Gujarat Board GSEB Class 7 English Textbook Solutions Honeycomb Poem 1 The Squirrel Textbook Exercise Important Questions and Answers, Notes Pdf.
Gujarat Board Textbook Solutions Class 7 English Honeycomb Poem 1 The Squirrel
GSEB Class 7 English The Squirrel Text Book Questions and Answers
Working With The Poem
Question 1.
Why does the poet say the squirrel “wore a question mark for tail” ? Draw a squirrel, or find a picture of a squirrel sitting on the ground. How would you describe its tail ?
Answer:
The poet says that the squirrel ‘wore a question mark for a tail’ because its tail is bent in an arch which appears like a question mark.
Question 2.
Do we usually say that an animal ‘wears’ a tail ? What do we say ?
(Think: Does an animal wear a coat ? Consult a dictionary if you like, and find out how ‘wear’ is used in different ways.)
Answer:
We usually say that an animal ‘has’ a set of given characteristics rather than saying ‘wear’. The poet, however, uses the word ‘wear’ to render the squirrel an independent personality.
The dictionary meaning of ‘wear’ suggests something of an outer covering, for instance clothes.
Question 3.
“He liked to tease and play.” Who is teasing whom ? How ?
Answer:
The poet liked to tease and play with the squirrel. Whenever the poet went a little close to the squirrel, the squirrel would run away in the other direction.
GSEB Class 7 English The Squirrel Additional Important Questions and Answers
Select the most appropriate options as answers and complete the following sentences:
Question 1.
The squirrel’s tail looks like …………………
A. an overcoat.
B. a question mark.
C. an exclamation mark.
D. none of these three.
Answer:
B. a question mark.
Question 2.
The squirrel is …………… as described in the poem.
A. naughty
B. playful
C. shy ,
D. Both ‘A’ and ‘B’
Answer:
D. Both ‘A’ and ‘B’
Question 3.
When the poet went around the tree, the squirrel …………….
A. went the other way.
B. sat up straight to eat a nut.
C. raised its head.
D. started playing with us.
Answer:
A. went the other way.
Answer the following questions in one sentence only:
Question 1.
What is being compared to a gray overcoat ?
Answer:
The squirrel’s body is being compared to a gray overcoat.
Question 2.
Discuss the posture of the squirrel as discussed in line 3 of the poem.
Answer:
The squirrel ‘sat up straight’ to eat a nut. Else, the squirrel usually sits and runs with a bent back.
Question 3.
What did the squirrel do if someone came too close to his tree?
Answer:
The squirrel would run away in the opposite direction if someone came too close to his tree.
Answer the following questions in two to three sentences each:
Question 1.
Having observed the squirrels around us, can we say that a squirrel is a fast paced animal ?
Answer:
Yes, based on our observation of the squirrels around us, we can say that a squirrel is a fast paced animal. We rarely come across squirrels sitting still, except when they are biting into the nuts. Usually we see the squirrels running from one place to another with great energy.
Question 2.
What does the poem say about the poet’s choice of subject?
Answer:
The poem is a reflection of the poet’s desire to compose poetry on most mundane elements that we come across in our day to day surrounding. A squirrel is the most commonly found animal that we see around us. Yet, very few of us would have thought of it as a potent subject matter for a writer’s pen. The poet very simplistically discusses 1 the various aspects of the squirrel, which each one of us must have observed closely.
Read the following stanzas and answer the questions given below them:
Question 1.
He wore a question mark for tail,
An overcoat of gray,
He sat up straight to eat a nut.
Questions:
(1) What is referred to as a ’question mark’ ?
Answer
The bent arch of the squirrel’s tail is referred to as a ‘question mark’.
(2) What is compared to the gray overcoat ?
Answer
The gray, striped colour of the squirrel’s skin is compared to a gray overcoat.
(3) Who is sitting on the ground and ‘ what is it doing?
Answer
The squirrel is sitting on the ground and is eating a nut.
Question 2.
He liked to tease and play,
And if we ran around his tree,
He went the other way.
Questions:
(1) Teasing is the poet’s way of with the squirrel.
Answer:
playing
(2) Choose a befitting adjective to describe the nature of squirrel.
A. playful
B. scornful
C. introvert
D. jealous
Answer:
playful
(3) Who went the other way?
A. the poet
B. the squirrel
C. the onlooker
D. the gardener
Answer:
the squirrel
The Squirrel Summary in English
The Squirrel Summary:
In the poem, ‘The Squirrel’ the poet Mildred Bowers Armstrong describes a squirrel that she observes in her garden. The poet describes how the squirrel, covered in gray fur, sits in an upright position on a tree branch eating a nut. The squirrel’s tail looks like a question mark because of its bent shape. The happy and lively squirrel loves to play with the poet and her friends. Whenever they ran around the tree, the squirrel would run to the other side of the tree. The poet tells us about the nature of the squirrel that it is innocently naughty and likes to tease anyone who comes near him.