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Question 1:
From the first paragraph
(i) pick out two phrases which describe the desert as most people believe it is ;
(ii) Pick out two phrases which describe the desert as specialists see it.
Which do you think is an apt description, and why?
Answer:
(i) an endless stretch of sand; water less and without shelter.
(ii) a beautiful place; the home of a variety of people, animals and plants Description (ii) is apt.
Human experience tells us so.

Question 1:
A camel can do without water for days together. What is the reason given in the text?
Answer:
The reason is that the camel sweats very little. It can therefore retain the water it drinks
for long periods of time.

Question 2:
How do the smaller desert animals fulfill their need for water?
Answer:
The smaller desert animals spend the day in the underground burrows to escape the heat.
Some of them eat other animals and get the water they need from the moisture in the
meat. Others eat plants and get the water they need from plant juices.

Question 3:
In a desert the temperature rises during the day and falls rapidly at night. Why?
Answer:
In humid climates, the air has moisture that protects the earth’s surface from the heat of
the sun. Since deserts have no moisture cover, they heat up rapidly during the day and
cool off rapidly at night.
Exercise (Page 19)

Do the following activities in group

Question 1:
Describe a desert in your own way. Write a paragraph and read it aloud to your
classmates.
Answer:
A desert is usually a dry, hot and horrifying place. That is why only the nomads and
camels in a small number live there. Of course, there are green patches also near the
water spring. These places are called oases. The deserts occupy vast areas. In India the
hot desert of Rajasthan can also be turned into fertile agricultural land provided we take
water over there through canals.

Question 2:
Go to the library and collect information about the lifestyle of people in desert areas- their
food, clothes, work, social customs, etc.Show this information with the group.
Answer:
The nomads are homeless people in desert areas. They keep shifting to places where they
can get food and fodder. Their life is very hard. They use camels for transportation. They
eat mainly meat and dates. They weave their clothes from the wool of camel or sheep.
Their life style is very simple. They look to the sky for rain water. Thev have developed
their own customs.

MORE QUESTIONS SOLVED

I. SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Question 1:
Who finds it difficult to imagine what a desert is Uke?
Answer:
Some people living in regions covered with forests and surrounded with hills find it
difficult to imagine what a desert is like.

Question 2:
What happens when it rains in deserts?
Answer:
Rains are rare in the deserts. Whenever it rains, desert flowers start blooming The sight
becomes as rewarding as that of any tropical garden.

Question 3:
What is an oasis? How is it useful for desert plants?
Answer:
An oasis is like a green island in the middle of a desert where a spring or a well gives
plants and trees a better chance to grow.
Question 4:
How do desert plants and animals differ from most plants and animals?
Answer:
Desert plants and animals have developed the ability to require less water than most
plants and animals.

II. LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Question 1:
How do the desert plants fulfill their need for water?
Answer:
Some desert plants adopt themselves to the life they lead. The cactus plants have thick
stems. They store water in them. Their roots lie close to the surface of the ground. The
roots quickly absorb the moisture from the light rains that occasionally fall. In this way,
their fulfill their need for water. A few plants that live in deserts have developed the ability
to require less water than most plants in other regions.

Question 1.
What is the popular belief regarding vegetation in desert?
Answer:
The popular belief is that it is an endless stretch of sand where no rainfalls and therefore,
no vegetation grows.

Question 2.
What is Oasis?
Answer:
An Oasis is like a green island in the middle of a desert where a spring or a well gives
plants and trees a better chance to grow.

Question 3.
What is the real definition of a desert?
Answer:
If a place has little or no water and vegetation, people usually call it a desert.

Question 4.
What are ‘sand dunes’?
Answer:
Sand dunes are heaps of sand and deposition that shift and move endlessly across the
desert.

Question 5.
How do desert plants and animals adapt themselves with scarcity of water?
Answer:
Desert plants and animals learn to require much less water than most plants and animals.

Question 6.
What is the unique feature of ship of the desert?
Answer:
The camel adapted it in desert. It can drink a lot of water at one time and sweat a little. It
can do with-out water for days together.

Question 7.
Why do we sweat?
Answer:
We sweat because we must keep our body temperature constant.

Question 8.
How do small animals manage in desert?
Answer:
Small animals remain in their hideouts or burrows during the day and come out at night
only. Animals gets moisture from the meal they eat or from seeds and plant juices.

Question 9.
How do desert plants adapt themselves?
Answer:
Desert plants store water in their thick stems. Their roots lie close to the surface of the
ground and quickly absorb the moisture from the light rains that occasionally fall.

Question 10.
How is absence of moisture helpful in desert?
Answer:
The absence of moisture blanket in desert lands causes the desert to heat up rapidly
during the day and to cool off rapidly at night.

The Desert Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type

Question 1.
‘Desert can be a beautiful place’ yet water is the necessity of every individual. Discuss and
throw light on conservation of water and its resources.
Answer:
Nature has bestowed us with its bounties and gifts and deserts are one of them. But the
hardships faced by the inhabitants are really harsh. Water resources are depleting and no
measures are taken into consideration for optimum use of it. Well and rivers are drying up.
Constant source of rain water needs to be restored and more canals should be dug so as
to provide the basic necessity of every living being.

Question 2.
Animals and plants that live in desert have adapted themselves yet facing hardship is part
of their lives comment.
Answer:
Living in deserts is full of hardships be it cold or hot desert. The struggle of sustenance
takes a toll on life in desert. They have to face scarcity and extremities of weather
conditions. Less flora and fauna blot the beauties of these places. People have to stay
inside during day restricting their working hours.
Question 3.
Describe a desert in your own way. Write a paragraph and read it aloud to your
classmates.
Answer:
A desert is generally without water and vegetation but it is as beautiful as a forest. A
desert may be too hot or too cold but plants and animals. They have learned to survive in
hot and dry and cold condition. Deserts also have a different kind of vegetation.

Question 4.
From the first paragraph
(i) pick out two phrases which describe the desert as most people believe it is;
(ii) pick out two phrases which describe the desert as specialists see it. Which do you
think is an apt description and why?
Answer:
(i) Two phrases which describe the desert as most people believe it is:
“dry. hot, waterless and without shelter”
“a flat, unchanging wasteland of dry sand”

(ii) Two phrases which describe the desert as specialists see it:
“a beautiful place”
“home of a variety of people, animals and plants”
The description of the desert as specialists see it is more apt as their description is based
on actual studies, and not just on beliefs and assumptions.

Question 5.
A camel can do without water for days together. What is the reason given in the text?
Answer:
A camel can do without water for days together because they sweat very little. Camels
can stand high body temperature. They don’t need to sweat and therefore can retain the
water they drink for long periods of time.

Question 6.
How do the smaller desert animals fulfil their need for water?
Answer:
The smaller desert animals spend the day in the underground burrows to escape the heat.
Some of them eat other animals and get the water they need from the moisture from the
meat. Others eat plants and get the water they need from plant juices.