NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Hornbill Chapter 3: Discovering Tut: the Saga Continues; The Laburnum Top; The Voice of the Rain

Chapter at a glance

Discovering Tut – Understanding the Text

Question U1

Give reasons for the following.

1. King Tut’s body has been subjected to repeated scrutiny.
2. Howard Carter’s investigation was resented.
3. Carter had to chisel away the solidified resins to raise the king’s remains.
4. Tut’s body was buried along with gilded treasures.
5. The boy king changed his name from Tutankhaten to Tutankhamun.

Answer

1. Tut died young and unexpectedly, and he was the last of a powerful dynasty. His death is a mystery (murder has even been suspected), so scientists have repeatedly examined his body — Carter in the 1920s, an X-ray in 1968, and a CT scan in 2005 — to find out how he died and how old he was.
2. Carter’s investigation was resented because he damaged the mummy: he put it in the blazing sun, chiselled away the hardened resins, removed the head and severed nearly every major joint to separate Tut from his gold ornaments. Zahi Hawass said the mummy is in very bad condition because of what Carter did.
3. The ritual resins had hardened, cementing the body to the bottom of the solid gold coffin. Heating it in the sun did not loosen them, and no legitimate force could move them, so Carter had to chisel them away.
4. The royals of that time were fabulously wealthy and believed (or hoped) they could take their riches with them to the afterlife; the gold’s “eternal brilliance” was meant to guarantee resurrection.
5. His predecessor Akhenaten had promoted the worship of the Aten and attacked the god Amun. Tut restored the old ways and worship of Amun, so he changed his name to Tutankhamun, “living image of Amun”.

1. To solve the mystery of his early death and age. (ii) Carter badly damaged the mummy. (iii) Hardened resins had cemented the body to the coffin. (iv) Belief that riches accompanied the dead to the afterlife and gold guaranteed resurrection. (v) To mark the restoration of the worship of Amun.

Question U2

1. List the deeds that led Ray Johnson to describe Akhenaten as “wacky”.
2. What were the results of the CT scan?
3. List the advances in technology that have improved forensic analysis.
4. Explain the statement, “King Tut is one of the first mummies to be scanned — in death, as in life…”

Answer

1. Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV) promoted the worship of the Aten (the sun disk), changed his name to Akhenaten (“servant of the Aten”), moved the religious capital from Thebes to Akhetaten (Amarna), and attacked Amun, a major god, smashing his images and closing his temples.
2. The CT scan created 1,700 digital X-ray images in cross section from head to toe; the head was scanned in 0.62 mm slices, showing eerie detail. The images (neck vertebrae, hand, rib cage, skull) provided precise data for an accurate forensic reconstruction of the pharaoh and new clues about his life and death.
3. X-rays (used in 1968, revealing missing breast-bone and front ribs); computed tomography (CT), which assembles hundreds of cross-sectional X-rays into a three-dimensional virtual body; portable CT machines; and computer imaging that allows images to be rotated and examined in every direction.
4. In life Tut was a king and moved ahead of his subjects; even after death he leads them, being one of the first of Egypt’s many mummies to be scanned by the new portable CT machine — “moving regally ahead of his countrymen”.

1. Worship of the Aten, name change, shifting the capital to Amarna, attacking Amun. (ii) 1,700 images giving data for forensic reconstruction and clues to his life and death. (iii) X-rays, CT scans/3-D virtual bodies, portable CT, computer imaging. (iv) As in life, the king led his people even in death by being among the first mummies scanned.

Discovering Tut – Talking about the Text

Question T1

Discuss: Scientific intervention is necessary to unearth buried mysteries.

Answer

For: Science (X-rays, CT scans, DNA tests, carbon dating) gives accurate information about how ancient people lived and died, and corrects myths and speculation (e.g. about Tut’s murder). Without it, mysteries would remain unsolved.

Against: Intervention can damage fragile remains (as Carter did) and disturb the dead, hurting religious feelings. Some mysteries may be left undisturbed out of respect.

Conclusion: Scientific intervention is valuable, but it must be careful, non-destructive and respectful — modern non-invasive methods like CT scanning are a good balance.

Science reveals the truth about the past, but it must be careful and respectful; non-invasive methods like CT scans balance both concerns.

Question T2

Discuss: Advanced technology gives us conclusive evidence of past events.

Answer

For: Technology gives precise, objective data — the CT scan showed details invisible to Carter; DNA and carbon dating give reliable dates and relationships.

Against: Evidence is not always conclusive: interpretations can differ, data can be incomplete (Tut’s body had been damaged), and technology keeps improving, so earlier conclusions get revised. Technology tells us “what” but not always “why”.

Conclusion: Technology gives strong, but not always final, evidence; it must be combined with historical records and careful interpretation.

Technology gives strong, objective evidence, but it is not always conclusive; it must be interpreted with other sources.

Question T3

Discuss: Traditions, rituals and funerary practices must be respected.

Answer

For: They reflect people’s beliefs, culture and identity; disturbing graves can hurt descendants’ feelings. Tut’s people believed in the afterlife and buried him to rest in peace.

Against: Rigid respect could stop learning about the past; ancient sites can be studied respectfully, and knowledge benefits humanity.

Conclusion: Traditions should be respected, and research should be done with sensitivity — e.g. returning Tut to his tomb within three hours, as in 2005.

They deserve respect as expressions of culture and belief, but respectful research can coexist with them.

Question T4

Discuss: Knowledge about the past is useful to complete our knowledge of the world we live in.

Answer

For: The past explains the origins of our cultures, languages, religions and institutions; it shows how societies rose and fell, and helps us avoid past mistakes. Ancient medicine, art and science still inspire us.

Against: Some argue that resources should be spent on present problems rather than on the past.

Conclusion: Understanding the past is essential for a complete understanding of the present and for planning the future.

Yes; knowing the past explains how our world came to be and guides the present and future.

Discovering Tut – Thinking about Language

Question L1

Read the following piece of information from The Encyclopedia of Language by David Crystal: “Egyptian is now extinct: its history dates from before the third millennium B.C., preserved in many hieroglyphic inscriptions and papyrus manuscripts. Around the second century A.D., it developed into a language known as Coptic. Coptic may still have been used as late as the early nineteenth century and is still used as a religious language by Monophysite Christians in Egypt.”

Answer

The passage shows that languages change and can die out: ancient Egyptian, recorded in hieroglyphs and papyri, evolved into Coptic, which went out of everyday use by the 19th century and now survives only as a religious (liturgical) language. Today Egyptians speak Arabic.

Ancient Egyptian evolved into Coptic, which is now extinct as a spoken language and survives only in religious use.

Question L2

What do you think are the reasons for the extinction of languages?

Answer

1. Conquest and colonisation, when a dominant language replaces local ones (Arabic replaced Coptic in Egypt).
2. Migration and urbanisation: people adopt the language of jobs and cities.
3. Globalisation and the dominance of a few languages (English, Hindi) in education, media and business.
4. Lack of use by younger generations — parents stop passing it on.
5. Small speaker communities, natural disasters or lack of written records.

Conquest, migration, globalisation, dominance of major languages, and younger generations not using the language.

Question L3

Do you think it is important to preserve languages?

Answer

Yes. Each language carries a community’s culture, history, oral literature, knowledge (of medicine, plants, environment) and a unique way of seeing the world. When a language dies, this heritage is lost forever. Preserving languages also protects people’s identity and dignity and keeps human diversity alive.

Yes; languages hold irreplaceable culture, knowledge and identity.

Question L4

In what ways do you think we could help prevent the extinction of languages and dialects?

Answer

1. Speak the language at home and pass it on to children.
2. Teach it in schools (mother-tongue education).
3. Document it — dictionaries, grammars, recordings of songs and stories.
4. Use it in media, literature, films, apps and the internet.
5. Government support: recognition, funding, cultural programmes (e.g. India’s scheme for endangered languages).
6. Encourage pride in one’s language.

Use it at home, teach it in schools, document it, use it in media and technology, and seek government support.

Discovering Tut – Working with Words

Question W1

Given below are some interesting combinations of words. Explain why they have been used together: (i) ghostly dust devils (ii) desert sky (iii) stunning artefacts (iv) funerary treasures (v) scientific detachment (vi) dark-bellied clouds (vii) casket grey (viii) eternal brilliance (ix) ritual resins (x) virtual body

Answer

Each combination creates a precise image or mood linked to death, the desert, treasure or science, e.g. “casket grey” links the sky to death and “virtual body” means a computer-made 3-D image.

Question W2

Here are some commonly used medical terms. Find out their meanings: CT scan, MRI, tomography, autopsy, dialysis, ECG, post mortem, angiography, biopsy

Answer

CT scan and tomography: cross-sectional X-ray imaging; MRI: magnetic imaging; autopsy/post mortem: examination after death; dialysis: blood cleaning; ECG: heart record; angiography: X-ray of blood vessels; biopsy: tissue sample test.

Discovering Tut – Things to Do

Question D1

The constellation Orion is associated with the legend of Osiris, the god of the afterlife. Find out the astronomical descriptions and legends associated with the following: (i) Ursa Major (Saptarishi mandala) (ii) Polaris (Dhruva tara) (iii) Pegasus (Winged horse) (iv) Sirius (Dog star) (v) Gemini (Mithuna)

Answer

Saptarishi: seven sages/Great Bear; Dhruva: fixed Pole Star given to devoted Dhruva; Pegasus: winged horse; Sirius: brightest star, Orion’s dog and herald of the Nile flood; Gemini: twins Castor and Pollux.

Question D2

Some of the leaves and flowers mentioned in the passage for adorning the dead are willow, olive, celery, lotus, cornflower. Which of these are common in our country?

Answer

The lotus is very common (it is India’s national flower). Willow grows in Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh (used for cricket bats), and celery is grown in some parts. Olive and cornflower are not common, though they are grown in a few places.

Lotus is very common; willow and celery are found in some regions; olive and cornflower are uncommon.

Question D3

Name some leaves and flowers that are used as adornments in our country.

Answer

Flowers: marigold (genda), jasmine (mogra/chameli), rose, lotus, tuberose (rajnigandha), hibiscus, chrysanthemum.

Leaves: mango leaves (toran at doors), banana leaves, betel leaves, tulsi (holy basil), bel leaves, peepal and neem leaves.

Marigold, jasmine, rose, lotus, tuberose; mango, banana, betel, tulsi and bel leaves.

The Laburnum Top – Poem

Question LF1

Find out what laburnum is called in your language.

Answer

In Hindi, the laburnum (Indian laburnum, Cassia fistula) is called amaltas; in Sanskrit aragvadha, in Malayalam kanikkonna (used in the Vishu festival), and it is also called the “golden shower” tree.

Amaltas (Hindi); kanikkonna (Malayalam); “golden shower” tree.

Question LF2

Find out which local bird is like the goldfinch.

Answer

Small yellow-and-black songbirds like the golden oriole (peelak), the common iora or the yellow-throated sparrow resemble the goldfinch in colour and lively movement.

The golden oriole (peelak) or common iora.

Question LT1

What do you notice about the beginning and the ending of the poem?

Answer

The poem begins and ends in silence and stillness: “The Laburnum top is silent, quite still” and “the laburnum subsides to empty.” In between, the arrival of the goldfinch brings life, sound and movement. This circular structure highlights the contrast between the tree with and without the bird.

It begins and ends with the tree silent and still; the bird’s visit brings life in between.

Question LT2

To what is the bird’s movement compared? What is the basis for the comparison?

Answer

The goldfinch’s movement is compared to that of a lizard: “sleek as a lizard, and alert, and abrupt”. The basis is the bird’s smooth, quick, sudden and watchful movements as she darts into the thick foliage — just like a lizard.

To a lizard — because she moves in a sleek, alert and abrupt manner.

Question LT3

Why is the image of the engine evoked by the poet?

Answer

When the goldfinch enters the tree, her chicks begin chittering and trilling and their wings tremble, so “a machine starts up” and “the whole tree trembles and thrills”. The poet calls it “the engine of her family”: like an engine that is started and stoked with fuel, the mother bird “stokes it full” (feeds the chicks), setting the whole tree in motion with sound and vibration. The image conveys the energy and life that the bird brings.

Because the mother bird’s arrival sets off noise and vibration in the tree like an engine starting up, and she “stokes” (feeds) it — showing the energy she brings to her family.

Question LT4

What do you like most about the poem?

Answer

I like the vivid imagery and sound effects — the yellow September sunlight, the “chitterings”, “trillings” and “whistle-chirrup whisperings” — which bring the scene alive. I also like the contrast between stillness and life: a quiet tree becomes a “machine” of sound and movement and then subsides again. The poem captures a small moment of nature beautifully.

Its vivid imagery and sound words, and the contrast between the still tree and the burst of life when the goldfinch visits.

Question LT5

What does the phrase “her barred face identity mask” mean?

Answer

The goldfinch has distinctive stripes (bars) of colour on her face, like a mask that identifies her. The phrase refers to these markings that make the bird recognisable.

The striped markings on the goldfinch’s face, which look like a mask and identify her.

Question LN1

Note down (1) the sound words (2) the movement words (3) the dominant colour in the poem.

Answer

1. Sound words: silent, chirrup, twitching chirrup, chitterings, trillings, whistle-chirrup, whisperings, (machine) starts up.
2. Movement words: comes, twitching, enters, starts up, tremor, trembles, thrills, stokes, flirts out, launches away, subsides.
3. Dominant colour: yellow — yellow September sunlight, yellowing leaves, the laburnum’s yellow flowers and the goldfinch’s yellow feathers.

Sound: chirrup, chitterings, trillings, whistle-chirrup, whisperings. Movement: twitching, enters, trembles, flirts out, launches, subsides. Colour: yellow.

Question LL1

List words which describe ‘sleek’, ‘alert’ and ‘abrupt’.

Answer

These words describe the goldfinch and her movements, compared to a lizard: sleek (smooth and glossy), alert (watchful, quick to react), abrupt (sudden). Related words in the poem: “suddenness”, “startlement”, “twitching”, “flirts out”, “launches away”.

They describe the goldfinch (like a lizard); related words: suddenness, startlement, twitching, flirts, launches.

Question LL2

List words with the sound ‘ch’ as in ‘chart’ and ‘tr’ as in ‘trembles’ in the poem.

Answer

• ‘ch’: twitching, chirrup, branch, chitterings, whistle-chirrup.
• ‘tr’: trembles, tremor, trillings.

‘ch’: twitching, chirrup, branch, chitterings; ‘tr’: trembles, tremor, trillings.

Question LL3

List other sounds that occur frequently in the poem.

Answer

The ‘s’ sound (silent, still, September, sunlight, seeds, suddenness, startlement, sleek, stokes, subsides), the ‘l’ sound (laburnum, still, yellow, leaves, lizard, alert, delicate), the ‘th’ sound (thickness, thrills), and the ‘t’ sound (top, twitching, startlement, alert, abrupt).

Frequent ‘s’, ‘l’, ‘t’ and ‘th’ sounds (e.g. silent, still, sunlight; laburnum, yellow; thickness, thrills).

Question LTL1

Look for some other poem on a bird or a tree in English or any other language.

Answer

Examples: “Trees” by Joyce Kilmer (“I think that I shall never see / A poem lovely as a tree”); “To a Skylark” by P.B. Shelley; “The Darkling Thrush” by Thomas Hardy; “Ode to a Nightingale” by John Keats; in Hindi, Sumitranandan Pant’s nature poems.

E.g. Kilmer’s “Trees”, Shelley’s “To a Skylark”, Keats’s “Ode to a Nightingale”, Hardy’s “The Darkling Thrush”.

Question LTO1

Write four lines in verse form on any tree that you see around you.

Answer

Sample verse (on a neem tree):

Beside my gate the old neem stands, Its leaves held out like healing hands; At noon it spreads a cooling shade, Where birds and children sing and played.

A four-line original verse describing a familiar tree, e.g. the neem tree’s shade, birds and healing leaves.

The Voice of the Rain – Poem

Question VI1

There are two voices in the poem. Who do they belong to? Which lines indicate this?

Answer

The two voices belong to the poet and the rain. The lines are: “And who art thou? said I to the soft-falling shower” (the poet) and “I am the Poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain” (the rain).

Question VI2

What does the phrase “strange to tell” mean?

Answer

“Strange to tell” means surprisingly / it is strange to say — the poet expresses surprise that the rain actually answered his question.

Surprisingly — it is strange that the rain replied.

Question VI3

There is a parallel drawn between rain and music. Which words indicate this? Explain the similarity between the two.

Answer

The words “I am the Poem of Earth” and the closing lines “For song, issuing from its birth-place, after fulfilment, wandering, reck’d or unreck’d, duly with love returns” draw the parallel.

Similarity: Rain rises from the earth and sea, falls to give life, and returns to its origin. A song too rises from the heart of the poet (its birth-place), wanders among people, gives joy whether noticed or not, and returns with love to its creator. Both are cyclical and both beautify and enrich life.

“Poem of Earth” and “song… duly with love returns”: like rain, a song comes from its source, spreads joy whether noticed or not, and returns to its origin.

Question VI4

How is the cyclic movement of rain brought out in the poem? Compare it with what you have learnt in science.

Answer

In the poem, rain says it rises impalpable (as invisible vapour) from the land and the sea, goes upward to heaven, where it takes shape vaguely (clouds) “altogether changed, and yet the same”, then descends to bathe the dry earth and give life to seeds, and “forever, by day and night”, gives back life to its own origin.

This matches the water cycle in science: evaporation from oceans and land → condensation into clouds → precipitation as rain → water returns to rivers, seas and soil → evaporation again.

Rain rises as vapour, forms clouds, falls to nourish the earth and returns to its source — exactly the water cycle of evaporation, condensation, precipitation and return.

Question VI5

Why are the last two lines put within brackets?

Answer

The last two lines are put within brackets because they are the poet’s own comment or reflection, not the rain’s words. In them the poet compares the rain to a song that returns to its source, linking the rain’s cycle to the creation of poetry. The brackets set this aside as an additional thought.

Because they are the poet’s own comment comparing rain to a song, separate from the rain’s words.

Question VI6

List the pairs of opposites found in the poem.

Answer

• rise — descend
• day — night
• land — sea
• earth — heaven
• reck’d — unreck’d
• changed — the same
• unborn — (give back) life

Rise–descend, day–night, land–sea, earth–heaven, reck’d–unreck’d, changed–the same.

Question VII1

Notice the following sentence patterns and rewrite them in prose: (1) And who art thou? said I to the soft-falling shower. (2) I am the Poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain. (3) Eternal I rise (4) For song … duly with love returns

Answer

1. I asked the gently falling rain, “Who are you?”
2. The voice of the rain replied that it was the Poem of the Earth.
3. I rise eternally / I rise forever.
4. A song duly returns with love (to its place of origin).

1. I asked the softly falling rain who it was. 2. The rain said that it was the Poem of Earth. 3. I rise eternally. 4. A song returns with love to its source.

Question VIII1

Look for some more poems on the rain and see how this one is different from them.

Answer

Other rain poems: “Rain” by Shel Silverstein, “Rain in Summer” by H.W. Longfellow, “April Rain Song” by Langston Hughes, “Rain on the Roof” by Coates Kinney.

How this one differs: most rain poems describe the sights, sounds and moods of a rainy day. Whitman’s poem is a dialogue in which the rain itself speaks; it presents rain scientifically as part of the water cycle and philosophically as a “Poem of Earth”, comparing it to a song that returns to its source. It is written in free verse, without rhyme.

Unlike descriptive rain poems (Longfellow, Langston Hughes), Whitman’s is a free-verse dialogue where rain speaks, linking the water cycle to the creation of poetry.

Topic checklist

• Tut’s history, Carter’s discovery and the 2005 CT scan
• Akhenaten and the restoration under Tutankhamun
• Language extinction and preservation
• Imagery, sound and structure in The Laburnum Top
• Dialogue, water cycle and song in The Voice of the Rain

Total questions answered: 36 of 36