Silk Road

Class – XI
Session – 2020-21
Summary

The narrator was leaving Ravu and heading towards Mount Kailash to complete the kora. It was in the
early hours of the morning that they were set to leave. Lhamo gave the narrator a long-sleeved
sheepskin coat, which all the men wore, as a farewell present. Tsetan assessed him as they got into his
car. They took a short cut to get off the Changtang. Tsetan knew a route that would take them south-
west, almost directly towards Mount Kailash. It involved crossing several fairly high mountain passes, he
said. Going that way would not be a problem if there was no snow but that one could never know till
one reached there.

From the gently rising and falling hills of Ravu, the short cut took them across vast open plains, dry
grazing land, with nothing in them except a few small antelopes. Moving ahead they noticed that the
plains became more stony than grassy. Here they saw a herd of wild ass that were racing around and of
which Tsetan had told them even before they appeared.

The drive again became steep. They crossed drokbas tending their flocks. Thickly clad men and women
stared at their car and at times waved at them while the sheep would turn away from the vehicle. They
passed nomads’ dark tents pitched in the isolated places usually with a huge black dog, a Tibetan big,
smooth-haired dog guarding them. These dogs would observe them from a distance and as they drew
closer, they would rush towards them and chase them for about a hundred metres. These hairy dogs
were pitch black and usually wore bright red collars and barked angrily with enormous jaws. They were
absolutely fearless of their vehicle and would run straight onto their way. Tsetan had to brake and turn
sharply to avoid them. It was because of their ferocity that these Tibetan mastiffs were brought from
Tibet to China’s imperial courts as hunting dogs.

As they entered a valley, they could see snow-capped mountains and the wide river but mostly blocked
with ice that was sparkling in the sunshine. As they moved ahead, on their upward track, the turns
became sharper and the ride bumpier. The rocks around were covered with patches of bright orange
lichen. Under the rocks, seemed unending shade. The narrator felt the pressure building up in his ears so
he held his nose, snorted and cleared them. Just then Tsetan stopped and the three of them—Tsetan,
Daniel and the narrator walked out of the car.

It continued to snow. The snow that had collected was too steep for their vehicle to scale, so there was
no way of going around the snow patch. The narrator looked at his wristwatch and realized that they
were at 5,210 metres above sea level.

The snow didn’t look too deep, but the danger was that if the car slipped it could turn over. Tsetan
grabbed handfuls of soil and threw it across the frozen surface of ice. Daniel and the narrator stayed out
of the vehicle to lessen Tsetan’s load. He backed and drove towards the dirty snow, and with no
difficulty the car moved on. But after ten minutes of driving, there was another obstruction. Tsetan
assessed the scene and this time he decided to drive round the snow. It was a steep slope scattered with
big rocks, but Tsetan got past them. The narrator checked his watch again; they were 5,400 metres
above sea level and his head began to ache terribly. He gulped a little water for relief.

When they reached the top of the pass at 5,515 metres, they noticed large rocks decorated with white
silk scarves and ragged prayer flags. All of them took a clockwise round them as is the tradition and
Tsetan checked the tyres on his vehicle. He stopped at the petrol tank. The lower atmospheric pressure
was allowing the fuel to expand.

The narrator was soon relieved of headache as they went to the other side of the pass. At two o’clock,
they stopped for lunch and ate hot noodles inside a long canvas work tent, put up beside a dry salt lake.
The plateau was covered with spots of salty desert area and salt lakes, leftovers of the Tethys Ocean,
which surrounded Tibet before the steep climb. Here there was a lot of activity, men with pickaxes and
shovels were moving around wearing long sheepskin coats and salt-covered boots. All of them were
wearing sunglasses against the bright light of the trucks as they came laden with piles of salt.

By late afternoon they reached a small town, Hor, back on the main east-west highway that followed the
old trade route from Lhasa to Kashmir. Daniel took a ride in a truck and went to Lhasa. Tsetan and the
narrator bade him farewell.

Hor was a gloomy place covered with dust and rocks and devoid of vegetation. It was scattered with a
lot of refuse that had gathered over the years. It was regrettable as this town was on the shore of Lake
Manasarovar, Tibet’s most honoured lake. Ancient Hindu and Buddhist study of the universe pinpoints
Manasarovar as the source of four great Indian rivers: the Indus, the Ganges, the Sutlej and the
Brahmaputra. Actually, only the Sutlej flows from this lake, but the headwaters of the others all rise
nearby on the sides of Mount Kailash. They had tea in Hor’s only cafe which, like all the other buildings
in town, was built from badly painted concrete and had three broken windows but they had a good view
of the lake through one of the windows.

After half an hour’s stop, they drove westwards out of the town towards Mount Kailash.

The narrator was surprised to see Hor because it was absolutely different from what he had read about
it. Ekai Kawaguchi, a Japanese monk who had been there in 1900, was so stirred by the holiness of the
lake that he burst into tears. A few years later, the place had a similar effect on Sven Hedin, a Swede
visitor.

They reached a guesthouse in Darchen after 10.30 p.m. They were 4,760 metres above the sea level. It
was a disturbed night. The narrator had terrible cold because of the open-air rubbish dump in Hor. With
his nostrils blocked he found it difficult to breathe. He was tired and hungry and thus started breathing
through his mouth.

But barely had he slept when he woke up abruptly. His felt a peculiar heaviness in his chest; he sat up
and cleared his nasal passages. He felt relieved but the moment he lay down he intuitively felt that
something was wrong. He was not breathless but simply could not sleep. The fear of dying in his sleep
kept him awake.

The next morning Tsetan took him to the Darchen Medical College. It was a new building that looked like
a monastery from the outside. It had a very solid door that opened into a large courtyard. In the
consulting room was a Tibetan doctor who did not have the equipment that a doctor would have. Clad
in a thick pullover and a woolly hat, he listened to the narrator’s symptoms and said it was because of
the altitude and cold. He assured the narrator that he would be fine and gave him a brown envelope
stuffed with fifteen screws of paper that contained brown powder that tasted like cinnamon. He was
asked to take them with hot water. The narrator did not like the look of the contents but took them
anyway. He slept very soundly.

When Tsetan was assured that the narrator was going to be well, he left him and returned to Lhasa. As a
Buddhist, it didn’t really matter if the narrator died but he thought it would be bad for business. After
the narrator got his rest and a good night’s sleep, Darchen didn’t look so awful. It was still dusty, and
had heaps of rubble and refuse, but the bright sun gave him a view of the Himalayas. He saw the snow-
capped mountain, Gurla Mandhata, with a small cloud hanging over its peak.

The town had a few general stores selling Chinese cigarettes, soap and other basic provisions, as well as
the usual strings of prayer flags. In front of one, men collected in the afternoon for a game of pool on a
strange table in the open air, while nearby women washed their long hair in the icy water of a narrow
brook near the guesthouse. Darchen felt stress-free and slow but for the narrator this was a major
disadvantage. There were no pilgrims. He had been told that in the peak of the pilgrimage season, the
town was full of visitors. That was the reason for his being there in the beginning of the season, but it
seemed that he was too early.

One afternoon he sat with a glass of tea in Darchen’s only cafe thinking about the paucity of pilgrims and
the fact that he hadn’t made much progress with his self-help programme on positive thinking. After
some contemplation, he felt he could only wait. He did not like the idea of going alone on a pilgrimage.

The kora was seasonal because parts of the road were likely to be blocked by snow. He had no idea if
the snow had cleared, but he saw the large pieces of dirty ice on the banks of Darchen’s stream. From
the time when Tsetan had left, he had not met anyone in Darchen who could answer even the basic
questions in English till he met Norbu.

The narrator was in a small, dark cafe with a long metal stove that ran down the middle. The walls and
roofs were covered with multi-coloured sheets of plastic that is made into shopping bags in many
countries. Plastic is one of China’s most successful exports along the Silk Road today. He sat beside a
window so that he could see the pages of his notebook. He also had a novel with him. Norbu saw the
book, came to him, sat opposite and asked the narrator if he was ‘English’. They stated a conversation.
The narrator could make out that he did not belong to that place as he was wearing a windcheater and
metal-rimmed spectacles of Western style. He told the narrator that he was a Tibetan, but worked in
Beijing at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, in the Institute of Ethnic Literature. He, too, had come
to do the kora.

Norbu had been writing academic papers about the Kailash kora and its importance in various works of
Buddhist literature for many years, but he had never actually done it himself. When the narrator told
him what brought him to Darchen, he was excited and wanted to work with him as a team. He soon
realized that Norbu was as ill-equipped as him for the pilgrimage. He kept telling the narrator how fat he
was and how tough it was going to be for him to walk. He wasn’t really a practising Buddhist, it became
known, but he had enthusiasm and he was a Tibetan.
Although at first the narrator had thought that he would make the trek in the company of religious
people but then felt that Norbu would turn out to be the ideal companion. Norbu suggested that they
hire some yaks to carry the luggage, as he said it was not possible for him to prostrate himself all-round
the mountain as that was not his style, and anyway his tummy was too big.

Word-Meaning

• Ducking back → Going back

• Manoeuvres → Movements – usually predetermined or predefined
• Billowed → Appeared
• Swathe → A narrow strip
• Cairn of rocks → Heap of stone made as a monument, landmark etc
• Careered down → Climbed down
• Salt flats → Area where salt has been deposited
• Flawless → Without defects, Perfect, Clear
• French loaves → Pieces of French bread
• Glow → Shine
• Splash → Spread,
• Tint → Colour
• Blush → Shade, Tinge
• Farewell present → A gift given when someone is leaving
• Heading → Going
• Kailash Kora → Pilgrimage of Kailash
• Ought → Must, Should
• Ducking back → Going back
• Emerged → Appeared
• Sized up → Looked carefully
• Clambering → Walked with difficulty
• Drokba → Shepherd
• Get off → Bypass
• Involved → Included
• Mountain passes → Roads made along mountains
• Likelihood → Possibility
• Gazelles → Type of animal
• Nibbling → Eating
• Arid → Dry
• Frown → Slightly distort the face or eyebrows
• Bounding away → Running away
• Void → Open space, Place where nobody lives
• Kyang → Wild ass of Tibet region
• Pall of dust → Cloud or layer of dust in the sky
• Galloping → Running quickly
• En masse → Together, Every body
• Manoeuvres → Movements
• Plume of dust → Cloud of dust
• Billowed → Appeared
• Wilderness → From nowhere, Suddenly
• Solitary → Alone. Lonely
• Tending →Taking care of , Rearing
• Well-wrapped → Fully covered
• Waving → Signaling
• Track → Path
• Evasive → Try to avoid
• Veering → Change direction, Move to other direction
• Nomad → Person moving from one place another,
• Pitched → Made
• Splendid → Amazing,
• Isolation → Alone
• Mastiff → Type of dog
• Cock → Tilt, Bend
• Fix us in their sight → Continue to stare
• Exploded into action → Suddenly started taking action
• Shaggy → Full of long hair
• Furious → Frightening, Violent, Fierce
• Massive → Very big
• Shooting → Moving quickly
• Swerve → Abruptly change direction
• Chase → Follow
• Easing off → Stop or reduce the speed
• Imperial courts → Kingdom
• Snow capped mountains → Mountains that had snow at their top
• Clogged → Full of
• Glinting → Shining
• Trail → Path
• Hugged → Very very close
• Meanders → Twisting path of river, Having many curves
• Closed in → Came nearer
• Bumpier → More jumping
• Track → Path
• Labour → To make large efforts
• Sported → Showed
• Daubed → Splashed, Stained
• Lichen → Type of plant
• Hunks → Lump, Chunk, Piece
• Cling → To stick
• Tight bend → Sharp bend
• Swathe → A narrow strip
• Petered out → Decreased, Ended
• Trail → Path
• Stepped on to → To walk on, To stand on
• Encrusted → Gathered in a heap, Became hard
• Slither → Move smoothly
• Stamping → Putting foot on ground with force
• Ascertain → Assess, Understand
• Sturdy → Strong
• Fling → Throw, Spread
• Pitched in → Helped
• Apparent → Visible, Evident, Obvious
• Blockage → Obstruction
• Survey → Examine
• Studded with → Full of
• Negotiated → Passed through
• Lurching → Swaying, Jumping over
• Hairpin bend → Very sharp curve
• Drifted → Spread,
• Crept past → Moved ahead slowly
• Throb → A fluctuating pain
• Horribly → Very painfully
• Gulps → Swigs, To drink in small quantity
• Rapid → Quick
• Ascent → Upward climb
• Cairn of rocks → Heap of stone made as a monument, landmark etc
• Festooned → Decorated
• Ragged → Old and torn
• Unscrewed → Opened by rotating
• Emitted →Gave, Generated, Created
• Hiss → A sound when air or vapours comes out of a container

• Careered → Moved quickly

• Plateau → A flat are between hills
• Salt Flats → Area where salt has been deposited
• Pockmarked → Spread across, Exisiting at many places
• Brackish → Salty, Saline
• Vestiges → Reminders, Sign, indication
• Great collision → A very big change that occurred on earth
• Hive of activity → Place where many people work
• Trudge → Move slowly with lot of effort
• Salt encrusted → Covered with slat
• Glare → Sharp light
• Stream → Line, Queue
• Laden → Full of
• Piles → Heaps
• Quick succession → Quickly one after the other
• Fixed → Repaired
• Spare → Extra
• Grim → Unattractive, Dismal, Dreary
• Liberally → Good quantity
• Scattered → Spread
• Accumulated → Gathered, Deposited
• Refuse → Waste
• Venerated → Highly respectable, Worshiped

• Cosmology → The science of origin of this world

• Pinpoints → Indicates precisely
• Headwaters → Source
• Flanks → Sides
• Striking distance → Very close
• Forge ahead → Move ahead
• Draught → Flow of air
• Compensate → Reduce the effect
• Filthy → Dirty
• Rag → Torn cloth
• Relieved → Released
• Solitary confinement → Alone in a room
• Rubbish → Refuse, Waste
• Stark contrast → Exactly opposite
• Accounts → Description
• First encounters → First visit
• Sanctity →Purity, Holiness
• Burst into tears → Started crying
• Hallowed → Holy
• Prone → Vulnerable, To easily get affected
• Sentimental → Emotional
• Outbursts → Expression
• Drew up → Stopped
• Turned out to be → Proved, Evolved
• Kicking around → Walking
• Gasping → Breathing deeply,
• Accustomed → In the habit of
• Noctural → Occurring in the night
• Scared → Frightened
• Switched to → Changed tp
• Drifting off → Sleeping
• Abruptly → Suddenly
• Nasal passage → Passage of nose, Nostrils
• Instantly → Immediately
• Curious → Strange
• Land of nod → State of sleep
• Impulses → Waves, Shocks
• Sinuses → Nostrils,
• Propping → Taking support
• Drop off → Sleep
• Could not put finger on reason → Could identify the reason
• Following morning → Next morning
• Monastery → Place where monks live
• Paraphernalia → Kit, Equipment
• Pullover → Coat
• Aversion → Dislike, Unwillingness
• Shot me a few questions → Asked me a few questions
• Clutching → Holding
• Stuffed → Full of
• Screws of paper →Packets made in paper
• Right away → Immediately
• Spherical → Round
• Pallets → Particles, Pieces
• Suspiciously → Doubtfully
• Sheep dung → Potty of sheep, Poop of sheep
• Slept like a log → Had sound sleep, Did not get up during sleep
• Pass away → Die
• Derelict → Negligent, Careless
• Punctuated by → Occurred at some distance to each other
• Brilliantly → Bright
• Gurla Mandhata → A mountain peak in Tibet
• Wisp of something → Very small quantity
• Rudimentary → Old style, Elementary, Simple
• Pool → A game of cards
• Battered → Worn out, Shabby
• Supremely → Extremely
 • Incongruous → Not matching, Unsuitable
• Brook → Small stream of water
• Babbled → Flowed
• Significant → Major, Important
• Drawback → Shortcoming, Disadvantage
• Height of the season → Most busy season
• Bustling →Full of activity
• Enlarging → Increasing
• Spilled → Extended
• Ponder → Think
• Consideration → Thinking, Evaluation
• Severely → Very much
• Well-trodden → Frequently travelled
• Did not fancy doing it alone → Did not want to do alone
• Seasonal → During a season only. Intermittent
• Blockage → Obstruction
• Chunks → Small pieces
• Clung → Stuck
• Cavernous → Having many parts
• Wreathed → Covered
• Stout → Strong
• Voluminous → Large
• Gesture →Signal, Indication
• Rickety → Unsteady, Shaky,
• Struck up → Started , Initiated
• Tempered → Disturbed
• Tiresome → Something that will tire someone
• Transpired → Become known
• Enthusiasm → Passion, Eagerness
• Envisaged → Planned, Thought of
• Devout → One who has strong faith, Religious,
• On reflection →Thinking again, Considering again
• Companion → Colleague
• Yak → An animal found in mountains and used for carrying luggage
• Interpreted → Considered,
• Intention → Desire
• Prostrate → To become weak, To feel tired
• Collapsing → Lying , Spreading
• Hysterical → Of very high intensity
• Tummy → Stomach

Extract Based Questions

EB 1. A flawless half-moon floated in a perfect blue sky on the morning we said our goodbyes. Extended
banks of cloud like long French loaves glowed pink as the sun emerged to splash the distant mountain
tops with a rose-tinted blush. Now that we were leaving Ravu, Lhamo said she wanted to give me a
farewell present. One evening I’d told her through Daniel that I was heading towards Mount Kailash to
complete the kora, and she’d said that I ought to get some warmer clothes.

(i) Where was author going to?

(a) Ravu

(b) Lhamo

(c) Mount Kailash

(d) None of the above

Answer: (c)

(ii) Which figure of speech has been used in the phrase ‘banks of cloud like long French loaves’

(a) Metaphor

(b) Alliteration

(c) Oxymoron

(d) Simile

Answer: (d)

(iii) Which of the following objects could be seen in the sky on that day

1. Moon

2. Sun

3. Bread

4. Trees

5. Clouds

6. Mountains

(a) 1, 2 and 3

(b) 1,2 ,5 and 6

(c) 2,5 and 6

(d) 2,3 and 6

Answer: (b)

(iv) Who wanted to give a farewell gift to the author?

(a) Daniel

(b) Lhamo

(c) Ravu

(d) Moon

Answer: (b)

(v) Based on above extract classify following as facts or opinion.

1. Author was going to Mount Kailsah to complete kora

2. Author did not have any warm clothes

3. I can assume that Lhamo did not understand any word of author

4. Mountains must have been capped with snow

5. Moon and Sun both were visible in the sky

6. Daniel was the translator for the author

(a) F – 1,5, 6 and O- 2, 3 ,4

(b) F – 1,2, 4, and O – 3, 5

(c) F – 1,4,5 and O – 2,3

(d) F – 4, 5 and O -1,2,3

Answer: (a)

EB 2. Further on, where the plains became more stony than grassy, a great herd of wild ass came into
view. Tsetan told us we were approaching them long before they appeared. “Kyang,” he said, pointing
towards a far-off pall of dust. When we drew near, I could see the herd galloping en masse, wheeling
and turning in tight formation as if they were practising manoeuvres on some predetermined course.

(i) By what name wild ass has been called in the extract?

(a) stony

(b) kyang

(c) pall

(d) herd

(e) wheeling

Answer: (b)

(ii) What do you infer from the phrase ‘plains became more stony than grassy’.

(a) The terrain now had less greenery

(b) The terrain had become hilly

(c) The terrain had many stone rocks along the way

(d) All the above

Answer: (d)

(iii) The expression ‘more stony than grassy’ has been used in the extract. Which of the following
expression is not similar to it?

(a) more rosy than gloomy

(b) more bright than dull

(c) more reddish than greenish

(d) more apples than oranges

Answer: (d)

(iv) Which of the following word as used in the extract does not indicate a type of movement.

(a) galloping

(b) manoeuvres

(c) pointing

(d) turning

Answer: (c)

(v) Tsetan could have been any of the following except

(a) guide of the author

(b) driver of the author

(c) translator of the author

(d) kyang of the author

Answer: (d)

EB 3. As we continued to draw closer, they would explode into action, speeding directly towards us, like
a bullet from a gun and nearly as fast. These shaggy monsters, blacker than the darkest night, usually
wore bright red collars and barked furiously with massive jaws. They were completely fearless of our
vehicle, shooting straight into our path, causing Tsetan to brake and swerve. The Sketch of Mount
Kailash dog would make chase for a hundred metres or so before easing off, having seen us off the
property.

(i) Speed of the dog has been compared with

(a) gun
(b) vehicle

(c) bullet

(d) chase

Answer: (c)

(ii) Which of the following can be conclusively inferred about Mount Kailsh dogs

1. their colour is black

2. they are very quick

3. they are tiny creatures

4. they have massive jaws

5. they usually wear yellow collars

(a) 1, 2 and 3

(b) 1,2 and 4

(c) 2,3 and 5

(d) 1,3 and 5

Answer: (b)

(iii) Which of the following action was not done by the dogs

(a) they ran towards the vehicle

(b) they ran into the path of the vehicle

(c) they swerved the vehicle

(d) they barked furiously

Answer: (c)

(iv) For what distance a Mount Kailash dog is likely to chase a vehicle

(a) 100 meters

(b) more than 100 meters

(c) less than 100 meters

(d) about 100 meters

Answer: (d)

(v) The expression ‘to draw closer’ has been used in the extract. Which of the following expression
cannot be used with ‘to draw’?
(a) to draw nearer

(b) to draw painting

(c) to draw vocal

(d) to draw further

Answer: (c)

EB 4. The snow didn’t look too deep to me, but the danger wasn’t its depth, Daniel said, so much as its
icy top layer. “If we slip off, the car could turn over,” he suggested, as we saw Tsetan grab handfuls of
dirt and fling them across the frozen surface. We both pitched in and, when the snow was spread with
soil, Daniel and I stayed out of the vehicle to lighten Tsetan’s load.

(i) What according to extract is not a danger with snow?

(a) its icy top layer

(b) its depth

(c) possibility of slip off

(d) none of the above

Answer: (a)

(ii) Who among the following was driving the car

(a) the author

(b) Daniel

(c) Tsetan

(d) none of the above

Answer: (c)

(iii) What was done to negotiate the snow laden part of the road?

(a) soil was spread on the snow

(b) author and Daniel got down from the vehicle

(c) both (a) and (b)

(d) none of the above

Answer: (c)

(iv) Who among the following threw dirt and soil on the snow?

(a) Daniel

(b) Author
(c) Tsetan

(d) All the above

Answer: (d)

EB 5. My headache soon cleared as we careered down the other side of the pass. It was two o’clock by
the time we stopped for lunch. We ate hot noodles inside a long canvas tent, part of a work camp
erected beside a dry salt lake. The plateau is pockmarked with salt flats and brackish lakes, vestiges of
the Tethys Ocean which bordered Tibet before the great continental collision that lifted it skyward.

(i) Which word in the extract mean ‘moved quickly’

(a) careered

(b) stopped

(c) erected

(d) lifted

Answer (a)

(ii) What did they have for their lunch?

(a) salt flats

(b) noodles

(c) continental food

(d) Chinese food

Answer: (b)

(iii) Which of the following is not true about the place where they took lunch?

(a) a canvas tent

(b) work camp

(c) by the side of a dry salt lake

(d) none of the above

Answer: (d)

(iv) What features can be observed about the plateau?

(a) salt flats

(b) brackish lakes

(c) vestiges of the Tethys Ocean

(d) All the above

Answer: (d)

(v) According to the extract why the headache of author cleared?

(a) he ate his lunch

(b) he had travelled to lower altitude

(c) because of salt flats

(d) because of continental collision

Answer: (b)

EB 6. But I had to wait. Tsetan told me to go and drink some tea in Hor’s only cafe which, like all the
other buildings in town, was constructed from badly painted concrete and had three broken windows.
The good view of the lake through one of them helped to compensate for the draught. I was served by a
Chinese youth in military uniform who spread the grease around on my table with a filthy rag before
bringing me a glass and a thermos of tea.

(i) Which of the following is not true about the café at Hor?

(a) it was the only café in the town

(b) it was constructed from badly painted concrete

(c) it had three broken windows

(d) it had two doors

Answer: (d)

(ii) What did the author have at the café?

(a) coffee

(b) lunch

(c) tea

(d) snacks

Answer: (c)

(iii) What compensated the poor look of café?

(a) good taste of tea

(b) good seating arrangement

(c) good view of lake through the window

(d) uniform of the waiter

Answer: (c)

(iv) Which of the following is true with respect to the café and the service

1. the waiter was a Chinese

2. the waiter was wearing white uniform

3. the waiter cleaned the table with a dirty cloth

4. the waiter brought two glasses

5. the waiter brought one thermos

6. the waiter brought one glass

7. taste of tea was good

(a) 1,2, 4 and 6

(b) 1, 3,5 and 6

(c) 4,5,6 and 3

(d) 5 and 4

Answer: (b)

EB 7. One of my nostrils was blocked again and as I lay down to sleep, I wasn’t convinced that the other
would provide me with sufficient oxygen. My watch told me I was at 4,760 metres. It wasn’t much
higher than Ravu, and there I’d been gasping for oxygen several times every night. I’d grown
accustomed to these nocturnal disturbances by now, but they still scared me.

(i) What was indicated in the watch author was using?

(a) time in hours

(b) time in minutes

(c) time in hours and minutes

(d) altitude in meters

Answer: (d)

(ii) The author had not got used to which of the following

(a) lack of oxygen

(b) gasping for oxygen

(c) nocturnal disturbances

(d) sound sleep during the day

Answer: (d)

(iii) What does the word ‘other’ refer to in ‘I wasn’t convinced that the other would provide me…’

(a) the window

(b) the blocked nostril

(c) the unblocked nostril

(d) the watch

Answer: (b)

(iii) Based on above extract classify following as facts or opinion.

1. The blockage in the nostril had occurred earlier as well

2. Probably the same nostril was getting blocked again and again

3. The altitude of the place was 4760 meters

4. Altitude of Ravu was slightly less than that of this place

5. I believe authors had not become used to breathlessness

6. Author was scared of breathing trouble

(a) F – 1,5, 6 and O- 2, 3 ,4

(b) F – 1,3,4,6 and O – 2, 5

(c) F – 1,4,5 and O – 2,3

(d) F – 4, 5 and O -1,2,3

Answer: (b)

EB 8. We found the consulting room which was dark and cold and occupied by a Tibetan doctor who
wore none of the paraphernalia that I’d been expecting. No white coat, he looked like any other Tibetan
with a thick pullover and a woolly hat. When I explained my sleepless symptoms and my sudden
aversion to lying down, he shot me a few questions while feeling the veins in my wrist. “It’s a cold,” he
said finally through Tsetan. “A cold and the effects of altitude. I’ll give you something for it.”

(i) Which of the following is not true about the consulting room?

(a) it was dark

(b) it was cold in the room

(c) a Tibetan doctor was in the room

(d) the room was airy

Answer: (d)

(ii) Before giving medicines to author, the doctor

1. asked some questions

2. took an X ray

3. checked vein of the author

4. declared that it was due to cold

5. advised some blood tests

6. said that it was because of altitude

(a) 2, 5 and 6

(b) 1, 3,4 and 6

(c) 3, 4 and 6

(d) 2, 4 and 6

Answer: (b)

(iii) Which of the following is true about the doctor

1. he was wearing a white coat

2. he was a Tibetan

3. he was wearing a woolly hat

4. he could speak English

5. he was wearing a thick pullover

(a) 1,4 and 5

(b) 3,5 and 6

(c) 1,2 and 5

(d) 2,3 and 5

Answer: (c)

(iv) About which ailments the author explained to the doctor?

(a) sleeplessness

(b) aversion to lying down

(c) both (a) and (b)

(d) none of the above

Answer: (c)

(v) Why did the doctor spoke through Tsetan?

1. he was a friend of Tsetan

2. Tsetan and the doctor both new a common language

3. author was not in talking terms with doctor

4. the doctor did not know the language the author spoke

5. the doctor was a shy person

6. the author was deaf

(a) 2 and 4

(b) 1 and 5

(c) 3 and 6

(d) 5 and 6

Answer: (a)

EB 9. Darchen felt relaxed and unhurried but, for me, it came with a significant drawback. There were no
pilgrims. I’d been told that at the height of the pilgrimage season, the town was bustling with visitors.
Many brought their own accommodation, enlarging the settlement round its edges as they set up their
tents which spilled down on to the plain. I’d timed my arrival for the beginning of the season, but it
seemed I was too early.

(i) What was a drawback of Darchen?

(a) it was not lively

(b) it had less population

(c) there were no pilgrims

(d) it was a small town

Answer: (c)

(ii) Which of the following happens at Darchen during tourist season?

1. town bustles with visitors

2. many visitors bring their own accommodation

3. visitors spoil the ecological balance of the town

 4. area of the town gets increased

5. tents of visitors extend upto down the plains

6. the town becomes very dirty

(a) 1,2,3 and 4

(b) 2,3,4 and 6

(c) 1,2,4 and 5

(d) 2,3,4 and 5

Answer: (c)

(iii) Based on the extract please classify following as facts and opinion

1. Darchen was a relaxed town

2. I feel the author had come a bit too early to the town

3. I believe coming early has many advantages

4. He should have come a bit later

5. Presently the town did not have any pilgrim except the author

(a) F- 1, 2,5 and O- 3,4

(b) F – 1, 3,4 and O – 2,5

(c) F – 2,5 and O – 1,3,4

(d) F – 1,5 and O – 2,3,4

Answer: (a)

(iv) The extract has an expression ‘I’d timed my arrival’. Which of the following cannot be a correct use
of ‘I had timed’

(a) I had timed my journey

(b) I had timed my birth

(c) I had timed my departure

(d) I had timed my exercise

Answer: (b)

EB 10. The cafe was small, dark and cavernous, with a long metal stove that ran down the middle. The
walls and ceiling were wreathed in sheets of multi-coloured plastic, of the striped variety— broad blue,
red and white—that is made into stout, voluminous shopping bags sold all over China, and in many
other countries of Asia as well as Europe. The cafe had a single window beside which I’d taken up
position so that I could see the pages of my notebook. I’d also brought a novel with me to help pass the
time.

(i) According to above extract, which of the following activities author used to do at the café?

(a) have food

(b) write in his notebook

(c) read novel

(d) all the above

Answer: (d)

(ii) According to extract, the huge plastic bags are not sold in which of the following region

(a) China

(b) Europe

(c) Asia

(d) Africa

Answer: (d)

(iii) According to extract the café had which of the following attributes

1. it was a small café

2. it had three windows

3. it had a long metal stove

4. its wall were made of plastic sheets

5. Colour of plastic sheet was majorly yellow

6. its ceilings were made of concrete

(a) 1,3,4,6

(b) 1,2,4,5

(c) 2,3,4,6

(d) 3,4,5,6

Answer: (a)

(iv) The plastic sheets were not of which of the following colour?

(a) red
(b) blue

(c) yellow

(d) white

Answer: (c)

(v) The phrase ‘sold all over China’ has been used in the extract. Which of the following is not the correct
us of phrase ‘all over’

(a) start all over again

(b) spread all over the floor

(c) swarm all over the place

(d) skip all over the school

Answer: (d)

EB 11. “I have come to do the kora.” My heart jumped. Norbu had been writing academic papers about
the Kailash kora and its importance in various works of Buddhist literature for many years, he told me,
but he had never actually done it himself. When the time came for me to tell him what brought me to
Darchen, his eyes lit up. “We could be a team,” he said excitedly. “Two academics who have escaped
from the library.”

(i) Which of the following activities Norbu had not been doing?

(a) writing about Kailash kora

(b) writing about Buddhist literature

(c) writing about importance of kora

(d) doing the kora himself

Answer: (d)

(ii) At which town author and Norbu were when above discussion took place”

(a) Hor

(b) Darchen

(c) Ravu

(d) None of the above

Answer: (b)

(iii) Who are the academicians referred in the above extract?

1. Testan
 2. Daniel

3. Norbu

4. the author

(a) only 3

(b) only 1

(c) only 2

(d) both 3 and 4

Answer: (d)

(iv) In the phrase ‘We could be a team’, who are referred as ‘we’?

(a) Daniel and Norbu

(b) Daniel and author

(c) Author and Norbu

(d) Daniel and Tsetan

Answer: (c)

Which of the following phrases express the eagerness of two people

1. my heart jumped

2. he told me

3. he said excitedly

4. his eyes lit up

5. we could be a team

6. Norbu had been writing academic papers

(a) 1,2 and 4

(b) 1,3,4 and 5

(c) 3,4 and 6

(d) 4,5,6 and 2

Answer: (b)
Short Answers

Question 1. Why was the author disappointed with Darchen?

Answer: Darchen was shabby. The narrator was sick in Darchen. He passed an extremely uncomfortable
night because of his breathing problem. Next day when he felt better, he disliked Darchen less.

Question 2. How did the author and his companions cross the first snow blockage on their way to
Mount Kailash?
Answer: Snow was so steep that they could not go around it. They had to go over it. The danger was
that they could slip. They flung handfuls of dirt and covered the snow completely with soil. The narrator
and Daniel got off the vehicle to lighten the load and Tsetan drove the vehicle over the snow.

Question 3. Comment on the sensitive behaviour of hill folk.

Answer: In the story ‘Silk road’, the Hill folks are very simple, naive and unsophisticated. They are polite
and courteous towards all tourists. They actually take good care of all their tourists. They know the fact
that they win their bread because of these tourists. They were very hospitable and God-fearing.

Question 4. How does the author recount his experience at the Darchen Medical College?
Answer: The doctor at the Darchen Medical College did not wear the traditional white coat of a doctor.
He observed the author and diagnosed his problem as the effect of cold and high altitude. He gave him
brown powders and pellets to be taken with hot water. The author benefitted with this treatment.

Question 5. How was the author’s experience at Hor a stark contrast to earlier accounts of the place?
Answer: The author was disappointed and rather depressed on arrival at Hor. Previous visitors had been
overwhelmed by the beauty of Mansarovar Lake, but the author found Hor shabby and dirty.

Question 6. How can the presence of salt flats in Tibet be explained?

Answer: Salt flats are vestiges of Tethys ocean which bordered Tibet before the great continental
collision.

Question 7. Where is the town of Hor situated? Describe the town.

Answer: Hor is located on the eastwest highway when one travels from Lhasa to Kashmir. It is a grim
desolate place littered with accumulated refuse. There is no vegetation in this town. It is located on the
shore of Lake Mansarovar. On the whole, it has badly painted concrete buildings.

Question 8. What is the importance of Lake Mansarovar?

Answer: Lake Mansarovar holds sacred importance for both the Hindus and the Buddhists. It is a source
of four great Indian rivers i.e., the Indus, the Brahmaputra, the Ganges and the Sutlej. It is an extremely
beautiful lake. Its first site often move the tourists into tears.

Question 9. How did the author suffer at Darchen?

Answer: Due to extreme cold winds at Hor, on reaching Darchen the author suffered from cold and a
blocked nose. He gasped for oxygen, could breathe through one nostril only. He could not sleep at night.
He sat up and felt better.

Question 10. Who was Norbu? How was he different from the local people?
Answer: Norbu has a Tibetan working in Beijing at the Chinese Academy. He was different from other
Tibetans as he was wearing a windcheater and metal rimmed spectacles of a Western style and he
spoke English fluently.
Question 11. Why was the narrator relieved on meeting Norbu?
Answer: The narrator was quite relieved on meeting Norbu firstly because he was all alone at Darchen.
He found a companion in Norbu. He could speak English fluently. He was educated. He didn’t believe in
doing Kora on foot in the conventional manner. Both of them decided to hire yaks. In every aspect,
Norbu appeared to be an ideal companion for the narrator.

Question 12. Where was the narrator going? Through what kind of terrain would he have to pass?
Answer: The narrator was journeying towards Mount Kailash and the Mansarovar Lake where they he
had to pass through several high mountain passes. He had to journey through a lot of snow and vast
open plains.

Question 13. Did the narrator encounter any wildlife in the course of his journey?
Answer: Yes, on the course of his journey, the narrator came across gazelles and herd of wild asses.

Question 14. What have you learnt about the Tibetan mastiff from the essay?
Answer: After reading the essay, we found that Tibetan mastiffs are too violent and ferocious with big
heads. They are black in colour with their red collars. They attack like bullets fired from guns. They
possess massive jaws. Their bark is furious. These mastiffs are so fearless that they can also attack cars
and jeeps.

Question 15. How did the narrator and Tsetan negotiate the hurdle of the swathe of snow?
Answer: The snow was so steep that they could not go around it. They had to go over it. The danger was
that they could slip. They flung handfuls of dirt and covered the snow completely with soil. The narrator
and Daniel got off the vehicle to lighten the load and Tsetan drove the vehicle over the snow.

Question 16. What problems did the narrator and his team experience due to low atmospheric
pressure?
Answer: Due to low atmospheric pressure, the narrator and his team felt their heads going heavy. The
low pressure also caused the fuel to expand, making it extremely difficult for them to carry forward onto
their journey.

Question 17. Why has the article been titled ‘Silk Road’?
Answer: The article has been titled ‘Silk Road’ because the narrator travelled along the old Silk Route in
the Himalayas that touches Tibet to reach Mansarovar.