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TEXTBOOK IN ENGLISH
FOR CLASS VII

2022-23
753 – HONEYCOMB
ISBN 81-7450-676-4
Textbook for Class 7

First Edition ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

q No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system
February 2007 Phalguna 1928 or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the
Reprinted publisher.
October 2007 Kartika 1929 q This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade, be
March 2009 Phalguna 1930 lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise disposed of without the publisher’s
consent, in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published.
January 2010 Magha 1931
q The correct price of this publication is the price printed on this page, Any
November 2010 Kartika 1932
revised price indicated by a rubber stamp or by a sticker or by any other
January 2012 Magha 1933 means is incorrect and should be unacceptable.
December 2012 Agrahayana 1934
October 2013 Asvina 1935 OFFICES OF THE PUBLICATION
DIVISION, NCERT
November 2014 Agrahayana 1936
December 2015 Agrahayana 1937 NCERT Campus
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December 2018 Agrahayana 1940 108, 100 Feet Road
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August 2021 Shravana 1943
Navjivan Trust Building
November 2021 Kartika 1943 P.O.Navjivan
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PD 500T RSP CWC Campus

Opp. Dhankal Bus Stop
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Research and Training, 2007
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Publication Team
` 65.00 Head, Publication : Anup Kumar Rajput
Division
Chief Editor : Shveta Uppal
Chief Production : Arun Chitkara
Officer
Printed on 80 GSM paper with Chief Business : Vipin Dewan
NCERT watermark Manager
Editor : Vijayam
Published at the Publication Division Sankarnarayanan
by the Secretary, National Council of Production Assistant : Rajesh Pippal
Educational Research and Training, Sri
Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi 110 016
Cover and Layout
and printed at Prabhat Printing Press,
D-23, Industrial Area, Site-A, Mathura- Arvinder Chawla
281 001 (U.P.) Illustrations
Bhushan Shaligram

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 Foreword
T HE National Curriculum Framework (NCF), 2005,
recommends that children’s life at school must be linked to
their life outside the school. This principle marks a departure
from the legacy of bookish learning which continues to shape
our system and causes a gap between the school, home and
community. The syllabi and textbooks developed on the basis
of NCF signify an attempt to implement this basic idea. They
also attempt to discourage rote learning and the maintenance
of sharp boundaries between different subject areas. We hope
these measures will take us significantly further in the
direction of a child-centered system of education outlined in
the National Policy of Education (1986).
The success of this effort depends on the steps that school
principals and teachers will take to encourage children to
reflect on their own learning and to pursue imaginative
activities and questions. We must recognise that, given space,
time and freedom, children generate new knowledge by
engaging with the information passed on to them by adults.
Treating the prescribed textbook as the sole basis of
examination is one of the key reasons why other resources
and sites of learning are ignored. Inculcating creativity and
initiative is possible if we perceive and treat children as
participants in learning, not as receivers of a fixed body
of knowledge.
These aims imply considerable change in school routines
and mode of functioning. Flexibility in the daily time-table
is as necessary as rigour in implementing the annual
calendar so that the required number of teaching days are
actually devoted to teaching. The methods used for teaching
and evaluation will also determine how effective this textbook
proves for making children’s life at school a happy experience,
rather than a source of stress or boredom. Syllabus designers

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 iv

have tried to address the problem of curricular burden by

restructuring and reorienting knowledge at different stages
with greater consideration for child psychology and the time
available for teaching. The textbook attempts to enhance
this endeavour by giving higher priority and space to
opportunities for contemplation and wondering, discussion
in small groups, and activities requiring hands-on experience.
The National Council of Educational Research and
Training (NCERT) appreciates the hard work done by the
textbook development committee responsible for this book.
We wish to thank the Chairperson of the advisory committee
in languages, Professor Namwar Singh, and the Chief Advisor
for this book, Professor R. Amritavalli, for guiding the work
of this committee. Several teachers contributed to the
development of this textbook; we are grateful to their
principals for making this possible. We are indebted to the
institutions and organisations which have generously
permitted us to draw upon their resources, materials and
personnel. We are especially grateful to the members of
the National Monitoring Committee, appointed by the
Department of Secondary and Higher Education, Ministry
of Human Resource Development under the Chairpersonship
of Professor Mrinal Miri and Professor G.P. Deshpande for
their valuable time and contribution. As an organisation
committed to systemic reform and continuous improvement
in the quality of its products, NCERT welcomes comments
and suggestions which will enable us to undertake further
revision and refinements.

Director
New Delhi National Council of Educational
20 November 2006 Research and Training

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 Textbook Development
Committee
CHAIRPERSON, ADVISORY COMMITTEE IN LANGUAGES
Professor Namwar Singh, formerly Chairman, School of Languages,
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

CHIEF ADVISOR
R. Amritavalli, Professor, English and Foreign Languages
University (EFLU), Hyderabad

CHIEF COORDINATOR
Ram Janma Sharma, Former Professor and Head, Department of
Education in Languages, NCERT, New Delhi

MEMBERS
Beena Sugathan, PGT (English), Loreto Convent, Delhi Cantonment,
New Delhi
Geetali Dowarah, PGT (English), Mohandari Airforce School,
Dibrugarh, Assam
Rooma Palit, PGT (English), Delhi Public School, Nalconagar,
Angul, Orissa
Shalini Advani, formerly Principal, British School, New Delhi

MEMBER –C OORDINATOR
Nasiruddin Khan, Former Reader in English, Department of
Education in Languages, NCERT, New Delhi

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 Acknowledgements
THE National Council of Educational Research and Training
is grateful to Professor M.L. Tickoo, formerly of the Central
Insitute of English and Foreign Languages. Hyderabad, and
the Regional Language Centre, Singapore, for going through
the manuscript and making valuable suggestions. Special
thanks are due to Professor R. Amritavalli for editing
the texts of two Units in the book and preparing their
accompanying exercises in addition to her overall monitoring
and assistance as Chief Adivsor.
For permission to reproduce copyright material in this
book NCERT would like to thank the following: Rupa & Co.,
New Delhi for ‘A Gift of Chappals’ from Mridu in Madras—
Goruchaka Turns Up by Vasantha Surya; Penguin Books,
New Delhi for ‘Expert Detectives’ from The Broken Flute by
Sharada Dwivedi; Puffin Books for ‘The Invention of Vita-
Wonk’ from Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald
Dahl; Longman Group, UK Limited, for ‘Gopal and the Hilsa
Fish’ from Longman English 1 by R.B.Heath; and
Ramachandra Guha for the ‘The Story of Cricket’ from A
Corner of a Foreign Field, Picador.
Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders.
We apologise for some omissions, and will gratefully
acknowledge them as soon as they can be traced.
Special thanks are also due to the Publication
Department, NCERT, for their support. NCER T also
acknowledges the contributions made by Parash Ram
Kaushik, Incharge, Computer Station; Razi Ahmad and
Arvind Sharma, DTP Operators; and Mathew John and
Shahzad Husain, Proof Readers.

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 Contents
Foreword ... iii

NOTES FOR THE TEACHER (UNITS 1– 3) ... 1

1. Three Questions ... 7
The Squirrel ... 17
2. A Gift of Chappals ... 18
The Rebel ... 33
3. Gopal and the Hilsa Fish ... 36
The Shed ... 48
NOTES FOR THE TEACHER (UNITS 4 –7) ... 50
4. The Ashes That Made Trees Bloom ... 55
Chivvy ... 69
5. Quality ... 71
Trees ... 83
6. Expert Detectives ... 85
Mystery of the Talking Fan ... 97
7. The Invention of Vita-Wonk ... 99
Dad and the Cat and the Tree ... 107
NOTES FOR THE TEACHER (UNITS 8–10) ... 111
8. Fire: Friend and Foe ... 114
Meadow Surprises ... 123
9. A Bicycle in Good Repair ... 126
Garden Snake ... 137
10. The Story of Cricket ... 139

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