NCERT Solutions for Class 6th: Ch 4 An Indian-American Women in Space: Kalpana Chawla English

NCERT Solutions for Class 6th: Ch 4 An Indian-American Women in Space: Kalpana Chawla and Beauty (Poem) Honeysuckle English

Page No: 50

Working with Text

A. Answer the following questions.

1. Where was Kalpana Chawla born? Why is she called an Indian – American? (3)

Answer

Kalpana Chawla was born in Karnal, Haryana. She was called an Indian-American because she went to US and became its naturalised citizen.

2. When and why did she go to the U.S.? Who did she marry? (2, 3)

Answer

She went to US after completing a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering for pursuing master’s degree. She married flight instructor Jean-Pierre Harrison.

3. How did she become an astronaut? What gave her the idea that she could be an astronaut? (3)

Answer

After qualifying as a pilot, Chawla applied to NASA space shuttle program. She was first hired as a research Scientist at NASA. In 1994 she was selected at NASA for training as an astronaut. It was her success as a pilot which gave her the idea that she could become an astronaut.

4. What abilities must an astronaut have, according to the journalist? (6)

Answer

According to the journalist, it takes enormous ability to be an astronaut. An astronaut must know a lot about everything, from biology to astrophysics to aeronautical engineering. In this age of super-specialisation, you must have encyclopedic knowledge to be an astronaut.

5. Describe Kalpana Chawla’s first mission in space. (5)

Answer

Kalpana Chawla’s first mission was in the space shuttle Columbia. It was a 15 days, 16 hours and 34 minutes. During this time, she went around the earth 252 times travelling 1.45 million km. The crew performed experiments such as pollinating plants to observe food growth in space. It also made test for making stronger metals and faster computer chips. It was all done for a price tag of 56 million dollars.

6. What does Kalpana Chawla say about pursuing a dream? Do you agree with her that success is possible? (7)

Answer

Kalpana Chawla said that the path from dreams to success does exist. One needs to have the vision to find it, and the courage to get onto it. Yes, success is possible.

Page No: 51

B. Read the newspaper report to find the following facts about the Columbia’s ill-fated voyage.

l. Date and place of lift off:  ————————————————————
► 16th January, 2003; Kennedy Space Center, Florida

2. Number of astronauts on board:  ———————————————––
► 7 (Seven)

3. Number of days it stayed in space:  ——————————————––
► 16 Days

4. Number of experiments done by scientists:  —————————––
► 80 experiments

5. Date of return journey:  ———————————————–————–––
► Sunday, 1st February, 2003

6. Height at which it lost contact:  ————————————————––
► 200,000 feet

Working with Language

A. Match the Following:

1. unprecedented space tragedy	something that causes feelings of respect and wonder
2. certified flight instructor	having knowledge of a wide variety of subjects
3. space mission	nowadays, in these times
4. super specialisation	a set of jobs to be done in space by a group
5. encyclopaedic knowledge	a person with the correct qualification to teach people to fly planes
6. awe-inspiring	a sad accident of a kind that has never happened before in space
7. in this age	great expertise in a limited field or a particular subject

Answer

1. unprecedented space tragedy	a sad accident of a kind that has never happened before in space
2. certified flight instructor	a person with the correct qualification to teach people to fly planes
3. space mission	a set of jobs to be done in space by a group
4. super specialisation	great expertise in a limited field or a particular subject
5. encyclopaedic knowledge	having knowledge of a wide variety of subjects
6. awe-inspiring	something that causes feelings of respect and wonder
7. in this age	nowadays, in these times

Page No: 52

B. Use these phrases in sentences of your own, after finding out their meanings.

1. broke apart

► break violently - The laptop broke apart when it slipped from the hands.

2. streaked over

► went over it quickly: A meteor streaked over cloud in the night.

3. spread across

► Distributed over a given area: Pollution is spread across the worls.

4. lifted off

► Start flying: Pilot finally lifted off the aeroplane.

5. blast off

► Take off: The rocket blasted off yesterday.

6. went on

► To continue: He went on reciting his poems.

7. cheered along

► Encourage: Audience cheered along for their favourite participant.

8. on board

► Participation: Children were on board for the picnic.

9. carry on

► Continue: Scientists carried on their research work.

C. We add ‘un-’ to make opposites.
For example, true — untrue.
Add ‘un’– to the words below to make their opposites. Then look up the meanings of the words you have formed in the dictionary.

l. identified  —————
► Unidentified

2. controlled  —————
► Uncontrolled

3. attended  ——————
► Unattended

4. successful  —————
► Unsuccessful

5. important  —————
► Unimportant

6. educated  ——————
► Uneducated

7. interesting  —————
► Uninteresting

8. qualified  ——————
► Unqualified

9. trained  ——————–
► Untrained

10. answerable  ———–—
► Unanswerable

Writing

Given below are some words that are spelt differently in British and American English. Fill in the blanks accordingly.

British	American
1. colour
2.	labor
3.	traveler
4. counsellor
5. centre
6.	theater
7.	organize
8. realise
9.	defense
10. offence

Answer

British	American
1. colour	color
2. labour	labor
3. traveller	traveler
4. counsellor	counselor
5. centre	center
6. theatre	theater
7. organise	organize
8. realise	realize
9. defence	defense
10. offence	offense

Beauty

E-yeh-shure

Page No: 55

Working with Poem

1. The poet says, “Beauty is heard in …”

Can you hear beauty? Add a sound that you think is beautiful to the sounds the poet thinks are beautiful.

The poet, Shelley, said:

Heard melodies are sweet,

But those unheard are sweeter.

What do you think this means? Have you ever ‘heard’ a song in your head, long after the song was sung or played?

Answer

The chirping of birds is also beautiful.

The poet says that when we hear melodies, we find it sweet but after hearing those melodies when we imagine about melodies i.e., unheard melodies we found it more sweeter than the original melody itself.

Yes, sometimes I heard long after the song was sung or played.

2. Read the first and second stanzas of the poem again. Note the following phrases.

corn growing, people working or dancing, wind sighing,

rain falling, a singer chanting

These could be written as

• corn that is growing

• people who are working or dancing

Can you rewrite the other phrases like this? Why do you think the poet uses the shorter phrases?

Answer

wind that is sighing

rain that is falling

a singer who is chanting

The poet uses the shorter phrases to enhance its beauty.

Go To Chapters