Back From The Brink Class 8 ICSE English Textbook Question And Answers

Back From The Brink Class 8 ICSE English Textbook Question And Answers

About the passage

A. Read to understand

1. Answer these questions.

a)Why did Jarjo mimic the sound of a baby deer in trouble?

Jarjo, one of the tribal companion tried to mimic the sound of a male fawn deer to lure the mother deer. It was nothing other than a trap for the mother deer.

b) When did the filmmaker’s sojourn in the North East begin?

The filmmaker’s sojourn in the north-east began in 2002 when they were filming the very first rehabilitation of two Himalayan black beer cubs who were hunted in the Pakke National Park in Arunachal Pradesh.

c) What goal did the filmmaker’s intend to achieve through their latest efforts?

The filmmaker’s goal was to document the extent of hunting and to determine whether there was any hope for the future of wildlife in North East India.

d) Why have generations of tribal people in the North East been hunting wild animals?

The tribal people in the North East were the wildlife hunters. Hunting was a part of their tradition, they had been hunting for a generation. The animals they used to hunt provides foods and bones, furs and feathers for decoration and rituals for their festival.

e) Why did the young boy kill the monkey?

The young boy hunted a monkey as he wanted to use the fur to make his new dagger case. As he was supposed to attend a marriage party he wanted his dagger case to be the best of all or else it would have been a matter of prestige for him. He was way more conscious about what others think that made him get the monkey killed

2. Answer these questions with reference to the context.

a)”We continued to film the three young men and walked until the evening before setting down at a clearing”.

i)Who are ‘we’ here? Who are the ‘three young men’?

‘We’ here refers to the filmmaker’s, the author and the group who were filming the three young men.

‘Three young men’ refers to Tai, Maga and Jarjo the three young hunters. They belonged to the Nyshi tribes, Nyshi tribe were one of those tribe who had been hunting for generations.

ii)Why were the three young men being filmed?

The filmmaker’s were filming the three young hunters with a goal to make a documentary to extent hunting and to determine whether there was any hope for the future of wildlife.

iii)Where were ‘we’ walking until evening?

The filmmaker’s were walking deep in the dense forest of North East India filming the three young tribal hunters. They were crowded by the dense forest which was making it impossible for them to see further than a few meters ahead.

b) ’These are first steps, but positive ones towards a more sustainable future’.

i) What steps are being talked about in the above sentence?

The vast hunting of animals led to the silent forest and the empty sky. Realizing the dead situation of the forest the tribals themselves arrived at a unified understanding, they decided to ban hunting to revive the wildlife population. The wildlife hunters became the wildlife guides.

ii)Who took ‘these steps’?

The tribal hunters of North East India arrived at a unified understanding and decided to ban hunting.

iii)How would these steps ensure a sustainable future?

Due to the vast depletion of the wildlife population in forest, the tribal people decided to ban hunting. The ex-poachers or wildlife hunters had turned themselves into forest guides putting all their knowledge about the forest and its inhabitants to revive the wildlife population. They took steps towards the more sustainable future, proved and positively supported for processing and preserving the forest and its creatures.

B. Read to infer.

1. What motivated the tribal people to hunt wildlife recklessly?

The wild animals and birds hunted by the tribal people were at high demand. The dead meat of animals was sold at very high prices in the market. The animal parts were of various traditional use. The animals they hunt provides foods and bones, furs and feathers for decoration and rituals during the festival.

2. What did the filmmaker’s realize after interviewing generations of hunters?

After interviewing different generations of hunters, the filmmaker’s came across some interesting facts about the decline of wildlife. The older generation had such a vast knowledge about almost every animal and also about their habit’s, foods and smell that they could easily identify the animals from the photograph. The younger hunters knew very less whereas the teenagers had rarely seen any mammals. There was a huge difference in their knowledge about the animals due to the decline in wildlife proportion.

3) What vital lesson did these tribal people learn?

Hunting was very common in the North Eastern states of India. Especially people who belonged to the Nyshi tribe had been hunting for generations. Future of wildlife‘s was found to be dark due to the frequent hunting. The wildlife populations were reduced and only the empty sky was left. If not taken care the very next victim would have been the forest itself.

C.Discuss

1. Do you think it was easy for the tribal people to decide on the ban? Why/ Why not?

No, it was not that easy for the tribal people to decide on the ban.

They had been hunting for generations. It was not at all easy for them to change themselves to a wildlife guide from a wildlife hunter. Realizing the dead situation they were forced to come to a unified understanding to ban hunting. They had taken such a big step to revive the wildlife population and for a sustainable future.

2. Preservation and protection of the environment is not a spectator sport. What does it mean? How should each of us be involved in the preservation of the environment?

We move towards a civilization where the growth of tomorrow-factories are considered as the basis of development, we often forget that preservation and protection is a constant effort that exists as an integral part of human lives. We unknowingly destroy forest property and lose more than what we find. Preservation and protection should start from every individual’s life. Whatever we intake are provided by the environment.

As indebted as we are to nature our duty is to protect the earth in various ways. Some simple ideas are:

  • Reduce, reuse and recycle
  • Stop deforestation
  • Volunteer for cleanups in community
  • Conserve water
  • Plant trees

Word by word

1. Complete the word web for preserve

Safeguard

Preserve

Maintain

~ Preserve

Keep in safety and protect from harm

“We preserve these archaeological findings”

Synonyms-conserve, maintain, safeguard, protect, etc.

Antonyms-damage, neglect, harm, attack, etc.

 

2. Find words from the passage that mean the same as the phrases given below:

a)to take out

~ Extract

b)to imitate someone/something

~ Mimic

c) send/go to live in another place

~ Rehabilitation

d) to keep getting less and less

~ Decline

e)to strengthen and support

~ Sustain

f) one who only watches a game/ performance

~ Spectator

3. Use the words from the above exercise in sentences of your own.

  • Extract- She read out a short extract from her new novel.
  • Mimic- She could mimic her father perfectly.
  • Rehabilitation- Rehabilitation services were offered to the handicapped ones.
  • Decline- Increase in private vehicles led to the decline of public transport.
  • Sustain- It was difficult to sustain the interest of the children’s.
  • Spectator- The spectator always stands beside and guides.
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