This file is regarding - Chapter 3 of the book, An Alien Hand, of English, Grade 7, NCERT. It contains Picture board, that helps the reader to understand the chapter quickly and in an interesting way through comics. It contains solutions of the questions given in the textbook. It contains the key points of the chapter and also some quick links to make the chapter more interesting videos and quizzes.

1. The Desert
NCERT | Class 7 | English
An Alien Hand |Chapter 3

2. What you are going to learn
in this lesson ?
• Moral :-
• Deserts play an important part in nature’s
cycle of life. Just because they are hot and
dry , we should not ignore them as useless
parts of the earth.
• Summary :-
• Deserts are usually without water, and
they’re either too hot or too cold. People
believe that they have no life, but in fact,
deserts have plants and animals that are
very different because they have learnt to
live in the very extreme and unusual
conditions in the desert.

3. Picture Board

9. Comprehension Check from Page number 16-17

10. Question number 1.
• From the first paragraph
i. pick out two phrases which describe the desert as most people believe it as
ii. pick out two phrases which describe the desert as specialists see it
Which do you think is an apt description, and why?

11. Answer number 1.
i. Endless stretch of land , no rainfall , no vegetation , dry , hot , waterless ,
without shelter (any two).
ii. A beautiful place and a home of variety of people , animals and plants.
According to me the second one is the most apt description as it is prescribed
by specialists and also because if we look deserts carefully, it shows its own
beauty. (different answer for everyone).

12. Question number 2
• The phrases on the left in the following box occur in the text. Match each of
them with a phrase on the right.
i. An endless stretch of land
ii. Waterless and without shelter
iii. An oasis
iv. Hidden by a cover of grass
A. Fertile place with water and plants in a
desert
B. Not visible because the grass is thick
C. Nothing but sand as far as one can see
D. No water and no shade

13. Answer number 2
i. -> C
ii. -> D
iii.-> A
iv.-> B

14. Comprehension Check from Page number 19

15. Question number 1
• A camel can do without water for days together. What is the reason given in
the text?
The camel, popularly known as the ‘ship of the desert’, can drink a lot of
water at one time. Camels can do without water for days together. The
reason is they sweat very little. Camels can stand high body temperature.
They don’t need to sweat and can, therefore, retain the water they drink for
long periods of time.

16. Question number 2.
• How do the smaller desert animals fulfil their need for water?
The smaller desert animals do not drink water. They burrow underground
during the hot day and come out at night to eat. Some of them eat other
animals and get the water they need from the moisture in the meat. Others
eat plants and seeds and get the water they need from plant juices.

17. Question number 3.
• In a desert the temperature rises during the day and falls rapidly at night.
Why?
In humid climates, the moisture in the air acts like a blanket and protects the
earth’s surface from the hot rays of the sun. The absence of this blanket in
desert lands causes the desert to heat up rapidly during the day and to cool
off rapidly at night.

18. Exercises from Page number 19

19. Question number 1
• Describe a desert in your own way. Write a paragraph and read it aloud to
your classmates.
The desert is hot and dry endless stretch of land with a countless number of
sand dunes. It is a habitat for a variety of people , animals and plants. A
desert is a place where it rains just a few inches a year and when it rains , the
desert flowers bloom. Many deserts contain an oasis which is like a green
island in the middle of the desert with fertile soil and spring water. Camels
are called a ship of the desert. The desert has very hot weather during the
day and a cold weather during the night. (different answer for everyone).

20. Question number 2.
• Go to the library and collect information about the lifestyle of people in
desert areas— their food, clothes, work, social customs, etc. Share this
information with the group. (Activity).

21. Key Points
Remember them well!
• A desert is generally without water and vegetation.
• A green patch with fresh water and green trees in the middle of a vast desert is a
beautiful sight.
• A desert may be too hot or too cold.
• Desert plants and animals learn to require much less water than most plants and
animals.
• The camel is a typical desert animal.
• Smaller desert animals have unusual means of satisfying their need for water.

22. Quick Links
• Enjoy a quiz on desert at :-
https://quizizz.com/join/quiz/5ad4b19a51027c0019011b3f/start
• Watch some videos on desert at :-
1) https://youtu.be/s4YrQsZ03Vg
2) https://youtu.be/ht1JqhmtCEQ?list=PLKtRuv3wHIuoSOn1goG6nz1akw6
FAngz0
3) https://youtu.be/DAs7lqce1cI?list=PLKtRuv3wHIuoSOn1goG6nz1akw6F
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