Chapter 2 The Tsunami Solutions

Table of contents

Comprehension Check (Page 27) 

Say whether the following are true or false. 

1. Ignesious lost his wife, two children, his father-in-law, and his brother-in-law in the tsunami.
2. Sanjeev made it to safety after the tsunami. 
3. Meghna was saved by a relief helicopter.
4. Almas’s father realised that a tsunami was going to hit the island.
5. Her mother and aunts were washed away with the tree that they were holding on to.
 Ans:
1. True
2. False
3. False
4. True
5. True
Comprehension Check (Page 28)

Answer the following in a phrase or sentence.

 Q1: Why did Tilly’s family come to Thailand?
 Ans: Tilly’s family had come to Thailand to celebrate Christmas.

Q2: What were the warning signs that both Tilly and her mother saw?
 Ans: Both saw the sea rising and it started to foam and form whirlpools and bubbles.

Q3: Do you think Tilly’s mother was alarmed by them?
 Ans: No, Tilly’s mother was not alarmed by them.

Q4: Where had Tilly seen the sea behaving in the same strange fashion?
 Ans: Tilly had seen the strange sea behaviour in a video.

Q5: Where did the Smith family and the others on the beach go to escape from the tsunami?
Ans: They went to the third floor of the hotel and were saved.

Q6: How do you think her geography teacher felt when he heard about what Tilly had done in Phuket?
Ans: She felt very pleased and satisfied.

Comprehension Check (Page 30) 

Answer using a phrase or a sentence.

 Q1: In the Tsunami 150,000 people died. How many animals died?
 Ans: Very few animals died.

Q2: How many people and animals died in Yala National Park?
 Ans: Sixty visitors and two animals.

Q3: What do people say about the elephants of Yala National Park?
 Ans: People say that the elephants ran from the beach an hour before the Tsunami hit the coast

Q4: What did the dogs in Galle do?
 Ans: The dogs in Galle refused to go to the beach for their daily exercise.

Working with the Text (Page 30)

Discuss the following questions in class. Then write your own answers.
Q1: When he felt the earthquake, do you think Ignesious immediately worried about a Tsunami? Give reasons for your answer. Which sentence in the text tells you that the Ignesious family did not have any time to discuss and plan their course of action after the tsunami struck?
Ans: No, Ignesious did not think about the tsunami. He thought that it was just an earthquake. So he took the television off the table and put it on the ground. His family did not have time to discuss and plan their course of action. The following sentence tells about the chaos and confusion. “…two of his children caught hold of the hands of their mother’s father and mother’s brother, and rushed in the opposite direction.”

Q2: Which words in the list below describe Sanjeev, in your opinion?

Ans: brave, heroic, selfless

Use words from the list to complete the three sentences below.
(i) I don’t know if Sanjeev was cheerful, ………….. or ………….. .
 Ans:  ambitious or brash.

(ii) I think that he was very brave, ………….. and ………….. .
 Ans: heroic and selfless.

(iii) Sanjeev was not heartless, ………….. or ………….. .
 Ans: careless or humorous.

Q3: How are Meghna and Almas’s stories similar?
Ans: Meghna and Almas—both were lucky. Meghna was carried away with her parents and other people. But she alone survived. She was washed ashore by a wave.
Almas climbed on to a log of wood. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in a hospital in Kamorta.

Q4: What are the different ways in which Tilly’s parents could have reacted to her behaviour? What would you have done if you were in their place?
Ans: Tilly foresaw the danger of tsunami at once. She became hysterical. Her parents  didn’t ignore her. They were sure that something wrong must be going to happen. So they all left the beach and were saved. If I were in place of Tilly parents, I might not have believed her. I might have scolded her for making a nonsense situation.

Q5: If Tilly’s award was to be shared, who do you think she should share it with—her parents or her geography teacher?
Ans: It is very obvious. Tilly’s award should be shared with her geography teacher. Her parents could not guess the tsunami was coming.

Q6: What are the two different ideas about why so few animals were killed in the tsunami? Which idea do you find more believable?
 Ans: Very few animals were killed in the tsunami. Perhaps they feel the tremor much before humans do. Secondly, the animals have sixth sense. They can guess the coming disaster and so run away to safer places/higher ground. The idea that the animals are gifted with the sixth sense is more believable. They move fast to get over the crisis.

Working with Language (Page 31)

Q1: Go through Part-I carefully, and make a list of as many words as you can find that
indicate movement of different kinds. (There is one word that occurs repeatedly—count how many times!) Put them into three categories.
fast movement, slow movement, neither slow nor fast
 Can you explain why there are many words in one column and not in the others?
Ans:

There are more words in column A. These are related to fast movements of escape from the tsunami. It was natural for men and animals to make fast movements in such situation. The waves also overtook some people very fast and washed them away.

Q2: Fill in the blanks in the sentences below (the verbs given in brackets will give you a clue).

(i) The earth trembled, but not many people felt the …………… . (tremble)
 Ans: trembling/tremor

(ii) When the zoo was flooded, there was a lot of …………… and many animals escaped into the countryside. (confuse)
 Ans: confusion

(iii) We heard with …………… that the lion had been recaptured. (relieve)
 Ans: relief

(iv) The zookeeper was stuck in a tree and his …………… was filmed by the TV crew. (rescue)
 Ans: rescue

(v) There was much …………… in the village when the snake charmer came visiting. (excite)
Ans: excitement.

 Q3: Study the sentences in the columns A and B.ABMeghna was swept away.The waves swept Meghna away.Almas’s grandfather was hit on the head.Something hit Almas’s grandfather on the head.Sixty visitors were washed away.The waves washed away the sixty visitors.No animal carcasses were foundPeople did not find any animal carcasses.

Compare the sentences in A to the ones in B. Who is the ‘doer’ of the action in every case? Is the ‘doer’ mentioned in A, or in B?

Notice the verbs in A: ‘was swept away’, ‘was hit’, ‘were washed away’, ‘were found’. They are in the passive form. The sentences are in the Passive Voice. In these sentences, the focus is not on the person who does the action.
In B, the ‘doer’ of the action is named. The verbs are in the active form. The sentences are in the Active Voice.

Say whether the following sentences are in the Active or the Passive voice. Write A or P after each sentence as shown in the first sentence.
(i) Someone stole my bicycle.
Ans: A

(ii) The tyres were deflated by the traffic police.
Ans: P

(iii) I found it last night in a ditch near my house
Ans: A

(iv) It had been thrown there.
Ans: P

(v) My father gave it to the mechanic.
Ans. A

(vi) The mechanic repaired it for me.
Ans: A

Speaking and Writing (Page 32)

Q1: Suppose you are one of the volunteers who went to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for relief work after the tsunami. You work in the relief camps, distributing food, water and medicine among the victims. You listen to the various stories of bravery of ordinary people even as they fight against odds to bring about some semblance of normalcy in their lives. You admire their grit and determination. Write a diary entry.
You may start in this way.
31 December, 2004 The killer tsunami struck these islands five days ago.
But the victims are being brought in even now. Each one has a story to tell..
Ans: The killer tsunami struck these islands five days ago. But the victims are being brought in even now. Each one has a story to tell. Their stories are hair raising as well as heartening or inspiring. Many were determined to start a new life. They don’t  want to stay in the camp for long. They feel small because living on charity was disgraceful. Most of them want to return to their cottages which are no more there, and to get a fishing boat to earn their livelihood. One woman, though old, recalled how she had saved a child from drowning.

SQ2: The story shows how a little girl saved the lives of many tourists when a tsunami struck the beach, thanks to the geography lesson that she had learnt at school. She remembered the visuals of a tsunami and warned her parents.
Do you remember any incident when something that you learnt in the classroom helped you in some way outside the classroom?
Write your experiences in a paragraph of about 90‑100 words or narrate it to the whole class like an anecdote.
Ans: For self-attempt