NCERT Solutions Poorvi Chapter 4 –171The Cherry Tree (Ruskin Bond)

Q1.

I. Work in pairs. Read aloud the following words from the text. Write the number of syllables in each word. Now, read the words aloud again with the beats. Check if the number of syllables matches with the number of beats. — mountains, grandfather, tender, disturbed, caterpillar, Himalayan, performed, intention, slope, newspaper, favourite

Answer

Word	Split into syllables (beats)	Number of syllables
mountains	moun-tains	2
grandfather	grand-fa-ther	3
tender	ten-der	2
disturbed	dis-turbed	2
caterpillar	cat-er-pil-lar	4
Himalayan	Hi-ma-la-yan	4
performed	per-formed	2
intention	in-ten-tion	3
slope	slope	1
newspaper	news-pa-per	3
favourite	fa-vou-rite	3

Why counting letters does not work: A syllable is one unbroken vowel sound, not one vowel letter. 'Slope' has three vowel letters (o, e — and the 'o' sound) but only one vowel sound, so it is one beat. 'Disturbed' and 'performed' each end in -ed, but that -ed is pronounced /d/ and adds no beat at all; compare 'planted' or 'wanted', where the -ed is pronounced /ɪd/ and does add one.

Check it yourself: Put the back of your hand under your chin and say the word. Your jaw drops once for each syllable. 'Favourite' is worth testing — carefully it is fa-vou-rite (3), but in quick everyday speech many speakers say fav-rite (2). Both are heard; count what you actually say.

Q2.

II. Speak about Van Mahotsav Diwas and its significance. Before you speak in the class or assembly, prepare yourself on the following points: When is it celebrated? Who celebrates it? Why is it celebrated? How is it celebrated? What is the message it conveys?

Answer

Answer the five prompts in order — that is already the structure of a good two-minute talk. Here is the material for each.

Prompt	What to say
When?	The first week of July every year, timed to the arrival of the monsoon, when young saplings have the best chance of surviving.
Who?	It is a nationwide festival. Schools, colleges, panchayats, the Forest Department, the armed forces, offices, resident associations and ordinary families all take part. It was begun in 1950 by Dr K. M. Munshi, then Union Minister for Agriculture and Food.
Why?	To replace the trees India loses to felling, fire and construction; to raise forest cover; and — just as importantly — to make ordinary people, especially students, feel personally responsible for a tree.
How?	Saplings are planted in school grounds, along roads and on public land; there are rallies, poster and slogan competitions, talks and pledges; and in many places each student is given one sapling to look after for the year.
Message?	Its name means ‘the festival of forests’. The message is that planting a tree is not charity to nature but an investment in our own air, water and soil — and that a tree needs care after the ceremony, not only on the day.

Sample opening and closing:
Opening: “Good morning, everyone. Every July, in the first week of the monsoon, India celebrates Van Mahotsav — the Festival of Trees. This morning I want to tell you why one week in the calendar was set aside for planting.”

Closing: “Rakesh, in the story we have just read, planted one seed with his thumb and forgot about it. Six years later it was taller than his grandfather. Van Mahotsav asks each of us for exactly that much — one sapling, and the patience to water it. Thank you.”

Speaking tip: Do not read the table aloud. Choose one fact per prompt, say it in your own words, and finish with the story link — an audience remembers the last sentence best.

NCERT Solutions Poorvi Chapter 4 –171The Cherry Tree (Ruskin Bond) — Let us speak