CBSE Class 8 English — Honeydew Exercise Solutions
Key Chapters Quick Recap
| Chapter | Author/Source | Key Theme |
|---|
| The Best Christmas Present | Michael Morpurgo | WWI Christmas Truce; peace; humanity |
| The Tsunami | Various | 2004 tsunami; animal instincts; survival |
| Glimpses of the Past | Comic format | Indian history 1757-1857 |
| Bepin Babu Loses His Memory | R.K. Narayan | Memory; humour; moral lesson |
| The Summit Within | H.P.S. Ahluwalia | Everest; inner vs outer summit |
| A Visit to Cambridge | Firdaus Kanga | Disability; Stephen Hawking |
I. Choose the Best Answer (MCQs)
1. In 'The Best Christmas Present in the World', what happened on Christmas Eve, 1914? (a) A big battle was fought (b) German and British soldiers came out of their trenches and celebrated Christmas together (c) The war ended (d) Jim Macpherson was rescued
Answer(b) German and British soldiers came out of their trenches and celebrated Christmas together The famous Christmas Truce of 1914: soldiers on both sides sang carols, exchanged gifts (chocolate, buttons, cigarettes), played football. Jim Macpherson's letter describes this extraordinary moment of peace amid a brutal war. Within days, orders came to fight again.
2. In 'The Tsunami', animals behaved strangely before the tsunami because: (a) They were trained to do so (b) They have a sixth sense — can detect vibrations and sounds humans cannot (c) It was raining heavily (d) People were running
Answer(b) They have a sixth sense — can detect vibrations and sounds humans cannot Animals fled to higher ground before the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami (December 26, 2004). Dogs refused to go to the beach; elephants trumpeted and ran away; flamingos left their low-lying areas. Possible explanations: animals detect infrasound waves from earthquakes that humans cannot hear, or feel ground vibrations.
3. In 'Bepin Babu Loses His Memory', who was actually responsible for his confusion? (a) His wife (b) His doctor (c) His old friend Chunilal, as a prank to teach him a lesson (d) His neighbours
Answer(c) His old friend Chunilal, as a prank to teach him a lesson Bepin Babu had refused to help his old friend Chunilal find a job, claiming not to remember him. Chunilal, hurt, arranged the prank — convincing Bepin he had visited Ranchi and forgotten. The prank succeeded; Bepin felt guilty and realised he had become too self-centered. Moral: be kind to old friends.
4. H.P.S. Ahluwalia, in 'The Summit Within', says the real summit is: (a) Mount Everest (b) Inner self — conquering one's own weaknesses and fears (c) K2 (d) A mountain in the Alps
Answer(b) Inner self — conquering one's own weaknesses and fears Ahluwalia climbed Everest in 1965 (Indian Expedition). He writes that reaching the physical summit is an achievement, but the real summit is within — overcoming one's own doubts, fears, and limitations. "The summit of Everest was, in a sense, easy compared to the summit within." Theme: inner strength.
5. In 'A Visit to Cambridge', the author (Firdaus Kanga) was inspired by Stephen Hawking because: (a) Hawking was famous worldwide (b) Despite severe disability (ALS), Hawking lived fully and contributed groundbreaking physics to humanity (c) They were old friends (d) Hawking was Indian
Answer(b) Despite severe disability (ALS), Hawking lived fully and contributed groundbreaking physics to humanity Firdaus Kanga has spinal muscular atrophy (brittle bones). He visited Stephen Hawking (who had ALS — motor neurone disease). Hawking communicated through a computer voice synthesiser. The visit moved Kanga; Hawking's example showed that disability need not limit achievement or joy.
6. The poem 'The School Boy' (from Honeydew, by William Blake) expresses: (a) Joy of going to school (b) A child's wish to learn freely in nature, not be confined in school (c) Fear of teachers (d) The importance of discipline
Answer(b) A child's wish to learn freely in nature, not be confined in school William Blake's 'The School Boy': child rises joyfully in summer, loves birdsong and company of friends in nature. But school is like a "cage" — confines the child's natural joy. Blake argues that forced learning crushes creativity. Contrast: free learning in nature vs rote learning in school.
7. 'Glimpses of the Past' covers Indian history from approximately: (a) 1600–1700 (b) 1757–1857 (c) 1857–1947 (d) 1947–2000
Answer(b) 1757–1857 Comic strip format: shows India under East India Company rule — Battle of Plassey (1757), exploitation of artisans and weavers, land revenue policies (Permanent Settlement, Ryotwari), social reforms, the growing nationalist sentiment, and the 1857 Revolt (First War of Independence).
II. Short Answer Questions
Q1. What qualities of mountaineers does H.P.S. Ahluwalia describe in 'The Summit Within'?
Answer
Qualities required for climbing Everest and life's challenges: 1. Physical fitness: endurance, strength, stamina for extreme altitude. 2. Mental resilience: overcoming fear, self-doubt, and despair. 3. Team spirit: no one climbs Everest alone; trust your team. 4. Humility: before the mountain (and before life), we are small. 5. Persistence: the summit demands repeated attempts and refusal to give up. 6. Inner strength: the outer summit tests body; the inner summit tests character.
Ahluwalia writes that the experience changed him forever — he became calmer, more content, and less materialistic. The climb taught him that life's greatest obstacles are within.
Q2. What do we learn from animal behaviour in 'The Tsunami'?
Answer
Animals provided advance warning of the 2004 tsunami through their instinctive behaviour:
- Dogs refused to run onto the beach (unlike most days).
- Elephants screamed and ran to higher ground before the waves came.
- Flamingos abandoned low-lying coastal breeding areas.
- Zoo animals hid in their shelters and could not be coaxed out.
Lessons: 1. Animals have sensory abilities beyond human perception (infrasound, seismic vibration). 2. We should pay attention to unusual animal behaviour as warning signals. 3. Disaster preparedness can save lives — early warning systems are vital. 4. Human stories of survival (Tilly Smith spotted wave patterns she'd studied in school and raised alarm) show that knowledge saves lives.
Exam Checklist
- The Best Christmas Present: WWI Christmas Truce 1914; Jim Macpherson's letter.
- The Tsunami: December 26, 2004; Indian Ocean; animals fled beforehand.
- Bepin Babu: Chunilal's prank; lesson — help old friends.
- The Summit Within: H.P.S. Ahluwalia; Everest 1965; inner summit.
- A Visit to Cambridge: Firdaus Kanga meets Stephen Hawking; disability and achievement.
- The School Boy: William Blake; child wants free learning; school is a cage.
