CBSE Class 11 English Silk Road Worksheet Set 02

Question. Why was the author sorry to see the miserable plight of Hor?
Answer: Hor was a dismal place with no vegetation. It only had dust and rocks coupled with years of accumulated refuse. The author found this unfortunate, since this town was on the banks of Lake Manasarovar, which is Tibet’s most venerated stretch of water.

Question. The author ‘...slept very soundly. Like a log, not a dead man’. Explain.
Answer: After going to the Tibetan doctor, the author soon recovered. Unpalatable as it seemed, the medicine led him to a quick recovery. Hence, the author had a healthy and sound sleep unlike when he was ailing and restless. He slept undisturbed. He was not tossing and turning because he was in a sound sleep.

Question. How did the author and his companions cross the first snow blockage on their way to Mount Kailash?
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 author and Daniel got off the vehicle to lighten the load and Tsetan drove the vehicle over the snow.

Question. 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 from this treatment.

Question. What did the author notice about the ‘drokbas’?
Answer: As the author went further up the hills from the rocky wasteland, he noticed the solitary drokbas tending their flocks. Sometimes these well-wrapped figures would halt briefly and stare at their car. They seldom waved as they crossed. When the road took them close to the sheep, the animals would swerve away from the speeding car.

Question. Who was Norbu? How could he be a help to the author?
Answer: The author met Norbu in a cafe. He was Tibetan, and worked in Beijing at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, in the Institute of Ethnic Literature. He 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. The author was relieved to team up with him. He would not be alone then.

Question. ‘As a Buddhist, he told me, he knew that it didn’t really matter if I passed away, but he thought it would be bad for business.’ Demonstrate.
Answer: Tsetan was a Buddhist. He believed that death is the final ‘Nirvana’. Kailash was a holy place. He had a feeling that the author’s death would discourage tourists from coming, which might prove to be a bad sign for their business as their credibility for looking after the tourists would be at stake.

Question. How was the experience of the author at Hor different from the earlier visits to the place?
Answer: Earlier, Hor was filled with natural beauty and was situated on the sacred Lake Manasarovar. There were stories that various pilgrims cried seeing the beauty of the place. But the narrator’s experience was different from theirs. He did not feel good about the place as he observed that there was no vegetation in Hor and the entire place looked dusty and rocky.

Question. How do you think Tsetan supported the author during his journey?
Answer: Tsetan was a Buddhist who was also a good and efficient driver in the hills. He was very careful while driving. During his journey with the author to Darchen, he looked after the author. When he saw that the author was not well, he immediately took him to Darchen Medical College and got him treated.

Long Answer Questions 

Question. The author on his way to Mount Kailash came across a lot of topographic variation. Comment.
Answer: The author and his companions 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. From the gently rising hills of Ravu, the short cut took them across vast open plains with nothing except a few gazelles that were grazing in the arid pastures. Further ahead, the plains became more stony than grassy. The hills ahead became steeper where solitary drokbas were tending their flocks. This led them to the snow-capped mountains and then to the valley, where the river was wide and clogged with ice. At a height of 5,515 metres, piles of stones marked the landscape. Next was the plateau which was covered with salty desert areas and salty lakes that were the remnants of the Tethys Ocean. Hor was next in line. It was a wretched place with no vegetation and years of accumulated refuse scattered liberally.

Question. The author realised that the snow was both dangerous as well as beautiful. Justify.
Answer: Tsetan on his way surveyed the snow on the path by stamping on it. It was not deep. But in case they slipped, the car could turn over. Hence, to cover the risk, they flung handfuls of dirt across the frozen surface. When the snow was spread with soil, they drove without difficulty. Ten minutes later, they stopped at another blockage. This time they decided to drive round the snow. However, the risks did not undermine the scenic beauty of the place. In the valley, they saw snow-capped mountains and the river was wide 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, hunks of snow clung on in the near-permanent shade.

Question. Narrate the author’s meeting with the Tibetan doctor.
Answer: After an awfully uncomfortable and breathless night, Tsetan took the author to the Darchen Medical College. The college was new and looked like a monastery from the outside with a very solid door that led into a large courtyard. The consulting room was dark and cold, and occupied by a Tibetan doctor who did not have any kit that the author had been expecting. He wore a thick pullover and a woolly hat. The author explained the symptoms and the doctor shot him a few questions while feeling the veins in his wrist. Finally he said, it was the cold and the effects of altitude. He said that the author would soon be well enough to do the kora. He gave him a brown envelope stuffed with fifteen screws of paper. Each package had a brown powder that had to be taken with hot water. It tasted just like cinnamon. The contents of the lunchtime and bedtime package were less obviously identifiable. Both contained small, spherical brown pellets. Though the medicine looked like sheep dung, it helped him recover quickly.

Question. Meeting Norbu came as an immense relief to the author. Why?
Answer: The author was not only disappointed with the filth in Darchen but also because of the lack of pilgrims. Moreover, since Tsetan had left, he had not come across anyone in Darchen who knew enough English to answer even his most basic questions. It was then that he met Norbu in a cafe. He was Tibetan, he told him, but worked in Beijing at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, in the Institute of Ethnic Literature. He had also 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. The author was relieved to form a team with another academician. Norbu suggested to hire some yaks to carry their luggage, and they began their climb to Mount Kailash.

Question. Describe in detail the author’s miserable night in Darchen.
Answer: The author reached the Darchen guesthouse after 10:30 p.m. This was just the beginning of his troubled night. The open-air rubbish dump of Hor had set off his cold once more. One of his nostrils was blocked again and he was tired and hungry. He started breathing through his mouth. After a while, he woke up abruptly. His chest felt strangely heavy, but when he sat up, his nasal passages cleared almost instantly and relieved the feeling in his chest. He lay down again. Just as he was about to doze off, his sinuses filled and his chest felt strange. He tried supporting himself against the wall, but could not manage to relax enough to sleep. He did not know what was wrong but had a feeling that if he slept, he would not wake up again. So, he stayed awake all night.

Extract-based Questions

Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow.

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.”

Question. (a) What did Tsetan say would be the only hurdle while they were on their way to Mount Kailash?
Answer: Tsetan said that the presence of snow on the high mountain passes would be the only potential hurdle on their way to Mount Kailash.

Question. (b) Why did Tsetan take a short cut?
(i) He wanted to avoid the traffic.
(ii) He knew the shortest route towards Mount Kailash.
(iii) He had to pick up another passenger.
(iv) He didn’t want to go to that town.
Answer: (ii) He knew the shortest route towards Mount Kailash.

Question. (c) Who was Tsetan? How did he know the route?
Answer: Tsetan was a local Tibetan guide and a professional driver. He knew the route because of his extensive experience in navigating the terrain and providing services to tourists and pilgrims in the region.

I didn’t think he was from those parts because he was wearing a windcheater and metal-rimmed spectacles of a Western style. He was a Tibetan, he told me, but worked in Beijing at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, in the Institute of Ethnic Literature. I assumed he was on some sort of fieldwork. “Yes and no,” he said. “I have come to do the kora.” My heart jumped.

Question. (a) About whom is the author talking?
Answer: The author is talking about Norbu, a Tibetan academician he met in a cafe in Darchen.

Question. (b) What was the author’s assumption about the stranger?
Answer: The author assumed that the stranger was an academician conducting some sort of fieldwork because of his Western-style attire and his association with a research institute in Beijing.

Question. (c) What was the purpose of the stranger in doing the kora?
(i) He wanted to become a monk.
(ii) He wanted peace.
(iii) He was practising meditation from a long time.
(iv) He was writing an academic paper on the Kailash kora.
Answer: (iv) He was writing an academic paper on the Kailash kora.

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. This one was a hive of activity, men with pickaxes and shovels trudging back and forth in their long sheepskin coats and salt-encrusted boots.

Question. (a) Why is it that on the top of the mountain there is a plateau pockmarked with salt flats?
Answer: The plateau has salt flats because it contains the remains of the ancient Tethys Ocean, which bordered Tibet before the continental collision pushed the land upward to its current high altitude.

Question. (b) What activity was going on in the area where there were flats of salt?
Answer: Men were actively working in the area with pickaxes and shovels, likely harvesting salt from the flats.

Question. (c) Where is the author in the given extract?
(i) He has reached Hor.
(ii) He is sitting in a cafe.
(iii) He is in a canvas tent.
(iv) He is in a guest house.
Answer: (iii) He is in a canvas tent.

Short Answer Questions 

Question. Describe the initial phase of their journey.
Answer: The journey began pleasantly from Ravu, where Lhamo gifted the author a sheepskin coat. Accompanied by Daniel and Tsetan, they took a shortcut through vast open plains, spotting gazelles and wild donkeys, eventually passing nomadic tents guarded by fierce Tibetan mastiffs as they climbed higher.

Question. How did Tsetan manoeuvre across the first patch of snow that they came across?
Answer: Tsetan first tested the snow's depth by stamping on it. To prevent the car from slipping, he and the others threw handfuls of dirt over the frozen surface to create traction. Once the track was covered with soil, Tsetan drove the vehicle across slowly.

Question. What difficulties did Tsetan face while taking shortcuts?
Answer: The shortcuts involved navigating high mountain passes prone to snow blockages. They encountered steep, icy slopes where the vehicle risked sliding off. The lack of oxygen at such high altitudes also affected the vehicle's engine performance and the passengers' health.

Question. What made the author believe that his strategy of positive thinking went well?
Answer: Despite his illness and the lack of pilgrims in Darchen, meeting Norbu—an English-speaking academician interested in the kora—changed his outlook. He felt he had found a compatible companion, justifying his decision to remain optimistic despite initial setbacks.

Question. Why, do you think, the chapter has been titled ‘Silk Road’? (Constructed Response Question)
Answer: The title ‘Silk Road’ is appropriate because the author’s journey follows segments of the historic Silk Route, the ancient network of trade paths that connected the East and West. It highlights the geographic and historical significance of the region Middleton is exploring.

Long Answer Questions 

Question. Describe the author’s journey from the top of the pass to his stay at Hor.
Answer: After successfully crossing the high pass at 5,515 metres, marked by a cairn of stones and prayer flags, the author and his team descended toward the plateau. The landscape shifted to a vast, arid wasteland pockmarked with salt flats and brackish lakes, which are remnants of the ancient Tethys Ocean. They stopped for a lunch of noodles in a canvas tent among workers harvesting salt. Upon reaching Hor, the author was profoundly disappointed. Expecting the legendary beauty of Lake Manasarovar described in various travel accounts, he found instead a grim, dirty, and miserable town devoid of vegetation and littered with years of accumulated rubbish. His stay there was brief and unpleasant, involving car repairs and a simple meal at a local cafe before pushing on toward Darchen.

Question. “He’s an adventurer, but at heart he was more a meticulous academic than a daredevil.” Explain the truth of the statement based on your reading of the chapter ‘Silk Road’. (Constructed Response Question)
Answer: Nick Middleton's journey is certainly adventurous, involving hazardous mountain passes and extreme altitudes, but his narrative reveals the mind of a meticulous geographer and academic. Rather than focusing solely on the thrill of the climb, he provides detailed scientific and historical context for everything he sees. He explains the geology of the salt flats as vestiges of the Tethys Ocean and references the cosmology of Lake Manasarovar as the source of major rivers. His observations about the flora and fauna, the lifestyle of the drokbas, and even his analysis of the Tibetan doctor’s medicine show a researcher’s curiosity. His struggle with altitude sickness is narrated with an almost clinical detachment. Finally, his relief at finding a companion in Norbu, a fellow academic, underscores his preference for intellectual connection over solitary bravado. He seeks to understand the world through observation and study, making him a scholar on an adventure.

Question. The author realised that the snow was both dangerous as well as beautiful. Justify.
Answer: Throughout the journey, snow represents a dual reality for the author. On one hand, it is a formidable danger that threatens to end the pilgrimage. Large snowdrifts on narrow mountain passes become literal blockages that require Tsetan’s expert manoeuvring and dirt-throwing to overcome. The icy surfaces make the vehicle prone to slipping and turning over, creating life-threatening situations at every turn. On the other hand, the snow provides moments of breathtaking beauty. The "snow-capped mountains" and the "river wide and clogged with ice" sparkling in the bright sunlight offer a majestic aesthetic experience. The contrast between the brilliant white of the hunks of snow and the bright orange lichen on the rocks adds to the picturesque landscape. For the author, the snow is a reminder of nature's raw power—capable of inspiring awe while simultaneously demanding extreme caution.