CBSE Class 11 English We Are Not Afraid To Die Worksheet Set 03

Extract-based Questions

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

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.”

Question. What do you understand by the phrase ‘Mayday call’?
Answer: A 'Mayday call' is an international radio distress signal used by ships and aircraft to communicate life-threatening emergencies and request immediate assistance.

Question. How did they spend their night?
Answer: They spent their night in an endless, bitterly cold routine of pumping out water from the ship, steering the vessel, and trying to establish radio contact for help.

Question. What had happened to Sue when the author went to check on them?
(a) She had enormous black eyes.
(b) She had a deep cut on her arm.
(c) She had fractured her right leg.
(d) Both (a) and (b)
Answer: (d) Both (a) and (b)

But our respite was short-lived. At 4 p.m. black clouds began building up behind us; within the hour the wind was back to 40 knots and the seas were getting higher. The weather continued to deteriorate throughout the night, and by dawn on January 5, our situation was again desperate. 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.”

Question. ‘But our respite was short-lived’. Why did the author say so?
Answer: The author said so because after a brief period of relief, the weather conditions quickly worsened as the wind returned to 40 knots and the sea waves became higher within an hour.

Question. Describe the weather condition on January 4.
Answer: On January 4, black clouds started building up, the wind speed increased back to 40 knots, and the seas became higher. The weather continued to deteriorate throughout the night.

Question. What was the attitude of the author’s children towards their deteriorating condition?
(a) Optimistic
(b) Pessimistic
(c) Reprimanding
(d) Imbalanced
Answer: (a) Optimistic

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.

Question. What were the thoughts running in the author’s mind when he felt land under his feet?
Answer: The author's mind was filled with gratitude and admiration for the optimism of his crew (Larry and Herbie), the support of his wife Mary at the wheel, and the incredible bravery of his children Sue and Jonathan.

Question. Who steered the boat at the crucial time?
Answer: Mary, the author's wife, steered the boat during the most crucial hours of the crisis.

Question. What does the word ‘recurring’ mean?
(a) Happening again
(b) Occurring irregularly
(c) Happening occasionally
(d) None of the options
Answer: (a) Happening again

Short Answer Questions 

Question. Describe Wavewalker.
Answer: Wavewalker was a 23-metre, 30-ton wooden-hulled ship. It was professionally built for the purpose of a round-the-world voyage and had been fitted out and tested in the roughest weather possible for several months before the journey began.

Question. Elucidate the role of Mary in the story.
Answer: Mary played a vital supportive role. She accompanied her husband on the dangerous voyage and showed great resilience. During the most critical hours of the storm, she stayed at the wheel, steering the ship while the narrator and crew worked to save it.

Question. How did the crewmen contribute in solving the crisis?
Answer: The crewmen, Larry Vigil and Herb Seigler, were instrumental in the ship's survival. They worked tirelessly and frantically, pumping water out of the flooded ship for over 36 hours while remaining cheerful and optimistic despite the life-threatening situation.

Question. Was it safe for the author and his wife to undertake such a dangerous voyage with two little children? (Constructed Response Question)
Answer: No, it was objectively unsafe. Venturing into the southern Indian Ocean, one of the world's roughest seas, carries extreme risks. Exposing a six and seven-year-old to such potential disasters, despite having a professional ship, was a precarious decision that nearly resulted in tragedy.

Question. Do you think the behaviour of the children was beyond normal expectations? (Constructed Response Question)
Answer: Yes, the children's behaviour was extraordinary. Sue showed incredible maturity by hiding the severity of her head injury to avoid worrying her parents, while Jonathan's statement that he wasn't afraid to die as long as they were together showed profound courage and love.

Long Answer Questions 

Question. After having read the chapter, what is your opinion on ‘the rationale behind undertaking such adventurous exercises’? (Constructed Response Question)
Answer: The rationale behind such adventurous exercises lies in the human spirit's desire to seek challenges and push beyond known limits. For the author, it was a dream to replicate the historic feat of Captain James Cook. Adventure provides a sense of accomplishment and tests human endurance, skill, and presence of mind against the raw power of nature. While these expeditions involve high risks, they also offer unique experiences of bonding, teamwork, and resilience. They inspire others to overcome fears and pursue dreams. However, such rationale must be balanced with responsibility, especially when others' lives are involved. The ultimate goal is often personal growth, the thrill of discovery, and the satisfaction of overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles through courage and optimism.

Question. Was there an element of selfishness in the minds of the author and his wife, while exposing their children to such a disastrous situation? (Constructed Response Question)
Answer: One could argue that an element of selfishness existed, as the parents prioritised their personal passion and ambition over the safety of their young children. Undertaking a journey across the treacherous southern Indian Ocean in a small vessel is inherently dangerous, and doing so with minors could be seen as irresponsible. Their desire for adventure nearly cost the family their lives. However, from another perspective, they intended to provide their children with a unique, life-changing experience and spent years preparing and honing their seafaring skills. The crisis also brought out the best in the children, fostering incredible maturity and familial bonds. While the decision was highly risky, it was rooted in a shared family dream rather than a malicious disregard for safety.

Question. As a reader, how would you empathise with the mental trauma that the children might have experienced in their disastrous rendezvous with death? (Constructed Response Question)
Answer: As a reader, one can empathise with the profound trauma of being trapped in a dark, flooded cabin while hearing the roar of a storm and feeling the ship tilt dangerously. For a child, the sight of their parents injured and struggling would be terrifying. Sue’s physical pain from her head injury and her internal struggle to stay brave to protect her parents' focus show a deep psychological burden. Jonathan’s contemplation of death at such a young age highlights the severity of their ordeal. This rendezvous with death likely left lasting emotional scars, yet their empathy and optimism served as their own coping mechanism. Their experience underscores how children often process trauma by focusing on family unity and the heroics of their caregivers to manage their own fear.

Short Answer Questions 

Question. Why did the author and his wife go for a sea voyage and how did they prepare for it?
Answer: The author and his wife wanted to duplicate the round-the-world voyage made 200 years earlier by Captain James Cook. They got the boat Wavewalker professionally built for this purpose and were honing their seafaring skills in the British waters since the past 16 years.

Question. How was Wavewalker prepared for the journey?
Answer: They bought a boat, Wavewalker, a 23 metre, 30 ton wooden-hulled vessel that had been professionally built. They spent months fitting it out and testing it in the roughest weather that they could find.

Question. How was the journey till Christmas day?
Answer: From their second day out of Cape Town, they encountered strong winds that continued for the next few weeks. The gales did not worry the narrator but the sizes of the waves were disturbing. On December 25th, they were about 3,500 km east of Cape Town, facing atrocious weather, which started deteriorating thereafter.

Question. What ordeal awaited them on 2 January?
Answer: At the dawn of 2 January, the waves were gigantic. As the ship rose to the top of each wave, they could see the vast sea rolling towards them. The screaming of the wind and the spray was painful to their ears.

Question. What measures did they take to counter this ordeal?
Answer: To counter the endless seas rolling towards them, they dropped the storm jib and lashed a heavy mooring rope in a loop across the stern to slow the boat, and then double-lashed everything, went through their life-raft drill, attached lifelines, put on oilskins and life jackets.

Question. What was the impact of the frightful breaking crest on the ship?
Answer: The roar of the waves increased to a thunder as the stern moved up the face of the wave. For a moment, the author thought that they might ride over the wave. But unfortunately, that was not to be. A mighty explosion shook the deck and a torrent of water broke over the ship.

Question. How did the narrator get back onto the ship after having been thrown into the sea?
Answer: After the narrator felt he was losing consciousness, his head suddenly popped out of the water. A few metres away, he saw the Wavewalker, nearly capsizing. Then a wave threw it upright. He grabbed the guard rails and sailed through the air into Wavewalker’s main boom.

Question. Were things under control for the author after he got back onto the ship?
Answer: Unfortunately, no. The waves tossed him onto the deck like a rag doll. This caused his ribs to crack and his mouth was filled with blood as he had broken his teeth. All he could do was find the wheel, line up the stern and wait in abated silence for the next wave.

Question. How did they manage to throw out water from the ship?
Answer: The author’s wife, Mary, took charge of the wheel. He half-swam, half-crawled into the children’s cabin, where he found a hammer, screws and canvas, and struggled back on deck. He secured waterproof hatch covers across the wide-open holes. Some water continued to stream below, but most of it was now being deflected over the side.

Question. How did the pumps add to their miseries?
Answer: Problems multiplied when the hand pumps started getting blocked up with the debris floating around the cabins. The electric pump short-circuited. The two spare hand pumps had been wrenched overboard. Eventually, a spare electric pump in the chartroom was connected to an out-pipe that did the task of pushing out the water.

Question. What were the difficulties that they faced that night?
Answer: The night was bitterly cold, and they were pumping water out of the ship, steering the ship and working the radio. All attempts at getting help were failing as they were getting no replies to their Mayday calls. This was probably because they were in a remote corner of the world.

Question. Describe the nature of Sue’s injuries. How did she handle them?
Answer: Sue had bumped her head and there was a big bump above her eyes. She had two black eyes, and a deep cut on her arm. She showed remarkable maturity for a seven-year-old when she said that she didn’t want to worry her father or mother while they were trying to save all of them.

Question. What further damage was noticed on the ship?
Answer: On 3rd January, things seemed under control. But they noticed a tremendous leak somewhere below the waterline. On checking, the author noticed that nearly all of the boat’s main rib frames were smashed to the keel. There was nothing holding up a whole section of the starboard hull except a few cupboard portions. He was worried if the Wavewalker could sustain till they reached Australia.

Question. What was the plan they devised in order to survive?
Answer: Realising the gravity of the problem, the narrator checked the charts and calculated that there were two small islands a few hundred kilometres to the east. One of them was Ile Amsterdam. Knowing that the Wavewalker would not hold for much longer, they aimed to reach the island.

Question. Why was the respite from the torrential waves short-lived?
Answer: It was on January 4 that they ate their first meal in almost two days after pumping out most of the water. But their breather was short-lived. Around 4 p.m., black clouds gathered, the wind rose to 40 knots and the sea kept getting higher. The weather deteriorated and by dawn on 5 January, the situation turned hopeless again.

Question. What did Jon say that left the narrator speechless?
Answer: When the narrator tried to comfort and reassure the children, Jon said that they were not afraid of dying if all four of them could be together. The narrator could find no words to respond, but he left the children’s cabin determined to fight the sea with everything he had.

Question. What did the author do after leaving his children’s cabin?
Answer: He realised that it was necessary to protect the weakened starboard side. Therefore, he 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.

Question. What surprise awaited the author when he woke up at 6 p.m.?
Answer: Just as he was resigning himself to the fact that they must have missed the island, he was in for a great surprise. Jon and Sue had dropped by, to appreciate their dear dad. Jon called him the best daddy in the whole world and the best captain, and Sue very casually told her shocked father that the island was right in front of them.

Long Answer Questions

Question. Describe the harrowing experience of the author as mighty waves hit Wavewalker in the southern Indian Ocean.
Answer: A mighty wave hit the stern of their ship Wavewalker in the evening of 2nd January. A tremendous explosion shook the deck. A torrent of green and white water broke over the ship. The author’s head struck against the wheel. He was thrown overboard. He was sinking below the waves and losing his consciousness. He accepted his approaching death. He felt quite peaceful. Suddenly, his head appeared out of the water. A few metres away, ‘Wavewalker’ was turning over in water. Her masts were almost horizontal. Then a wave hurled her upright. The narrator’s lifeline jerked taut. He grabbed the guard rails and sailed through the air into Wavewalker’s main boom. Succeeding waves tossed him around the deck like a rag doll. His left ribs cracked. His mouth was filled with blood and broken teeth. Somehow, he found the wheel, lined up the stern for the next wave and held on tightly.

Question. How did the ‘disaster’ announce its ominous arrival? What followed thereafter?
Answer: The first warning of the approaching disaster came with an inauspicious silence. The wind dropped, and the sky grew dark. Then there was a growing roar, and an enormous cloud towered aft of the ship. The author realised that it was not a cloud but an extraordinary huge wave. It turned out to be a vertical wave, almost twice the height of the other waves, and had a fearsome breaking crest. The roar began to increase to a thunder as the stern moved up the face of the wave, and for a moment, he expected that they might possibly ride over it. Unfortunately, a tremendous explosion shook the deck. A torrent of green and white water broke over the ship. The author’s head hit against the wheel and he was thrown into the sea. He accepted his impending death, and felt he was losing consciousness. But soon, he was tossed back onto the ship like a ‘rag doll’.

Question. How did they deal with the water that had gushed into the ship?
Answer: As Mary took control of the wheel, the author made his way towards the hatch. Larry and Herb were pumping out water frantically. He saw broken timbers hung at crazy angles, the starboard side bulged inwards; clothes, crockery, charts, tins and toys sloshed about in deep water. So, he struggled into the children’s cabin, found a hammer, screws and canvas, and laboured back on to the deck. He managed to stretch the canvas and secured waterproof hatch covers across the gaping holes. Some water continued to stream below, but most of it was now being deflected over the side. More problems cropped up when the hand pumps started to block up with the fragments floating around the cabins and the electric pump short-circuited. The water level rose threateningly. Back on the deck, he noticed that the two spare hand pumps, forestay sail, jib, the dinghies and the main anchor had been wrenched overboard. He recalled that there was another electric pump under the chartroom floor. He then connected it to an out-pipe, and this thankfully worked.

Question. Why do you think people undertake such adventurous expeditions in spite of the risks involved? 
Answer: Man is adventurous by nature. The greater the risk, the more the thrill. The thrill of exploring unknown lands, discovering the beauty lying hidden in far off lands, etc. inspires brave hearts to stake their lives. Perhaps the challenges, fear and risk involved is more valuable than leading a long and uneventful life of sloth and inactivity. It is true that sometimes adventures are quite risky and may prove fatal. The failures of some people do not hamper the quest of the real lovers of adventure. They draw lessons from the shortcomings and errors of others and make fresh attempts with greater zeal. The thrill and charm of an adventurous expedition lies in adapting oneself to the circumstances, preparing adequately and overcoming the odds. The success of an adventurous expedition brings name, fame and wealth, and gives one the satisfaction of having tried, failed and finally succeeded. History books illustrate the feats of famous explorers like Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Captain Cook and Captain Scott.

Question. What qualities of human life have been expressed in the lesson by the author?
Answer: The story ‘We’re Not Afraid to Die’ gives us an insight into the adventures of a family that was out on a voyage, and the experiences they had while on the journey. The story brings to the fore the emotional upheavals the family faces, which helps one understand the importance of a family. The story highlights the role of each member of the family and their contribution in the perseverance for survival. The support, confidence and faith the children have in their father, enhances his determination to save his family. He therefore, leaves no stone unturned and secures the safety of his beautiful family. Unity, love, courage and responsibility, and an indomitable spirit of positivity is displayed by the family members. They are even prepared to die, provided they are together.

Question. ‘Our optimistic attitude helps us to ace extremely dangerous situations.’ Discuss with reference to the chapter. 
Answer: It was the optimism of the author, the captain of the Wavewalker, that saved the lives of his family and the crew members. The craft suffered serious damage during the storm and could have sunk with all on board. But the author had an extremely positive approach. There was never a thought of giving up or allowing the situation to overwhelm him. Rather, he constantly looked for solutions as problems came up one after the other. The author was calm throughout the crisis and was, therefore, able to meet the challenges of the moment. He and his crew members were determined to weather the storm. He was thrown overboard but came back and hung on to the wheel. He arranged for pumping the sea water out. The children were a great source of strength to him. Their faith in him heightened his desire to protect them and his ship. Because of his calmness, he was able to make the best use of his navigation skills and seamanship.

Question. How did the children’s presence and behaviour during the crisis affect the author?
Answer: The children on board were fully aware of the crisis looming over their boat and yet did not panic or express their anxiety, which strengthened the author’s resolve to save the ship. His determination to fight against all odds was further strengthened when his son proclaimed that they did not mind dying, but only wished to die together. This encouraging bravery sharpened the author’s innovative streak as he worked meticulously at calculating wind speeds, changes of course, drift and current, to reach their destination. When Sue had handed the author a ‘Thank-you’ card, the touching gesture dispelled negativity and boosted his determination. Even when he turned skeptical of his calculations about reaching the island, the children still had implicit faith in him and believed he had guided them to the safety of the island.