CBSE Class 7 English Reading Comprehension Prose and Poems Worksheet Set 01

Questions

Passage 1: Live and Let Live

Although tigers are in the news, many of the problems are still man-animal conflicts. There is only one way to stop poaching and that is to ensure that the poor tribals who hunt tigers are able to make a living by other means. Once poaching stops, illegal trade in tiger skin, bones and other parts will become impossible for the rich mafia that runs the racket in the world's smuggling capitals.
Tigers are losing their habitat because people are destroying their forests, from felling trees for firewood or timber to large-scale destruction for mining, industries or roads. There should be strict policies that forbid giving away lush tiger forests in the name of development.
But what about villagers who depend on forests? Today most of us may live in big cities, but even these were once built by cutting down forests. To protect our forests we must help these villagers earn a decent livelihood. India's tiger tourism should help most of them get jobs around the forests.
In India, forests are the source of 300 rivers and perennial streams. Forest cover is essential for attracting rainfall and preventing soil erosion. If forests are destroyed, it will affect the food we grow and the water we drink. Therefore, protecting forests must be a priority.
Finally, we have to accept that wild animals do not understand the boundaries we set for them. Cats are territorial and, as they grow up, need their own unique space. So if there are tigers in a forest, they will move out every now and then to create their own territories. We have to build and connect our forests for the safety of such wandering tigers. Otherwise, tigers straying into villages will continue to be killed out of fear.
All of this is not as difficult as it may sound. Compared with the West, India's population density has always been very high. We have traditionally shared space with many species of wild carnivores, and only one of them, the cheetah, is so far extinct. In the West, almost all big carnivore species are lost. Tigers survived in India because of our traditional tolerance. Tigers still have a great chance if we live up to that tradition.

Passage 2: A Christmas Present

As soon as she saw it she decided that it was the right present for Jim. She paid twenty-one dollars for it and hurried home with the 87 cents that remained. When Della reached home, pleased with her present, she grew nervous as she thought calmly about what she had done. She looked at her reflection in the mirror long, carefully and critically. She brought out her curling irons and began to curl her hair carefully. The tiny curls made her look like a schoolboy. 'If Jim doesn't kill me,' she said to herself, 'before he takes a second look at me, he'll say I look like a boy. But what could I do, oh, what could I do with a dollar and eighty-seven cents?'
At seven o'clock the coffee was made and everything was arranged to get dinner ready. Jim was never late. Della sat on the corner of the table near the door with the watch chain in her hand. Then she heard his steps on the stairs. She turned white for just a moment. She prayed, 'Please God, make him think I am still pretty.'
The door opened and Jim stepped in and closed it. He looked thin and very serious. Poor fellow, he was only twenty-two and was burdened with a family! He needed a new overcoat and was without gloves. Jim's eyes were fixed on Della, and there was an expression in them that she could not read, and it terrified her. It was not anger, nor surprise. He simply stared at her with a strange expression on his face.
Della got off the table and moved towards him. 'Jim darling,' she cried, 'don't look at me that way. I had my hair cut off and sold it because I had to buy a Christmas present for you. I just had to do it. My hair grows so fast. You don't mind, do you? Say Merry Christmas, Jim, and let's be happy!'

Passage 3: The Way Through the Woods (Poem)

They shut the road through the woods
Seventy years ago.
Weather and rain have undone it again,
And now you would never know
There was a road through the woods
Before they planted the trees.
It is underneath the coppice and heath
And the thin anemones.
Only the keeper sees
That, where the ring-dove broods,
And the badgers roll at ease,
There was once a road through the woods.

Yet, if you enter the woods
Of a summer evening late,
When the night-air cools on the trout-ringed pools
Where the otter whistles his mate,
(They fear not men in the woods,
Because they see so few.)
You will hear the beat of a horse's feet
And the swish of a skirt in the dew,
Steadily cantering through
The misty solitudes,
As though they perfectly knew
The old lost road through the woods.
But there is no road through the woods.

Passage 4: Mother, Oh Mother Dear (Poem)

One should be so blessed
To have a loving mother,
Always giving her best,
Bonded to each other.

Mother, oh mother dear,
You were there every day,
Always so very sincere,
Teaching me to pray.

Mother, oh mother dear,
As laughter filled the air,
You taught me to play,
And to always be fair.

Mother, oh mother dear,
I miss you so much,
As on my cheek I feel a tear,
And I hunger for your touch.

Mother, oh mother dear,
You listened to my prayers,
You gave me back my cheer,
And wiped away my tears.