North, South, East, West

(i) What feeling does Shaana most likely experience when she says, “I never knew such a place existed...”?
D. wonder

(ii) Amma is sad about the frequent flooding in Sundarbans because ______.
the floods are increasing and they harm the wetland, its mangroves, animals and people.

(iii) Select the evidence from the text that reflects a feeling of the speaker’s slight nervousness.
“I hope they don’t follow us home.”

(iv) Assertion: The speaker is missing her friends. Reason: The speaker wishes to know the well-being of her friends.
A. Both the assertion and the reason are true, and the reason correctly explains the assertion.

(i) The speaker chooses to stay awake because ______.
she loves looking out of the window at the beautiful plateaus, hills and beaches.

(ii) What does the speaker mean by saying, ‘You won’t believe how nice the plateaus look’?
She means that the plateaus are so beautiful that it is hard to imagine them without seeing.

(iii) What has been the change in the speaker’s attitude towards tunnels?
A. from fear to comfort

(iv) Fill in the blanks.
The speaker’s wish to share the experience of touring the plateaus with others indicates her sense of connection as well as the value she places on shared experiences with her peers.

1. Shaana mentions that she used to be afraid of tunnels. What could have been the most likely reason for her to be scared of tunnels?
Tunnels are dark and closed. When a train enters one, it suddenly becomes dark and noisy. This may have made her feel scared and trapped.

2. Do you think Shaana’s Appa and Amma enjoyed themselves, just like children do? Support your answer with evidence from the text.
Yes, they did. They threw snowballs at each other in Kashmir. They went rafting on the Narmada. At the beach near Chennai, they splashed water on each other and “behaved like children”.

3. Shaana mentions less snow in the glaciers and more flooding in the Sundarbans. Explain what these observations indicate.
These show that our climate is changing. Global warming is melting the snow and glaciers. Rising sea levels are causing more floods in the Sundarbans.

4. Shaana’s visits to different parts of the country highlight the diversity of India’s geography. Support this statement with evidence from the text.
Shaana saw glaciers in Kashmir and mountains in Himachal Pradesh. She saw thick forests in Arunachal Pradesh and wetlands in the Sundarbans. She visited the desert in Gujarat, the Narmada river, the plateaus of Goa and the beaches of Tamil Nadu.

5. How does Shaana use language to convey her excitement, curiosity, and sometimes her fears about the places she visits?
She uses exclamations like “You won’t believe where I am!” and “Today was the best day ever!” to show excitement. She asks questions like “Did you know…?” to show curiosity. Lines like “I hope they don’t follow us home” and “wild and scary” show her fears.

6. What might Shaana have learnt from her travels across India? How would it impact her understanding of the country?
She learnt that India has many landscapes, languages, people, clothes and food. She also learnt about changes in nature. This would help her love and respect the diversity of her country.

7. What could be the author’s purpose of presenting the text in the form of postcards?
Postcards are short, personal and lively. They show the journey through a child’s eyes, place by place and date by date. They also show Shaana’s close bond with her friends.