CBSE Class 8 English Feathered Friend MCQs Set 02

Answer: (C) Arthur C. Clarke

Explanation:
1. Arthur C. Clarke was a very famous science fiction writer.
2. He loved writing stories about space and spaceships.
3. He wrote this interesting story about a pet canary in space.

Answer: (B) They could work in zero gravity.

Explanation:
1. On Earth, gravity pulls everything down to the ground.
2. In space, there is zero gravity so heavy beams can float in the air.
3. Workers could float and move large objects without heavy lifting.

Answer: (A) Relief and shared survival

Explanation:
1. The astronauts were running out of air to breathe.
2. Taking turns with the oxygen bottle kept them all alive.
3. Sharing the air made them feel relieved and united as a team.

Answer: (A) Claribel was too noisy and attracted unwanted attention.

Explanation:
1. Pets were not allowed on the space station.
2. Claribel sang loudly and whistled cheerful songs.
3. Sven was worried that her singing would give away the secret.

Answer: (C) Space stations require wiry individuals for construction work.

Explanation:
1. Big, heavy people take up extra rocket fuel to send into space.
2. Space companies prefer thin and wiry workers who weigh less.
3. Sven was chosen because he was lean and could move easily in small spaces.

Answer: (B) Science fiction

Explanation:
1. The story happens on an artificial satellite in outer space.
2. It talks about astronauts, air purifiers, and zero gravity.
3. Stories about future space travel are called science fiction.

Answer: (A) Giving her oxygen from an emergency cylinder

Explanation:
1. Claribel had passed out and could not move.
2. The astronauts knew she was starving for clean air.
3. They let her breathe pure oxygen from a small spare tank.

Answer: (B) He couldn't hear Claribel's heartbeat and was unsure about her condition.

Explanation:
1. Jock Duncan was the medical officer on board.
2. He listened to the tiny bird with his medical tools.
3. He felt bad because her heartbeat was too faint to hear.

Answer: (A) Claribel

Explanation:
1. Sven gave his small yellow pet bird a sweet name.
2. He called her Claribel.
3. Everyone on the space station came to love Claribel.

Answer: (A) He believed the alarms would have gone off if there was a gas leak.

Explanation:
1. The space station had expensive electronic alarms.
2. Jim thought the machines would beep if the air went bad.
3. Because the alarms stayed silent, he thought the air was fine.

Answer: (B) She hopped and floated around using minimal effort.

Explanation:
1. Claribel quickly learned that flying in space was very easy.
2. She did not need to flap her wings non-stop.
3. She just hopped and floated gracefully through the air.

Answer: (C) No one had ever thought a pet on a station worth making a rule about

Explanation:
1. The rule makers never imagined anyone would bring a bird to space.
2. Because nobody thought of it, there was no rule written down.
3. So Sven technically did not break a written law.

Answer: (C) She showed signs of improvement but quickly relapsed.

Explanation:
1. Claribel woke up when she sniffed the pure oxygen.
2. But when they took the oxygen away, she passed out again.
3. This proved that the room air had no oxygen left.

Answer: (A) The air was contaminated with a harmful gas.

Explanation:
1. The writer suddenly remembered coal-mine canaries.
2. He realized Claribel fainted because the air had gone bad.
3. The life-support machine had failed to clean the air.

Answer: (C) He was observant and could link old knowledge to a new crisis

Explanation:
1. The narrator stayed calm and remembered history lessons.
2. He recalled how miners used canaries to detect bad air.
3. Connecting old knowledge to the problem saved the entire crew.

Answer: (C) Canaries are resistant to the absence of gravity.

Explanation:
1. Sven wanted to see if a small bird could live in weightlessness.
2. Canaries adapt well to floating without falling sick.
3. He chose the bird out of scientific curiosity about gravity.

Answer: (C) Monitoring the space station's systems

Explanation:
1. A space station needs constant watching day and night.
2. The astronauts checked dials, controls, and computers.
3. Their job was keeping all the station's machines running safely.

Answer: (D) Claribel had stopped waking him up as usual.

Explanation:
1. Claribel always woke Sven up with her early morning singing.
2. One morning, Sven woke up and noticed it was totally quiet.
3. He got out of bed to find out why she was not singing.

Answer: (A) On a space station

Explanation:
1. The entire story is set high above planet Earth.
2. The astronauts live and work inside an orbiting space station.
3. Everything in the story happens inside this space habitat.

Answer: (B) The writer had a eureka moment of realization.

Explanation:
1. This line is a figure of speech.
2. It means the answer suddenly popped into his mind like a light bulb.
3. He instantly understood the mystery behind the bird's fainting.

Answer: (B) Because small, wiry men could move and work more easily in space

Explanation:
1. Heavy people take up too much fuel on space shuttle flights.
2. Thin and agile workers move with less effort in zero gravity.
3. Wiry men were ideal for fitting into tight spaces during construction.

Answer: (B) Writing science fiction

Explanation:
1. Arthur C. Clarke was a globally celebrated British author.
2. He wrote famous books like '2001: A Space Odyssey'.
3. His fame comes from his brilliant science fiction writing.

Answer: (B) The writer saw Claribel floating in the air in the office.

Explanation:
1. The writer was busy sitting at his desk.
2. He looked up and saw a tiny yellow creature suspended in mid-air.
3. That was the exact moment he realized a bird was on board.

Answer: (D) A canary's small size makes it react to bad air first, echoing the miners' practice

Explanation:
1. A big pet like a dog or cat would consume too much food and oxygen.
2. A tiny canary feels a drop in oxygen much faster than humans.
3. Her small body made her the perfect warning alarm for the astronauts.

Answer: (C) A canary

Explanation:
1. Sven brought a feathered pet into outer space.
2. It was a lovely yellow singing bird.
3. This bird was a canary.

Answer: (B) The space suits they wore were inconvenient.

Explanation:
1. Heavy spacesuits have thick gloves and stiff joints.
2. Wearing a bulky suit makes it hard to hold small tools.
3. The clumsy space gear made the building work very difficult.

Answer: (A) The Prophet of the Space Age

Explanation:
1. Arthur C. Clarke predicted satellite communications before they were built.
2. His ideas about space travel came true years later.
3. Because of his foresight, people called him 'The Prophet of the Space Age'.

Answer: (C) The crew members had to take turns working for twelve-hour shifts.

Explanation:
1. The word 'watch' in space travel means a working shift.
2. The astronauts divided the day into two twelve-hour blocks.
3. They took turns on duty so someone was always watching the station.

Answer: (C) Monitoring the space station's systems

Explanation:
1. A space station has oxygen pumps, heaters, and power units.
2. The astronauts sat at control panels to watch the meters.
3. Their job was keeping all life-support machines running smoothly.

Answer: (A) Claribel was too noisy and attracted unwanted attention.

Explanation:
1. Pets were kept secret because rules did not allow them.
2. Claribel whistled cheerfully and sang bright, loud songs.
3. Her sweet noise made Sven worry that bosses would discover her.