Book Back Questions Answers

A. Read the poem aloud in pairs.

How doth the little crocodile

Improve his shining tail

And pour the water of the Nile

On every golden scale!

How cheerful he seems to grin,

How neatly spreads his claws,

And welcomes little fishes in,

With gently smiling jaws!

                                                                                                Lewis Carroll

B. Choose the rhyming words from the box and write them in the correct blanks.

( file ) ( din ) (caws) (nail) (while) (paws) (mail) (thin)

1. claws, jaws, caws , paws

2. grin, in, din , thin

3. crocodile, Nile, while , file

4. tail, scale, nail , mail

C. Read these lines and answer the questions given below.

1. How cheerful he seems to grin

Who does ‘he’ refer to?

Answer: 'He' refers to the crocodile.

2. And pour the water of the Nile

What is the Nile? In which country is it?

Answer: Nile is a river. It is in Egypt. 

3. And welcomes little fishes in

With gently smiling jaws!

Who welcomes the fish? Why?

Answer: The crocodile welcomes the little fishes with smile. Because it is hungry.

Which line tells you that the crocodile is hungry?

Answer: The line "with gently smiling jaws" tells us that the crocodile is hungry.

D. Work in pairs. Share your answers with your partner.

1. What is the poem about?

Answer: This poem is about a crocodile which tries to improve its outlook in order to catch fishes.

2. How does the crocodile’s tail look?

Answer: The crocodile's tail looks shining.

3. What does ‘improve his tail’ mean?

Answer: "Improve his tail" means the crocodile wants its tail to look better than before

4. How does he spread his claws?

Answer: The crocodile spreads his jaws in a clear manner.

5. Why does he welcome little fishes?

Answer: As he feels hungry he welcomes little fishes to eat.

6. Which line talks about the crocodile’s mouth and his shape?

Answer: "How doth the little crocodile"

"And. welcomes little fishes in,

With gently smiling jaws!"

These lines enables us to know about the crocodile's mouth and his shape.

WRITING

E. What does the poet say about the crocodile? Write in your own words. (in about fifty words)

The poet says that the crocodile tries to enhance the physical appearance of its tail by pouring water from river Nile, because it does not seem to be content with just the sunlight brightening up its appearance. The poet again describes that when the crocodile spots the fishes in water, trying to swim near, it starts grinning as if it were welcoming little fishes of the sea and keep its mouth wide so that it can trap them.