Clearing in the Sky Question Answers
Q1. Why didn’t the old man follow the advice of the doctors?
Ans. The old man didn’t act upon the advice of the doctors because he had a large family to support and he was the only earning member in his family. He took a bold step and selected a small patch of land on the hill top, which he visited daily. All this exercise helped him in regaining his lost power/energy. It is well said: He conquers who endures. ~Persius
Q2. What did the doctors tell the old man?
Ans. All the doctors, whom the old man visited, advised him to spend the rest of his days with his family and told him not to take long walks. Some of them also suggested him to sit still, but he paid no heed.
Q3. Had the son ever been there before?
Ans. The son visited the clearing in the sky frequently with his mother and father, when he was six years old. His father also made a wooden plough, which the son lost in the furrow. He visited it regularly with the exception of the last three years.
Q4. Why did the old man take the steep path?
Ans. The old man selected the steep path to regain and enhance his lost energies, which proved very profitable as he got rid of all the diseases and live a happy health life by defeating death. “It is inevitable that some defeat will enter even the most victorious life. The human spirit is never finished when it is defeated…it is finished when it surrenders.” Similarly the old man was not ready to surrender.
Q5. What were the feelings of the old man at the age of seventy?
Ans. At the age of seventy, the old man enjoyed the life full of warmth and real achievement as he defeated death many time by not following the warnings of the doctors. To prove the doctors wrong, he established a farm on the top of the hills and kept on visiting it. He considered the farm as the fruit of his labour. He loved to touch and smell soil that he prepared. He also showed his ardent desire to taste the fruit of his form. As Isaac remarked, “Happiness does not come from doing easy work but from the afterglow of satisfaction that comes after the achievement of a difficult task that demanded our best.”
Q6. Describe the physical appearance of the old man?
Ans. The old man is seventy years old with wrinkled red face and blue eyes. He has a stick in his hand and a blue bandana on his shoulder, which he used for wiping sweat. Despite his old age, he is still active and healthy. He has strong will power to act.
Raw materials and basic materials are the objects of labor that make up the basis of the produced product. For example, in an engineering plant, the main materials are various types of metal (steel, cast iron, etc.), from which machine parts are made. In the practice of accounting and planning, raw materials are understood as basic materials that are products of the mining industry or agriculture (ore, cotton, sugar beets, etc.).