NCERT solutions for English Hornbill (Core) Class 11 chapter 6 - Silk Road [Latest edition]

Notice these expression in the text. Infer their meaning from the context.
ducking back

Notice these expression in the text. Infer their meaning from the context.
manoeuvres

Notice these expression in the text. Infer their meaning from the context.
billowed

Notice these expression in the text. Infer their meaning from the context.
swathe

Notice these expression in the text. Infer their meaning from the context.
cairn of rocks

Notice these expression in the text. Infer their meaning from the context.
careered down

Notice these expression in the text. Infer their meaning from the context.
salt flats

Give reasons for the following statement.
The article has been titled ‘Silk Road.’

Give reasons for the following statement.
Tibetan mastiffs were popular in China’s imperial courts.

Give reasons for the following statement.
The author’s experience at Hor was in stark contrast to earlier accounts of the place.

Give reasons for the following statement.
The author was disappointed with Darchen.

Give reasons for the following statement.
The author thought that his positive thinking strategy worked well after all.

Briefly comment on:
The purpose of the author’s journey to Mount Kailash.

Briefly comment on:
The author’s physical condition in Darchen.

Briefly comment on:

The author’s meeting with Norbu.

Briefly comment on:
Tsetan’s support to the author during the journey.

Briefly comment on:
“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.” 

Discuss in groups of four.
The sensitive behaviour of hill-folk.

Discuss in groups of four.
The reasons why people willingly undergo the travails of difficult journeys.

Discuss in groups of four.
The accounts of exotic places in legends and the reality.

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

What do the following utterance indicate?
(i)“I told her, through Daniel ...”
(ii)“It’s a cold,” he said finally through Tsetan.

Guess the meaning of the following word:
Kora
In which language are these word found? 

Guess the meaning of the following word:
Drokba
In which language are these word found? 

Guess the meaning of the following word:
Kyang
In which language are these word found? 

The narrative has many phrases to describe the scenic beauty of the mountainside like: 
A flawless half-moon flated in a perfect blue sky.
Scan the text to locate other such picturesque phrases.

Explain the use of the adjective in the following phrase:
Shaggy monsters

Explain the use of the adjective in the following phrase:
Brackish lakes

Explain the use of the adjective in the following phrase:
Rickety table

Explain the use of the adjective in the following phrase:
Hairpin bend

Explain the use of the adjective in the following phrase:
Rudimentary general stores

The account has only a few passive voice sentences. Locate them. In what way does the use of active voice contribute to the style of the narrative.

Notice this construction: Tsetan was eager to have them fixed. Write five sentences with a similar structure.

“The plateau is pockmarked with salt flats and brackish lakes, vestiges of the Tethys Ocean which bordered Tibet before the continental collision that lifted it skyward.”

Given below is an extract from an account of the Tethys Ocean downloaded from the Internet. Go online, key in Tethys Ocean in Google search and you will find exhaustive information on this geological event. You can also consult an encyclopedia.

Today, India, Indonesia and the Indian Ocean cover the area once occupied by the Tethys Ocean. Turkey, Iraq, and Tibet sit on the land once known as Cimmeria. Most of the floor of the Tethys Ocean disappeared under Cimmeria and Laurasia. We only know that Tethys existed because geologists like Suess have found fossils of ocean creatures in rocks in the Himalayas. So, we know those rocks were underwater, before the Indian continental shelf began pushing upward as it smashed into Cimmeria. We can see similar geologic evidence in Europe, where the movement of Africa raised the Alps.