An Education in Science - Unit 8

Worksheets - Reader 8

Reading
Worksheet 1
Robinson Crusoe lived a primitive life without science and technology in an island for a period
of time. Read how he managed to survive
Robinson Crusoe found himself on a lonely island after being ship wrecked. He passed the
night in a thick bushy tree and the next day he went in search of fresh water. He found a small
pond with cool clear water and drank from it.
He lay thinking on the vast stretch of sand near the sea and planned on his survival. He knew
that everything depended on him and him alone. He then set off to make a start.
He built a little hut for himself near a rock and enclosed it with two rows of strong, tall stakes
which he had cut from the trees on the island. These stakes took root, growing into strong trees.
The enclosure became as safe as a fortress. Crusoe made two ladders by means of which he
could get in and out of the enclosure.
For some months he lived on the meat of wild goats and birds. But then he caught some goats
and tamed and reared them. He soon had a large flock of goats. He ate their meat, drank their
milk and made clothes for himself out of their skins. He also learnt to make butter and cheese
from the milk.
He then found some barley and rice plants on the island and this led him to grow these plants
and soon he was able to produce enough grains for himself.
Crusoe was happy and thankful to God.
Now answer the following
1a. Fill the blanks with suitable words from the extract.
The first one has been done for you.
1. Tamara felt very lonely and decided to meet her friends.

2. Raj eventually managed to _________ the wild horse.

3. The army could not enter the strong __________ and had to retreat.
4. The farmer had to take his ___________ of sheep to the neighbouring farm.
5. They had ___________ food to last for days.
6. The new plants ____________ and soon we had a garden full of flowers.
1. B.Complete the sentences with reference to the passage.
a. Crusoe slept ___________________________________ the first night.
b. He drank water ___________________________________________.
c. The enclosure became as safe as a fortress because___________________________ .
d. He managed to ___________ some wild goats and ________ them.
e. He got his supply of grains from ____________________________ .
f. The ______________________ served as clothes.
1.C Fill in the flow chart with the sentences in the box.
The ship gets wrecked.
builds a hut
catches wild goats and tames them
Finds a pond with fresh water
Passes the first night in a tree.
Grows rice and barley
puts up stakes to protect himself
builds ladders to get in and out.
1. The ship gets wrecked

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

1.D Why did Crusoe feel that everything depended on him and him alone?
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_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

Structure and Usage

Worksheet 2
Combine the following into sentences using double possessives wherever required.
1. The blue car. It belongs to my uncle.
Example: The blue car of my uncles.
2. The fruits. They are from that tree.
_____________________________________________________________________________
3. The children. They are from the orphanage
_____________________________________________________________________________
4. That little dog. It belongs to Uncle Sharad.
_____________________________________________________________________________
5. The old office. My uncle owns it.
_____________________________________________________________________________
6. The book. It belongs to Shyam.
_____________________________________________________________________________
7. The diary. The princess owns it.
_____________________________________________________________________________
8. The rag doll. It belongs to my sister.
_____________________________________________________________________________

Words in Use
Worksheet 3
Refer to these phrases in the text (MCB 8 Unit 8) for their meaning and use them to form
sentences of your own. Use a dictionary if necessary.
a. A great deal (Paragraph 1)________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
b. Put the clock back (Paragraph 2)___________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
c. Basic understanding of (Paragraph 3) _______________________________
_______________________________________________________________
d. Twice as many (Paragraph 6)_____________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
e. Tend to express (Paragraph 7)_____________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
f. Realise the danger (Paragraph 11) __________________________________
________________________________________________________________

Spelling
Worksheet 4
Complete the sentences with the past tense of the following verbs.
1. The boy is a genius. he ____________ in his exams (excel)
2. The doctor __________________ the appointment. (cancel)
3. The sound was ____________ at once (suppress)
4. The telephone operator _______________ her number. (dial)
5. I ____________________ the sweets to the fruits at the party. (prefer)
6. They ______________ to help. (offer)
7. They ____________ by bus to Ooty. (travel)
8. They _____________ through the back door. (enter)

Writing
Worksheet 5
Read the text in Worksheet 1. Write a paragraph of serialised points on how Crusoe took care of
himself.
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_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
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ANSWER KEY
Worksheet 1a
1. Tamara felt very lonely and decided to meet her friends.
2. Raj eventually managed to tame the wild horse.
3. The army could not enter the strong fortress and had to retreat.
4. The farmer had to take his flock of sheep to the neighbouring farm.
5. They had enough food to last for days.
6. The new plants took root and soon we had a garden full of flowers.
2 b.
a. in a thick bushy tree.
b. water from a clear pond.
c. the stakes had taken root and grown into strong trees
d. catch/tame; tame/ rear
e. the rice and barley plants
f. skins of goats
1.C

The ship gets wrecked.

Passes the first night in a tree.
Finds a pond with fresh water
builds a hut
puts up stakes to protect himself
builds ladders to get in and out.
catches wild goats and tames them
Grows rice and barley

I.D Crusoe felt that everything depended on him because he was all alone on the island and would have to look
out for his food and shelter all by himself to survive.
Worksheet 2
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

The fruits of that tree.

The children of the orphanage.
That little dog of Uncle Sharads.
The old office of my uncles.
The book of Shyams.
The diary of the princess
The rag doll of my sisters.

Worksheet 4
excelled / cancelled/ suppressed/ dialled/ preferred/ offered/ travelled/ entered.
Worksheet 5
Free response
Example answer
Firstly Crusoe built a hut for himself and enclosed it with two rows of stakes. Secondly he hunted wild goats
and lived on their meat. Thirdly he tamed and reared these animals so that he could have milk, butter and
cheese besides meat. Finally he started growing rice and barley and was able to produce food grains for himself.
Thus with his courage and perseverance, Robinson Crusoe was able to survive in the deserted island.