West Bengal Board Class 9 English A Day in the Zoo Summary, Lesson Explanation with difficult word meanings from Bliss Book
A Day in the Zoo– Are you looking for Summary and Lesson Explanation for West Bengal Board Class 9 English Lesson 4 A Day in the Zoo from Bliss Book. Get notes, summary of the Lesson followed by line by line explanation of the lesson along with the meanings of difficult words.
A Day in the Zoo West Bengal Board Class 9 English
Gerald Durrell
- A Day in the Zoo Introduction
- Theme of the Lesson A Day in the Zoo
- A Day in the Zoo Summary
- A Day in the Zoo Summary in Hindi
- A Day in the Zoo Lesson Explanation
Related Link : A Day in the Zoo Question Answers WBBSE Class 9 English Bliss Book
A Day in the Zoo Introduction
The lesson “A Day in the Zoo” by Gerald Durrell the author tells us about a typical day in a zoo. iIt is early in the morning when the birds begin to sing, and the zoo comes to life. We read about the daily tasks of the zoo staff as they clean the cages, feed the animals, and make sure everything is in order. The lesson describes the playful behavior of the gorillas, the chatter of the parrots, and other activities of the animals. When the zoo opens, visitors come in, and the staff works hard to keep both the animals and the people safe. As the day ends, the zoo becomes quiet and peaceful again, with the animals settling down for the night.
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Theme of the Lesson A Day in the Zoo
The theme of “A Day in the Zoo” by Gerald Durrell revolves around the daily life and routine within a zoo, highlighting the interactions between humans and animals. It emphasizes the dedication and hard work of the zoo staff, the lively and sometimes mischievous behavior of the animals, and the challenges and rewards of maintaining a zoo. The lesson also touches on themes of responsibility, care, and the beauty of observing animals in a controlled environment where their needs are met.
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A Day in the Zoo Summary
The lesson “A Day in the Zoo” by Gerald Durrell talks about what happens in a zoo throughout the day. It begins to describe the zoo from early morning, just before sunrise, with the sky turning yellow and the sounds of birds waking up. The caretaker describes hearing different birds, like a robin, touracos, and a blackbird, and watching peahens searching for food on the dewy grass while a male peacock displays his beautiful feathers. At eight o’clock, the zoo staff arrives to start their workday. They greet each other and begin their tasks. The caretaker checks that everything is in order, while the gorillas, who have been let out of their cages for cleaning, are lively and playful. Staff members Stephen, Mike, and Jeremy clean the gorilla cages and prepare fresh sawdust for the animals to sit on. Upstairs, parrots and parakeets make a lot of noise, and mongooses move around energetically. When the zoo opens to the public at ten, visitors come in, and the staff must ensure that they do not harm the animals. As the day ends, the zoo becomes peaceful again, with the animals settling down for the night. The caretaker looks out at the moon rising and hears the lions as they prepare for a new day.
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A Day in the Zoo Summary in Hindi
गेराल्ड ड्यूरेल का पाठ “चिड़ियाघर में एक दिन” इस बारे में बात करता है कि पूरे दिन चिड़ियाघर में क्या होता है। यह सुबह बहुत जल्दी शुरू होता है, सूर्योदय से ठीक पहले, जब आकाश पीला हो जाता है और पक्षियों के जागने की आवाज़ आती है। केयरटेकर ने रॉबिन, टूराकोस और ब्लैकबर्ड जैसे विभिन्न पक्षियों को सुनने और मोरनी को ओस भरी घास पर भोजन की तलाश करते हुए देखने का वर्णन किया है, जबकि एक नर मोर अपने सुंदर पंख प्रदर्शित करता है। आठ बजे, चिड़ियाघर के कर्मचारी अपना कार्यदिवस शुरू करने के लिए आते हैं। वे एक-दूसरे का अभिवादन करते हैं और अपना काम शुरू करते हैं। केयरटेकर जाँच करता है कि सब कुछ क्रम में है, जबकि गोरिल्ला, जिन्हें सफाई के लिए अपने पिंजरों से बाहर निकाल दिया गया है, स्टाफ के सदस्य स्टीफन, माइक और जेरेमी जीवंत और चंचल हैं और ऊपर जानवरों के बैठने के लिए ताजा चूरा तैयार करें, तोते और तोते बहुत शोर करते हैं, और जब चिड़ियाघर जनता के लिए दस बजे खुलता है, तो आगंतुक अंदर आते हैं, और कर्मचारियों को यह सुनिश्चित करना चाहिए कि वे ऐसा करें जानवरों को नुकसान न पहुंचाएं. जैसे ही दिन ख़त्म होता है, चिड़ियाघर फिर से शांत हो जाता है, और जानवर रात के लिए आराम करने लगते हैं। देखभाल करने वाला चंद्रमा को उगते हुए देखता है और शेरों को सुनता है क्योंकि वे एक नए दिन की तैयारी करते हैं।
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A Day in the Zoo Lesson Explanation
Passage:
It is one thing to visit a zoo as an ordinary member of the public. It is quite another thing to own a zoo and live in it. It certainly enables you to rush out at any hour of the day or night to observe the animals. It also means you are on duty twenty-four hours a day.
Word Meanings:
enables (v): to make someone able to do something, or to make something possible
Explanation: In the passage, the author explains the difference between being a zoo visitor and being the zoo owner. As a regular visitor, you only experience the zoo for a short time during the day, enjoying the animals and then going home. It is a simple and temporary experience. However, owning a zoo is a completely different situation. When you own and live in the zoo, you are responsible for it all the time, day and night. You can go outside to observe the animals whenever you want, but this also means you have to be on duty all the time. You are always working to take care of the animals and make sure everything in the zoo is running smoothly.
Passage:
The average zoo day begins just before dawn. The sky will be slightly tinged with yellow when you are awakened by the birdsong. You can hear a robin singing. You hear the rich, fruity, slightly hoarse cries of the touracos, and a joyful blackbird. As the last of his song dies, the white-headed thrush bursts into an excited cry. Looking out into the courtyard on the velvet green lawns you can see an earnest group of peahens searching the dewy grass. A male peahen is dancing, his burnished tail raised like a fountain in the sunlight.
Word Meanings:
hoarse (adj.): rough
touracos (n): a species of bird originally from southern Africa
blackbird (n): a European bird, the male of which has black feathers and a bright yellow beak
dawn (n): the period in the day when light from the sun begins to appear in the sky
courtyard (n): an area of flat ground outside that is partly or completely surrounded by the walls of a building
peahens (n): a female peacock
burnished (adj.): smooth and shiny
Explanation: In the early morning before the sun rises, the zoo starts to come alive. The sky has a soft yellow color as dawn begins, and one wakes up to hear the lovely sounds of birds singing. One might hear a robin singing a gentle tune, touracos making rich and slightly rough cries, a joyful blackbird chirping, and the excited call of a white-headed thrush. When one looks outside, one sees female peacocks called peahens searching for food on the wet grass in the courtyard. Meanwhile, a male peacock can be seen showing off his colorful feathers in a beautiful dance, with his tail spread out like a fountain in the sunlight. This peaceful and beautiful scene sets the stage for a new day at the zoo.
Passage:
At eight o’ clock the zoo staff arrives. You can hear them shout greetings to each other. Sounds made by their buckets and brushes are heard. You go out into the cool fresh morning to see if all is right with the zoo.
Word Meanings:
greetings (n): something friendly or polite that you say or do when you meet or welcome someone
Explanation: At eight o’clock in the morning, the zoo staff come to work to start their day. The author hears the staff members saying hello to each other as they arrive. He also hears the sounds of their cleaning tools like buckets and brushes being used. He then steps outside to check if everything is in order and ready for the day. The cool and fresh morning air surrounds him as he walks around the zoo to make sure everything is okay before the visitors come.
Passage:
The monkeys and other mammals live in the long, two-storied granite house. Here you find a lot of activity. The gorillas have been let out of their cages while the cages are cleaned. They gallop about on the floor with the high spirits of children just out of school. They try to wrench the electric heaters from their sockets, or break the fluorescent lights. Stephen, broom in hand, stands guard over the apes. Inside the gorilla’s cages Mike, plump and ever-smiling, is busy along with Jeremy. They sweep up the mess on the floor and scatter fresh white sawdust. Everything, they assure you, is all right. All the animals, excited and eager at the start of a new day, bustle about the cages. Etam, the black Celebes ape, clings to the wire, baring his teeth at you in greeting.
Word Meanings:
wrench (v): to twist something with force
fluorescent (adj.): producing bright light
gallop (v): to move or act quickly
sawdust (n): the dust and small pieces of wood that are produced when you cut wood with a saw
granite (n): a very hard, gray, pink, or black rock, used for building
sockets (n): the part of a piece of equipment, especially electrical equipment, into which another part fits
bustle (v): to do things in a hurried and busy way
clings (v): to stick onto or hold something or someone tightly
baring (v): to show something that is usually covered
Explanation: The house is made of granite stone and has two floors. There the monkeys and other mammals live. There’s a lot going on. The gorillas are out of their cages playing around and causing mischief while their cages are being cleaned. Stephen is there with a broom to keep the gorillas from getting into too much trouble. Inside the cages, Mike and Jeremy are cleaning up and getting everything ready for the gorillas. The author observes the animals getting excited and active at the beginning of the day, and he also notes how Etam, the Celebes ape, greets him by showing his teeth.
Passage:
Upstairs in the house, the parrots and parakeets salute you with a cacophony of sounds. Suku, the gray parrot, cries, “I’m a very fine bird.” A host of quick-footed, bright-eyed mongooses patter busily around their cages. The hairy armadillo lies on its back, paws and nose twitching.
Word Meanings:
cacophony (n): a mixture of loud, unpleasant sounds
patter (n): a repeated, quick and light sound
armadillo (n): a mammal with claws found in America
mongooses (n): a small tropical animal with a long tail that eats snakes, rats, and birds’ eggs
twitching (n): the slight sudden movement of a part of the body, usually when this is unintentional
Explanation: On the first floor of the zoo house, the parrots and parakeets are making a lot of noise to greet you. Suku, a gray parrot, proudly says that he is a very fine bird. There are also some mongooses that are moving around quickly in their cages. Meanwhile, a hairy armadillo is lying on its back and twitching its paws and nose.
Passage:
You pass slowly down the house to the big cage at the end where the touracos now live. The male, Peety, I had reared while in West Africa. He peers at you from one of the higher perches. Then, if you call to him, he will fly down and land on a perch nearest to you. Then he will throw back his head and give a husky cry, “Caroo…Caroo..caroo…coo..co…coo..”
Word Meanings:
reared (v): to care for young animals or children until they are able to care for themselves
peers (v): to look carefully
perches (v): to sit on or near the edge of something
husky (adj.): a voice that is husky is low and rough
Explanation: The author walks slowly through the zoo house to reach the big cage where the touracos live. One of the touracos, named Peety, is a bird the author took care of when he was in West Africa. When Peety sees him from his perch high up, he flies down to a lower perch if the author calls him. Peety then throws his head back and makes a deep, repetitive call.
Passage:
You come out of the birdhouse, then walk to the reptile house. Here, in a pleasant temperature of eighty degrees the reptiles doze. Snakes regard you calmly with lidless eyes. Frogs make gulping sounds; lizards lie draped over rocks and tree trunks.
Word Meanings:
birdhouse (n): a box for birds to nest in
doze (v): to have a short sleep
lidless (adj.): (of animals) having no eyelids
Explanation: After leaving the birdhouse, the author walks over to the reptile house. Inside of the reptile house is kept at a warm and comfortable temperature of eighty degrees Fahrenheit. He sees that the reptiles are relaxing and resting. The snakes look at him calmly, they do not have eyelids. The author also hears the frogs making quiet gulping noises and sees the lizards lying on rocks and tree trunks as they rest.
Passage:
At ten o’ clock the zoo gates open and the first rush of visitors arrive. As they come flooding into the grounds, everyone has to be alert. This is not to ensure that the animals do not hurt the people, but to make sure that the people do not hurt the animals. If an animal is asleep, they want to throw stones at it or prod it with sticks to make it move. We have found visitors trying to give the chimpanzees lighted cigarettes and razor blades. The uncivilized behavior of some human beings in a zoo has to be seen to be believed.
Word Meanings:
prod (v): to push with a finger or with a pointed object
uncivilized (adj.): bad- mannered
Explanation: At ten o’clock in the morning, the zoo opens its gates for visitors to come in. When the visitors arrive, there are many people coming in all at once, and the zoo staff has to be very careful. Their job is not just to make sure that the animals don’t hurt the visitors but also to make sure that the visitors don’t hurt the animals. The author explains that some visitors do bad things to the animals. For example, they might try to wake up sleeping animals by throwing stones or poking them with sticks. Some visitors even try to give dangerous things like lit cigarettes or razor blades to the animals, which is very harmful. The author says that such rude and dangerous behavior from some people in the zoo is shocking and hard to believe.
Passage:
Towards evening the visiting crowd thins out. The slanting rays of the sun light the cage where the crowned pigeons live. As the light fades, the robin ceases to sing and flies off to roost in the mimosa tree. The white-faced owls that have spent all day pretending to be gray tree stumps (as owls sleep during the day, when they sit on the tree trunks, they are not visible and it appears that the trunk of the tree is gray in colour i.e. the colour of the owl’s body) now open large golden eyes. Shadows are creeping over the flower beds and rockery. There is a sudden chorus from the chimpanzee’s bedroom. You know they are quarreling over who should have the straw.
Word Meanings:
ceases (v): to stop something
tree stumps (n): After a tree has been cut and has fallen, the stump or tree stump is usually a small remaining portion of the trunk with the roots still in the ground.
quarreling (v): to have an angry argument or disagreement
roost (n): a place, such as a branch of a tree, where birds rest or sleep
thins out (v): decrease in size, extent, or range
Explanation: As the evening arrives, there are fewer visitors at the zoo. The sun is starting to set, and its rays shine on the cage where the crowned pigeons live. As it gets darker, the robin stops singing and flies to a mimosa tree to go to sleep for the night. The white-faced owls, which have been resting quietly during the day and looking like gray tree stumps, now open their big golden eyes. The shadows from the setting sun begin to cover the flower beds and the rockery. In the chimpanzee’s bedroom, you can hear a lot of noise because the chimpanzees are arguing about who gets the straw.
Passage:
As you lie in bed, you watch through the window the moon separating itself from the shadow of the trees. You hear the lions cough. Soon it will be dawn and the chorus of birds will take over; the cold morning air will ring with song.
Word Meanings:
chorus (n): (here) a period in the morning, well known to early risers, when birds seem to engage in singing
Explanation: While lying in bed at night, the author looks out the window and sees the moon coming out from behind the trees. He hears the lions making a soft coughing sound from their enclosures. He knows that soon it will be morning, and the birds will start singing as the day begins, filling the morning air with their songs.