1.   Do you like rainy season ?
2.   What happens when it rains heavily ?
3.   What will you do in case there is a flood ?

On a very heavy rainy day, the headmaster of a village school discusses the causes and effects of floods with his students. He begins to talk to the students.


HM : It’s raining cats and dogs.

 Vinay : Sir, do you mean cats and dogs are falling from the sky?

 HM : No, no ! I mean it’s raining heavily. The idiom, 'Cats and Dogs' is used to indicate heavy rainfall.

 Arjun : Oh! It's interesting.

 HM : Do you know what a ‘disaster’ means?

 Ashu : No. Sir, I don’t. What does it mean?

 HM : Disaster is an unexpected event, such as an accident, a flood or a fire. It kills or injures a lot of people or causes a lot of damage to property.

 Sandeep : Sir, what causes floods?

 HM : Floods  are  caused  by  heavy  rains,  bursting  of   dams,  or cloudburst.

 Abu : Does it mean they are caused by natural forces only ?

 HM : No. Though floods are mostly caused by natural forces, we also play a role in causing them.

 Mahendra : How, Sir ?

 HM:  By  deforestation,  faulty  dam  construction  and  breaches  in embankments.

 Richa : Breaches in embankments ?

 HM : Yes, nowadays pressure of transport routes like railway near river banks causes breach in the embankments. It is also a cause of flood.

 Mehak : Sir, what are the effects of floods on us ?

 HM : There are several ill effects, such as destruction of life and property. Epidemics can also occur after floods.

 Kapil : Sir, what are epidemics?

 HM : Epidemics are infectious diseases which spread out over a large population by means of contaminated water, food and air.

 Bhawna : Oh! That’s why we have cholera, malaria and diarrhoea after the
  rains every year.

 HM : Yes, and soil erosion is another ill effect of floods.

 Ashish : Sir, What should we do in a situation when floods confront us ?

 HM : Always remember to keep an eye on the water level of the river or the stream, especially when it is raining heavily.

 Vijendra : Can we go near the river to see the water level?

 HM : No, never do it. It is risky for children. The watchman or the person on duty should do that.

 Nisha : Sir, last year some children of the nearby village went near the stream and one of them got drowned.

 HM : Yes, it was horrible. So always keep a safe distance from a  flooded river or stream.

 Pappu : Sir, what should we do when the watchman informs us that the situation is getting worse or alarming?

 HM : Now you have to make some necessary arrangements to cope with the situtation.

 Rachna : What are they?

 HM : First, don't get panicky in any circumstances.

 Ashoo : Yes, Sir.

 HM : And try to help your parents.

 Shubham : How can we help them?

 HM : If your house is in danger, move out immediately to a safe distance.

 Nagina : Should we climb a tree?

 HM : No, don't climb a tree. It can be dangerous.

 HM : Move towards a higher place. It is better to shift to a concrete house like a school building, a temple or a gram panchayat bhawan.

 Balwan : How can we save our cattle Sir?

 HM : Free all of them and try to take them to a safer place.

 Abu : What else should we do?

 HM : Take some eatables, clothes, a torch or candles, match boxes and other essential items and leave your house for a safer place.

 Mahek : Yes Sir. What should we do after the flood?

 HM : Try to clean and disinfect your house and surroundings as early as possible. Always remember, “ Prevention is better than cure.”

 Nisha : How to disinfect our houses, Sir?

 HM : Spray some pesticides like D.D.T, lime water, kerosene, phenol etc. in and around your house. But the most important measure is to take care of drinking water.

 Sajid : Sir, what should we do to purify the drinking water?

 HM : Use chlorine tablets for purifying the drinking water or boil it.

 Abu : What else should we do, Sir?

 HM : Take the members of your family to a hospital and the cattle to a veterinary  hospital  to  get  proper  medical  treatment  and vaccination against diseases.

 All Students : Thank  you  Sir,  today  you  have  given  us  very  valuable information.

 HM : Ok, now go back to your houses. May God forbid, but at any time in future you hear some alarming news like a flood, do shift to a safe  place  like  this  school  building  with  your  family  and neighbours as soon as possible.


EXERCISES

Read and Learn

cloudburst

cope with

disaster

drown

deforestation

preferably

embankment

epidemics

panicky

forbid

veterinary

keep an eye



Word Power


 Homophones are pairs of words that are pronounced in the same way but have different meanings and different spellings.

Example:      hear            -           here
                   weather  -          whether




Now write the homophones for these words.
i. steel    - steal
ii. due     - deo
iii. knew - new
iv. way   - bay
v. aloud - a loud
vi. pain   - pen
vii. our   - hour
Comprehension

A.        Answer the following questions:
Q.1   What is a disaster?
Ans. - Disaster is an unexpected event like an accident, a flood or a fire.

Q.2   What are epidemics?
Ans. - Epidemics are infectious diseases which spread out over a large population by means of water, flood and air.

Q.3   What are the ill effects of floods?
Ans. - Destruction of life and property are the ill effects of floods.

Q.4   How are human beings responsible for causing floods?
Ans. - By deforestation faulty dam construction and breaches in embankments are made responsible to human beings for causing floods.

Q.5   How is our life effected by floods?
Ans. - Destruction of life and property and epidemics are the effects of flood in our life.




B.        Write a short note about the measures to ensure safety of life during a disaster like flood.
Ans. - When the flood is occurred, we should go to the safe place, to keep an eye on the water level of the river or the stream, do not climb up on the tree, keep a safe distance from flooded river or stream. 


C.        What are the different ways to purify drinking water?
Ans. - To purify drinking water we should use Chlorine tables or boil water.


 Lets Learn

A.        Read the following sentences and learn the use of “and”, “but” and “or”. 

These words are used to join or link, words or clauses.

i.  You must take care.
    You will fall sick.

*   You must take care, or you will fall sick.

ii.  Rohan's team won the cricket match . 
     He was happy.

*     Rohan's team won the cricket match and he was happy. 

iii. He is lean and thin.
     He is very energetic.

*    He is lean and thin but (he is) very energetic.

So we can say when two sentences of equal importance are joined, we use “and”, “but” and “or” as conjunctions. They are called co-ordinating conjunctions. 
“and” joins two similar ideas.
“but” joins two opposite ideas.

 “or” joins two alternative ideas. 


Now rewrite these sentences using “and “, “but” and “or” as linkers.

(i)  Give me a pen. 
      Give me a pencil.
Ans. - Give me a pen or pencil.

(ii) He works very hard. 
      He gets a low salary.
Ans. - He works very hard but he gets a low salary.

(iii) Hurry up.
       You will be late.
Ans. - Hurry up or you will be late.

(iv) We knocked at the door. 
        No one answered.
Ans. - We knocked at the door but no one answered.

(v)  Man discovered fire. 
       He learnt to cook.
Ans. - Man discovered fire and learnt to cook.

(vi) He is slow. 
       He is sure.
Ans. - He is slow but he is sure. 

(vii) Sanjana worked hard. 
        She won a scholarship.
Ans. - Sanjana worked hard and She won a scholarship.

(viii) Priya can come early. 
         Reshma can't come early.
Ans. - Priya can come early but Reshma can't come early.

(ix) Abu should go home early. 
       His mother will be worried.
Ans. - Abu should go home early or His mother will be worried.

(x) Sunil must learn to use a computer. 
      Sunil will not get a good job.
Ans. - Sunil must learn to use a computer or he will not get a good job.



(B)     Prefixes:

A Prefix is a letter or a group of letters placed before a root word so as to change its meaning. Look at what these prefixes do.

(a)        Now rewrite the sentences using the correct prefix with the word in brackets:

(i)    Many drivers disobey (obey) the speed restriction on roads.

(ii)   I had to reread (read) the directions because I couldn't understand

them in my first reading.

(iii)  The garden hasn't been mown so weeds have regrown . (grown)

(iv)  I replaced (placed ) the ball she had lost.

(v)   These slippers are made of recycled (cycled) plastic.

(b)        The prefix “fore” means “before”. Add “fore”to make new words from the following and use them in the sentences given below:

             front      cast      fathers    noon     tell
(i)  According to the last evening's weather forecast it may rain today.
(ii) Astrologers claim that they can foretell your future.
(iii) He has applied for half a day's leave in the forenoon today.
(iv) A true leader is always in the forefront.
(v) We don't often realize that we owe a lot to our forefather.


(C)       Rearrange the following words to make meaningful sentences:
1. important /spray/it/pesticides/is/to/.
Ans. - It is important to spray it presticides.

2. purify/to/water/use/chlorine/tablets/.
Ans. - Use chlorine tables to purify water.

3. cure/prevention /is/than/better/.
Ans. - Prevention is better than cure.

4. dogs/raining/cats/is/it/and/.
Ans. - It is raining cats and dogs.


5. useful/are/dams/us/for/.
Ans. - Dams are useful for us.


6. should/plant/trees/we/more/.
Ans. - We should plant more trees.

Let's Talk

Here is a railway ticket for you. Show it to your partner and talk about the ticket.

Then ask these questions.


1.   How many people travelled on this ticket?
Ans. - Only one man can traveled on this ticket.

2.   What is the fare?
Ans. - Rs 1278 is the fare.

3.   What is the number of the ticket?
Ans. - The number of the the ticket is 830-8349349.

4.   Where does/do he/they board the train?
Ans. - He boards the train at Bhopal.

5.   Which place was/were he/they going to?
Ans. - He was going to Lucknow.

6.   What is the distance between the two stations?
Ans. - The distance between the stations is 583 km.


Let's Read

Read the following passage carefully:

There has been an outbreak of infectious diseases like Dengu, Malaria and Chikungunya, in different parts of our country after the rainy season.

      These diseases are mainly caused by mosquito bite. A large number of people, including children, are falling sick.

All these diseases start with fever. Only a doctor after laboratory investigations, can diagnose these diseases, There is no vaccine available for all these diseases.

We can avoid these diseases by taking certain precautions.

Preventive measures

*      Preventing mosquitoes from entering the house by using nets.

*      Protecting ourselves from mosquito bites by using protective clothing.

*      Avoiding or eliminating water stagnating as mosquitoes lay eggs in stale, stagnant water.

*      Killing mosquitoes by using pesticides’ sprays, thermal fogs.

*      Drain stagnant water from potted plants, air coolers etc.

Now answer the following questions:

1.   Write the names of the diseases mentioned in the passage.
Ans. - The name of the diseases are Dengu, Maleria and Chikungunya.

2.   Is there any vaccine for the treatment of these diseases?
Ans. - No, there is no any vaccine available for all these diseases.

3.   What should we do if we have fever?
Ans. - If we have fever we should have precautions.

4.   Write down some preventive measures to avoid these diseases.
Ans. - There are some folloing preventive measures :
(a) Preventing from mosquitoes
(b) Avoid polluted water

(c) Clean the houses and all around.


5.   Arrange the jumbled letters given below to make words:

(i)       sediases      diseases.   
(ii)   aidrn           drain.     
(iii)   alamiar       Malaria.
(iv)     vefer           fever.

Let's Write

A.          Go round the class and complete the table given below by asking these questions.


1. Have you ever had flu/ fever?
(Y/N)
2.
How long were you in bed?
(----days)
3.
What medicine was prescribed?
(tablets/injection)
4.
What precautions were you supposed to take?




Let's do it

Make a “First Aid Kit” for your class / school with the help of your teachers and friends.

Here is the list of the items.

 YOUR FIRST AID KIT

1.       antiseptic lotion

2.       lint, gauze or similar bandage material

3.       scissors

4.       iodine solution

5.       aspirin

6.       nasal decongestant spray

7.       cotton wool

8.       tweezers

9.       one or two glasses

10.  thermometer