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

Three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after he grew up.

How does the story suggest that optimism helps to endure “the direst stress”?

Would you agree that the author’s grandmother was a person strong in character? If yes, give instances that show this.

The odd way in which the author’s grandmother behaved just before she died.

The way in which the sparrows expressed their sorrow when the author’s grandmother died.

Why do you think people undertake such adventurous expeditions in spite of the risks involved?

Can you think of a song or a poem in your language that talks of homecoming?

The three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad.

Describe the shifts in the narration of the events as indicated in the three sections of the text. Give a subtitle to each section.

(i) List the deeds that led Ray Johnson to describe Akhenaten as “wacky”.
(ii) What were the results of the CT scan?
(iii) List the advances in technology that have improved forensic analysis.
(iv) Explain the statement, “King Tut is one of the first mummies to be scanned — in death, as in life...”

Do you think it is important to preserve languages?

The three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad.

How would you say ‘a dilapidated drum’ in your language?

Three reasons why the author’s grandmother was disturbed when he started going to the city school.

‘Catamaran’ is a kind of a boat. Do you know which Indian language this word is derived from? Check the dictionary.

Describe the shifts in the narration of the events as indicated in the three sections of the text. Give a subtitle to each section.

Three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after he grew up.

The way in which the sparrows expressed their sorrow when the author’s grandmother died.

Give reasons for the following.
(i) King Tut’s body has been subjected to repeated scrutiny.
(ii) Howard Carter’s investigation was resented.
(iii) Carter had to chisel away the solidified resins to raise the king’s remains.
(iv) Tut’s body was buried along with gilded treasures.
(v) The boy king changed his name from Tutankhaten to Tutankhamun.

Discuss the following in groups of two pairs, each pair in a group taking opposite points of view.
1. Scientific intervention is necessary to unearth buried mysteries.
2. Advanced technology gives us conclusive evidence of past events.
3. Traditions, rituals and funerary practices must be respected.
4. Knowledge about the past is useful to complete our knowledge of the world we live in.