Unseen Comprehension Worksheet - Halku Grade 7

Unseen Comprehension Worksheet Grade 7
The leaves were all burned up. Darkness covered the orchard again. Under the ashes a few embers
smouldered, and when a gust of wind blew over them they stirred up briefly, then flickered out again.
Halku sat by the warm ashes, humming a tune. The fire had warmed him though, but as the cold began
to spread he felt drowsy.
Jabra gave a loud bark and ran towards the field. Halku realized that this meant a pack of wild animals
had probably broken into the field. They might be bluebuck. They must be grazing; he began to hear
the sound of nibbling.
He thought, ‘No, with Jabra around no animal can get into the field; he‘d rip it to shreds. I must have
been mistaken. Now there’s no sound at all.’
He shouted, ‘Jabra! Jabra!’
Jabra went on barking and did not come to him.
Then again there was the sound of munching and crunching in the field. He could not have been
mistaken this time. It really hurt to think of getting up from where he was. It was so comfortable there it
seemed intolerable to go to the field in this cold and chase after animals. He didn’t stir.
He shouted, ‘Hillo! Hillo! Hillo!’
Jabra started barking again. There were animals eating his field just when the crop was ready. What a
fine crop it was! And these cursed animals were destroying it. With a firm resolve he got up and took a
few steps. But suddenly a gust of wind pierced him with a sting like a scorpion’s such that he went back
and sat again by the extinguished fire and stirred up the ashes to warm his chilled body.
Halku went on sitting peacefully near the warm ashes. His drowsiness held him motionless as though
with ropes. Wrapped in his shawl he fell asleep on the warmed ground near the ashes.
When he woke in the morning the sun was high and Munni was saying, ‘Do you think you’re going to
sleep all day? You came out here and had a fine time while the whole field was being flattened!’
Halku got up and said, ‘Then you’ve just come from the field?’
“Yes, the whole field’s ruined. And you could sleep like that! Why did you bother to put up shelter
anyway?’
Halku sought an excuse. ‘I nearly died and just managed to get through the night, and you worry about
your crop.’
Then the two of them walked to the edge of their land. He looked: the whole field had been trampled.
Munni’s face was shadowed with grief but Halku was content.
Munni said, ‘Now you’ll have to hire yourself out to earn some money to pay off the rent and taxes.’
With a contented smile Halku said,’ But I won’t have to sleep nights out here in the cold.’
1. Why did Halku begin feel sleepy?
2. ‘Wrapped in his shawl he fell asleep on the warmed ground near the ashes.’
What effect does the writer create in this sentence?
3. Explain in your own words why Halku’s face was full of contentment.
4. ‘Then again there was the sound of munching and crunching in the field’.
Give one way this line emphasises the presence of someone around.
5. There were animals eating his field just when the crop was ready. What a fine crop it was! And
these cursed animals were destroying it
i. Write one quotation from the text that shows that Halku was not bothered by the destruction
of the fields.
ii. Write one quotation from the text that shows that Munni was angry with the destruction of the
fields.
6. With a contented smile Halku said,’ But I won’t have to sleep nights out here in the cold.’
What does this quotation show about Halku’s character?
7. ‘..........no animal can get into the field; he‘d rip it to shreds’
What is the underlined phrase an example of? Tick () one box.
alliteration
hyperbole
metaphor
personification
8. Explain in your own words how Halku knows that there were some wild animals in the field.
Support your answer with examples from the text.
9. Explain in your own words Munni’s reaction to Halku’s last remark.
Support your answer with examples from the text.
10. Write one quotation from the text which could explain why Halku was reluctant to get up
from near the fire and go to his field.
Answer key:-
1. The warmth of the fire mixed with the cold air made Halku feel sleepy and drowsy.
2. The writer used inversion to stress the fact that Halku was feeling extremely sleepy in his
cozy shawl and heated ground.
3. Halku was happy because he didn’t have to spend another night in the fields.
4. The line uses Onomatopoeia by using words like munching and crunching to stress that
there was someone around.
5. i. ‘I nearly died and just managed to get through the night, and you worry about your crop.’
ii. ‘You came out here and had a fine time while the whole field was being flattened!’
6. This line shows that Halku was a happy-go-lucky/carefree fellow without a worry of the
world. Even in the stressful situation he could think of humour.
7. Hyperbole
8. Various sounds coming from the field like ‘Jabra’s loud bark’ and ‘crunching and munching’
helped Halku to know about wild animals being present.
9. Munni might have felt agitated or angry over Halku’s lack of remorse over the fields getting
destroyed. Later on, she became extremely sad and disheartened.
Examples: - ‘Yes, the whole field’s ruined. And you could sleep like that!’
‘Munni’s face was shadowed with grief’
10. ‘His drowsiness held him motionless as though with ropes’

Unseen Comprehension Worksheet - Halku Grade 7

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Unseen Comprehension Worksheet Grade 7

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