NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Chapter Reading Comprehension

This worksheet provides NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English from the book Words and Expressions – 1, Unit 5 Chapter Reading Comprehension. The chapter focuses on developing students’ reading, comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, and communication skills through engaging exercises and activities. It includes passages, vocabulary exercises, editing tasks, speaking activities, listening comprehension, and writing practice that help students understand texts more deeply.

This worksheet helps students practise the concepts presented in the chapter through structured questions and clear answers. It supports learners in building reading comprehension skills and improving language accuracy. The solutions provided in this worksheet follow the NCERT pattern and help students understand how to answer questions correctly according to NCERT expectations. These solutions make learning easier for students and also help parents and teachers guide learners effectively during practice and revision.

Chapter summary: stories, poems & themes

The chapter includes a reading text titled “The Miraculous Escape” which presents an adventurous survival story. Through the narrative, students learn how the narrator escapes danger using presence of mind and courage. The text highlights themes of survival, fear, courage, and quick thinking in difficult situations.

The worksheet also includes vocabulary exercises related to feelings and experiences such as fear and exhaustion. Other sections help students practise editing, grammar, listening comprehension, speaking, and writing. The chapter includes both language-based activities and creative tasks that encourage students to think carefully about words, sentences, and ideas.

Some activities are discussion-based or survey-based where students observe, analyse responses, and present their findings. These activity-based exercises help students practise communication skills and develop confidence in expressing their ideas.

What this NCERT chapter covers?

• Reading comprehension through the story “The Miraculous Escape” 
• Vocabulary development using words related to fear and experiences 
• Word formation through suffixes 
• Grammar practice through reported speech and sentence structure 
• Editing and correcting sentences for clarity and accuracy 
• Listening comprehension and understanding events from a story 
• Speaking practice through story retelling and discussion points 
• Writing practice through narrative writing and descriptive tasks 
• Observation and survey-based activity to analyse common fears 

How to use these NCERT solutions?

Students should first read the chapter carefully and attempt all questions independently before checking the answers provided in this worksheet. This approach helps them understand the text and practise problem-solving skills.

Parents and teachers can use these solutions to guide students during practice sessions. The answers follow the same order and structure as the NCERT exercises, which makes it easy to check responses step by step. Students can also use these solutions for revision before class discussions, tests, and assessments.

Using structured NCERT solutions helps learners understand the correct way to write answers, identify mistakes, and improve their comprehension skills.

Student tips & learning tricks

• Read the passage slowly and carefully before answering comprehension questions. 
• Pay attention to important details such as actions, reasons, and outcomes in the story. 
• When learning vocabulary, try to understand the meaning of words from the context of the passage. 
• Practise using new words in sentences to improve vocabulary retention. 
• In grammar exercises, focus on correct sentence structure and meaning. 
• For writing tasks, organise ideas clearly and maintain logical flow in the story. 
• In speaking and listening activities, focus on understanding events and explaining them clearly.

Why NCERT solutions are important?

NCERT Solutions help students understand the correct approach to answering questions based on the NCERT curriculum. These solutions ensure that students learn concepts in a structured and accurate manner.

Regular practice with NCERT-based worksheets helps build strong language foundations. Students develop better reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar accuracy, and writing skills. Using reliable NCERT solutions also improves confidence and helps students prepare effectively for class assessments and exams.

Complete answer key – NCERT solutions

Text I – The Miraculous Escape

1. (b) He felt bored of his life.

2. (c) They ate fruits to survive.

3. The serpent swallowed the narrator’s companion because he was sitting lower on the tree. The narrator was sitting higher on the branch, so the serpent could not reach him.

4. The narrator collected dry wood and bushes and made a circular defensive structure around the tree like a tent. He sat inside it and tied it from within so that the serpent could not reach him.

Find the words in the story which mean the nearest to the words given below.

5. 
(a) rich – wealthy 
(b) moved – gliding 
(c) tired – exhausted 
(d) scared – frightened 
(e) urge – instinct 

Find words in the story which mean the opposite of the given words.

6. 
(a) poor – wealthy 
(b) weak – strong 
(c) enforce – prevent 
(d) insecurely – securely 
(e) offensive – defensive 

Vocabulary

Words describing feelings and experiences

Fear

Terrific, frightened, alarmed, terror-stricken, desperate, deadly, hissing, serpent

Getting tired

Exhausted, tired, hungry, half-dead, suffocated, bored, restless, desperate

Add suffixes to the word ‘fear’

1. 
(a) fearsome 
(b) fearful 
(c) fearless 
(d) fearfully 
(e) fearing 
(f) feared 
(g) fearfulness 

Editing

1.

A hungry dog while searching for food found a bone. He picked it up and held it tightly in his mouth and ran into the woods to a safe place to enjoy it at ease. He growled and frowned at anyone who attempted to take it away. He chewed the bone for a very long time and this made him quite thirsty. He came to a stream to quench his thirst. He trotted over the footbridge and happened to glance into the water. He saw his own reflection in the water. Thinking it was another dog with a bigger bone, he growled and scowled at it. The reflection growled and scowled back. Being greedy by nature, he wanted that bone too. He snapped his sharp teeth at the image in the water. He barked at the other dog hoping to scare him into giving that bone. His own big bone fell with a splash and went out of sight the moment he opened his mouth to bite.

Direct Speech

2. 
(a) Romesh: “Lata, will you go with me for a picnic tomorrow?” 
(b) Lata: “Why have you asked me to join?” 
(c) Romesh: “Why are you questioning me?” 
(d) Lata: “There is no use visiting the place I have seen before.” 
(e) Romesh: “What is wrong in visiting the same place again? The place is not the same.”

Rearranging Sentences

3. 
(a) When I gave her the bad news, she turned pale. 
(b) Don’t eat the apple as it has become rotten. 
(c) After their last quarrel, they became great friends. 
(d) She became famous after her first and only novel got a prize.

Listening

1. The village of Sarneshwar is in Rajasthan.

2. Jhalaram’s hut had caught fire.

3. Jhalaram’s two daughters and ten goats were in the hut.

4. Shrawan ran towards Jhalaram’s house because he saw smoke coming out from the hut.

5. Shrawan entered the burning hut, lifted the younger child in one arm and pulled the older child by the hand and brought them out safely.

6. The goats died in the fire.

Grammar

Reported Speech: Reporting Questions

Once an old man asked a young boy who he thought were the most intelligent people. The young man asked the old man who he thought so. The old man replied that sons and daughters could not be intelligent without learning from their parents. The young man asked how he had learnt as a parent. The old man asked why he was hijacking his question by asking him back. The young man replied that he should know that as a parent he had learnt all the things on his own. The old man asked how he could say that they all learnt from others. The young man asked why he asked him how to operate electronic gadgets all the time. The old man replied that he could ask because he had paid for the gadget he used.

Speaking

1. 
• The narrator was wealthy but bored with his life. 
• He decided to go on a voyage with merchants. 
• A terrible hurricane drove the ship near an island. 
• The sailors searched for food and water. 
• A giant serpent attacked and swallowed the narrator’s companions. 
• The narrator climbed a tree to save himself. 
• He built a defensive wooden structure around the tree. 
• The serpent waited but could not reach him. 
• In the morning he ran to the seashore and saw a ship. 
• The sailors rescued him and he escaped safely.

Writing

Title: The Greedy Dog

A hungry dog found a bone while searching for food. He picked it up and ran into the woods to enjoy it safely. After chewing the bone for a long time, he became thirsty and went to a stream to drink water. When he looked into the water, he saw his own reflection.

He thought it was another dog holding a bigger bone. Being greedy, he wanted that bone too. He barked and growled at the other dog. When he opened his mouth to bite the reflection, his own bone fell into the water and disappeared.

The dog realised his mistake but it was too late. His greed had made him lose the bone he already had.

Examples: Children Awarded the National Bravery Award

1. Shrawan Kumar – Saved two small children from a burning hut in Rajasthan by carrying them out safely from the fire.

2. Om Prakash – Saved his friend from drowning in a river by jumping into the water and bringing him to safety.

3. Rahul Kumar – Helped rescue people trapped during a flood by guiding them to safer areas.

4. Aarti Kumari – Saved a younger child from a snake attack by quickly alerting elders and moving the child away.

5. Sonu Kumar – Rescued his sister from a house fire by carrying her outside before the fire spread.

These children showed great courage and presence of mind. Despite their young age, they risked their lives to save others. Their bravery reminds us that courage can come from anyone, regardless of age.

Survey activity

Student-generated activity

Explanation:

• Form groups of four students. 
• Select an area such as school, neighbourhood, or family members for the survey. 
• Prepare a questionnaire of 8–10 questions about common fears (animals, darkness, heights, etc.). 
• Ask the selected people the questions. 
• Record their responses in a table. 
• Analyse the results and prepare a report. 
• Add charts or graphs if needed. 
• Edit the report and present it to the class or create a PowerPoint presentation.

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