NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Unit 8 Reading Comprehension
NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Unit 8 Reading Comprehension
NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Words and Expressions 1 Unit 8 Reading Comprehension
This worksheet provides complete and accurate NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Words and Expressions 1, Unit 8: Reading Comprehension. Unit 8 is a comprehensive unit that brings together reading, vocabulary, grammar, editing, listening, speaking, writing, and project work — all centred around the theme of travel and tourism. This chapter is important for Class 9 students because it strengthens their ability to understand unseen passages, build vocabulary, identify grammar structures, and express ideas through writing and speaking. This worksheet covers all sections of the unit with well-explained answers that follow NCERT standards strictly.
Chapter summary: stories, poems & themes
Unit 8 of Words and Expressions 1 does not contain a poem or a fictional story. Instead, it is built around travel-themed reading passages and texts that explore tourism, nature, and cultural experiences. The unit draws from descriptive and informational passages related to topics such as the Bagmati river in Kathmandu, a visit to the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary in Odisha, and a horticulture show. Students also engage with the writings of authors like Vikram Seth. The central theme of the unit is travel — how it broadens understanding, builds cultural awareness, and connects people to nature and the world around them. The unit is activity-based in several sections, including speaking, writing, and project tasks where students are expected to create their own responses.
What this NCERT chapter covers?
- Reading comprehension based on multiple texts covering travel, tourism, and nature
- Vocabulary development through phrasal verbs, word matching, suffix exercises, and picture-based activities
- Grammar work focusing on identifying and naming tenses used in given passages
- Editing skills through a punctuation exercise based on a descriptive passage about Kathmandu
- Listening comprehension based on a passage titled A Visit to Bhitarkanika
- Speaking activities including delivering speeches on travel and sustainable tourism
- Writing tasks such as creating a tourism advertisement and writing a descriptive paragraph about a journey
- Project-based learning through a class magazine on music and artists, and a road trip planning activity for North-East India
How to use these NCERT solutions?
Students should read each question carefully and attempt their own answers before referring to the solutions in this worksheet. This approach helps them develop independent thinking and builds confidence. Parents and teachers can use these solutions to verify answers, explain concepts, and guide revision sessions at home or in class. All answers in this worksheet follow the exact order of the NCERT textbook, making it easy to cross-check section by section. For activity-based and student-generated tasks, the worksheet provides clear explanations and sample responses so students understand what is expected of them. Regular revision using these solutions will help students prepare effectively for school assessments and class tests.
Student tips & learning tricks
- For reading comprehension, always read the full passage first before answering. Look for keywords in the question and find matching information in the text.
- For vocabulary exercises involving suffixes, remember that adding or removing a suffix changes the form of the word but is linked to the root word — practise this with everyday words.
- For grammar tense questions, identify the main verb in each sentence first. Ask yourself: is the action happening now, in the past, or does it show a completed action? This will help you name the tense correctly.
- For editing and punctuation, read the passage aloud slowly — you will naturally pause at places where commas or full stops are needed.
- For writing tasks like a tourism advertisement or journey paragraph, plan your ideas in rough first. Use travel-related expressions from the unit to make your writing vivid and engaging.
- A common mistake students make in tense identification is confusing Present Perfect Passive with Simple Past. Remember that Present Perfect uses "have/has been" before the past participle.
- For speaking tasks, use quotes, examples from the lesson, and personal experiences to make your speech more convincing and relatable.
Why NCERT solutions are important?
NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English play a vital role in helping students build a strong foundation in the language. Unit 8 covers a wide range of skills — reading, writing, grammar, and speaking — which are all tested in school examinations. Having access to accurate, NCERT-aligned solutions gives students the confidence to approach their studies systematically. These solutions ensure that answers are framed correctly, matching the standard and tone expected by NCERT. For parents, these solutions offer a reliable resource to support their child's learning at home. For teachers, they serve as a useful reference for classroom discussion and assessment preparation. Regular practice with these solutions improves language skills, builds comprehension ability, and prepares students thoroughly for their Class 9 English examinations.
Complete answer key – NCERT solutions
Let's begin
Activity 1:
Collect information on judgments related to river Ganga being given legal/living entity status (similar to New Zealand's Whanganui River judgement). Discuss the findings in class about why such legal protection matters for rivers.
(Student-generated activity)
Activity 2:
Discuss how Vikram Seth describes the Bagmati river in Kathmandu as a polluted and dirty river, flowing through the heart of the city, yet considered sacred by the local people.
(Student-generated activity)
Reading comprehension
Text I
1. (d) All of the above
2. (a) taking a long distance walk in abandoned areas
3. (a) a large ship that carries people on voyages of pleasure.
4. Tourists engage in various activities such as sightseeing, visiting friends and relatives, taking vacations, engaging in sports, sunbathing, talking, singing, taking rides, touring, and reading. They also participate in conventions, business conferences, professional activities, study tours, and scientific research.
5. Tourists use all forms of transportation including hiking on foot, flying in jets, taking chairlifts, travelling on cruise ships, cars, motor coaches, campers, trains, motorbikes, and bicycles.
Two types: salt and fresh.
Text I (continued)
1. (a) because the much awaited Saturday has come when the voyage has to start.
2. (d) They are tourists on a leisure trip.
3. The mood of the people on the ship was gloomy, droopy, and disheartened. The passengers looked miserable and sad, like molting chickens, moping about in drizzling rain. Even the flag hung limp and dispirited, reflecting the low spirits of everyone on board.
4. The author was looking forward to a pleasure excursion — a voyage that the program had announced as a leisure trip. Despite the dull and confusing atmosphere at the pier, he was eager for the journey to begin and was hopeful of the adventure and enjoyment that the trip promised.
Match the words/phrases (Column A) with pictures (Column B):
Pier — picture of the pier (waterside structure)
Deck — picture of the ship's deck
Carriage — picture of the carriage (horse-drawn vehicle)
Valise — picture of the valise (travel bag/suitcase)
Mast — picture of the mast (tall pole on a ship)
Vocabulary
1. Match the phrasal verbs (Column A) with meanings (Column B):
Look for — search
Look up to — having a great deal of respect for a person
Look forward to — await eagerly
Look up — to try to find a piece of information
2. Rewrite the following words by removing the suffix 'age':
(a) carriage — carry
(b) coverage — cover
(c) hermitage — hermit
(d) marriage — marry
3. Rewrite the following words by adding the suffix 'ful':
(a) beauty — beautiful
(b) colour — colourful
(c) duty — dutiful
(d) revenge — revengeful
(e) help — helpful
(f) mouth — mouthful
(g) mercy — merciful
Grammar
Tenses identified and named in the passage:
Sentence: "This is a good place to enrich ourselves about plant species which are environment friendly."
Tense: Simple Present Tense
Sentence: "The residents could gather a lot of information about horticulture at the event."
Tense: Past Tense (Modal — could + base verb, referring to past possibility/ability)
Sentence: "Several states from north India are represented at this event."
Tense: Simple Present Tense (Passive)
Sentence: "The florists showcase the best of their horticulture at the show."
Tense: Simple Present Tense
Sentence: "The organisers said that several events are lined up for Sunday."
Tense: Simple Past Tense (said) + Simple Present Tense (are lined up)
Sentence: "As many as 85 stalls have been put up by florists, gardening equipment wholesalers and seed retailers."
Tense: Present Perfect Tense (Passive)
Sentence: "Entry to the show has been made free for all."
Tense: Present Perfect Tense (Passive)
Sentence: "It was established in a study conducted by NASA back in 1989 that some indoor plants could be extremely useful in controlling the air pollution."
Tense: Simple Past Tense (Passive)
Sentence: "Detox plants, which act as 'vacuum cleaners' inside the house, are a hit in the ongoing event."
Tense: Simple Present Tense
Sentence: "Nature enthusiasts are preferring them for pollution control as well as interior decoration."
Tense: Present Continuous Tense
Editing
1. Punctuated passage:
Kathmandu is vivid, mercenary, religious, with small shrines to flower-adorned deities along the narrowest and busiest streets, with fruit sellers, flute sellers, hawkers of postcards, shops selling western cosmetics, film rolls and chocolate or copper utensils and Nepalese antiques. Film songs blare out from the radios, car horns sound, bicycle bells ring, stray cows low questioningly at motorcycles, vendors shout out their wares.
Listening
(Passage: A Visit to Bhitarkanika)
1. The author was going to the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary in Odisha.
2. The forest rest-house (Dangmal forest rest-house) was located in the heart of the mangrove forest. Since the steamer could not negotiate the creeks at low tide, the group hired a motorboat to ferry them to the rest-house.
3. The first creature they saw was a large crocodile basking in the sun, spotted from the motorboat.
4. By 'the magnificence of nature', the author means the extraordinary beauty, diversity, and grandeur of the natural world — the colourful birds with remarkable plumage, the crocodiles, the chital deer, and the wild boar — all existing undisturbed in their natural habitat, filling the visitors with awe and wonder.
5. The kingfishers are described as the stars of the show among the birds. The open-billed storks are described as standing sentry-like, high above, following the group's progress through the forest as if guarding their kingdom.
6. The chital deer were delicately browsing on fresh outcrops of leaves when the motorboat went past. The wild boar were searching for succulent roots in the ground.
Speaking
1. Speech on travelling:
Students are required to prepare and deliver a short speech in the school assembly based on the given quotes about travelling by Ibn Batuta and Mark Twain. The speech should reflect on how travel broadens the mind, removes prejudices, builds empathy, and transforms a person into a storyteller. Students may use personal experiences or examples from the lesson 'Kathmandu' to support their speech.
(Student-generated activity)
2. Speech on tourism and sustainable development:
Students are required to prepare a short speech discussing how the tourism sector can be aligned with the policies of sustainable development — for example, by promoting eco-tourism, reducing carbon footprints of travel, preserving natural and cultural heritage, and ensuring that tourism benefits local communities without harming the environment.
(Student-generated activity)
Writing
1. Advertisement for tourism:
Students should first read or watch tourism advertisements (e.g., the Kerala Tourism film 'A Reading Room With a View'). Then they must create their own advertisement for their city or state promoting tourism. The advertisement should highlight the unique cultural, natural, or historical features of the place and be creative, persuasive, and visually descriptive.
Sample advertisement (for reference):
"Discover the Heart of India — Visit Rajasthan!
Where golden deserts meet royal palaces, and every sunset tells a story.
From the majestic forts of Jaipur to the serene lakes of Udaipur, Rajasthan welcomes you with colour, culture, and warmth.
Come, travel light, and carry back memories for a lifetime.
Rajasthan — The Land of Kings."
(Student-generated activity)
2. Paragraph describing a journey:
Students should prepare an itinerary first, then write a descriptive paragraph about an imaginary or real journey they have undertaken. They should use travel-related expressions from the box provided: jetlag, itchy feet, hit the road, time table, on the home stretch, call it a day, book in advance, travel over, travel through, travel light, any port in a storm, stopover, etc.
Sample paragraph (for reference):
Last summer, my family and I decided to travel light and hit the road to Manali. We had booked our tickets in advance to avoid any last-minute rush. After a long overnight journey, we made a stopover at Chandigarh for breakfast. As we travelled through the winding mountain roads, the breathtaking views of snow-capped peaks left us speechless. By the time we were on the home stretch, tiredness gave way to excitement. We called it a day at a cosy guesthouse by the river — tired, happy, and already planning our next adventure.
(Student-generated activity)
Project
1. Class magazine on music and artists:
Students should work in groups to create a class magazine on music and artists. They should collect information on commonly used musical instruments in Indian classical music, Ghazal singing, Bharatnatayam/Chau/Kathak dance, Folk music, and Jazz. They should also collect photographs of musical instruments and prepare brief biographical sketches of musicians, dancers, costume designers, and artists from books, the Internet, magazines, and newspapers. A suitable creative name should be given to the magazine (e.g., "Sur Sangam", "The Rhythm Times", etc.). This project connects with the description of the flute music in the lesson 'Kathmandu' and the mention of the Ney (reed flute) used in Sufi music in Turkey, Iran, and North Africa.
(Student-generated activity)
2. Road trip to North-East India:
Students should plan a road trip to the North-east region of India (covering states such as Assam, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura). They should explore various route possibilities, distances, and modes of road travel, note important tourist spots, wildlife sanctuaries, cultural festivals, and local cuisine, and create a hand-drawn or printed map showing the travel route with key destinations marked. This project develops research skills and connects geography with the theme of travel in the unit.
(Student-generated activity)
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