NCERT Solutions for Class 7th English Chapter 4 The Tunnel, Part I — Let us discuss

Book page 144 & 145 Updated on2026-09-19

Q1.

Suraj compares the train to a magical creature. Pick the phrases that convey the meaning.

Answer

Ruskin Bond turns the steam engine into a dragon. These are the phrases that do it:

“snorting and puffing like some green, black, and gold dragon”
“some beautiful monster out of Suraj's dreams”
“Showering sparks left and right”
“it roared a challenge to the jungle”
“two straight black serpents” (the rails that lead into the tunnel)
and at the end of Part II, “thundering past Suraj like the beautiful dragon of his dreams”

Why it works: Every detail of a real steam engine is also a detail of a dragon — it breathes smoke, it hisses and snorts, it throws out sparks like fire, and it is green, black and gold. So the writer does not have to say “it was like a dragon”; the description itself does the work. The rails become serpents for the same reason: they are long, black and glide into a hole in the hillside.

Q2.

Suraj knew that the train was close by because ____________________.

Answer

… he heard a sound like distant thunder issuing from the tunnel.

The full sequence in the text is: first he “had heard, in the distance, the shrill whistle of the engine”, but he could see nothing because the train was coming from the other side of the hill. Then “presently a sound like distant thunder issued from the tunnel, and he knew the train was coming through”.

Tip: A tunnel carries sound long before it lets you see anything. That is why Suraj hears the train twice — the whistle from beyond the hill, and then the thunder rolling out of the tunnel mouth.

Q3.

What did Suraj see inside the tunnel?

Answer

Almost nothing — and that is the point. About twenty yards in, the tunnel became pitch dark, and he had to look back at the opening to reassure himself that there was still daylight outside. Ahead, the other opening was “just a small round circle of light”.

The few things he did notice were:

the tunnel was still full of smoke from the train that had just passed;
the walls were damp and sticky;
a bat flew past;
a lizard scuttled between the lines.

Why he still walked through: “There was nothing to do in the tunnel and nothing to see. He had simply wanted to walk through, so that he would know what the inside of a tunnel was really like.” He was not looking for anything — he was satisfying his curiosity.

Q4.

Select the correct option. What does Sunder Singh convey about the tunnel? He says that ____________________ (it is damp and sticky inside/he has lent it to the Government).

Answer

He says that he has lent it to the Government.

His exact words are: “It is truly my tunnel, since no one else will have anything to do with it. I have only lent it to the Government.”

Why he says it: It is a joke, but a proud one. The Government owns the railway on paper, yet nobody from the Government ever comes to this lonely cutting. Sunder Singh is the one who walks the tunnel twice a day, keeps it clear of obstacles and stops the train when there is danger. So in the way that really matters, the tunnel is his. The remark tells us how much he loves the small, lonely job he does.

Note: “It is damp and sticky inside” is what Suraj found out for himself while walking through — not what Sunder Singh conveys.

Q5.

The watchman has created a system through which he informs the locomotive driver about any danger in the tunnel. The following flow chart shows this system. Refer to the text and complete the flow chart.

The flow chart printed on page 145, with its five gaps.

Answer

The chart has two arms — one for the day train and one for the night mail — and each arm splits again into “danger found” and “no danger found”. Filling the blanks from the text:

Blank	Answer	Line in the text
(i)	Day	“Every day, before the train came through, he would walk the length of the tunnel.”
(ii)	No danger found	“If all was well, he would return to his hut and take a nap.”
(iii)	Danger found	“But if there was any danger to the train, he'd go back up the line and wave his lamp to the approaching engine.”
(iv)	Walks back up the line and waves a red flag (so that the engine driver slows down)	“If something was wrong, he would walk back up the line and wave a red flag, and the engine driver would slow down.”
(v)	Hangs his lamp at the door of his hut and goes to sleep	“If all was well, he'd hang his lamp at the door of his hut and go to sleep.”

Why the system is so simple: There is no telephone and no signal box at this cutting. The only way Sunder Singh can talk to a driver racing towards him is with something the driver can see from far away — a red flag by day and a swinging lamp by night. The flag is useless in the dark and the lamp is useless in bright sunlight, so he keeps one for each.

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