Noted by P.B.
Very Short Type Questions: 1 Mark each
Very Short Type Questions: 1 Mark each
1.
Who
is the ‘Chota sahib’ in the ‘Memoirs of Chita Sahib’?
Answer:
John Rowntree is the ‘Chota sahib’ in the ‘Memoirs of Chita Sahib’.
2.
What
position did John Rowtree hold before leaving Shilling a few days after independence?
Answer: John Rowntree held the position of the last British
Senior Conservator (অন্তিমজন ব্রিটিচ জ্যেষ্ঠ বন সংরক্ষক) before leaving
Shilling a few days after independence.
3.
Name the book from where the lesson is an excerpt.
Answer: The book named, “A Chota Sahib: Memories of a
Forest Officer”, from where the lesson is an excerpt.
4.
Where did John Rowntree and his family make their first
home at Gauhati?
Answer: John Rowntree and his family made their first
home on the bank of the Brahmaputra in Gauhati.
5.
How did John Rowntree find the weather when he arrived at
Gauhati?
Answer: John Rowntree found the cold weather when he
arrived at Gauhati.
6.
What did the public works department do to the bungalow
for John Rowntree?
Answer: The Public Works Department had given the walls
of the bungalow a coat of fresh limewash and had painted the woodwork liberally
with earth oil.
7.
Where was the Hindu temple mentioned by John Rowntree
located?
Answer: The Hindu temple mentioned by John Rowntree was located
in the Peacock Island.
8.
What did the author expect to discover in peacock Island?
Answer: The author expected peacocks to discover in the Peacock
Island.
9.
What Animals did author discover in peacock Island?
Answer: The author discovered monkeys in the Peacock
Island.
10.
What happen to the dividing channel between Peacock
Island and the mainland in the cold weather? (1/2 Marks)
Answer: In the cold weather, the Brahmaputra shrinks and
the distance between Peacock Island and the mainland grow less until by the end
of the hot weather. At last, there is only a narrow dividing channel remained.
11.
At what time of the year was the North Bank ‘delightful’?
Answer: The North Bank was ‘delightful’ during the cold
weather of the year.
12.
How did Rowntree come to know that a tiger had visited
the compound of his bungalow at Gauhati?
Answer: John Rowntree found some pug marks of tiger at
his compound, and then he came to know that a tiger had visited the compound of
his bungalow in Gauhati.
13.
What are mahseers that Rowntree discover in the river?
Answer: Mahseers are a kind of fresh water fish that
Rowntree discovers in the river.
14.
What are bheels referred to by Rowntree?
Answer: Bheels are referred large water bodies by
Rowntree.
15.
What was the delightful sight of a she-sloth bear that
the author had once witnessed?
Answer: Once a she-sloth bear was carrying her cub on her
back. The author had witnessed the delightful sight.
16.
At what season was the North Bank of Karuk District
affected by malaria?
Answer: The North Bank of Karuk District is affected by
malaria in the rainy season.
17.
What are Ghats?
Answer: Ghats are the landing places which are
constructed at different levels on the river bank.
18.
With what does Rowntree compare a sal forest?
Answer: Rowntree compares a sal forest with English
woodland.
19.
Why did Rowntree like the forest bungalow at Kulsi?
Answer: Rowntree liked the forest bungalow at Kulsi
because that was delightfully situated on a wooded spur above the river.
20.
What are epiphytes (পরাশ্রয়ী উদ্ভিদ্)?
Answer: Epiphytes are the plants that grow on another
plant but are not parasitic.
21.
Why couldn’t first class teak be produced in the teak
plantations in Assam?
Answer: The first class teak couldn’t be produced in the
teak plantations in Assam because the growth in
the Assam climate was too rapid.
22.
What kind of
literary account is John Rowntree’s works Memories of a chota Sahib’?
Answer: John Rowntree’s works in Memories of a chota
Sahib’ is a light-hearted account of the times in Guwahati and its
neighbouring areas on the eve of Independence.
23.
Does the lesson ‘Memories of a chota Sahib!’ have any
relevance to the present time?
Answer: Yes, the lesson, ‘Memories of a chota Sahib!’ has
the account of both for the local specific and also relevant to the present
time.
24.
Give an equivalent of the phrase ‘….. the cold weather
was getting under way …….’
Answer: The cold weather was affecting.
25.
What do you understand by ‘pug marks’?
Answer: Pugmark is the term used
to refer to the footprint of most animals.
26.
Where is the ‘North Bank’ situated?
Answer: ‘North Bank’ is situated between the sandbanks of the Brahmaputra and the Himalayan foothills.
27.
How was the underground water cleaned?
Answer: The underground water was cleaned by dropping alum into the bucket
to precipitate the mud.
28.
‘……..never having met an electric fence before, I
received the full treatment’.
What is the
treatment that Rowntree received?
Answer: Rowntree received the treatment of never
having met an electric fence before.
29.
Explain the expression, ‘……..I, forded one of these
flooded rivers…..’?
Answer: This expression is expressed the situation of the
author, Rowntree when he forded one flooded river on horseback.
30.
What
is meant by ……..’ slipped over his croup………’?
Answer: This expression is expressed the situation of the author, Rowntree when he forded
one flooded river on horseback. At that time, he persuaded his mount to
plunge into the water, and then he slipped over from the horseback and hung on
to the horse’s tail.
31.
What
is a ‘ghat’?
Answer:
A ghat is a landing place which is constructed at different levels on
the river bank.
32.
How were the ‘dirt tracks in Assam’ used during the
rains?
Answer: The ‘dirt tracks were used to travel
anywhere in Assam during the rains.
33.
Give
an example of Ficus elastica found in Assam.
Answer
An example of Ficus elastica found in Assam is the banian (আহত গছ).
Short Answer Questions (2 marks each)
1.
Who
was John Rowntree?
Answer:
John Rowntree (1906-1975) was the last British Senior Conservator of
Forests of Assam. He Left Shillong with his family a few days after
Independence and returned to England where he took up work as a journalist and
media commentator. (39 words)
2.
What
does Rowntree talk often in ‘Memories of a chota Sahib’?
Answer:
Rowntree talks often the times of Guwahati and its neighbouring areas on the
eve of Independence as seen through the eyes of a British forest officer in
‘Memories of a chota Sahib’. He talks not only about the local specific, but
also relevant to the present time in ‘Memories of a chota Sahib’. (53 words)
3.
Give
a description of Bungalow at Guahati where John Rowntree stayed.
Answer:
The walls of the bungalow in Gauhati were a coat of fresh limewash and had been
painted the woodwork liberally with earth oil. In front was a raised portico
which served as a car port. On the top, a veranda from which had a splendid
view of the river and the Himalayas. In the foreground was Peacock Island, with
the dome of a Hindu temple just visible through the tress. (70)
4.
Describe
the scene that Rowntree could see from the verandah of his bungalow at Gauhati?
Answer:
Rowntree could see a splendid view of the river and its shipping and beyond,
the Himalayas from the verandah of his bungalow in Gauhati. (24 words)
5.
Give
a brief description of Peacock Island?
Answer:
The Peacock Island was situated in the foreground of the bungalow and was visible
through the tress. The author never discovered peacocks, but only monkeys on
the island. During the time of cold
weather, the distance between Peacock Island and the mainland grew less and
only a narrow dividing channel remained by the end of the hot weather. (58
words)
6.
What
does Rowntree state about the dividing channel between peacock Island and the mainland?
Answer:
Rowntree states that during the time of cold weather, the distance between Peacock
Island and the mainland grow less and only a narrow dividing channel remains by
the end of the hot weather. (33 words)
7.
What
unusual visitor did Rowntree have in his bungalow one night?
Answer:
The unusual visitor was a tiger that had presumably been washed up by a flood
that Rowntree observed in his bungalow one night. He mentions that the pug marks of
the large cat or the tiger were clearly traceable through their compound. (42
words)
8.
How
is Rowntree’s account relevant to the present time?
Answer:
From Rowntree’s “A Chota Sahib: Memories of a Forest Office”, the
lesson, “Memories of a chota sahib” is excerpt. It is a light-hearted account
of the times in Guwahati and its neighbouring areas on the eve of Independence.
It makes the account not only for the local specific, but also relevant to the
present time. (55 words)
9.
What
happened do the Brahmaputra at the end of the hot weather?
Answer:
As the cold weather advanced, the Brahmaputra shrank and the distance between
Peacock Island and the mainland grew less. By the end of the hot weather, only
a narrow dividing channel remained. (32 words)
10.
What
‘delightful sight’ did the author once witness?
Answer:
The author had once witnessed the ‘delightful sight’ of a she sloth-bear. She
was carrying her cuddlesome cub on her back that the author was so delighted at
the sight. (30 words)
11.
What
does Rowntree say about the river banks in the Manas Sanctuary?
Answer:
Rowntree says that the river banks in the Manas Sanctuary are a favourite site
for the Governor’s Christmas camps. Rowntree mentions that it is his task to
build the camps in the river banks. For
this task, he sometimes receives a polite letter of thanks from the great man
or the Governor. (52 words)
12.
What
is a marboat and how is it operated ?
Answer:
A marboat is a ferry which is consisted of a plank platform covering two open
boats placed alongside one another.
It is operated either paddled across the river or
connected by a running cable to another stretched across the river. It is
propelled from one side to the other by the force of the current. (55 words)
13.
Give
a description of the forest bungalow at Kulsi.
Answer:
Kulsi was delightfully situated on a wooded spur above the river. Kulsi was
favourite for the author, John Rowntree. The bungalow was surrounded by the
teak plantations. The trees around the bungalow were planted some sixty years
before and then almost mature at the time of John Rowntree. (46 words)
14.
Why
did Rowntree dislike the forest bungalow at Rajapara?
Answer:
Rowntree disliked the forest bungalow at Rajapara because for the bats which
lived in the roof. Their droppings were a constant reminder of their presence
and the fusty smell of bat was ever with the author. The huge fruit-eating bats
lived in a tree outside the bungalow and issued forth at dusk in search of
food- strange host of ghostly shapes gliding through the air on silent wings.(68
words)
15.
Why
had no tapping taken place for some years in the rubber plantation near Kulsi ?
Answer:
Since Indian rubber was no longer able to compare with para rubber
commercially, there had no tapping taken place for some years in the rubber
plantation near Kulsi. (29 words)
16.
How
important was Guwahati at the time of Rowntree’s stay there?
Answer:
At the time of Rowntree’s stay, Guwahati was the port of entry, so to speak,
into Assam. Most travelers passed
through on their way between Calcutta and Shillong or to districts further up
the valley. Occasionally, however, the travelers stayed overnight in Guwahati. (43
words)
17.
What
did they(Rowntree and his family) have to do to get clean water in the camp?
Answer:
They (Rowntree and his family) had to be cleaned by dropping alum into the
bucket to precipitate the mud to get clean water in the camp. As the water in
the camp was so dirty that should be clean for drinking.(39 words)
18.
What
was the incident concerning Rowntree and the electric fencing?
Answer:
Rowntree mentioned that a European and his wife had leased a piece of land to
growing simul trees. So, they had rigged up miles of electric fencing in an
attempt to keep out the deer. As the author said that they got little success
on this. As the deer were concerned and they just jumped over it. On the other
hand, never having met an electric fence before, Rowntree received the full
treatment. He was afraid their enterprise that was no sense a very profitable
one. (86 words)
19.
How
did the author regard the South Bank?
Answer:
The South Bank was more homely, distances were less and the terrain smaller.
The reserve forests were mostly in one block. It was a place of low hills and
valleys, the trees interspersed with villages and cultivation, and the forest
itself, mostly of sal which had more the character of English woodland. (52
words)
20.
What
according to Rowntree, was the difficulty inherent in travelling anywhere in
Assam during the rains?
Answer:
During the rains, the rivers were in flood and the bamboo bridges were soon
washed away. The bridges swayed and creaked alarmingly under a passing car. The
other was the dirt tracks which became unusable by normal cars. During the
rain, the roads were narrow, and became single-track affairs. The road became
increasingly greasy and one skid led to another in the rains. (63 words)
21.
What
was a ‘mar’ ?
Answer:
Mar was a ferry which was consisted of a plank platform covering two open boats
placed alongside one another. It was operated either paddled across the river
or connected by a running cable to another stretched across the river. (39
words)
22.
What
does Rowntree state about the large ‘Bheel’ close to the bungalow at Rajapara?
Answer:
Close to the bungalow at Rajapara, there was a large bheel where an
earthquake had once lowered the surface, and the land became inundated with the
water. It was an eerie spot where tree skeletons still rose out of the water
and a reminder that it had once been dry land. (51 words)
23.
Why
are ‘crossings……..made in mar boat, a tedious performance at the best of times
‘?
Answer:
Crossings were made in a mar boat, a tedious performance at the best of times.
Because, crossing in a mar boat took much time and there were few delays. Also,
it had to be paddled across the river or connected by a running cable to
another stretched across the river. (50 words)
24.
Why
were constant adjustments necessary for the device of a mar boat?
Answer:
The ingenious device of a mar boat worked very well and useful at the time of
John Rowntree. But constant adjustments had to be made to allow for the rise
and fall of the rivers. (35 words)
25.
Why
did Rowntree not see the ramp on the road?
Answer:
Rowntree did not see the ramp on the road because driving was difficult and
one’s destination was uncertain. There were no warning signs in use, or if they
were not visible. (31 words)
26.
What
was Rowntree’s comment regarding the accident that occurred on the road in the
North Bank as the car in which he was travelling with his family, hit the ramp?
Answer: Once Rowntree and his family
were touring on the North Bank. They left return rather late or the monsoon
broke rather early. Driving became distinctly dicy. The road was on become increasingly greasy
and one skid led to another. So, they hit the ramp and slithered over the edge
into a paddy field some six feet below the road. The author said that it was
much for the motor engineers of those days that not a single spring was broken
on either of these occasions. Probably the fact that they were packed like
sardines in the car saved their bones. (100 words)
27.
What
was the south Bank considered to be more homely?
Answer:
The South Bank was more homely, distances were less and the terrain smaller.
The reserve forests were mostly in one block. It was a place of low hills and
valleys, the trees interspersed with villages and cultivation, and the forest
itself, mostly of sal which had more the character of English woodland. (52
words)
28.
What
lives in a tree outside the bungalow at Rajapara?
Answer:
Outside the bungalow at Rajapara, larger and less smelly the huge fruit-eating
bats live. It is a type of wing span of five feet. They issue forth at dusk in
search of food. It is like strange host of ghostly shapes gliding through the
air on silent wings.(48 words)
29.
What
is the ‘Ficus elastica’?
Answer:
Ficus elastica belongs to the fig family. It starts life as climbing
epiphytes on other trees. Eventually the host tree becomes completely encased
by the ficus which forms a smooth bark around it. The host dies and the
epiphyte takes over. Some, like the banian, send down aerial roots from their
branches which help to buttress the huge bulk of the tree. (62 words)