Silk Road Short Question Answers

 

 

I. Give reasons for the following statements.

 

1. The article has been titled ‘Silk Road.’

 

Ans: The article has been titled ‘Silk Road’’ because the protagonist explored the region of old silk route which was one of the historical routes for trade. The route connected Afro-Eurasian land. Trade of Chinese silk, spices, teas and porcelain, Indian textiles, pepper and precious stones, Roman Empire’s gold, silver, glassware, wine, carpets, and jewels were done. 

 

2. Tibetan mastiffs were popular in China’s imperial courts. 

Ans: Tibetan mastiffs were popular in China’s imperial courts as big hunting dogs. They were fearless and furious with big jaws. They were brought along the Silk Road as a watchdog from Tibet. They were a tribute in ancient times. 

 

3. The author’s experience at Hor was in stark contrast to earlier accounts of the place.

 

Ans: Hor was an ugly and miserable place which had no vegetation and just dust and rocks. It was scattered with gathered refuse and it is luckless that it was on the shore of Lake Mansarovar which is Tibet’s most respected water. Ekai Kawaguchi was a Japanese monk who arrived in the town in 1900, he was so moved with the purity of the lake that he cried. After a few years, similar effect was on Sven Hedin a Swedish who didn’t have such an emotional outburst.

 

The protagonist’s car suffered from two punctures in that place. When he reached that place’s only café to have some tea, the place was filled with badly painted concrete and three broken windows. 

 

4. The author was disappointed with Darchen. 

Ans: He was disappointed with Darchen because he was having health issues due to change in altitude. He had a cold and was unable to sleep at night. The place had no pilgrims and it was filled with loads of remains and trash.

 

 

5. The author thought that his positive thinking strategy worked well after all. 

Ans: The author thought that his positive thinking strategy worked well after all because he finally met someone who understood his language and was there to complete the kora just like him. He met Norbu at Darchen’s only café. Earlier, he got ill as soon as he reached the place. No one understood English well. He felt lonely as there were no pilgrims around.

 

He decided to team up with him to complete his journey. He was glad he maintained his positive thinking approach in life.  

 

1. The purpose of the author’s journey to Mount Kailash. 

Ans: The author wanted to go to Mount Kailash to complete the kora which is an essential display in Buddhism. Buddhists believers are to be performed meditation in this process. 

 

2. The author’s physical condition in Darchen. 

Ans: The author was ill when he reached Darchen. His sinus was were blocked because of the cold weather and altitude change. He didn’t sleep well and the next day, he went to the Tibetan doctor who gave him some medicine. 

 

3. The author’s meeting with Norbu. 

Ans: He was feeling lonely in Darchen as Tsetan left for Lhasa. No one knew the English language much in that place. There were no pilgrims at that time of year. He met Norbu at local café. Norbu was an academic from Beijing who worked for the Institute of Ethnic Literature. He was at Darchen to complete the kora. 

 

4. Tsetan’s support to the author during the journey. 

Ans: Tsetan played an important role during the author’s journey. He was an efficient driver. He took care of the author when he got ill after reaching Darchen. He took him to the medical college and got medicine for him. He also informed him about the places they were visiting in their journey. 

 

5. “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.” 

Ans: Tsetan was a Buddhist who believed that death is not the end. He might have gone directly to heaven as Kailash is a holy place. He thought it would be bad if the author died because it might affect his business and he would not get any customers in future. He could have lost his credibility. 

 

 

1. The sensitive behaviour of hill-folk. 

Ans: The hill-folk are very innocent and unsophisticated people. They are good at hospitality like Tsetan who took care of the author all the time. 

 

2. The reasons why people willingly undergo the travails of difficult journeys.

 

Ans: The author was an academician who wanted to take the journey for the purpose of education. He wanted to learn from this experience. Normally, people take such a difficult journey for the spirit of adventure. Also, religious beliefs play an important role in such journeys. Mount Kailash is a holy place which is visited by many people for pilgrimage. 

 

3. The accounts of exotic places in legends and the reality. 

Ans: Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar are such prominent places in legends. Many people talk about it and there are many articles published online regarding two places. 

 

Thinking about Language

1. Notice the kind of English Tsetan uses while talking to the author. How do you think he picked it up? 

Ans: As Tsetan used to speak in a basic format, the author understood what he was saying without any major problem.

 

 

2. What do the following utterances indicate? 

(i) “I told her, through Daniel …” 

(ii) “It’s a cold,” he said finally through Tsetan.

 

Ans: 

(i) She didn’t know English so Daniel translated what the author was saying in the Tibetan language.

 

(ii) The Tibetan doctor was speaking in the Tibetan language. Tsetan translated it to the author in English. 

 

3. Guess the meaning of the following words. 

Kora, drokba, kyang 

In which language are these words found?

 

Ans: Kora – circumambulation of the temple 

Drokba – shepherd 

Kyang – a wild ass of Tibet 

These words are found in the Tibetan language. 

 

 

Working with words

1. The narrative has many phrases to describe the scenic beauty of the mountainside like: 

A flawless half-moon floated in a perfect blue sky. 

Scan the text to locate other such picturesque phrases. 

Ans: ‘Extended banks of cloud-like long French loaves glowed pink as the sun emerged to splash the distant mountain tops with a rose-tinted blush.’

‘We entered a valley where the river was wide and mostly clogged with ice, brilliant white and glinting in the sunshine.’ 

 

2. Explain the use of the adjectives in the following phrases. 

(i) shaggy monsters 

(ii) brackish lakes 

(iii) rickety table 

(iv) hairpin bend 

(v) rudimentary general stores

 

Ans: (i) hairy 

(ii) salty 

(iii) shaky 

(iv) very sharp 

(v) elementary; basic