Hi Everyone!! This article will share the Questions & Answers Of Heaven Lake.
In the summer of 1981, the author, Vikram Seth who was a student at Nanjing University returned to Delhi via Tibet and Nepal. In the book, From Heaven Lake: Travels Through Sinkiang and Tibet, the account of his travels through China can be found. Below are mentioned the questions and answers of the chapter Heaven Lake which describes the visit of the author and his friend John to Heaven Lake after they broke away from the group of students they were travelling with. I have also shared the Questions & Answers of The Emergence Of Zoo so, you can check that post as well.
Questions & Answers Of Heaven Lake
Question 1: How did Mr. Cao react when the author expressed his desire to go for a swim in the Lake?
Answer 1: When the author expressed his desire to go for a swim in the Lake, the hotel manager Mr. Cao was astounded. He pretended to be busy with his work and did not reply to the author’s query regarding the water temperature immediately.
Question 2: How was the author discouraged from taking a swim in the Heaven Lake?
Answer 2: With great offhandedness, Mr. Cao informed the author that people are often drowned in Heaven Lake. The last person was a Beijing athlete from an athletics college. He used to swim to and fro across the lake every day however, one day he swam across and never returned. The reasons for this could be he had a heart attack or got a cramp or the water was too cold or perhaps the undercurrent got him. After listening to all this, the author got scared and retying his shoelaces, he gave up the idea of a swim in the lake.
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Question 3: How did the author feel when he took a dip?
Answer 3: The author took a short dip, keeping close to the shore. The water was clean and extremely cold. For a few minutes, he splashed around before emerging blue and refreshed.
Question 4: How did the author and John spend a day at the ‘small ice-blue pool’?
Answer 4: Both the author and John went down to the ‘small ice-blue pool’ with a picnic lunch of bread, dry cooked meat, peanuts, tomatoes and oranges which was provided by Mr. Cao. They were completely cut off from the world and were fascinated by the sudden drizzle and the brilliant sun shining in turns. They made a fire in the lee of a rock, swam, sometimes sunned themselves or sometimes shivered before the fire as the weather was alternating, ate, drank and enjoyed themselves.
Question 5: After John left, how did the author spend the ‘extra day or two’ at Heaven Lake?
Answer 5: The author liked the place so much that he decided to stay an extra day or two at Heaven Lake. He spent the time roaming around by the head of the lake, watching herdsman cross the stream delta with cattle and horses; walking towards the snowline or reading Confucius’ Analects. At times, he lay on a rock by the shore and read very slowly, pausing to enjoy the beauty of the sunset.
Question 6: Express the author’s opinion of the old shopkeeper in your own words.
Answer 6: When the old shopkeeper grabbed the author’s cap from his hand, ripped it apart and returned his money; he thought the shopkeeper to be very arrogant. However, after knowing the reason behind this reaction, he appreciated his thoughtfulness and regarded the man with great respect and reverence. The author was highly touched by his kindness and graciousness.
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Long Questions & Answers Of Heaven Lake
Question 7: Briefly describe the author’s journey from Urumqi to Heaven Lake. What does Heaven Lake look like?
Answer 7: The author boarded a public bus from Urumqi to Heaven Lake. Once the bus rolled out of the crowded city, they were in open countryside with fields of sunflowers all around. The Mount Bogda which is 5000 metres high could be seen from a distance. The peaks were covered with snow and were in powerful contrast to the desert all around. At the foot of one of the higher snow-peaks, lies Heaven Lake about 2,000 metres above sea level. As the bus climbed further, rain began to fall. The bus passed quickly from the desert through arable land to pastures. The author saw a few cattle drinking at a clear stream which was flowing past moss-covered stones. The bus continued the slow ascent and about noon, the author reached Heaven Lake.
Heaven Lake is a long, sardine-shaped lake which is fed by snowmelt from a stream at its head. This intense blue lake is surrounded by green mountains walls on all sides. The massive snowcapped peak at its head presents a breathtaking view.
Question 8: Describe in brief, the author’s experience of buying a cap at Urumqi.
Answer 8: Buying a cap at Urumqi was a very unusual experience for the author. The shopkeeper was an old, bespectacled, bearded man who talked to the author in Uighur which he could not understand. The author said something in Chinese and the shopkeeper could comprehend. He asked for three Yuans for the cap that the author chose. The author gave a five yuan note but the shopkeeper handed over three yuan in change. The author then handed over the extra yuan back to the shopkeeper but he refused to take it. However, when the author insisted upon paying him the three Yuans, the old man suddenly grabbed the cap back from his head and ripped it apart. The author got frightened at this reaction and presumed that the old man must have felt insulted. But the old man did this only to make the stitching firmer as the author had to travel a long way. After stretching and stitching the cap into a tougher form, the old man put the cap back on the author’s head and gently adjusted it to the correct angle. The author appreciated his thoughtfulness and regarded the man with great respect and reverence. He was highly touched by his kindness and graciousness.
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Question 9: When does the author meet the Nanjing University group? Describe the incident with the sheepskin pedlar.
Answer 9: The author met the Nanjing University group when they came to Heaven Lake for a few hours. They together return to Urumqi. The next morning, before boarding the train eastwards, they were given an hour or so of ‘free activity’. While walking briskly towards the Urumqi mosque, the author noticed a pedlar selling sheepskin jackets on the pavement. The pedlar quickly took a glance at the author’s shoes to confirm that he was a foreigner and doubles the price the author had just heard him offer to a passer-by. For a few minutes, both haggle until the author brought out some ‘funny money’. At that point, the pedlar’s eyes glow with interest and the author could get a good deal on the purchase.
Question 10: Describe the shop that caught the author’s eye.
The shop was old, dark and narrow with all kinds of caps displayed by its doorway. This shop caught the author’s eye and he realized that he will be requiring one cap to protect himself in Tibet from the Sun.the interior of the shop was dingy and the sewing machine was clattering anciently away. Moons of cloth, strips of plastic, bobbins of thread and circles of cardboard were lying on the floor, or on the shelves, or were hanging from nails in the door.
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So, these were questions & answers of Heaven Lake.