Question 5 - Chapter 2 - “We’re Not Afraid to Die… if We Can be Together - Hornbill - Chapters (Literature) - English Class 11

Read the extract and answer the following questions.

Extract:

With land under my feet again, my thoughts were full of Larry and Herbie, cheerful and optimistic under the direst stress, and of Mary, who stayed at the wheel for all those crucial hours. Most of all, I thought of a seven-year-old girl, who did not want us to worry about a head injury (which subsequently took six minor operations to remove a recurring blood clot between skin and skull), and of a six-year-old boy who was not afraid to die.

(We’re not afraid to die together..

If we can all be together)

Question (i)

Where did the narrator reach after surviving the storm?

Answer:

Answer as written by the student:

 The narrator reached Ile Amsterdam, a French scientific base, after surviving the storm.

Step-by-step explanation:

• To answer this question, we need to recall the information that is given in the previous part of the story. We can use skimming and scanning skills to find the relevant part of the text quickly. For example:
•  Skimming is reading quickly to get the main idea or gist of a text.
•   We can skim the previous part of the story and see that it is about how the narrator and his family tried to reach two small islands after being hit by a huge wave.
•  Scanning is reading quickly to find specific details or facts in a text.
•    We can scan the previous part of the story and look for keywords or phrases related to the question, such as "reach", "land", or "island".
• We can then use these skills to find the answer in the last paragraph of the previous part of the story. We can use quotation marks to indicate the exact words from the text. We can also use bold formatting to highlight the key words. For example:
• The answer is given in the last paragraph of the previous part of the story: "We were finally able to make contact with Ile Amsterdam. They told us that they had a doctor, but no hospital. They also told us that they had a short airstrip on which only planes specially designed for landing on ice could land. They said that they would try to arrange an evacuation by air as soon as possible".

Question (ii)

Who were Larry and Herbie and how did they help the narrator?

• (a) They were sailors and they helped by steering the ship
• (b) They were passengers and they helped by hiding in their cabin
• (c) They were friends and they helped by pumping out water
• (d) They were strangers and they helped by trying to fix the engine

Answer:

Answer as written by the student:

(c) They were friends and they helped by pumping out water

Step-by-step explanation:

• To answer this question, we need to locate the information that is directly given in
• the extract. We can use skimming and scanning skills to find the relevant part of the text quickly. For example:
•  Skimming is reading quickly to get the main idea or gist of a text.
•   We can skim the extract and see that it is about how the narrator thought of his family and friends after reaching land.
•  Scanning is reading quickly to find specific details or facts in a text.
•   We can scan the extract and look for keywords or phrases related to the question, such as "Larry", "Herbie", or "help".
• We can then use these skills to find the answer in the first sentence of the extract. We can use quotation marks to indicate the exact words from the text. We can also use bold formatting to highlight the key words. For example:
• The answer is given in the first sentence of the extract: "With land under my feet again, my thoughts were full of Larry and Herbie, cheerful and optimistic under the direst stress".
• We can then infer from this sentence that Larry and Herbie were friends who helped the narrator by pumping out water from his ship during the storm. We can also recall this information from the previous part of the story where it is mentioned explicitly.

Question (iii)

What did Mary do for all those crucial hours?

Answer:

Answer as written by the student:

Mary stayed at the wheel for all those crucial hours.

Step-by-step explanation:

• To answer this question, we need to locate the information that is directly given in the extract. We can use skimming and scanning skills to find the relevant part of the text quickly. For example:
•  Skimming is reading quickly to get the main idea or gist of a text.
•   We can skim the extract and see that it is about how the narrator thought of his family and friends after reaching land.
•  Scanning is reading quickly to find specific details or facts in a text.
•    We can scan the extract and look for keywords or phrases related to the question, such as "Mary", "crucial", or "wheel".
• We can then use these skills to find the answer in the second sentence of the exact words from the text. We can also use bold formatting to highlight the key words. For example:
• The answer is given in the second sentence of the extract: "Most of all, I thought of **Mary**, who **stayed at the wheel** for all those **crucial hours**".

Question (iv)

How did the narrator's children show their courage and love?

Answer:

Answer as written by the student:

The narrator's children showed their courage and love by not complaining about their injuries, not being afraid to die, and making cards for their parents.

Step-by-step explanation:

• To answer this question, we need to infer how the narrator's children showed their courage and love from their actions and words in the extract and the previous part of the story. We can use clues such as verbs, adverbs, o expressions to help us. For example:
•  The narrator says that Sue did not want them to worry about her head injury.
•  The narrator says that Jonathan said that he was not afraid to die if they could all be together.
•  The narrator says that Sue and Jonathan made cards for their parents with funny drawings and loving messages.
• We can then use these clues to write a complete sentence that explains how the narrator's children showed their courage and love. We can use simple words and connect them with conjunctions like "and" or "by". We can also use bold formatting to highlight the key words. For example:
•  The narrator's children showed their courage and love by not complaining about their injuries, not being afraid to die, and making cards for their parents.