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NCERT Solutions for Class 8th English Chapter 4 Harvest Hymn (Sarojini Naidu) — Let us learn

Book page 179–181 Updated on2026-09-19

Q1.
I. Match the pictures of the farming implements given in Column 1 with their use given in Column 2. Then, fill in the blanks in Column 3 to complete the name of the implement.
Column 1Column 2Column 3
1.
(i)  A tool with a long handle with metal teeth for collecting hay or leaves.S __ C K L __
2.
(ii)  A small hand tool used for digging and making shallow furrows.S C __ T H __
3.
(iii)  A hand-held tool with a curved blade attached to a short handle. It is used for harvesting crops.P L __ __ G H
4.
(iv)  A tool pulled by oxen. It is used for turning over the soil in the field so that seeds can be sown or planted.T R __ W __ L
5.
(v)  A farm tool having a flat rectangular blade attached to a long wooden handle used for digging the soil.R __ K __
6.
(vi)  A hand-held tool with a long-curved blade attached to a long handle used for cutting tall grass.S P __ D __
The table printed on page 180. The six pictures of Column 1 are redrawn here as simple line drawings; the book prints them in colour.
Answer

The six pictures in Column 1, in the order they are printed, are a sickle, a scythe, a plough, a trowel, a rake and a spade — and Column 3 already stands beside its own picture, so only Column 2 has to be matched across.

RowPicture (Column 1)Use (Column 2)Name (Column 3)
1a short-handled tool with a strongly curved blade(iii)SICKLE
2a long pole with a long curved blade at the end(vi)SCYTHE
3a wooden frame with a pointed share, meant to be drawn(iv)PLOUGH
4a small pointed hand blade with a short handle(ii)TROWEL
5a long handle ending in a row of metal teeth(i)RAKE
6a long handle with a flat rectangular blade(v)SPADE
How to tell a sickle from a scythe — the pair students most often confuse: Both have curved blades and both cut. The difference is the handle. A sickle has a short handle, so you must bend down and cut a handful at a time — that is why it is used for harvesting a crop you want to gather as you cut. A scythe has a long handle and a long blade, so you stand upright and sweep it in a wide arc — that is why it is used for tall grass over a large area. In The Cherry Tree the grass-cutting woman uses a scythe, and one sweep is enough to cut the young tree in two. Column 2 gives you exactly this clue: 'short handle' in (iii), 'long handle' in (vi).
Tip for the rake and the spade: Both have long handles, so look at the business end. Teeth mean a rake (it drags loose stuff together); a flat blade means a spade (it cuts into the ground). And the trowel is the only tool in the set small enough to hold in one hand.
Q2.
II. Choose the correct synonyms for the underlined words in the given sentences from the box below. Circle the words or phrases in the sentences that helped you to infer the meanings. [generous, help, brightness, indescribable, kind] — 1. The king was beneficent to the poor because he took good care of them. synonym: kind (example)
Answer

The synonym is kind, and the words that give it away are took good care of them.

Read the example as a method, not as an answer. Every sentence in this exercise contains a phrase that defines the difficult word — 'took good care of', 'donated a lot', 'supporting him with money', 'the whole room was full of', 'speechless with'. Circle that phrase first; the synonym follows from it. This is how you meet an unfamiliar word in an exam and still get it right.
Word note: beneficent comes from Latin bene (well) + facere (to do) — one who does good. The same bene- gives us benefit, benefactor and benevolent.
Q3.
II. 2. He was munificent towards the needy and donated a lot for their health care. synonym: ____________________
Answer

synonym: generous

The clue to circle: donated a lot for their health care.

Why: Munificent means giving very generously, especially in large amounts. Someone who 'donated a lot' is doing exactly that. In the poem Surya is 'Bright and munificent lord of the morn' — a giver on a great scale, whose gift is the ripening light of a whole harvest.
Q4.
II. 3. When he lost his job, all his friends gave him succour by supporting him with money. synonym: ____________________
Answer

synonym: help

The clue to circle: supporting him with money.

Why: Succour means help or relief given to someone in trouble or distress — not just any help, but help at a bad moment. That is why the friends give it when he has lost his job. In the poem, All Voices ask: 'Grant us thy succour, thy counsel, thy care' — they are asking to be helped through the hard seasons ahead.
Tip: The three things asked for in that line rise in intimacy — succour (help in trouble), counsel (advice), care (constant looking-after).
Q5.
II. 4. When the sun's rays came into the dark room, the whole room was full of radiance. synonym: ____________________
Answer

synonym: brightness

The clue to circle: the sun's rays came into the dark room.

Why: Radiance is light shining out from something — the sentence sets 'dark' against it, and the source is the sun's rays. Notice the fine difference the poem makes use of: in 'O giver of mellowing radiance' the brightness is warm and ripening, not dazzling. The noun means brightness; the adjective beside it decides what kind.
Q6.
II. 5. The little girl was speechless with ineffable joy when she got her birthday gift from her aunt. synonym: ____________________
Answer

synonym: indescribable

The clue to circle: speechless.

Why: Ineffable means too great or too intense to be expressed in words — and 'speechless' says the same thing about the girl. The two words in the sentence agree with each other, which is your proof. In the poem, God is addressed as 'Father eternal, ineffable Om!' — a presence beyond anything language can hold.
Word note: ineffable = in- (not) + effable (able to be spoken), from Latin fari, to speak. The same root gives 'infant' — literally, one who cannot yet speak.
Q7.
III. You have learnt about some archaic words. Some more archaic words are given below. Refer to a dictionary to find commonly used words which are similar in meaning. 1. morrow 2. hither 3. quoth 4. betwixt 5. yonder
Answer
Archaic wordWord we use todayUsed in a sentence
1. morrowtomorrow; the next day'We shall meet on the morrow' = We shall meet tomorrow.
2. hitherhere; to this place'Come hither' = Come here. (Its partners are thither = there, and whither = where to.)
3. quothsaid'Quoth the raven, “Nevermore.”' = Said the raven… (It is only ever used before the speaker, and only in the past.)
4. betwixtbetween'The village lies betwixt the river and the hill' = between the river and the hill.
5. yonderover there; that one in the distance'Look at yonder field' = Look at that field over there.
Why poets keep using words nobody says any more: An archaic word carries the sound of an older, more formal English, and that is useful when the subject is itself old and formal — worship, ceremony, legend. 'Thine is the bounty' feels like a prayer; 'Yours is the bounty' feels like a receipt. The word choice does not change the meaning; it changes the register, and register is part of meaning.
Did you know? Several of these survive in fixed phrases even now — 'come hither', 'betwixt and between', 'the hither side', and 'good morrow' in Shakespeare. And 'yonder' is still ordinary speech in parts of Britain, Ireland and the American South.
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