“The Man Who Planted Trees” is a lesson from the Textbook “Blossom” approved by West Bengal Board of Secondary Education for the students of Class 8. Here all the Activity Questions are done by English teachers.
Activity 1
Tick the correct alternative:
(i) The narrator was speaking of his experience
(a) of recent times
(b) about forty years ago √
(c) forty years into the future
Answer: The narrator was speaking of his experience – about forty years ago.
(ii) The land could produce only
(a) plants of all types
(b) wild lavender √
(c) oak trees
Answer: The land could produce only – wild lavender.
(iii) The village where he was camped was inhabited by
(a)the villagers
(b) wild animals
(c) none √
Answer: The village where he was camped was inhabited by – none.
(iv) The sound of the wind is compared to
(a) a flute
(b) drums
(c) a wild beast √
Answer: The sound of the wind is compared to – a wild beast.
Activity – 2
Rearrange the following sentences in the correct order and put the numbers in the given boxes.
1.) The narrator had been walking for three days. [ 1 ]
2.) He came across a dry spring . [ 5 ]
3.) No vegetation grew in the region except wild lavender . [ 2 ]
4.) The narrator’s camp was near an abandoned village . [ 3 ]
5.) He was in search of water . [ 4 ]
6.) He lost all hopes of water when his search produced no results after five hours. [ 6 ]
Activity – 3
Answer the following question:
1.) Why do you think the village was abandoned ?
Answer: I think the villagers of that area gradually cut down the vegetation of that area. As a result of the deforestation of that area the rainfall was decreasing day by day and finally the rain stopped. So the villagers migrated somewhere else and the village was abandoned.
Activity – 4
Complete the following sentences with information from the text.
1.) In the text , “ it refers to Jean-Giono the writer himself.
2 .The Shepherd’s cottage would be the narrator’s shelter for the night since the closest village was still more than a day and a half farther on.
3.) With a great deal of attention ,the Shepherd began to examine.
4.) The impression provided by the Shepherd to the narrator was that nothing could disturb him.
Activity – 5
Answer the following questions:
1.) Give two examples of the Shepherd’s hospitality towards the narrator .
Answer: Shepherd respectively hospitalized towards the narrator like shelters , drinks and sharing soup and so on.
2.) State the profession of the people who inhabited the four or five remote villages.
Answer: Those who make charcoal are woodcutters .
3.)” I was intrigued “, why was the narrator intrigued ?
Answer: Because the narrator wanted to search for more about the shepherd who threw to the narrator the impression words which nothing could disturb him.
Activity – 6
Write ‘T’ for true and ‘F’ for false statements in the given boxes. Give supporting statements for each of your answers:
1.) The next morning the shepherd left his house all by himself. [ F ]
Supporting Statement: He invited me to share special things .
2.) Twenty thousand trees had sprouted from among the trees planted by the shepherd. [ T ]
Supporting Statement: Shepherd had to decide to plant the trees around one hundred thousand out of twenty thousand trees.
3.) The narrator met Elzeard Bouffier after a time span of five years. [ T ]
Supporting Statement: The oaks trees in 1910 were now taller than him .
4.) The forest had sprung with the combined effort of the villagers and the shepherd . [ F ]
Supporting Statement: When I considered that this had all sprung from the hands and from the soul of this one man without technical aids – it struck me that men could be as effective as God in domains other than destruction.
Activity – 7
Answer the following questions:
1.) How did Elzeard Bouffier plant the acorns ?
Answer: Elzéard Bouffier pounded his iron rod into the ground. This made a hole in which he placed an acorn, and covered over the hole again.
2.) How many years later did the narrator revisit the country ?
Answer: The narrator revisited the country after five years.
3.) ” I found that the war had not disturbed him at all “ , why do you think that the war had not been able to disturb Elzeard Bouffier ?
Answer: Elzéard Bouffier lived in an isolated place that was far away from the battlefield.
4.) What was the narrator’s reaction on seeing the massive oak trees?
Answer: When the narrator saw the massive oak trees then literally he was speechless.
Activity 8(a)
Combine the following pairs of sentences by using infinitives:
1.) My mother went to Agra. She wanted to visit the Taj Mahal.
Answer: My mother went to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal.
2.) The man held a meeting. He wanted to select a manager for the factory.
Answer: The man held a meeting to select a manager for the factory.
3.) She was too tired. She could not work.
Answer: She was too tired to work.
4.) The school has appointed a new teacher. He would teach Bengali to the students.
Answer: The school has appointed a new teacher to teach Bengali to the students.
Activity 8 (b)
Fill in the blanks with the present perfect continuous tense of the given verbs:
(i) The dog has been barking (bark) since last night.
(ii) The man has been reading (read) the newspaper for two hours.
(iii) The students have been preparing (prepare) themselves for the quiz competition for several months.
(iii) Mother has been cooking (cook) dinner for all of us throughout the evening.
Activity 8 (c)
Change the underlined verbs into the past continuous tense:
1.) He said that he had tried to contact us over phone since 8 o’clock that day.
Answer: He said that he had been trying to contact us over phone since 8 o’clock that day.
2.) For a long time they had planned to visit the caves of Ajanta and Ellora.
Answer: For a long time, they had been planning to visit the caves of Ajanta and Ellora.
3.) The actor who had played the part of Netaji became ill after the show.
Answer: The actor who had been playing the part of Netaji became ill after the show.
4.) My sister explained that she got up late because she had studied till midnight.
Answer: My sister explained that she got up late because she had been studying till midnight.
Activity 8 (d)
Change the following sentences into Indirect speech:
1.) Mohan said, “My brother will leave tomorrow”.
Answer: Mohan said his brother would leave the next day.
2.) My friend said to me, “I will be grateful if you help me now.”
Answer: My friend told me that he would be grateful if I helped him then.
3.) The child said to his father,” Please give me a toy.”
Answer: The child requested his father to give him a toy.
4.) “Oh! what a hot day it is today,” said Rita.
Answer: Rita exclaimed that it was very hot that day.
5.) “May we save our good earth!” said the teacher.
Answer: The teacher wished that we save our good earth.
Activity 9
Find words in the third section of the text which mean the following:
1.) a way of improving an unpleasant or difficult situation – Remedy
2.) to repeatedly hit at something – Pound
3.) a place with no people in it – Abandoned
4.) left with no words – Speechless
Activity 10 (a)
Write an imaginary conversation between yourself and a tree which you had planted and which has grown green and tall.
Answer:
Me : Hello my favorite tree. How are you doing?
Tree : I’m doing well.
Me: You have grown so tall. This is so amazing.
Tree : Yes and it has happened only because of your constant care for me.
Me: Don’t thank me. I should thank you for providing a cool shadow in summer.
Tree : It was my duty.
Me : I still remember how small you were when I planted you. Now you are so tall and big.
Tree : Yes, the change has been great. Once again thank you for your care for me.
Me : The pleasure is mine.
Activity 10 (b)
Suppose your friend, who lives in a hostel, is missing his/her friends and family. He/she is feeling very lonely and sad. Write a letter inspiring him/her to cope with his/her present situation.
Answer:
Tufanganj
21.02.2022
Dear Sakshi,
I received your letter last week and got to know that you have been feeling in the hostel. I know this is the first time for you being away from your family and friends. But remember we are always there for you. This time too shall pass soon. Don’t forget your aim and focus on that. We too miss you here. Try doing new things and meeting people. Explore nearby areas as much as you can. There are days when you might feel like coming, then do come home and meet your loved ones. And remember don’t cry ever. Keep writing to us.
Hope to see you soon.
Yours lovingly
Adrija
Sakshi Malik
c/o : Arjun Malik
Cooch Behar