Ls.

10 The Storm

I. Write the meaning for the following words and frame sentence:

1. captivated - fascinated
Sentence - The children were captivated by his thrilling story.

2. calamity - a great misfortune or disaster

Sentence - The earthquake was the worst calamity in the country’s
history.

3. elated - extremely happy and excited

Sentence - He was greatly elated by success.

4. lurched – made sudden uncontrolled movement

Sentence - The ship gave a lurch to starboard.

5. swerve - turned suddenly

Sentence - The car made a sudden swerve to the left.

6. startled - shocked and slightly alarmed

Sentence - The explosion startled the horse.

II. Write the opposite for the following words:

1. excitement x boredom
2. genuinely x artificially
3. suddenly x gradually
4. against x in favour of
5. mighty x tiny

III. Answer the following:

1. Why was Alec so happy when the horse didn’t turn away?
Ans: Alec was happy that the horse didn’t turn away because he loved
horses and had wanted to make friends with the Black since he first saw
him. As this was the first time that the horse hadn’t turned away, Alec
felt that the horse was finally accepting his presence.

2. How did Alec hurt himself? What did he discover when he regained
consciousness?
Ans: Alec hurt himself when he fell down as the ship shook from
battling the waves. When he regained consciousness, he realized that
the ship’s engines were dead and that the situation had become very
serious—people were in a state of panic, screaming and shouting while
trying to get into lifeboats.

3. “Wait for the next one, Alec,” Captain Watson said sternly. Why did
Alec have to wait for the next boat? What could have happened if he
had got on this boat?
Ans: Alec had to wait for the next boat because the lifeboat was full by
the time when his turn comes. If he had gotten on this boat, he might
not have survived as none of the lifeboats appeared to have gone past
the storm (not a single lifeboat was visible when Alec came up to the
surface of the water which means that all of them had sunk in the
storm). Moreover, the stallion would have likely died in the ship since
nobody else had thought about him.

4. Alec fought his way out of line and towards the stern of the boat.
What was Alec going to do? What is so significant about his actions at
this point? What does this tell us about him?
Ans: Alec was setting out to free the stallion so he could have a chance
to survive. His actions are significant because he was the only
person—a mere child at that—on the ship who had attempted to help
the stallion. This tells us that Alec is thoughtful, considerate and brave.
5. When Alec awakened because of the storm, he put on his life jacket
and only then went outside. This tells us that he is quick-thinking. Can
you find two other instances in the story where Alec showed presence
of wind?
Ans: The two instances that tell us that Alec is quick-thinking are as
follows. One is where he grabs onto the rope attached to the stallion’s
halter while they are both in the ocean. Another is when he can’t untie
the rope—and remembers his pocketknife, quickly choosing to use that
instead.

6. What happened in the middle of the night when Alec was awakened?
Ans: It was a slightly stormy night and Alec, after visiting his horse
friend, went back to his cabin as rain began to fall. In the middle of the
night, the ship Drake lurched crazily awakening Alec who was thrown
onto the floor. There was a severe storm at sea. The top of his desk had
been swept clear and there was broken glass everywhere. There were
shouts everywhere. Huge waves swept from one end of the Drake to
the other. Passengers turned hysterical and crowded the corridor. It
was a scary sight for Alec.