Text book Questions Answers of We Are Not Afraid to Die If We Can All Be Together || CBSE CLASS 11 ENGLISH CORE||

 

Understanding
the text

Page
no- 18

 

1.
List the steps taken
by the captain

(i)
To protect the ship
when rough water began.

(ii)
To check the flooding
of the water in the ship.

Ans. (i) The captain dropped
down the storm jib in order to slow down the boat and also lashed a mooring
rope in a loop across the stern, then double-lashed each and everything and
also went through the life-raft drill.

(ii)To check the flooding of the water in the ship, Larry and
Vigil pumped out water like madmen. The captain managed to stretch the canvas
and secured the waterproof hatch covers across the gaping holes. Again when the
electric pump got short-circuited, the narrator remembered that they had
another electric pump under the chartroom floor. He then connected it to
out-pipe and it worked.

 

2.
Describe the mental
conditions of the voyagers on 4 and 5 January.

Ans. On January 4, they reached the last
few kilometres of water after 36 hours of continuous pumping. They ate their
first meal after about in almost two days. At 4 p.m., black clouds began
building up and within an hour the wind was back to forty knots and the seas
were getting higher. On January 5, Jon asked his dad, if they were about to
die. He also told that they were not afraid to die, if they were together. The
narrator felt determined after seeing their courage.



 

3.
Describe the shifts
in the narration of the events as indicated in the three sections of the text.
Give a subtitle to each section.

Ans. In the beginning of the story, we
get to know that they sailed down the west coast of Africa to Cape Town. On the
next day, they encountered strong gales. On January 2, the waves were gigantic.
The boats were about to capsize. A tremendous explosion of the thunder shook
the deck. The narrator’s head smashed into the wheel. He was aware of sinking
below the waves and accepted his death. He lost consciousness and unexpectedly,
his head popped out of the water. His left ribs cracked and mouth was filled
with blood. When the electric pumps got short-circuited, he took out another pump
and it started working. Later, he calculated and found that an island
approximately 150,000 kilometres away. After that he dozed off and when woke
up, thought that they had missed the island. But later when Sue announced that
they had reached the island. It was a great moment for them.

 

Talking
about the text

Page
no- 18

 

1.
What difference did
you notice between the reaction of the adults and the children when faced with
danger?

Ans. The adults tried hard to safe themselves. They managed to
pump the water out from their boat. They took all the safety precautions like
wore life jackets. They left taking their meals and made calculations for the
distance of a nearby island. On the other hand, the children acted very bravely
in such a situation. Suzanne, who was only seven years old, didn’t want to
distract her father telling that she had got hurt. Jonathan, who was only six
years old, was not afraid to die.

 

2.
How does the story
suggest the optimism helps to endure “the direst stress”?

Ans. The story suggests that the optimism helps to endure “the
direct stress” in many ways. Larry Vigil and Herb Seigler pumped out water so
that they would not sink. They pumped, steered and worked upon the radio
endlessly for thirty-six hours. The narrator took out another electric pump
when the other one got short-circuited. They were waiting for the Mayday calls
eagerly but got no answers. But they didn’t quit. The narrator made
calculations and found out that an island was there approximately 150,000
kilometres away. Ultimately, they were able to find out the island and regarded
it to be the most beautiful island in the world.



 

3.
What lessons do we
learn from such hazardous experiences when we are face-to-face with death?

Ans. When we are face-to-face to death, we get to learn the
lessons of life. It makes us better and teaches us patience. It builds us in
such a way that we can take challenges in our lives. It makes a perfect person in
all aspects. It makes us free from any sorts of fear.

 

 

4.
Why do you think
people undertake such adventurous expeditions in spite of the risks involved?

Ans.  I think that the
people take such adventurous expeditions in spite of the risks involved because
they want to explore the world. They move on discovering things though there
are risks in every step they make. They are brave enough to

 

 

 

Talking about language

Page no- 18

1.
We have come for
different words like ‘gale’ and ‘storm’ in the account. How many words does
your language have for ‘storm’?

Ans. The words like ‘gale’ and ‘storm’ are also called as
‘toofan’ and ‘aandhi’ in Hindi and ‘jhor’ in Bengali.

 

 

 

2.
Here are terms for
different kinds of vessels: yacht, boat, canoe, ship, steamer, schooner. Think
of similar terms in your language.

Ans. The similar terms those are used for the following are
nauka, jahaj in our language.

 

3.
‘Catamaran’ is a kind
of a boat. Do you know which Indian language this word is derived from? Check
the dictionary.

Ans. ‘Catamaran’ is being derived from Tamil word ‘Kattumaran’
which means ‘tied wood’. Catamaran can be defined as the ‘fast sailing boat
with two hulls’.



 

4.
Have you heard any
boatmen’s songs? What kind of emotions do these songs usually express?

Ans. Yes, I’ve heard of many boatmen’s songs.

The songs expresses sad emotions.

 

 

 

Working with words

Page no- 19

1.
The following words
used in the text as ship terminology are also commonly used in another sense.
In what contexts would you use the other meaning?

 

 knot
stern     boom    hatch
anchor

    

Ans. The contexts in which these words are used are as follows:

Knot:- It
can be used as tying hairs.

Stem:- It
can be used to express opposition.

Boom:-
It can be used to express a loud noise.

Hatch:- It
can be used to express making of a plan.

Anchor:- It
is used to express the person who is hosting a function or programme.

 

 

 

2.
The following three
compound words end in –ship. What does each of them mean?

 Airship
flagship    lightship

 

 

Ans. Airship: It is
an aircraft that has no wings but is filled with gas that is much lighter than
air. It runs through engines.

Flagship:- It
refers to the fleet of ships particularly used in case of Navy.

Lightship:- It
refers to the ships that helps the other ships and send signals and guides
them.



 

                

3.
The following are the
meanings listed in the dictionary against the phrase ‘take on’. In which
meaning it is used i the third paragraph of the account:

 

Take on sth:         to begin to have a particular quality or         

                               appearance; to
assume sth

Take
sb on:          
 to employ sb; to
engage sb

                               To accept sb as
one’s opponent in a

                               Game, contest or
conflict

Take
sb/sth on: 
  to decide to do
sth; to allow sth/sb to

                                Enter e.g. a
bus, plane or ship; to take

                                sth/sb on
board.

 

Ans.
In the third paragraph, the line that suggests the particular meaning is:
“There, before heading east, we took two crewmwn- American Larry Vigil and Herb
Seigler”.