Question

Read the following passage and do the activities:

We have a hibiscus plant in our garden. Every fortnight a flower blooms on it - big, bright and tender. Through the day it smiles with the sun and dances with the wind, but as evening approaches, it starts wilting. The morning after, it withers completely and by evening it falls and becomes one with the earth again. The flower comes to life only for a day, yet it does so in full splendour. What if we too lived our life, however short, to its fullest? We went to a rocky beach and saw the spread of the majestic ocean and the rocks alongside, carved, sculpted and shaped by the water. Water is so gentle, rock so hard, yet, as the water flows over it everyday, for years, the rock gives in. It takes the shape that the water commands. Our problems are so colossal and we are so small, yet if we persist... We saw small bits of grass peeping through the small cracks in a concrete pavement. It left us thinking: however impossible things may look, there is always an opening...

A1. Write answers to complete the sentences:     (2)

1. However impossible things may look, there is always ______.
2. Every fortnight a flower blooms on hibiscus plant big, ______.
3. The water is gentle; rock is ______.
4. The flower comes to a life for ______.

A2. Complete the following web:     (2)

A3. Find the describing words for the given nouns:     (2)

1. .......... beach
2. .......... problem
3. .......... ocean
4. .......... cracks

A4. Do as directed:     (2)

1. It takes the shape.
   (Rewrite the sentence in the Present Perfect Tense.)
2. It left us thinking.
   (Pick out gerund from the sentence.)

A5. Personal Response:     (2)

‘Nature is the best teacher.’ Explain in 3/4 sentences.

Answer 1

A1. 

1. However impossible things may look, there is always an opening.
2. Every fortnight a flower blooms on hibiscus plant, big, bright and tender.
3. The water is gentle; rock is hard.
4. The flower comes to a life for a day.

A2.

A3.

1. rocky beach
2. colossal problem
3. majestic ocean
4. small cracks

A4.

1. It has taken the shape.
2. thinking

A5.

Nature teaches by example: the hibiscus shows how to live fully even if life is short; flowing water shows that gentle persistence can change hard things; and grass pushing through concrete shows that nothing is impossible if we keep trying. These lessons encourage us to make the best use of time, be persistent, and look for openings even in hard situations.