1.3 The Call of The Soil : A Scent of Rice - Model Activity Sheet

1.3 The Call of The Soil : A Scent of Rice

Model Activity

Q. 1 ( A) Read the extract and complete the activities given below: 12

It was April 2004. I stood in the middle of the lush green field of moong (green gram) and looked around me. It was just before sunrise and the sky was turning a bright orange. The ground was damp and the leaves were shining with dew. My bare feet were muddy as I walked around gingerly, inspecting the plants.

Around me were rows of chikoo trees and below a dense foliage of moong. At that point, I could not have asked for anything more. The moong plants, not more than two feet tall, had green pods hanging out. The pods were not yet ripe and there was a light fuzz growing on them. There was still some time before the harvest. I felt exhilarated.

I stood watching the sun rise above the towering trees across the fence and slowly made my way back to the house, a white structure in the middle of this greenery. I could not believe that I was the owner of this land and that I was looking at my first crop as a farmer. After I had paid the advance money for the land, I thought I would have some time to get familiar with farming. But Moru Dada, the broker who got us the land, had other ideas. He was keen that we plant moong at once. I was not prepared for this. I was still reading books and trying to figure out what we could sow and how we should go about it. Moru Dada was quite firm. He said the season was right for sowing moong and the best seeds were available in Surat in the adjacent state of Gujarat.

A 1. True or False :     2

Rewrite the following statements stating whether they are true or false.

i) The author was inspecting the plants in the evening.

ii) The moong pods were not ripe enough to harvest.

iii) Moong was the first crop of the author as a farmer.

iv) The author was well-prepared to plant moong in his fields.

A 2. Complete :         2

Complete the following statements with the help of the extract.

i) The author stood in his farm just before ..................................

ii) There were rows of ............ trees in the farm.

iii) The author’s house was situated in .....................................

iv) Moru Dada was professionally a farmer and a ...... .................

A 3. Conclusion / Guessing :     2

Describe the scene on the farm.

A 4. Personal Response : 2

Write your brief view about the farming conditions in your area.

A 5. Language Study :     2

Do as directed.

i) I stood in the middle of the lush green field of moong and looked around me.                                                

(Rewrite as a simple sentence.)

ii) I stood watching the sun rise above the towering trees across the fence.

    (Rewrite the sentence using infinitive form of the underlined word)

A 6. Vocabulary.         2

Find out the synonyms from the extract.

i) very carefully

ii) commission agent

iii) container of peas or beans

iv) nearby