English (Core) · Class 11 Languages
Ch 10Silk Road — Class 11 English (Core), concept-first.
Nick Middleton is a British geographer, travel writer and broadcaster who teaches geography at Oxford. He is best known for his travels to remote and extreme corners of the world, which he records in vivid, first-person travel books.
35
Q&A
4
Concepts
31m
Section weightage
Section C · Literature Textbooks (Hornbill & Snapshots) · across all 16 lessons
Key concepts
Hover a concept to preview it and jump to its most relevant Q&A.
Symbolic Gift Significance
You are at a wedding. The bride and groom exchange rings. Those rings are not just circles of metal — they stand for commitment, eternity, a promise. The physical object matters far less than what it represents.
Most relevant Q&A
- Give reasons for the following statement: The article has been titled 'Silk Road.'Free
- Give reasons for the following statement: Tibetan mastiffs were popular in China's imperial courts.Free
- Give reasons for the following statement: The author's experience at Hor was in stark contrast to earlier accounts of the place.Free
- Give reasons for the following statement: The author was disappointed with Darchen.Preview
- Give reasons for the following statement: The author thought that his positive thinking strategy worked well after all.Preview
Chapter contents
The NCERT structure, section by section. Open a section to see its questions, then read the concept-first solution.
About the Author and the Text
Nick Middleton is a British geographer, travel writer and broadcaster who teaches geography at Oxford.
Summary of the Lesson
On the morning the author leaves Ravu, his hostess Lhamo gives him a farewell present — a long-sleeved sheepskin coat like the ones the local herdsmen (drokba) wear — and his guide Tsetan teases that…
Themes
The journey and the spirit of adventure The whole extract is built on a difficult, sometimes dangerous journey towards a goal — Mount Kailash and the kora.
Character Sketches
The travelogue is peopled by a small cast whom the author meets on his journey towards Mount Kailash: the narrator himself, his guide Tsetan, his hostess Lhamo and interpreter Daniel at the start, and…
Nick Middleton (the Narrator)
The author-narrator is a curious, observant and determined traveller. He notices the smallest details of landscape and life — the shape of clouds, the collars on the mastiffs, the grease smeared on a…
Tsetan
Tsetan is the author's Tibetan driver and guide, and the most capable figure in the extract. He is resourceful and skilful: when snow blocks the track he flings dirt over the ice for grip and drives a…
Lhamo
Lhamo is the author's hostess at Ravu, and though she appears only briefly she leaves a warm impression.
Daniel
Daniel is the author's companion and interpreter for the first part of the journey. He is the bridge between the author and the Tibetans who speak no English — it is 'through Daniel' that Lhamo and th…
Norbu
Norbu appears at the very end of the extract and rescues the author from his sense of being stuck. He is a Tibetan scholar who works in Beijing at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, in the Instit…
Title and Message
The extract works both as a lively adventure story and as a quiet reflection on faith, human kindness and the layers of history written into a landscape.
Significance of the Title
The Silk Road was the ancient network of trade routes that once linked China with Central Asia, India and the West, carrying silk, goods, animals and ideas across thousands of kilometres.
Message of the Lesson
The extract carries several gentle messages. First, worthwhile goals demand endurance: the author faces snow, altitude, illness and loneliness, yet keeps moving towards his pilgrimage — reminding us t…
Summary
- Context: An extract from Nick Middleton's travelogue about crossing the high Tibetan plateau to reach sacred Mount Kailash and walk the ritual kora around it.
Understanding the Text
+−Understanding the Texti10 questions
- Q1Give reasons for the following statement: The article has been titled 'Silk Road.'Free
- Q2Give reasons for the following statement: Tibetan mastiffs were popular in China's imperial courts.Free
- Q3Give reasons for the following statement: The author's experience at Hor was in stark contrast to earlier accounts of the place.Free
- Q4Give reasons for the following statement: The author was disappointed with Darchen.Preview
- Q5Give reasons for the following statement: The author thought that his positive thinking strategy worked well after all.Preview
- Q6Briefly comment on the purpose of the author's journey to Mount Kailash.Preview
- Q7Briefly comment on the author's physical condition in Darchen.Preview
- Q8Briefly comment on the author's meeting with Norbu.Preview
- Q9Briefly comment on Tsetan's support to the author during the journey.Preview
- Q10Briefly 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 bu…Preview
Talking about the Text
+−Talking about the Texti3 questions
Thinking about Language
+−Thinking about Languagei3 questions
- Q1Notice the kind of English Tsetan uses while talking to the author. How do you think he picked it up?Free
- Q2What do the following utterances indicate? (i) “I told her, through Daniel …” (ii) “It's a cold,” he said finally through Tsetan.Preview
- Q3Guess the meaning of the following words. kora drokba kyang In which language are these words found?Preview
Working with Words
+−Working with Wordsi2 questions
Noticing Form
Things to Do
About the Unit
[!NOTE] A travelogue presenting a panoramic view of Mt Kailash. [!NOTE] Understanding the text - Factual comprehension - The author's adventurous experiences while scaling the hilly terrain [!NOTE] Ta…
Additional Practice
Extra exam-style practice questions written by us on this lesson — beyond the NCERT textbook's own exercises — for more CBSE board-exam preparation.
+−Additional Practicei14 questions
- Q1What farewell present did Lhamo give the author as he was leaving Ravu, and why was it a thoughtful gift for the journey ahead? (Answer in 3…Free
- Q2Why did Tsetan choose a short cut across the Changtang, and what was the one condition on which its success depended? (Answer in 30–40 words…Free
- Q3Describe the behaviour of the Tibetan mastiffs that guarded the nomads' tents. Why had such dogs once become popular in China's imperial cou…Free
- Q4How did Tsetan, Daniel and the author together get the car across the first snow blockage on the track at 5,210 metres? (Answer in 30–40 wor…Preview
- Q5What did the travellers see and do at the top of the pass at 5,515 metres, and why did the hissing petrol tank alarm the author? (Answer in…Preview
- Q6Why did the author find Hor a grim and disappointing place despite its location on the shore of Lake Manasarovar? (Answer in 30–40 words.)Preview
- Q7What troubled the author during his first night at Darchen, and why was he afraid to let himself fall asleep? (Answer in 30–40 words.)Preview
- Q8How did the Tibetan doctor at the Darchen medical college diagnose and treat the author's illness, and with what result? (Answer in 30–40 wo…Preview
- Q9Darchen felt relaxed and unhurried, yet for the author it came with a significant drawback. What was it, and why did it matter to his plans?…Preview
- Q10Describe the author's meeting with Norbu in the Darchen cafe. Why did the author finally decide that Norbu, though ill-equipped for the trek…Preview
- Q11Write a character sketch of Tsetan, bringing out his skill and resourcefulness as a driver, his care for the author, and the dry Buddhist hu…Preview
- Q12Justify the title 'Silk Road'. In your answer, point out the references in the text that connect the author's route with the ancient trade a…Preview
- Q13High altitude, cold and a hostile terrain are almost characters in this account. Discuss how the author conveys the dangers and discomforts…Preview
- Q14The road to Mount Kailash brings together faith, scholarship, curiosity and commerce. Discuss the theme of pilgrimage in 'Silk Road' with re…Preview