TERM 2 - CLASS 4 - PRIME YEARS

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Modes of Transport Conquering distances is perhaps one of the remarkable achievements of man. The distance that took several weeks to travel in olden days, takes only a few hours now. If we go by Jules Verne’s words, before airplanes were invented, it took 80 days to go round the world, if you travelled non-stop. Now, it takes at the most a day.At present, we have different modes of transport – roadways, railways, airways, and waterways. Roadways: In olden days, only bullock carts or horse carts were used on the road; then came the age of bicycles. Now, we have motorcycles, buses, trucks and cars on the road, that too in many different models. In the olden days, there were only mud roads. However, now, there are tar roads that connect every nook and corner of the country. In the book ‘Around the world in 80 days’ by Jules Verne, a British nobleman Philias Fogg enters into a bet with his friends that he will go round the earth in 80 days. Whether he succeeds or not is what the story is about. You will have to read the book to know that. The story is written at a time when there are no airplanes. Roadways 202

National Highways: Roads that connect capital cities are called National Highways. Toll fee is collected at the border of each state on these highways, which is used for maintenance of roads. Map of India showing road network State Highways: State highways connect important cities within a state. The golden quadrilateral is a network of roads that connect four major cities of India – Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Delhi. 203

The longest road in India is the Grand Trunk Road that runs between Amritsar and Kolkata. It was built by Sher Shah Suri in 1542. Good roads are a must for trade and commerce. Transport of goods: Transportation of vegetables, fruits, dairy products, food grains etc. between states and cities is faster now with good highways. Inter-state bus travel also has become convenient with AC buses. Every day, thousands of trucks carrying goods, and hundreds of buses carrying people pass through the national and state highways. Railways: First railway line was laid in India between Mumbai and Thane in 1853. Now, railways reach even the remote villages of the country. The governance of the railways is solely under the Indian Railway Railways 204

Board. For administrative convenience, the railway network is divided into different zones, namely, Central Railway, Northern Railway, Southern Railway, Western Railway, North East Frontier Railway, South Central Railway, etc. India map showing railway network 205

Earlier, trains were run by steam engines. Now, long distance trains are run on diesel engines, whereas local trains have electric engines. Superfast trains that run from north to south bring people and places closer together. The Rajdhani Express, and the Shatabdi Express are luxury trains which travel superfast. Cities like Delhi and Kolkata have metro rail system too, apart from the common rail system found in other parts of the country. Other cities too have started working on metro rail projects to meet the needs of an ever increasing population. Airways: Air travel began in 1911 after the first flight by the Wright Brothers, who invented the airplane. Indian Airlines, a Government of India Company, was the first of its kind. Later, Air India was launched to deal with overseas travel. In 2011, Air India was merged with Indian Airlines. Now, many private airline companies are operating domestic as well as overseas flights. Find out their names.From the map of India, find out the names of international airports. Did you know? The first Indian pilot was J.R.D. Tata. Airways 206

Airbuses are airplanes that carry large number of passengers. They can carry a passenger load of 300-500 at one time. Other than airplanes, there are helicopters which can carry only two or three people. They are used for VIPs to visit places or for emergency at the time of accidents or natural calamities. India map showing air routes 207

Waterways: Before the advent of air travel, ships were the only means of transport across the sea. Now, ships are mainly used to carry goods. They are called cargo ships or merchandise ships. The first Indian to own a ship and to pilot it was V.U.Chidambaram Pillai of Tamil Nadu. Kandla, Mumbai, Murmagoa, Kochi, Chennai, Kakinada, Visakhapatnam, Paradeep and Kolkata are some important ports of India. Look for these ports in the map. Port and Harbour: A port is a city built around a harbour. A harbour is the place where ships anchor, and the cargo is loaded and unloaded. Rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Brahmaputra are navigable. Water transport is common in these rivers. In Kashmir valley, there are many navigable lakes. Boats called Shikharas are common Harbour 208

1. Navigable - Deep enough to allow water transport. 2. Lagoons - A water body surrounded by land masse s. 3. Backwater - Sea water trapped within land masses. 4. Ferry boats - Boats that carry people across a river, or water body. 1. What is the difference between National Highways and State Highways? 2. Why are roads important for a country? 3. What is airbus? 4. Differentiate between a port and a harbour. U.V.C. (U.V. Chidambaram Pillai popularly known as V.U.C) was nicknamed Kappalottiya Tamizhan. It means the Tamilian who piloted the ship. V.U.C. was a freedom fighter. He was imprisoned in the cellular jails of Andaman. There, he succumbed to the tortures of the British. here. They carry flowers, fruits, vegetables and other goods for sale. They are also called mobile markets. Houseboats are another interesting mode of transport of the valley.Kerala has many lagoons. They are also called backwaters. Steam boats and ferry boats are common means of transport here. Houseboats and mobile restaurants are becoming popular too now in Kerala. 209

1. Refer to the map of India in your textbook, showing different rail routes. Locate the rail route between Hyderabad and Delhi. What are the stations you cross before reaching Delhi. Similarly, find the stations between: a) Chennai and Mumbai b) Kanyakumari and Srinagar. 2. Refer to world map showing air routes. a) Find different air routes from Mumbai to San Fransisco. b) Find the air route from New Delhi to London. Mention all the important cities in between. 3. Study the specimen of a railway ticket. What information do you get from it? Write down at least 6. 4. What is the information printed on a flight ticket? Write at least 5. 5. From the road map of India, find the longest National Highway. What are the cities crossed by the national highway? 6. Mark the international airports of the country in the outline map of India. 7. Mark the important ports of the country in the outline map of India. Write an interesting train journey you had in about 100 words. If you have travelled by air, write how you felt when you took your first flight. 210

1. Graphics________________212 2. Writing a story with Illustrations ______________215 Contents Class 4 Term 2

212 Graphics Importing cliparts Task: Write a brief note on the Indian elephant Steps : 1. Open Microsoft Word by clicking on the ‘Start’ 2. Type the heading ‘Indian elephant’ 3. Choose the font – Arial or Gothic or any other you like. 4. Font size – 20 or 24. 5. Write a few introductory words – change the font to 10 or 14 6. Click on insert in the main menu and click on clip art in the list that appears. 7. Choose the elephant’s sketch in the clipart. 8. If you don’t find, click for files on your computer. 9. A window appears. Click animals on the list. 10. Click ‘Indian elephant’ in the list and click on insert on the right of the screen. 11. The picture of the elephant will be inserted in your document.

Copy Paste l Click on the elephant in the screen (your document) l Click copy button on the main tool bar l Click paste on the main button. A second elephant will appear. 213

214 Repeat for a 3 elephant if you want. rd Tasks : 1. Prepare a write up on Indian elephant 2. Point out the difference between Indian elephant and African elephant. Prepare a Word document on the 'cobra' or lion or crocodile or turtle. Indian elephants are herbivores. They live in herds. A female elephant is the leader of the herd. The herd moves together where ever they go. They are found in the rainforests. 1. What are graphics? 2. Write down the steps to save your word document.

215 Writing a story with Illustrations l Select the font for the title. l Use Bold/Italics for important terms. l Import images from clipart (or) l Draw pictures and color them using the tools and color box. Here is an example of \"The Indian Elephant\" Elephant is the biggest animal It is very beautiful animal It has tail and a trunk.

Answer the following questions: 1. How will you get access to clipart? 2. If you don’t get the required picture in the clipart, what will you do? 3. What technique will you use to have many copies of the same picture in the same space? 216