Important Questions Class 11 English Hornbill Chapter 2

Important Questions Class 11 English Hornbill Chapter 2 – We Are Not Afraid to Die

English is an important subject students study in school. Many students want to pursue a career in English. We need this language in our higher studies, communications, business, commerce, and other aspects of life. Hornbill is a textbook of English published by NCERT for students of Class 11 under the CBSE curriculum. The book contains several writings by Indian and International authors. 

Chapter 2 is about the voyage of a family who wanted to follow the route of the famous explorer James Cook. The narrator, the head of the family, his wife, and two children set out for the journey from Plymouth, England. They peacefully reached Cape Town, South Africa, and started for the Indian ocean. In the Indian Ocean, they got stuck in very bad weather, and their ship almost drowned. But with courage and hope, the family and two crew members fought against all odds and made it to a small island in Australia. Thus, this chapter captures the adventurous experiences of the family in the rough Indian Ocean. Students must practise questions from the chapter to score better in exams. 

Extramarks is a leading company that provides all the important study materials. Our experts have made the Important Questions Class 11 English Hornbill Chapter 2 to help students. They have collected all the important questions from several sources, such as the textbook exercise, CBSE sample papers, CBSE past years’ question papers, and important reference books. They have also written the answers to every question. Experienced professionals have further checked the answers to ensure the best quality of the content. Thus, students can follow the answers, and it will develop their writing skills.

One can download the study materials after registering on the official website of Extramarks. You will find the CBSE syllabus, CBSE sample papers, CBSE past years’ question papers, CBSE revision notes, CBSE extra questions, NCERT books, NCERT Exemplars, NCERT solutions, NCERT important questions, vital formulas, and much more.

Important Questions Class 11 English Hornbill Chapter 2 – With Solutions

The experts at Extramarks have created the question series by collecting questions from different sources. They have taken help from the textbook exercises, CBSE sample papers, CBSE past years’ question papers, and important reference books. They have also written the answers, and experienced professionals have further checked the answers to ensure the best quality of the content. Thus, the Important Questions Class 11 English Hornbill Chapter 2 will help students score better in exams. The questions are:Question 1. Write the word’s meaning.

Honing

Answer 1: Sharpening

Question 2. Write the word’s meaning.

Atrocious

Answer 2: Brutal

Question 3. What was the name of the narrator’s boat?

Answer 3: The name of the narrator’s boat was Wavewalker.

Question 4. Who were the crewmen?

Answer 4: The crewmen were Larry Vigil and Herb Seigler.

Question 5. How old was the narrator when he set out for the journey?

Answer 5: When the narrator embarked on the journey, he was 37 years old.

Question 6. What are the names of the children?

Answer 6: The children are Jonathan and Suzanne.

Question 7. What do you know about Mayday calls?

Answer 7: Mayday Calls is a word adopted internationally for a distress signal. Such signals are used in radio communications.

Question 8. Why did the narrator and their family embark on a sea journey?

Answer 8: The narrator’s family had a deep interest in sailing. They dreamed of sailing in the path of famous sailors and kept their dream alive by practising in British waters. Finally, the entire family embarked on a journey to follow in the footsteps of famous explorer James Cook.They set out on their journey from Plymouth, England.

 Question 9. Describe the narrator’s boat.

Answer 9: The narrator named his boat Wavewalker. It was a 30 ton wooden-hulled boat. On the other hand, it was 23 metres long. Experienced professionals built the boat to support the long voyage. The narrator tested the boat’s efficiency in the roughest weather they could find in English waters.

Question 10. Describe the first leg of the narrator’s journey.

Answer 10: The first leg of the narrator’s journey was up to Cape Town,South Africa. They spent more than a year sailing the West coast of Africa and reached the continent’s southern tip. They had a peaceful and smooth journey down the Atlantic Ocean and decided to take two crewmen with them for the second leg of the journey. It was because they had to cross the rough Indian Ocean. 

Question 11. What happened with ‘ominous silence’?

Answer 11: The narrator and his companions faced bad weather in the Indian Ocean. On 2nd January, at about 6 pm. The atmosphere became silent.Soon the wind started roaring, and the narrator saw a cloud coming towards the boat. But to his utter surprise, he realised it was a large wave, twice as high as the other waves. The wave hit the boat, and there was a big collision between the vessel and the water.

Question 12. How did the narrator hurt himself?

Answer 12: A big wave hit the boat in the Indian Ocean. The boat almost became horizontal due to the collision. The narrator’s head smashed against the wheel, and he flew overboard. He was nearly drowning, but somehow his head popped up in the water. He grabbed the guard rail of the boat. Subsequent waves came and hurt him.His ribs were broken, his teeth were broken, and his mouth was filled with blood.

Question 13. Explain the bravery of Jonathon.

Answer 13: Jonathon was six years old when he set out on the journey with his parents. They all got into great danger in the Indian Ocean, but he remained strong. He did not become afraid; at one point, he said he was not scared to die. He further said that if they were together, it would be easy to face death. His words motivated the huge narrator, and he decided to do his best to save his family. On 6th January, it was Jonathan who gave the narrator the good news of finding the island. Thus, Jonathan remained a brave boy throughout the journey.

Question 14. How did Suzanne remain a strong girl in the disastrous situation?

Answer 14: Suzanne was only nine years old when she joined her parents on the voyage. When the huge wave hit their boat, Suzanne got badly wounded. She got a bump on her hand, but she remained calm in their hard times. She made a card for her parents so that they might feel better. Her bump in the head eventually got bigger, and it started to affect her eyes, but she endured the pain. Thus, Suzanne behaved very maturely throughout the journey and was indeed a strong girl.

Question 15. What do you know about Ile Amsterdam?

Answer 15: Ile Amsterdam is a small island in the Indian Ocean. It is under the country of France, and the island is used as a meteorological station. The island has only 35 inhabitants and is only 65 kilometres long. It is situated between South Africa and Australia in the southern Indian Ocean and only covers 86 square kilometres.

Question 16. Why did the narrator want to reach Ile Amsterdam?

Answer 16: The narrator and his companions got stuck in the Indian Ocean due to bad weather. Large waves caused much damage to the boat, and water was entering the boat. In that situation, they could not reach their destination—Australia. Even their distress radio signals were ineffective in the middle of the sea.. At this point, they wanted to reach a small island called Ile Amsterdam. It was situated between South Africa and Australia, and they could reach this island within several hours.

Question 17. Describe how the narrator tried his best to find the small island for the last time.

Answer 17: It was very hard for the narrator to get to the island of Ile Amsterdam because of the bad weather. The narrator also saw the compass was not working correctly, but he gave it one last try. He used the main compass to calculate the influence of the westerly wind at 2 p.m.He asked the crewmen to steer the boat at 185 degrees. He hoped that if the calculations went right, they would be able to see the island after 5 p.m. After this, he went to his cabin and took a nap. He woke up at 6 p.m., and his children gave him the good news that they had found the island.

Question 18. How did the children give motivation to the narrator throughout the rough journey?

Answer 18: The narrator set sail with his family, including his two children, Jonathon and Suzanne. In the hardest times, the children remained calm and collected. When their boat was saved from drowning, he reached for his children. Jonathon, who was only six years old at the time, stated that they were not afraid of dying.It inspired the narrator greatly.The other day, his daughter, Suzanne, drew a card for them. Thus, the children played a major role in motivating the narrator.

Question 19. Was Suzanne seriously hurt? How was she cured?

Answer 19: When the big wave hit the board, it almost got horizontal. Suzanne hit her head, and she got a bump on her head. Though it hurt so much, she remained. But with time, the bump got worse, and it started to affect her eyes. Later, the narrator revealed that Suzanne had to undergo several operations to heal. Thus, it took some time for her to get better.

Question 20. What was the narrator’s feeling after landing on the island?

Answer 20: The narrator felt relieved after landing on the island after a dangerous journey. He didn’t remember the difficult time, but he kept thinking about his crewmen, who remained cheerful in the midst of it all.He continued to think about his daughter, who faced her injury with calmness, and his son, who had not been afraid of death. Thus, the narrator focused more on the positivity of his people than the hard time they had in the sea.

Question 21. Describe the experience of the voyagers on the 4th and 5th of January.

Answer 21: On the 4th and 5th of January, we can see that the voyagers were vulnerable. After working for 36 hours, they could finally bring the leaky boat under control. Though the ship was not in good condition, they could not hoist the main mast and kept sailing based on the storm jib. At noon, they had lunch after two days on the island and found two nearby islands on the map. But the weather deteriorated again in the evening with black clouds and a storm. We can see a heartwarming moment between the narrator and his children, where his son says they are not afraid of death. The storm lasted until the morning of January 5th.The narrator and his wife thought the end was near, but they continued to sail. The weather deteriorated on January 5 too, but the boat kept sailing until the next morning.

Question 22. How did the narrator and his companions save the boat from sinking?

Answer 22: The narrator’s ship was greatly damaged by the waves. He somehow made it to the cabin to see his children and see if they were all right. Then he did some repairs to the boat to save them from drowning. It became almost impossible to work in the big waves, but he did some repairs that obstructed further water from entering the boat. The crewmen were pumping out the water like madmen. The electric pumps got short-circuited due to the water. Luckily, the narrator found a hand pump, and it kept working. For the next 36 hours, they kept pumping, steering, and getting radio signals. The next day, they almost got the water in the boat under control, and the weather got a little better too. Thus, they saved the boat from sinking.

Question 23. What difference did you notice between the reactions of the adults and the children when faced with danger?

Answer 23: Adults are more thoughtful than children. They have more responsibilities than children, too. On the other hand, the children are pure human beings with no experience of grief or fear. This is why adults are more horrified by any difficult situation, whereas children do not understand the complexities of the situation and accept it easily.The reflection can be seen in the story as well. The narrator and his wife thought their end was near, and we can see the narrator went through huge mental pressure and tension in the situation. He had the responsibility of saving his family. He was scared at one point. On the other hand, the children showed great bravery. The little boy, Jonathon, told his father he wasn’t afraid of death.

On the other hand, Suzanne, who was only nine years old, tolerated the pain of the head bump. She even made a card for her parents so that they might feel better. Thus, the children were more spontaneous than the adults in difficult situations.

Question 24. How does the story suggest that optimism helps to endure “the direst stress”?

Answer 24: Hope is a great influencer.Even in the darkest of circumstances, hope keeps us alive.Human beings are stronger than they think and smarter than they believe. Sometimes, fighting the odds may lead to winning. For this purpose, men must stick to their faith and beliefs. Optimism is greatly needed because, without it, we cannot face any hard situation. If we think we are lost before losing, we can never succeed. The story reflects the same. Even in the direst distress, the voyagers did not lose hope. They saved their boat and kept sailing with all their energy. Though it seemed the boat might drown, they kept pumping the water out. At the same time, the narrator did his best calculations to reach an island. Finally, they reached the island and, thus, completed their voyage. Without optimism, they could never do that.

Question 25. Why do you think people undertake such adventurous expeditions despite the risks involved?

Answer 25:People are adventurous. They have a keen interest in seeing the unseen and knowing the unknown. Since ancient times, they have taken part in expeditions despite the risks.. They have conquered fear and placed curiosity over fear. Thus, though many of the explorers continued their journeys until their last day, , without the expeditions, we could never know our world properly. Every explorer ended up discovering many new facts about the earth’s surface. So, it is always learning and discovering new facts that motivate people to go on these expeditions. In our story, we can see that the narrator’s family started the voyage to follow James Cook’s voyage. They had immense love for the sea, which did not decrease even during the hardest time. Thus, it is always people’s curiosity and desire to experience something out of the ordinary that drives them to embark on such expeditions.

Benefits of Solving Important Questions Class 11 English Hornbill Chapter 2

Practise is very important for students. It helps them in several ways. The exercises in the textbook have a limited number of questions, and students must seek help from other sources. It will help them improve their writing skills and generate interest in the subject matter, and the students can write better English answers if they write the answers regularly. There will be multiple benefits to solving the Important Questions Class 11 English Hornbill Chapter 2. These are-

• The experts at Extramarks have collected the questions from different sources, such as the textbook exercise, CBSE sample papers, CBSE past years’ question papers, important reference books, etc. Thus, students don’t have to search for questions from different sources; they will find them in a single pdf. It will help them write answers regularly and solve various questions. Therefore, they will be better prepared for the exams. So, the Important Questions Class 11 English Hornbill Chapter 2 will help students score better in exams.
• The experts have not only collected the questions, but they have also written the answers. Thus, students can follow the answers if they cannot solve the questions. The answers will help them  build their vocabulary, improve their grammar, and, most importantly, improve their writing skills. Experienced professionals have further checked the answers to ensure the best quality of the content. Thus, Class 11 English Hornbill Chapter 2 Important Questions will help the students improve their writing skills.
• Practice is always important for getting better marks in exams. The textbook has limited questions, and students need more than the textbook questions. Now, it will be hectic for them to search for answers in different books. Our experts have made the task easier. They collected chapter-wise questions from different sources and included them in a single article.
• Furthermore, they have written the answers so students can follow them. Thus, the English Hornbill Class 11 Chapter 2 Important Questions will help students in several ways. It will generate interest in the subject and boost their confidence.
• English is a very important language. In higher studies, students will need English more, and they will also need it in communications. So, in India, we must learn the language for higher education, jobs, and communications. Class 11 is very mature, and students must build speaking and writing skills in English. Answer writing habits will help them be better in this language. Thus, the Chapter 2 Class 11 English Hornbill Important Questions will also guide them in writing answers and clearing their doubts. Therefore, it will also make them love this language.

Extramarks is a leading company in India that provides all the important study materials related to CBSE and NCERT. You can download the study materials after registering on our official website. We provide CBSE syllabus, CBSE sample papers, CBSE past years’ question papers, CBSE extra questions, CBSE revision notes, NCERT books, NCERT exemplars, important formulas, NCERT solutions, NCERT important questions and many more. Like the Important Questions Class 11 English Hornbill Chapter 2, you will also find important questions for other chapters. The links to the study materials are given below-

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