Lesson : 1

The Book of Nature

Jawaharlal Nehru

Let's start: 🚀

Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru was a great freedom fighter and the first Prime Minister of independent India. He was a very good writer as well. The Discovery of India, Glimpses of World History and Autobiography are some of his noted works. During the late 1920s he wrote a series of letters to his young daughter Indira to share his ideas, thoughts and knowledge with her. These letters were later compiled into a book titled Letters from a Father to his Daughter. The present text is an excerpt from the book.

Let's share: 🗣️

• Why do we write letters? Discuss with your partner.
• Have you ever received a letter from an elder?
• Ask your partner if he/she had written a letter to anyone before.

Let's read: 📖

Unit I

When you and I are together you often ask me questions about many things and I try to answer them. Now that you are at Mussoorie and I am in Allahabad we cannot have these talks. I am therefore going to write to you from time to time short accounts of the story of our earth and the many countries, great and small, into which it is divided. You have read a little about English history and Indian history. But England is only a little island and India, though a big country, is only a small part of the earth's surface. If we want to know something about the story of this world of ours we must think of all the countries and all the peoples that have inhabited it, and not merely of one little country where we may have been born.

I am afraid I can only tell you very little in these letters of mine. But that little, I hope, will interest you and make you think of the world as a whole, and of other peoples in it as our brothers and sisters. When you grow up you will read about the story of the earth and her peoples in fat books and you will find it more interesting than any other story or novel that you may have read.

You know of course that our earth is very, very old—millions and millions of years old. And for a long long time there were no men or women living in it. Before the men came there were only animals, and before the animals there was a time when no kind of life existed on the earth. It is difficult to imagine this world of ours, which is so full today of all kinds of animals and men, to be without them. But scientists and those who have studied and thought a great deal about these matters tell us that there was a time when the earth was too hot for any living being to live on it. And if we read their books and study the rocks and the fossils (the remains of old animals) we can ourselves see that this must have been so.

Word Nest 📝

accounts: descriptions of events; inhabited: lived in a place million: ten hundred thousand

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Let's do: ✅

Activity 1

Underline the appropriate alternatives:

(a) India is in fact a (big/small/ huge) part of the earth's surface. (b) Once upon a time the earth was too (cold/dark/ hot) for any living being to survive. (c) Fossils are (a type of wild animal / one kind of hard rock/ the remains of old living beings).

Activity 2

Answer the following questions in complete sentences:

(a) What must we do to know about the tale of this world? (b) How old is our earth? (c) Who roamed the earth before the arrival of human beings?

Activity 3

Fill in the blanks with suitable words from the text. The first letters of the words are given:

(a) As a subject, h________ is quite interesting. (b) We have good relations with our neighbouring c________ (c) Plants need air, water and sunlight to g_______ (d) Can you i_________ how big the Universe is? (e) You should s_________ regularly if you want to be a good student.

Activity 4

Make meaningful sentences with the following words:

(a) interest : (b) surface : (c) inhabited : (d) together : (e) scientist :

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Let's continue: ➡️

Unit II

You read history in books. But in old times when men did not exist surely no books could have been written. How then can we find out what happened then? We cannot merely sit down and imagine everything. This would be very interesting for we could imagine anything we wanted to and would thus make up the most beautiful fairy tales. But this need not be true as it would not be based on any facts that we had seen. But although we have no books written in those far-off days, fortunately we have some things which tell us a great deal as well almost as a book would. We have rocks and mountains and seas and stars and rivers and deserts and fossils of old animals. These and other like things are our books for the earth's early story. And the real way to understand this story is not merely to read about it in other people's books but to go to the great Book of Nature itself. You will I hope soon begin to learn how to read this story from the rocks and mountains. Imagine how fascinating it is!

Every little stone that you see lying in the road or on the mountain side may be a little page in nature's book and may be able to tell you something if you only knew how to read it. To be able to read any language, Hindi or Urdu or English, you have to learn its alphabet. So also you must learn the alphabet of nature before you can read her story in her books of stone and rock. Even now perhaps you know a little how to read this. If you see a little round shiny pebble, does it not tell you something? How did it get round and smooth and shiny without any corners or rough edges? If you break a big rock into small bits, each bit is rough and has corners and rough edges. It is not at all like a round smooth pebble. How then did the pebble become so round and smooth and shiny? It will tell you its story if you have good eyes to see and ears to hear it. It tells you that once upon a time, it may be long ago, it was a bit of a rock, just like the bit you may break from a big rock or stone with plenty of edges and corners. Probably it rested on some mountain side. Then came the rain and washed it down to the little valley where it found a mountain stream which pushed it on and on till it reached a little river. And the little river took it to the big river. And all the while it rolled at the bottom of the river and its edges were worn away and its rough surface made smooth and shiny. So it became the pebble that you see. Somehow the river left it behind and you found it. If the river had carried it on, it would have become smaller and smaller till at last it became a grain of sand and joined its brothers at the seaside to make a beautiful beach where little children can play and make castles out of the sand.

If a little pebble can tell you so much, how much more could we learn from all the rocks and mountains and the many other things we see around us?

Word Nest 📌

fascinating: very interesting; pebble: small piece of stone; castles: forts

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Let's do: ✅

Activity 5

Identify which of the following statements are True and which are False. Give a supporting statement for each of your answers.

(a) Fairy tales are rich in imagination. ( ) (b) We have no means to know about the far-off days. ( ) (c) The alphabet of nature is like the Hindi or the English alphabet. ( ) (d) We can learn a lot about our world from the rivers and mountains. ( )

Activity 6

Complete the following sentences with information from the text:

(a) No book could have been written in old times because................................................ (b) To be able to read any language one ..................................................................................... (c) A small pebble was definitely a part....................................................................................... (d) On the beaches at the seaside, little children.......................................................................

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Activity 7

Fill in the following chart with information from the text:

Statement	Reason
1. Fairy tales need not be true.
2. A piece of rock looks different from a pebble.
3. A bit of rock from some mountain side reaches a little valley.
4. All pebbles do not become sand.

Activity 8

Answer the following questions:

(a) Which are the things around us that tell us about the earth's early tale? (b) Why does a pebble have a smooth surface? (c) How does a pebble become grains of sand? (d) What does the author mean by “The Great Book of Nature?”

Activity 9

Rearrange the sentences in the correct order by writing the numbers in the brackets. One is done for you:

(a) The rock is taken to a big river by the little river. ( ) (b) At last it is turned into grains of sand. ( ) (c) It becomes a pebble. ( ) (d) A bit of rock is pushed by a mountain stream into a little river. (1) (e) The pebble becomes smaller because it is carried on and on by the river. ( ) (f) The edges of the rock are worn away and its rough surface is made smooth. ( )

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Activity 10

Match the words in Column A with their meanings in Column B. One is done for you:

A	B
1. fascinating	(a) the set of letters in a language
2. merely	(b) top visible side
3. fortunately	(c) became damaged by use
4. alphabet	(d) only or just
5. surface	(e) luckily
6. worn	(f) very interesting or charming	1

Activity 11

Replace the underlined words with suitable opposite words from the box. There are some extra words.

hopeful, lost, add, left, ugly, late, sad, rough

(a) The man became famous in the early years of his life. (b) She is looking very happy. (c) The trunk of this huge tree has a smooth bark. (d) Jatin found his pencil box on his way to school. (e) Smita learnt to subtract.

Let's talk : 💬

Form groups of three and discuss among yourselves the following topics:

• the things you learn about nature by observing the plants and animals around you
• the importance of school tours or excursions that you learn from “The Book of Nature”

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Let's learn : 📚

Note the following parts of sentences from the text:

• our books for the earth’s early story
• read about it in other people’s books
• a little page in nature’s book

We find the use of apostrophe (’) in the underlined words. This punctuation mark is used to

• show the omission of a letter or letters in a word examples: e’er (ever), o’er (over), hon’ble (honourable) etc.
• form the plural of letters and figures examples: Dot your i’s and cut your t’s. Add three 4’s and five 2’s.
• indicate possession of or connection with something example: Bani’s mother is a school teacher.
• create shortened or contracted forms examples: don’t (do not), I’ve (I have), etc.

Let's do: ✅

Activity 12 (a)

Read the paragraph below and put the apostrophe (’) mark in the proper places:

Rahims father is a well-known person. The honourable M.L.A. of the area is his relative. He has donated a good sum of money to the local library for buying new books. The library is located near the girls high school. Sabinas brother and Akrams sister often visit the library. They like to read childrens story books and Tagores poems. Their parents also go there to read newspapers after the days work.

Activity 12 (b)

Rewrite the following passage using contracted forms of words wherever applicable:

The teacher said, "We all know you are a good student. I cannot understand why you have done such a thing. You should not behave rudely with your classmates. Promise me, you will always remember what I have said."

The student realised his mistake. He said, "Sir, I am sorry. I shall never behave like this."

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Let's learn : 📚

Study the following sentences taken from the text:

• You have to learn its alphabet.
• You can read her story in her books of stone and rock.

In the above sentences the coloured words its and her come before nouns and function as adjectives. They indicate possession or relation with the nouns that follow. So its and her are Possessive Adjectives. 'My', 'our', 'their', 'your', 'his' are also Possessive Adjectives.

Now read these sentences:

• We want to know something about the story of this world of ours.
• I am afraid I can only tell you very little in these letters of mine.
• This book is mine and those pens are yours.
• Many years ago, this garden was theirs.

In the above sentences the underlined words ours, mine, yours and theirs do not have nouns after them. They come after preposition 'of' or a verb. But they also indicate possession of or connection with the nouns in the sentence. So they are Possessive Pronouns. 'His' and 'hers' are also Possessive Pronouns.

Let's do : ✅

Activity 13(a)

Fill in the chart correctly:

Pronouns	Possessive Adjectives	Possessive Pronouns
I	my
we		ours
	your
he		hers
it
	their

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Activity 13 (b)

Fill in the blanks with appropriate possessive pronouns and possessive adjectives:

Yesterday I forgot to take back ________ pen from Sunil. I gave him ________ in the class because he didn't bring ________.

The little girl has torn ________ clothes. "But why are ________ clothes dirty?" asked the mother to the girl's elder brothers. "We have soiled ________ clothes while playing outside", they said.

Let's learn : 📚

Imagine that Nirmal is a boy living in Siliguri. His friend from Delhi, Kanan, has written him a letter. Here is the letter:

1. 32/4 M G Road, Eastern Extension, Delhi–110092.

2. 30 June, 2012

3. My dear Nirmal,

4. I hope you all are fine. Let me share a happy news with you. My brother and I, along with our parents, are going on a tour of Rajasthan next month. It will be great if you join us along with your parents.

   Please write back to me as soon as possible so that my father can make necessary arrangements.

5. Your loving friend,

6. Kanan

Nirmal Das	Stamp
c/o Bimal Kumar Das
22/1, Hill Road,
Siliguri,
West Bengal.

A letter from a friend is a Personal Letter. It has six main parts—

(1) The writer's address (2) Date of writing (3) Greeting or Salutation (4) Body of the letter (5) Leave-taking or Subscription (6) Signature/name of the person writing the letter.

The name and address of the person to whom the letter is sent is shown in a box. It is generally written on the envelope.

Now you can understand that the text of Lesson 1 (Unit I and Unit II) is the body of a letter written by Pundit Nehru to his daughter Indira.

Unfortunately, Nirmal cannot say 'yes' to his friend in Delhi because his mother is scheduled to undergo a surgery the following month. So he writes:

Delhi–110092 32/4 M G Road Eastern Extension

Dear Kanan,

I got your letter yesterday. Thank you for your invitation to go on a tour of Rajasthan together. But my mother is very ill. She is going to have a heart surgery early next month. So we can’t join you for the tour. Please don’t mind. Wish you a happy and memorable visit to Rajasthan.

I am Nirmal, my dear friend. 22/1, Hill Road, Siliguri.

Let's do : ✅

Activity 14 (a)

Nirmal hasn't replied in the correct format.

Rewrite the letter correctly for him.

Activity 14 (b)

Write a letter to your friend in about seventy words telling him/her about a short tour you had recently gone to. Mention the places you had visited, how you travelled, people who accompanied you, your sightseeing and your enjoyment of the tour.

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Activity 15

Study the following picture carefully:

Now write a paragraph in about seventy words describing this picture of a village fair. Use the following words and phrases:

fair ground, crowd, merry-go-round, circus tent, shops and counters, balloon-seller, fun, enjoyment.

Begin like this:

A village fair is a popular event in the countryside.....

Let's work together : 🤝

• Find out how you can cut and fold a piece of paper to make an envelope.
• Take a piece of brown paper and gum.
• Make an envelope.
• Collect a used postage stamp and fix it at the top right corner of your envelope.
• Now write down your address on the left side and your friend's address on the right.
• Show your work to the class.
• Next, write a letter to your friend and put it in this envelope.