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NCERT Solutions for Class 5th English Chapter 4 A. Listen and repeat · B. Which bird would you want to be? — Let us Speak

Book page 49 Updated on2026-09-19

Q1.
A. Listen and repeat tail – toil | bail – boil | ail – oil | fail – foil | cane – coin | sail – soil
Answer

These twelve words teach your mouth two different sounds: ai and oi. Say each pair aloud, one after the other, and feel your lips move.

The ai sound (say “ay”)What it meansThe oi sound (say “oy”)What it means
tailThe part at the back of an animal.toilHard work, done for a long time.
bailTo scoop water out of a boat. (In cricket, the small stick on top of the stumps.)boilTo heat water until it bubbles.
ailTo be unwell, to suffer.oilThe thick liquid we cook with.
failTo not succeed.foilThe thin shiny sheet used to wrap rotis.
caneA long stick, or sugarcane.coinA round piece of metal money.
sailTo travel over water. (Also the big cloth on a boat.)soilThe earth in which plants grow.

How to say the two sounds — do this with a mirror:

  1. For ai, start with your mouth open and wide, as in cat, then slide to ee. Say it slowly: a–ee, a–ee. That gives you tail.
  2. For oi, start with your lips round, as in hot, then slide to ee. Say it slowly: o–ee, o–ee. That gives you toil.
  3. The end of both sounds is the same. Only the beginning is different — wide lips for ai, round lips for oi.
Why only one letter changes: Look at the spellings — tail and toil, sail and soil. Everything is the same except one letter. Yet the two words mean completely different things. That is why the sound must be said clearly. If you say “oil” when you mean “ail”, nobody will understand you.
The odd pair — cane and coin. This one is spelt differently from the rest. Cane has no ai in it at all; it is spelt c–a–n–e. But it sounds the same as tail and sail, because the a with a silent e at the end also says “ay”. Remember: this exercise is about your ear, not your eye.
Practise with a sentence: “The tail of the ox swished as the farmer began his toil.” · “I fail to open the foil.” · “We sail over water and we dig the soil.”
Q2.
B. Look at the pictures below. There are two birds. Which bird would you want to be and why? Share your views with the class.
Picture 1Picture 2
The two pictures printed on page 49.
Answer

What is printed on page 49: two pictures of the same green parrot. On the left, the parrot sits on a perch inside a tall cage that stands on the grass; the cage has a golden base and a ring on top. On the right, the same parrot is high in a blue sky full of white clouds, with both wings spread wide and open.

What to notice before you answer: The two birds look exactly alike. Only their place is different — one is inside bars, one is in the open sky. So the question is really asking what you value: safety or freedom.
The caged birdThe flying bird
FoodGiven every day, without any effort.Must be found — fruits, seeds, berries.
SafetySafe from cats, hawks and storms.Must watch out for danger all the time.
FreedomNone. It can only hop from perch to floor.Complete. The whole sky is its road.
FriendsOnly the people of the house.A whole flight of parrots.

Sample answer: I would want to be the bird that is flying in the open sky. The bird in the cage is safe and well fed, but it can never go anywhere. It has wings and it cannot use them, and that must feel very sad. The free bird has to find its own food and watch out for danger, but it can meet its friends, sit on any tree it likes and see new places every day. In our chapter the parrot had a cage made of gold, and even that was not enough for it. It gave up good food and a golden home just to feel the wind under its wings. So I would choose the sky, even if life there is harder.

If you choose the caged bird — that is allowed too, but give an honest reason. For example: “I would choose the cage, because the bird there is never hungry and never afraid, and someone talks to it every day. But I would ask my owner to open the cage for one hour each morning.” An answer with a reason is always a good answer.
How to share your view with the class: Stand up straight. Say your choice in the first sentence — “I would want to be the free bird.” Then give two reasons. Then stop. A short, clear answer is better than a long one that wanders.
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