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NCERT Solutions Poorvi Chapter 4 The Tunnel — Let us learn

Book page 151 to 153 Updated on2026-09-05

Q1.
Complete the following sentences using the suitable phrases from the text given in the box below. [drifting smoke | approaching engine | sawing sound | flickering lights] 1. We could hear the ______ of the train long before it came into view at the station. 2. The street was completely dark but the little boy walked to his house guided by the ______ from the houses. 3. The ______ from the carpenter's workshop grew louder every hour. 4. From the balcony, she watched the ______ from her neighbour's chimney float across the backyard.
Answer
No.SentencePhrase
1.We could hear the ______ of the train long before it came into view at the station.approaching engine
2.The street was completely dark but the little boy walked to his house guided by the ______ from the houses.flickering lights
3.The ______ from the carpenter's workshop grew louder every hour.sawing sound
4.From the balcony, she watched the ______ from her neighbour's chimney float across the backyard.drifting smoke
How to decide: Match the verb in the sentence to the phrase. You hear an engine, so 1 must be a sound coming closer — approaching engine. You are guided by something you see, and a house-lamp trembles — flickering lights. A carpenter saws — sawing sound. Smoke from a chimney floats — drifting smoke.
Where they come from: All four are lifted straight out of the story — the “approaching engine” Sunder Singh warns with his lamp, the “flickering lights” of villages on the fringe of the jungle, the “sawing sound” that gave the leopard away, and the “drifting smoke” Suraj was contemplating when the story began.
Q2.
The text has many ‘sound words'. Some of these words are given in Column 1 and their meanings are given in Column 2. Match the words with their meanings. You can use a dictionary. Column 1: 1. creaking 2. chatter 3. hissing 4. rustle 5. puffing — Column 2: (i) making a noise like a long ‘s' sound (ii) making a long low sound when a door or wooden object moves or is moved (iii) repeated series of short high sounds made by birds or monkeys (iv) blowing with short, quick blasts, as the wind (v) a soft low, dry sound made by the movement of things such as leaves, paper, etc.
Answer
Column 1Column 2Meaning
1. creaking(ii)making a long low sound when a door or wooden object moves or is moved
2. chatter(iii)repeated series of short high sounds made by birds or monkeys
3. hissing(i)making a noise like a long ‘s' sound
4. rustle(v)a soft low, dry sound made by the movement of things such as leaves, paper, etc.
5. puffing(iv)blowing with short, quick blasts, as the wind
All five are in the story: the trees make “creakings and whisperings” in the dark; the seven sisters keep up a “noisy chatter”; the engine comes round the bend “hissing at them”; Sunder Singh hears “a rustle of dry leaves”; and the steam engine shoots out of the tunnel “snorting and puffing”.
Why these words feel right: They are onomatopoeic — the word itself sounds like the thing it names. Say hiss and you make the very noise a snake or a steam pipe makes.
Q3.
Now, complete the sentences given below by filling in the blanks with the correct form of the sound words given in Column 1. 1. The steam engine reached the station __________ black smoke into the sky. 2. Suddenly the snake raised its hood and made a __________ noise. 3. When the wind blew, I heard the __________ of the wooden roof. 4. He heard a __________ of leaves behind him when he was walking in the woods. 5. I get disturbed by the continuous __________ of the monkeys in the neighbourhood.
Answer
No.AnswerWhy this form
1.puffingThe steam engine reached the station puffing black smoke into the sky. — an -ing form describing how it arrived.
2.hissing… made a hissing noise. — here hissing works as an adjective before “noise”.
3.creakingI heard the creaking of the wooden roof. — “the ___ of” needs a noun form.
4.rustleHe heard a rustle of leaves. — “a ___ of” takes the plain noun rustle, not rustling.
5.chatter… the continuous chatter of the monkeys. — chatter is already a noun; it needs no ending.
Tip: Look at the little word in front of the blank. a ___ / the ___ needs a noun; ___ noise needs an adjective; a blank straight after a verb of motion usually needs the -ing form.
Q4.
Read what the watchman Sunder Singh did regularly at the tunnel as part of his duty. Notice the use of ‘would'. “Every day, before the train came through, he would walk the length of the tunnel. If all was well, he would return to his hut and take a nap. If something was wrong, he would walk back up the line and wave a red flag and the engine driver would slow down. At night, the watchman lit an oil lamp and made a similar inspection of the tunnel.” 1. Why is the word ‘would' used here? (i) to make a polite request (ii) to express a desire (iii) to talk about a habit in the past
Answer

(iii) to talk about a habit in the past.

The clue is the phrase “Every day”. The paragraph is not describing one particular afternoon — it is describing what Sunder Singh did again and again, day after day, for years. English uses would + verb for exactly this: repeated or routine actions in the past.

Use of ‘would'Example
Polite requestWould you pass me the water, please?
Desire / wishI would like to visit Ladakh one day.
Past habit (used here)Every day he would walk the length of the tunnel.
Q5.
Complete the sentences using the verb in brackets with the correct form of ‘used to' or ‘would'. An example has been done for you. “When I was a child we used to live in a village near a forest. Back then, we (i) _____ (grow) vegetables in our back garden. Every day we (ii) _____ (get up) early and go for a walk. The weather in summer (iii) _____ (be) really nice. There was a lake near the house and we (iv) _____ (go) there every Sunday for a picnic. Winters (v) _____ (be) rather cold. In the evenings, my father (vi) _____ (tell) us incredible stories and we (vii) _____ (listen) with admiration.”
Answer
BlankAnswerNote
(i) growused to grow / would growA repeated action — both forms are correct.
(ii) get upwould get up / used to get up“Every day” makes it a routine.
(iii) beused to beOnly ‘used to' is possible — see the tip below.
(iv) gowould go / used to go“Every Sunday” — a routine action.
(v) beused to beOnly ‘used to' is possible.
(vi) tellwould tell / used to tell“In the evenings” — a routine action.
(vii) listenwould listen / used to listenPart of the same evening routine.

The finished passage (one correct version):

When I was a child we used to live in a village near a forest. Back then, we used to grow vegetables in our back garden. Every day we would get up early and go for a walk. The weather in summer used to be really nice. There was a lake near the house and we would go there every Sunday for a picnic. Winters used to be rather cold. In the evenings, my father would tell us incredible stories and we would listen with admiration.

Why (iii) and (v) must be ‘used to': ‘Would' can only describe a repeated action. ‘Was the weather nice' is not an action — it is a state. English never says “the weather would be nice” to mean a past habit, so with be, have, like, know, live and other state verbs you must use used to.
Tip: ‘Used to' also carries the extra meaning that the thing no longer happens. “I used to paint when I was in Grade 4” means I have stopped painting. ‘Would' does not say anything about the present.
Q6.
We use punctuation marks to make our writing clear. You already know how to use full stops and commas. Let us look at three more punctuation marks — brackets, semicolon, and colon. Colon (:) is used to introduce a list or an explanation. Semicolon (;) is used to connect two clauses which are closely related without a conjunction. Now, use semicolons and colons to punctuate the following paragraph. “We explored the busy by-lanes of Charminar, the heart of Hyderabad it was an exciting day. We wanted to do a few things buy bangles, taste biryani, and purchase pearl earrings, which are special to this area. As we walked through the lanes, we saw stalls selling spices, clothes, and jewellery the market was full of colours. We visited some famous spots Charminar, Golconda Fort, Salar Jung Museum, and Chowmahalla Palace each place was beautiful.”
Answer

The correctly punctuated paragraph:

We explored the busy by-lanes of Charminar, the heart of Hyderabad; it was an exciting day.
We wanted to do a few things: buy bangles, taste biryani, and purchase pearl earrings, which are special to this area.
As we walked through the lanes, we saw stalls selling spices, clothes, and jewellery; the market was full of colours.
We visited some famous spots: Charminar, Golconda Fort, Salar Jung Museum, and Chowmahalla Palace; each place was beautiful.
MarkWhere it goesWhy
;after “the heart of Hyderabad”Two complete, closely-linked sentences with no joining word.
:after “a few things”A list follows — bangles, biryani, earrings.
;after “jewellery”Again two complete clauses, no conjunction.
:after “some famous spots”A list of four places follows.
;after “Chowmahalla Palace”“Each place was beautiful” is a complete clause that comments on the list.
The simple test: If the words on both sides of the gap could stand alone as sentences, use a semicolon. If the words after the gap only name or explain what came just before, use a colon.
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