NCERT Solutions for Class 5th English Chapter 8 A. The Neem Tree — Let us Do
Book page 103 Updated on2026-09-19
Q1.
Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions.
The Neem Tree
Answer
Read the passage twice before you answer. The first time, read it for the story. The second time, read it with a pencil and underline anything that says what the neem is used for — almost every question comes from those lines.
The Neem Tree
You must have seen a neem tree near your house, or near the school, or beside the road. Almost everyone can recognise a neem tree.
The neem is a magic medicine tree because almost every part of the tree is used for medicine.
Sometimes, sick people are given neem juice to drink. People use the twigs of the neem tree as a toothbrush to clean their teeth. Burn some dry neem leaves inside the house and see the mosquitoes disappear! When you store winter clothing or blankets, keep dry neem leaves between them. This helps keep away insects. When you store rice, keep dry neem leaves at the bottom of the rice bin. This keeps pests away.
The five uses in one line each: neem juice to drink when ill · neem twigs as a toothbrush · burnt dry leaves to drive away mosquitoes · dry leaves among stored clothes to keep insects out · dry leaves in the rice bin to keep pests away.
Q2.
1. Where can you find neem trees?
Answer
Neem trees can be found near our houses, near the school and beside the road.
The passage begins with these very places: “You must have seen a neem tree near your house, or near the school, or beside the road.” It also says, “Almost everyone can recognise a neem tree” — which tells us the tree grows almost everywhere in India, so nearly every child has seen one.
Q3.
2. Why do you think ‘neem’ is called a magic tree?
Answer
The neem is called a magic tree because almost every part of it is used as medicine.
The passage says it in so many words: “The neem is a magic medicine tree because almost every part of the tree is used for medicine.”
Look at how many parts do a job:
Its juice is given to sick people to drink.
Its twigs are used as a toothbrush.
Its dry leaves drive away mosquitoes when they are burnt.
Its dry leaves keep insects out of stored clothes and pests out of stored rice.
Why the word “magic” is used: It is not real magic. It is a way of saying that one ordinary tree, growing free by the roadside, does the work of a medicine shop, a toothbrush, a mosquito coil and a pest killer. Nothing has to be bought.
Q4.
3. What happens when dry neem leaves are burnt?
Answer
When dry neem leaves are burnt inside the house, the mosquitoes go away.
The passage says, “Burn some dry neem leaves inside the house and see the mosquitoes disappear!” The smoke of the burning leaves drives them out.
Do this only with a grown-up. Anything that is burnt indoors needs an adult beside you and an open window.
Q5.
4. Why do people put neem leaves in clothes and rice containers?
Answer
People put dry neem leaves in stored clothes to keep insects away, and in the rice bin to keep pests away.
The passage gives both reasons:
Clothes: “When you store winter clothing or blankets, keep dry neem leaves between them. This helps keep away insects.”
Rice: “When you store rice, keep dry neem leaves at the bottom of the rice bin. This keeps pests away.”
Why it works: Insects find the smell of neem bitter and unpleasant, so they stay away from whatever it is kept with. Winter clothes lie packed away for months and rice sits in the bin for weeks — that is exactly when insects get at them.
New word:pests are small insects or animals that spoil our food or crops.
Q6.
5. How are neem twigs used?
Answer
Neem twigs are used as a toothbrush to clean the teeth.
The passage says, “People use the twigs of the neem tree as a toothbrush to clean their teeth.” A twig is a short, thin stick from a branch. You chew one end until it goes soft like a brush, and then rub it on your teeth.
In many Indian homes this neem twig is called a datun. It tastes bitter, but it cleans the teeth well and costs nothing.
Q7.
6. Find the meaning of the word ‘disappear’ from the following options:
a. Appear b. Vanish c. Grow d. Fly
Answer
b. Vanish
To disappear is to go out of sight — to vanish. In the passage, when the dry leaves are burnt, the mosquitoes disappear; that is, they are no longer there to be seen.
a. Appear is the opposite — it means to come into sight.
c. Grow means to get bigger. That has nothing to do with going out of sight.
d. Fly is what mosquitoes do all the time, whether or not the leaves are burnt.
A useful clue: the little piece dis- at the front of a word usually turns it into its opposite — appear / disappear, honest / dishonest, obey / disobey, like / dislike. It is called a prefix, because it is added at the front, just as a suffix is added at the end.
Q8.
7. Find the word in the passage which means ‘a short stick’:
a. Tree b. Part c. Twig d. Leaf
Answer
c. Twig
A twig is a short, thin stick that grows out of a branch. The passage uses it here: “People use the twigs of the neem tree as a toothbrush.”
a. Tree is the whole plant, not a stick.
b. Part just means a piece of something — it does not mean a stick.
d. Leaf is flat and green. A leaf grows on a twig.
From big to small: tree → trunk → branch → twig → leaf.