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Exercises
Answer the following questions.
1. Whom does Golu ask, “Why don’t you ever fly like other birds?”
Answer: Golu asks his tall aunt, the ostrich, why she does not ever fly like other birds.
2. Which uncle of Golu had red eyes?
Answer:
Golu’s huge uncle, the hippopotamus, had red eyes.
3. Golu’s relatives did not answer his questions because
(i) they were shy.
(ii) the questions were too difficult.
(iii) Golu was a naughty baby.
Answer:
(ii) the questions were too difficult.
4. Who advised Golu to go to the Limpopo River?
Answer:
The mynah bird advised Golu to go to the Limpopo River.
5. Why did Golu go to the river?
Answer:
Golu went to the river because he was curious to know what a crocodile eats for dinner.
6. The crocodile lay on the bank of the Limpopo River. Golu thought it was
(i) a living crocodile.
(ii) a dead crocodile.
(iii) a log of wood.
Answer:
(iii) a log of wood.
7. What did the crocodile do to show that it was a real crocodile?
Answer:
The crocodile shed “crocodile tears” to show that it was a real crocodile.
8. “Come here, little one, and I’ll whisper the answer to you.”
The crocodile said this because
(i) he couldn’t stand up.
(ii) he wanted to eat Golu.
(iii) Golu was deaf.
Answer:
(ii) he wanted to eat Golu.
9. Who helped Golu on the bank of the river?
Answer:
The python, who had quietly followed Golu, helped him on the bank of the river.
10. Name two things the elephant can do with his trunk and two he cannot.
Answer:
The elephant can do the following things with his trunk:
He can breathe with his trunk.
He can lift heavy loads with his trunk.
The elephant cannot do the following things with his trunk:
He cannot chew with his trunk.
He cannot scratch himself with the help of his trunk.
Extra Questions for NCERT Class 7 English An Alien Hand Chapter 3 “Golu Grows a Nose”
A. Multiple Choice type Questions (MCQ)
1. When did elephants have no trunk according to Kipling’s story?
(i) Once upon a time
(ii) Few thousand years ago
(iii) till quite recently
(iv) long, long ago
2. How was little Golu different from present day elephants?
(i) Golu was full of questions
(ii) Golu was intelligent
(iii) Golu had no trunk
(iv) Golu was curious
3. What was the question which piqued Golu’s curiosity the most?
(i) Why doesn’t the ostrich fly
(ii)Why does the giraffe have such spotty skin?
(iii) Why does his huge uncle have red eyes?
(iv) What did the crocodile have for dinner?
4. What did Golu ask the python ?
(i) Where does the crocodile live?
(ii) Have you ever seen a crocodile?
(iii) What does the crocodile look like?
(iv)Both (ii) and (iii) above
5. Who told Golu to go to the river?
(i) the mynah
(ii) the ostrich
(iii)the hippopotamus
(iv) None of the above
6. What did Golu carry with him on his journey?
(i) a hundred sugar canes
(ii) fifty dozen bananas
(iii) twenty-five melons
(iv) all of the above
7. What did Golu see on the river bank ?
(i) a big fish
(ii) a python
(iii) a log of wood
(iv)a hippopotamus
8. What was the crocodile like?
(i) very friendly
(ii) tearful
(iii) treacherous
(iv) All of the above
9. What was the crocodile planning to have for dinner?
(i) sugar cane
(ii) bananas
(iii) melons
(iv) the baby elephant
10. How long did Golu’s nose stretch during the tug of war with the crocodile?
(i) two feet
(ii) four feet
(iii) as long as the python
(iv) five feet
Answer:
1. (iv) long, long ago
2. (iii) Golu had no trunk
3. (iv) What did the crocodile have for dinner?
4. (iv)Both (ii) and (iii) above
5. (i) the mynah
6. (iv) all of the above
7.(iii) a log of wood
8.(iv) All of the above
9. (iv) the baby elephant
10. (iv) five feet
B. Fill in the blanks with suitable words from the box to complete the following sentences:
| crocodile | haunches | uncoiled | sweeps | politely |
| nothing | wrapped | creamy | coil | Limpopo |
1. The python uncoiled himself from the branch of a tree but said _________. Golu ________ helped him ______ around the branch again and said goodbye to him.
2. Golu sat back on his _________ and pulled and pulled.The ________ slipped into the water making it all _________ with great _________of his tail, and also pulled and pulled.
3. Golu sat down, with his nose ___________up in a big banana leaf and hung it in the great, grassy Limpopo river to cool.
Answer:
1. The python uncoiled himself from the branch of a tree but said nothing. Golu politely helped him coil around the branch again and said goodbye to him.
2. Golu sat back on his haunches and pulled and pulled.The crocodile slipped into the water making it all creamy with great sweeps of his tail, and also pulled and pulled.
3. Golu sat down, with his nose wrapped up in a big banana leaf and hung it in the great, grassy Limpopo river to cool.
C. Match the words in column A with those in column B
| A | B |
| ostrich | Spotty skin |
| giraffe | Red eyes |
| hippopotamus | Hairy |
| baboon | tears |
| crocodile | does not fly |
Answer:
| A | B |
| ostrich | does not fly |
| giraffe | spotty skin |
| hippopotamus | red eyes |
| baboon | hairy |
| crocodile | tears |
D. State whether the following statements are TRUE or FALSE:
1. The animals in the forest were fond of Golu, but were perplexed by the difficult questions he asked them.
2. Golu pleased the python by politely helping him coil around the branch again.
3. Golu did not recognise the crocodile because he did not know what a crocodile looked like.
4.The crocodile was sincere when he cajoled Golu to come closer.
5. Golu suffered for his curiosity but ultimately gained a valuable trunk for his pains.
Answer:
1.True
2.True
3.True
4. False – The crocodile was cunning and sweetly coaxed Golu to come nearer so that he could eat
the baby elephant for his dinner
5. True
E. Very Short Answer type Questions:
1. Who was Golu?
Answer:
Golu was an inquisitive baby elephant .
2. What was the size of Golu’s nose to begin with?
Answer:
Golu had a bulgy nose which was about the size of a small boot. He could only wiggle it from side to side.
3. Who was Golu’s tall aunt ? What question did he ask her?
Answer:
The ostrich was Golu’s tall aunt. He asked her why she did not ever fly like other birds.
4. Who was Golu’s tall uncle? What question did he ask him?
Answer:
Golu’s tall uncle was the giraffe. Golu asked him what made his skin so spotty.
5. Who was Golu’s huge uncle? What question did Golu ask him?
Answer:
Golu’s huge uncle was the hippopotamus. Golu asked him why his eyes were always so red.
6. Who was Golu’s hairy uncle? What did Golu ask him?
Answer:
The baboon was Golu’s hairy uncle. Golu asked him why do melons taste like melons.
7. What question did the baby elephant ask the mynah bird?
Answer:
Golu asked the mynah bird what a crcodile eats for dinner.
8. Where was the mynah bird when Golu met her?
Answer:
The mynah bird was sitting in the middle of a bush when Golu met her.
9. What did the mynah bird tell Golu in response to his question?
Answer:
The mynah bird asked Golu to go to the banks of the great, grassy Limpopo river and find out for himself what the crocodile ate for dinner.
10. What did Golu take with him before he set off for the Lompopo river?
Answer:
Golu took a hundred sugar canes, fifty dozen bananas and twenty-five melons with him as he set off for the Limpopo river.
11. What did Golu ask the python whom he met on the way to the river?
Answer:
He asked the python if he has ever seen a crocodile, what he looks like and also what he has for dinner.
12. How did Golu help the python?
Answer:
Golu politely helped the python to coil around the branch again.
13. Did Golu recognise the crocodile when he saw one on the river bank?
Answer:
No, Golu mistook the crocodile for a log of wood.
14. How did the crocodile coax the baby elephant to come near him so that he could seize him by the snout?
Answer:
The crocodile very sweetly invited Golu to go near him under the pretext that he would whisper the answer to Golu’s question in his ear.
15. What did the crocodile say when he caught Golu by the snout?
Answer:
When the crocodile seized Golu by the snout he announced that he would have a baby elephant for dinner.
16. Who helped Golu during the tug of war with the crocodile on the river bank?
Answer:
The python who had been quietly following Golu helped him resist the crocodile by coiling himself around Golu’s stomach and pulling hard.
17. What did Golu do to soothe his burning nose?
Answer:
Golu wrapped his nose in a big banana leaf and hung it in the green, grassy Limpopo river to cool down.
18. Why did Golu wait for two days on the bank of the river? What happened to his nose?
Answer:
Golu sat for two days on the river bank waiting for his nose to cool and to shrink. The nose did cool down, but it did not shrink a bit.
F. Short Answer Type Questions:
1. How did the animals react to Golu’s questions?
Answer:
The ostrich, the giraffe, the hippopotamus and the baboon were exasperated by Golu’s unusual questions because they did not know how to answer them. They said that Golu was a naughty baby.
2. What does the idiom ‘shedding crocodile tears’ mean?
Answer:
When we say that someone is shedding crocodile tears , we mean that he is putting up an insincere display of grief. The idiom stems from the ancient belief that crocodiles shed tears when eating their prey.
3. What happened as a result of all the pulling and tugging between the elephant and the crocodile?
Answer:
As Golu, helped by the python, pulled hard and struggled to free his snout from the jaws of the crocodile who would not let go of his grip, Golu’s nose kept on stretching . It grew longer and longer till it was five feet long when he finally managed to prise it free.
4. What according to the python were the advantages of Golu’s elongated nose (trunk)?
Answer:
The python tried to cheer Golu up by pointing out three positive benefits of having a long nose:
- He could swat a fly with the long nose (trunk).
- He could lift a bundle of grass, dust it against his forelegs and stuff it in his mouth.
- He could scoop up some mud from the bank and slap it on his head to stay cool.
G. Long answer Type Questions
1. What happened when Golu reached the Limpopo River?
Answer:
When Golu finally reached the bank of the Limpopo River, he saw what looked like a log of wood on the bank, but it was really the crocodile who winked at him. Innocent Golu, who had no idea what a crocodile looked like’ asked the crocodile himself if he had seen a crocodile.
The canny crocodile decided that the baby elephant would be his next meal. He asked Golu to come closer to him and introduced himself as the crocodile. He also shed a few tears to prove that he spoke the truth.
Poor Golu had no idea that he was in grave danger. Although he was a bit afraid, he nevertheless sat on the bank and continued interrogating the crocodile about what he had for dinner. The wily crocodile took this opportunity to bring the elephant closer to him by telling him that he would whisper his answer in the elephant’s ear.
The naïve elephant brought his head close to the crocodile’s snout. Without wasting a second, the crocodile caught him by the nose.
2. Who followed Golu and how did he save him from the Crocodile?
Answer:
The python whom Golu met on his way to the Limpopo River had quietly followed him. When the python saw that the crocodile was dragging Golu into the river, he advised Golu that unless he pulled with all his might, the crocodile would drag him into the stream.
Heeding his advice, Golu sat back on his haunches and pulled hard to free his nose.
But the python realised that the baby elephant would lose the fight so he joined the tug of war. He coiled himself around Golu’s stomach and urged Golu to pull even harder. Their combined strength got the better of the crocodile and the elephant’s nose was wrested free but it had stretched to five feet in length and Golu was in pain.
This is how the python saved the baby elephant’s life.
3. What happened to Golu’s nose when he was being dragged by the crocodile into the river? How does it help Golu later?
Answer:
As Golu was struggling to save himself from the crocodile who had caught him by the nose, he felt that his nose kept on stretching. With each pull and tug it grew longer and longer and hurt him. When he managed to wrest his nose free from the crocodile’s jaws, it had stretched to five feet in length.
Golu kept his nose wrapped in a big banana leaf and dipped in water for two days to cool it down and make it return to its original size. Although it did grow cool, it didn’t shrink.
Later the elongated nose or trunk proved to be of great practical use:
The trunk helped Golu kill the fly that disturbed him.
It helped him pluck a large bundle of grass and eat it easily.
The trunk also let him scoop some mud from the bank of the Limpopo River and slap it on his head.
Golu was happy with these added benefits. He thanked the python and went back to his family.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on NCERT Class 7 English An Alien Hand Chapter 3 “Golu Grows a Nose”
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Golu was an intelligent and innocent baby elephant who was curious about everything in his environment. He stumped his aunts and uncles by posing questions that they found impossible to answer.
One question which stirred Golu’s curiosity was “What does a crocodile eat for dinner?” The mynah bird advised Golu to go to the bank of the great grassy Limpopo River to find out the answer for himself. Golu at once set off for the river.
The innocent baby elephant puts himself in grave danger when he does not recognise the crocodile and engages with him on the river bank. The wily crocodile introduces himself and lures Golu closer promising to whisper the answer to his query into his ear. The naïve Elephant falls into the crocodile’s trap. As he draws near, the crocodile seizes him by the nose.
A struggle follows and the crocodile would have had a baby elephant for dinner if the python had not intervened and helped poor Golu wrest his nose from the jaws of the crocodile. Golu foundhimself free but his nose had stretched to a five-foot-long trunk. The python cheered poor Golu up by pointing out the positive merits of a trunk and a happy Golu returned to his family.
Golu took a hundred sugar canes, fifty dozen bananas and twenty-five melons with him as he set off for the Limpopo river.
When the crocodile seized Golu by the snout he announced that he would have a baby elephant for dinner.
These solutions draw your attention to every detail of the story.
We suggest you read the story yourself first.
Look up the words unfamiliar to you.
Then read these solutions paying close attention to all the details.
Do not memorise.
The key to learning lies in understanding the text.
We have provided plenty of extra questions which cover the lesson in detail and which are similar to exam questions, to help you prepare.
To master this lesson, you need to first go through all the answers we have thoughtfully provided -both to the questions at the back of the book and the extra questions.
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