Q1. When did the super cyclone hit Orissa?
a) October 1998
b) October 1999
c) November 1999
d) September 2000
Answer: b) October 1999

Q2. How many years after his mother’s death had Prashant gone to Ersama?
a) Five years
b) Six years
c) Seven years
d) Eight years
Answer: c) Seven years

Q3. How far was Ersama from Prashant’s village?
a) 10 kilometres
b) 15 kilometres
c) 18 kilometres
d) 20 kilometres
Answer: c) 18 kilometres

Q4. What was the speed of the wind during the cyclone?
a) 200 km per hour
b) 250 km per hour
c) 300 km per hour
d) 350 km per hour
Answer: d) 350 km per hour

Q5. Where did Prashant and his friend’s family take refuge during the cyclone?
a) In a neighbour’s house
b) On the roof of the house
c) In a temple
d) Under a tree
Answer: b) On the roof of the house

Q6. What kept Prashant and the family alive for the next few days?
a) Biscuits
b) Stored rice
c) Tender coconuts
d) Food packets
Answer: c) Tender coconuts

Q7. How long did the cyclone and ocean surge continue?
a) 12 hours
b) 24 hours
c) 36 hours
d) 48 hours
Answer: c) 36 hours

Q8. What did Prashant use to locate the road while returning to his village?
a) A rope
b) A long sturdy stick
c) A torch
d) A bamboo pole
Answer: b) A long sturdy stick

Q9. What did Prashant see floating in the flood waters?
a) Boats and logs
b) Only animal carcasses
c) Human corpses and animal carcasses
d) Household items only
Answer: c) Human corpses and animal carcasses

Q10. What was the name of Prashant’s village?
a) Ersama
b) Kalikuda
c) Cuttack
d) Puri
Answer: b) Kalikuda

Q11. Where did Prashant finally find his family?
a) At their house
b) At a temple
c) At the Red Cross shelter
d) At a neighbour’s house
Answer: c) At the Red Cross shelter

Q12. How many people had died in Prashant’s village?
a) 60
b) 70
c) 86
d) 96
Answer: c) 86

Q13. How many houses were washed away in the village?
a) 86
b) 90
c) 96
d) 100
Answer: c) 96

Q14. Approximately how many people were in the shelter?
a) 1000
b) 1500
c) 2000
d) 2500
Answer: d) 2500

Q15. How had the people survived for the first four days in the shelter?
a) On food packets
b) On green coconuts
c) On rice
d) On dry fruits
Answer: b) On green coconuts

Q16. What leadership role did Prashant take?
a) He left the village
b) He waited for government help
c) He stepped in as leader of the village
d) He refused responsibility
Answer: c) He stepped in as leader of the village

Q17. How did Prashant arrange food for the shelter?
a) By stealing
b) By requesting the government
c) By pressurising the merchant to give rice
d) By collecting money
Answer: c) By pressurising the merchant to give rice

Q18. What was the condition of the rice they got from the merchant?
a) Fresh
b) Rotten
c) Half-cooked
d) Raw and clean
Answer: b) Rotten

Q19. What did Prashant organise to clean the shelter?
a) Government officials
b) A team of youth volunteers
c) Army soldiers
d) Doctors
Answer: b) A team of youth volunteers

Q20. What did the military helicopter drop on the fifth day?
a) Clothes
b) Medicines
c) Food parcels
d) Tents
Answer: c) Food parcels

Q21. How did the children signal the helicopter about their hunger?
a) By shouting loudly
b) By waving cloth
c) By lying in the sand with utensils on their stomachs
d) By lighting a fire
Answer: c) By lying in the sand with utensils on their stomachs

Q22. What did Prashant do for the orphaned children?
a) Sent them away
b) Built a polythene sheet shelter
c) Ignored them
d) Sent them to institutions immediately
Answer: b) Built a polythene sheet shelter

Q23. What programme did Prashant persuade women to join?
a) Employment exchange
b) Food-for-work programme
c) Farming programme
d) Government school
Answer: b) Food-for-work programme

Q24. What sports activity did Prashant organise for children?
a) Football
b) Hockey
c) Cricket matches
d) Kabaddi
Answer: c) Cricket matches

Q25. Why did Prashant and volunteers resist the government plan to set up institutions?
a) They disliked the government
b) Institutions were too expensive
c) Children would grow up without love and widows would suffer stigma
d) There was no land
Answer: c) Children would grow up without love and widows would suffer stigma

Q26. What alternative did Prashant’s group suggest instead of setting up institutions for orphans and widows?
a) Sending them to other cities
b) Leaving them to manage alone
c) Resettling them in their own community in foster families
d) Moving them to government camps
Answer: c) Resettling them in their own community in foster families

Q27. How long after the cyclone does the story mention Prashant’s condition?
a) Three months
b) Six months
c) One year
d) Two years
Answer: b) Six months

Q28. Why had Prashant’s wounded spirit healed?
a) Because he received compensation
b) Because he forgot the cyclone
c) Because he had no time to think about his own pain
d) Because he left the village
Answer: c) Because he had no time to think about his own pain

Q29. Who wrote “Weathering the Storm in Ersama”?
a) Ruskin Bond
b) Harsh Mander
c) R.K. Narayan
d) Khushwant Singh
Answer: b) Harsh Mander

Q30. What was the first thought that flashed through Prashant’s mind while sitting on the roof?
a) Saving money
b) Rebuilding houses
c) Whether his family had survived
d) Going back to school
Answer: c) Whether his family had survived

Q31. Assertion (A): The fallen coconut trees proved to be a blessing in disguise.
Reason (R): The tender coconuts helped the trapped family survive.
a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A
c) A is true but R is false
d) A is false but R is true
Answer: a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A

Q32. Assertion (A): Prashant immediately broke down after reaching the shelter.
Reason (R): He lost hope of survival.
a) Both A and R are true
b) Both A and R are false
c) A is false but R is true
d) A is true but R is false
Answer: b) Both A and R are false

Q33. Assertion (A): The helicopter made regular rounds after the children signalled hunger.
Reason (R): The children lay on the sand with utensils on their stomachs.
a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation
c) A is true but R is false
d) A is false but R is true
Answer: a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A

Q34. Assertion (A): All houses in Kalikuda remained safe.
Reason (R): The cyclone was not very strong.
a) Both A and R are true
b) Both A and R are false
c) A is true but R is false
d) A is false but R is true
Answer: b) Both A and R are false

Q35. Assertion (A): Prashant organised youth volunteers to clean the shelter.
Reason (R): The shelter was filled with filth, urine, vomit and carcasses.
a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation
c) A is true but R is false
d) A is false but R is true
Answer: a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A

Q36. Why did Prashant use a sturdy stick during his journey?
a) To fight animals
b) To measure water depth and locate the road
c) To rest on it
d) To carry belongings
Answer: b) To measure water depth and locate the road

Q37. What does this journey show about Prashant?
a) Carelessness
b) Fearfulness
c) Determination and courage
d) Laziness
Answer: c) Determination and courage

Q38. What was Prashant’s emotional state during the journey?
a) Happy
b) Confident of safety
c) Grieving and fearful
d) Angry
Answer: c) Grieving and fearful

Q39. What quality is best reflected in Prashant’s actions?
a) Selfishness
b) Leadership and compassion
c) Pride
d) Arrogance
Answer: b) Leadership and compassion

Q40. Why did Prashant involve women in the food-for-work programme?
a) To keep them busy
b) To help them overcome grief and rebuild lives
c) To earn profit
d) To impress officials
Answer: b) To help them overcome grief and rebuild lives

Q41. Why did he organise sports events for children?
a) To prepare them for competition
b) To reduce their grief and trauma
c) To waste time
d) To show authority
Answer: b) To reduce their grief and trauma

Q42. What does the word ‘bereaved’ mean in the chapter?
a) Excited
b) Angry
c) Having lost a close relation
d) Injured
Answer: c) Having lost a close relation

Q43. What does the word ‘tumult’ refer to in the chapter?
a) Silence
b) Uproar of a disorderly crowd
c) Happiness
d) Celebration
Answer: b) Uproar of a disorderly crowd

Q44. Why was the rice cooked on a ‘reluctant and slow fire’?
a) There was heavy rain
b) The wood was wet
c) There was no stove
d) They were careless
Answer: b) The wood was wet

Q45. What was the condition of Prashant’s house when he returned?
a) Completely safe
b) Slightly damaged
c) Only roof remnants remained
d) Under repair
Answer: c) Only roof remnants remained

Q46. Who was the first family member Prashant saw at the shelter?
a) His brother
b) His sister
c) His maternal grandmother
d) His uncle
Answer: c) His maternal grandmother

Q47. What feeling spread among the shelter crowd before Prashant took charge?
a) Excitement
b) Hope
c) Deathly grief
d) Celebration
Answer: c) Deathly grief

Q48. Why did the merchant finally give rice to the villagers?
a) He felt pity
b) He was forced by police
c) He was pressurised by the organised delegation
d) He wanted publicity
Answer: c) He was pressurised by the organised delegation

Q49. Which of the following best describes the theme of the chapter?
a) Adventure and travel
b) Natural beauty
c) Human courage, leadership and community support during disaster
d) School life
Answer: c) Human courage, leadership and community support during disaster

Q50. Do you think Prashant is portrayed as a good leader in the chapter?
a) No, because he was young
b) Yes, because he showed courage, responsibility and compassion
c) No, because he depended on others
d) Yes, because he wanted fame
Answer: b) Yes, because he showed courage, responsibility and compassion