Q1 of 12 Page 117

Answer the following questions.

(i) How do desert animals survive without water? (1)


(ii) How do mongooses kill snakes? (6)


(iii) How does the hump of the camels help them to survive when there is no water? (9)

(i) Deserts are among the driest places on earth but desert animals cannot survive without water.

They find alternate ways to survive in the scorching sun for long periods. For example – the Gerbils spend the hottest part of the day in cool underground burrows. The darkling beetles are experts at catching drops of moisture on their legs, then lifting them in their air until the drops trickle down their mouths. The Camel, also a desert animal can drink thirty gallons of water at once and can survive for nearly up to ten months without drinking water.


(ii) The mongooses are very smart in killing snakes without getting hurt themselves.


They can dodge each time the snake strikes because of their fast reactions. Acting in a very smart manner, they continually make a nuisance of themselves until the snake gets tired. In search of the right moment, they quickly dive in for killing the snake.


(iii) The Dromedary, with a single hump and the Bactrian Camel, with two humps, are the two different kinds of Camels found in the deserts. The humps of these animals help them in surviving by acting as storage containers that store a lot of fat. This fat nourishes the Camels when food is scarcely available. In addition to this, their mouths are so tough that even the sharp thorn cannot pierce through.


More from this chapter

All 12 →
1

Talk to your partner and say whether the following statements are true or false.

(i) No animal can survive without water.


(ii) Deserts are endless sand dunes.


(iii) Most snakes are harmless.


(iv) Snakes cannot hear, but they can feel vibrations through the ground.


(v) Camels store water in their humps.

 2

Read the words/phrases in the box. With your partner find their meaning in the dictionary.


Fill in the blanks in the following passage with the above words/phrases.


All animals in forests and deserts struggle to _____________ in ___________. Though most of the animals are ____________, some are dangerous when ______________. If an __________ is noticed, they attack or bite to save themselves. They struggle ___________ for food and water. Some animals are called ___________ because they ___________ on other animals.

 1

Look at these sentences.

● Deserts are the driest places on earth.


● Gerbils spend the hottest part of the day in cool underground burrows.


Now form pairs. Ask questions using a suitable form of the word in brackets. Try to answer the questions too.


Do you know


1. Which animal is the ____________ (tall)?


2. Which animal runs the _____________ (fast)?


3. Which place on earth is the ___________ (hot) or the ________ (cold)?


4. Which animal is the _______________ (large)?


5. Which is the ___________ (tall) mountain in the world?


6. Which is the ______________ (rainy) place on earth?


7. Which is the _____________ (old) living animal?


Can you add some questions of your own?

 1

Look at these sentences.

● Most snakes are quite harmless, but a few are poisonous.


● Most snakes lay eggs, but the rattlesnake gives birth to its young.


Now write five sentences like these using ‘most’ and the clues below.


1.(90% of) people are honest (10%) are dishonest. _________________


2.(Lots of) fruit have plenty of sugar, (some) citrus fruit are low in sugar. _________________


3. (Every soft drink except this one) has lots of ‘empty calories’. _________________


4. (The majority of) films are romances, (a few) are on other topics. _________________


5. (A majority of) people agree that he is a good leader, (just a few) disagree. _________________