COMPREHENSION NO. 25 - ENGLISH FOR CLASS 9

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given at the end.

     The camel is rightly called the "ship of the desert". It is the best means of transport in deserts. Camels go slow. But they go on walking for hours on the burning sand and in the blazing sun. Camels carry heavy loads, much heavier in weight than any other beast of burden can. While the other animals' feet sink into the sand, nature has made the feet of camel such that it is not at all difficult for it to walk on sand. The camel is superior to all other animals because it can go without food and drink for days and weeks. It can store food and water. Its hump is also a store of food which the camels use when they get nothing to eat and drink for many days. In deserts only bushes grow here and there and the camel can live on these.
QUESTIONS
1. Why is camel called the ship of the desert?

2. Is it for its speed that it is called the ship of the deserts?

3. What difficulty do the other beasts of burden have to face while walking on the sand?

4. Why does a camel walk easily on the loose sand of the desert?

5. What special quality makes camel superior to other animals used for transport?

6. How does the camel go without food and water for days and weeks?

7. What does the camel generally live on?

ANSWERS

1. The camel is called the ship of the desert because it is the best means of transport in deserts. 

2. No, the camel goes slow. But it goes on walking for hours on the burning sand and in the blazing sun. So it is called the ship of the deserts. 

3. Other beasts of burden have to face two difficulties while walking on the sand;

(a) Their feet sink into the sand

(b) They cannot bear up extreme hunger and thirst

4. Nature has made the feet of camel such that it is not at all difficult for it to walk on the loose sand of the desert.
5. The camel is superior to all other animals of transport because it can go without food and drink for days and weeks.
6. The camel goes without food and water for days and weeks because it stores food in its hump.
7. In deserts only bushes grow here and there and the camel generally lives on these. 

Notes Prepared By: Prof. Shahbaz Asghar