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Class 11 Alternative English Chapter 6 How It Happened
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How It Happened
Chapter: 6
PROSE |
COMPREHENSION |
I. Answer these questions in one or two words.
1. Who was Perkins?
Ans: The author’s chauffeur.
2. What is the name of the vehicle mentioned in the story?
Ans: Thirty-horsepower car is the name of the vehicle mentioned in the story.
3. What did Stanley die of?
Ans: Stanley had died of enteric disease at Bloemfontein many years earlier in the Boer War in South Africa.
4. Where did the car crash?
Ans: When the narrator lost control of the car, he and his chauffeur Perkins had just crested Claystall Hill, one of the worst hills in England.
5. How many sharp curves did Claystall Hill have?
Ans: Claystall Hill has three fairly sharp curves.
II. Answer these questions in a few words.
1. What was whirring like a high wind?
Ans: The wheels of the car were whirring like a high wind.
2. Why is Perkins said to have been ‘splendid’ in his behaviour?
Ans: Perkins was perfectly cool and alert as he could read the narrator’s intention when the narrator had thought at the very beginning of taking the bank. He keeps his calm even though he knows that his master is not driving well.
3. What are the brakes of the vehicle known as?
Ans: The brakes of the vehicle are known as footbrake and side – brake.
4. Where did the narrator meet Stanley a few years prior to the incident?
Ans: The narrator met Stanley at college a few years prior to the incident.
5. Why did the narrator feel no pain?
Ans: The narrator felt no pain as he was already dead.
Ill. Answer these questions briefly.
1. Why did the narrator feel that he was ‘like a man in a dream’?
Ans: The car spun wildly out of control and crashed into the gate’s pillar, launching the narrator into the air. In a flash, it was over everything had happened in the blink of an eye. When he regained his senses, he saw a man standing nearby. To his surprise, it was Stanley, a close friend from his college days. Though taken aback by the unexpected reunion, he quickly concluded that it must be a dream and in dreams, nothing ever seems out of place.
2. Give a brief description of the vehicle mentioned in the story.
Ans: The narrator describes his vehicle as the big motor having glaring headlights and glitter of polished brass, waiting for him outside the platform. He calls if his new thirty – horse – power Ranger, which had only been delivered that very day. Robur is the car maker from Germany whose three little 28 horsepower car is the particular type manufactured by the company between 1912 and 1919. Throughout the story, the narrator refers to the car as ‘she’s giving to it a feminine connotation. He insists on trying the car himself and climbs into the driver seat.
3. What is the narrator’s view about foolishness?
Ans: The narrator believed that people occasionally make foolish choices, but they don’t always face serious consequences as a result. The narrator thought that trying to learn something new in the dark was a foolish act, but he comforted himself by convincing himself that it might not lead to serious problems.
4. What did the narrator and Perkins do when they realised that the open gate lay in front of them?
Ans: Perkins and the narrator spotted the open gate ahead, and the narrator yanked the steering wheel with all his strength. In the next instant, both he and Perkins braced themselves as the car surged forward at fifty miles per hour. Moments later, a sharp crunch echoed through the air as the right front wheel smashed into the gate’s supporting pillar. The impact was so strong that it hurled the narrator into the air.
5. Why was the narrator amazed when the actual status of Stanley dawned upon him?
Ans: The narrator was shocked when he finally understood the truth about Stanley. He realized that Stanley had died from typhoid fever during the Boer War a long time ago.
IV. Answer these questions in detail.
1. Comment on the significance of the ending of the story.
Ans: The story begins with the narrator getting off a train and heading home in his new car, accompanied by his chauffeur. Tragically, they meet with an accident, and the narrator dies. The twist lies in the fact that the reader remains unaware of the narrator’s death until the very end. Throughout the narrative, everything appears normal the conversations and events unfold as if taking place in the real world. It’s only later that we discover both the narrator and his chauffeur, Perkins, are actually dead. This unexpected ending is powerful, as we unknowingly follow the narrator from the train station to the moment of his death, making the final revelation all the more shocking and impactful.
2. Describe the drive undertaken by the narrator from the station to his home.
Ans: When the narrator returned from London, he was greeted by his chauffeur and his brand-new thirty-horsepower Robur, which had been delivered that very day. Despite Perkins warning him that the gear system was different and offering to drive, the narrator insisted on taking the wheel himself. As they neared Claystall Hill, one of the steepest and most dangerous hills in England, stretching a mile and a half with sharp curves the trouble began. The narrator mentioned that his park gates stood at the very bottom of the hill, along the main London Road.
They had just passed the brow of the hill, where the slope was steepest, when things started to go wrong. The car was speeding downhill, and as he attempted to change gears, they jammed. He tried to slow the car by slamming on both brakes, but one after the other, they failed. He feared the worst as they took a sharp turn with one wheel rising three feet up the bank but miraculously, the car steadied and shot forward.
The park entrance now lay directly ahead, about twenty yards off to the left from where they were speeding down the road. The earlier jolt on the bank had damaged the steering, making the wheel stiff and hard to control. Still, the narrator gripped it tightly and twisted with all his strength. Both he and Perkins leaned their bodies to help guide the turn. At fifty miles per hour, the car’s right front wheel smashed directly into the right-hand pillar of his own gate. At last, he could hear the terrible crash of the impact.

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Sir I need the word meanings of this chapter