13.7 Going Deeper (Exam Prep)
Real-world connections
The story’s idea is real and still used. Animals often sense danger before our instruments do: dogs detect certain illnesses, and some creatures grow restless before earthquakes. The “canary in a coal mine” was genuine practice for over a century. And the warning about over-trusting technology is timely: from failed sensors to software bugs, machines do let us down, so good systems keep backups and stay alert to nature’s signals. Clarke, who imagined communication satellites long before they existed, knew both the power and the limits of technology.
Quick revision card
Quick Revision Card
- Author: Arthur C. Clarke; form: science fiction; setting: a space station (zero gravity).
- Characters: the narrator; Sven Olsen (smuggles the bird); Claribel (the canary).
- Crisis: the air purifier freezes, air turns poisonous, the alarm fails.
- Rescue: sensitive Claribel collapses first, warning the crew in time.
- Key idea: “canary in a coal mine” - an early warning of danger.
- Theme: small beings matter; technology is fallible; respect nature; stay alert.
Exam Corner
Objective / one-mark questions
- Who wrote Feathered Friend, and what kind of story is it?
- Who was Claribel, and who brought her aboard?
- What went wrong with the station’s air?
- How did the crew finally learn of the danger?
- Arthur C. Clarke; it is a science-fiction story. 2. Claribel was a canary; the crewman Sven Olsen smuggled her aboard. 3. The air purifier froze, so the air slowly turned poisonous. 4. Claribel collapsed first, warning the crew, because the alarm had failed.
Short-answer questions (2–3 marks)
- Why did Sven bring the canary to the space station?
- How did Claribel behave in zero gravity?
- Why did the bird sense the danger before the humans did?
- Partly out of scientific curiosity - to see how a bird would fly with no weight - and as a companion.
- She flew effortlessly, hanging almost motionless in the air like a hummingbird but with much less effort.
- Canaries are far more sensitive to poisonous gases than humans, so Claribel reacted to the bad air first and collapsed, giving an early warning.
Long-answer questions (5–6 marks)
- How does the story show that technology is not infallible, and that nature can be more reliable?
- Describe how the crew’s view of Claribel changes through the story.
- The very expensive alarm failed and the purifier froze, yet a small, “ordinary” bird detected the danger in time. The story contrasts costly, fallible machinery with nature’s keen, dependable senses, urging humility and respect for nature.
- At first Claribel is a charming oddity and pet, brought up out of curiosity. As she adapts to zero gravity she becomes a beloved companion. Finally, when she saves their lives, the crew sees her as their most valuable and reliable safety device - their true “feathered friend.”
HOTS (Higher-Order Thinking)
- The crew kept a living creature on a high-tech station. Was this foolish or wise? Discuss in light of the ending.
It might seem foolish to depend on a pet among advanced machines, yet the ending shows unexpected wisdom in it. Nature provided a sensitivity no instrument matched, and a living warning that did not “fail to go off.” The story suggests that combining technology with nature’s gifts - and never trusting machines blindly - is the wisest path.
Assertion–Reason
- Assertion (A): Claribel saved the lives of the crew. Reason (R): Being sensitive to bad air, she collapsed and warned them before the alarm could.
Choose: (a) Both A and R true and R explains A; (b) Both true but R does not explain A; (c) A true, R false; (d) A false, R true.
(a) Both statements are true, and R correctly explains how Claribel saved the crew.