NCERT Solutions for Class 6 English Honeysuckle Chapter 9 Desert Animals

Here the students can find the NCERT Solutions for Class 6 English Honeysuckle Chapter 9 Desert Animals. The solutions contain questions, answers, explanations and images to all the questions present in the prescribed textbook of CBSE board. All the questions are solved by experts with a detailed explanation that help students to complete their assignments & homework. Students can refer to the Class 6 English NCERT solutions in order to obtain a clear idea of the type of questions that would appear in the annual exams.

NCERT Solutions for Class 6 English Honeysuckle Chapter 9

Working with the Text

Question A.

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

(i) No animal can survive without water.
Answer. True

(ii) Deserts are endless sand dunes.
Answer. False

(iii) Most snakes are harmless.
Answer. True

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

(v) Camels store water in their humps.
Answer. False

Question 2. Answer the following questions.

(i) How do desert animals survive without water?

Answer: Desert animals cannot survive without water. They find different ways of coping with the harsh desert conditions. For example, gerbils spend the hottest part of the day in cool underground burrows. And darkling beetles catch moisture on their legs and then lift them into the air till the drops trickle down into their mouths.

(ii) How do mongooses kill snakes?

Answer: Mongoose kill snakes with their quick reactions through which they dodge the snake each time the snake strikes. They keep dodging the snake until it gets completely tired and then they dive in to kill the snake.

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

Answer: The humps of the camels help the animal to survive in the desert, by acting as storage containers. The hump is full of fat that nourishes the camel when food is scarce. If they have nothing to eat for several days, their humps shrink as the fat is used up.

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

harsh conditions, harmless, survive, intruder, threatened, predators, prey, continually

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.

Answer: All animals in forests and deserts struggle to survive in harsh conditions. Though most of the animals are harmless, some are dangerous when threatened. If an intruder is noticed, they attack or bite to save themselves. They struggle continually for food and water. Some animals are called predators because they prey on other animals.

Speaking

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?

Answer:

1. Which animal is the tallest (tall)?
Answer: Giraffe is the tallest animal.

2. Which animal runs the fastest (fast)?
Answer: Leopard runs the fastest.

3. Which place on earth is the hottest (hot) or the coldest (cold)?
Answer: Aziza Libya is the hottest and Verkhoyansk is the coldest place on earth.

4. Which animal is the largest (large)?
Answer: Blue Whale is the largest animal.

5. Which is the tallest (tall) mountain in the world?
Answer: Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world.

6. Which is the rainiest (rainy) place on earth?
Answer: Mawsynram in Meghalaya is the rainiest place on earth.

7. Which is the oldest (old) living animal?
Answer: The giant tortoise is the oldest living animal.

Thinking about Language

Question B: Look at these sentences

  • Deserts are the driest places on earth.
  • Gerbils spend the hottest part of the day in cool underground burrows.

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

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

Answer. Most people are honest, but about ten percent are dishonest.

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

Answer. Most fruits have plenty of sugar, but some citrus fruits have less sugar.

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

Answer. Most soft drinks have lots of ’empty calories’, but this one does not have ’empty calories’.

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

Answer. Most films are romances, but a few are on other topics.

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

Answer. Most people agree that he is a good leader, but a few disagree.

Question B: 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.

The first sentence says what cannot happen or be done; the second tells us what must, therefore, be done, what it is necessary to do. Complete these sentences using cannot and have to/has to.

1. You ______ reach the island by land or air; you ______ go by boat.

Answer. You cannot reach the island by land or air; you have to go by boat.

2. We ______ see bacteria with our eyes; we ______ look at them through a microscope.

Answer: We cannot see bacteria with our eyes; we have to look at them through a microscope.

3. He ______ have a new bicycle now; he ______ wait till next year.

Answer: He cannot have a new bicycle now; he has to wait till next year.

4. Old people often ______ hear very well; they ______ use a hearing aid.

Answer: Old people often cannot hear very well; they have to use a hearing aid.

5. Road users ______ do what they wish; they ______ follow the traffic rules.

Answer: Road users cannot do what they wish; they have to follow the traffic rules.

6. She ______ accept this decision; she ______ question it.

Answer: She cannot accept this decision; she has to question it.

7. You ______ believe everything you hear; you ______ use your own judgement.

Answer: You cannot believe everything you hear; you have to use your own judgment.

Writing

Imagine you are journeying through a desert. Write a couple of paragraphs describing what you see and hear.

Answer: A desert is not a place worth living. It is a nightmare to journey through the Thar Desert.From my personal experience I know how hot the deserts are. I saw endless​ expanse of sand and sand dunes. Only here and there I saw a few thorny bushes. There are very few birds. The camel is a common sight. There are only small villages around oases. Life is very hard there. Water is scarce, so is greenery​.

We hear the blowing of hot winds and the howling of sand storms. We can hear the calling of mongooses and the howling of jackals. Now and then we can hear the tinkling of bells round the neck of camels.

EXTRA QUESTIONS

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

1. Deserts have very thin population. Why?

Answer: Deserts have very little water and vegetation. There is greenery only around the watersprings or oases. So people don’t prefer to live there.

2. What are some of the notable features told about snakes in the lesson?

Answer: There are more than 2300 different kinds of snakes in the world. Some are upto 11metres long. Not all are poisonous. Most snakes lay eggs, but many of them give birth to their young.

3. Where are rattlesnakes found?

Answer: Rattlesnakes are very common in American continent. They feed on mice and rats etc.

4. What does the author tell about mongooses?

Answer: Mongooses are very amusing animals to watch. They are a common sight in Africa. Theyeat beetles and other small creatures. They themselves are eaten up by hawks, eagles and large snakes. They are famous for killing snakes.

5. What do you learn in the lesson about camels?

Answer: Camels live mainly in the desert. They can drink upto 30 gallons of water in just tenminutes. They get all the moisture they need from desert plants. Some camels have only one hump, others have two. Humps are full of fat which is used as food.

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

1. How do you define or describe a desert? Name some common desert animals. How do they survive?

Answer: A desert is a very hot and dry place that goes without rain even for years. It is sandy with hardly any vegetation or villages. There is neither water nor greenery. Still some animals are found there. For example, gerbils, beetles, snakes, mongooses and camels. These animals survive the harsh conditions in their own way. Some live in burrows (holes). Camels have winter coats to keep warm and shorter, tidier coats to keep cool in summer.

2. What information about snakes do you get in the lesson Desert Animals?

Answer: There are more than 2300 different kinds of snakes around the world. Some areharmless, others very poisonous. Some lay eggs, while others give birth to the young-one. The rattler lives in the dry and rocky deserts of America. Large pythons can go without eating for a year or more. Mongooses are famous for their skill in killing snakes. A camel can drink upto 30 gallons of water in just ten minutes. It eats plants. Its humps store fat-food.

3. What are some of the particular habits of the mongoose and the camel?

Answer: Mongooses like to hunt together. But they are afraid of their enemies like hawks, eaglesand snakes. They warn others of the danger by their peculiar calling. They are famous for killing snakes.

Camels were taken as pets long, long ago. They have long or short coats to keep them warm or cool. A camel can drink upto 30 gallons of water at a time. Its humps-single or double-store food that is used as food. They are adapted to desert life.

Desert Animals Class 6 English NCERT Questions and Answers

To understand this chapter in a better way, students can refer to the NCERT Solutions for Class 6 English Honeysuckle Chapter 9 Desert Animals PDF while answering the textbook problems. You can download these NCERT Solutions for Class 6 English in PDF format through the links provided here.