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 grip: 

 (a) She was excellent during the rock-climbing session. She has a good grip.  

 (b) The movement of 'India Against corruption' has gripped the minds of Indians.

 dawn:  

 (a) The day dawned with a clear sky.  

 (b) Suddenly, the idea dawned on him.  

usher:  

 (a) The waiter ushered them to their seats.

 (b) The Green Movement ushered in a new era of awareness.  

Coin:  

 (a) I have ten coins of Rs. 5.  

 (b) The term was coined by a famous philosopher.  

passport:  

 (a) He has just got his passport made to visit his uncle in the USA.  

 (b) Education is the passport to a bright future.

Over the decades, a change has come in the perception of the people in respect to the planet. The human perception has shifted to a “holistic and ecological view of the world”. Earth is a living organism that has limited resources. These resources will not last forever.  The earth has its metabolic needs that require to be preserved. The need of the hour is “sustainable  development” which propounds the need of meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising with those of future generations.  

The present problems are not necessarily fatal for us but they are a „passport for future‟. This is the “Era of Responsibility” that calls for a responsible action from us. We must realize that the earth belongs as much to the future generation as much it belongs to us.

It is a mixture of both appreciation and ingratitude, some teachers who are kind and serve their time towards their students with full determination without doing discrimination in them are appreciated and they deserve that. On the other hand, teachers who are cruel, full of attitude and do not give time to students, lacks their determination in serving students are never appreciated as they don’t deserve that so if we interact with those teachers whom we love to interact share all good and bad things about teachers.

To answer this question, you may talk about the following points.
Is it so that a student might be friendlier with one teacher than another one?
What are the qualities that make teachers a friend of a student?
Are students afraid of talking about a teacher to another teacher, knowing that they are colleagues?
Do students take the problems they face with one teacher to another teacher in the hope for a solution?
Does a student try to be respectful towards his/her teacher while talking about him to another teacher?

emove: a division in a school
slackers: unmotivated and lazy students
muck: useless, of no practical good
kept in: grounded, detained, work after the official school hours
got carried away: to get very excited or lose control of your feelings due to strong emotions.
cut: escape, go away without permission.
sadist: a person who gets pleasure out of inflicting pain to others
shrivelled up: having no feelings

The first section: The first section opens on a cheerful note. The narrator and his family are all set for their ultimate dream- to duplicate the around-the-world voyage made 200 years earlier by Captain James Cook . They have perfected their seafaring skills. They begin the voyage and pass the first phase of journey pleasantly. 

The second section: This part of narration covers the hazards faced by the voyagers. There is a shift in the narration from cheerful to intense. They find themselves in an extremely fatal and disastrous situation. They begin to face strong gales. Despite the worst weather they have a wonderful holiday on Christmas. On January 2,a huge wave hits their boat and the narrator is thrown overboard. Despite getting injured, he maintains his composure and applies every possible way to tackle the critical situation. They manage to pump out maximum amount of water out of the boat in about 36 hours. But as they continue to face bad weather conditions the narrator loses hope. The children remain fearless, courageous and optimistic throughout the situation.  

The third section: The children provide moral support to the narrator and he continues with his efforts. Under the captaincy of the narrator, they manage to reach Ile Amsterdam. The narrator proves his seamanship and receives the title of “the best daddy” and “the best captain” from his children.  The above three sections can be subtitled as follows: 

(a) The first section: Round-the-world voyage begins  

(b) The second section: The attack of the big wave  

(c) The third section: Ultimate victory

ducking back : quickly going inside and then coming out

swathe : literally: a long strip of land of something; contextually: a land stretched with snow  

careered down : descending the slope  

manoeuvres : military exercises involving a large number of soldiers, ships, etc. 

cairn of rocks : a pile of stones that mark a special place such as the top of a mountain or a place where somebody is buried  

salt flats : thatched roofed houses covered with snow

billowed : filled with the air and swelled out

Technology has been making a rapid development. The advancements in technology are responsible for improvements in the field of forensic sciences. From the use of X-rays, technology has advanced to the use of advanced Computed Tomography (commonly known as CT scan). In a CT scan, hundreds of X-rays are created in cross-section, like slices. They create a three-dimensional virtual body and with intricate structures. This change in forensic analysis has helped in discovering the mysteries behind Egyptian mummies.

Today C.T. technology helps us to take hundreds of X-ray images in cross-sections. They can be put together like slices of bread to create three dimensional virtual body. This provides precise data for an accurate forensic reconstruction.

Airship: It is a self-propelled lighter-than-air aircraft with the means of controlling the direction of the flight. 

Flagship: It is a ship carrying the flag officer or the commander of a fleet, squadron. It displays the officer‟s flag.  

Lightship: It refers to a ship anchored in a specific location flashing a very bright light for the guidance of ships to avoid dangerous areas.

Knot: 

(a) interlacing, twining, looping, etc.  

(b) a group of persons. 

Stern: firm, strict, uncompromising, harsh, hard etc. 

Boom: 

(a) deep, prolonged, resonant sound

(b) to progress or flourish 

(c) to hit hard  

Hatch: 

(a) to bring forth, produce.

(b) derive, concoct 

(c) to draw, cut, or engrave lines 

Anchor: 

(a) a person or thing that can be relied upon for support 

(b) host of an event.

The following are the meaning listed in the dictionary against the phrase `take on‟. In which meaning is it in the third paragraph of the account:

Forensic reconstruction- It refers to the process of creating a face on the skull and see how the owner of the skull looked like. Here, it refers to the construction of the bust of King Tut based on the data received from CT scan. 

Scudded across- It refers to moving quickly. The phrase is used with reference to the movement of the ‘dark-bellied clouds’. 

Casket grey- The words point out to the covering of the stars by the’dark-bellied clouds’, the way jewels are kept in a casket (a jewel box). 

Resurrection- It refers to a new beginning for something which is old and long forgotten. Here, it refers to the new life after death. 

Funerary treasures- The valuable things with which the king was buried were no less than treasures as most of the items were made of pure gold. They are, thus, referred to as ‘funerary treasures’. 

Circumvented- The thieves would easily bypass the guards with artfulness and rip the mummy apart to remove the gold. 

Computed tomography- Also known as CT scan, it provides X-ray image of a body in cross section. It is used for diagnostic purposes. 

Eerie detail- Uncanny description of the resulting image of the head of Tut visible through the CT scan.

(i) honing our seafaring skills: This refers to the efforts made by the author and his wife to perfect or sharpen their seafaring skills.

(ii) ominous silence: the silence here refers to an impending danger. 

(iii) Mayday calls: Mayday calls are radio-telephonic words which signal aircraft or ships stuck in a disastrous situation. 

(iv) pinpricks in the vast ocean: This phrase expresses the search for two small islands in the vast  ocean.They were somewhere in 150,000 kilometer of ocean looking for a 65 kilometer wide island.

(v) a tousled head: this refers to hair in disarray or the disarranged hair of the author‟s son, Jonathan

a) mast
b) mainsail
c) boom
d) cockpit
e) stern
f) rudder
g) cabin
h) bow

The three ways in which the author's grandmother spent her days after he grew up are by spinning wheel, reciting prayers and feeding the sparrows.

The author‟s grandmother was a religious lady with a kind heart. Her one hand was always busy in telling the beads of her rosary. Her lips constantly moved in an inaudible prayer. She used to get up early in the morning. She did her morning prayer in “a monotonous sing-song”. Everyday, she went along with the author to his school and while narrator studied she sat in a temple and read scriptures Later, in the city she was unhappy that there was no religious teaching at school. Before dying, she stopped talking to her family members and turned to prayers, and telling the beads.

The changing circumstances did have a bearing on the relationship between the author and his grandmother. The author and his grandmother lived as intimate friends in the village. A turning point came in their relationship when they came to the city to live with the author‟s parents. The author joined an English school in the city. She remained confined to home as here she could not accompany him to the school. In the new English school she could not help him in studies. She did not like the kind of education being given to the author at the English school. The grandmother became disturbed as there was no teaching about God and scriptures in the new school. She reconciled herself with spinning and taking to feed the sparrows. When the narrator grew up, he went up to university. He was given his own room. The common link of friendship between the author and his grandmother was snapped. His grandmother accepted her seclusion with resignation.  No, their feelings for each other did not change though distances grew between them.

(1) ‘The Rainy Day’ by Rabindranath Tagore.
(2) ‘Song for the Rainy Season’ by Elizabthe Bishop
(3) ‘An Autumn Rain-Scene’ by Thomas Hardy

Tsetan was a good Buddhist and believed that death was not the end of life. Kailash being a holy place it would be better for him as it would take him to heaven. Then if the author would die there, it would be bad for his business as his credibility will be at stake in looking after the tourists and later he may not get any customers.

Optimism is a determination to overcome difficulties. It raises one‟s spirits and helps one overcome stress and difficulty with ease. The story displays courage and optimism shown by everyone at the time of difficult situation. Survival happens only because of the optimistic struggle that the family carries on with the inclination to look at the bright side in the situation.

The level of perseverance in the author rises when Jonathan says, “We‟re not afraid of dying if we can all be together. Besides, the caricatures of him and Mary, drawn by Sue, helps his determination and optimism to grow many folds. The positive outlook of the children infuses positively in the narrator. He rigorously calculates their position and finally asks Larry to steer a course of 185 degrees. Though he lost all hopes by then, he does not show it and optimistically told Larry that they would spot the island by about 5 p.m. Fortunately, their struggle and optimism pays off and they manage to find Ile Amsterdam by the evening.  

The author was an academician, hence, he undertook the journey for the purpose of education. For him it was a learning experience. Secondly, people undertake such journeys because of the spirit of adventure. The areas covered by the author are some of the most difficult terrains in the world. The third can be a religious reason. People visit places like Mount Kailash as part of their pilgrimage.

There are many accounts of exotic places in legends and the reality. Places like Mount Kailash, Manasarovar occupy a prominent place in legends. There are many articles written about these places.

Nick Middleton is an Oxford Professor as well as an adventurer. He follows the most difficult terrain through the Silk Road and reaches mount Kailash. He visits the holy place to complete the kora- going around the place.

The author was disappointed with Darchen. The high altitude was giving him health problems. He had a bad cold and was not able to sleep at night. Since he was one of the early arrivals there weren’t any pilgrims coming to the place. The place was dusty, partially derelict and punctuated by heaps of rubble and refuse.

Hor was a grim, miserable place. The dust and rocks were scattered everywhere in abundance; there was little vegetation. The place seemed unfortunate and dejected, though it sat on the shore of the Lake Manasarovar. The author was flabbergasted to realise the contrast in his experience to that of the earlier read accounts. A Japanese monk, Ekai Kawaguchi, who had arrived there in 1990, was so moved by the sanctity of the lake t hat he burst into tears. The hallowed waters had a similar effect on Sven Hedin, a Swede who was not prone to sentimental outbursts. However, for the author, when he reached Hor, first he had to get two punctures mended. The only relaxation was the tea served by a Chinese youth in the only cafe in the town, which was constructed from badly painted concrete and had three broken windows. The good view of the lake through one of them helped to compensate however.