NCERT Solutions Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries

F R E E S T U D Y M AT E R I A L F O R E V E R Y S T U D E N T

CLASS 7 · ENGLISH

NCERT Solutions

Unit 3: Dreams and Discoveries

NCERT Textbook — Poorvi

BOOK PAGES SECTIONS QUESTIONS MEDIUM

91 – 135 29 126 English

Solutions, notes, sample papers & more at 87 pages

Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

CLASS 7 · ENGLISH · POORVI

NCERT Solutions — Unit 3: Dreams and Discoveries
Complete NCERT Solutions for Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries from the NCERT textbook
Poorvi. Every numbered item of every exercise is answered for all three pieces of the unit — the story My
Brother's Great Invention by Anita Rau Badami, the poem Paper Boats by Rabindranath Tagore, and the
postcard-travelogue North, South, East, West by C.G. Salamander — from pages 91 to 135.

TEXTBOOK BOOK PAGES

Poorvi (Class 7) 91 – 135

SECTIONS QUESTIONS

29 126

MEDIUM

English

Let us do these activities before we read — Page 91
My Brother's Great Invention (story by Anita Rau Badami)

BEFORE YOU READ

Q1 I Work in pairs and guess the invention. 1. I am a concept invented by ancient
Indian mathematicians. I add value to numbers. Without me, calculations in the
modern digital world would be impossible. Who am I?

Zero (shunya, 0).

I am a concept invented by ancient Indian mathematicians → zero

I add value to numbers → 5 becomes 50, then 500

Without me, digital calculation is impossible → computers work on 0 and 1

Why it happens: Indian mathematicians were the first to treat zero as a number and
not merely as an empty space. Aryabhata used a place-value system that needs
zero, and Brahmagupta (628 CE) wrote the first rules for calculating with zero in the
Brahmasphutasiddhanta. Without a symbol for 'nothing', the place value of a digit
cannot be fixed — and every computer, which stores everything as strings of 0 and 1,
would be impossible.

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Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Did you know? The word shunya travelled to Arabic as sifr, and from there into
English as both 'cipher' and 'zero'.

Q2 I 2. I am an ancient Indian practice, now popular globally. I focus on physical and
mental well-being. What am I?

Yoga.

Why it happens: Yoga is thousands of years old in India and was set down
systematically by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras. It joins asanas (postures), pranayama
(breath control) and dhyana (meditation), so it works on the body and the mind
together — exactly what the clue means by 'physical and mental well-being'.

Did you know? The United Nations declared 21 June as the International Day of
Yoga in 2014, on India's proposal. It is now observed in more than 190 countries.

Q3 II Discuss in groups of four what you think the world today would have been like
without inventions and discoveries.

Take one area each in your group — home, travel, health, school, communication — and say
what that area would look like if the key invention had never happened. Then put the four
pictures together.
Sample answer: Without inventions, life would be slower, shorter and much smaller. Without
the wheel and the engine we would still walk to the next village, so most people would never
travel more than twenty kilometres from home. Without electricity there would be no fan, no
fridge, no light after sunset — the day would end at dusk. Without vaccines and antibiotics an
ordinary fever could kill, and without printing and the internet, learning would pass only by
word of mouth, so a discovery made in Kerala would take a lifetime to reach Kashmir. But we
should also remember the other side: inventions have brought pollution, plastic and screen
addiction. So the real question is not 'inventions or no inventions' but which inventions we
choose and how wisely we use them.

Tip: In a group discussion, begin with 'I agree with… and I would add that…' instead
of interrupting. Give each speaker one minute.

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Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q4 III Fill the grid given below with missing letters to complete the words. These words
display qualities of an inventor.

C R A T V T

C U I T Y

R I - T K N G

D E T E I N A T I

I G I A I O N

The grid as printed on page 91 — one word to a row, with some letters already filled in.

The five words are the five qualities of an inventor:

ROW GRID AS PRINTED COMPLETE WORD WHAT THE QUALITY MEANS

1 C R _AT _ V _ T _ CREATIVITY The power to think of something new

2 CU____ITY CURIOSITY The wish to know how and why things work

3 RI__-T_K_NG RISK-TAKING The courage to try when you may fail

4 D E T E _ _ I NAT I _ _ DETERMINATION Refusing to give up after a failure

5 I__GI_A_ION IMAGINATION Seeing in the mind what does not yet exist

Why it happens: Anand in this story has every one of the five. He is curious about
how a door can be made to warn you, creative enough to design a burglar alarm, a
risk-taker who tries it on his own front door, determined enough to start a time
machine a week after being scolded, and imaginative enough to believe a thief
walked into the past.

Let us discuss — Pages 94 & 95

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Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries
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My Brother's Great Invention — Part I
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COMPREHENSION

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IsComplete the cause-and-effect table given below.
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CAUSES

1. Anand set up his burglarg l a
a alarm and
rigged it to work when the door was

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opened softly.

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Anita was able to avoideany
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4. Papa firmly said ‘NO’ to trying
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time machine.

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The cause-and-effect table as printed on pages 94–95.

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CAUSES EFFECTS

a se
1. Anand set up his burglar alarm
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Papa, who always opens the door gently, tripped the alarm himself. The
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a doorstep 'sopping wet and scowling'. He roared for the boy, and Anand
and rigged it to work when the bell clanged, the water bag came loose and he was left standing on the

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door was opened softly.
vanished until after dinner.

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2. Anita warned Anand in advance Anita was able to avoid any responsibility as Anand faced the

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— 'If you get a shelling, don't bring consequences alone.

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3. We watched the movie 'Back to Anand: decided that he had to build a time machine too. He shut himself
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the Future'. in his room for a fortnight, turned it into a network of wires, springs,

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Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

4. Papa firmly said 'NO' to trying Anand looked crestfallen, so Ma persuaded Papa to at least take a look at
out the time machine. it. The trial had to be put off — and because the parents left for a
wedding at Kharagpur the next day, Ma made Anand promise not to
touch the machine till they returned.

Tip: In a cause-and-effect table, the effect must be traceable to the cause in the text
itself. Quote the line that proves the link, the way 'sopping wet and scowling' proves
effect 1.

Q2 II Do you think Anand was able to keep his promise regarding the time machine? If
yes, why? If no, why not?

Yes — but only by accident, not by choice. Anand never switched the machine on himself. He
promised Ma 'half-heartedly, offended at this lack of respect for his creation', and then fell
asleep the moment his parents left. The machine was started that night by Boppa, the thief,
who blundered into the dark room and hit the switchboard: 'My time machine, he's started it!'

Why it happens: The story is careful to keep Anand technically innocent. He is
locked in the other room the whole time, shouting for help. So the letter of the
promise is kept — but the spirit of it is very shaky, because Anand had no intention
of waiting. He was already itching to test the machine: 'I wish we could get out of
this room and see what is happening out there.' Given one more quiet night, he
would almost certainly have broken it.

Try This: Write two sentences arguing the opposite view — that he did not keep the
promise, since the machine was run in his house, on his watch, in his absence from
bed. Both answers can be defended if you quote the text.

Let us discuss — Page 98

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Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

My Brother's Great Invention — Part II

COMPREHENSION

Q1 Arrange the following events in the correct order of occurrence. 1. The door swings
open, and they see Boppa, standing there with an evil grin. 2. Boppa is nowhere to
be found, but his green scarf is lying near the time machine. 3. Mrs. Sharma, her
husband, and Dr. Mohan unlock the door and enter the house to help the children.
4. Anita wakes Anand up, informing him that someone is trying to get into the
house. 5. Anand misleads Boppa into entering his room instead of his father's room.

The correct order is 4 → 1 → 5 → 3 → 2.

ORDER EVENT (AS NUMBERED IN THE BOOK) PROOF FROM THE TEXT

1st 4. Anita wakes Anand up, informing him that 'I shook Anand and whispered, "Listen, there's
someone is trying to get into the house. someone at the door."'

2nd 1. The door swings open, and they see Boppa, 'the door swung open and we found ourselves
standing there with an evil grin. looking at a ruffianly fellow with a green scarf'

3rd 5. Anand misleads Boppa into entering his room '"Where is your father's room?" … Anand
instead of his father's room. said quickly, "The one next to this one."'

4th 3. Mrs. Sharma, her husband, and Dr. Mohan unlock 'In a minute the door was unlocked. "What on
the door and enter the house to help the children. earth has been happening here, children?"'

5th 2. Boppa is nowhere to be found, but his green scarf 'Near the panel of switches was the green
is lying near the time machine. scarf.'

Tip: When you order events, look for the small time-markers the writer drops — 'at
about eleven thirty', 'a little later', 'all of a sudden', 'in a few minutes', 'at last'. They
give you the sequence without any guessing.

Let us think and reflect — Pages 99 to 101

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Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

My Brother's Great Invention

COMPREHENSION

Q1 I 1. Extract: 'Before beginning this story, let me put you in the picture. I am Anita,
fourteen years old. My brother Anand, one year younger than me, caused all that
hoo-ha with his burglar alarm. The trouble with him is that he thinks he is a
scientist. He loves tinkering with all sorts of electrical gadgets, tools, dynamos,
planks of wood, and things like that. And he keeps creating 'inventions' that never
work out as they are supposed to.' (i) Complete the following sentence suitably by
choosing the correct option from those given in the brackets. When Anita says, "…
let me put you in the picture", she wants to _________ (introduce/summarise) the
situation for the benefit of the readers.

When Anita says, "…let me put you in the picture", she wants to introduce the situation for the
benefit of the readers.

Why it happens: The idiom to put someone in the picture means 'to give someone the
background information they need'. Anita uses it before the story properly begins —
she stops to tell us her name, her age, her brother's age and his habits. She is not
shortening anything that has already been told, so 'summarise' is wrong; she is
opening the story out for a reader who knows nothing yet.

Q2 I 1. (ii) Anand loves 'tinkering' with all sorts of electrical gadgets. This means that
he enjoys _________ gadgets. A. dismantling and creating B. labelling or naming C.
repairing or improving D. collecting and displaying

A. dismantling and creating

Why it happens: The story itself defines the word for us. Anand 'takes apart all the
gadgets in the house to collect parts' — that is dismantling — and then 'keeps
creating "inventions"' out of them — that is creating. Option C is tempting, but he
never repairs or improves anything; Ma has to keep 'a wary eye on her oven and
mixer' precisely because his tinkering leaves things worse than before.

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Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Tip: For a vocabulary MCQ, hunt for the sentence in the passage that shows the
word in action. Here 'takes apart… to collect parts' settles it.

Q3 I 1. (iii) Which of the following options most suitably describes Anand's personality?
A. methodical and cautious B. creative and experimental C. energetic and hasty D.
shy and reserved

B. creative and experimental

Why it happens: Anand invents things nobody has asked for — a burglar alarm with
a bell and a falling water bag, and then a time machine built out of wires, springs,
levers and bulbs. That is creative. He then tries them out on his own front door and
his own family, which is experimental. He is certainly not 'methodical and cautious'
(Anita is the cautious one), and he is the opposite of 'shy and reserved' — he
announces his time machine to everyone at lunch.

Q4 I 1. (iv) Based on the extract, compare what Anita thinks of her brother Anand with
what he thinks of himself.

The two views are almost exact opposites, and that gap is where the humour of the story lives.

POINT WHAT ANAND THINKS OF HIMSELF WHAT ANITA THINKS OF HIM

Who he is A scientist and 'a genius' with real projects and A boy who only thinks he is a scientist — 'The
'blueprints' trouble with him is that he thinks he is a
scientist.'

His work Carefully planned inventions — 'Nothing will 'Inventions' in inverted commas 'that never
go wrong this time. I've planned it out work out as they are supposed to'
carefully.'

Effect on He is offended when the family shows 'lack of A nuisance who gets on Papa's nerves and
others respect for his creation' frightens people half to death

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Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries
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Anand sees himself as a misunderstood inventor; Anita sees an untidy, over-confident younger
co m
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brother whose schemes end in a soaked father. Yet her tone is affectionate teasing rather than
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dislike — she still helps him, and at the end she reports his next project with a smile.

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Q5 I 2. Extract: 'I was about to direct him upstairs, when Anand said quickly, "The one

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next to this one." / "You silly goose!" I said angrily as soon as the man had gone. /
"That's your room. He'll come backm .
s e as mad as mad can be." / "At least it will give us

a g la Anand said. "He'll take a while to locate the light
some time to think of something,"
switch. Let's shout." All of a sudden there was a crash followed by a loud scream.

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More strange noises emerged from the next room—a few muffled thumps, an eerie

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whine, and a low, humming sound.' (i) Complete the sentence given below with a
suitable reason. Anita was angry with Anand because ____________.em
c o m g l as
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a Anita was angry with Anand because he had deliberately misdirected the thief into his own
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room instead of sending him upstairs to their father's room, and she was sure that Boppa
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would find nothing valuable there, realise he had been fooled, and come back 'as mad as
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Why it happens: Anita's fear is practical. A thief who is cheated becomes a

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dangerous thief — and this one was already 'brandishing his cudgel'. She had been

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about to give him the true direction so that he would take what he

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leave.

g l as great deal of trouble. She does not yet know that the room he has sent Boppa into
a contains the time machine.

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as shows his presence of mind?
I 2. (ii) Which action oflAnand
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The moment Boppa demands, "Now, where is your father's room?", Anand
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untruthfully
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— "The one next to this one" — sending the thief

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Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why it happens: That single quick lie does three useful things at once. It sends the
thief away from the parents' room and whatever is kept there; it buys the children
time, because, as Anand says, 'He'll take a while to locate the light switch'; and —
although Anand cannot have planned this — it walks the intruder straight into the
panel of the time machine. Anita speaks first and thinks later; Anand thinks in the
second before he speaks. That is presence of mind.

Q7 I 2. (iii) What might be the cause of the strange noises emerging from the next
room? A. The intruder moving furniture around B. Anand's time machine getting
activated C. The intruder locating the light switch D. Anand's invention
malfunctioning

B. Anand's time machine getting activated

Why it happens: The noises are exactly the noises of a machine starting up — 'an
eerie whine, and a low, humming sound' — and Anand names the cause himself in
the very next line: 'My time machine, he's started it!' When the neighbours finally
open the room, 'the time machine was still humming softly', which proves it was
running, not broken. Option D would need something to break down; option A and C
would produce dragging and fumbling sounds, not a whine and a hum.

Q8 I 2. (iv) Which of the following best describes the atmosphere in this extract? A.
relaxing B. peaceful C. tense D. sad E. suspenseful F. joyful — (a) A, D and E (b) B and
F (c) C and E (d) Only D

(c) C and E — the atmosphere is tense and suspenseful.

Why it happens: It is tense because two children are locked in a room with an armed
intruder in the house and are whispering about what to do. It is suspenseful because
the writer refuses to tell us what is happening next door: we get only 'a crash', 'a
loud scream', 'a few muffled thumps, an eerie whine, and a low, humming sound' —
sounds without a cause. Nothing here is relaxing, peaceful, sad or joyful, so (a), (b)
and (d) fall away.

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Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Did you know? Describing a frightening event only through sounds heard from
another room is a classic suspense technique. What the reader imagines is always
worse than what the writer could describe.

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Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q9 II Complete the table with the suitable traits of the characters based on evidence
from the text. Choose the traits given in the box below (creative, curious, careful,
responsible, bothersome, confident). An example has been done for you.

CHARACTER TRAITS EVIDENCE FROM THE TEXT

Anand 1. And this is not the first time he’s got on Papa’s nerves
bothersome or frightened someone half to death in the house.

2. __________ He loves tinkering with all sorts of electrical gadgets,
tools, dynamos, planks of wood, and things like that.
And he keeps creating ‘inventions’ that never work out
as they are supposed to.

3. __________ “Nothing will go wrong this time. I’ve planned it out
carefully. See the blueprint.”

Anita 1. __________ “We’re old enough to look after ourselves, Ma…”

2. __________ “But how does the alarm know that a burglar is
opening the door?”

3. __________ “Now clean up this mess before anyone gets home.”

The table as printed on page 100; the first trait is filled in as the example.

CHARACTER TRAITS EVIDENCE FROM THE TEXT

Anand 1. bothersome And this is not the first time he's got on Papa's nerves or frightened
(given) someone half to death in the house.

2. creative He loves tinkering with all sorts of electrical gadgets, tools, dynamos,
planks of wood, and things like that. And he keeps creating
'inventions' that never work out as they are supposed to.

3. confident "Nothing will go wrong this time. I've planned it out carefully. See the
blueprint."

Anita 1. responsible "We're old enough to look after ourselves, Ma…"

2. curious "But how does the alarm know that a burglar is opening the door?"

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Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

3. careful "Now clean up this mess before anyone gets home."

Why it happens: Each trait must be read off the evidence, not off your general
impression of the character. Anand's second quotation shows him making things, so
'creative'; his third is a boast made before the alarm is tested, so 'confident' rather
than 'careful' — the story proves at once that the planning was not careful at all.
Anita's three lines show her taking charge of the two of them (responsible), asking
the one hard technical question in the story (curious), and thinking about the
consequences before the adults get home (careful).

Q10 III 1. What prompted Anand to create the burglar alarm?

There had been a rush of thefts in the colony, and Anand 'got it into his head that what was
needed was a burglar alarm'.
He waited for the house to empty — 'the minute Papa left for the office and Ma for the market'
— and started at once on his 'latest scheme', complete with a blueprint of doors, wires and
bells, and a water bag rigged to fall on the thief's head.

Why it happens: The thefts gave Anand what every inventor needs: a real problem
and an excuse. Notice that the family's genuine worry becomes, in his hands, one
more chance to build something — which is exactly why Anita is sceptical about his
motives as well as his wiring.

Q11 III 2. How did Anand's father become the target of the burglar alarm?

Because of the one detail Anand was proudest of. He had rigged the alarm 'so that the alarm
works only when the door is opened gently' — his reasoning being that 'a thief tries to open the
door stealthily'.
Unluckily, Papa always opens the door softly. So the first person to open the front door quietly
that evening was not a burglar but Papa. The bell clanged, the water bag was loosened, and
Papa was left on the doorstep 'sopping wet and scowling', roaring, "Who put that water bag
here?"

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Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries
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co m
m.
Why it happens: The invention failed on a point of logic, not of wiring. Anand's

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alarm could not tell who was opening the door — only how. Anita spots this
o g the door?') and
.c ('But how does the alarm know that a burglar is opening
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immediately
se as she says, 'were quite justified'.
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III 3. How did Anand's parents and
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Q12

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Papa reacts with anger and firm bans. After the water bag he says grimly, "I want to know

m a s em He locks up his
who is behind this nonsense," and later, "When I say NO, I mean NO," glaring.

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coand hides the key, and in the end has the time machine adismantled
em it is unsafe.
tool box because he

a s
gl Ma is protective and soothing. She explains the alarm to Papa 'in a soothing voice', notices
thinks

a
Anand's 'crestfallen look' and pleads, "Poor boy… At least let's take a look at it" — but she
m a s
.co agl
also keeps 'a wary eye on her oven and mixer' and makes him promise not to touch the
machine while they are away.
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Anita is amused, sceptical and careful to stay out of trouble. She helps him although she
would rather finish her novel, warns him twice — "If you get a shelling, don't bring me in" —

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and quietly doubts 'the alarm's guessing powers', keeping her doubts to herself 'because
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when Anand is in one of his inventive moods, nothing stops him'.

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.c it happens: Three very believable family reactions: the
a g father who bans, the
m
asemother who softens the ban, and the sibling who teases but still lends a hand. Not
Why

agl one of them actually believes the inventions will work — which is why Mr. Sharma's
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disbelief at the end feels like the whole world's verdict on Anand.
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III 4. How did Anand behave when he was on his 'inventing binges'?
Q13

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toglive with.
He.cbecame completely absorbed and completely impossible a
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He took apart every gadget in the house to collect parts, which is why Papa locked the tool

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box and Ma guarded her oven and mixer.

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He filled the house with noise — 'hammering and sawing and clattering'.

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He turned his room into 'a network of wires, springs, levers, and bulbs' with 'an enormous

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panel which was to be control switchboard', and would not let anyone in.
a
He stopped looking after himself: 'he went around looking like a savage. When Ma didn't

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notice, the fellow didn't even comb his hair.'

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Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

He worked at it for 'a fortnight of frantic activity' without a break.

Why it happens: The word binge means doing something excessively for a stretch of
time. Anita chooses it deliberately — for those two weeks the invention swallows
Anand's meals, manners and hair, and 'that was the end of peace and quiet in the
house'.

Q14 III 5. Why did Mr. Sharma not believe Anand when he spoke about his time
machine?

Because a grown-up simply cannot accept that a thirteen-year-old's bedroom contraption has
sent a man into the past. When Anand bursts out, "My time machine! He's gone through that!",
Mr. Sharma only smiles 'indulgently' and says, "What an imagination this boy has! Now off to
bed, both of you."
He had a reasonable explanation ready — Mrs. Sharma had already said, "maybe he did run out
and we missed him" — and to an adult a thief slipping away unnoticed is far likelier than time
travel.

Why it happens: The word indulgently is the key. Mr. Sharma is not being unkind;
he is being fond, the way adults are fond of a child's tall story. The joke of the ending
is that the evidence is on Anand's side — the locked house had 'only one way out',
the neighbours came in by that way, the search upstairs found nobody, and the
green scarf was lying by the switchboard. Even Papa, Anita hints, had 'a niggling
suspicion that it worked'.

Q15 III 6. Give an ending to this story, explaining what might have happened to Boppa.

Your ending should (a) stay in Anita's voice and her light, teasing tone, (b) settle what happened
to Boppa, and (c) leave a small doubt, because the whole story is built on 'maybe it worked,
maybe it didn't'. Two ways to go — the scientific ending or the fantastic one.
Sample answer (fantastic ending):
Three months later a letter came for Papa from a friend in the Archaeological Survey. Inside was
a photograph of a mural dug up near Kharagpur, painted, they thought, some four hundred
years ago. It showed a village crowd, a bullock cart — and, at the edge, a startled-looking man
with a short thick stick and a green cloth knotted round his neck. Anand did not say a word. He

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Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

only cut out the photograph, pinned it above his desk, and went back to soldering his telephone
for outer space. Papa looked at the picture for a long time that evening, and then, without
explaining himself, he took the key of the tool box out of his pocket and left it on Anand's table.
Sample answer (realistic ending):
Two weeks later, Sharma Uncle read out a small item from the newspaper: a man had been
caught in Howrah trying to sell a bag of stolen taps and doorknobs. The police said he kept
babbling about a room full of lights that whined at him in the dark, and that he refused to go
near any house that had wires showing. He never came back to our colony. 'You see,' said
Anand calmly, 'it worked. It just didn't send him very far.'

Tip: A good ending answers the question the story asked but does not lecture. Finish
on an image — a photograph, a key on a table — rather than on a moral.

Let us learn — Page 101 (Onomatopoeia)
My Brother's Great Invention

VOCABULARY

Q1 I Read the highlighted word in the following sentence: 'It's quite simple. The
moment the door opens, this alarm is tripped off and makes a clanging sound.'
Such sound words are called onomatopoeic words. 1. Read the sound words used in
the story in Column 1. Complete Column 2 by matching expressions from the box
given below (whispered angrily / constant and loud construction noises / sudden
loud sound of breaking / a continuous low and soothing sound). An example has
been done for you.

COLUMN 1 COLUMN 2 WHERE IT APPEARS IN THE STORY

(i) Crash sudden loud sound of 'All of a sudden there was a crash followed by a loud
breaking (given) scream.'

(ii) Humming a continuous low and 'a low, humming sound'; 'The time machine was still
soothing sound humming softly.'

(iii) Hissed whispered angrily '"Your burglar alarm," I hissed to my brother
Anand.'

(iv) Hammering, constant and loud 'You can't imagine the noise that was going on—
sawing, clattering construction noises hammering and sawing and clattering.'

Page 16 of 87

Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why it happens: An onomatopoeic word imitates the sound it names, so you can
hear the meaning inside the word itself. Say them aloud: crash ends in a hard burst,
hum can be held on one breath, hiss is all sibilant /s/, and clatter keeps repeating a
hard /t/. That is why Anita chooses them — the reader hears the house instead of
merely being told about it.

Try This: Find five more sound words in the story — roared, clanging, racket, rattle,
click, thumps, whine, howl, squeak, groggily — and write a sentence of your own with
any three, for example: The rattle of the tin roof and the whine of the wind kept me
awake all night.

Let us learn — Pages 102 & 103 (Binomials and Phrasal Verbs)
My Brother's Great Invention

GRAMMAR

Q1 II 1. Match the words in Column 1 with the correct pairs in Column 2 to make
binomials. Column 1: (i) safe (ii) odds (iii) make (iv) pros (v) now (vi) give —
Conjunction: and / or — Column 2: A. break B. cons C. never D. take E. sound F. ends

COLUMN CONJUNCTION COLUMN THE WHAT IT MEANS
1 2 BINOMIAL

(i) safe and E. sound safe and sound Unhurt, having come through
safely

(ii) odds and F. ends odds and ends Small leftover things of no great
value

(iii) make or A. break make or break Something that will bring either
great success or complete failure

(iv) pros and B. cons pros and cons The points for and against
something

(v) now or C. never now or never The last chance; act at once or
lose it

(vi) give and D. take give and take Mutual adjustment; each side
yielding a little

Page 17 of 87

Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why it happens: A binomial is a fixed pair. The order can never be reversed —
nobody says 'sound and safe' or 'cons and pros'. Notice the rule of the conjunction:
when the two words point the same way (safe/sound, odds/ends, give/take,
pros/cons as a single set of considerations) the joiner is and; when they are
alternatives that exclude each other (make/break, now/never) the joiner is or.

Q2 II 2. Complete the following sentences with suitable binomials from 1. (i) This
project will be a ______________ moment for our team's success. (ii) After a long
journey, we were relieved to arrive home ______________. (iii) Every friendship works
well when there is a balance of ______________. (iv) She organised all the ______________ in
the cupboard, to make space for new clothes. (v) Before making a decision, it is
important to weigh the ______________ carefully. (vi) This is our final chance to perform
on stage, it is ______________.

1. (i) This project will be a make-or-break moment for our team's success.
2. (ii) After a long journey, we were relieved to arrive home safe and sound.
3. (iii) Every friendship works well when there is a balance of give and take.
4. (iv) She organised all the odds and ends in the cupboard, to make space for new clothes.
5. (v) Before making a decision, it is important to weigh the pros and cons carefully.
6. (vi) This is our final chance to perform on stage, it is now or never.

Tip: When a binomial comes before a noun and describes it, it is usually hyphenated
— 'a make-or-break moment', 'a give-and-take arrangement'. Standing on its own
after the verb, it needs no hyphens: 'we arrived safe and sound'.

Q3 II 3. Complete the paragraph by using the phrasal verbs given in the box below
(tripped off, let up, turned out, ran out of, rigged up). 'It had been raining and we (i)
___________ time to set up for the function, so we quickly (ii) ___________ some
decorations using whatever materials we had. We accidentally (iii) ___________ the fire
alarm because of the smoke from the bonfire. Thankfully, the rain (iv) ___________ just
as the guests were arriving, and despite all the chaos, the function (v) ___________ to
be a huge success.'

It had been raining and we (i) ran out of time to set up for the function, so we quickly (ii)
rigged up some decorations using whatever materials we had. We accidentally (iii) tripped off
the fire alarm because of the smoke from the bonfire. Thankfully, the rain (iv) let up just as the

Page 18 of 87

as e
Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

guests were arriving, and despite all the chaos, the function (v) turned out to be a huge
co m
success.
e m.
c o m g l as
m . a
a s
PHRASAL
e MEANING A FRESH SENTENCE OF YOUR OWN

agl
VERB

run out of to have no more of something left We ran out of chalk halfway through the
m
.co ag
class.

a s em out of
rig up
whatever is at handag
l
to put something together quickly Anand rigged up a burglar alarm with a
bell and a water bag.

trip off to set an alarm or a switch going, usually
co m
The steam from the kettle tripped off the

se m.
by accident smoke detector.

m l a
.co ag let up until midnight.
em
let up to become less strong; to stop for a while The rain did not

a s
a glturn out to prove to be, in the end The shortcut turned out to be longer than
the main road.

om a s
e m . c agl
s
Why it happens: A phrasal verb is a verb plus a small word (a particle) whose
combined meaning cannot be
a glaguessed from the parts — 'let' plus 'up' has nothing to
do with allowing or with height. Two of these come straight from the story: Anand
'rigged up' the alarm, and the alarm was 'tripped off' by the opening door.
co m
m .
m as e
.co a g l
em
las us learn — Page 103 (Idioms)
agMy Brother's Great Invention
Let

se m
com g l a
. a
VOCABULARY

m
ase
Q1 agl
III Complete the following sentences by filling in the blanks with suitable idioms
from the text given in the box below (leaving the coast clear / get on our nerves /

c o m
.
fell over ourselves / frighten me half to death / get a shelling). 1. Shekhar knew he

s e m flower vase.
would _______________________ for breaking his mother's favourite
m a
.co
emANSWER agl
a s
agl Shekhar knew he would get a shelling for breaking his mother's favourite flower vase.
.c
s e m
m a
em . co agl
g l as
a

co m
m .
m as e
.co


a g l Page 19 of 87

Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why it happens: To get a shelling means to be scolded severely — the image is of
being fired at with shells. In the story Anita uses it as a warning: "If you get a
shelling, don't bring me in." A broken favourite vase is exactly the sort of thing that
earns one.

Q2 III 2. We _______________________ trying to help the injured dog and get it to the vet as
quickly as possible.

We fell over ourselves trying to help the injured dog and get it to the vet as quickly as possible.

Why it happens: To fall over oneself means to be so eager to do something that one
becomes clumsy about it. Anita uses it when the neighbours arrive: 'Both Anand and
I fell over ourselves trying to explain.' The picture is of people tripping in their hurry
to be helpful.

Q3 III 3. Faizy distracted Kanchan, _______________________ for us to get inside the room to
prepare the birthday surprise.

Faizy distracted Kanchan, leaving the coast clear for us to get inside the room to prepare the
birthday surprise.

Why it happens: To leave the coast clear means that no one is watching, so it is safe
to act. It comes from smugglers waiting until no coastguard could be seen on the
shore. In the story it explains how Boppa chose his night: 'He knew exactly when the
occupants were out, leaving the coast clear.'

Q4 III 4. The constant power fluctuations during meetings can _______________________.

The constant power fluctuations during meetings can get on our nerves.

Page 20 of 87

Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why it happens: To get on someone's nerves means to irritate them, especially by
doing the same annoying thing again and again. The word 'constant' in the sentence
is the clue — a single power cut annoys, a constant flicker wears you down. In the
story it is Anand who 'got on Papa's nerves'.

Q5 III 5. When I am alone at home, any unexpected loud noise in the night can
_______________________.

When I am alone at home, any unexpected loud noise in the night can frighten me half to
death.

Why it happens: To frighten someone half to death is a deliberate exaggeration (a
hyperbole) meaning to terrify them. Anita uses it of her brother, who has 'frightened
someone half to death in the house' more than once — and the story then does
exactly that to her, with a scratching at the door at half past eleven.

Tip: An idiom must be used whole. You cannot say 'frightened me a quarter to
death' or 'left the coast open' — change one word and the expression stops being
English.

Let us learn — Pages 103 & 104 (Simple Past and Past Perfect)

Page 21 of 87

Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

My Brother's Great Invention

GRAMMAR

Q1 IV 1. Underline the verbs in simple past and past perfect tense for the following
sentences from the text. (i) Ma had rushed in to see what the racket was all about
and found Papa standing there, sopping wet and scowling. (ii) Anand had vanished
by this time and reappeared only after dinner when Papa had cooled down.

SENTENCE PAST PERFECT (HAD + SIMPLE PAST —
V3) — THE OLDER THE LATER ACTION
ACTION

(i) Ma had rushed in to see what the racket was all had rushed was, found
about and found Papa standing there, sopping wet
and scowling.

(ii) Anand had vanished by this time and reappeared had vanished, had cooled reappeared
only after dinner when Papa had cooled down.

Why it happens: When two past actions are being compared, the one that
happened first takes the past perfect (had + past participle) and the one that
happened later takes the simple past. In (i) Ma's rushing in came before she found
Papa dripping on the step. In (ii) the vanishing came before the reappearing, and
Papa's cooling down came before that reappearance too — which is exactly why
Anand waited.

Q2 IV 2. Fill in the blanks with the simple past or past perfect form of the verbs given in
brackets. (i) After Rohan A. __________ (finish) his homework, he B. __________ (decide) to
go for a walk. He C. __________ (leave) the house and D. __________ (realise) he E. __________
(forget) his keys inside. (ii) By the time we A. __________ (reach) the station, the train
B. __________ (already/leave). We C. __________ (wait) for the next one to arrive.

(i) After Rohan A. had finished his homework, he B. decided to go for a walk. He C. left the
house and D. realised he E. had forgotten his keys inside.
(ii) By the time we A. reached the station, the train B. had already left. We C. waited for the
next one to arrive.

Page 22 of 87

Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Older action → had + V3 → had finished, had forgotten, had already left

Later action → simple past → decided, left, realised, reached, waited

Why it happens: Look for the signal words. After and by the time introduce the
action that was already over, so those clauses take the past perfect. In (i)E the
forgetting happened before the realising, so it must be 'had forgotten'. In (ii)B the
word 'already' is a further clue — the train's departure was complete before the
arrival.

Tip: Never use two past perfects side by side for actions in a simple sequence. 'He
had left the house and had realised…' is wrong; only the earlier of the pair needs
'had'.

Q3 IV 3. Combine the pairs of sentences using the time expressions in the boxes given
below (before, after, by the time, when) and rewrite them using the past perfect
tense. An example has been done for you. Example: Rohan had packed his suitcase
before he left for the airport. (ii) Old action: We started work. New action: He
arrived in the morning. (iii) Old action: They set up the tents. New action: The
others brought food and medicine. (iv) Old action: The students became quiet. New
action: They heard the teacher coming. (v) Old action: The villagers left the village.
New action: The flood submerged the entire area.

NO. OLD ACTION + NEW ACTION COMBINED SENTENCE (PAST PERFECT)

(i) Rohan packed his suitcase. / He left for the Rohan had packed his suitcase before he left for the
airport. airport. (given)

(ii) We started work. / He arrived in the morning. We had started work before he arrived in the morning.

(iii) They set up the tents. / The others brought food They had set up the tents by the time the others
and medicine. brought food and medicine.

(iv) The students became quiet. / They heard the The students had become quiet when they heard the
teacher coming. teacher coming.

(v) The villagers left the village. / The flood The villagers had left the village before the flood
submerged the entire area. submerged the entire area.

Page 23 of 87

as e
Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
m.
Why it happens: The pattern is always the same — old action in past perfect + time

m l a se
expression + new action in simple past. Any of the four expressions may be used as
o g old action first;
.c order of events stays true: before and by the time putathe
m
long as the
a e
sreverses
g l
after the clauses ('After they had set up the tents, the others brought food
aand medicine'); when is the loosest and simply marks the moment.
o m
e
. c
m and see that the meaning is unchanged: ag
s
Check it yourself: Rewrite (v) with 'after'
a the flood submerged the entire area.
agl
After the villagers had left the village,

co m
em.
om
Let us listen — Page 105 (transcript on page 136)
g l as
My Brother's.c a
em
Great Invention — Anita and Toby the Martian

a s
agl
LISTENING

om a s
. c agl
Q1 I You will listen to a conversation between Anita and Toby. Toby is a Martian and is

s e
stranded on Earth. He has becomem Anita's friend. As you listen, choose the true
abelow. 1. Toby misses his school. 2. Anita accepts Toby as
agl
statements from 1–5 given
her friend. 3. Anita asks Toby about one of his facial features. 4. Toby tells Anita that
she had a banana for breakfast. 5. Toby shares that he can see much clearer with a
co m
closed eye.
m .
ase
. com a g l
a s em

agl The true statements are 2, 3 and 5.
se m
NO. STATEMENT
com
TRUE / LINE FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
g l a
m . a
ase
FALSE

1 Toby misses his school.
agl False "I miss my people and home." School is never
mentioned.

co m
2 Anita accepts Toby as her friend. True
m .
"But I am happy to have you as my friend."

m as e
.co Anita asks Toby about one of his a g l
em
3 True "How are you able to see with only one eye? I

a s see only one big eye in the centre of your face."
facial features.

agl
4 Toby tells Anita that she had a False "That apple you just had for breakfast is going
.c
s e m
com a
banana for breakfast. round-and-round in your stomach."

e
.
m True agl
as
5 Toby shares that he can see much "In fact, I can see even with my eye closed."

a g l
clearer with a closed eye.

co m
m .
m as e
.co


a g l Page 24 of 87

Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Tip: In a true/false listening task, the false options are usually made by swapping
one small word — school for home, banana for apple. Listen for the noun, not for the
shape of the sentence.

Q2 II Listen to the conversation again and fill in the blanks with the exact words you
hear. 1. Toby: I miss my _________________ and home.

Toby: I miss my people and home.

Why it happens: Toby is stranded far from Mars, so what he misses is not a building
or a thing but the beings he belongs to. 'People' is also a gentle joke — he uses the
human word for his own Martian kind.

Q3 II 2. Toby: Well, we _________________ don't need to eat anything. We get our
_________________ from the Sun.

Toby: Well, we Martians don't need to eat anything. We get our energy from the Sun.

Did you know? Toby is describing something like photosynthesis. Green plants on
Earth do exactly this — they take energy straight from sunlight instead of eating.

Q4 II 3. Anita: Oh! Don't you ever feel like having ice creams and _________________?

Anita: Oh! Don't you ever feel like having ice creams and chocolates?

Why it happens: Anita measures Toby's life against her own. Her very first thought
about a creature who never eats is that he must be missing sweets — 'I can't think of
life without them!'

Page 25 of 87

Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q5 II 4. Anita: Okay, tell me one thing. How are you able to see with only _________________
eye?

Anita: Okay, tell me one thing. How are you able to see with only one eye?

Why it happens: She adds the explanation in the next line — 'I see only one big eye
in the centre of your face.' Toby answers that Martians need only one eye to see
clearly.

Q6 II 5. Toby: I can see beyond mountains and _________________, woods and even
_________________.

Toby: I can see beyond mountains and clouds, woods and even metals.

Why it happens: Toby is boasting that nothing blocks his sight — not distance
(mountains), not height (clouds), not thickness (woods), not solidity (metals). He
proves it at once by naming the blue toy aeroplane in Anita's pocket and the apple in
her stomach, which makes her gasp in disbelief.

Let us speak — Pages 105 & 106

Page 26 of 87

Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

My Brother's Great Invention — the –ough sounds

SPEAKING

Q1 I Read the following sentences from the text: 'As usual, I had to be involved, though
I'd have preferred to finish my novel.' / '"We're old enough to look after ourselves,
Ma," I said.' The word 'though' is pronounced to rhyme with the word 'low'. The
word 'enough' is pronounced to rhyme with the word 'puff'. Now, work in pairs.
Pronounce these words out loud and put them in the correct boxes given below
(bough, dough, through, cough, thought, plough). Share more words that sound
similar to the words in the table.

SOUNDS SOUNDS SOUNDS SOUNDS SOUNDS
LIKE ‘OO’ LIKE ‘OFF’ LIKE ‘O’ LIKE ‘OW’ LIKE ‘AW’

The boxes as printed on page 106.

SOUNDS LIKE SOUNDS LIKE SOUNDS LIKE SOUNDS LIKE SOUNDS LIKE
'OO' 'OFF' 'O' 'OW' 'AW'

through cough dough bough, plough thought
(rhymes with (rhymes with 'off') (rhymes with (rhyme with 'now') (rhymes with 'sort')
'shoe') 'low')

More words for each box:

BOX MORE WORDS

'oo' throughout, breakthrough, slough (of a snake's skin)

'off' trough

'o' though, although, furlough, doughnut

'ow' drought, doughty

'aw' bought, brought, fought, ought, sought, nought, wrought, thoughtful

Page 27 of 87

Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why it happens: English spelling was fixed by printers about five hundred years
ago, but the sounds kept changing afterwards. The letters –ough once stood for a
throaty sound (like the kh in khush) which then softened in different ways in different
words. The spelling stayed; the pronunciation did not. That is why though, through,
tough, cough, bough and thought share four letters and share no sound at all.

Check it yourself: There is a sixth sound too — tough, rough, enough all rhyme with
'puff'. Add that as a bonus box in your notebook.

Q2 II Read the story given below aloud. Check the correct pronunciation with the
teacher. 'In spite of a nagging cough, the woman continued working in her farm,
right through the rough weather. She filled up the trough with water for her cows
and ploughed the fields to plant the seeds. She then plucked some raw mangoes
from a low bough of a mango tree to make a spicy chutney. Though the day had
been tough, she smiled peacefully as she had already prepared dough to make
enough rotis for dinner.'

Read the passage slowly first, marking every –ough word with the box it belongs to, then read it
again at normal speed. Here is the key you need:

WORD IN THE PASSAGE SAY IT LIKE… RHYMES WITH

cough kof off

through throo shoe

rough, tough, enough ruf, tuf, i-nuf puff

trough trof off

ploughed plowd crowd

bough bow now

Though, dough tho, do low

Tip: Pause at every comma and drop your voice at every full stop. Reading aloud is
not reading fast — a listener needs about three words per second to follow you
comfortably.

Page 28 of 87

as e
Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
m.
III Now try saying this tongue twister fast as many times as you can clearly. 'The
e
Q3

m l as
.co
boy with the tough dough on the rose bough fell in the trough and caught a cough.'

a g
se m
g l a
a

Break the twister into its five sound groups before you speed up:

co m
e m . ag
as
tough → tuf (puff)

dough → do (low) a g l

m
bough → bow (now)
co
em.
as
trough → trof (off)
m (off)
cokof
cough .→ g l
em a
a s
gl
a Say it three times very slowly, keeping each vowel different. Then say it three times at half
m
speed, then at full speed. Accuracy first, speed afterwards — the point of the exercise is that the
a s
five spellings must not collapse into one sound.
em
.co agl
a s
agalpartner. One person says it five times while the other
Try This: Time yourself with
counts every slip. Swap and compare.

co m
m .
m as e
.co a g l
m write — Pages 106 & 107
Leteus
g l asBrother's Great Invention
a My

se m
com a
WRITING

. a g l
e m
g l as
Think about different vocations that you see around or you are currently studying.
a mechanic, chef, nurse, graphic designer. You may add
Q1
For example: electrician,
more vocations to the list given here. Now, choose a vocation and write a

. c om
paragraph. You may use the hints given below: why you like this vocation; what

m a s
training is needed; what tools and equipment are required;emwho would your co-
l you would deal with the
.co workers be; highlight the importance of team work;aghow
se m
a
customers; how you plan to pursue it with a sense of pride.

ag l
.c
s e m
. com
What a good answer must contain. Pick one vocation and cover all seven hints in the order
a gla
a s emWrite in the first person and in the present or future tense.
given, one or two sentences each.
Aim for 120–150 words ingalsingle paragraph, and end on the note of pride, because that is the
last hint.
a

co m
m .
m ase
.co


a g l Page 29 of 87

Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Sample answer: Electrician
Of all the vocations around me, I would most like to become an electrician, because an
electrician is the person who brings a house to life — the fan, the light, the pump, the school
computer lab, all of it passes through his hands. The training is a two-year ITI course in the
Electrician trade after Class 10, followed by an apprenticeship with an experienced wireman and
a licence from the State Electrical Licensing Board. My tools would be a tester, an insulated
screwdriver set, wire strippers, a multimeter, a crimping tool, a drilling machine, PVC conduit
and a good ladder — and, above all, rubber gloves and rubber-soled shoes. I would work
alongside a wireman, a helper, a plumber and a civil mason on the same site, and none of us
can finish without the others: if the mason has not cut the wall chase, I cannot lay the conduit,
and if I have not laid the conduit the painter cannot start. That is why teamwork is not a nice
idea in this trade, it is the schedule. With customers I would be plain and honest — explain what
has gone wrong, give the cost before starting, never leave a joint half-taped, and always come
back if a fault repeats. I plan to pursue this work with pride, because a house wired safely by me
is a house that will not catch fire, and there is no small work in that.

Tip: Do not write 'I like this job because it is good.' Give a reason only that job could
give — 'an electrician brings a house to life'. That single specific sentence lifts an
ordinary paragraph.

Let us explore — Pages 107 & 108
My Brother's Great Invention — Indian inventors

PROJECT

Q1 Creativity is 'thinking new things'; innovation is 'doing new things' and an invention
is 'bringing ideas or objects together in a novel way to create something that did
not exist before'. Human beings are naturally very curious and creative, and this
has led to many scientific and technological inventions. Some of them are
mentioned below (Sushruta; Dr. Janaki Ammal; Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam; Dr. Narinder
Singh Kapany). You may look for the names of more such Indian inventors and their
inventions.

Method. Work in pairs. For each name find four things only — when the person lived, the field,
the one invention or discovery they are remembered for, and how it changed everyday life. Use your
school library, the NCERT Science book, or the Vigyan Prasar and CSIR websites. Put the class's
findings into one big chart on the notice board, arranged by field.
The four inventors named in your book, in one line each:

Page 30 of 87

Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

NAME FIELD REMEMBERED FOR

Sushruta (6th century Medicine and The Sushruta Samhita; surgical instruments and the technique of
BCE) surgery rhinoplasty (reconstructing a nose) — he is called the father of
surgery.

Dr. Janaki Ammal Botany, Work on chromosomes of sugarcane and brinjal that produced
(Padma Shri) cytogenetics sweeter Indian sugarcane varieties; the Chromosome Atlas of
Cultivated Plants.

Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Aerospace Directed the SLV-III project under which ISRO put the satellite
(Bharat Ratna) Rohini into near-earth orbit in 1980; later led India's missile
programme.

Dr. Narinder Singh Optics Father of fibre optics — showed that light can be carried along a
Kapany (Padma bent glass fibre, which is how today's internet cables and
Vibhushan) endoscopes work.

Sample answer — more Indian inventors and discoverers you can add:

Aryabhata (5th century CE) — place-value system with zero; explained eclipses and the
rotation of the Earth.
Baudhayana (c. 800 BCE) — stated the right-angled-triangle rule in the Sulba Sutras,
centuries before it reached Greece.
Charaka — the Charaka Samhita, the foundation text of Ayurveda.
Sir M. Visvesvaraya — automatic sluice gates and the block irrigation system; Krishna Raja
Sagara dam.
Sir J.C. Bose — the crescograph, to measure the growth of plants; pioneering work on radio
waves.
Sir C.V. Raman — the Raman Effect (Nobel Prize, 1930), which explains why the sea looks
blue.
Dr. Homi J. Bhabha — founder of India's atomic energy programme.
Dr. Verghese Kurien — Operation Flood and Amul; milk powder made from buffalo milk, an
Indian first.
Dr. Tessy Thomas — 'Missile Woman of India', project director of Agni-IV and Agni-V.
Shakuntala Devi — 'human computer', famous for mental calculation and for making
arithmetic popular.

Try This: Ask each pair to end with one sentence beginning 'The invention I would
most like to make is…'. That is where Anand of the story would have begun.

Let us do these activities before we read — Page 109

Page 31 of 87

Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Paper Boats (poem by Rabindranath Tagore)

BEFORE YOU READ

Q1 I Read the questions given below. Share your answers with your classmates and the
teacher. 1. What comes to mind when you think about 'paper boats'?

Say what you actually picture, and then say what the picture feels like — that second half is what
the teacher is listening for.
Sample answer: The first thing I think of is the first heavy rain, when the drain in front of our
house turns into a stream and every child in the lane comes out with a torn notebook page. I
think of the careful folding, the wobble as the boat is set down, the race to keep up with it, and
the sad soggy moment when it tips over. A paper boat also makes me think of how little you
need in order to play — no money, no toy shop, just one sheet of paper and some running
water.

Tip: Words like 'rain', 'lane', 'drain', 'wobble' make an answer yours. 'It is a good
memory' could be anybody's.

Q2 I 2. What do you think someone might hope for when they send a paper boat down
a stream?

They are usually sending a message and a wish, not just a toy.
Sample answer: Someone who floats a paper boat is hoping that it will travel further than they
can — that it will reach a place they have never seen and a person they have never met. Some
people hope their wish or their prayer will travel with it, the way lamps are floated on the Ganga
at Varanasi. Others simply hope that somebody, somewhere downstream, will pick it up, read
the name on it, and know that a child far away was thinking of them.

Why it happens: A boat that leaves your hand cannot be controlled. That is exactly
why it works as a symbol of hope: you give something to the water and trust the
world with the rest.

Page 32 of 87

Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q3 I 3. Read the title of the poem 'Paper Boats' and predict what the poem might be
about.

Sample prediction: The title is plain and childlike, so the poem is probably spoken by a child
rather than about one. I expect it to describe a child floating boats on a stream during the rains,
and to move from the real boats to imaginary ones — where they go, who might find them,
what the child dreams at night. Since the boats are made of paper and paper carries writing, the
poem may also be about sending a message out into the world.

Check it yourself: After reading the poem, come back to your prediction and tick
the parts you got right. Tagore does exactly this — real boats in the first lines, dream
boats under the midnight stars at the end.

Q4 II Read the given paragraph and match the highlighted words with their meanings
given in the box below (loading, speedily flowing, swelling, putting, bouncing). 'I
love to play beside a 1. running stream at a short distance from my grandparent's
house. I love to see it 2. skipping along to join a river. On the river, I can see boats
with 3. bulging sails moving swiftly. Some of them take the people from one shore
to the other while in some of them people can be seen 4. lading things too. I can
spend hours watching the busy river and dreaming about them, 5. burying my head
in my pillow at night.'

NO. HIGHLIGHTED MEANING A FRESH SENTENCE
WORD

1 running (stream) speedily A running stream never freezes as quickly as a still
flowing pond.

2 skipping (along) bouncing The pebble went skipping across the water four
times.

3 bulging (sails) swelling His school bag was bulging with library books.

4 lading (things) loading The workers were lading sacks of rice onto the
barge.

5 burying (my head) putting She lay burying her face in the pillow until the
thunder stopped.

Page 33 of 87

as e
Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
m.
Why it happens: All five words come back in the poem itself — 'down the running

m l a se
stream', 'the white bulging sails', 'the lading is their baskets full of dreams', 'I bury
o g vocabulary is
.cmy arms'. The paragraph is a rehearsal, so that the poem's
a
m
my face in

l a se familiar when you meet it.
ag
already

o m
c ag
Did you know? Lading is an old shipping word that survives in the phrase bill of
.
lading — the document that lists whatma ship is carrying.
l a se
ag

co m
m.
Let us discuss — Pages 111 & 112
m as e
.co l
Paper Boats

a g
se m
a
COMPREHENSION

a g l
s
I Choose the correct words from the brackets to complete the summary of the
a
Q1

. c om
poem given below. 'The poet sends paper boats down a 1. __________ (stream/river)
agl
each day, writing his name andm
He hopes that someone inla
s e the name of his 2. __________ (school/village) on them.
a 3. __________ (strange/familiar) land will find them and
a g
know who he is. The poet fills his boats with 4. __________ (rose/shiuli) flowers from

m
his garden, hoping they will be safely carried to another land at 5. __________
. co
m
(night/morning). As he launches his boats, he imagines that the 6. __________

o m l a se
(clouds/birds) in the sky are like friends, racing with his boats. At night, he dreams
agunder the midnight stars,
.cthat his paper boats continue to 7. __________ (swim/float)
m with the fairies of sleep sailing in them, their baskets full of 8. __________
l a se
a g (dreams/fruits).'

se m
com g l a
m. a
ase
agl
The poet sends paper boats down a 1. stream each day, writing his name and the name of his
2. village on them. He hopes that someone in a 3. strange land will find them and know who he
is. The poet fills his boats with 4. shiuli flowers from his garden, hoping they will be safely

. c om
carried to another land at 5. night. As he launches his boats, he imagines that the 6. clouds in
the sky are like friends, racing with his boats. At night, he dreams thatm
s e his paper boats continue

. c m under the midnight stars, with the fairies of sleep sailing
to 7.ofloat
a g la in them, their baskets full of
a s em8. dreams.
agl c
m .
m a s e
em . co agl
g l as
a

com
m .
m ase
.co


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Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why it happens: Every blank can be settled from one line of the poem — 'down the
running stream'; 'the name of the village where I live'; 'someone in some strange
land'; 'shiuli flower from our garden'; 'carried safely to land in the night'; 'the little
clouds setting the white bulging sails'; 'my paper boats float on and on'; 'baskets full
of dreams'. Note blank 7: boats float, only living things swim.

Q2 II Choose the correct option for the following. The theme of the poem is
________________. 1. innocence 2. imagination 3. ignorance 4. playfulness 5. travel — (i)
1, 2 and 3 (ii) 3, 4 and 5 (iii) 1, 4 and 5 (iv) 1, 2 and 4

(iv) 1, 2 and 4 — innocence, imagination and playfulness.

THEME LINE THAT CARRIES IT

Innocence 'I hope that someone in some strange land will find them and know who I am.' Only a child would
trust the world that completely.

Imagination 'I know not what playmate of mine in the sky sends them down the air to race with my boats!' —
clouds become boats, sleep becomes fairies.

Playfulness 'Day by day I float my paper boats one by one' — this is a game repeated for its own joy.

Why it happens: Ignorance is wrong because the child is not lacking knowledge —
he is choosing wonder. Travel is wrong because the child never moves; it is only his
boats and his dreams that go anywhere.

Q3 III Identify whether the following statement is true or false. The setting of the
poem is a natural, outdoor environment.

True.

Page 35 of 87

Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why it happens: Every place named in the poem is out of doors and made by
nature, not by people — 'the running stream', 'our garden', 'the sky', 'the little
clouds', 'the midnight stars', 'the dawn', 'the night'. The only man-made things in the
poem are the paper boats themselves and the writing on them. Even the last stanza,
where the child has come indoors to sleep, keeps the outdoor picture alive: the
dream boats are still floating 'under the midnight stars'.

Q4 IV Complete the following sentence by choosing the correct word given within the
brackets. The tone is ____________________ (sad and serious/gentle and wishful) and the
mood is ____________________ (thoughtful/boring).

The tone is gentle and wishful and the mood is thoughtful.

Why it happens: Tone is the speaker's attitude; mood is the feeling created in the
reader. The word hope appears twice — 'I hope that someone… will find them', 'hope
that these blooms of the dawn will be carried safely' — and the verbs are all soft
ones: float, load, launch, dream, sail. Nothing is lost and nobody weeps, so it is not
sad; and because the poem ends on a dream rather than an event, it leaves the
reader quiet and thinking, not bored.

Q5 V Identify the examples of alliteration from the poem.

Alliteration is the repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words that are
close together. The clearest examples in 'Paper Boats' are:

Page 36 of 87

Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

LINE REPEATED SOUND

'In big black letters I write my name' /b/

'I load my little boats' /l/

'these blooms of the dawn will be carried' /b/

'The fairies of sleep are sailing in them' /s/

'the little clouds setting the white bulging sails' /s/

'my paper boats float' (with the title Paper Boats) /p/

Why it happens: The soft /l/ and /s/ sounds imitate water sliding and cloth filling
with wind, so the sound of the line matches its picture. The harder /b/ of 'big black
letters' does the opposite — it makes the child's bold handwriting stand out against
the gentleness of everything else.

Q6 VI Fill in the blanks with suitable words from the poem. 1. The repetition of words
___________ and ___________ emphasises the passage of time.

The repetition of the words 'day' (in Day by day) and 'on' (in float on and on) emphasises the
passage of time.

Why it happens: 'Day by day' tells us this is not one afternoon's game but a habit
that returns every single morning, and 'on and on' stretches the night out so that the
boats never seem to stop. Between them the two phrases cover the whole poem —
one holds the daylight, the other holds the dark. You could also point to 'one by one',
which slows the launching down and makes each boat count.

Q7 VI 2. The poet uses imagery like ___________ and ___________ to create a clear picture in
the minds of the readers.

Any two of the poem's pictures will do. The strongest pair is: 'the little clouds setting the
white bulging sails' and 'the midnight stars'.
Other good choices:

Page 37 of 87

Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

'big black letters' — you can see the child's uneven handwriting on the paper.
'shiuli flower' / 'blooms of the dawn' — small white flowers with orange stalks, which fall at
daybreak.
'baskets full of dreams' — the cargo of the fairy boats.

Why it happens: Imagery is language that appeals to the senses. Tagore keeps the
images small and concrete — a flower, a letter, a sail, a basket — so a reader of any
age can see them at once. That is what makes a poem of nine lines feel like a whole
evening.

Q8 VII Match the descriptions in Column 1 with what they symbolise in Column 2.
Column 1: 1. the child's innocence, dreams, hopes, and messages sent out into the
world 2. purity, beauty, and the start of a new day 3. the vast universe and the
child's dreams continuing through the night — Column 2: (i) midnight stars (ii)
paper boats (iii) shiuli flowers

COLUMN 1 — WHAT IS COLUMN 2 — WHY
SYMBOLISED THE IMAGE

1. the child's innocence, dreams, (ii) paper boats He writes his name and village on them and
hopes, and messages sent out into the hopes a stranger will find them — they are
world messages, not toys.

2. purity, beauty, and the start of a new (iii) shiuli flowers The poem itself calls them 'these blooms of
day the dawn'; the shiuli is white and falls at
daybreak.

3. the vast universe and the child's (i) midnight stars 'my paper boats float on and on under the
dreams continuing through the night midnight stars' — the sky becomes the ocean
the dreams sail across.

Tip: A symbol is a real object that stands for an idea. The test is simple — remove the
object and the idea disappears with it. Take away the boats and the child has no way
to send himself out into the world.

Let us think and reflect — Pages 112 & 113

Page 38 of 87

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Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Paper Boats
co m
e m.
m as
COMPREHENSION

.co a g l
a em
Is1. Extract: 'When night comes I bury my face in my arms and dream that my paper
a
Q1
gl boats float on and on under the midnight stars. The fairies of sleep are sailing in
them, and the lading is their baskets full of dreams.' (i) Select the option that is

com
. ag
most likely to be the speaker as per the extract. (Four pictures are given: A, B, C and
e m
as
D.)

a g l

co m
m.
Option A — the figure lying curled up on its side with the head bent down and the face hidden

m
in the folded arms, on the pillow.
as e
.co a g l
se m
l a
PICTURE WHAT IT SHOWS DOES IT MATCH THE LINE?
g
a A Lying curled on the side, arms drawn up, face Yes — this is exactly 'I bury my face in

a s
com agl
buried in them my arms'

m .
ase
B Lying flat on the back, arms folded on the chest, No — the face is not hidden

agl
face uncovered

m
C Lying flat with both arms thrown up behind the No — the arms are away from the face
head
. co
e m
m l as
.co a g
D Leaping in the air holding a pillow No — wide awake and playing, not

se m sleeping

g l a
a
Why it happens: The extract gives one physical action — burying the face in the
se m
com g l a
.
arms — and only one picture shows it. The posture also matches the mood of the
m a
ase
lines: turned inward, shutting out the room so that the dream can begin.

agl

co m
Q2 I 1. (ii) What can be inferred about the speaker's feelings when night comes?
m .
as e
. com a g l
sem

a
agl Night does not frighten him at all; it is the best part of his day. He feels calm, safe and quietly
c
excited, because sleep is where his game continues.
m .
m a s e
co agl
Three things point to this. He turns towards sleep willingly — he 'buries' his face rather than

m .
as e
lying awake. He carries the day's play into the night, since the very boats he floated in the

g l
morning 'float on and on' in the dream. And the beings he imagines in the dark are 'fairies of
a

co m
m .
m ase
.co


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Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

sleep' with 'baskets full of dreams' — gentle, gift-bringing figures, not monsters. There is a small
thread of longing too, because the dream lets his boats travel further than any stream could
take them.

Tip: For an inference question, do not repeat the line. Name the feeling in your first
sentence, then prove it with two or three details.

Q3 I 1. (iii) What kind of beings are the 'fairies of sleep' imagined as? Select the most
appropriate option. A. mischievous B. gentle C. fearsome D. playful

B. gentle

Why it happens: The fairies do nothing sudden or noisy. They are 'sailing' — the
softest verb in the poem — and what they carry is 'baskets full of dreams', a cargo
that could hurt nobody. They neither tease the child (so not mischievous), nor
threaten him (so not fearsome), nor romp about (so not playful); they simply glide
along with his boats and keep his dreams safe.

Q4 I 1. (iv) Fill in the blank by selecting the correct option from those given in the
brackets. The phrase 'lading is their baskets full of dreams' suggests that the
speaker imagines the fairies of sleep carefully _________________ (carrying his dreams /
collecting his wishes) in their baskets.

…the speaker imagines the fairies of sleep carefully carrying his dreams in their baskets.

Why it happens: The word lading means the cargo a boat carries — the load it has
already taken on board. The dreams are therefore not being gathered up; they are
being ferried. Earlier in the poem the child 'loads' his own little boats with shiuli
flowers, and this last image simply repeats that action in the dream-world: his boats
now carry dreams instead of blossoms.

Page 40 of 87

Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q5 II 1. Why do you think the poet writes his personal details on the paper boats?

Because the boat is meant to be a message about himself, not just a toy. He writes 'in big black
letters… my name… and the name of the village where I live' so that whoever picks the boat up
will be able to answer the question in the next line: 'I hope that someone in some strange land
will find them and know who I am.'
Three things lie behind that wish. First, a child's simple faith that the world is friendly and that a
stranger downstream will care. Second, loneliness turned into hope — he cannot travel, so he
sends a piece of himself instead. Third, the longing to be remembered: name and village
together make him findable, like an address on a letter.

Did you know? People have posted messages in bottles for centuries for exactly this
reason. Some have been found seventy years and thousands of kilometres later.

Q6 II 2. The poet talks about the imagination of a child. Support this view with
examples from the poem.

Almost every line turns an ordinary thing into something larger. Four clear examples:

1. The boats become messengers. A folded sheet of paper is expected to reach 'some strange
land' and introduce him to a stranger.
2. The clouds become boats. 'I look up into the sky and see the little clouds setting the white
bulging sails' — the child reads the sky as a sea with ships on it.
3. The sky gets a playmate. 'I know not what playmate of mine in the sky sends them down
the air to race with my boats!' He invents an unseen friend up there who is playing the same
game.
4. Sleep gets a crew. The last line puts 'fairies of sleep' on board with 'baskets full of dreams',
so even the night is peopled.

Why it happens: Notice the direction of the imagination — it always moves upward
and outward: from the stream to the land beyond, from the water to the sky, from
the day to the stars. That widening is what makes the poem feel like a child's mind
rather than an adult's description of one.

Page 41 of 87

Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q7 II 3. How does the poet bring together imagination and reality to make the poem
more interesting?

Tagore keeps one foot in each world. Every stanza begins with something completely real and
ends with something completely imagined, so the reader slides from fact into fancy without
noticing the join.

THE REAL THING WHAT IMAGINATION MAKES OF IT

Paper boats on a stream Letters that will introduce him to a stranger in a far land

Shiuli flowers from the garden 'blooms of the dawn' entrusted to the night for a safe voyage

Little white clouds in the sky 'white bulging sails' set by an unseen playmate racing him

Falling asleep with his face in his arms Fairies sailing his boats under the midnight stars with baskets of dreams

The technique works for two reasons. The real details are small, exact and homely — a garden, a
village name, black letters — so we trust them; and once we trust them, we accept the fairies in
the same breath. And because the imagined half always grows out of the real half, the poem
never feels like nonsense. It feels like the way a child actually looks at the world.

Let us learn — Pages 113 & 114
Paper Boats — 'of' phrases, times of day, opposites

VOCABULARY

Q1 I The poet has used phrases like 'blooms of the dawn' and 'fairies of sleep' in the
poem. In the same way we can create phrases. Now, select words from Column 1
and Column 2 and combine them with 'of'. Write as many phrases as possible in
Column 3. An example has been done for you: wings of the wind. Column 1: wings,
waves, dreams, songs, glimmers, cries, tears, roars, shadows. Column 2: the birds,
the wind, the evening, the children, the rain, the stars, the thunder, the ocean, the
clouds.

Any word of Column 1 may join any word of Column 2, so long as the picture makes sense. Here
are the strongest combinations:

Page 42 of 87

Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

COLUMN 1 COLUMN 3 — PHRASES YOU CAN MAKE

wings wings of the wind (given), wings of the birds, wings of the evening

waves waves of the ocean, waves of the wind, waves of the thunder

dreams dreams of the children, dreams of the stars, dreams of the evening

songs songs of the birds, songs of the children, songs of the rain, songs of the evening

glimmers glimmers of the stars, glimmers of the ocean, glimmers of the clouds

cries cries of the birds, cries of the children, cries of the wind

tears tears of the rain, tears of the clouds, tears of the children

roars roars of the thunder, roars of the ocean, roars of the wind

shadows shadows of the clouds, shadows of the evening, shadows of the birds

Why it happens: This 'X of the Y' pattern is one of the commonest ways poetry
makes a metaphor. It quietly claims that Y owns X — clouds do not really weep, but
'tears of the clouds' makes rain into weeping in three words. Tagore's own two
phrases work the same way: dawn 'owns' the shiuli blossoms, and sleep 'owns' its
fairies.

Try This: Use any three of your phrases in one sentence about a monsoon evening,
for example: The roars of the thunder drowned the songs of the birds, and the tears of
the clouds fell on the shadows of the evening.

Page 43 of 87

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Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
m.
II The poet uses words like 'dawn', 'night' and 'midnight' to show different parts of
se
Q2

o m l a
the day. The box given below has some more words. Write the words in the
g
m .c columns (Morning / Afternoon / Evening / Night):atwilight,
appropriate dawn, dusk,

l a se noon, daybreak, nightfall, sunset, midnight, sunup, forenoon, sundown,
sunrise,
a g noontime, night-time, noonday, midday.

co m
m . ag

ase
MORNING AFTERNOON
a g l EVENING NIGHT

co m
dawn noon twilight midnight

m.
sunrise midday dusk night-time
daybreak
m
noontime sunset
as e
sunup
.co
noonday sundown
a g l
a s em
forenoon nightfall

ag l
s
Why it happens: Group the words by the event they name. Dawn, daybreak, sunrise,
m a
.co agl
sunup all mark the sun coming up; forenoon is the stretch just before noon. Noon,

a s em
midday, noonday, noontime all mean the middle of the day. Sunset, sundown, dusk,

a l going down and the light fading. Only midnight and
twilight, nightfall all mark thegsun
night-time belong to the dark itself.

co m
m .
o m l a se
Did you know? Twilight can strictly mean the half-light at either end of the day, so

m .c twilight' is also correct English. It is placed underagEvening here because
asethat is how the word is normally used.
'morning

agl
se m
com g l a
m . a
ase
agl

co m
m .
m ase
.co a g l
se m
g l a
a c
m .
m a s e
em . co agl
g l as
a

co m
m .
m as e
.co


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Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q3 III Match the words from the text given in Column 1 with their opposites in Column
2. Column 1: 1. strange 2. dawn 3. launch 4. bulging 5. float 6. lading — Column 2: (i)
halt (ii) emptying (iii) sink (iv) dusk (v) ordinary (vi) shrinking

COLUMN COLUMN 2 — HOW TO REMEMBER IT
1 OPPOSITE

1. strange (v) ordinary A strange land is one nobody around you has seen; an
ordinary one is seen every day.

2. dawn (iv) dusk Dawn opens the day, dusk closes it.

3. launch (i) halt To launch is to set a thing going; to halt is to stop it.

4. bulging (vi) shrinking Bulging swells outwards, shrinking pulls inwards.

5. float (iii) sink Float stays on the surface, sink goes under.

6. lading (ii) emptying Lading puts cargo in, emptying takes it out.

Check it yourself: Try each pair inside a sentence from the poem. 'I launch my paper
boats' becomes 'I halt my paper boats' — opposite meaning, same grammar. That is
the test of a true antonym.

Let us listen — Pages 114 & 115 (transcript on page 137)
Paper Boats — Sai and her father talk about origami

LISTENING

Q1 You will listen to a conversation between a girl and her father about the art of
paper folding called origami. As you listen, select the true statements from 1–7. 1.
Sai was trying to make an origami boat. 2. Sai's father used to do origami as a child.
3. Paper was very expensive so it was used only for special occasions. 4. People have
been making paper cranes for thousands of years. 5. There is a belief that if you
make a thousand paper cranes, your wish will come true. 6. The art of origami is
about enjoying the process. 7. Sai's father suggests making a paper bookmark next
time.

The true statements are 2, 3, 5 and 6.

Page 45 of 87

Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

NO. STATEMENT TRUE / LINE FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
FALSE

1 Sai was trying to make an False "I am trying to make an origami crane, but it's a
origami boat. bit tricky."

2 Sai's father used to do origami True "I remember doing that when I was your age."
as a child.

3 Paper was very expensive so it True "Back then, paper was really expensive, so it was
was used only for special only used for special occasions, like religious
occasions. ceremonies."

4 People have been making paper False Sai says 'hundreds of years' and the father
cranes for thousands of years. agrees; folding animals and flowers for fun began
only in the seventeenth century.

5 If you make a thousand paper True "There's even a belief that if you fold a thousand
cranes, your wish will come paper cranes, you can make a wish, and it will
true. come true."

6 The art of origami is about True "it's about the process, the patience and the
enjoying the process. creativity involved."

7 Sai's father suggests making a False "How about we make an origami paper boat
paper bookmark next time. next?"

Did you know? The thousand-crane belief has a name — senbazuru. The father's last
suggestion, a paper boat to float 'in the stream outside', ties the listening task
straight back to Tagore's poem.

Let us speak — Page 115

Page 46 of 87

Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Paper Boats

SPEAKING

Q1 Create any craft item using eco-friendly materials. Make a presentation in front of
your classmates and teacher about the craft item you have made. Your
presentation should include the following information: Introduction of the item;
Description of how you made it; Reason why you like the craft; Conclusion. Use the
phrases given (Today, I'm going to show you a... I made. / This... is made of... / It's... /
It can be used to… / First, I started by… / Then, I used... to… / The most difficult part
was to… / This... is special to me because… / I hope you enjoyed seeing my craft and
learning about it. / Thank you for your attention.)

What a good presentation needs. Two to three minutes; the item held up where everyone can
see it; the four parts in order (introduce → how you made it → why you like it → close); and
every one of the given phrases used at least once. Speak to the class, not to the object in your
hands.
Sample answer — a pen stand made from a coconut shell and old newspaper
"Good morning, everyone. Today, I'm going to show you a pen stand I made. This pen stand is
made of half a coconut shell, old newspaper, glue made from maida and water, and dried neem
leaves. It's brown and round, about ten centimetres across, and it can be used to hold pens,
pencils and a pair of scissors on a study table.
First, I started by asking my grandmother for a coconut shell that our kitchen was going to
throw away. I washed it, scraped the inside clean and let it dry in the sun for two days. Then, I
used strips of old newspaper and homemade maida glue to paste three layers over the outside.
The most difficult part was to keep the strips smooth at the curved edge — they kept lifting up,
and I had to press them down again and again. After it dried, I stuck dried neem leaves around
the rim and gave it one coat of clear varnish.
This pen stand is special to me because it cost nothing at all, and because everything in it was
already on its way to the dustbin — a shell, yesterday's newspaper, fallen leaves. It reminded me
that 'waste' is often just something we have not looked at properly.
I hope you enjoyed seeing my craft and learning about it. Thank you for your attention."

Tip: Practise the opening and closing lines until you can say them without looking
down. If you get those two right, the middle takes care of itself.

Let us write — Page 116

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Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Paper Boats — a diary entry

WRITING

Q1 A diary entry is a personal document. It records an individual's account of a day of
her or his life expressing the thoughts, feelings and opinions in the individual's
mind. The guidelines to compose a diary entry include: mentioning day, date and
time of writing it; beginning with a general sentence describing the day or feelings
towards an event or experience; giving details; concluding with a final remark. Now,
write a diary entry expressing your joy experiencing a rainy day. You may begin as
given below: 'Friday, 15 July 20XX / 6:30 p.m. / Dear Diary, / It was quite humid
today. On my journey back from school, I wished that it would rain. And it did! …'

What a good diary entry must contain: the day, date and time at the top; 'Dear Diary,'; an
opening sentence about the mood of the day; a middle full of small exact details (what you saw,
heard, smelt, did); your private feelings, which is what makes it a diary and not a report; and a
closing remark. Past tense throughout, first person, about 120–150 words. No address and no
'Yours sincerely' — a diary is not a letter.
Sample answer:
Friday, 15 July 20XX
6:30 p.m.
Dear Diary,
It was quite humid today. On my journey back from school, I wished that it would rain. And it
did! The first drops hit the hot road and the whole lane smelt of wet dust — that smell I like
better than any perfume. By the time I reached our gate my socks were soaked and my hair was
flat on my forehead, and I did not care at all. Amma scolded me for two minutes and then made
pakoras.
The best part came afterwards. The drain in front of our house had turned into a proper little
river, so Meera and I tore out the last pages of our old rough notebooks and folded paper boats.
Mine sailed almost up to the corner shop before it tipped over. Meera's sank at once, and she
blamed the fold. We ran along beside them, shouting, until the rain stopped as suddenly as it
had started.
I am writing this by the window with a cup of tea. The sky is still grey and there is thunder
somewhere far away. I hope it rains again tomorrow.

Tip: One honest small detail — the smell of wet dust, the flat hair, the blamed fold —
is worth five general sentences about how nice the rain is.

Let us explore — Pages 116 & 117

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Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries
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Paper Boats — shiuli flowers and water riddles
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PROJECT

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IsShiuli flowers often find a mention in Rabindranath Tagore's poems. These flowers
a
Q1
gl are found in many parts of our country. Look at the pictures of shiuli flowers and
recall what you call them in your language. 1. Find out names of some more trees or

. com
plants in your locality which have fragrant flowers. Write their names in your
ag
a s em any two flowers and colour them.
language and English language. Draw

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ag

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a Shiuli (night-flowering jasmine) blossoms, drawn here — page 116 of the book prints a
photograph of a heap of fallen shiuli flowers: white six-petalled blooms, each on a
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.
bright orange stalk.

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Method. Walk round your street, your school compound and any nearby temple or park with a

m a s em then look up the
notebook. Note the plant, ask an elder for its name in your mother tongue,

. co or botanical name. Draw two of them from the real flower,
English
a gl not from memory — count
a s emthe petals before you colour.
agl The shiuli itself is known by many Indian names: shiuli / shefali (Bengali), harsingar / parijat
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(Hindi), paarijaatham (Tamil and Malayalam), parijatha (Kannada), pagadamalle (Telugu),
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prajakta (Marathi) — in English, the night-flowering jasmine (Nyctanthes arbor-tristis). It opens
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after dark and drops its white, orange-stalked flowers at dawn, which is why Tagore calls them
'blooms of the dawn'.
a gla
Sample answer — fragrant flowering plants you are likely to find:

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Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

ENGLISH NAME COMMON INDIAN NAMES WHERE YOU WILL FIND IT

Arabian jasmine mogra, mallige, malli, juhi Garden hedges; strung into garlands

Spanish jasmine chameli, jaati Climbing on courtyard walls

Frangipani / temple tree champa, chafa, deva ganneru Temple compounds and school grounds

Night-blooming jasmine raat ki rani, paarijatham Near windows; strongest scent after 8 p.m.

Indian medlar bakul, maulsari, ranja Avenue tree; tiny star-shaped cream flowers

Burflower tree kadamb, kadamba Riverbanks and village greens

Screwpine kewda, ketaki, thazhampoo Coastal and marshy areas; used in perfume

Rose gulab, gulaab, rojaa Home gardens everywhere

Try This: Note the time at which each flower opens and gives out its scent. You will
find that most of the strongest-smelling ones — raat ki rani, shiuli, kewda — open at
night, because they are pollinated by moths.

Q2 II Solve the riddles given below. Share your answers with your classmates and the
teacher. 1. 'I have water that you cannot drink, / People come to see how in me the
Sun sinks. / I can be rough, I can be calm, / I hold within myself plenty of charm. /
My depths tell a never-ending tale. / Who am I with dolphins and the whale?'

The sea (the ocean).

CLUE IN THE RIDDLE WHAT GIVES IT AWAY

'water that you cannot drink' Sea water is salty

'People come to see how in me the Sun sinks' Crowds gather on beaches for the sunset

'I can be rough, I can be calm' Rough and calm seas

'dolphins and the whale' Only the sea holds whales

Page 50 of 87

Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q3 II 2. 'I sit in stillness, but move with the wind, / My surface mirrors the world you
are in. / The trees around me live happily, / In me, you can take a dip daily. / Home
to ducks, frogs, fish, and all, / Can you guess what I am, after all?'

A pond (a lake).

Why it happens: 'I sit in stillness' rules out a river or a stream — this water does not
flow anywhere; it only ripples 'with the wind'. Still water acts as a mirror, and a village
pond is exactly where people 'take a dip daily' and where ducks, frogs and fish live
together. A lake fits every line too, so either answer is acceptable, but 'pond' matches
the daily bathing best.

Q4 II 3. 'I gently travel through valleys deep, / My soft murmur can make you sleep. /
Little paper boats float on me in rain / The merry laughter of the kids I gain. / You
may sit beside me without any fear, / Who am I who skips along, crystal clear?'

A stream (a brook).

Why it happens: Two words point straight back to this unit. 'Skips along' is the very
phrase used of the stream in the pre-reading paragraph on page 109, and 'little
paper boats float on me' is Tagore's poem itself. A stream is small enough to sit
beside 'without any fear', shallow enough to be 'crystal clear', and its sound is a 'soft
murmur' — a river would roar.

Q5 II 4. 'I have a bed, but I do not sleep. / I have a bank, but no money I keep. / I carry
stories, old and new, / High mountains to the oceans blue. / I journey far to meet
the sea, / Can you guess, who I can be?'

A river.

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Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why it happens: The riddle turns on two puns. A river has a bed — the ground it
flows over — and a bank — the land on either side. Neither has anything to do with
sleeping or with money. The rest is plain geography: a river rises in 'high mountains',
'journeys far to meet the sea', and 'carries stories, old and new' because the great
civilisations of the world, ours included, grew along riverbanks.

Try This: Write a fifth riddle of your own about a waterfall or a well, using the same
trick of a pun in the second line.

Let us do these activities before we read — Page 118
North, South, East, West (postcards by C.G. Salamander)

BEFORE YOU READ

Q1 I Work in pairs. Discuss the place that you have enjoyed travelling to. Talk about
who you went with, how you travelled, and what you learnt from the experience.

Cover the three parts the question asks for — who, how, and what you learnt — and finish
with the 'learnt' part, because that is what makes it more than a holiday report.
Sample answer: The place I enjoyed most was Hampi, where I went last December with my
parents and my cousin. We took an overnight bus from Bengaluru and then walked and cycled
almost everywhere, because the ruins are spread over nearly twenty-six square kilometres.
What I learnt was two things. First, that a place can teach you history better than a chapter can
— standing inside the Vittala temple and hearing a pillar ring like a bell told me more about
Vijayanagara than any date I had memorised. Second, that travelling slowly is worth it: the day
we cycled instead of taking an auto, we found a boulder field full of langurs and a coracle
boatman who explained how the round boats are made from bamboo and buffalo hide.

Tip: If you have not travelled far, write about a nearby place — a fair, a relative's
village, a school picnic. The question is about what you noticed, not about distance.

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Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q2 II Which State or Union Territory of India do you live in? Write the following details
about it. 1. Part of the country—North, East, Northeast, West, South or Centre 2. Its
capital 3. Language 4. River(s) 5. Tourist attraction 6. Food

Fill in the six rows for your own State or Union Territory. Two filled examples are given below so
that you can see the level of detail expected.

DETAIL SAMPLE 1 — TAMIL NADU SAMPLE 2 — UTTAR
PRADESH

1. Part of the South North
country

2. Its capital Chennai Lucknow

3. Language Tamil Hindi

4. River(s) Kaveri, Vaigai, Thamirabarani, Palar Ganga, Yamuna, Gomti, Ghaghara

5. Tourist The shore temple at Mahabalipuram; the Pamban The Taj Mahal at Agra; the ghats of
attraction bridge and Rameswaram Varanasi

6. Food Idli, dosai, pongal, chettinad curry, filter coffee Tehri, bedhai-jalebi, Awadhi biryani,
petha, malaiyo

Tip: Shaana comes from Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu — that is why the Pamban
bridge postcard means 'almost home' to her. Keep your own State's row handy; you
will need it again for the crossword on page 134.

Q3 III Work in pairs. Recall the names of the states of our country which have 'Pradesh'
in their names. Mention if it is in the North, East, Northeast, West, South or Centre
of our country. Recall any special feature about each 'Pradesh'. Share your answers
with your classmates and the teacher.

India has five States with 'Pradesh' in the name. (Pradesh simply means 'region' or 'province'.)

Page 53 of 87

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Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries
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FIRST PART SECOND PART OF THE SPECIAL FEATURE

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OF THE PART COUNTRY
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Himachal Pradesh North 'Land of snow'; the Himalayan hill stations of
Shimla, Manali and Dharamshala; apple
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Uttar Pradesh North India's most populous State; the Taj Mahal at

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Madhya Pradesh Centre 'Heart of India'; Khajuraho temples, the

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Pradesh Northeast
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rises here first in India; thick forests, red
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Andhra Pradesh South Long Bay of Bengal coastline; the Krishna and

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Godavari deltas; Tirupati; Amaravati as capital.

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Why it happens: This is exactly Shaana's own discovery in her second postcard —

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'Did you know that Arunachal Pradesh is far away from Himachal Pradesh? … I
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thought all the Pradesh states sat next to each other.' A shared word in a name says

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nothing about where a place is: Himachal is in the north-west Himalaya, Arunachal in
the.cfar north-east, roughly 2,000 km apart. a g
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Let us discuss — Page 125
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Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

North, South, East, West

COMPREHENSION

Q1 Complete the table given below based on Shaana's postcards. An example has been
done for you. Share your answers with your classmates and the teacher.

PLACES VISITED INTERESTING DESCRIPTIONS AND ACTIVITIES

1. Thajiwas glacier, white and blue glaciers; throwing snowballs
Kashmir

2. Himachal Pradesh

3. walking through a thick forest to reach the tree house

4. Gujarat

5. The Narmada river

6. Chennai

7. floating and looking at the fish; Appa and Amma went
for a dive

The table as printed on page 125; the first row is filled in as the example.

PLACES INTERESTING DESCRIPTIONS AND ACTIVITIES
VISITED

1. Thajiwas white and blue glaciers; throwing snowballs (given)
glacier, Kashmir

2. Himachal Very quiet; so many mountains visible from the cabin; colourful birds chirping her awake as
Pradesh the Sun rises in the east; the 'bears growling in the west' that turn out to be Appa snoring

3. Arunachal walking through a thick forest to reach the tree house (given) — a forest so thick 'that
Pradesh if you blink or stop to tie your shoelaces, you will get lost'; hoping to see red pandas

4. Gujarat The middle of the desert — 'hot, dry, and there's sand everywhere… like a beach without the
sea'; the pretty, colourful clothes; a surprise test from Amma, passed with 88 per cent

Page 55 of 87

Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

5. The Narmada Rafting with Amma and Appa; the river 'wild and scary' and much faster up close than she
river expected; she got fully wet and Appa decided never to raft again

6. Chennai Learning to surf on the way to Puducherry — she fell only twice; Amma and Appa splashing
each other 'like children'; rougher waves and browner water than on her island

7. Olaikaadu floating and looking at the fish; Appa and Amma went for a dive (given) — there were
beach no diving suits her size; they collected all sorts of pebbles

Between these she also writes from the Sundarbans in West Bengal (a boat ride on the river,
mangroves growing in seawater, crocodiles and a lonely snake) and from Goa (plateaus, hills,
beaches and railway tunnels seen from the train window), and crosses the Pamban bridge with
the ocean on both sides.

Tip: When a table gives you the description and asks for the place, look for the one
unrepeatable detail. 'Tree house' and 'thick forest' can only be the Arunachal
postcard; 'no diving suits my size' can only be Olaikaadu.

Let us think and reflect — Pages 126 & 127
North, South, East, West

COMPREHENSION

Q1 I 1. Extract: 'Amma tells me that places like the Sundarbans are called wetlands. I
never knew such a place existed, and that it was possible for trees called
mangroves to grow in seawater! But Amma is sad about how much this place floods
today. / We also saw crocodiles and a lonely snake while boating. I hope they don't
follow us home. / How is everyone? Are you missing me yet?' (i) What feeling does
Shaana most likely experience when she says, "I never knew such a place
existed..."? A. pride B. hope C. relief D. wonder

D. wonder

Why it happens: Two signals give it away — the exclamation mark after 'grow in
seawater!', and the fact that she is reporting something that upsets her whole idea
of what a place can be. Wonder is the feeling of meeting something you did not
know was possible. There is nothing here to be proud of, nothing she is hoping for,
and no danger she has escaped, so pride, hope and relief are all out.

Page 56 of 87

Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q2 I 1. (ii) Complete the following sentence with a suitable reason. Amma is sad about
the frequent flooding in Sundarbans because ____________.

Amma is sad about the frequent flooding in the Sundarbans because the floods are getting
worse than they used to be, and they are drowning a rare and precious wetland — the
mangrove forests, the crocodiles, tigers and birds that live in them, and the homes and
fields of the people of the delta.

Why it happens: The word today in 'how much this place floods today' is the key —
it compares the present with an earlier time Amma remembers. Rising sea levels and
stronger cyclones, both linked to a warming climate, are pushing salt water further
into the delta. It is the same worry Appa expresses about the Narmada ('there used
to be a lot more water') and that the family notices in Kashmir ('there was much
more snow last year'). Shaana records all three without quite understanding them —
the reader is meant to join the dots.

Q3 I 1. (iii) Select the evidence from the text that reflects a feeling of the speaker's
slight nervousness.

The line is: "We also saw crocodiles and a lonely snake while boating. I hope they don't
follow us home."

Why it happens: The nervousness is in the second sentence, not the first. Seeing
crocodiles is a fact; hoping they will not follow her home is a small, half-joking worry
— the sort of thing a child says to make a fear manageable by laughing at it. She
does not say she was terrified; the word 'slight' in the question matches this light,
teasing tone exactly.

Page 57 of 87

Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q4 I 1. (iv) Select the option that applies to both the Assertion and the Reason.
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. B. Both the assertion and the reason are
true, but the reason does not correctly explain the assertion. C. The assertion is
true, but the reason is false. D. Both the assertion and the reason are false.

A. Both the assertion and the reason are true, and the reason correctly explains the
assertion.

Assertion — 'Are you missing me yet?' → she is thinking about her friends → true
Reason — 'How is everyone?' → she wants to know how they are → true

Link — you ask after people only when they are on your mind → the reason explains the

assertion

Why it happens: The two sentences sit side by side at the end of the postcard, and
both point the same way. She is writing from the middle of the most exciting journey
of her life, yet she stops to ask after everyone at home — that anxious enquiry is the
missing. Option B would be right only if the reason were true but unconnected,
which is not the case here.

Q5 I 2. Extract: 'Amma and Appa are fast asleep, and I should be sleeping too, but I just
love looking out of the window. I think we're in the southwest part of the country,
in Goa, and you won't believe how nice the plateaus look. There are so many hills
here, and beaches too. There are also a lot of tunnels that the train goes through. I
used to be afraid of tunnels, but I'm not any more. Someday, I wish we could all go
on a tour of the plateaus.' (i) Complete the sentence with a suitable reason. The
speaker chooses to stay awake because ____________________.

The speaker chooses to stay awake because she simply loves looking out of the train
window, and the Goan landscape sliding past in the night — the plateaus, the hills, the
beaches and the tunnels — is far too beautiful and too new to sleep through.

Page 58 of 87

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Class 7 English Unit 3 Dreams and Discoveries
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co m
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Why it happens: She admits she ought to be asleep ('I should be sleeping too'), so

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this is a deliberate choice, not restlessness. Her reason is curiosity: a journey seen is
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c and once the train has passed, that view is gone aforever.
a journey.kept,
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plateaus look'?

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She means that the plateaus are so beautiful that a description cannot do them justice —
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her friends would have to see them to believe her.
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m exaggeration, the way we say 'you won't believe what happened'. She is not really
It is aefriendly
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agdoubting her friends; she is inviting them into her excitement and admitting that she has run
out of words. That is why she follows it with the plainest possible sentence — 'There are so

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many hills here, and beaches too' — and then with a wish: 'Someday, I wish we could all go on a
tour of the plateaus.'
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Did you know? The flat-topped land Shaana is seeing is the western edge of the

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Deccan plateau, where it drops through the Western Ghats towards the Konkan
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coast — which is why one train window shows her hills, plateaus, beaches and

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tunnels all in a single night.
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Q7 I 2. (iii) What has been the change in the speaker's attitude towards tunnels? A.
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from fear to comfort B. from courage to confidence C. from doubt to clarity D. from
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fascination to delight

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Why it happens: Her own sentence names both ends of the change: 'I used to be
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change in understanding rather than in feeling. Travelling through many tunnels,
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night after night, has made the darkness ordinary, and what is ordinary stops being

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