Question

Read the following extract and answer the question.

…but soon put that thought away, and looked out at Young Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling out of their homes, but after the airport’s security check, standing a few yards away, I looked again at her, wan, pale as a late winter’s moon and felt that old familiar ache, my childhood’s fear,

1. Select the correct option.
   The impact of ‘merry children’ on poet’s mind ______.
   
   1. caused anxiety
   2. created a sense of longing
   3. brought comfort
   4. reminded her of her own childhood
2. The tone of the poet expressed in the above lines is ______.
   1. sadness and helplessness
   2. excitement and eagerness
   3. appreciation and gratitude
   4. anger and anxiety
3. The words ‘wan, pale’ indicate the mother’s ______.
4. Complete the following sentence appropriately.
   The poet looked at her mother again to ______.
5. Explain one inference that can be drawn from the line ‘felt that old familiar ache’.
6. ‘put that thought away’.
   What is the intention of poet that can be inferred from the above line ?

Answer 1

1. The impact of ‘merry children’ on poet’s mind brought comfort.
   Explanation:
   The poet brought comfort as she aimed to divert her mind from thoughts of losing her mother.
2. The tone of the poet expressed in the above lines is sadness and helplessness.
   Explanation:
   The poet experiences sadness and a sense of helplessness, deeply affected by the thought of being separated from her mother.
3. The words ‘wan, pale’ indicate the mother’s face which has lost colour due to old age and sickness.
4. The poet looked at her mother again to have a look at her one last time before leaving.
5. her childhood fear of losing her mother has resurfaced
6. the poet wanted to suppress the agonising idea of losing her mother as a result of her deteriorating health.