Important Questions for classXI Hornbill

The Portrait of a Lady

1.       The grandmother symbolizes for the old generation while the writer for the new generation. How?

2.       In the rapid pursuit of modernity we often neglect our grandparents. Prove it in reference to the character and life of grandmother.

3.       How are the rural and urban sets of life exhibited in the chapter?

4.       Why did the sparrows not take up the chunks of bread that day?

5.       Describe the grandmother’s love for religion, nature and animals.

6.       The dogs and sparrows became the gap-filling friend of grandmother. Clarify.

7.       Why did grandmother suffer acute loneliness and neglected? And how did she manage to overcome the depression and frustrations obtained due to it?

We are not afraid to die if we are all together

1.       How does the optimism and collaboration make the ship steer safely through life staking dangers of strong waves and storms?

2.       How could they celebrate the Christmas over their boat?

3.       What gift did the daughter present to their parents and what did it signify?

4.       ‘We are not afraid to die if we are all together’. How did it boost up the morale of father?

5.       Describe the efforts and endeavors done by them to tackle the toughest and roughest weather with demoniac storm, waves and winds.

6.       Why do people take risk on such expeditions?

Discovering Tut: the Saga Continues

1.       How did Tut move regally ahead of his countrymen -in death, as in life?

2.       Why were people afraid of the curse of pharaoh?

3.       What funerary treasures were laid along the mummy of dead and why?

4.       Why did the mummy of Tut draw attention of all and scanned numerously?

5.       Why was the era of Amenhotep IV called ‘the strangest period in the history of Egypt.’

6.       What difficulties did the scanning team face and why?

7.       What surprising facts of Tut were disclosed after scanning?

Landscape of the soul

1.       How did Chinese art differ from the European paintings? Give at least one instance of both from the chapter?

2.       What does ultimately happen to Wu Daozi  and his paintings?

3.       What is the Daoism of the universe? Or what is the concept of universe in Daosim?

4.       What is significance of vacuum / void /white space in Chinese painting?

5.       What role does man perform between earth and sky?

6.       What is ‘art brute or outsider art and how did it draw international attention?

7.       Why is the ‘rock garden ‘of Chandigarh an extraordinary and marvelous feat?

8.       What will be the real tribute to Nekchamd?

9.       An art depicts the life of an era. How?

The Ailing Planet: the Green movement’s Role

1.       When and why did the Green Movement start?

2.       What is the holistic and ecological view of the dear planet earth?

3.       Why and how is the earth considered as a living organism?

4.       What is ‘Sustainable development’ and who popularized this worldwide concept?

5.       Where and why is it written that, ‘Man is the most dangerous man of the earth’? Or ‘here is the world’s most dangerous animal’ while looking in the hanging glass.

6.        Why are the millions of living species still unnamed into ignominious darkness?

7.       Who said, ‘Are we to leave to our successors a scorched planet of advancing deserts, impoverished landscapes and ailing environment” and why?

8.       What are the four major biological system of the earth and how are they rapidly getting affected and depleted?

9.       Why is the ‘Power house of evolution’ on the verge of extinction?

10.   ‘What goes under the pot now costs more than what goes inside it.’ What the statement intends to say?

11.   The rate of erosion of the forests is more than what the records say. What did James Speth say in this regard?

12.   What provision given in Indian constitution to conserve forests and wildlife?

13.   What is the virtual condition of the Indian forests?

14.   How is the rapid growth of population responsible for all these environmental complexities?

15.   ‘Many hands do not many works but many hands without works’. How?

16.   Why has the protection of planet become issue of concern to all?

17.   ‘We have not inherited it from our forefathers but we have borrowed from our children’. Who made this statement and why?

18.   Why did Margaret Thatcher say, “No generation has free hold on this the earth, all we have a life tenancy-with full repairing lease?

The Browning Version

1.       Who was Taplow and why was he stayed even after school that day?

2.       Who was Frank and what did he suggest to Taplow?

3.       Did Taplow dislike Croker Harris? Why?

4.       Who was Croker Harris and why had he stayed Taplow after school?

5.       How did Croker Harris differ from other teachers?

6.       What is sadism? Was Croker Harris really a sadist? Why?

7.       How and why did Mrs. Croker Harris allow Taplow to go home?

8.       Why did Taplow hesitate not to disobey Croker even when Mrs. Croker Harris said?

9.       Do you think Croker Harris did wrong assigning extra work after school hour and being not well in time he promised? Why?

10.   Do you thing running away after stipulated time was better for Taplow? Why?

11.   Croker Harris could administer the school children but not his wife? Why?

The Adventure

1.       Why did Professor Gangadhar Pant travel into another world?

2.       How did Rajender Desh Pandey try to explain the complexities?

3.       What is catastrophic theory and how does Rajender Desh Pandey apply in the explaining the complexities?

4.       Why did he did he travel Town Hall Library?

5.       What was he preparing before being collided by the truck?

6.       What did Professor Gaitonde experience at Azad Maidan?

7.       Why was the piece of paper left in the pocket Professor Gaitonde?

8.       How was the expansion policy of British affected by the rise of Maratha power?

9.       Who was VInay Giatonde and why was his name not found in the address book of the receptionist?

10.   Why was the trouble maker Dadasaheb relegated to the background of politics?

11.   How did the missing of the bullet boost up the morale of the Maratha army?

12.   What evolution did the Maratha rulers did bring in India after their victory in Panipat battle?

13.   Why was the British power reduced pockets only to Bombay, Callcutta and Madras like European counterpart?

14.   What was the real historic result of Panipat battle and what was Professor hypothesizing?

15.   Why did Professor Giatonde occupy the vacant guest chair?

16.   Why did Rajender say , ‘Fact can be stranger than fantansy’?

17.   How did the torn paper of Bakhar add the complexity?

18.   Why can the behavior of atom not predicted though we have physical theories and how Rajender apply this in his explanation?

19.   Why did Rajender say that you need interaction for transition?

20.   What is lack of determinism in quantum theory?

21.   How and why did Giatonde make a transition?

22.   “You neither travelled to the past nor to the future, you were in the present but experiencing a different world” who made this statement and why?

23.   Why was the transition of Gaitonde called  a fantastic experience?

Silk Road

1.       Why did Nick Middleton visit mount Kailash?

2.       What mountainous life did the writer describe and how?

3.       What and why was the writer gifted the sheepskin coat?

4.       What features of Ravu did the writer give?

5.       How and why were the mastiffs popular in Chinese imperial courts?

6.       What did the writer observe in the way after taking short cut from Ravu?

7.       What scene did the galloping wild ass make?

8.       Why did the well wrapped figures of Ravu pause and stare at the approaching car?

9.       Why did the huge black dogs explode into action directly towards the car?

10.   What physical appearance of the mastiffs is described in the chapter?

11.   Where did the writer feel the pressure building up in his ears and nose and why?

12.   Why and where were they surrounded by the snow and how did they come out of it?

13.   How did Tsetan steer out of another blockage of the snow?

14.   How did the writer’s experience differ from his earlier accounts of Hor?

15.   Who was Norbu and why had he come to mount Kailash?

16.   How did Norbu meet the writer and why could he not to complete the Kora?

17.   Why did the writer spend a restless night in Darchen? Or what was the bitter experience of writer at Darchen?

18.   Why had the writer more difficulties and odds than usual in his trip to Mount Kailash?

19.   Where did Tsetan leave the writer and why?

20.   When did the writer and his fellows realize that they are near the destination? Or how was the presence of Mount Kailash felt by the writer and his fellowmen?

21.   Where did Daniel leave them and why?

22.   What complications of altitude were felt by the writer and his fellowmen?

23.   Nick Middleton depicts vivid and lucid images of various aspects of mountainous activities and beauties during his journey from Ravu to Mount Kailash. How?

The Photograph

1.       Why did both mother and daughter suffer the loss?

2.       What did the sea not change although time passed and what did it symbolize?

The Laburnum Top

1.       How did the Laburnum tree look before the arrival of the goldfinch?

2.       What changes did occur in the tree after the goldfinch flied away to infinite?

The Voice of the Rain

1.       How did the rain / shower reply to question of the poet?

2.       How does the rain originate?

3.       What water circle is described in the poem?

4.       What is the function of the rain given in the poem?

Childhood

1.       What question did the poet raise in the chapter Childhood and why?

2.       ‘Was it when I realized hell and heaven.’ What does hell and heaven symbolize and signify?

3.       Why does the poet raise the question of loss of childhood?

4.       How can an infant give the answer of this mysterious question?

5.