Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below:
For the final dash to the pole, a distance of
a hundred and fifty miles. Scott chose as his companions, four men one of whom was
Oates. After many difficulties including the loss of eighteen of their dogs,
they reached the pole. To their astonishment and dismay they found nearby a
tent in which was a record showing that Ronald Amundsen and four other
Norwegians had reached the Pole a month earlier.
This was a bitter blow, but Scott had done
his best, and so the party set out on the return journey. Misfortune dogged
them at every step. Evans, the strong man of the group, had a bad fall on the
ice, and suffered with severe head injury , two weeks later he died. The delay
caused by this tragedy had very serious consequences.
Meanwhile Oate’s feet were giving him
trouble, they were badly frost bitten; he could hardly walk with the pain. He
realises that the slower they marched in the thick snow, the less chance there
was of the nation’s holding up till they reached their base camp. Moreover, the
Antarctic winter was coming on. So, on the night of March 16th, 1912, Oates, to
avoid being a burden to the others, silently left his companions sleeping in
the tent and walked bravely out to his death.
Questions:
(a) Who was the leader of the expedition?
(b) How do you know he had great faith in
Oates?
(c) How many people altogether reached the
pole?
(d) Which country’s party reached there first?
(e) How did Scott know that he had been
beaten in the race to the Pole?
(f) What accident delayed them on the return
journey?
(g) Why was the delay serious?
(h) Why did Oates, ‘Walk bravely to his
death ‘?
(i) Pick out a phrase meaning ‘started’.
(j) Pick out a word which means ‘followed closely’
