Q1. Name the chapter from which the extract has been taken.
Answer. “ We are not afraid to
die.. If we can all be together” is the name of the chapter from which the
above extract is taken.
Answer. Gordon Cook and Alan East
Q3. Mention all the family
members as given in the above extract.
Answer. The family consists of
Gordon Cook, his wife Mary, their daughter Suzanne and their son Jonathan.
Q4. What do you understand by the
term “voyage”?
Answer. Voyage means a long
journey, especially by ship
Q1. Where did the second crewman hail from?
Answer. The second crewman hailed
from Switzerland.
Answer. They planned a three year
long journey.
Q3. Why were the crewmen hired?
Answer. The crewmen were hired by
the narrator to help them tackle the roughest sea.
Q4. What is the name of the boat?
Answer. The boat’s name is
“Wavewalker”.
C. At dawn on January 2, the
waves were gigantic. We were sailing with only a small storm jib and were still
making eight knots. As the ship rose to the top of each wave we could see
endless enormous seas rolling towards us, and the screaming of the wind and
spray was painful to the ears. To slow the boat down, we dropped the storm jib
and lashed a heavy mooring rope in a loop across the stern. Then we
double-lashed everything, went through our life-raft drill, attached lifelines,
donned oilskins and life jackets — and waited.
Q1. What does knot mean?
Answer. Knot refers to a measure
of the speed of a ship.
Q2. Why did they drop the storm
jib?
Answer. They dropped the storm
jib to slow down the speed of the boat.
Q3. What does stern mean in the
above extract?
Answer. Stern means the back end
of a ship or boat.
Q4. Pick a word from the extract
which means extremely big.
Answer. Gigantic or enormous
D. Unexpectedly, my head popped
out of the water. A few metres away, Wavewalker was near capsizing, her masts
almost horizontal. Then a wave hurled her upright, my lifeline jerked taut, I
grabbed the guard rails and sailed through the air into Wavewalker’s main boom.
Subsequent waves tossed me around the deck like a rag doll. My left ribs
cracked; my mouth filled with blood and broken teeth. Somehow, I found the
wheel, lined up the stern for the next wave and hung on.
Q1. Who is “I” in the above
lines?
Answer. “I” in the above lines is
a narrator, a 37 year old businessman.
Q2. What was the physical state
of the narrator?
Answer. The narrator was brave in
the face of adversity.
Q3. Who is “she” in the above
lines?
Answer. She in the above lines is
May, the wife of the narrator.
Q4. Which word from the extract
tells us that the boat had turned over in the water.
Answer. Capsizing
Q5. Who were Larry and Herb?
Answer. Larry and Herb were the
crewmen.
E. The night dragged on with an endless, bitterly cold routine of pumping, steering and working the radio. We were getting no replies to our Mayday calls — which was not surprising in this remote corner of the world. Sue’s head had swollen alarmingly; she had two enormous black eyes, and now she showed us a deep cut on her arm. When I asked why she hadn’t made more of her injuries before this, she replied, “I didn’t want to worry you when you were trying to save us all.”
Q1. Who was hurt?
Answer. Sue was hurt due to the
collision.
Q2. What is “Mayday call”?
Answer. Mayday is the word used
around the world to make a distress call via radio communications. Mayday
signals a life-threatening emergency, usually on a ship.
Answer. Sue is the daughter of
the narrator.
Q4.What did their ship collide with?
Answer. The ship collided with a
wave.
F. When I went in to comfort the
children, Jon asked, “Daddy, are we going to die?” I tried to assure him that
we could make it. “But, Daddy,” he went on, “we aren’t afraid of dying if we
can all be together — you and Mummy, Sue and I.” I could find no words with
which to respond, but I left the children’s cabin determined to fight the sea
with everything I had. To protect the weakened starboard side, I decided to
heave to — with the undamaged port hull facing the oncoming waves, using an
improvised sea anchor of heavy nylon rope and two 22 litre plastic barrels of
paraffin.
Answer. Jonathan said these
lines.
Answer. The children were
optimistic.
Answer. Islands refer to
“pinpricks in the vast ocean”.
Q4. Find a word from the above
extract which means secondary or subsidiary.
Answer. Auxiliary
Multiple Choice Questions
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
are a type of objective assessment in which a person is asked to choose one or
more correct answers from a list of available options. An MCQ presents a
question along with several possible answers.
1. The family set sail from-
A. Liverpool, England
B. Manchester, England
C. London, England
D. Plymouth, England
Answer- D. Plymouth, England
2. The family wanted to duplicate
the round-the-world voyage made 200 years earlier by Captain _____________ .
A. Marco Polo
B. Christopher Columbus
C. James Cook
D. Amerigo Vespucci
Answer- C. James Cook
3. James Cook was a/an
___________ .
A. pilot
B. painter
C.explorer
D. governor
Answer- C.explorer
4. Which country did Larry Vigil
hail from?
A. America
B. Switzerland
C. India
D. Germany
Answer- A. America
5. Which country did Herb Seigler
hail from?
A. America
B. Switzerland
C. India
D. Germany
Answer- B. Switzerland
6. Which ocean is the roughest
according to the narrator?
A. Southern Pacific Ocean
B. Southern Indian Ocean
C. Southern Atlantic Ocean
D. Southern Caribbean Sea
Answer- B. Southern Indian Ocean
7. “But my head hurts a bit,” Who
said these lines?
A. Mary
B. Jonathan
C. Larry
D. Suzanne
Answer- D. Suzanne
8. “We aren’t afraid of dying if
we can all be together — you and Mummy, Sue and I”, Who said these lines?
A. Mary
B. Jonathan
C. Larry
D. Suzanne
Answer- B. Jonathan
9. “I didn’t want to worry you
when you were trying to save us all”, Who said these lines?
A. Mary
B. Jonathan
C. Larry
D. Suzanne
Answer- D. Suzanne
10. Who made the “Thank-you”
card?
A. Mary
B. Jonathan
C. Larry
D. Suzanne
Answer- D. Suzanne
11. Choose the most suitable
meaning of “honing our seafaring skills”
A. to perfect the skill of
travelling on the mountains.
B. to perfect the skill of
travelling on the deserts
C. to perfect the skill of
travelling on the sea.
D. to perfect the skill of
travelling on the valley
Answer- C. to perfect the skill
of travelling on the sea.
12. Choose the most suitable
meaning for “pinpricks in the vast ocean”
A. This phrase expresses the
insignificance of the two small islands in the vast ocean.
B. This phrase expresses the
significance of two small islands in the vast ocean.
C. This phrase expresses the
insignificance of pins in the vast ocean.
D. This phrase expresses the
insignificance of prickly islands in the vast ocean.
Answer- A. This phrase expresses
the insignificance of the two small islands in the vast ocean.
13. Choose the most suitable
meaning for “ominous silence”
A. suggesting something
unpleasant will happen
B. suggesting something pleasant
will happen
C. suggesting something profit
will happen
D. None of the above
Answer- A. suggesting something
unpleasant will happen
14. Choose the most suitable
meaning of “ Mayday calls”
A. long distance calls
B. distress call
C. courtesy call
D. conference call
Answer- B. distress call
15. Choose the most suitable
meaning of “a tousled head ”
A. having hair that looks tidy
B. having hair that looks untidy
C. a small head
D. a giant head
Answer- B.having hair that looks
untidy
16. Which of the following is not
a part of the ship?
A. stern
B. anchor
C. jib
D. cockpit
Correct Answer- D. cockpit
17. Which of the following is not
a synonym of “voyage”?
A. odyssey
B. crusade
C. pilgrimage
D. excursion
Answer- B. crusade
18. Name the boat owned by the
family.
A. Wavewalker
B. Titanic
C. Mayflower
D. Arizona
Answer- A. Wavewalker
19. Give the meaning of
“oilskins”
A. oiling the skin
B. waterproof cloth generally
worn by sailors
C. animal skin
D. None of the above
Answer- B. waterproof cloth
generally worn by sailors
20. Which of the following words
means strong winds?
A. torrents
B .storm
C. gales
D. tsunami
Answer- C.gales
Important Questions
Q1. What did the narrator plan to
do? What preparations did he make for it?
Answer: Similar to what Captain
James Cook had done 200 years prior, the narrator intended to embark on a
round-the-world sea expedition. To achieve this goal, he and his wife had been
honing their maritime skills for the past 16 years.
Q2. Give a brief description of
the narrator’s boat. How had the narrator equipped and tested it?
Answer: The “Wavewalker” was the
name of the narrator’s ship. It was a magnificent wooden-hulled ship measuring
23 metres long and 30 tonnes. It had been expertly constructed. Months had been
spent preparing it and testing it under the most adverse conditions.
Q3. How long did the narrator
plan his voyage to last?
Answer: The narrator planned to
travel 105,000 kilometres across the world in three years.
Q4. When and with whom did the
narrator begin his voyage?
Answer: In July 1976, the
narrator set out on his sea voyage. He was accompanied by his wife Mary, son
Jonathan, age 6, and daughter Suzanne, age 7. They set sail from Plymouth,
England.
Q5. Whom did the narrator employ
and why? When did he do so?
Answer: In order to navigate the
southern Indian Ocean, one of the world’s worst seas, the narrator hired two
crewmen—the American Larry Vigil and the Swiss Herb Seigler. He engaged them
before departing from Cape Town.
Q6. What happened on their second
day out of Cape Town? What worried the narrator and why?
Answer: They encountered powerful
storms on their second day after leaving Cape Town. The following couple weeks
saw continuous fury from these storms. The waves were giving the narrator
anxiety. Their magnitude alarmed him. The waves rose as high as their main
mast.
Q7. How did they celebrate the
Christmas holidays?
Answer: On December 25, they were
3,500 kilometres east of Cape Town. Very harsh weather persisted. However, they
enjoyed their holiday, which included a Christmas tree. On January 1st, the
weather did not get any better.
Q8. How did the weather change on
January 2? How did they feel?
Answer: The weather changed for
the worse on January 2. Now the waves were gigantic. As the ship rose to the
top of each wave, they saw endless enormous seas rolling towards them. The
screaming of the wind and spray was painful to the ears.
Q9. What efforts were made to
face the rough weather?
Answer: The ship’s speed was
reduced down to prepare for the bad weather. The storm jib was dropped. They
formed a loop out of thick mooring rope and fastened it across the stem. They
completed their life-raft drill after fastening everything together. They
fastened lifelines and donned life jackets and water-resistant clothing.
Q10. What sort of wave hit the
ship? How did the narrator react?
Answer: It was a powerful,
enormous wave. It seemed to be exactly vertical. Its height was about two times
that of the other waves. The narrator was horrified since he had never
witnessed such a massive storm.
Q1. The story ‘We’re Not Afraid to Die’ has a lesson ‘optimism helps to endure direst stress’. Do you agree? Why/Why not?
Answer. The real account of
surviving against insurmountable odds told in “We’re Not Afraid to die… ” is
one of bravery, endurance, and optimism. On the Wavewalker, which was
travelling across the globe, were the narrator, his wife, and their two
children. They met terrible weather and their boat sustained significant damage
in the Indian Ocean. After being thrown overboard, the narrator was able to
return to the boat.
The kids suffered injuries as
well. Despite the boat flooding, no one gave up. The boat was repeatedly being
saved by the narrator. The children trusted their father. Water from the boat
was pumped out, but more water kept coming in. The storm’s ferocity gradually
subsided, but the boat continued to leak.The boat was able to navigate 165
kilometres to Amsterdam by the narrator. All the people on the boat, even the
kids, stayed positive and optimistic throughout this tragedy. Nobody ever
showed hopelessness. The narrator drew strength from their optimism.
Answer: Strong wind gusts were
met by the ship. They double-lashed everything, but the captain was thrown
overboard and his head, ribs, and teeth were broken by a massive wave.
Afterward, he was tossed back despite holding onto the guardrails. The
starboard gaped open, broken timber was scattered around the ship, and water
began to seep in.
He checked on the kids and
covered the starboard hole with watertight hatch covering while Mary held the
wheel. All night long, their Mayday calls went unanswered, adding to their
misery.
They estimated their odds of
reaching Amsterdam after 15 hours of battling the seas, yet 36 hours later,
they were still afloat despite worsening weather.
The captain had instructed Larry
to steer a course of 185 degrees, but by five o’clock he had fallen asleep. The
next thing he remembered was his kids congratulating him on finding the island.
Q3. ‘Our optimistic attitude
helps us to face extremely dangerous situations.’ Discuss with reference to the
story ‘We’re Not Afraid to Die….’
Answer: The captain of the
Wavewalker, the narrator, was optimistic, and it was that positivity that
prevented his family and the other crew members from dying. The storm caused
significant damage to the ship, and everyone on board was at risk of sinking.
But the narrator had a really upbeat stance. Never once did he consider giving
up or letting the situation get to him. Instead, he was always searching for
answers as issues kept cropping up one after another.
Because the narrator maintained
his composure throughout the situation, he was able to handle the problems that
arose. He and his crew were committed to surviving the blizzard. After being
flung overboard, he recovered and clung to the wheel. He made preparations to
pump seawater out.
The kids gave him a lot of
courage. His urge to defend them and his ship was fueled by their faith in him.
He was able to employ his seamanship and navigational abilities to the fullest
extent due to his calm demeanour.
Q4. How did the children’s
presence and behaviour during the crisis affect the narrator?
Answer: The fact that the
children on board were fully aware of the situation threatening their boat but
chose not to panic or voice their anxiety bolstered the narrator’s
determination to save it. When his kid said that they did not mind dying, but
rather wished to die together, his will to fight against all obstacles was
further bolstered. This admirable courage honed the narrator’s resourcefulness
as he laboriously calculated wind speeds, changes in course, drift, and current
to get them to their destination.
The narrator was overwhelmed by
feelings and his resolve was strengthened when Sue gave him a “Thank-you” card.
The kids still had implicit faith in him and thought he had led them to the
safety of the island.
Q5. What qualities helped the
Captain of the ship and his crew overcome the crisis?
Answer: The boat was being
steered by a competent captain with excellent seamanship abilities. Like many
seasoned salts, he thought that every emergency should have a backup plan. He
was the perfect parent, drawing courage from the warmth and consideration shown
to him by his kids while putting others’ needs before his own. He was
resourceful and connected the electric pump that was hidden beneath the
chartroom floor to avert disaster. He employed improvised equipment to
determine their course at sea in order to reach the little island after their
gear were destroyed.
The captain endured admirably and
was unfazed by the several setbacks he experienced. While being honest about
their limited possibilities of reaching safety, he managed to make everyone
feel assured by not showing signs of concern. His crew was encouraged to stay
buoyant by this leadership quality.
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