The Man Who Planted Trees Class 8 Blossoms is given in lesson 13 and it is one of the best short stories in English. All activity Questions and answers from The Man Who Planted Trees Class 8 Blossoms are discussed in the following.
Unit 1: The Man Who Planted Trees Class 8 Blossoms
Hill: highland পাহাড়
Absolutely: completely
Unknown: unfamiliar
Tourists: travelers
Region: land
Penetrate: enter the interior of ভেতরে ঢুকে পড়া.
Provence: a region of France
Consisted of: composed of গঠিত
Barren: infertile অনুর্বর
Monotonous: boring একঘেয়ে
Lands: ground ভূমিগুলি
Nothing: none কোনো কিছুই নয়
Grew: develop জন্মত
Except: besides ব্যতীত/ছাড়া
Wild: not civilized বন্য
Lavender: one kind of flowering plant এক রকমের গাছ
Crossing: going from one side to অতিক্রম করা
Country: land দেশ
Widest: longest distance from side সবচেয়ে চওড়া
Complete: entire সম্পূর্ণ/একেবারে
Desolation: loneliness নিঃসঙ্গতা
Camp: a temporary residence শিবির
Next: nearest ঠিক পরের
Abandoned: deserted/quitted পরিত্যক্ত
Village: rural area গ্রাম
Needed: required প্রয়ােজন হওয়া
Ruined: destroyed ধবংসপ্রাপ্ত
Think: consider/imagine চিন্তা করা
Spring: fountain ঝরনা
Dry: not wet শুকনা
Disappeared: vanished অদৃশ্য হওয়া
Well: one kind of reservoir of water
Indeed: really বাস্তবিক
Plenty: enough and more
Shelterless: under the sky
Beast: animal
Whistle: produced a kind of sound
Disturbed: vexed
Continually: continuously
Meal: food
Still: continually
Hope: cherishing a desire
Blossoms English Textbook for Class VIII: All Lessons Answers
Lesson 1: The Wind Cap | Lesson 8: The Happy Prince |
Lesson 2: Clouds | Lesson 9: Summer Fiends |
Lesson 3: An April Day | Lesson 10: Tales of Childhood |
Lesson 4: The Great Escape | Lesson 11: Midnight Express |
Lesson 5: Princes September | Lesson 12: Someone |
Lesson 6: The Sea | Lesson 13: The Man Who Planted Trees |
Lesson 7: A King’s Tale |
Let’s do:
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.
(ii) The land could produce only (a) plants of all types (b) wild lavender (c) oak trees.
(iii) The village where he was camped was inhabited by (a) the villagers (b) wild animals (c) none.
(iv) The sound of the wind is compared to (a) a flute (b) drums (c) 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. ( 2 )
(2) He came across a dry spring. ( 5 )
(3) No vegetation grew in the region except wild lavender. ( 1 )
(4) The narrator’s camp was near an abandoned village. ( 3 )
(5) He was in search of water. ( 4 )
(6) He lost all hope of water when his search produced no result after five hours. ( 6 )
Activity 3
Answer the following question:
Why do you think the village was abandoned?
Ans: Once the village was not abandoned. There were residents because there was spring or well. Perhaps due to natural calamity, their houses were ruined and there was spring or well, but they were dry.
Unit 2: The Man Who Planted Trees Class 8 Blossoms
Word Nest
stiff – hard শক্ত
woody – made of wood কাষ্ঠল (এখানে, বুনা গাছপালা)
shepherd – one who keeps sheep মেষপালোক
scorching – hot enough to burn তীব্র ঝলসানো
dispersed -spread over a wide area অনেক দূর পর্যন্ত ছড়িয়ে পড়েছিল
flanks – sides দুই ধার বা কিনারা
inhabited – lived বসবাস
charcoal – the carbonaceous material obtained by heating wood কাঠ কয়লা
acorns – fruits of the oak tree ওক গাছের ফল
a great deal of attention – সহকারে।
intrigued – puzzled and curious হতবাক ও অগ্রিহী হয়েছিল
Activity 4
Complete the following sentences with information from the text.
(a) In the text, ‘I’ refers to the narrator.
(b) The shepherd’s cottage would be the narrator’s shelter for the night since the closest village being still more than a day and a half farther on.
(C) With a great deal of attention, the shepherd began to examine the pile of acorns.
(d) The impression provided by the shepherd to the narrator was nothing could disturb him.
Activity 5
Answer the following questions.
(a) Give two examples of the shepherd’s hospitality towards the narrator.
Ans: The shepherd showed his hospitality towards the narrator by giving him a drink and taking him to his cottage to spend the night. The shepherd also shared his soup with him.
(b) State the profession of the people who inhabited the four or five remote villages.
Ans: The people who inhabited the four or five remote villages were woodcutters who burnt wood to make charcoal.
(c) “I was intrigued.”-Why was the narrator ‘intrigued?
Ans: The narrator was intrigued to see the shepherd’s attention while examining the pile of acorns. He was separating the good ones from the bad with full awareness and left the narrator with the impression that nothing could disturb him. His company brought him a feeling of peace.
Unit 3: The Man Who Planted Trees Class 8 Blossoms
Word Nest
soaked – to be thoroughly wet ভিজিয়ে রেখেছিল
pound – struck heavily জোরে আঘাত করা
with great care – carefully প্রচণ্ড যত্ন সহকারে
solitary – by oneself নির্জন
Wonder – surprise অবাক হওয়া;
flock of sheep – ভেড়ার পাল
concluded – bring to an end শেষ করা
lack – want of অভাবে
resolved – determined মনস্থির করেছিল
remedy – cure / improvement প্রতিকার
parted – separated -বিচ্ছিন্ন হয়েছিলাম
engaged – involved in নিয়াজিত ছিল
trail – hilly route পাহাড়ী পথ
deserted – lonely একাকী বা পরিতক্ত
impressive – admirable প্রশংসনীয়
speechless – unable to speak নির্বাক
considered – took into account বিবেচনা করা
sprung – sprouted মাটি খুঁড়ে বেরোনো। এখানে গাছগুলির কথা বলা হয়েছে।
technical – special high- tech প্রযুক্তিবিদ্যা কত কত
aids — for help সাহায্যকারী জিনিসপত্র
effective – fruitful কার্যকরী
domains – particular areas নির্দিষ্ট অঞ্চলগুলি
destruction – demolition ধ্বংস
Activity 6
Write T for true and F for false statements in the given boxes. Give supporting statements for each of your answers.
(a) The next morning the shepherd left his house all by himself. ( F )
Supporting statement: “He invited me to come along with him.”
(b) Twenty thousand trees had sprouted from among the trees planted by the shepherd. ( T )
Supporting statement: “Of these one hundred thousand, twenty thousand had come up.”
(C) The narrator met Elzéard Bouffier after a time span of five years. ( F )
Supporting statement: “The oaks of 1910 were now ten years old and were taller than me and than him.”
(d) 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.”
Activity 7
Answer the following questions.
(a) How did Elzéard Bouffier plant the acorns?
Ans: Elzéard Bouffier pounded on the ground with an iron rod to make a hole. He placed an acorn in it. Then he covered the hole again.
(b) How many years later did the narrator revisit the country?
Ans: The narrator revisited the country more than five years later.
(c) “I found that the war had not disturbed him at all: – Why do you think that the war had not been able to disturb Elzéard Bouffier?
Ans: I think that the war had not been able to disturb Elzéard Bouffier because he lived in a lonely and deserted area where his only aim was to plant oak trees, and he continued it with full awareness.
(d) What was the narrator’s reaction to seeing the massive oak trees?
Ans: On seeing the massive oak trees the narrator was speechless. He passed the whole day in silence and walked with him through his oak forest. He realized that men could be as effective as God in domains other than destruction.
Activity 8(a)
Combine the following pairs of sentences by using Infinitives.
(i) My mother went to Agra. She wanted to visit the Taj Mahal.
Ans: My mother went to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal.
(ii) The man held a meeting. He wanted to select a manager for the factory.
Ans: The man held a meeting to select a manager for the factory.
(iii) She was too tired. She could not work.
Ans: She was too tired to work.
(iv) The school has appointed a new teacher. He would teach Bengali to the students.
Ans: 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.
(a) The dog has been barking (bark ) since last night.
(b) The man has been reading (read ) the newspaper for two hours.
(c) The students have been preparing (prepare ) themselves for the quiz competition for several months.
(d) Mother has been cooking (cook) dinner for all of us throughout the evening.
Activity 8(c)
Change the underlined verbs into the Past Perfect Continuous tense.
(i) He said that he had tried to contact us over the phone since 8 o’clock that day.
Ans: He said that he had been trying to contact us over the phone since 8 o’clock that day.
(ii) For a long time they had planned to visit the caves of Ajanta and Ellora.
Ans: For a long time they had been planning to visit the caves of Ajanta and Ellora.
(iii) The actor who had played the part of Netaji became ill after the show.
Ans: The actor who had been playing the part of Netaji became ill after the show.
(iv) My sister explained that she got up late because she had studied till midnight.
Ans: 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.
(i) Mohan said, “My brother will leave tomorrow.”
Ans: Mohan said that his brother would leave the next day.
(ii) My friend said to me, ‘I will be grateful if you help me now.”
Ans: My friend told me that he would be grateful if I could help him then.
(iii) The child said to his father, “Please give me a toy.”
Ans: The child requested his father to give him a toy.
(iv) “Oh! What a hot day it is today,” said Rita.
Ans: Rita exclaimed that it was a very hot day.
(v) “May we save our good earth!” said the teacher.
Ans: The teacher wished that they might save their good earth.
Activity 9
Find words in the third section of the text which mean the following.
(a) a way of improving an unpleasant or difficult situation – resolving to remedy
(b) to repeatedly hit at something – pound
(c) a place with no people in it – abandoned
(d) left with no words – speechless
Activity 10(a)
Write an imaginary conversation between yourself and a tree that you had planted and which has now grown green and tall.
Me: How are you, my dear friend?
Tree: Can’t you see that I am now grown green and tall?
Me: Yes, you are now taller than me. I am happy to see you again after three years.
Tree: You planted me, watered me for a few days, and protected me when I was small. Thank you.
Me: You are welcome. But I am afraid people may cut you down one day.
Tree: Please do something for my protection. I give fruits and flowers. I provide shade to the passers-by. The birds nest on my branches. They sing. I give you oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide.
Me: I know all that. But they may want to build a house here. I must convince them that we should not cut down trees.
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.
Sundarban
24 Parganas
02.08.2020
Dear Ajoy,
I received your letter. I understand that you are feeling lonely in your hostel, missing your friends and family. But don’t be disheartened. You are studying well there. Get good results. You will then be able to go for higher education. Think of your career. Once you are settled in a job, you will start missing your hostel life. Everything is relative. As for now, you can draw or write whatever you like when you feel lonely. If you are absorbed in creative activity you will overcome your loneliness. Even at home, I sometimes feel lonely. So, do not think that your present life in a hostel is dull and monotonous. Think of that man who planted trees alone in that deserted land. I am talking about Elzéard Bouffier. Do you remember the story?
Write to me soon. I want to know if you follow my advice.
Yours ever,
Soumik
Ajoy Mahato
Jhargram