Important Questions for CBSE Class 11 English Woven Stories Chapter 6 - The Third and Final Continent

1 Mark Questions

Very Short Answer Questions                                                                                           

1. Word – Meaning 

(i) Heralded

Ans: Something is going to happen, and this is an indication of it.

(ii) Desolation

Ans: A state of utter emptiness or annihilation

(iii) Disdain

Ans: Consider unworthy of one's time and attention

(iv) Chaperone

Ans: Who watches after and accompanies someone else

2. Fill in the Blanks

(i) Even the Simple_____ of __________ Was New to Me.

Ans: chore, buying milk

(ii) I Was Given ________ and __________ for Seven O’ Clock That Evening.

Ans: An address, an appointment 

3. True – False.

(i) He attended the lectures at the LSE and worked at the university library to get by.

Ans: True

(ii) I learned that Americans drove on the left side of the road, not the right side.

Ans: False

(iii) I resolved to stay at YMCA for twelve weeks of time.

Ans: False

(iv) Stray blades of the grass poked between the cracks of the footpath.

Ans: True

4. Where Did the Narrator Spend His First Night?

Ans: The narrator stayed at the YMCA in Central Square, Cambridge, for his first night, as recommended by his guidebook.

5. What Does the Narrator is Able to See in His Son’s Eyes?

Ans: Through his son's eyes, the narrator can sense astonishment and aspiration, which had originally launched him across the world.

2 Marks Question

Short Answer Questions                                                                                     

1. Where the Narrator Used to Sail up to the First Three Weeks? 

Ans: The narrator sailed on the SS Roma for the first three weeks. He sailed on an Italian cargo ship in third class, near to the ship's engine, across the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, eventually arriving in England.

2. How the Narrator Prepared His First Meal in America?

Ans: As far as food goes, the narrator's first supper in America consisted of a small carton of milk and a box of cornflakes. Following this breakfast, he added bananas, tea, and hot water to a thermos.

3. What Reminded the Narrator of His Wedding? 

Ans: When ordered to repeat after the master while sitting cross-legged on the floor of a room without shoes or pencils, the narrator was reminded of his wedding, when he had to repeat the priest's lengthy Sanskrit verses.

4. What Was Improper According to Mrs Croft? 

Ans: Mrs Croft believed that a private chat between a woman and a gentleman who were not married to one other should be accompanied by a chaperone.

5. What the Narrator Wondered at Mrs Croft’s Place?

Ans: The narrator wondered if Mrs Croft had seen a woman in a sari and if she would object if she did. He wondered if she could see the red dye on her feet, which was still visible but concealed by her sari's bottom edge. Mrs Croft, on the other hand, praised her as a perfect lady.

3 Marks Question

Short Answer Questions                                                                                                 

1. What Did the Narrator Do at the Weekends in Earlier Times? 

Ans: On weekends, the narrator used to sit barefoot in drawstring pyjamas, drink tea, and smoke Rothmans with his housemates, or go to Lord's to watch cricket. On weekends, the house would be filled with even more Bengalis, who would cook more egg curry, listen to Mukesh on a Grundig reel-to-reel, and soak dirty dishes in the bathtub.

2. How Was His Room in America? 

Ans: A twin bed under a slanted ceiling, a brown oval rug, a sink with an exposed pipe, and a chest of drawers were all in the room in America. A white door went to a closet, while another led to a toilet and a tub. Gray and ivory patterned paper were used to cover the walls. The kitchen was on the opposite side of the house from the living room.

3. Why Was the Narrator Mortified?

Ans: After learning Mrs Croft's precise age, the narrator was ashamed. Mrs Croft had appeared to be in her eighties, perhaps even nineties, but he had never met anyone who had lived a century, and she was that lady in her hundreds. He was even more horrified by the fact that she was a widow who lived alone.

4. How Was the Appearance of Mala at the Airport?

Ans: The narrator quickly recognised Mala at the airport. Her sari's free end did not dangle on the floor but was draped over her head in a show of wedding modesty. Her skinny brown arms were packed with gold bracelets, and she had a small red circle painted on her forehead and red ornamental dye on the edges of her feet.

5. What Did the Narrator Suggest to Mala and Regret Afterwards?

Ans: At the end of their first week together, the narrator recommended going out with her wife Mala. Mala put her knitting down and went into the bathroom. After seeing her emerge from the bathroom, he regretted his suggestion. Her hair was coiled with a pleasing side part on top of her head, and she wore a clean silk sari and extra bangles. She was anticipating a party or at the very least a trip to the movies, but he had no such plans.

5 Marks Question

Long Answer Questions                                                                                                   

1. What Became Like a Routine of the Narrator With Mrs Croft? 

Ans: Mrs Croft was either hidden away in her room on the other side of the staircase or sat on the bench when the narrator departed for the library in the mornings. When he returned each evening, though, the same thing happened every day. She slapped the bench, told him to sit down, and proclaimed that there was a beautiful flag on the moon, after which they sat in quiet. The nightly rendezvous would last approximately ten minutes before she drifted off to sleep, freeing him to return to his chamber.

2. Describe in Detail the Look of Mrs Croft and Her Daughter Helen.

Ans: Mrs Croft was a frail elderly lady with a clump of snowy hair atop her head. Her outfit consisted of a long black skirt and a starched white shirt with frills at the neck and cuffs. Her hands, which were clasped in her lap, featured long pale fingers, bulging knuckles, and tough yellow nails. Her eyes were keen and tiny, and her nose had noticeable creases. Her lips were parched, fading, and her brows had vanished. Helen, on the other hand, was sixty-eight years old and resided in Arlington. Her silver hair was cut and she wore bright pink lipstick. Her outfit consisted of a sleeveless summer dress and a pair of chain-link spectacles. Her upper arms sagged like the flesh of roasted eggplant, and the backs of her knees were patterned with dark blue veins.

3. Where Did the Narrator Live and What Had Happened to His Family?

Ans: The narrator lived in Finsbury Park, North London, in a house populated mainly by Bengali bachelors. In 1964, he left India with a certificate in commerce and its equivalent. His father was a clerk at the Calcutta General Post Office who died of encephalitis when the narrator was sixteen years old. His mother was unable to adjust to life without him and sunk into the depths of despair. To keep his family afloat, his brother dropped out of school and went to work in a jute mill.

4. The Narrator Was Not Used to What Things?

Ans: When she moved in with him in his apartment, the narrator was unaccustomed to her wife Mala's behaviours. He wasn't accustomed to returning home to an apartment that smelled like steamed rice and had a clean bathroom basin. A cake of Pears soap from India rested in the soap dish, and the two toothbrushes were placed next to each other. He wasn't used to the delicate sound of her bracelets as she moved around the apartment, nor to the aroma of the coconut oil she put into her scalp every other night. He wasn't used to her getting up before him, so she warmed up the leftovers and placed a dish on the table with a tablespoon of salt on the edge, and she had already prepared the milk and cornflakes mixture.

5. How the Distance Between the Narrator and His Wife Lessened?

Ans: As the narrator and his wife Mala began to spend more time together and became closer, the space between them shrank. They weren't really in love yet, but the narrator thought of the months that followed as a type of honeymoon. They travelled the city together and met other Bengalis. They walked together to the Charles River in the evenings to watch sailboats drift by or have ice cream cones in Harvard Yard. He shot pictures of her posing in front of the Prudential building using an Instamatic camera they bought to document their lives together. Finally, they kissed at night, shy at first but soon courageous, finding pleasure and consolation in each other's arms.