Workbook solutions of Journey by Night by Norah Burke
I.
(i) ‘He’ refers to Sher Singh. He ran to get water, sticks and dung for the fire to get hot water for his sick, younger brother.
(ii) The ‘child’ referred to in the extract is Sher Singh’s younger brother, Kunwar. He was suffering from acute stomach ache.
(iii) Sher Singh’s mother was worried to see her child’s illness but she did not react at all. This was because she had gone through such ordeals many times when her other children had gradually moved towards death.
(iv) Kalaghat was a town in the Solan district of Himachal Pradesh. It was fifty miles away from Sher Singh’s village, Laldwani. The villagers used to go Kalaghat by crossing two rivers and then taking a lift in a bullock cart or a broken-down truck.
(v) Sher Singh was shocked to know that his brother had to be hospitalized. This was because of the belief prevalent among the jungle people that hospital was the place for those who were destined to die.
(vi) The boy suggested that he would call his father to take his younger brother to the hospital at Kalaghat. The mother said that it would be too late before his father would reach home. It tells us that she was wise enough to judge the severity of her child’s deteriorating condition and that by the time her husband would return, the child’s condition would deteriorate further and may even prove fatal.
II.
(i) Bahadur the Brave was the title given to Sher Singh Bahadur. He was given this title because of his deeds of courage, which 9 helped save the lives of many, whenever he accompanied an expedition in the forest in search of big game, either to photograph or shoot them.
(ii) Bahadur lived in Laldwani village. He was a farmer by occupation. Besides farming, he was famous as a hunter.
(iii) The members of the expeditions wanted Bahadur to join them because
(a) he had a thorough knowledge of the forest around his village.
(b) he was familiar with the sounds of animals and birds, which proved as an asset during a hunting or photographic expedition.
(iv) Bahadur got scars on his body, when he was attacked by a tiger while saving one of his comrades from the tiger. The tiger’s claws tore open his flesh down his skull to the back of his shoulder and left the scars there.
(v) Bahadur was away in jungle on a photographic expedition. His actions tells us that he was a brave and adventure-loving man, who was ever ready to be a part of any expedition in the jungle.
(vi) Bahadur was negligent of his duties towards his family. Most of the times he used to be away in the jungle on hunting or shooting trips seeking adventure, overlooking the needs of his wife and children. It was because of Bahadur’s negligent attitude that his family suffered. Perhaps, it was Bahadur’s absence from his family for days together that his other children could not be saved from death, caused by cholera, influenza and jungle accidents.
III. (i) Kunwar Singh was Sher Singh’s younger brother. He had to be taken to the hospital because of acute pain in his stomach and fever. Sher Singh’s brother was in a serious condition. He was writhing in such a pain that Sher Singh could see death in his eyes.
(ii) Sher Singh’s father was away in jungle, accompanying a photographic expedition. There were no men in the village because all of them had accompanied Sher Singh Bahadur as beaters on the photographic expedition in the jungle.
(iii) Sher Singh’s mother being a hill woman knew about carrying loads. She took one of her two saris to make a sling that could be put around Sher Singh’s forehead and down his back, to carry his sick, younger brother to the hospital.
(iv) The mother felt that Sher Singh’s brother was too big to be carried by Sher Singh all through the fifty miles to the hospital at Kalaghat. She said that he would not be able to get to the hospital. The boy did not respond in any way and set off silently from there.
(v) Sher Singh’s family was not financially sound. According to the extract, Sher Singh’s mother had to look after the cattle and work their land when his father used to be away in the jungle because otherwise they would be starved. The other examples from the story are:
(a) Sher Singh had to gather sticks from the forest for firewood.
(b) Sher Singh’s mother had only two saris and used one of them for making the sling.
(c) They did not have the basic necessities of life like water, which had to fetched from far away.
(vi) Sher Singh’s decision to take his brother alone to the hospital tells us that he was not only a responsible boy but also selfless and had a deep love for his brother.
IV.
(i) It was a cobra. The creature was sunning itself on the jungle path in the last of the daylight. When Sher Singh stepped close to it, it contracted and rose with a hiss, spreading its hood.
(ii) On seeing the creature, Sher Singh was petrified and stood frozen. He backed away from the cobra.
(iii) Sher Singh was heading towards the hospital at Kalaghat. He had planned to pass through the jungle, cross two rivers and complete the rest of his journey by taking a lift in a bullock cart or a truck.
(iv) The jungle presented many challenges to the boy in the form of impenetrable thorny bushes and scrubs and a number of wild animals, ready to devour him. The beasts of prey posed more danger to the humans now than before because poaching had reduced the deer population considerably and forced the beasts of prey to kill domestic animals and even human beings for food.
(v) The boy quickened his steps on the journey on seeing bear tracks in the dust and thus, avoiding a possible encounter with the bear.
(vi) Sher Singh decided to take rest on a cliff above the river bed because he was extremely tired and knew that he would not be able to go any further without taking rest.
V.
(i) Sher Singh and Kunwar were on the cliff, when they heard the jostle and squeal of elephants. Sher Singh was tired and his 11 back and forehead were hurting, so he gently put down Kunwar to take rest, when they heard squeal of the elephants.
(ii) An old elephant was the leader of elephants. He was more aggressive at that time because of the period of heightened aggressiveness that happens annually in male elephants.
(iii) Sher Singh chilled with fright because the old elephant, moving his tusk to and fro came round towards him. He could not escape in the situation because he could neither climb nor run, carrying his brother on his back.
(iv) Sher Singh earnestly prayed to God to avert the danger. It tells us that Sher Singh was a brave boy who had firm belief in God. It seems that God heard Sher Singh’s prayers and consequently, the elephant hurriedly went away.
(v) Immediately after being saved from the elephants, Sher Singh got up and decided to continue his journey. This was because he heard an elephant trumpet at a distance and could not take the risk of being attacked by elephants again.
VI.
(i) Sher Singh had anticipated the river would be shallow and the water would not be very cold as the snow-water would not have entered the river by that time. However, when Sher Singh entered the river, he found the water colder than he had anticipated. Besides, it was almost waist-deep, deeper than what he had thought. Further, there was the danger of his falling into the river because of slime on the stone.
(ii) The bridge at the second river was a kutcha, impermanent one. It was made of rings of bamboo poles driven into the river bed and tied round and were filled with stones to make the piers of the bridge. The surface of the bridge was also made of bamboos laid down horizontally and across and laced thick grass and river gravel.
(iii) When Sher Singh reached the second river, his hopes were shattered to see the river in flood, as he had not expected floods at that time of the year. The river was in flood because of the melting of a big head of snow. The bridge over the river had submerged because of the sudden floods in the river.
(iv) The breaking of the bridge made matters worse for the boy because now the boy had to swim across the flooded river, with his younger brother on his back.
(v) The boy crossed the second river by moving along the wreck of the broken bridge and holding on to anything he could hold along the way. He made sure that his brother was not harmed by making a rope of grass and tying it round his brother and himself and by keeping his brother’s head above water.
(vi) As Sher Singh and his brother entered the second river, the river seized them and flattened them against the wreck of the broken bridge. With great difficulty, Sher Singh managed to move holding on to the things he could get hold of. But the flood water deafened him and the timber banged and bruised him. The water was too cold for him to keep his hold. So he was deaf, blinded, frozen and drowned. But he continued moving ahead and finally crossed the second river.
VII.
(i) After crossing the river, Sher Singh took a lift, first in a bullock cart and then in a truck to reach the hospital.
(ii) People were surprised to hear his story when they came to know that he has brought his sick brother to the hospital all alone by crossing the flooded river.
(iii) At the rail yards, Sher Singh got the work of loading coal. He earned a few pence. With the money, he bought coarse atta (flour), some mustard oil and chillies to cook a meal for himself.
(iv) Sher Singh put up in the hospital compound, where the relatives of other patients in the hospital were camping. Sher Singh was overtaken by the feelings of anxiety about the condition of his ailing, younger brother and expected the worst.
(v) The doctor addressed Sher Singh as Sher Singh Bahadur. He did so to applaud his deed of bravery of carrying his ailing brother, all along to the hospital. Sher Singh replied that his father Sher Singh Bahadur was not present there and that his name was Sher Singh.
(vi) The doctor informed Sher Singh that his brother was out of danger and that he would live.
I.
(i) ‘He’ refers to Sher Singh. He ran to get water, sticks and dung for the fire to get hot water for his sick, younger brother.
(ii) The ‘child’ referred to in the extract is Sher Singh’s younger brother, Kunwar. He was suffering from acute stomach ache.
(iii) Sher Singh’s mother was worried to see her child’s illness but she did not react at all. This was because she had gone through such ordeals many times when her other children had gradually moved towards death.
(iv) Kalaghat was a town in the Solan district of Himachal Pradesh. It was fifty miles away from Sher Singh’s village, Laldwani. The villagers used to go Kalaghat by crossing two rivers and then taking a lift in a bullock cart or a broken-down truck.
(v) Sher Singh was shocked to know that his brother had to be hospitalized. This was because of the belief prevalent among the jungle people that hospital was the place for those who were destined to die.
(vi) The boy suggested that he would call his father to take his younger brother to the hospital at Kalaghat. The mother said that it would be too late before his father would reach home. It tells us that she was wise enough to judge the severity of her child’s deteriorating condition and that by the time her husband would return, the child’s condition would deteriorate further and may even prove fatal.
II.
(i) Bahadur the Brave was the title given to Sher Singh Bahadur. He was given this title because of his deeds of courage, which 9 helped save the lives of many, whenever he accompanied an expedition in the forest in search of big game, either to photograph or shoot them.
(ii) Bahadur lived in Laldwani village. He was a farmer by occupation. Besides farming, he was famous as a hunter.
(iii) The members of the expeditions wanted Bahadur to join them because
(a) he had a thorough knowledge of the forest around his village.
(b) he was familiar with the sounds of animals and birds, which proved as an asset during a hunting or photographic expedition.
(iv) Bahadur got scars on his body, when he was attacked by a tiger while saving one of his comrades from the tiger. The tiger’s claws tore open his flesh down his skull to the back of his shoulder and left the scars there.
(v) Bahadur was away in jungle on a photographic expedition. His actions tells us that he was a brave and adventure-loving man, who was ever ready to be a part of any expedition in the jungle.
(vi) Bahadur was negligent of his duties towards his family. Most of the times he used to be away in the jungle on hunting or shooting trips seeking adventure, overlooking the needs of his wife and children. It was because of Bahadur’s negligent attitude that his family suffered. Perhaps, it was Bahadur’s absence from his family for days together that his other children could not be saved from death, caused by cholera, influenza and jungle accidents.
III. (i) Kunwar Singh was Sher Singh’s younger brother. He had to be taken to the hospital because of acute pain in his stomach and fever. Sher Singh’s brother was in a serious condition. He was writhing in such a pain that Sher Singh could see death in his eyes.
(ii) Sher Singh’s father was away in jungle, accompanying a photographic expedition. There were no men in the village because all of them had accompanied Sher Singh Bahadur as beaters on the photographic expedition in the jungle.
(iii) Sher Singh’s mother being a hill woman knew about carrying loads. She took one of her two saris to make a sling that could be put around Sher Singh’s forehead and down his back, to carry his sick, younger brother to the hospital.
(iv) The mother felt that Sher Singh’s brother was too big to be carried by Sher Singh all through the fifty miles to the hospital at Kalaghat. She said that he would not be able to get to the hospital. The boy did not respond in any way and set off silently from there.
(v) Sher Singh’s family was not financially sound. According to the extract, Sher Singh’s mother had to look after the cattle and work their land when his father used to be away in the jungle because otherwise they would be starved. The other examples from the story are:
(a) Sher Singh had to gather sticks from the forest for firewood.
(b) Sher Singh’s mother had only two saris and used one of them for making the sling.
(c) They did not have the basic necessities of life like water, which had to fetched from far away.
(vi) Sher Singh’s decision to take his brother alone to the hospital tells us that he was not only a responsible boy but also selfless and had a deep love for his brother.
IV.
(i) It was a cobra. The creature was sunning itself on the jungle path in the last of the daylight. When Sher Singh stepped close to it, it contracted and rose with a hiss, spreading its hood.
(ii) On seeing the creature, Sher Singh was petrified and stood frozen. He backed away from the cobra.
(iii) Sher Singh was heading towards the hospital at Kalaghat. He had planned to pass through the jungle, cross two rivers and complete the rest of his journey by taking a lift in a bullock cart or a truck.
(iv) The jungle presented many challenges to the boy in the form of impenetrable thorny bushes and scrubs and a number of wild animals, ready to devour him. The beasts of prey posed more danger to the humans now than before because poaching had reduced the deer population considerably and forced the beasts of prey to kill domestic animals and even human beings for food.
(v) The boy quickened his steps on the journey on seeing bear tracks in the dust and thus, avoiding a possible encounter with the bear.
(vi) Sher Singh decided to take rest on a cliff above the river bed because he was extremely tired and knew that he would not be able to go any further without taking rest.
V.
(i) Sher Singh and Kunwar were on the cliff, when they heard the jostle and squeal of elephants. Sher Singh was tired and his 11 back and forehead were hurting, so he gently put down Kunwar to take rest, when they heard squeal of the elephants.
(ii) An old elephant was the leader of elephants. He was more aggressive at that time because of the period of heightened aggressiveness that happens annually in male elephants.
(iii) Sher Singh chilled with fright because the old elephant, moving his tusk to and fro came round towards him. He could not escape in the situation because he could neither climb nor run, carrying his brother on his back.
(iv) Sher Singh earnestly prayed to God to avert the danger. It tells us that Sher Singh was a brave boy who had firm belief in God. It seems that God heard Sher Singh’s prayers and consequently, the elephant hurriedly went away.
(v) Immediately after being saved from the elephants, Sher Singh got up and decided to continue his journey. This was because he heard an elephant trumpet at a distance and could not take the risk of being attacked by elephants again.
VI.
(i) Sher Singh had anticipated the river would be shallow and the water would not be very cold as the snow-water would not have entered the river by that time. However, when Sher Singh entered the river, he found the water colder than he had anticipated. Besides, it was almost waist-deep, deeper than what he had thought. Further, there was the danger of his falling into the river because of slime on the stone.
(ii) The bridge at the second river was a kutcha, impermanent one. It was made of rings of bamboo poles driven into the river bed and tied round and were filled with stones to make the piers of the bridge. The surface of the bridge was also made of bamboos laid down horizontally and across and laced thick grass and river gravel.
(iii) When Sher Singh reached the second river, his hopes were shattered to see the river in flood, as he had not expected floods at that time of the year. The river was in flood because of the melting of a big head of snow. The bridge over the river had submerged because of the sudden floods in the river.
(iv) The breaking of the bridge made matters worse for the boy because now the boy had to swim across the flooded river, with his younger brother on his back.
(v) The boy crossed the second river by moving along the wreck of the broken bridge and holding on to anything he could hold along the way. He made sure that his brother was not harmed by making a rope of grass and tying it round his brother and himself and by keeping his brother’s head above water.
(vi) As Sher Singh and his brother entered the second river, the river seized them and flattened them against the wreck of the broken bridge. With great difficulty, Sher Singh managed to move holding on to the things he could get hold of. But the flood water deafened him and the timber banged and bruised him. The water was too cold for him to keep his hold. So he was deaf, blinded, frozen and drowned. But he continued moving ahead and finally crossed the second river.
VII.
(i) After crossing the river, Sher Singh took a lift, first in a bullock cart and then in a truck to reach the hospital.
(ii) People were surprised to hear his story when they came to know that he has brought his sick brother to the hospital all alone by crossing the flooded river.
(iii) At the rail yards, Sher Singh got the work of loading coal. He earned a few pence. With the money, he bought coarse atta (flour), some mustard oil and chillies to cook a meal for himself.
(iv) Sher Singh put up in the hospital compound, where the relatives of other patients in the hospital were camping. Sher Singh was overtaken by the feelings of anxiety about the condition of his ailing, younger brother and expected the worst.
(v) The doctor addressed Sher Singh as Sher Singh Bahadur. He did so to applaud his deed of bravery of carrying his ailing brother, all along to the hospital. Sher Singh replied that his father Sher Singh Bahadur was not present there and that his name was Sher Singh.
(vi) The doctor informed Sher Singh that his brother was out of danger and that he would live.
1 comment
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