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Chapter Analysis
Intermediate8 pages • EnglishQuick Summary
The chapter 'An Alien Hand' follows Tilloo, a young boy living on an alien planet beneath the surface in artificial conditions. His father works on the surface checking on machines that support their underground life. Intrigued by the surface, Tilloo sneaks into a forbidden passage applying his father's security techniques. He is caught before reaching the surface. Later, while in the Control Room, he inadvertently disrupts a mechanical hand from a Viking Mission attempting to collect soil from their planet.
Key Topics
- •Underground habitats
- •Space exploration
- •Technological survival
- •Parental advice
- •Curiosity and exploration
Learning Objectives
- ✓Understand the themes of curiosity and exploration
- ✓Analyze the importance of technology in survival
- ✓Discuss the environmental challenges on alien planets
- ✓Consider the implications of secrecy in regulated societies
- ✓Examine familial relationships in narrative contexts
Questions in Chapter
Why was everyone in the Control Room greatly excited?
Answer: Because a spacecraft had landed on their planet.
Page 50
Was the spacecraft manned or unmanned? How do you know it?
Page 50
What did Number One and Number Two suggest should be done about the alien spacecraft?
Answer: Number One suggested that they could destroy it with missiles, but Number Two recommended non-interference.
Page 49
How does Tilloo manage to find his way to the ‘forbidden passage’?
Answer: He uses his father's security card to open the metal door leading to the passage.
Page 46
What did Tilloo hope to see once he emerged from his underground home?
Answer: He hoped to see the sun or the stars.
Page 46
Why did Tilloo’s father advise him not to try to reach the surface of the planet?
Answer: Because the surface is inhospitable with thin air and low temperatures.
Page 47
What changes had occurred, which forced people to live in underground homes?
Answer: The sun had become hostile, making the surface uninhabitable.
Page 47
What do you think the mechanical hand was trying to do?
Page 51
Tilloo pressed the red button and “the damage was done”. What was the damage?
Answer: The mechanical hand from the spacecraft ceased to work.
Page 51
Where had the spacecraft come from?
Page 51
On which planet do Tilloo and his parents live?
Page 51
Additional Practice Questions
Discuss why the inhabitants chose to live underground.
mediumAnswer: The inhabitants live underground because the surface conditions became uninhabitable due to changes in the sun's environment, making it necessary to survive underground using advanced technology.
What are the challenges faced by Tilloo's father on the surface?
easyAnswer: Tilloo’s father faces inhospitable conditions like thin air and very low temperatures, requiring special equipment to survive and work on the surface.
Analyze how secrecy is maintained about the surface passage and why.
hardAnswer: Secrecy about the surface passage is maintained to protect individuals like Tilloo from the hostile surface environment and ensure that only trained people manage critical surface operations safely.
Discuss the role of technology in the society presented in the chapter.
mediumAnswer: Technology plays a crucial role, providing power and maintaining living conditions underground, vital for survival in the artificial habitat.
Imagine a day in the life of a person living on Tilloo’s planet.
hardAnswer: A day involves maintaining machines underground, ensuring survival through technological means, and possibly handling roles in watching over or servicing surface equipments, amidst the constraints and regulated environment of the subterranean world.