HSC Commerce इयत्ता १२ - Tamil Nadu Board of Secondary Education Question Bank Solutions for English

When did the narrator find that the boy was badly wounded?

Why did Napoleon’s eyes become soft as a mother eagle’s eyes?

How did the young soldier face his end?

Literary Devices

Mark the rhyme scheme of the poem. The rhyme scheme for the first stanza is as follows.

Read the line given below and answer the question that follow.

Legs wide, arms locked behind As if to balance the prone brow Oppressive with its mind.

1. Whose action is described here?
2. What is meant by prone brow?
3. What is his state of mind?

Read the line given below and answer the question that follow.

‘You’re wounded!’ ‘Nay’, his soldier’s pride Touched to the quick, he said:

1. Why did the boy contradict Napoleon’s words?
2. Why was his pride touched?

Read the line given below and answer the question that follow.

A film the mother eagles eye When her bruised eaglet breathes

1. Who is compared to the mother eagle in the above lines?
2. Explain the comparison.

Explain the following line with reference to the context.

Then off there flung in smiling joy, And held himself erect

Explain the following line with reference to the context.

‘I’m killed, Sire!’ And, his Chief beside, Smiling, the boy fell dead.

Explain the following line with reference to the context.

To see your flag-bird flap his vans Where I, to heart’s desire, Perched him!’

The young soldier matched his emperor in courage and patriotism. Elucidate your answer.

What is the role of the young soldier in the victory of the French at Ratisbon?

Napoleon was a great source of inspiration to his army. Justify.

Some words have been left out in the poem below. First, read the poem. Then, fill in the missing words on listening to the reading or the recording of it in full. You may listen again, if required.

The Drum

John Scott (1731–83)

I hate that drum’s ______ sound,

Parading round, and round, and round:

To thoughtless ______ it pleasure yields,

And lures from cities and from fields, sell their ______ for charms

Of tawdry lace, and glittering arms;

And when______ voice commands,

To march, and fight, and fall, in______.

I hate that drum’s discordant sound, Parading round, and round, and round; To me, it talks of______plains, And burning towns and ruin’d swains, And all that Misery’s hand bestows, To fill the______of human woes.

Study the title of the play “Remember Caesar”. Who is Caesar? What is he remembered for? Let us go through the pages of history succinctly to answer the above questions.

• Julius Caesar was a brilliant military general and great Roman monarch.
• He was born on the 13th of July in 100 BC (BCE). 
• He created the Julian calendar which is the basis for today’s calendar.
• He was assassinated by a group of Roman senators in 44 BC(BCE). 
• The day that Julius Caesar was murdered, 15th March was called the Ides of March in ancient Rome.

Complete the summary of the play, choosing the appropriate words from the list given below the passage.

Lord Weston was a (1)______ judge in England. Being pompous and vain, he told his secretary Roger that he had attained glory by hard work and (2)______. He expressed his displeasure over Roger’s request for a half-holiday. Suddenly, he discovered a piece of paper with the words (3)______ in his pocket, and he feared that the message was a warning conveyed by his enemies who had received legal punishments from him. As the message was sent on the 15th of March, (the day Julius Caesar was assassinated), he was (4)______ that someone affected by his fair judgement was plotting his murder. Sensing the definite attack, Lord Weston ordered his secretary to (5)______ all the doors and windows. But his wife remained (6)______ by the threat. So, Lord Weston was angered by her (7)______ reaction. He ordered Roger to send the cook and the (8)______ away. Both Weston and Roger took elaborate precautionary measures to thwart the (9)______ attempt. Finally, Weston was able to recollect that he had written the message “Remember Caesar” himself as a (10)______. Caesar was actually a gardener who had an appointment to visit Weston’s garden. The play revolves around Weston’s absent-mindedness which is the crux of the play.

How did Lord Weston describe himself?

How did Roger react to Lord Weston’s advice?

What made Lord Weston think that his life was in danger?

Why was the speaker keen to know what day it was?