The Midnight Visitor Summary in English by Robert Arthur

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The Midnight Visitor Summary in English by Robert Arthur

The Midnight Visitor by Robert Arthur About the Author

Author NameRobert Arthur Jr.
Born10 November 1909, Corregidor Island, Cavite City, Philippines
Died2 May 1969, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
AwardsEdgar Award for Best Radio Drama
EducationUniversity of Michigan, William & Mary
MoviesThe Three Investigators and the Secret of Terror Castle
The Midnight Visitor Summary by Robert Arthur
The Midnight Visitor Summary by Robert Arthur

The Midnight Visitor Summary in English

Fowler is surprised to see the secret agent Ausable who is too fat to be a secret agent. Ausable tells him that he was going to get an important paper for which many men have risked their lives. When both of them reach Ausable’s room, Fowler is scared to see a man, Max standing in the room. Max who is a tall and thin man, is holding a gun in his hand. He had entered his room by using a key to take the report concerning a new missile. Ausable, sensing the danger, fabricated a story about the non-existent balcony which Max believed to be true.

Ausable complained that it was due to the balcony that somebody had entered his room the second time. After some time, there was a knock at the door. Ausable again befooled Max by saying that it was the police who wanted to come inside to provide him protection. Max wanted to run away to avoid the police and jumps to his death into that non-existent balcony.

Meanwhile, the bearer brought two glasses and a bottle of drink. Fowler was taken aback by the quick wit and intelligence of Ausable.

The Midnight Visitor Summary Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Why did Fowler want to meet Ausable? Why was he disappointed?
Answer:
Fowler was a young romantic writer. He loved adventure and thrill. He was always interested in knowing the lives of secret agents. He wanted to meet Ausable who was on a secret assignment. He was a little disappointed when he found nothing mysterious and romantic in Ausable. Ausable, in fact, was a fat, ordinary person.

Question 2.
Who was Henry? What role did he play in Ausable’s plans?
Answer:
Henry was a waiter at the French hotel where Ausable had a room. He played a vital role in helping Ausable’s plan as it was Henry’s knock at the door which frightened Max as he mistook it to be a policeman at the door. This confusion forced Max to jump from the window assuming it to be a balcony and hence helping Ausable’s plan to get rid of Max.

Question 3.
What was someone expected to bring to Ausable’s room?
Answer:
Ausable expected to get a very important report about missiles, which was to be delivered to him after midnight.

Question 4.
Why was Ausable angry with the hotel’s management?
Answer:
Ausable pretended to be angry with the hotel management because they had not paid any attention to the balcony that was a safety threat for him. In fact, he fabricated a story about the non-existent balcony to trap Max.

Question 5.
How did Max enter the room? Why did he do so?
Answer:
Max entered Ausable’s room through the main door, using a pass key. He wanted to take the important report from Ausable. Therefore, he decided to give a shock to Ausable. He thought it would be easy to overpower Ausable by giving him a shock.

Question 6.
Was there a balcony outside the window? Give instances from the text in support of your answer.
Answer:
There was no balcony outside the window. The following lines show that there was no balcony:
“And then as he dropped, he screamed once shrilly.” „
“But what about the man on the balcony?” Fowler asked “No” said Ausable, “he won’t ever return.” Thus, we know that the man had died after jumping from the 6th floor.

Question 7.
Did Fowler find this episode thrilling or disappointing? Give a reason for your answer.
Answer:
Fowler found this episode quite thrilling. In the beginning, he was not impressed by the personality of Ausable who did not fit as a secret agent. As he had read about the mysterious figures, the crack of pistols and drugs in wine, the fat Ausable did not impress him much.

But he was not able to believe the quick answer and smartness of Ausable. The whole episode appeared to be quite unbelievable.

Question 8.
Why did Ausable ask Fowler to cheer up?
Answer:
Ausable knew that Fowler wanted to see something mysterious and romantic. Ausable asked him to cheer up as he was going to receive an important report concerning some new missiles. Many people had risked their lives. Therefore, there could be some drama in his room.

Question 9.
What story did Ausable fabricate about the balcony?
Answer:
He told Fowler that the balcony in his room had become a nuisance for him. He told him that his room used to be the part of a large unit and through the balcony any one could come to his room as the adjoining room was empty.

Question 10.
How do you know that Ausable was a clever secret agent?
Answer:
Ausable was really a clever secret agent as is evident from the story. He told a false story about the existence of a non-existent balcony. Knowing very well that the waiter was knocking at the door, he told him about the police.

The Thief’s Story Summary in English by Ruskin Bond

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The Thief’s Story Summary in English by Ruskin Bond

The Thief’s Story by Ruskin Bond About the Author

Author NameRuskin Bond
Born19 May 1934 (age 86 years), Kasauli
EducationBishop Cotton School shimla (1950)
AwardsPadma Shri, Padma Bhushan
Movies7 Khoon Maaf, The Blue Umbrella, The Black Cat, Junoon, Ek Tha Rusty II
The Thief’s Story Summary by Ruskin Bond
The Thief’s Story Summary by Ruskin Bond

The Thief’s Story Summary in English

Anil, a young man of 25, was a writer. He earned his living by writing books or articles for various magazines. He was a large-hearted and simple man. Once, when he was watching a wrestling match, a young boy named Hari Singh approached him and expressed his desire to serve him. He said that he would cook for him. Anil believed him and gave him the job. Hari Singh was an expert thief and used to change his name and place to avoid the police and his old employers. He used to make money while buying supplies for him.

One day, he got a chance to steal Anil’s money, from under the mattress. He ran away to go to another place by train. But at the park, his inner voice made him restless. He did not want to cheat a large-hearted and simple man like Anil, who had trusted him. He also wanted Anil to teach him to write simple sentences. He immediately came back to Anil’s house and placed the money as it was.

Next morning, Anil gave him fifty rupees and told him that he would pay him regularly. Anil forgave him as he wanted to give him another chance to improve.

The Thief’s Story Summary Questions and Answers

Question 1.
How did the thief (Hari Singh) realise that Anil knew that his money had been stolen?
Answer:
The thief realised that Anil knew he had stolen his money because he found some of the notes still wet, as if they were taken out in the rain. He gave a fifty-rupee-note to Hari Singh the next morning, and he promised to give him more money, though he did not have any contract for giving any money.

Question 2.
How did Hari Singh know that Anil had forgiven him?
Answer:
Hari Singh realised that Anil knew about the theft because he found some of the notes still wet. He gave him a fifty-rupee-note and did not mention anything about the theft. This made him feel that Anil had forgiven him.

Question 3.
Who is ‘I’ in this story? Why did he change his name every month?
Answer:
‘I’ in this story is a 15 year old boy who is an experienced and successful thief. He changes his name every month to hide his real identity from his new employer and the police.

Question 4.
Why, according to Hari Singh, is it easier to rob a greedy man than a careless person like Anil?
Answer:
Hari Singh has correlated theft with the sense of satisfaction, a thief gets pleasure when a person comes to know that he has been robbed. Hari Singh says that a greedy man can afford to be robbed too whereas a careless man at times may never come to know that he has lost something or he has been robbed. This carelessness, on the part of a person robbed, deprives a thief of the pleasure which he gets out of theft.

Question 5.
What was the thief s immediate reaction when he stole Anil’s money?
Answer:
Hari Singh stole six hundred rupees and crawled out of the room. When he was on the road, he started running. He kept the notes in his waist held there by the string of his pyjama. He felt as if he was an oil rich Arab for a week or two.

Question 6.
What made the thief come back to Anil?
Answer:
Hari Singh came back to Anil because Anil trusted him. He did not want to miss the chance of being educated. Education could certainly make him a better man. He was fed up with the life of a thief, i. e. stealing and being caught and beaten.

Question 7.
What was Anil’s job? What did he usually do with the money he earned?
Answer:
Anil was a writer. He used to write articles for magazines. He was a spendthrift and used to spend money on his friends. He did not bother to save money for his future.

Question 8.
What does the thief say about the reactions of different types of people when they were robbed? How did he think Anil would react when he discovered the theft?
Answer:
The thief had robbed all kinds of people. According to him, the greedy men were scared of being robbed. The rich men showed anger. The poor men accepted their fate after being robbed. He thought that Anil would show only a touch of sadness. He would not be sad for the loss of money, but for the loss of trust.

Question 9.
What made him a successful thief?
Answer:
He always changed his name after stealing. He even managed to change the place. He tried his best to appear pleasing and innocent so the employers never suspected him to be a thief.

Question 10.
Why was he about to be dismissed? What made Anil reinstate him?
Answer:
He cooked very terrible meal which infuriated Anil. He gave the food to the stray dog and asked him to be off. But he got his job back by flattering Anil who was a simple and large-hearted man.

A Triumph of Surgery Summary in English by James Herriot

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A Triumph of Surgery Summary in English by James Herriot

A Triumph of Surgery by James Herriot About the Author

Author NameJames Herriot
Born3 October 1916, Sunderland, United Kingdom
Died23 February 1995, Thirlby, United Kingdom
SpouseJoan Catherine Anderson Danbury (m. 1941–1995)
MoviesAll Creatures Great and Small, It Shouldn’t Happen to a Vet
A Triumph of Surgery Summary by James Herriot
A Triumph of Surgery Summary by James Herriot

A Triumph of Surgery Summary in English

Mrs Pumphrey was a rich and emotional lady who had a cute pet dog called Tricki. She loved him so much that she overfed him. Tricki had put on a lot of weight which made him lethargic. When doctor Herriot saw the fat dog like a bloated sausage, he was shocked. He made a plan and told Mrs Pumphrey that Tricki needed treatment for his ailment, which was possible only in the hospital. The doctor knew that Mrs Pumphrey would not be able to keep the dog on a proper diet. When the greedy dog went to hospital, he had to remain hungry, if he was slow to approach for food. He was given food at fixed intervals. Soon, he shed off a lot of his body weight and became quite active.

When Tricki was at home, he was pampered by Mrs Pumphrey. He led a luxurious life, where he was served with cream cake, chocolate and Horlicks. But when he came to the doctor, he became all right. When Mrs Pumphrey saw her active dog, she thanked the doctor and felt that it was a triumph of surgery.

A Triumph of Surgery Summary Questions and Answers

Question 1.
How was TVicki treated in the first two days of his visit to the surgery?
Answer:
He was given a cozy bed in a warm loose box. He was kept under strict observation for first two days and given a plenty of water but no food was given to him. The cut down on his diet helped him improve a lot.

Question 2.
What made THcki get well so soon?
Answer:
Tricki was not suffering from any disease indeed. His main ailment was his greed for overeating. When Mr Herriot gave him a controlled diet, he recovered from his lethargy caused by overeating and excessive fat.

Question 3.
Why did Mrs Pumphrey suffer in the absence of Tricki?
Answer:
Mrs Pumphrey loved Tricki very much. She suffered thinking that Tricki was undergoing treatment and was to be operated on. She felt that he would not surive, if he did not see her daily.

Question 4.
What was the main cause of Tricki’s problem?
Answer:
Tricki was a greedy dog. He could never refuse to eat whatever and whenever it was given him. Only this was the main cause of Tricki’s problem.

Question 5.
Why could Tricki not be cured at home?
Answer:
Mrs Pumphrey loved Tricki very much and could not be strict with him regarding his diet and exercise. Therefore, he could not be cured at home.

Question 6.
How did lunch become ‘a ceremonial occasion’ for Mr Herriot and his partners?
Answer:
Mrs Pumphrey sent fresh eggs, two dozen at a time to build up Tricki’s strength.

Mr Herriot and his partners began to take two eggs each in breakfast. They enjoyed it a lot.

Then bottles of wine began to arrive to enrich Tricki’s blood. This way it became a ceremonial occasion for them, to have two glasses of wine before and during the meal.

Question 7.
‘You must harden your heart and help him on a strict diet.’ Why does Mr Herriot suggest this to Mrs Pumphrey?
Answer:
Mrs Pumphrey is very loving and caring mistress for Tricki. Her love and care do more harm than good to Tricki. She pampered him by giving him a luxurious life.

She overfed him. The result was that Tricki became fat and lethargic. Overpampering and overfeeding were leading into disaster by spoiling his health. Cutting down his meals was much required to improve his health. Therefore, Mr Herriot suggests Mrs Pumphrey so.

Question 8.
Why was Mr Herriot shocked at Tricki’s appearance?
Answer:
Mr Herriot was shocked at Tricki’s appearance as he had become very obese. His eyes were red and watery and his tongue was lolling. All these symptoms made Mr Herriot feel that he was not feeling well.

Question 9.
(i) What was Mrs Pumphrey’s reaction when THcki showed little enthusiasm for exertion?
(ii) What did Mrs Pumphrey do to bring Tricki back to normal health? Was she wise?
Answer:
(i) Mrs Pumphrey loved Tricki very much, naturally she was anxious after noticing that he was no more an active and energetic dog. She felt that he should be given more nutrients through his food.
(ii) She gave him malt and cod liver oil and a bowl of Horlicks to make him energetic. She gave him an extra diet of cream cakes and chocolates to make him feel better as he loved to eat all this. She was not giving him exercises as he was very weak and the gardener was not feeling well to take him for a long walk. She was not being wise in spoiling her greedy dog.

Question 10.
How was THcki greeted at the surgery by other dogs in the beginning?
Answer:
When the household dogs at the surgery came closer to Tricki and sniffed round him for a few seconds, they found him an uninteresting object. They got bored and left him alone thinking that he could not move. After a few days of strict diet, he recovered and enjoyed playing with them, being bowled over, tramped on and squashed every few minutes. Thus, he became an accepted member of the game.

The Adventure Important Extra Questions and Answers Class 11 English Hornbill

Here we are providing The Adventure Important Extra Questions and Answers Class 11 English Hornbill, Extra Questions for Class 11 English was designed by subject expert teachers.

The Adventure Important Extra Questions and Answers Class 11 English Hornbill

The Adventure Extra Questions and Answers Short Answer Type

Question 1.
‘That is, assuming that in this world there existed someone called Rajendra Deshpande!’ Why does Professor Gaitonde feel so?
Answer:
Professor Gaitonde had gone through a strange and a harrowing experience. He had been literally transported into an alternative universe. In the alternative world the reality was very different. History had altered its course. Now back into the real world Professor Gaitonde, as a historian felt he would go to a big library and browse through history books and would return to Pune and have a long talk with Rajendra Deshpande, to help him understand what had happened. After the queer happening, he was unsure about the reality and wondered if Rajendra Deshpande existed.

Question 2.
What were the things that Professor Gaitonde noticed as the train entered the British Raj territory?
Answer:
As the train touched Sarhad, from where the British Raj began, an Anglo-Indian in uniform went through the train checking permits. The blue carriages of the train carried the letters GBMR on the side an acronym for ‘Greater Bombay Metropolitan Railway’. There was the tiny Union Jack painted on each carriage as a . reminder that they were in British territory. As the train stopped at its destination, Victoria Terminus, the station looked remarkably neat and clean. The staff was mostly made up of Anglo-Indians and Parsees along with a handful of British officers.

Question 3.
Where was Khan Sahib going? How did he intend to reach there?
Answer:
Khan Sahib was going to Peshawar. After the train reached Victoria Terminus he would take the Frontier Mail out of Central,-the same night. From Bombay he would go to Delhi, then to Lahore and then Peshawar. It would be a long journey and he would reach Peshawar two days later.

Question 4.
What was the strange reality that Professor Gaitonde saw as he stepped out of the station?
Answer:
As Professor Gaitonde came out of the station, he saw an impressive building. The letters on it revealed that it was the East India headquarters of the East India Company. He was shocked as it was supposed to have had stopped operating soon after the events of 1857 but here it was flourishing.

Question 5.
What came as the biggest blow to Professor Gaitonde?
Answer:
Professor Gaitonde was shocked to see the East India Company flourishing, a different set of shops and office buildings at Hornby Road. But when he turned right along Home Street and entered Forbes building, a greater shock awaited him. He asked for his son Mr Vinay Gaitonde but the English receptionist, looked through the telephone list, the staff list and then through the directory of employees of all the branches of the firm but could not find anyone of that name.

Question 6.
What did Professor Gaitonde decide to do when the reality that he was living seemed very strange?
Answer:
When Professor Gaitoride saw unfamiliar sights and felt that he was reliving history he was very surprised but not finding his son as an employee in Forbes baffled him completely. He decided to go to the library of the Asiatic Society to solve the riddle of history. So he made his way to the Town Hall.

Question 7.
What books did he browse through in the library? What did he discover?
Answer:
In the Town Hall library, he asked for a list of history books including his own. When he got the five volumes, he started looking through them from the beginning. Volume one dealt with the history up to the period of Ashoka, volume two up to Samudragupta, volume three up to Mohammad Ghori, and volume four up to the death of Aurangzeb. This was history as he had known. However in the last (fifth) volume, history had taken a different turn during the Battle of Panipat. The book mentioned that the Marathas won it handsomely and Abdali was chased back to Kabul by the triumphant Maratha army led by Sadashivrao Bhau and his nephew, the young Vishwasrao.

Question 8.
How did the victory of the Peshwas in the Battle of Panipat help them?
Answer:
The victory in the battle was not only successful in building their confidence tremendously but it also established the supremacy of the Marathas in northern India. The East India Company, watching these events temporarily deferred its plan to spread out further. For the Peshwas the immediate result was that the influence of Bhausaheb and Vishwasrao increased and Vishwarao succeeded his father in 1780 A.D. The rabble-rouser, Dadasaheb, had to retire from state politics.

Question 9.
What was the effect of the victory of the Peshwas on the East India Company?
Answer:
The East India Company was alarmed when the new Maratha ruler, Vishwasrao, and his brother, Madhavrao, expanded their influence all over India. The Company was limited to pockets of influence near Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. However, in the nineteenth century the Marathas were aware of the importance of the technological age starting in Europe. Hence when they set up their own centres for science and technology, the East India Company saw another chance to extend its influence, it offered support and experts. But they were accepted only to make the local centres self-sufficient.

Question 10.
What was the final outcome of the Peshwas?
Answer:
During the twentieth century, inspired by the West, India moved towards a democracy. By then, the Peshwas had lost their enterprise and democratically elected bodies slowly but surely replaced them. The Sultanate at Delhi survived even this change because it exerted no real influence. The Shahenshah of Delhi was a nominal head to rubber-stamp the ‘recommendations’ made by the central parliament.

Question 11.
Gangadharpant began to appreciate the India he had seen. Why was it so?
Answer:
After reading this new history, Gangadharpant was pleased at the India he had seen, it was a country that had not been subjected to slavery of the white man; it had leamt to stand on its feet and knew what self-respect was. From a position of strength and for purely commercial reasons, it had allowed the British to retain Bombay as the sole outpost on the subcontinent.

Question 12.
How had the Marathas won the battle?
Answer:
After reading about the consequences of the battle Gangadharpant felt that his investigations were incomplete. To find the answer he went through the books and journals before him. At last, among the books he found one that gave him the clue. It was ‘Bhausahebanchi Bakhar’. He found a three-line account of how close Vishwasrao had come to being killed. However God had been merciful. The bullet brushed past his ear and he was saved by inches.

Question 13.
What did he take with him absentmindedly from the library? How did it help him?
Answer:
At eight o’clock the librarian politely reminded the Professor that the library was closing for the day. Before Gangadharpant left he shoved some notes into his right pocket. Absentmindedly, he also shoved the ‘Bakhar’ into his left pocket. It helped the Professor convince Rajendra that the story was not a figment of his imagination. He produced this as a very important piece of evidence.

Question 14.
What happened did Professor Gaitonde see in the Azad Maidan?
Answer:
In the Azad Maidan, the Professor found a multitude of people moving towards a pandal to listen to a lecture. As the lecture was in progress, people kept coming and going. But Professor Gaitonde stared at the platform, he noticed that the presidential chair was empty. Like a piece of iron attracted to a magnet, he swiftly moved towards the chair.

Question 15.
What happened when Professor Gaitonde went ahead to occupy the chair on the dais?
Answer:
When Professor Gaitonde went ahead to occupy the chair on the dais, the audience protested vehemently. Professor Gaitonde went to the mike to give his views but the audience was in no mood to listen. However, he kept on talking and soon became a target for a shower of tomatoes, eggs and other objects. Finally, the audience rushed to throw him out bodily but he was nowhere to be seen.

Question 16.
‘… facts can be stranger than fantasies, as I am beginning to realise.’ Why did Rajendra say this?
Answer:
Rajendra had thought that Professor’s mind was playing tricks on him till Gangadharpant produced his own copy of ‘Bhausahebanchi Bakhar’, where the account of the war stated that Vishwasrao was hit by the bullet. He then produced the other evidence in the form of a document that he had inadvertently picked up from the Professor Gaitonde’s library.

Rajendra was confused when he saw this material evidence. He then admitted that his experience had not been just a fantasy. He realized that facts could be stranger than fiction.

Question 17.
How did Rajendra explain ‘reality’?
Answer:
Rajendra said that reality was what we experience directly with our senses or indirectly via instruments. It may not be unique as has been found from experiments on atoms and their constituent particles. Physicists discovered that the behaviour of these systems couldn’t be predicted definitively even if all the physical laws governing those systems are known.

Question 18.
How did Rajendra relate the lack of determinism in quantum theory to the Professor’s experience?
Answer:
Rajendra said that the path of an electron fired from a source cannot be determined as in one world the electron is found here, in another it is over there. Once the observer finds where it is, we know which world we are talking about. But all those alternative worlds could exist just the same. Similarly, catastrophic situations offer radically different alternatives for the world to proceed. It seems that so far as reality is concerned all alternatives are viable but the observer can experience only one of them at a time.

Question 19.
How did Professor Gaitonde make the transition from one reality to the other?
Answer:
Rajendra admitted that there are many unsolved questions in science and this Professor Gaitonde’s transition was one of them. But he guessed that since one needs some interaction to cause a transition, at the time of the collision he must have been thinking about the catastrophe theory and its role in wars. Perhaps he was wondering about the Battle of Panipat and the neurons in his brain acted as a trigger.

The Adventure Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type

Question 1.
Describe the observations made by the Professor as he entered the alternative universe.
Answer:
Professor Gaitonde was shocked when the train stopped beyond the long tunnel at a small station called Sarhad. An Anglo-Indian in uniform was checking the train permits.

Then the train passed through the suburban rail traffic. The blue carriages carried the letters, GBMR, on the side that stood for ‘Greater Bombay Metropolitan Railway’. There was a tiny Union Jack painted on each carriage as a gentle reminder that they were in British territory. The station at Victoria Terminus looked impeccably neat and clean. The staff comprised mostly of Anglo-Indians and Parsees along with a handful of British officers.

Coming out of the station, he found himself facing an imposing building. It was the office of the East India Company. As he walked along Homby Road, as it was called, he found a different set of shops and office buildings. There was no Handloom House building. Instead, there were Boots and Woolworth departmental stores, imposing offices of Lloyds, Barclays and other British banks, as in a typical high street of a town in England.

The greatest shock that awaited was when he entered Forbes building and wished to meet his son, Mr Vinay Gaitonde. The receptionist searched through the telephone list, the staff list and then through the directory of employees of all the branches of the firm and finally shook her head and said, that nobody of that name was either there or any of their branches.

Question 2.
Write a detailed account of the different history that Professor Gaitonde read in the fifth volume of the book in the library.
Answer:
The book mentioned that the Marathas won Battle of Panipat. Abdali was chased back to Kabul by the victorious .Maratha army led by Sadashivrao Bhau and his nephew, the young Vishwasrao. As a consequence the Marathas gained a great deal of confidence and established their supremacy in northern India. The East India Company, watching these developments, temporarily postponed its expansionist programme. This increased the influence of Bhausaheb and Vishwasrao who succeeded his father to the throne in 1780 A.D.

The troublemaker, Dadasaheb, was pushed to the background and he ultimately left state politics. Vishwasrao and his brother, Madhavrao, combined political insight with courage and expanded their influence all over India. The Company’s influence was limited only to areas near Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. For political reasons, the Peshwas kept the puppet Mughal regime alive in Delhi.

In the nineteenth century the Peshwas realized the importance of the technological age and set up their own centres for science and technology. They accepted East India Company’s help only to make the local centres self-sufficient. In the twentieth century India moved towards a democracy. The Peshwas had lost their enterprise and democratically elected bodies gradually replaced them. The Sultanate at Delhi was just a nominal head to rubberstamp recommendations made by the central parliament.

Question 3.
What was the difference in the actual events of the Battle of Panipat and the ones reported in the alternative universe?
Answer:
Professor Gaitonde wanted to look for accounts of the battle itself, so he went through the books and journals before him. At last, he found ‘Bhausahebanchi Bakhar’. There he found account of how close Vishwasrao had come to being killed but the ‘merciful’ God had saved him. A shot had brushed past his ear and he had missed death by inches. However, in this world in which Gaitonde had written his volumes of history, ‘Bhausahebanchi Bakhar’ reported that Vishwasrao had died fighting. God had ‘expressed His displeasure. He was hit by the bullet’. The entire history seemed to have changed radically.

Question 4.
What was the outcome of the Battle of Panipat in the alternative universe?
Answer:
Their victory increased the morale of the Marathas. The East India Company temporarily shelved its expansionist programme. The Peshwas expanded their influence all over India. The Company was reduced to pockets of influence near Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. The Peshwas kept the puppet Mughal regime alive in Delhi. With the dawn of the technological age in Europe, they set up their own centres for science and technology.

The East India Company saw another opportunity to extend its influence but its aid and experts were accepted only to make the local centres self-sufficient. The twentieth century brought about further changes inspired by the West, India moved towards a democracy and democratically elected bodies replaced the Peshwas. After reading this, Professor Gaitonde began to appreciate that India because it had not been subjected to slavery of the white man; it had learnt to stand on its feet and knew what self-respect was. From a position of strength and for purely commercial reasons, it had allowed the British to remain.

Question 5.
Describe the scene that transported Professor Gaitonde to the alternative universe.
Answer:
Professor Gaitonde, after a frugal meal, set out for a stroll towards the Azad Maidan. There he saw a pandal where a lecture was to take place. Professor Gaitonde walked towards the pandal and noticed that on the platform the presidential chair was unoccupied. Drawn to the stage like a magnet, he quickly moved towards the chair.

The speaker stopped in mid-sentence, too shocked to continue. But the audience shouted at him. When he insisted on talking he became a target for a shower of tomatoes, eggs and other objects. But he kept on trying bravely to correct this blasphemy. Finally, the audience crowded on the stage to throw him out. And, in the crowd Gangadharpant was nowhere to be seen.

Question 6.
‘But we live in a unique world which has a unique history.’ Why did the Professor say so?
Answer:
Rajendra tried to rationalize Professor Gaitonde’s experience on the basis of two scientific theories known today. He had passed through a catastrophic experience. He applied it to the Battle of Panipat. The Maratha army was facing Abdali’s troops on the field of Panipat. There was no great disparity between the latter’s troops and the opposing forces. So, a lot depended on the leadership and the morale of the troops.
In the history known to us Vishwasrao, the son of and heir to the Peshwa, was killed.

This proved to be the turning pointing in the battle. Whether Bhausaheb was killed in battle or survived is not known. The soldiers lost their morale and fighting spirit and were defeated. However, in the alternative universe the bullet missed Vishwasrao, and it boosted the morale of the army and provided just that extra force that made all the difference. Professor Gaitonde felt comparable statements are made about the Battle of Waterloo, which Napoleon could have won. But all this is assumption. We live in a inimitable world which has a distinctive history. This idea of ‘it might have been’ is not acceptable for reality.

Question 7.
How did Rajendra explain Professor Gaitonde’s experience by linking it to ‘the lack of determinism in quantum theory’?
Answer:
Rajendra felt that reality might not be unique as has been found from experiments on atoms and their constituent particles. The behaviour of these systems cannot be predicted definitively even if all the physical. laws governing those systems are known. The course taken by an electron fired from a source cannot be asserted. This is the theory of the lack of determinism in the quantum theory. Similarly, in one world the electron is found here, in another it is over there.

In yet another world it could be in a completely different location. Once the observer finds where it is, we know which world we are talking about. But all those alternative worlds could exist just the same. The electron could be orbiting in any of a large number of specified states. These states may be used to identify the world. In state no. 1 we have the electron in a state of higher energy.

Instate no. 2 it is in a state of lower energy. It could make a jump from high to low energy and send out a pulse of radiation. Or a pulse of radiation could knock it out of state no. 2 into state no. 1. Such transitions are common in microscopic systems. If it happened on a macroscopic level people could make a transition from one world to another and back again.

The Browning Version Important Extra Questions and Answers Class 11 English Hornbill

Here we are providing The Browning Version Important Extra Questions and Answers Class 11 English Hornbill, Extra Questions for Class 11 English was designed by subject expert teachers.

The Browning Version Important Extra Questions and Answers Class 11 English Hornbill

The Browning Version Extra Questions and Answers Short Answer Type

Question 1.
Where does Taplow meet Frank? What does Taplow feel about being there?
Answer:
Taplow meets Frank at Mr Crocker-Harris’s office, at school. Taplow had been given extra work to do as he had missed a day of school the previous week when he was ill. It was the last day of school and he wished to play golf instead.

Question 2.
What subjects does Taplow want to opt for and why?
Answer:
Taplow wishes to opt for science if he manages good grades. He claims to be really interested in science and feels it is more interesting than studying classics such as ‘The Agamemnon’, which he calls “muck” it had a lot of Greek words, and Mr Crocker-Harris punished them for not getting them right.

Question 3.
Why does Taplow feel that Mr Harris is “hardly human”?
Answer:
Taplow feels that putting in extra work would make no difference to Mr Harris. He had told Taplow that he had got what he deserved. Taplow suspects he might be awarded with fewer marks to make him do extra work. He feels Mr Harris is unfeeling worse than a sadist, and thus calls him “hardly human”.

Question 4.
What does Frank suggest to Taplow about waiting for Mr Harris?
Answer:
When Taplow tells Frank that he was supposed to meet Mr Crocker-Harris at six-thirty, Frank tells Taplow that Mr Crocker-Harris was already ten minutes late. He suggests that Taplow could go and play golf. But Taplow is shocked and expresses his apprehension if Mr Crocker-Harris should know. He was certain that nobody had ever done that with Mr Crocker-Harris.

Question 5.
Why does Taplow feel that Mr Harris has no feelings?
Answer:
Taplow calls Mr Harris worse than a sadist. One is required to admit to feelings if considered a sadist. Mr Harris’s inside, feels Taplow, is like a nut and he seems to hate people liking him. He did not appreciate Taplow appreciating his jokes and embarrassed him in return.

Question 6.
How did Taplow try to express his liking for Mr Harris? What was the outcome?
Answer:
Taplow admits to liking Mr Harris and realized he felt uncomfortable about people liking him. He recalls an episode, in class, where Mr Crocker-Harris made one of his jokes to which nobody laughed. Taplow knew that it was meant to be funny, and laughed. To which, Mr Crocker-Harris teased Taplow about his knowledge of Latin and asked him to explain the joke to the class.

Question 7.
Who was Millie Crocker-Harris? What was she like?
Answer:
Millie Crocker-Harris was the young wife of Mr Crocker-Harris. She was a thin woman in her late thirties, and was more smartly dressed than the other schoolmasters’ wives.

Question 8.
How does Millie Crocker-Harris send Taplow away?
Answer:
Millie learns from Taplow that he was waiting for her husband and suggests he leaves for quarter of an hour since Mr Harris might be a while. Taplow is hesitant; Millie assures him she would take on the blame if Mr Harris arrives before that. She finally sends Taplow off to the chemist.

The Browning Version Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type

Question 1.
Write a brief character sketch of Frank Hunter.
Answer:
Frank Hunter was the popular, young science teacher. He is liked by the students who feel he can understand them better than Mr Crocker-Harris. He is also popular because he teaches science which the students find easier to comprehend than Classics which they think is “muck”. He, however, feels students who take up science are slackers and don’t take much interest in the subject.

He is easy to talk to and approachable. His attitude puts them at their ease. Taplow finds he can confide his troubles to him. In fact, he forgets himself enough to refer to his teacher Mr Crocker-Harris as “the Crock”.

However, he encourages students to talk ill of other teachers. He probes the details of the relationship between Mr Crocker-Harris and Taplow. He also encourages Taplow to disobey the teacher’s orders and go off before meeting Mr Crocker-Harris.

Question 2.
What idea do you form of Taplow after reading the play ‘The Browning Version’?
Answer:
Taplow is a young boy of seventeen, studying in the lower fifth grade. He is an obedient and hard-working student. He has great liking for science. He was summoned for extra work by Mr Crocker-Ha Types 11 and 13 Questions rris for missing school for a day. the week before. Though he wishes to play golf on the last day before school closes, he obediently turns up to wait .for his teacher. He is devoted to Mr Crocker-Harris.

When Taplow comes across Mr Frank, the science teacher, Mr Frank, gets Taplow to discuss Mr Crocker- Harris and also encourages him to leave. Taplow replies that he cannot “cut” as Mr Harris would probably follow him home.

When Mr Frank insinuates that his teacher might award him with a fine result for doing extra work, Taplow refutes it calling Mr Harris a man of principles. He reiterates that Mr Crocker-Harris had told him that he had given him exactly what he deserved. Taplow is a sincere student who respected his teachers.