1. Read the given extracts and answer the questions.

But soon put that thought away, and

looked out at young
trees sprinting, the merry children spilling out of their homes,
i. Choose the option that displays the same poetic device as used in the last line of the
extract.
(a) The sizzling summer took a tall on us.
(b) I’m as happy as I can be.
(c) Life is a roller coaster ride.
(d) The flood swallowed more than a dozen villages.
ii. Complete the sentence appropriately.

‘The merry children spilling out of their homes’ is symbolic of _____ youth.

iii.State whether the given statement is TRUE or FALSE, with reference to the extract.

The poet’s action of looking out of the window did not work.

iv. The fact that the poem’s narrative style is single sentence, punctuated by commas
shows that
(a) the lines are all being intermingled in the poet’s mind
(b) there is only one thought which runs through the poem.
(c) there is only one topic which made the poet fearful.
(d) many sub ideas are connected to the main idea of the poem.

v. Why were the young trees sprinting?

vi. Give an apt title for the extract.

2. Read the given extracts and answer the questions.

If we were not so single-minded

about keeping our lives moving,

and for once could do nothing,

Perhaps a huge silence might interrupt this sadness

Of never understanding ourselves

 And of threatening ourselves with death.

i. What is the tone of poet in the poem ‘Keeping Quiet’?

(a) frightened (b) aggressive (c) terrific (d) calm and tranquil

ii. What does the phrase ‘single-minded’ mean?

iii. Select the word that WILL NOT complete the sentence appropriately.

The poet wants silence and _____.

(a) commotion (b) calmness (c) tranquillity (d) stillness

iv. State whether the given statement is TRUE or FALSE.

The poetic device used in the line, ‘perhaps a huge silence’ is the same as used in zzz
the line `put that thought away’.

v. What does ‘keeping our lives moving’ suggest?

vi. Complete the sentence appropriately.

Pablo Neruda stresses upon being quiet and harmless to the _____.

3. Read the given extracts and answer the questions

And such too is the grandeur of the dooms

We have imagined for the mighty dead;

All lovely tales that we have heard or read:

An endless fountain of immortal drink,

Pouring unto us from the heaven’s brink.

i. Which of the following themes is best represented in the given extract?

(a) The immortality of art and literature (b) The power of imagination

(c) The beauty of nature (d) The inevitability of death

ii. State whether the given statement is TRUE or FALSE, with reference to the extract.

By referring to the dead as “mighty”, the poet emphasizes their importance and the
aapower they exerted on the people.
 iii. Complete the sentence appropriately.

The “endless fountain of immortal drink” is an apt analogy for the tales of the mighty
dead because _____.

iv. The use of the word “brink” in the extract suggests that the immortality that is being
poured onto us is on the verge of overflowing.
This creates a powerful image of _____.
v. Based on the poem rhyme scheme, evident in lines 2-5, of the given extract, which
word would rhyme with line 1?
said think tombs

4. Read the given extracts and answer the questions.

Have you ever been there? It’s a wonderful town still, with big old frame houses, huge

lawns, and tremendous trees whose branches meet overhead and roof the streets.

And in 1894, summer evenings were twice as long, and people sat out on their lawns,

the men smoking cigars and talking quietly, the women waving palm-leaf fans, with

the fire-flies all around, in a peaceful world. To be back there with the First World War

still twenty years off and World War II over forty years in the future... I wanted two

tickets for that. (The Third Level)

i. The author wants two tickets to a place which he refers to in the last two lines of the

extract. Which year does he wish to go back to?

ii. At the beginning of the extract, the author addresses the question to _____.

(a) Louisa, Charley’s wife (b) Sam Weiner, Charley’s psychiatrist

(c) the reader (d) nobody in particular as it’s a rhetoric question

iii. Complete the sentence appropriately.

‘Tremendous trees whose branches meet overhead and roof the streets’ is an

example of _____.

iv. How has life been described in the given extract?

5. Read the given extracts and answer the questions.

To do anything else would mean to dare. And daring is not part of his growing up.

When I sense a flash of it in Mukesh, I am cheered. “I want to be a motor mechanic,”

 he repeats: He will go to a garage and learn. But the garage is a long way from his

home. “I will walk,” he insists. “Do you also dream of flying a plane?” He is suddenly

silent. “No,” he says, staring at the ground. (Lost Spring)

i. What was Mukesh supposed to be if not his dream to be a motor mechanic?

ii. “I will walk” this line shows Mukesh’s.

(a) disappointment (b) determination (c) shyness (d) helplessness

iii. With whom was the speaker sharing his dream? 1

iv. Did Mukesh sound unreasonable?

(a) Maybe (b) No (c) Yes (d) Can’t be determined

v. Why did the writer ask, “Do you also dream of flying a plane?”

vi. What can we understand from the line,

“And daring is not part of his growing up:’?

6. Read the given extracts and answer the questions.

Then I started down a third time. I sucked for air and got water the yellowish light

was going out. Then all effort ceased. I relaxed. Even my legs felt limp; and a

blackness swept over my brain. It wiped out fear; it wiped out terror. There was no

more panic. It was quiet and peaceful. Nothing to be afraid of This is nice... to be

drowsy... to go to sleep... no need to jump... too tired to jump... it’s nice to be carried

gently... to float along in space... tender arms around me... tender arms like

Mother’s... now I must go to sleep... I crossed to oblivion, and the curtain of life fell.

(Deep Water)

i. The author ends the given paragraph about the seemingly long struggle of little

Douglas with the words ‘and the curtain of life fell.’ How does he involve the reader

into it?

ii. The line, ‘After a while, Douglas gave up being anxious and fearful in water’ can be

best classified as: 1 (a) an effect (b) a cause (c) a fact (d) an opinion

iii.Infer from the given extract, the author shows gradation of various stages of fear.
 iv. Identify the line from the given extract that bears evidence to the fact that the author

was now not much afraid.

v. The author has used this figure of speech with this meaning in- tender arms around

me ... tender arms like Mother’s ... 1 (a) metaphor, softness (b) simile, comfort (c)

repetition, anxiety (d) paradox, the arms don’t belong to his mother

vi. Complete the sentence in ONE word.

When the curtain of life fell, Douglas with ____________________ crossed to oblivion.

7. Answer in 40 – 50 words

i. For Franz, what was much more tempting than going to school and why? (The

Last Lesson)

ii. What different image does the poet use to convey the idea of her mother’s age?

(My Mother at Sixty-Six)

iii. At the crofter’s home, why did the peddler feel very happy? (The Rattrap)

iv. How can suspension of activities help? (Keeping Quiet)

v. How would the innocent be soothed out of their wits? (A Roadside Stand)

vi. How did the gardener react when Dr. Sadao told him about the wounded

American soldier? (The Enemy)

8. Answer the following three questions in 120 -150 words

i. I went to the pool when no one else was there...in came a big bruiser of a boy...he
yelled, “Hi, skinny, how’d you like to be ducked?” Later, the boy said, “But I was
only fooling.” The youth today is characterized by a total absence of concern for
others. They also act without thinking how their deeds may have long lasting
effect on others. Write a note in about 120-150 words to be published in a youth
magazine on the need for inculcating regard for the fellow beings. (Deep Water)
ii. The peddler believed that the whole world is a rattrap. How did he himself get
caught in the same? (The Rattrap)
iii. “The Maharaja’s servants were obedient and adoring.” Do you find them truly

sincere towards him or are they driven by fear when they obey him? Do we find a

similarity in today’s political order? Elucidate. (The Tiger King)