NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Hornbill Chapter 5 The Ailing Planet the Green Movement’s Role

NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Hornbill Chapter 5 The Ailing Planet the Green Movement’s Role

Understanding the text

Question:- 1. Locate the lines in the text that support the title ‘The Ailing Planet’.

Answer:- The lines that support the chapter’s title are listed below:-

1. “The earth’s vital signs reveal a patient in declining health.”
2. “Are we to leave our successors a scorched planet of advancing deserts, impoverished landscapes and ailing environment?”
3. “…the environment has deteriorated so badly that it is ‘critical’ in many of the eighty-eight countries investigated”.

Question:- 2. What does the notice ‘The world’s most dangerous animal’ at a cage in the zoo at Lusaka, Zambia, signify?

Answer:- ‘The world’s most dangerous animal’ is written on a sign in a cage in the zoo in Lusaka, Zambia. However, there is no animal inside the cage, only a mirror in which you can view yourself. This notification denotes that man is the most harmful of all creatures. Animals do not disrupt nature’s natural environmental and ecological equilibrium. However, the man is doing so at a rapid speed and without mercy.

Question:- 3. How are the earth’s principal biological systems being depleted?

Answer:- The earth’s biological systems are divided into four categories. Fisheries, woods, grasslands, and croplands are examples of these systems. However, the productivity of these systems is being limited as a result of the ‘unsustainable’ increase in human demand. Excessive demand causes these resources to deteriorate and be depleted. Overfishing is prevalent in a place where protein is consumed on a big scale, resulting in the collapse of fisheries in that area. Grasslands have devolved into deserts, and food productivity is declining. For the sake of obtaining firewood, enormous areas of forest are destroyed. Several species have been extinct as a result of the depletion of tropical forests.

Question:- 4. Why does the author aver that the growth of world population is one of the strongest factors distorting the future of human society?

Answer:- The world’s growing population puts a pressure on the planet’s major biological systems. These have reached an unsustainable level of productivity due to excessive human claims. If the world’s population continues to grow at its current rate, development will be impossible. Hunger, poverty, and unemployment are all consequences of rising population.

Talking about the text

Discuss in groups of four.

Question:- 1. Laws are never respected nor enforced in India.

Answer:- In India, laws are not respected or enforced, which is distressing but real. Let’s look at some real-life examples. Almost everyone knows what the rules of the road are. There are still instances of incorrect overtaking, lane jumping, signal jumping, excessive speeding, and road rage. Our regulations require all children to attend primary school until they reach the age of fourteen. Despite this, we see many illiterate teenager boys and girls of this age loitering in alleyways, working in tiny jobs at roadside restaurants, or working as domestic servants. The conservation and improvement of the environment are enshrined in our Constitution. The obligation for forest and wildlife protection has been delegated to the states. Forests are being torn down, and wildlife is being shot illegally. Similarly, laws prohibiting casteism, untouchability, and bonded labour exist. However, these are only on paper. These are never put into practise in real life. As a result, it can be inferred that laws in India are neither respected nor enforced.

Question:- 2. “Are we to leave our successors a scorched planet of advancing deserts, impoverished landscapes and an ailing environment?”

Answer:- The first Brandt Report, as we discover in the book, posed the above-mentioned question about the planet’s worsening health. Earth is like to a “patient in poor health.” Excessive demand for resources has resulted in the depletion of forests, grasslands, fisheries, and croplands. Overpopulation has put a serious burden on our planet’s health.

We must quickly recognise that it is completely our responsibility to save our world in this “Era of Responsibility.” We must recognise that the earth belongs to future generations just as much as it does to us. Rather than making it our own, we should do everything we can to keep it safe for the generations we’ve “borrowed it from.”

Question:- 3. “We have not inherited this earth from our forefathers; we have borrowed it from our children”.

Answer:- For the first time in human history, we are witnessing an outpouring of concern for the survival not only of people but also of the planet. We’ve started to take a more holistic look at the future passport. The Era of Responsibility has begun as a result of the rising new world perspective. It is a holistic, ecological perspective, in which the earth is viewed as an inheritance to be protected for future generations rather than as a resource to be used for our own benefit.

Question:- 4. The problems of overpopulation that directly affect our everyday life.

Answer:- Poverty and unemployment are challenges that arise as a result of overpopulation. Unless the main cause, population, is addressed, the vicious spiral of population and poverty will persist. It stifles a country’s progress. As a result, natural resources are depleted at a far faster rate. The consumption of fossil fuels, the depletion of natural resources, the clearing of forests, the heat created, and the resulting global warming are all consequences of the world’s rapidly rising population.

Thinking about language

The phrase ‘inter alia’ meaning ‘among other things’ is one of then many Latin expressions commonly used in English. Find out what these Latin phrases mean.

1. prima facie
2. ad hoc
3. in camera
4. ad infinitum
5. mutatis mutandis
6. caveat
7. tabula rasa

Answer:- 1. prima facie – at first face or at first glance

2. ad hoc – made or done on the heat of the moment for a specific purpose.
3. In-camera – performing anything that is recorded by the camera.
4. ad infinity – repeatedly in the same manner
5. mutatis mutandis – making essential changes without harming the fundamental topic in question.
6. Caveat – a specified provision, condition, or limitation with a warning or caveat.
7. tabula rasa — a blank slate with no prior notions or aspirations.

Working with words

Question:- I. Locate the following phrases in the text and study their connotation.

1. gripped the imagination of
2. dawned upon
3. ushered in
4. passed into current coin
5. passport of the future

Answer:- 1. gripped the imagination of: drew a lot of attention

2. dawned upon: for the first time it occurred to me
3. ushered in: the new concept was introduced.
4. passed into current coin: have been brought into use
5. passport of the future: the documentation that allows something to happen.

Question:- II. The words ‘grip’, ‘dawn’, ‘usher’, ‘coin’, ‘passport’ have a literal as well as a figurative meaning. Write pairs of sentences using each word in the literal as well as the figurative sense.

Answer:– II.

1. Grip-

a) During the rock-climbing session, she was fantastic. She has a strong grip.

1. b) The ‘India Against Corruption’ movement has gripped the hearts and minds of Indians.

2) The dawn:-

1. a) The day dawned with a bright blue sky.
2. b) Suddenly, the thought dawned to him.

3) the usher:-

1. a) They were ushered to their seats by the waiter.
2. b) The Green Movement ushered the start of a new era of environmental awareness.

4) Coin:-

1. a) I have 10 Rs. 5 coins.
2. b) A well-known philosopher coined the term.

5) passport:-

1. a) He recently received his passport in order to visit his uncle in the United States.
2. b) Education is a passport to a prosperous future.