NCERT English Class 8 | Chapter 1 | How the Camel got his hump | Question Answer |

COMPREHENSION CHECK  I                                                                 PAGE 3

1. What tasks, do you think, were assigned to the dog and the ox?

Answer: The dog’s duty was to fetch and carry sticks, and the ox’s duty was to plough the field.

2. Why did the camel live in the middle of the desert?

Answer: The camel was the laziest animal. It didn’t want to work. So, it lived in the middle of the desert. Whenever anybody came to talk to the camel, it just said nothing more but “Humph!”

3. What made the dog, the horse and the ox very angry?

Answer: They became angry because the man assigned double the work to them as the camel was not doing his work. The dog, horse and ox together had to make up for the work not done by the camel.

4. How did the Djinn know the horse was complaining against the camel?

Answer: The horse told Djinn that the animal who is in the middle of the desert with long legs and necks had not done anything since the first day of the week. Djinn was in charge of all deserts, so he understood that the horse was complaining against the camel.

 

COMPREHENSION CHECK II                                                                  PAGE 5

1. The camel was looking at this own reflection in the pool. What does it suggest to you about the camel?

Answer: It suggests that the camel was proud of his appearance especially his back. Hence, he was admiring himself at his reflection in the pool.

2. The camel said, “Humph” repeatedly. How did it affect him?

Answer: Repeatedly the camel said “Humph” despite several warnings which annoyed the Djinn, and in no time, his back puffed up into a big hump.

3. What, according to the Djinn, was the use of the “humph”?

Answer: The use of humph according to Djinn was to store food and use it for many days during continuous work.

4. “...he has never yet learnt to behave”. In the light of this, what is the writer’s opinion about the camel?

Answer: The writer’s opinion about the camel is that the camel is still very lazy.  He avoids doing work. But, when he got hump Djinn asked him to go and help the dog, horse and ox. The camel had already missed three days of work. Hence, Djinn told him to finish the pending work. He can store food in his hump and use it for three days without eating food. But, it seems that the camel still did neither behave himself nor finish the pending work. He carried the hump and lived in the desert forever.

 

EXERCISE                                                                                                PAGE 6

Discuss the following topics in groups.

1. Can this story be factually true?

Answer: No, it is not factually true. It’s just an imaginative story.

2. What, according to you, is the story about? Consider the following:

(i) How the world began.

(ii) Why everyone should do his/her share of work seriously.

(iii) How animals are important to humans.

(iv) How the camel got his hump.

Answer: (iv) How the camel got his hump

3. What did you do over the weekend? Were you generally active or idle? Please check your back before starting to discuss or answer the question.

Answer: Students are advised to do it by themselves.

4. There are broadly two categories of workers – those who prefer to do today what they can do tomorrow, and those who prefer to do tomorrow what they can do today. Where do you belong?

Answer: Students are advised to do it by themselves.

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