Class 9th English Chapter-4 The Missile Man of India Question Answer

Let’s Understand The Text:

Read the text silently and understand. While reading, some new words may stand in your way. Don’t worry. Refer to the ‘Notes and Glossary’ provided at the end of the text. You may also consult a dictionary or your teacher. After you have read, your teacher asks you some questions. Answer them orally.

Q1.Who was Dr APJ Abdul Kalam?
Ans: Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was a celebrated scientist and the 11th President of India. He was popularly known as “The Missile Man of India”.

Q2. Why is Dr Kalam known as “The Missile Man of India”?
Ans: Dr. Kalam was closely involved in India’s civilian space programme and military missile development efforts. So he is known as “The Missile Man of India”.

Q3. Where was he born? When?
Ans: Dr. Kalam was born in a Tamil Muslim family at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu on 15 October 1931.

Q4. Who were his family members?
Ans: His family members were his father Jainulabdeen, mother Ashima, three elder brothers and an elder sister.

Q5. Who were his father and mother?
Ans: His father Jainulabdeen was a boat owner and the Imam of a local mosque. His mother Ashiamma was an ordinary housewife.

Q6. What was his mother?
Ans: His mother Ashiamma was simply a house-wife and a devotional lady.

Q7. How did his father earn his living?
Ans: His father owned a ferry that took Hindu pilgrims from Rameswaram to Dhanushkodi and back. He earned his living by this small business.

Q8. Were Kalam’s ancestors rich or poor? How do you know it?
Ans: Dr. Kalam’s ancestors were rich traders and land owners. Unluckily in course of time they lost their vast properties even their ancestral house and fell on hard times.

Q9. How did he add to his family?
Ans: In his childhood days he faced misery of life. He had to sell newspapers to supplement his family’s income.

Q10. What is the third paragraph about?
Ans:The third paragraph is about Kalam’s education in his childhood days. It was also dealt with his loving and affectionate science teacher Sivasubramania Iyer.

Q11. Where did he get his primary education?
Ans: Dr. Kalam got his primary education at Ramanathpuram.

Q12. Who was his science teacher?
Ans: Mr. Sivasubramania Iyer was his science teacher when Kalam was in the primary school.

Q13. What was he like?
Ans: The science teacher of the school was loving and affectionate to Kalam. As he was a committed teacher, his inspiration made him great.

Q14. What did he invite Kalam for?
Ans: Once he invited Kalam for a meal in his house.

Q15. How did his wife react to it?
Ans: His wife disliked it and denied serving a Muslim boy like Kalam.

Q16. What changed her attitude?
Ans: When the teacher himself served Kalam, his wife was watching behind the kitchen door. But Kalam’s behaviour, way of taking the meal and cleaning the floor changed her attitude.

Q17. How did she behave him later?
Ans: When the teacher invited Kalam next time, she welcomed him and served him food herself.

Q18. Who does ‘He’ in the third sentence of para-3 refer to?
Ans: ‘He’ in third sentence of para-3 refers to Sivasubramania Iyer, Kalam’s science teacher.

Q19. The fourth paragraph is about his ________.
A. elementary education
B. higher education
C. secondary education
D. family
(Say the correct answer.)
Ans: The fourth paragraph is about his secondary education and higher education.

Q20. Was he good at studies at the high school? Read out the sentence in support of your answer.
Ans: Yes, in the line “but was considerd a bright and hard working student” shows that he was good at studies at the high school.

Q21. What was Kalam’s dream in life?
Ans: Kalam’s dream in life was to become a pilot.

Q22. What did he do to fulfil his dream in life?
Ans: In order to fulfill his dream that to become a pilot, he applied for studying engineering at the Madras Institute of Technology.

Q23. Do you have any dream? How can you fulfil your dream in your life?
Ans: Yes, like others, I have a dream to become an engineer. I am studying hard to fulfil my dream in life.

Q24. What problem did he face for his admission into engineering?
Ans: It was not so easy to take admission at such a prestigious institution like Madras Institute of Technology. It was an expensive affair. The problem that he faced for his admission into engineering was that he didn’t have one thousand rupees to pay towards his course fee.

Q25. Who came to his help? How?
Ans: Asim Zohra, his loving elder sister came to his help. She mortgaged her gold ornaments for his admission fee.

Q26. When did he complete his aerospace engineering?
Ans: He completed his aerospace engineering in 1960.

Q27. Name the institution where he got –
(a) Secondary Education:
(b) Graduation in Physics:
(c) Aerospace Engineering:
Ans:(a) He got secondary education at the Schwartz Higher Secondary School.
(b) He got graduation in Physics at, Saint Joseph’s College, Tiruchirapalli.
(c) He got Aerospace Engineering at the Madras Institute of Technology.

Q28. The pragraphs- 5 and 6 describe Dr. Kalam’s career as ________.
a marine engineer

· an aerospace scientist

· a plant scientist

· a software engineer

Ans: The paragraph 5 and 6 describe Dr. Kalam’s career as an aerospace scientist.

Q29. How did he begin his career?
Ans: Kalam began his career as a trainee at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in Bangalore.

Q30. Where was he appointed as a scientist first?
Ans: He was appointed as a scientist first at the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO).

Q31. When did he start his work in the Indian Space Research Organisation?
Ans: He started his work in the Indian Space Research Organisation in 1969.

Q32. What was the purpose of the satellite?
Ans: The purpose of satellite was to develop the technology to launch the satellite into the orbit.

Q33. When was the first Rohini satellite launched into the orbit?
Ans: The first Rohini satellite launched into the orbit in 1980.

Q34. How many years did Kalam spend in the ISRO?
Ans: Kalam spent nineteen years in the ISRO.

Q35. Where did he take the leading role in the development of India’s missiles and nuclear weapons programme?
Ans: Kalam took the leading role in the development of India’s missiles and nuclear weapons programme at the DRDO.

Q36. What made him extremely popular in the country?
Ans: Under his guidance and supervision the development of India’s missiles and nuclear weapons programme became very successful and led to the development of four missiles namely Prithi, Trishul, Akash and Nag. This made him extremely popular in the country.

Q37. What was he called after the success of the four missiles- Prithvi, Trishul, Akash and Nag?
Ans: After the success of the four missiles- Prithvi, Trishul, Akash and Nag, he was popularly called as “The Missile Man of India”

Q38. Why did he camp in Rajasthan’s Thar Desert?
Ans: Kalam camped in Rajasthan’s Thar Desert to supervise the Pokhran-II, nuclear tests.

Q39. What, according to Dr Kalam, was the “defining moment” in the history of our country?
Ans: According to Dr Kalam, his stay in Rajasthan’s Thar Desert for a fortnight to supervise the Pokharan-II nuclear tests was the defining moment in the history of our country.

Q40. Why was it very hard to camp in Rajasthan’s Thar Desert?
Ans: It was very hard to camp in Rajasthan’s Thar Desert because these were the hot days of 1998 at Pokhran. On a particular day the temperature there rose to 53° C.

Q41. What are Kalam’s contributions for India’s defence programme?
Ans: Kalam’s contribution for India’s defence programme is great. He had developed a number of missiles and nuclear weapons for the sake of country’s defence.

Q42. Dr. Kalam was the Chief Scientific Advisor to _______ of India.
i. the President
iii. the Field Marshal
ii. the Prime Minister
iv. the Secretary of Defence
(Choose the correct answer.)
Ans: Dr. Kalam was the Chief Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister of India.

Q43. What awards and honours was Kalam honoured with?
Ans: Dr. Kalam was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 1981, the Padma Vibhusan in 1990 and the nation’s highest civilian honour, The Bharat Ratna in 1997.

Q44. What is the highest civilian award of our country?
Ans: The highest civilian award of our country is ‘the Bharat Ratna’.

Q45. How did Kalam pass away?
Ans: On 27th July 2015 Dr. Kalam was delivering a lecture in Shillong. During the course of his lecture, he collapsed and was immediately taken to the hospital. There he passed away from us in a massive cardiac arrest.

Q46. Why will people of our country remember Kalam forever?
Ans: The people of our country will remember Kalam for his dedication, devotion and selfless service to the nation, particularly as ‘The Missile Man of India’.

Q47. What qualities of Dr Kalam do you like very much?
Ans: Dr. Kalam was qualitative man. His simple living, ideal life, great devotion and dedication and service to the nation make him popular in the country.

Q48. Can you say the names of some eminent scientists who have contributed a lot to our country?
Ans: C.V. Raman, Homi J. Bhabha, Visvesvaraya and Vikram Sarabhai are some of the eminent great scientists of our country. They have contributed a lot for our country.

Let’s Understand The Text:

(a) Match the paragraph numbers under column- ‘A’ with their main ideas given under column-‘B\ Write the paragraph number in the box given against each idea. (Question with Answer)

A (Paragraph Numbers)	B Main Ideas
1	[ ] Elementary education
2	[ ] Death of Kalam
3	[ ] Awards and honours
4	[ ] Introducing Dr APJ Abdul Kalam
5, 6 and 7	[ ] Secondary and higher education
8	[ ] Kalam’s childhood
9	[ ] Career and contribution

Ans:

A (Paragraph Numbers)	B Main Ideas
1	3 Elementary education
2	9 Death of Kalam
3	8 Awards and honours
4	1 Introducing Dr APJ Abdul Kalam
5, 6 and 7	4 Secondary and higher education
8	2 Kalam’s childhood
9	5, 6 and 7 Career and contribution

(b) Fill in the blanks choosing the right answers from brackets.

[elementary education, his science teacher, the People’s President, his family income, Chief Scientific Advisor, The Bharat Ratna, development of four missiles, Integrated Missile Development Programme]

(i) Dr APJ Abdul Kalam is popularly known as ________.
(ii) Kalam has to sell newspapers to supplement ________.
(iii) Kalam started his ______ at Ramanathapuram.
(iv) Kalam’s most favourite teacher was ________.
(v) Dr Kalam was popularly called ‘The Missile Man of India’ after the success of the _________.
(vi) The successful launch of the missiles was possible when Kalam was heading the ________.
(vii) Dr APJ Abdul Kalam was honoured the nation’s highest honour ________ in 1997.
(viii) Dr Kalam was the________ to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of Defence Research and Development Organisation.
Ans:
(i) Dr APJ Abdul Kalam is popularly known as people’s President.
(ii) Kalam has to sell newspapers to supplement his family income.
(iii) Kalam started his elementary education at Ramanathapuram.
(iv) Kalam’s most favourite teacher was his science teacher.
(v) Dr Kalam was popularly called ‘The Missile Man of India’ after the success of the development of four missiles.
(vi) The successful launch of the missiles was possible when Kalam was heading the Integrated Missile Development Programme.
(vii) Dr APJ Abdul Kalam was honoured the nation’s highest honour the Bharat Ratna in 1997.
(viii) Dr Kalam was the Chief Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of Defence Research and Development Organisation.

(c) Read the text and find out the situations :

(i) when Kalam faced challenges on his way to achievements
Ans:Kalam faced challenges on his way to achievements at the time of taking admission in the Madras Institute of Technology.

(ii) when Kalam felt happy –
Ans: Kalam faced challenges on his way to achievements at the time of taking admission in the Madras Institute of Technology.

Let’s Talk :

(a) Listen to each of the following expressions and say the line(s) and paragraph number in which it occurs.

(Question with Answer)
Q1. Kalam as the 11th President of India
Ans: In 2002, he was elected as the 11th President of India, and was widely referred to as the “People’s President”. (Line – 3, Paragraph – 1)

Q2. Date and place of birth of Kalam
Ans: Dr. Abdul Kalam was born on 15th October 1931 in a Tamil Muslim family at Rameswaram in the state of Tamil Nadu. (Line – 1, Paragraph – 2)

Q3. Kalam’s elementary education
Ans: Kalam started his elementary education at Ramanathapuram. (Line – 3, Paragraph – 3)

Q4. The Schwartz Higher Secondary School
Ans: Kalam then moved to the Schwartz Higher Secondary School for his secondary education. (Line – 1, Paragraph – 4)

Q5. He graduated in Physics
Ans: After completing his studies here, Kalam was admitted to Saint Joseph’s College, Tiruchirappalli where he graduated in Physics in 1954. (Line – 4, Paragraph – 4)

Q6. Zohra, his sister helped Kalam for his education
Ans: Asim Zohra, his compassionate elder sister, came to his help. (Line – 10, Paragraph – 4)

Q7. He completed aerospace engineering in 1960.
Ans: And he completed his aerospace engineering in 1960. (Line – 12, Paragraph – 4)

Q8.Joined DRDO
Ans:Then he joined the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) as a scientist. (Line – 2, Paragraph – 5)

Q9. Kalam succeeded in launching the first satellite, Rohini.
Ans: It was under Dr Kalam’s direct guidance and supervision that the first Rohini satellite was successfully launched into the orbit in 1980. (Line – 5, Paragraph – 5)

(b) Say the full forms of the following acronyms/abbreviations in a chain-drill, (one after another)
(i) HAL: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
(ii) DRDO: Defence Research Development Orgnisation.
(iii) ISRO: Indian Space Research Organisation
(iv) SLV: Satellite Launch Vehicle
(v) IGMDP: Integrated Missile Development Programme

Let’s Learn Words:

(a) Match the words under ‘A’ with their opposite meanings under ‘B’. One is done for you.

A Words	B Opposite Meanings
complete	unpopular
educated	inexpensive
expensive	unsuccessful
successful	insufficient
popular	incomplete
sufficient	uneducated

Answer:

A Words	B Opposite Meanings
complete	unpopular
educated	inexpensive
expensive	unsuccessful
successful	insufficient
popular	incomplete
sufficient	uneducated

(b) Match the words/phrases under ‘A’ with their meanings tinder ‘B\ Write the number of the word in the box for each. (Question with Answer)
Question:

A Words	B Meanings
1 distinguished	[ ] important time
2 referred to	[ ] kindhearted
3 supplement	[ ]became senseless because of illness
4 compassionate	[ ]to start an activity
5 launch	[ ] an weapon sent through the air that explodes when it hits a target
6 defining moment	[ ] most popular (known as)
7 collapsed	[ ] very successful and admired by people
8 missile	[ ] 3 to add to something to improve it

Answer:

A Words	B Meanings
1 distinguished	6 important time
2 referred to	4 kind hearted
3 supplement	7 became senseless because of illness
4 compassionate	5 to start an activity
5 launch	8 an weapon sent through the air that explodes when it hits a target
6 defining moment	2 most popular (known as)
7 collapsed	1 very successful and admired by people
8 missile	3 to add to something to improve it

(c) Read the following sentence and mark the word in bold letters.
His mother, Ashiamma was a housewife.
Here the word- housewife in the above sentence is built with two words: house + wife.
This is a compound word.
(i) Given below are some compound words. Break them as done above. (Question with answer)

landowner	=	land	+	owner
weekend	=	week	+	end
milestone	=	mile	+	stone
headline	=	head	+	line
newspaper	=	news	+	paper
overtime	=	over	+	time
childhood	=	child	+	hood

(ii) Will you write ten more compound words on your own?

Ans:

airbase	=	air	+	base
shorthand	=	short	+	hand
lowland	=	low	+	land
headword	=	head	+	word
washerman	=	washer	+	man
heatwave	=	heat	+	wave
downstream	=	down	+	stream
airbag	=	air	+	bag
wasteland	=	waste	+	land
grandparents	=	grand	+	parents

Let’s Learn Language:

(a) Study the following sentence and mark the words in bold letters.
Dr APJ Abdul Kalam was bom on 15 October 1931.
We use the past form of the ‘be’ verb – was/were + born (the third form of the verb ‘bear’) to talk about the event of birth of a person.
Work in pairs, discuss and fill in the blanks in the table. Then write the sentence below the table. One is done for you. (Question with Answer)

Name of the person	Place of Birth	Date of Birth
Mahatma Gandhi	Porbandar, Gujrat	2nd October 1869
Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan	Tiruttani, Madras	5th September 1888
Gopabandhu Dash	Suando, Puri, Odisha	9th October 1877
Madhusudan Das	Satyabhamapur, Cuttack Odisha,	28th April 1848
Biju Patnaik	G.Nuagan, Bellaguntha, Ganjam, Odisha	5th March 1916
Jagadish Chandra Bose	Memvnesinsh in Bengal	30 November 1858

1. Jagadish Chandra Bose was born at Mymensingh in Bengal on 30 November 1858.
2. Mahatma Gandhi was bom at Porbandar, Gujrat on 2nd October 1869
3. Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born at Tiruttani, Madras on 5th September 1888
4. Gopabandhu Dash was bom at Suando, Puri, Odisha on 9th October 1877
5. Madhusudan Das was bom at Satyabhamapur, Cuttack, Odisha on 28th April, 1848 6. Biju Pattanik was bom at G. Nuagaon, Bellaguntha, Ganjam, Odisha on 5th March 1916.

(b) Read the following sentences carefully and mark the verbs in bold letters.
1. Kalam was the youngest of four brothers and one sister in his family.
2. Mathematics was his favourite subject.
3. Around a thousand rupees was required to pay towards the course fee.
4. Bundles of newspapers were distributed by Kalam.

Here the verb ‘was’ agrees with the subjects of the sentence from l to 3; Kalam, Mathematics, a thousand rupees, and the verb ‘were’ in the sentence – 4 agrees with the subject ‘Bundles of newspapers’.

Let us now know more about ‘Subject and Verb Agreement’.

· Nouns like news, physics, mathematics, measles and ethics look like plural in form but they are singular and take singular verbs.

· Uncountable nouns like furniture, equipment, stationery, luggage, weather, advice and information are singular and used with singular verbs.

· Nouns like compasses, glasses, goods, trousers, police, people, etc. take plural verbs

Fill in the blanks with the correct verb choosing from brackets given against each.
(i) Gymnastics ______ sport, (is/are)
Ans: is

(ii) Social Studies _______ my favourite subject, (is/are)
Ans: is

(iii) Politics ______here and now. (is/are)
Ans: is

(iv) The news _______been published in the local daily. (has/have)
Ans: has

(v) The police ________ the traffic. (control/controls)
Ans: control

(vi) A hundred kilometres ________ a long distance. (is/are)
Ans: is

(vii) Measles ______ fever. (cause/causes)
Ans: causes

Let’s Write:

(a) Given below are some important events from the text. They are not in order. Arrange them in order and put the serial number in the box for each. Write the sentences.
(i) He graduated in Physics from Saint Joseph’s College, Tiruchirappalli. [4]
(ii) He played a pivotal role in the Pokhran-II nuclear test project. [5]
(iii) Abdul Kalam was born to a Tamil Muslim family in the pilgrimage centre of Rameswaram. [1]
(iv) He got his elementary education at Ramanathapuram. [2]
(v) He went to Schwartz Higher Secondary School for his secondary education. [3]
(vi) He became the Head of the Integrated Missile Development Programme and succeeded in launching Prithvi missile. [5]
(vii) He breathed his last on July, 27, 201 5. [8]
(viii) He became the Chief Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister of India in 1992. [7]

Ans:
(iii) Abdul Kalam was born to a Tamil Muslim family in the pilgrimage centre of Rameswaram. [1]
(iv) He got his elementary education at Ramanathapuram. [2]
(v) He went to Schwartz Higher Secondary School for his secondary education. [3]
(i) He graduated in Physics from Saint Joseph’s College, Tiruchirappalli. [4]
(vi) He became the Head of the Integrated Missile Development Programme and succeeded in launching the Prithvi missile. [5]
(ii) He played a pivotal role in the Pokhran-II nuclear test project. [6]
(viii) He became the Chief Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister of India in 1992. [7]
(vii) He breathed his last on July 27, 2015. [8]

(b) Read the text and fill in the bio-data of Dr Kalam given below.

BIO-DATA


Name in full	:
Father’s name	:
Mother’s name	:
Place of birth	:
Date of birth	:
Brothers and sister	:
Nationality	:
Religion	:
Education	:
Profession	:
Important post held	:
Achievements	:
Awards/honours	:
Life style	:
Date of passing away	:

Ans: BIO-DATA


Name in full	:	Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam
Father’s name	:	Jainulabdeen
Mother’s name	:	Ashiamma
Place of birth	:	Rameswaram in the state of Tamil Nadu
Date of birth	:	15th October 1931
Brothers and sister	:	They are four brothers and one sister
Nationality	:	Indian
Religion	:	Muslim
Education	:	graduate in Physics, aerospace engineering etc.
Profession	:	Aerospace scientist
Important post held	:	Chief Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of DRDO
Achievements	:	Successfully develop four missiles as the head of IGMDP
Awards/honours	:	the Padma Bhushan in 1981, the Padma Vibhushan in 1990 and the Bharat Ratna in 1997.
Life style	:	very simple, dedicated and devotional
Date of passing away	:	27th Ju1y 20l5

(c) Use the facts/information you gathered in the Bio-data Form above and write a composition on Dr Kalam.
Ans:
Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was a celebrated scientist of India. His father was Jainulabdeen and mother was Ashiamma. He was born on 15th October 1931 at Rameswaram in the state of Tamil Nadu. He had three brothers and one sister. He was Muslim in religion and he was an Indian. He was graduated in Physics and completed aerospace engineering. He worked as a scientist in DRDO and ISRO. He was appointed as the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of DRDO. He was awarded with the Padma Bhusan in 1981, the Padma Vibhusan in 1990 and the Bharat Ratna in 1997. This missile man departed from us on 27th July 2015.

(d) Refer to the text and fill in the blanks in the following table with correct information wherever possible. Then write a paragraph about the events/achievements of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. (Question with Answer)

Events/activities	Place	Year of happening
Birth	Rameswaram in the state of Tamil Nadu	15th October 1931
Completed aerospace engineering	Madras Institute of Technology	1960
Began career as a trainee	Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
Joined as a scientist	Defence Research Development Organisation
Project Director, ISRO	ISRO	1969
Launching of Rohini satellite	ISRO	1980
Headed the IGMDP	DRDO
Supervised Pokhran-II nuclear tests	Rajasthan’s Thar Desert	1998
Scientist of DRDO	DRDO	1998
President	India	2002
Death	Shillong	27th July 2015

Class 9th English Chapter-4 The Missile Man of India Question Answer

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