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Question
Which character do you like the most in the story and why?
Solution
Of all the characters, I like Nicola who is a 13-year-old boy (i.e.) one of the two gentlemen of Verona. Though he is small, he is mature beyond his years. Like John Keets, he hated sympathy and self-pity. He does not want any favor except the opportunity to work. He has an engaging smile. He and his brother Jacopo were hardworking and devoted to their sister Lucia. He has seriousness far beyond his years. Even when kindly enquired by the narrator as to why he was spending little on clothes and food, he doesn’t open up. He colors deeply and grows pale. He even avoided the eyes of the narrator. When his squirrel-like brother requested the narrator to send them in his car to Poleta on Sunday, Nicola doesn’t like it. He glares at his brother in vexation and says, “we couldn’t think of troubling you, sir.” He wins the respect of all readers because of his maturity, willingness to work, and devotion to his sister.
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Para 4
Tenzing kicked steps in a long
traverse back towards the ridge, and we
reached its crest where it forms a great
snow bump at about 28000 feet. From
here the ridge narrowed to a knife-edge
and, as my feet were now warm, I took
over the lead.
Para 5
The soft snow made a route on top
of the ridge both difficult and dangerous,
which sometimes held my weight but often
gave way suddenly. After several hundred
feet, we came to a tiny hollow and found
there the two oxygen bottles left on the
an earlier attempt by Evans and Bourdillon.
I scraped the ice off the gauges and was
relieved to find that they still contained
several hundred liters of oxygen-enough
to get us down to the South Col if used sparingly
Para 6
I continued making the trail on up
the ridge, leading up for the last 400 feet
to the southern summit. The snow on this
the face was dangerous, but we persisted in
our efforts to beat a trail up it.
We made frequent changes of
lead. As I was stamping a trail in the deep
snow, a section around me gave way and
Para 7
I slipped back through three or four of
my steps. I discussed with Tenzing the
the advisability of going on, and he, although
admitting that he felt unhappy about the
snow conditions, and finished with his
the familiar phrase “Just as you wish”.
Para 8
I decided to go on, and we finally
reached firmer snow higher up, and then
chipped steps up the last steep slopes and
crampon onto the South Peak. It was now 9 a.m.
Give an account of the journey to the South Col from 28,000 feet. (Para 4 to 8)
Para 15
For a few moments, I lay regaining
my breath, and for the first time really
felt the fierce determination that nothing
now could stop us from reaching the top. I took
a firm stance on the ledge and signaled
to Tenzing to come on up. As I heaved
hard on the rope, Tenzing wriggled his
way up the crack, and finally collapsed at
the top like a giant fish when it has just
been hauled from the sea after a terrible
struggle.
Para 16
The ridge continued as before:
giant cornices on the right; steep rock
sloped on the left. The ridge curved away
to the right and we have no idea where the
top was. As I cut around the back of one
hump, another higher one would swing
into view. Time was passing and the ridge
seemed never-ending.
Para 17
Our original zest had now quite
gone, and it was turning more into a grim
struggle. I then realized that the ridge
ahead, instead of rising, now dropped
sharply away. I looked upwards to see a
narrow snow ridge running up to a snowy
summit. A few more whacks of the ice-ax
in the firm snow and we stood on top.
The ridge had taken us two and half hours, but it seemed like lifetime. Why? (Para 15 to 17)
How responsible and capable are you at home?
