Paper Boats Questions and Answers Class 7 English NCERT

Paper Boats Questions and Answers Class 7 English NCERT guide helps students understand UNIT III Chapter 2 of POORVI, NCERT, English Class 7. It provides clear and simple explanations of the story, highlighting key events, characters, and the child’s imagination. Ideal for homework, revision, and exam preparation.

Let us do these activities before we read (Page 109).

I Read the questions given below. Share your answers with your classmates and the teacher.

1. What comes to mind when you think about ‘paper boats’?

Ans: I think of small boats made of paper that float gently on water. They remind me of childhood play, fun, and innocence. I imagine sending them down a stream or puddle, feeling happy and hopeful, and letting my imagination and dreams travel along with the boats.

2. What do you think someone might hope for when they send a paper boat down a stream?

Ans: Someone sending a paper boat might hope that it reaches a faraway place or is found by someone. They may wish to send their thoughts, dreams, or messages. It can also be for fun, to watch the boat float, and to feel happy and hopeful about the journey.

3. Read the title of the poem ‘Paper Boats’ and predict what the poem might be about.

Ans: The poem is likely about a child making and sending paper boats down a stream. It may show the child’s dreams, hopes, and imagination. The journey of the boats can represent messages, fun, and the innocence of childhood, as well as the beauty of simple joys.

POORVI: Textbook of English for Grade 7 Solution

II Read the given paragraph and match the highlighted words with their meanings given in the box below.

Ans:

I love to play beside a running stream (flowing) at a short distance from my grandparent’s house. I love to see it skipping along (speedily) to join a river. On the river, I can see boats with bulging (swelling) sails moving swiftly. Some of them take people from one shore to the other while in some of them people can be seen lading (loading) things too. I can spend hours watching the busy river and dreaming about them, burying (putting) my head in my pillow at night.

The word bouncing from the box is not used in this paragraph.

Summary:
The poem is about a young child who sends paper boats down a flowing stream every day. He writes his name and the name of his village on the boats, hoping that someone in a faraway land will find them and know who he is. He fills his paper boats with shiuli flowers that bloom in the dawn, wishing they reach some land safely at night. As he launches the boats, he imagines clouds in the sky as friends racing with his boats. The child wonders which secret playmate in the sky sends those cloud boats to accompany his paper ones. At night, he dreams that his paper boats keep floating under the bright midnight stars. In his imagination, fairies of sleep sail in those boats, carrying baskets full of beautiful dreams. The poem shows a child’s innocence, imagination, joy, and hope.

Poem lines with Hindi Meaning (line by line):

1. Day by day I float my paper boats one by one down the running stream.
रोज-रोज मैं अपनी कागज़ की नावों को बहते हुए नाले में एक-एक करके तैराता हूँ।
2. In big black letters I write my name on them and the name of the village where I live.
मैं उन पर बड़े काले अक्षरों में अपना नाम और अपने गाँव का नाम लिखता हूँ।
3. I hope that someone in some strange land will find them and know who I am.
मुझे उम्मीद है कि किसी अनजानी जगह में कोई इन्हें पाएगा और जानेगा कि मैं कौन हूँ।
4. I load my little boats with shiuli flower from our garden, and hope that these blooms of the dawn will be carried safely to land in the night.
मैं अपनी छोटी नावों में बगीचे के शिउली फूल भरता हूँ और आशा करता हूँ कि ये भोर के फूल रात में किसी जगह सुरक्षित पहुँच जाएँ।
5. I launch my paper boats and look up into the sky and see the little clouds setting the white bulging sails.
मैं अपनी नावों को पानी में छोड़ता हूँ और ऊपर आकाश की ओर देखता हूँ जहाँ छोटे-छोटे बादल सफेद फूले हुए पाल लगाए हैं।
6. I know not what playmate of mine in the sky sends them down the air to race with my boats!
मैं नहीं जानता आकाश में मेरा कौन-सा साथी इन्हें हवा में भेजता है ताकि ये मेरी नावों के साथ दौड़ लगाएँ!
7. When night comes I bury my face in my arms and dream that my paper boats float on and on under the midnight stars.
जब रात आती है तो मैं अपना चेहरा हथेलियों में छिपाकर सपना देखता हूँ कि मेरी नावें आधी-रात के तारों के नीचे बहती रहती हैं।
8. The fairies of sleep are sailing in them, and the lading is their baskets full of dreams.
नींद की परियाँ उनमें सवार होती हैं और उनके पास सपनों से भरी टोकरी होती है।

Word Notes: 

float : move on water : पानी पर तैरना
stream : small river : नाला / छोटा नदी
village : small town : गाँव
hope : wish : आशा
find : discover : खोजना
garden : place to grow plants : बगीचा
flower : bloom : फूल
sky : the heavens above : आकाश
clouds : white masses in the sky : बादल
night : time of darkness : रात
stars : shining lights in the sky : सितारे
dream : thoughts during sleep : सपना
paper : thin sheet to write on : कागज़
boats : small floating vessels : नावें
launch : set afloat : छोड़ना / छोड़कर तैराना
bulging : swelling out : उभरा हुआ
playmate : friend to play with : खेल का साथी
carry : take from one place to another : ले जाना
land : ground or shore : ज़मीन / किनारा
baskets : containers for carrying things : टोकरियाँ
fairies : magical beings : परियाँ
sail : travel on water : नौकायन करना / पाल चलाना
midnight : twelve o’clock at night : आधी रात
write : put words on paper : लिखना
letters : written symbols : अक्षर
face : front part of the head : चेहरा
arms : limbs of the body : बाँहें
bury : hide : छिपाना
travel : move from place to place : यात्रा करना

Literary Devices:

1. Metaphor (direct comparison)

Line: “blooms of the dawn”
→ Flowers are compared to blooms of early morning.
Line: “fairies of sleep”
→ Sleep is compared to magical fairies.

2. Alliteration (same consonant sound at the beginning)

Line: “Day by day I float my paper boats”
→ Repetition of d sound — day by day
Line: “In big black letters I write my name”
→ Repetition of b sound — big black
Line: “Paper boats”
→ Repetition of p/b sound — paper boats

3. Personification (giving human qualities to non-living things)

Line: “little clouds setting the white bulging sails”
→ Clouds are described as sailors putting up sails.
Line: “The fairies of sleep are sailing in them”
→ Sleep is shown as fairies sailing in boats.
Line: “my paper boats float on and on under the midnight stars”
→ Paper boats are shown to continue their journey like living beings.

Let us discuss (Page 111)

I Choose the correct words from the brackets to complete the summary of the poem given below.

Ans: 

The poet sends paper boats down a 1. stream each day, writing his name and the name of his 2. village on them. He hopes that someone in a 3. strange land will find them and know who he is. The poet fills his boats with 4. shiuli flowers from his garden, hoping they will be safely carried to another land at 5. night. As he launches his boats, he imagines that the 6. clouds in the sky are like friends, racing with his boats. At night, he dreams that his paper boats continue to 7. float under the midnight stars, with the fairies of sleep sailing in them, their baskets full of 8. dreams.

II Choose the correct option for the following.

The theme of the poem is ________________.

1. innocence 

2. imagination 

3. ignorance

4. playfulness 

5. travel

(i) 1, 2 and 3 

(ii) 3, 4 and 5 

(iii) 1, 4 and 5 

(iv) 1, 2 and 4

Ans: Option (iv) 1, 2 and 4 (innocence, imagination and playfulness)

III Identify whether the following statement is true or false.

The setting of the poem is a natural, outdoor environment.

Ans: True – The setting of the poem is a natural, outdoor environment.

IV Complete the following sentence by choosing the correct word given within the brackets.

The tone is ____________________ (sad and serious/gentle and wishful) and the mood is ____________________ (thoughtful/boring).

Ans: The tone is gentle and wishful and the mood is thoughtful.

V Identify the examples of alliteration from the poem.

Ans: Examples of alliteration from the poem:

• “day by day”
• “paper boats”
• “big black”
• “shiuli flower” (soft sound repetition)

VI Fill in the blanks with suitable words from the poem.

1. The repetition of words ___________ and ___________ emphasises the passage of time.

2. The poet uses imagery like ___________ and ___________ to create a clear picture in the minds of the readers.

Ans: 

1. The repetition of words day and night emphasises the passage of time.

2. The poet uses imagery like running stream and midnight stars to create a clear picture in the minds of the readers.

VII Match the descriptions in Column 1 with what they symbolise in Column 2.

Ans: 

Let us think and reflect (Page 112)

I Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.

1. When night comes I bury my face in my arms and dream that my paper boats float on and on under the midnight stars. The fairies of sleep are sailing in them, and the lading is their baskets full of dreams.

(i) Select the option that is most likely to be the speaker as per the extract.

Ans:

A: Person lying on their side with arms bent → matches “bury my face in my arms”
B: Person lying flat on back with arms on stomach → arms not used to bury face
C: Person lying flat on back with arms behind head → does not match the description
D: Person kneeling → does not match

Correct answer: A

(ii) What can be inferred about the speaker’s feelings when night comes?

(iii) What kind of beings are the ‘fairies of sleep’ imagined as? Select the most appropriate option.

A. mischievous 

B. gentle 

C. fearsome 

D. playful

iv) Fill in the blank by selecting the correct option from those given in the brackets.

The phrase ‘lading is their baskets full of dreams’ suggests that the speaker imagines the fairies of sleep carefully _________________ (carrying his dreams /collecting his wishes) in their baskets.

Ans: 

(i) A child (innocent and imaginative)

(ii) The speaker feels dreamy, hopeful, and imaginative, believing that his boats keep travelling under the stars.

(iii) B. gentle

(iv) carrying his dreams 

II Answer the following questions. (Page 113)

1. Why do you think the poet writes his personal details on the paper boats?

Ans: The poet writes his personal details on the paper boats so that if someone in a “strange land” finds them, they will know who he is and where he comes from. He hopes this message will connect him to unknown people across the world. By putting his name and village on the boats, he turns his simple play into a hopeful way of sending himself into the wide world beyond the running stream.

2. The poet talks about the imagination of a child. Support this view with examples from the poem.

Ans: The poem is full of a child’s imagination. The poet imagines “little clouds setting the white bulging sails” as if the clouds are boats coming from the sky to race with his own. At night he dreams that his paper boats float under “midnight stars” while fairies of sleep sail in them with baskets full of dreams. These magical thoughts show the playful imagination of a child.

3. How does the poet bring together imagination and reality to make the poem more interesting?

Ans: The poet mixes imagination with reality to make the poem more interesting. He really floats paper boats down the running stream and writes his name and village on them. But he also imagines clouds racing with his boats and fairies of sleep sailing in them under the midnight stars. By blending simple daily actions with magical thoughts, he creates a dream-like world where hopes and daily life come together beautifully.

Let us learn (Page 113)

I The poet has used phrases like ‘blooms of the dawn’ and ‘fairies of sleep’ in the poem. In the same way we can create phrases. Now, select words from Column 1 and Column 2 and combine them with ‘of’. Write as many phrases as possible in Column 3. An example has been done for you.

Ans: 

II The poet uses words like ‘dawn’, ‘night’ and ‘midnight’ to show different parts of the day. The box given below has some more words. Write the words in the appropriate columns.

Ans: 

III Match the words from the text given in Column 1 with their opposites in Column 2.

Ans: 

Let us listen (Page 114)

You will listen to a conversation between a girl and her father about the art of paper folding called origami. As you listen, select the true statements from 1–7. (Transcript for the teacher on pg. 137)

Ans: 

1. Sai was trying to make an origami boat. — False
2. Sai’s father used to do origami as a child. — True
3. Paper was very expensive so it was used only for special occasions. — True
4. People have been making paper cranes for thousands of years. — False
5. There is a belief that if you make a thousand paper cranes, your wish will come true. — True
6. The art of origami is about enjoying the process. — True
7. Sai’s father suggests making a paper bookmark next time. — False

Let us write (Page 116)

A diary entry is a personal document. It records an individual’s account of a day of her or his life expressing the thoughts, feelings and opinions in the individual’s mind.

The guidelines to compose a diary entry include:

• mentioning day, date and time of writing it

• beginning with a general sentence describing the day or feelings towards an event or experience

• giving details

• concluding with a final remark

Now, write a diary entry expressing your joy experiencing a rainy day. You may begin as given below:

Ans: 

Friday, 15 July 20XX                                                                                                                   6:30 p.m.

Dear Diary,

It was quite humid today. On my journey back from school, I wished that it would rain. And it did! Suddenly, dark clouds gathered in the sky, and cool wind began to blow. Soon, raindrops started fallin,g and I felt so happy inside. I threw my bag on the chair and ran outside to enjoy the rain.

The smell of the wet earth was lovely. I splashed in the puddles and stretched out my hands to feel the drops on my skin. Children in my lane laughed and played, and even the trees looked greener and brighter. The rain made everything look fresh and clean.

I spent the evening sitting by the window with a hot cup of tea, watching the raindrops race down the glass. It was peaceful and soothing.

I hope it rains again tomorrow!

Good night!

Let us explore (Page 116)

II Solve the riddles given below. Share your answers with your classmates and the teacher.

1. I have water that you cannot drink, People come to see how in me the Sun sinks. I can be rough, I can be calm,

I hold within myself plenty of charm. My depths tell a never-ending tale. Who am I with dolphins and the whale?

Ans: The Ocean

2. I sit in stillness, but move with the wind, My surface mirrors the world you are in. The trees around me live happily,

In me, you can take a dip daily. Home to ducks, frogs, fish, and all, Can you guess what I am, after all?

Ans: A Pond

3. I gently travel through valleys deep, My soft murmur can make you sleep. Little paper boats float on me in rain The merry laughter of the kids I gain. You may sit beside me without any fear, Who am I who skips along, crystal clear?

Ans: A Stream

4. I have a bed, but I do not sleep. I have a bank, but no money I keep. I carry stories, old and new, High mountains to the oceans blue. I journey far to meet the sea, Can you guess, who I can be?

Ans: A River