, food, and homes for wildlife. Give local examples and explain their needs.
Question Let us Discuss II, Part II table
Complete the story sequence, predict whether the tree survives, and complete the cause-and-effect table.
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Place the events in story order
Answer
Order: 7, 2, 5, 10, 3, 1, 8, 4, 6, 9. It survives and grows new shoots. The caterpillar is removed; the first blossom amazes them; Rakesh finds the cherries sour.
Question Let us Think and Reflect I–II
Answer both extracts and explain Rakesh’s family, the tree’s growth, and the connection between people and nature.
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Notice what actions reveal
Answer
Promptly means quickly. The seed-rolling shows playful thoughtfulness; planting it shows he values his grandfather’s advice. The tree survives severe weather, and its growth parallels Rakesh’s.
Question Let us Learn I, IV–V
Find the odd word in each group, complete the past-tense paragraph, and punctuate Roshni’s paragraph.
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Compare meanings in each word group
Answer
Odd words: galloped, smooth (least similar), pecked, planting. Tenses: were talking, realised, had imparted, was listening, remembered, had spent, had set, felt, had nurtured.
Harvest Hymn
Textbook pages NCERT Poorvi, Class 8
Question Let us Discuss and Reflect
Explain how the poem presents harvest and the relationship between people, nature, and gratitude.
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N
Answer
The harvest depends on nature and people’s work. The poem encourages gratitude and respect for the land.
Question Let us Speak and Write
Describe a local harvest celebration or a food that is important in your community.
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G
Answer
Name a celebration or food, describe one custom, and explain its meaning.
Question Before Reading I–III
Discuss harvest festivals and hymns, match archaic words, and choose meanings for the vocabulary paragraph.
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Use your local experience
Answer
A hymn is a song of praise and gratitude. Thou—you; art—are; thee—you; thy—your; thine—yours. Meanings: glow, respect, loved, advice, generous.
Question Let us Discuss I–VI and Let us Think and Reflect
Identify each stanza’s main idea, explain the imagery and symbols, and answer the extract and reflection questions.
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Follow the stanza speakers
Answer
Stanzas: 1 Surya, 2 Varuna, 3 Prithvi, 4 Brahma. The poem uses alliteration, imagery, personification, metaphor, and repetition. Symbols: Prithvi—fertility and motherhood; Surya—light and energy; Varuna—rain and nourishment. The farmers sing with gratitude for a good harvest.
Question Let us Learn I–III and Let us Listen
Match farming tools to their uses, supply synonyms and modern words, and answer the rice-cultivation listening questions.
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Use the pictures for tool names
Answer
Tools: sickle, scythe, plough, trowel, rake, spade. Synonyms: kind, generous, help, brightness, indescribable. Rice steps: plough, puddle, irrigate, transplant, harvest, thresh, mill. Answers:
- (i) puddling;
- (ii) 4–5 weeks;
- (iii) longer storage.
Question Let us Listen, Speak, Write and Explore
Prepare a harvest-food presentation, create a farmer-appreciation slogan, and suggest millet and harvest-song project responses.
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Describe the dish in a clear order
Answer
Sample slogan: “Thank a farmer with every meal.” Describe one local harvest dish, compile millet recipes, and ask an elder about a harvest song.
Waiting for the Rain
Textbook pages NCERT Poorvi, Class 8
Question Let us Discuss and Reflect
Describe the mood and images in the poem as people wait for rain.
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L
Answer
The mood is hopeful but expectant; rain promises relief and life.
Question Let us Write
Write a few lines about the first rain after a dry spell.
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U
Answer
Describe what the rain looks, sounds, or smells like and how it changes the place.
Question Before Reading and Let us Discuss I
Share why people wait for rain, describe the feeling after a dry spell, and predict whether Velu’s wait will end.
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Connect rain to farming
Answer
Farmers wait for rain because crops need water. The old woman offers Velu advice, and the story ends with clouds gathering and rain beginning.
Question Let us Discuss II–III and Let us Think and Reflect
Complete the reasons about Velu’s conversation, answer both extracts, and explain how resting land helps people and nature.
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Follow the change in Velu’s thinking
Answer
Velu rejects astrology and seeks practical help. The old woman is kind and patient; her advice first confuses him. Dry land cannot be cultivated, and leaving it fallow helps soil recover.
Question Let us Learn II–VI
Complete the homophone paragraph, choose meanings and collocations, identify tenses, and fill the crop-rotation paragraph and determiner blanks.
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Use sentence meaning for homophones
Answer
Homophones: whether, piece, plain, sell, seem, rain. Collocations: favourable weather, wrinkled skin, dejected expression, fragrant garden, ceaseless activity, beloved country. Tenses: simple present (1–2), present progressive (3–4), present perfect (5–6). Determiners: a, the, her, the, one, a few, each, her, neither.
Question Let us Listen, Speak, Write and Explore
Fill the weather forecast blanks, role-play a conversation between Rain and Earth, and write to a councillor requesting rainwater harvesting.
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Listen for city and weather words
Answer
Forecast: generally cloudy; Mumbai; 34°C; thunderstorm; maximum; umbrella. The letter should request a rainwater-harvesting unit and suggest storage and groundwater recharge.
Let us Learn, Listen, Speak and Explore
Textbook pages NCERT Poorvi, Class 8
Question Cherry Tree: Let us Learn IV–V; Let us Listen, Speak, Write and Explore
Complete the Cherry Tree tense, punctuation, listening, syllable, Van Mahotsav, tree-article, and environmentalist activities.
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Listening: true statements 1, 2, 3, 7. Syllables: 2, 4, 1, 3, 4, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3. The Van Mahotsav talk, corrected paragraph, and tree article are sample responses.
Answer
Listening: 1, 2, 3, 7 are true. Syllables: 2, 4, 1, 3, 4, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3. Fill article: would stop existing; absorb carbon dioxide; reduces pollution; Moreover; climate control; If trees were not there; our planet; To conclude; ensures a better future.