NCERT MCQ Solutions for Class 8 English Poorvi Unit 5 Chapter 1 Feathered Friend

Sven was skilled at assembling metal girders in zero gravity, performing precise welding work while floating in space. His expertise in three-dimensional construction made him invaluable for building the station’s framework under challenging weightless conditions.

Space agencies offered financial incentives for lighter astronauts because every extra pound required more fuel for launch. This weight restriction ensured cost-effective space missions while keeping crew members health-conscious.

Unlike Earth construction where gravity pulls workers down, space workers could effortlessly float around their structures to inspect all angles without scaffolding or safety harnesses, enabling perfect alignment.

Sven chose a small yellow canary named Claribel because birds adapt well to weightlessness, require minimal care, and their light weight posed no significant payload concerns for the spacecraft.

The narrator initially mistook Claribel’s melodic birdsong for a station announcement since canary vocalizations resembled the intercom system’s tones in the confined metal environment of the space station.

Her negligible mass meant minimal life support requirements, simple hiding during inspections, and no problems with weight distribution – crucial factors for unauthorized pets in the delicate space station ecosystem.

The clever canary conserved energy by making occasional wing flicks rather than continuous flapping, demonstrating remarkable adaptation to weightlessness through efficient minimal movements in the airless environment.

The story deliberately doesn’t reveal Sven’s smuggling method to maintain the playful mystery, though ventilation shafts later became her favorite hiding spots when officials visited the station.

He claimed academic interest in observing avian locomotion in weightlessness, though likely also enjoyed her cheerful presence during long space missions far from Earth’s natural environments.

The station’s numerous technical areas like bulkheads and ventilation shafts provided perfect concealment, though her spontaneous songs sometimes nearly revealed her presence to inspecting officials.

Sven discovered her lifeless tiny form with claws curled pathetically upward, initially suggesting death before the crew attempted emergency revival procedures using their oxygen supply.

The crew ingeniously adapted a human oxygen mask into a miniature revival chamber, demonstrating their quick thinking and attachment to their unusual feathered crewmate.

His grogginess and difficulty thinking actually provided the clue – both he and Claribel were suffering from the same gradually worsening air quality issue affecting cognitive function.

Historically, miners carried canaries as early warning systems for toxic gases since the birds would succumb before gas concentrations became lethal for humans, paralleling the space emergency.

An eclipse caused temperature drops that froze equipment while the backup alarm system wasn’t yet operational – two unlikely failures that combined to create a life-threatening situation.

The canary’s sensitivity to air quality changes made her a perfect biological alarm system, alerting the crew before they experienced severe effects from the deteriorating atmosphere.

Their delighted surprise and immediate concern showed genuine attachment to their unusual pet despite initial regulations against animals aboard the station.

The backup system’s incomplete installation represented a critical safety oversight that nearly proved fatal, emphasizing the importance of redundant systems in space habitats.

When the station passed through Earth’s shadow, temperatures plunged unexpectedly, demonstrating how orbital mechanics could create dangerous environmental changes aboard the station.

Her collapse prompted the air quality investigation that revealed the purifier failure, proving her presence – initially just a whimsical pet – became a vital safety feature.

The humorous conclusion implies that after this incident, stations might keep birds not just as pets but as biological backup warning systems for air quality issues.

His slight build helped qualify for the weight bonus, typical of early spacers who needed to minimize mass during the primitive stages of spaceflight technology.

The continuous sunlight in orbit eliminated normal day/night cycles, but crews maintained Earth-style 12-hour shifts for psychological comfort and operational coordination.

The accurate portrayal of space technology and physics combined with speculative elements places it firmly in the hard SF tradition of Arthur C. Clarke’s work.

Through the canary’s unexpected lifesaving role, the narrative celebrates both human problem-solving and nature’s simple solutions that sometimes surpass complex technological systems.