WBBSE 9th Class English Solutions Chapter – 11 A Shipwrecked Sailor
WBBSE 9th Class English Solutions Chapter – 11 A Shipwrecked Sailor
West Bengal Board 9th Class English Solutions Chapter – 11 A Shipwrecked Sailor
WBBSE 9th Class English Solutions
Introduction
About the Author: Daniel Defoe ( 1660-1731) was an English writer and journalist. He is most famous for his novel ‘Robinson Crusoe’. A prolific and versatile writer, Defoe is also known for pamphlets and journals on various topics.
The following text is adapted from a section of Daniel Defoe’s famous novel ‘Robinson Crusoe’, and tells us how Crusoe, after being shipwrecked, found himself on a dismal island. It also gives us an inspiring account of how he makes the island habitable with his hard work.
Daniel Defoe was born in about 1660 in London to a poor, but hard-working butcher. As his father was a Dissenter, Daniel was unable to attend such traditional and prestigious schools as Oxford and Cambridge; instead, he had to attend a Dissenting academy, where he studied science and the humanities.
Not only did Defoe prove that he had a flair for business, but also he tried his talents in yet another field, politics. Defoe held several part-time advisory positions under the new king William. King William died, and Defoe, still a fierce Dissenter, found himself persecuted. And, after he published a particularly sharp political satire, he found himself quartered in Newgate Prison for three months. He was finally released. For the remaining part of his life he had to suffer jail life many times for his political associations.
In 1719, Defoe finished and published ‘Robinson Crusoe’, a long imaginative literary masterpiece. It became popular and has never lost its appeal to an adventurous and romantic bent of mind. Other novels soon followed, in addition to his multitude of articles and essays. But debts still plagued Defoe, and he died at 70 while hiding in a boarding house, in order to evade a bill collector.
SUMMARY AND CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE STORY
Daniel Defoe’s ‘Robinson Crusoe’ is a long, imaginative literary masterpiece. The story of the novel is full of adventure and romance. The part of the novel, the present prescribed excerpt is, no doubt, good to read.
an The text part describes Robinson’s adventure unknown island. When he first lands there, it is really horrible without any human being anywhere. But as he knows that he has no other option but to live here, he starts to make the place habitable. He has to think a lot. about security in this unknown place first, then about food and shelter. He arranges everything one by one cautiously. He can even find materials to light a lamp in darkness. He keeps a record of days and months. In such a way he passes a full year. Here the story comes to an end.
Such a purely adventurous story kindles our imagination and gives us a taste of freedom.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Tick (√) the correct answer from the given alternatives:
1. Robinson Crusoe was shipwrecked in —
A. 1659
B. 1559
C. 1359
D. 1959
2. Robinson Crusoe used canvas to make a —
A. bed
B. sail
C. tent
D. curtain
3. The distance between the stakes Robinson Crusoe drove into ‘the ground was—
A. five inches
B. seven inches
C. four inches
D. six inches
4. Crusoe saw some fair weather in the month of—
A. December
B. November
C. September
D. October
5. The journey homeward with the fruit parcel took Crusoe—
A. five days
B. ten days
C. three days
D. four days
6. In ‘A Shipwrecked Sailor’, ‘I’ refers to—
A. Robinson Crusoe
B. Daniel Defoe
C. a seagull
D. Mulk Raj Anand
7. The island was —
A. quite habitable
B. moderately habitable
C. uninhabitable
D. very thinly populated
8. The island was called by Crusoe a land of —
A. hope
B. frustration
C. monotony
D. anguish
9. Other members of the crew in Robinson’s ship were —
A. in the island
B. on a life-saving boat
C. drowned
D. in a helicopter
10. In that dismal island, Robinson feared that he could be devoured by –
A. continuous rain
B. wild beasts
C. foul weather
D. hunger
11. Hammock is a kind of –
A. folding bed
B. iron bed
C. bed made of wood
D. hanging bed
12. The money that Robinson got was —
A. useful
B. useless
C. outdated
D. of metal
13. To Robinson, the money was useless because —
A. there was no trade of mankind in the island
B. the notes were torn and mutillated
C. it was not British currency
D. he did not know how to use money
14. Crusoe pitched his tent –
A. beside the tree
B. behind a hollow
C. on the top of a hill
D. on the flat green
15. In the dismal island, Robinson cut the wood to make —
A. mast
B. bed
C. stake
D. tent
16. Crusoe cut the wood he collected —
A. into stakes
B. into a fence
C. into a plough
D. into bundles
17. The narrator drove the stakes into the ground in a —
A. circle
B. semicircle
C. square
D. rectangle
18. To go over the fence, Robinson used a —
A. stick
B. stake
C. pulley
D. ladder
19. Crusoe used a short ladder —
A. to climb upon a hill
B. to climb on trees
C. to climb on his roof
D. to go over the fence
20. Crusoe kept all his stores and provisions —
A. in the tent
B. in a cave
C. on a big rock
D. on the tree
21. The narrator saw some fair weather in the month of —
A. December
B. November
C. October
D. September
22. The small bag of corn collected by Robinson contained —
A. poultry feed
B. bread
C. meat
D. fruits
23. The narrator was able to collect —
A. some food
B. some cable
C. some string
D. all three
24. The security of food and shelter was achieved by Robinson by the —
A. June of 1760
B. July of 1660
C. July of 1760
D. June of 1660
25. Crusoe developed a high fever in the month of —
A. June
B. October
C. September
D. November
26. To prepare a lamp Robinson Crusoe used —
A. oil
B. kerosine
C. candlestick
D. animal fat
27. Crusoe still hoped to get rescued by some –
A. tribals
B. sailors
C. policemen
D. officers
Answer the following questions
1. What name did Crusoe give to the dismal island?
Ans. The name Crusoe gave to the dismal island was the Island of Despair.
2. Where did he pitch the tent?
Ans. He pitched his tent on the flat green surface just before the hollow on the hill.
3. How did Crusoe go over the fence?
Ans. Crusoe went over the fence by using a short ladder.
4. Why did he keep a journal?
Ans. He kept a journal to record the details of his everyday affairs in the island.
5. Why did the incident of shipwreck occur?
Ans. The incident of shipwreck occurred because of a violent storm in the sea.
6. What for was Crusoe fearful in the dismal island?
Ans. Crusoe was fearful about the wild animals which might devour him.
7. Why did Crusoe decide to sleep on a tree at night?
Ans. Crusoe decided to sleep on a tree at night for fear of wild creatures.
8. How was the weather, after Robinson reached the island?
Ans. After Robinson had reached the island, rain continued for a week thereafter.
9. Why did Crusoe swim to the wreck?
Ans. Crusoe swam to the wreck to rescue some food and other provisions for survival.
10. How was the hollow on the rocky wall of the hill?
Ans. On the rocky wall the hollow was like the entrance of a cave.
11. How did the author use the stakes he made to fence his tent?
Ans. Crusoe drove the stakes into the ground in a semicircle around his tent for protection.
12. What did the narrator put around the stakes to make a strong fence?
Ans. The narrator put cables around the stakes to make a strong fence.
13. How did the shape of the fence look like?
Ans. The shape of the fence looked like a semicircle.
14. Where did Robinson keep his stores and provisions?
Ans. Robinson kept his stores and provisions in small wood boxes.
15. What did Crusoe see in his bag?
Ans. In his bag, Crusoe saw only husks and dusts.
16. What did Crusoe collect from the valley?
Ans. From the valley Crusoe collected different kinds of fruits, like melons, grapes, oranges, etc.
17. What were the items Robinson Crusoe collected from the wrecked ship?
Ans. From the wreck Robinson Crusoe rescued some wood, cable, string, a knife, nails, a gun, a hammock, some canvas, some paper and ink and some money.
18. How did Crusoe keep track of the number of days he spent on the Island?
Ans. Crusoe had cut with his knife upon a large post, the date of his landing. Thereafter he put a notch with his knife for every day.
19. In what way did Crusoe make himself a lamp?
Ans. Crusoe collected a little tallow and a small clay dish. To this he added a wick. In this way he made himself a lamp.
20. Describe how Crusoe, after being shipwrecked, found himself on a dismal island.
Ans. With shipwreck, the rest of the people of Crusoe’s ship’s company were drowned. He himself was almost dead. But somehow he came on the shore of a dismal island.
21. What happened to him on the first night?
Ans. He had no knowledge about that unknown island. So when night.fell, he slept on a tree for fear of wild creatures. It also rained all night.
22. Why was the money which the sailor found useless to him?
Ans. From the wreck, among other things, the sailor found some money. But it was useless because the island was without any human habitation.
23. How did Robinson count days and months?
Ans. Robinson counted days and months by putting a notch with his knife for everyday on a large post after 30.09.1659.
24. What did he find in the woody part of the island?
Ans. In the woody part of the island, Crusoe found melons and grapes in great abundance. He also found cocoa, orange and lemon trees.
25. What did Crusoe see at the time of a more particular survey of the Island?
Ans. At the time of particular survey of the island, Crusoe found a brook with pleasant meadows by the bank, plain, smooth and covered by grass.
26. Why did he not change his habitation to the valley of fruits?
Ans. No passing ship could find Crusoe in the valley of fruits. So, he wished to stay in view of the sea. Hence he did not change his habitation.
Complete the following sentences with information from the text:
1. Crusoe was shipwrecked due to a………………………….
Ans. Crusoe was shipwrecked due to a violent storm.
2. At the island Crusoe was deprived of…………………………………
Ans. At the island Crusoe was deprived of food, house and clothes.
3. Crusoe found money useless because…………………………
Ans. Crusoe found money useless because it was a barren island without human habitation.
4. Crusoe was convinced to spend the rest of his life in the island because …………………..
Ans. Crusoe was convinced to spend the rest of his life in the island because there was no possiblity of being rescued by other ships.
5. After one month Crusoe discovered to his astonishment…………………………
Ans. After one month Crusoe discovered to his astonishment green stalks shooting out of the ground.
6. In the same month of ……………..Crusoe developed a high fever that made him…………………….
Ans. In the same month of June Crusoe developed a high fever that made him weak and thirsty.
7. About two miles in height, Crusoe found…………………………….
Ans. About two miles in height, Crusoe found a brook with pleasant meadows by its bank, plain, smooth and covered by grass.
State True or False. Write T’ for True and ‘F’ for False
1. The original name of the island was the Island of Despair.
Ans. F
2. Crusoe slept on top of a tree for fear of beasts.
Ans. T
3. Robinson Crusoe never expected that animals would attack him.
Ans. T
4. The weather was violent and stormy.
Ans. T
5. Robinson Crusoe found a gun in the wrecked ship.
Ans. T
6. Robinson Crusoe made a tent with some canvas.
Ans. T
7. The narrator was optimistic about his return to his near and dear ones.
Ans. T
8. There was nobody else in the island.
Ans. T
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