Are they related ?

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2

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3 History of Silk…
 The earliest evidence of silk was found at the sites of
Yangshao culture in Xia County, Shanxi, where a silk cocoon
was found cut in half by a sharp knife, dating back to between
4000 and 3000 BC. The species was identified as Bombyx
mori, the domesticated silkworm.

 The production of silk originates in China in the Neolithic

(4th millennium BC). China maintained its virtual monopoly
over silk production for a thousand years.

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 The Silk Road was a network of trade routes connecting China and the Far East with
4 the Middle East and Europe. Established when the Han Dynasty in China officially
opened trade with the West in 130 B.C., the Silk Road routes remained in use until
1453 A.D., when the Ottoman Empire boycotted trade with China and closed them.

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5

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6 Why do people willingly undergo the travails
of difficult journeys?
 1) When you get dirty, you improve your physical health.
 2) Outdoor activities can prevent (or treat) a wide range of health problems.
 3) There are no age limits on adventure.
 4) Take a hike, get a bigger brain.
 5) Going on adventures raises your tolerance for uncertainty.
 6) Adventure travel lets you “try on” alternate lives safely.
 7) Going on adventures fosters reflectiveness, a mental skill often in short supply today.
 8 ) Adventure travel feeds your dreams and builds your confidence.
 9) Adventure experiences remedy a societal ill
 10) Adventure travellers may be more important than ever for saving the world.
 Candice Gaukel Andrews

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7

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 Silk Road
by Nick Middleton

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 About the Author
9

Nick Middleton is a geographer, writer and presenter of

television documentaries.
He is the author of seven travel books, including 2001 best
seller, Going to extremes (Pan) and its follow up
surviving Extremes (Pan 2004) and Extremes along the
Silk Road (J Murray, 2006).
A Royal Geographical Society award-winning writer,
Nick’s interests span the entire subject of geography.
His books in these areas include ‘The Global Casino: An
introduction to Environmental Issues, and the UN
Environment Programme’s World Atlas of
Desertification’.
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10 What is a Travelogue ?

 A film, book, or illustrated lecture about the places visited by or

experiences of a traveller.
 The genre of travel literature includes outdoor literature, guide books,
nature writing, and travel memoirs.
 An early travel memoirist in Western literature was Pausanias, a Greek
geographer of the 2nd century AD. In the early modern period, James
Boswell's Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides (1786) helped shape travel
memoir as the genre.
 We’re Not Afraid…

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11

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12 Watch this Video…

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo-MCyv2za0

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 This travelogue is written by Nick Middleton. He wanted to
13 go to Mount Kailash to complete the kora. In this lesson we
learn about his journey from Ravu to Darchen via Hor.

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 TEXT…
14  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. After ducking back into her tent, she emerged carrying one of the long-sleeved
sheepskin coats that all the men wore. Tsetan sized me up as we clambered into his car. “Ah, yes,” he declared, “drokba, sir.”
 We took a short cut to get off the Changtang. Tsetan knew a route that would take us south-west, almost directly towards Mount Kailash. It
involved crossing several fairly high mountain passes, he said. “But no problem, sir”, he assured us, “if there is no snow.” What was the
likelihood of that I asked. “Not knowing, sir, until we get there.” From the gently rolling hills of Ravu, the short cut took us across vast open
plains with nothing in them except a few gazelles that would look up from nibbling the arid pastures and frown before bounding away into the
void. 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. Plumesof dust
billowed into the crisp, clean air.
 As hills started to push up once more from the rocky wilderness, we passed solitary drokbas tending their flocks. Sometimes men, sometimes
women, these well-wrapped figures would pause and stare at our car, occasionally waving as we passed. When the track took us close to their
animals, the sheep would take evasive action, veering away from the speeding vehicle. We passed nomads’ dark tents pitched in splendid
isolation, usually with a huge black dog, a Tibetan mastiff, standing guard. These beasts would cock their great big heads when they became
aware of our approach and fix us in their sights. 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 dog would make chase for a hundred metres or so before easing off, having seen us off the property. It wasn’t difficult to understand why
ferocious Tibetan mastiffs became popular in China’s imperial courts as hunting dogs, brought along the Silk Road in ancient times as tribute
from Tibet.

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15

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 Infer the meaning of the following words/phrases in the
16 given context and match the following.

Kora take a small bite from

Drokba to disapprove of something

Clambered in a group

En masse move or climb in an awkward way

Frown Pilgrims walking around a sacred site

Nibbling Shepherd

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17 The answer…
 Kora – Pilgrims walking around a sacred site
 Clambered – move or climb in an awkward way
 Drokba – Shepherd
 Nibbling – take a small bite from
 Frown – to disapprove of something
 En masse – in a group

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 Read the Lines and answer the questions.
18
These shaggy monsters… as tribute from Tibet.
i) The ferocious Tibetan mastiffs became popular in China’s imperial courts as hunting dogs, brought along
the Silk Road in ancient times as tribute from India. True / False
ii) Identify the meaning of ‘shaggy’ - Ferocious/ hairy/ violent/ strong

iii) The trouble caused by the Mastiffs made Tsetan

a. Stop the vehicle and get out
b. Stop and deviate the path
c. wait for them to move
d. To continue the same path

iv) Why did the dogs run in the path of vehicles?

a) They are afraid of the vehicles
b) They don’t want the intrusion of strangers in their territory
c) The are afraid of strangers
d) They are trained to do so
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19 The answers…

i) False
ii) Hairy
iii) Stop and deviate the path
iv) They don’t want the intrusion of strangers in their territory

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20 Re-arrange the following sentences in the correct order.

 As hills started to push up once more from the rocky wilderness, we passed
solitary drokbas tending their flocks.
 Tsetan knew a route that would take us south-west, almost directly towards
Mount Kailash.
 These beasts would cock their great big heads when they became aware of our
approach and fix us in their sights.
 Further on, where the plains became more stony than grassy, a great herd of wild
ass came into view.
 Now that we were leaving Ravu, Lhamo said she wanted to give me a farewell
present.

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21 The answer …
 Now that we were leaving Ravu, Lhamo said she wanted to give me a farewell
present.
 Tsetan knew a route that would take us south-west, almost directly towards
Mount Kailash.
 Further on, where the plains became more stony than grassy, a great herd of wild
ass came into view.
 As hills started to push up once more from the rocky wilderness, we passed
solitary drokbas tending their flocks.
 These beasts would cock their great big heads when they became aware of our
approach and fix us in their sights.

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22 Extended Activity

 Watch the following videos of Nick Middleton’s visit to

Tibet(based on which the lesson is written)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgT_pceysho&list=PL4B81
5392014E58F4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDBLVTl5tJw&list=PL4B8
15392014E58F4&index=2

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23 Home Assignment…

 Write a short paragraph about the memory of a journey that

you cherish the most.

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 Thank you …

Prepared by
24 Subha V
PGT English
K V AFS Yelahanaka
Bengaluru

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