CBSE Class 10 English How to Tell Wild Animals Worksheet

How to Tell Wild Animals

GIST
How to tell wild animals is a humorous poem written by Carolyn Wells. In the poem, the poet is introducing various wild animals by explaining the characteristics of each of them in a very funny way.The poem suggests some dangerous ways to identify wild animals. She has used language in a way that it generates humour. Various kinds of wild animals like Asian lion, Bengal tiger, bear, and etc. are introduced to the reader humorously. Much of the humour arises from the way language is used.

Read the following extracts and answer the questions/complete the sentences that follow :

1. If when you’re walking round your yard 
You meet a creature there,
Who hugs you very, very, hard
Be sure it is a Bear.

Question. The word ‘You’ in the first line here is the ...........................
(i) speaker
(ii) travellers
(iii) reader
(iv) visitors
Answer.(iii) reader

Question. Who hugs you ?
(i) wolf
(ii) jackal
(iii) horse
(iv) bear
Answer.(iv) bear

Question. Find out the word in the passage which means the same as ‘courtyard of your house’ ?
(i) yard
(ii) creature
(iii) hugs
(iv) discern
Answer.(i) yard

Question. Which poetic device is used here ?
(i) metaphor
(ii) alliteration
(iii) hyperbole
(iv) simile
Answer.(ii) alliteration

2. The Crocodiles you always may 
Tell from the Hyenas thus
Hyenas come with merry smiles;
But if they weep they’ re Crocodiles.

Question. Name the poet.
(i) William Wordsworth
(ii) Carolyn Wells
(iii) Leslie Norris
(iv) Robin Klein
Answer.(ii) Carolyn Wells

Question. Who appears before one with merry smiles ?
(i) Hyena
(ii) Horse
(iii) Fox
(iv) Wolf
Answer.(i) Hyena

Question. Crocodiles are distinct from other animals by their ....................
(i) dancing
(ii) playing
(iii) weeping
(iv) sleeping
Answer.(iii) weeping

Question. Give a rhyming word from the stanza ‘smiles’.
(i) prey
(ii) thus
(iii) nonplus
(iv) crocodiles
Answer.(iv) crocodiles

3. Or if some time when roaming round 
A noble wild beast greets you
With black stripes on a yellow ground
Just notice if he eats you.
This simple rule may help you learn
The Bengal Tiger to discern.

Question. Who is the noble wild beast ?
(i) Lion
(ii) Tiger
(iii) Leopard
(iv) Cheetah
Answer.(ii) Tiger

Question. The tiger has black stripes on which ground ?
(i) yellow
(ii) golden
(iii) brown
(iv) white
Answer. (i) yellow

Question. Which word means the same as ‘assist’ ?
(i) noble
(ii) grass
(iii) help
(iv) discern
Answer.(iii) help

Question. The rhyme scheme of the above stanza is what ?
(i) abbacc
(ii) ababcc
(iii) aabbcc
(iv) abcabc
Answer.(ii) ababcc

Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

1.If strolling forth, a beast you view,
Whose hide with spots in peppered,
As soon as he has lept on you,
You’ll know it is the Leopard.
Twill do no good to roar with pain,
He’ll only lep and lep again.

Question. Write two words from the stanza which are wrongly spelt?
Answer.leapt and leap are given in the poem as lept and lep

Question. Describe the hide of a leopard?
Answer. A leopard’s hide is covered with spots.

Question. Why it won’t do any good to roar with pain?
Answer.I won’t do any good to roar with pain because then the leopard will pounce upon you again.

Question. When does one come to know that it is a leopard?
Answer.One comes to know that it is a leopard when it leaps or jumps on him.

2. If ever you should go by chance To jungles in the east;
And if there should to you advance A large and tawny beast,
If he roars at you as you’re dyin’
You’ll know it is the Asian Lion ….

Question. Where is the Asian Lion found?
Answer.Asian lion is found in the jungles of the East.

Question. What happens to you when the lion roars?
Answer.When the lion roars, it is very scary and we feel that we are going to die.

Question. What do you mean by ‘tawny’?
Answer.‘Tawny’ means brownish-yellow in colour.

Question. What are the features of an Asian Lion?
Answer.An Asian Lion is large and brownish-yellow in colour.

Short Answer Questions :

Question. How can you distinguish between a hyena and a crocodile?
Answer. It is not easy to distinguish among wild animals. But a hyena and a crocodile can easily be distinguished. A hyena laughs as it swallows its victim, whereas a crocodile will have tears as it kills its victim.

Question. How can you identify the Asian lion and the Bengal Tiger?
Answer. The Asian Lion has a large body and a brownish-yellow colour... It roars loudly when it attacks its prey. The very roar is enough to terrorise one to death. On the other hand, the Bengal Tiger is a noble animal which attacks the prey silently. It has black stripes on its yellow coat.

Question. How does a leopard behave when he sees someone?
Answer. A leopard has black spots all over its body. As soon as it sees someone, it leaps over him at once.There will be no use of crying with pain. It will not show any mercy, but keep on pouncing continuously on its victim. 

Question. How does the poet describe the bear?
Answer. The poet describes the bear in a humorous way. He says that as soon as a bear sees a human being, it hugs him tightly. It clasps its prey tightly with both its hands and squeezes him to death. If he is still alive, he gives him another tight hug to kill him.

Long Answer Question :

Question. Describe the effective use of humour in the poem How to tell wild animals. What are the poetic liberties taken by the poet in the poem?
Answer. The poet, in the poem ‘How to tell Wild Animals’ creates humour by describing various beasts of prey.The way the poet explains the things is very funny yet interesting. The poet has depicted the wildlife very vividly and in a lively manner. While reading the poem, the readers enjoy the poet’s work and it leaves them refreshed and happy. The humour used in the poem is suggestive and mild. If the Asian Lion ‘roars’ at you as you are dying, the Bengal Tiger is a ‘noble’ wild beast that ‘greets’ you when you are roaming round in the jungle. The leopard will show no mercy and it will do no good to roar with pain. The bear gives you a very hard ‘hug’ and if you have any doubts whether it is a bear, it will give you just one more caress. The poet humorously says that hyenas come with ‘merry smiles’; but if they ‘weep’ they are crocodiles. Similarly, the poet takes many liberties to make the poem impressive. In order to rhyme with ‘lion’ the poet changes the word dying to ‘dyin’. Instead of leapt and leap the poet writes ‘lept’ and ‘lep’. All these changes make the poem more interesting and enjoyable.

VERB CONCORD

Solved Examples (Multiple Choice Questions)

Choose the correct answer from the options given below.

Question. The furniture in his house ..................... beautiful.
(a) look
(b) looks
(c) looking
(d) were looking
Answer.(b) looks

Question. Honesty ..................... the best policy.
(a) was
(b) are
(c) is
(d) has
Answer.(c) is

Question. The boys ..................... gone to school.
(a) has
(b) have
(c) are
(d) is
Answer.(b) have

Question. The farmers ..................... ploughing their field.
(a) is
(b) were
(c) have
(d) had
Answer.(b) were

Question. Ten miles ..................... a long distance.
(a) are
(b) has
(c) is
(d) were
Answer.(c) is

Question. Each of these producers ..................... his own advantage.
(a) have
(b) has
(c) having
(d) is have
Answer.(b) has

Question. Sohan as well as his brother ..................... come.
(a) have
(b) is
(c) was
(d) has
Answer.(d) has

Question. He ..................... this scenery.
(a) likes
(b) liking
(c) like
(d) is liking
Answer.(a) likes

Question. Many a student ..................... hard to pass their entrance test.
(a) tries
(b) try
(c) have tried
(d) were trying
Answer.(b) try

Question. One of the students ..................... talking.
(a) were
(b) was
(c) are
(d) has
Answer.(b) was

HOLIDAYS HOMEWORK

1. Write Summary of Chapters 1 to 5 of the novel- “The Story of my life” in separate and loose A4 size sheets and make a folder of it.

2. In Unit -2 of Coursebook , Do Page- 49,50 (A9) and make an attractive project on it.

3. Do the exercises of Unit-3 in workbook.

Note- Prepare any slogan or poster on the topic- “Wonders of Space”

Animals — Walt Whitman

Reference to Context

They do not sweat and whine about their condition,
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,
Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning things,

Question. Who are ‘they’ in the above extract?
(a) animals
(b) people
(c) birds
(d) insects
Answer: (a)

Question. The poet thinks that ‘they’ are ___________ with their condition.
(a) indifferent
(b) intolerant
(c) contended
(d) tolerant
Answer: (c)

Question. Who is ‘me’ in the above extract?
(a) animals
(b) birds
(c) insects
(d) the poet
Answer: (d)

Question. Who is maddened with owning things?
(a) humans
(b) animals
(c) children
(d) birds
Answer: (a)

Question. Find a word from the extract which means the same as ‘to cry with pain’.
(a) mania
(b) demented
(c) sweat
(d) whine
Answer: (d)

Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning things,
Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago,
Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth.

Question. What bad qualities do humans have that animals don’t?
(a) Greed
(b) Jealousy
(c) Restlessness
(d) All of the above
Answer: (d)

Question. Who is never dissatisfied?
(a) humans
(b) animals
(c) poet
(d) All of the above
Answer: (b)

Question. What mania do humans suffer from?
(a) peace
(b) contentment
(c) possession of things
(d) good qualities
Answer: (c)

Question. What qualities do the animals possess?
(a) Kindness
(b) Sympathy
(c) Fellow feeling for all
(d) All of the above
Answer: (d)

Question. What qualities have the humans given up?
(a) innocence
(b) kindness
(c) truthfulness
(d) All of the above
Answer: (d)

I think I could turn and live with animals,
they are so placid and self-contain’d,
I stand and look at them long and long.

Question. Why does the poet want to live with Animals?
Answer: The poet feels that it is better to live with animals as they display kindness and goodness. Animals are peaceful, self-contained and happy. They show values that lack in human beings. Animals do not complain about their lives or cry over their sins.

Question. Why does the poet want to take a ‘turn’?
Answer: The poet is fed up living in the world of humans. They are always confused, arrogant. They don’t have clear conscience and weep over their sins throughout the night. On the other hand, animals are contented, calm and possess all the ‘tokens’ of virtue that humans have given up. So, he wants to exchange places and live with animals.

They do not sweat and whine about their condition,
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,
Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning things,

Question. Why is the poet speaking in favour of the animals?
Answer: The poet speaks in favour of the animals because the animals never complain about their sins, and they never hold grudges, unlike human beings. The poet thus prefers animals to humans.

Question. What is the difference between animals and humans regarding their attitude to their condition, sins and God?
Answer: Humans beings crib and whine about their condition. They lie awake at night in the dark and weep for their sins. They make the poet sick by discussing their duty about God. But animals do not do any of these things. That is why the poet likes animals.

Short Answers Type Questions (30-40 words)

Question. What makes the poet sick?
Answer: The poet is sick of people who keep discussing their duty towards God. He does not like people who talk of their duties towards God but do nothing for God’s men.

Question. Why don’t the animals lie awake at night?
Answer: Animals don’t commit any sins and are not involved in wrong doings. Hence, they don’t lose sleep over any of their actions and so do not lie awake at night.

Question. What are the tokens that the animals give him?
Answer: The tokens that the animals give him are the qualities of innocence, simplicity and contentment. These are the qualities that man had but now has left them on his journey towards a materialistic world.

Question. Why does the poet want to ‘turn and live with animals’?
Answer: The poet talks about animals with love and affection. He says that he found the animals very peaceful and self-contained. The animals do not complaint about their condition. They don’t weep for their sins. In short, they are not like human beings and are better to live with.

Question. How are animals different from the humans about owning things or kneeling to one another?
Answer: Animals are quite different from the humans. They do not act crazy about possessing things while humans, are simply crazy for material things. The animals do not kneel to another as the humans do. For them, all are equal.

Question. How does the poet look at the animals?
Answer: For the poet, the animals are more humane than the humans themselves. They have no bad qualities like humans. In their world, all are equal, happy and content. They do not complain about anything. They show their relations to the poet and he accepts them.