A. When the jet sprang into the
sky,
it was clear why the city
had developed the way it had,
seeing it scaled six inches to the mile.
There seemed an inevitability
about what on ground had looked haphazard,
unplanned and without style
When the jet sprang into the sky.
WORD MEANING: -
Jet–विमान, Sprang–उछला, Sky–आकाश, Clear–स्पष्ट, City–शहर, Developed–विकसित, Way–तरीका, Scaled–मापा गया, Inches–इंच, Mile–मील, Seemed–लगा, Inevitability–अनिवार्यता, Ground–ज़मीन, Looked–दिखा, Haphazard–बेतरतीब, Unplanned–बिना योजना, Without–बिना, Style–शैली, When–जब, Into–में।
Explanation:
·
As the plane takes off, the poet looks
down at the city.
जैसे
ही विमान उड़ान भरता है, कवि शहर
की ओर नीचे देखता है।
·
From the ground, the city seemed messy
and unplanned.
ज़मीन
से देखने पर शहर अस्त-व्यस्त और बिना योजना का लगता था।
·
But from above, it looks organized and
logical, like a map.
लेकिन
ऊपर से देखने पर वह एक नक्शे की तरह व्यवस्थित और तार्किक दिखाई देता है।
·
The poet realizes that the city developed
naturally based on human needs, even if it looked chaotic from below.
कवि
समझता है कि शहर मानव आवश्यकताओं के आधार पर स्वाभाविक रूप से विकसित हुआ,
भले
ही नीचे से वह अव्यवस्थित लगे।
LET’S SUM
Q1. What was clear when the jet sprang into
the sky?
Ans. The reason for the haphazard
development of the city was clear when the jet sprang up in the sky.
Q2. What was the scale of the map to the area?
Ans. The scale was 6 inches : 1 mile.
Q3. How did the city look on the ground level?
Ans. It looked haphazard, unplanned
and without style.
Q4. Which figure of speech has been used?
Ans. Repetition
Q5. Find an antonym for ‘systematic’
Ans. Haphazard
B. When the jet reached ten
thousand feet,
it was clear why the country
had cities where the rivers ran
and why the valleys were populated.
The logic of geography —
that land and water attracted man —
was clearly delineated
When the jet reached ten thousand feet.
WORD MEANING:-
Jet–विमान, Reached–पहुंचा, Ten–दस, Thousand–हज़ार, Feet–फीट, Clear–स्पष्ट, Country–देश, Cities–शहर, Rivers–नदियाँ, Ran–बहती थीं, Valleys–घाटियाँ, Populated–आबाद, Logic–तर्क, Geography–भूगोल, Land–भूमि, Water–जल, Attracted–आकर्षित किया, Man–मनुष्य, Delineated–स्पष्ट रूप से दर्शाया गया, When–जब।
Explanation:
·
At a higher altitude, the poet sees how
cities are built near rivers and valleys.
ऊँचाई
पर पहुँचकर कवि देखता है कि शहर नदियों और घाटियों के पास बसे हुए हैं।
·
He understands the basic rule of
geography: people settle where there is water and fertile land.
वह
भूगोल का मूल नियम समझता है: लोग वहाँ बसते हैं जहाँ जल और उपजाऊ भूमि होती है।
·
It becomes clear that nature influences
where humans choose to live.
यह
स्पष्ट हो जाता है कि प्रकृति यह तय करती है कि मनुष्य कहाँ रहना पसंद करते हैं।
LET’S SUM
Q1. What height did the jet attain?
Ans. It
reached ten thousand feet high.
Q2. What was clear when the jet attained that
height?
Ans. It
was clear why the country had cities where rivers flowed through and why
valleys had dense populations.
Q3. What was the logic of Geography?
Ans. It
was that a combination of land and water that attracted human settlements.
Q4. Find a synonym for ‘presented’.
Ans. Delineated
Q5. Where were cities located?
Ans.
They were located on the banks of rivers.
C. When the jet rose six miles
high,
it was clear the earth was round
and that it had more sea than land.
But it was difficult to understand
that the men on the earth found
causes to hate each other, to build
walls across cities and to kill.
From that height, it was not clear why.
WORD MEANING: -
Jet–विमान, Rose–उठा, Six–छह, Miles–मील, High–ऊँचाई, Clear–स्पष्ट, Earth–पृथ्वी, Round–गोल, Sea–समुद्र, Land–भूमि, Difficult–कठिन, Understand–समझना, Men–मनुष्य, Found–पाया, Causes–कारण, Hate–घृणा, Build–निर्माण करना, Walls–दीवारें, Cities–शहर, Kill–मारना।
Explanation:
·
From six miles above, the poet sees the
earth’s shape and how much of it is covered by water.
छह
मील ऊपर से कवि पृथ्वी का आकार और उस पर फैले जल की मात्रा को देखता है।
·
But he is confused and saddened by human
behaviour.
लेकिन
वह मानव व्यवहार से भ्रमित और दुखी होता है।
·
He cannot understand why people fight,
hate, and divide themselves with walls.
वह
समझ नहीं पाता कि लोग आपस में लड़ते, नफरत
करते और दीवारों से खुद को क्यों बाँटते हैं।
·
Geography explains physical things, but
not human emotions and conflicts.
भूगोल
भौतिक चीजों को समझाता है, लेकिन
मानव भावनाओं और संघर्षों को नहीं।
LET’S SUM
Q1. What became clear when the jet went up at
a height of six miles?
Ans. It
became clear that the earth was round and that there was more sea than landmass
on it.
Q2. What was difficult to understand?
Ans. It
was difficult to understand what caused men to hate each other.
Q3. What did men do in their hatred for each
other?
Ans.
They built walls across cities, hated and killed one another.
Q4. What was not clear from the height of six
miles?
Ans. The
reason for men hating each other was not clear.
Q5. What does ‘rose’ mean?
Ans. It
means went up.
"Geography Lesson" from Class 8 NCERT English (Honeydew):
This poem by Zulfikar Ghose
describes what the poet sees and understands while flying in a jet plane.
From the Sky:
- When
the plane takes off, the poet sees the city below.
- It
looks messy and unplanned from the ground, but from the sky, it seems like
it developed naturally based on people’s needs.
At 10,000
Feet:
- The
poet notices that cities are built near rivers and valleys.
- He
understands that people settle where water is available because it’s
essential for life.
At 6 Miles High:
- The
earth looks round and mostly covered with water.
- But
the poet is confused and sad—he can’t understand why people fight, hate
each other, and build walls to divide themselves.
💡 Main Message:
The poem shows how geography
explains where people live, but it cannot explain human behaviour—especially
hatred and violence. From high above, the earth looks peaceful, but human
actions are hard to understand.
WORKING
WITH THE POEM
1.
Find three or four phrases in stanzas one and two which are likely
to occur in a geography lesson.
Ans. The phrases from stanza one and two which are likely to
occur in a geography lesson are “scaled six inches to the mile”, “the valleys
were populated” and “that land and water attracted man”.
2.
Seen from the window of an aeroplane, the city appears
(i) as haphazard as on ground.
(ii) as neat as a map.
(iii) as developed as necessary. Mark the right answer.
Ans. (iii) as developed as
necessary.
3.
Which of the following statements are examples of “the logic of
geography”?
(i) There are cities where
there are rivers.
(ii) Cities appear as they are not from six miles above the ground.
(iii) It is easy to understand why valleys are populated.
(iv) It is difficult to understand why humans hate and kill one another.
(v) The earth is round, and it has more sea than land.
Ans. The
lines that are example of “the logic of geography” are-
(i) There are cities where there are rivers.
(iii) It is easy to understand why valleys are populated.
4.
Mention
two things that are
(i) clear from the height.
(ii) not clear from the height.
Ans.
(i) clear from the height.
1. There are cities where there are rivers
2. The earth is round, and it has more sea than land.
(ii) not clear from the height.
1. Why men find reasons to hate each other
2. Why men divide cities by building walls
Class 8 Geography Lesson Extra Question Answers
Q1. What message does the poem convey?
Ans. The poem conveys that the borders between countries are not visible
from a height. One cannot then understand the cause of fighting and hatred
among men.
Q2. What logic for human settlement is provided by Geography
lessons?
Ans. It gives us the logic that human settlements combine land and water.
Most of the densely populated areas are around rivers and in valleys.
Q3. How does a map differ from the actual place?
Ans. The map is on a scale of 6 inches to a mile. This means that
everything is very tiny on the map as compared to the reality.
Q4. What geographical formation of the earth was understood from a
height?
Ans. It was understood that the earth
was round in shape and had more sea than land.
Q5. Which figure of speech is used by the poet? Why?
Ans. The poet has incorporated repetition in first and second stanza. The
first lines are repeated at the end of the stanzas. He does this to lay
emphasis on the statement.