Chapter 8: No Time for Fear

Chapter 8: No Time for Fear

Author: Philip Yancey
Class 11 – General English | PSEB | A Panorama of Life

Q.1 Comprehension

(a) Short Answer Type Questions

1. Who were Malcolm and Barb?

Malcolm and Barb were a young couple who loved each other. They went on a hiking trip together in the mountains. During the trip, Malcolm bravely fought a grizzly bear to save Barb from its attack.

2. Where did they go on their date?

Malcolm and Barb went hiking in the mountains near a lodge in Canada. They planned to spend time together enjoying the natural surroundings.

3. Why were they forced to spend the night in a cabin?

A snowstorm made the weather conditions unsuitable for continuing their journey. The couple had to spend the night in a cabin until the weather improved.

4. Who attacked Barb?

A huge mother grizzly bear attacked Barb while she and Malcolm were hiking down the mountain trail. The bear had two cubs nearby and became aggressive when the couple encountered them.

5. How did Malcolm try to save Barb from the grizzly?

Malcolm immediately rushed towards the bear when he saw it attacking Barb. He grabbed a hunting knife from his belt, jumped onto the bear’s back and stabbed it in the neck. Although the bear severely injured him, he continued fighting to save Barb.

6. Why did the grizzly leave Malcolm?

After the bear had repeatedly attacked Malcolm, he stopped struggling and closed his eyes, believing that he was going to die. Surprisingly, the bear released him, swatted him once more, covered him with dirt and twigs, and lumbered away.

7. What did Barb do when she saw Malcolm after the grizzly had gone?

Barb saw Malcolm lying half-buried in the gully with terrible injuries to his face and body. She told him to hold on and went running towards the lodge to get help.

8. Who was Gordy Peyto? What did he say to Malcolm?

Gordy Peyto was Malcolm’s good friend and a warden. When he reached Malcolm, he tried to encourage him and said, “Well, pal, I always end up looking after you. How you doing, man?”

9. Who was Ned Clough? How did he help Malcolm?

Ned Clough was a first-aid attendant. He wrapped Malcolm’s face and the deep wounds on his legs in gauze, strapped him to a stretcher and helped arrange his evacuation by helicopter to Queen Victoria Hospital in Revelstoke.

10. What, according to the doctor, was like putting a jigsaw puzzle together?

According to the doctor, restoring Malcolm’s badly injured face was like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. The surgeon performed a seven-hour emergency operation and put in more than a thousand stitches.

11. What made Malcolm almost sick?

Malcolm almost became sick when he looked at his face in a bathroom mirror for the first time after the accident. His face was swollen, scarred and disfigured, and he had lost his hair.

12. Why did he ignore Barb’s letters?

Malcolm was deeply depressed by his changed appearance. He felt that nobody could love him now and could not bear the thought of people staring at him. In his self-pity, he ignored Barb’s letters.

13. Barb wrote to Malcolm, “It’s a leap year.” What is the significance of this term?

A leap year traditionally gave women an opportunity to propose marriage to men. Barb used this expression to explain her marriage proposal to Malcolm in January.

14. When did they get married?

Malcolm and Barb got married on 21 July 1973, after Malcolm accepted Barb’s love and marriage proposal.

15. Why did Barb marry Malcolm?

Barb married Malcolm because she genuinely loved him. She had loved him before the accident and continued to love him despite his injuries and scars. For her, physical appearance did not change the person she loved.

(b) Long Answer Type Questions

1. How did the grizzly injure Malcolm?

Malcolm was hiking with Barb when they encountered two bear cubs playing in a creek gully. Suddenly, a mother grizzly charged towards them. Malcolm tried to protect Barb by pushing her into a snowbank, but the bear attacked her.

When Malcolm saw the bear standing over Barb and biting near the back of her neck, he rushed towards it with a hunting knife. He jumped onto its back and stabbed it in the neck. The bear roared, threw its head backwards and knocked the knife from his hand, breaking his wrist.

The grizzly then turned on Malcolm and squeezed him against its chest with its powerful paws. One swipe tore off his scalp like a wig. The bear repeatedly clawed his face and tried to bite his neck and shoulder. Malcolm suffered severe facial injuries, lost part of his scalp, injured his wrist and lost a kneecap. His face was badly cut, and one eye was nearly severed.

When Malcolm stopped struggling, the bear finally released him and walked away. Despite his terrible injuries, Malcolm remained alive. His courageous attempt to save Barb demonstrated extraordinary love and self-sacrifice.

2. Describe, in brief, Malcolm’s treatment in the hospital after the attack of the grizzly.

After the grizzly attack, Malcolm was rescued by his friend Gordy Peyto and first-aid attendant Ned Clough. Ned wrapped his face and leg wounds in gauze and placed him on a stretcher. A rescue helicopter transported him to Queen Victoria Hospital in Revelstoke.

At the hospital, surgeons performed a seven-hour emergency operation. They put in more than a thousand stitches to repair his severely injured face. Later, Malcolm was transferred to a hospital in his hometown of Edmonton.

He remained under heavy sedation during the initial weeks and underwent four skin-graft operations. Doctors reconstructed his nose using muscle from his arm and grafted skin from his leg onto his face.

When Malcolm first looked at himself in the mirror, he was horrified by his appearance. His face was swollen and covered with thick scars, and he had lost his hair. He became depressed, avoided visitors and ignored Barb’s letters. Gradually, however, Barb’s constant love and encouragement helped him regain hope and confidence.

3. Why did Barb continue writing letters to Malcolm?

Barb continued writing letters because she sincerely loved Malcolm and did not allow his terrible injuries to change her feelings. After the grizzly attack, Malcolm became deeply depressed and believed that nobody could love him because of his disfigured face.

He refused to meet friends and relatives and ignored the letters Barb sent him. Nevertheless, she wrote to him faithfully, sending five to seven letters a week without receiving any reply.

Barb understood that Malcolm was struggling emotionally and needed reassurance. She travelled a long distance to visit him in the hospital and spent long hours talking with him. Her presence reminded him of their happy times together and helped him believe that she still loved him.

Eventually, she proposed marriage in a letter, explaining that it was a leap year. Her patience, loyalty and determination helped Malcolm overcome his despair. Barb’s actions show that true love is not dependent on physical beauty or outward appearance.

4. Describe, in brief, Barb and Malcolm’s meeting in the hospital.

After his accident, Malcolm was transferred to a hospital in Edmonton. His face had been severely disfigured, and he was suffering from deep emotional distress. He refused to see his friends and family and ignored the letters sent by Barb.

Barb, however, did not give up. One day, shortly after Christmas, she travelled approximately 1,250 kilometres to visit him in the hospital. She entered his room and spent long hours with him, talking across the barriers of his bandages.

Initially, Malcolm remained stubbornly distant and aloof. However, Barb’s presence reminded him of their happy moments together. He began to wonder whether she truly loved him despite his appearance.

In January, Barb sent him a marriage proposal and explained, “It’s a leap year.” Her unwavering love gradually restored Malcolm’s confidence. He promised to visit her, and in February 1972, he travelled to Fort Langley, where Barb welcomed him joyfully. Their relationship ultimately led to their marriage on 21 July 1973.

5. What awards were given to Malcolm for his bravery?

Malcolm’s courageous attempt to save Barb from the grizzly bear attracted widespread attention throughout Canada and beyond. He had never considered his actions heroic; he had simply acted instinctively to save the woman he loved.

For his bravery, Malcolm received the following awards:

1. Stanhope Gold Medal: Awarded by the Royal Humane Society, London, for performing the bravest deed reported that year in the Commonwealth.
2. Gold Medal for Bravery: Awarded by the Royal Canadian Humane Association.
3. Carnegie Medal for Heroism: Awarded by the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission.

These awards recognised Malcolm’s extraordinary courage, selflessness and willingness to risk his life to save Barb.

6. Write a paragraph on “True Love Knows No Barriers”.

True love is not based on physical beauty, wealth, status or outward appearance. It is based on affection, loyalty, understanding and acceptance. The story of Malcolm and Barb beautifully illustrates this truth. When Malcolm was attacked by a grizzly bear, he risked his life to save Barb. He suffered terrible injuries and became deeply depressed because his face was disfigured. He believed that nobody could love him in that condition. However, Barb remained faithful to him. She continued writing letters, visited him in the hospital and eventually proposed marriage. Her love was not affected by his scars or physical disabilities. She accepted him as the same person she had loved before the accident. Their marriage shows that genuine love overcomes physical limitations, suffering and emotional barriers. True love values the person within and remains strong in times of difficulty.

7. Write a note on Malcolm’s encounter with the grizzly.

Malcolm’s encounter with the grizzly bear was a terrifying experience that revealed his extraordinary courage. While hiking with Barb in the mountains, he spotted two bear cubs near a creek. A mother grizzly suddenly charged towards them. Malcolm immediately pushed Barb into a snowbank in an attempt to protect her.

When he saw the bear attacking Barb, he rushed towards it with a hunting knife. He jumped onto the bear’s back and stabbed it in the neck. The bear retaliated fiercely, breaking his wrist, tearing off his scalp and badly injuring his face and legs. Despite the terrible pain, Malcolm tried to defend himself and save Barb.

Eventually, he stopped struggling, and the bear released him and walked away. Barb, who was also injured, ran to the lodge to seek help. Malcolm was rescued and taken to hospital, where he underwent extensive surgery.

His courageous actions saved Barb’s life. His experience demonstrates that extraordinary courage can emerge when a person acts out of love and concern for another human being.

Q.2 Vocabulary

1. Fill in the blanks with suitable words from the box.

Words: gurgling, grabbed, ducked, nauseated, ripped, sedation, despondency, obligation, throbbing

1. She grabbed the opportunity as soon as it came to her.
2. When he threw a stone at me, I ducked a little and saved my head.
3. We saw water gurgling down the hill.
4. The patient had to be given a light sedation to relieve him of the pain.
5. After having lost the case, we returned home in a mood of despondency.
6. It will be a great personal obligation if you help me in this hour of need.
7. With a heart throbbing hard, I entered the interview room to find that it was not so difficult an affair.
8. The brave soldier ripped into the enemy defence and blew up their camp.
9. I was badly nauseated at the sight of blood and violence all around me.

2. Form nouns from the following words.

1. Immortal — Immortality
2. Store — Storage
3. Acquaint — Acquaintance
4. Expand — Expansion
5. Safe — Safety

3. Form verbs from the following words.

1. Conservation — Conserve
2. Protection — Protect
3. Life — Live
4. Description — Describe
5. Attention — Attend

4. Form adjectives from the following words.

1. Plenty — Plentiful
2. Salt — Salty
3. Imagine — Imaginative
4. Margin — Marginal
5. Violence — Violent

Q.3 Grammar

1. Fill in each blank with a suitable determiner.

1. One incident started a rejection period lasting several weeks. (each/that — the printed options appear unclear; “several” best fits the sentence.)
2. Our team won the match. (an/the)
3. The same person that you loved last summer. (a/the)
4. How could any one love a freak? (each/any)
5. Malcolm could not answer her proposal. (both/her)

2. Fill in each blank with a suitable modal.

1. It may rain tomorrow. (may/shall)
2. You can’t have liberty without discipline. (can’t/may not)
3. You must not dare to eat in public during Ramadan in Dubai. (would/must)
4. Tomorrow will be Sunday. (may/will)
5. He will be thirty next birthday. (shall/will)

3. Do as directed.

(i) We must set things right before it is too late. (Rewrite after removing “too”.)

We must set things right before it is so late that we cannot do anything.

(ii) Water is too important a resource to be wasted. (Remove “too”.)

Water is so important a resource that it cannot be wasted.

(iii) The atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were really very destructive. (Use “too” and rewrite the sentence.)

The atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were too destructive.

(iv) Much has been destroyed in the war. (Use “too” and rewrite the sentence.)

Too much has been destroyed in the war.

(v) Barb was too afraid to make a reply. (Rewrite after removing “too”.)

Barb was so afraid that she could not make a reply.