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Question
“...Mr. Purcell heard it no more than he would have heard the monotonous ticking of a familiar clock.” (Read para beginning with “It was a rough day...”)
(i)What does ‘it’ refer to?
(ii) Why does Mr. Purcell not hear ‘it’ clearly?
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Solution
(i) Here, ‘it’ refers to the chirping, squeaking and mewing of the birds and animals in the shop.
(ii) Mr. Purcell did not hear the noise clearly because he owned the pet shop and thus, these noises seemed usual to him, like the monotonous ticking of a clock. He was used to the noise.
RELATED QUESTIONS
Read the following sentences carefully to understand the meaning of the italicised
phrases. Then match the phrasal verbs in Column A with their meanings in Column B.
1. A communal war broke out when the princess was abducted by the neighbouring prince.
2. The cockpit broke off from the plane during the plane crash.
3. The car broke down on the way and we were left stranded in the jungle.
4. The dacoit broke away from the police as they took him to court.
5. The brothers broke up after the death of the father.
6. The thief broke into our house when we were away.
| A | B |
| (i) break out | (a) to come apart due to force |
| (ii) break off | (b) end a relationship |
| (iii) break down | (c) break and enter illegally; unlawful trespassing |
| (iv) break away (from someone) | (d) of start suddenly, (usually a fight, a war or a disease) |
| (v) break up | (e) to escape from someone’s grip |
| (vi) break into | (f) stop working |
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Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb in brackets.
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Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw, within the moonlight in his room,
Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,
An angel writing in a book of gold:-
Read the lines given above and answer the following question.
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The hundred-yard dash and the race to be run
These were nine resolved athletes in back of the starting line
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The signal was given, the pistol exploded
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But the smallest among them,he stumbled and staggered
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He gave out a cry in frustration and anguish
His dreams ands his efforts all dashed in the dirt
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The same goes for what next occurred.
Read the lines given above and answer the following question:
Explain with reference to context.
He looked at me very blankly and tiredly, and then said, having to share his worry with someone, “The cat will be all right, I am sure. There is no need to be unquiet about the cat. But the others. Now what do you think about the others?”
“Why they’ll probably come through it all right.”
“You think so?”
“Why not,” I said, watching the far bank where now there were no carts.
“But what will they do under the artillery when I was told to leave because of the artillery?”
“Did you leave the dove cage unlocked?” I asked.
“Yes.”
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(i) What test had Portia’s father devised for her suitors? What oath did the suitors have to take before making their choice?
(ii) Who is Nerissa? What does she say to cheer up Portia?
(iii) Why does Portia disapprove of the County Palatine? Who would she rather marry?
(iv) How, according to Portia, can the Duke of Saxony’s nephew be made to choose the wrong casket? What do these suitors ultimately decide? Why?
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Lady Adela: Oh! Charlie, he did look so exactly as if he’d sold me a carpet when I was paying him.
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Lady Adela: Really? And you say I haven’t intuition! [With a finger on her lips] Morison’s in there.
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How does De Levis later connect this trick with the theft?
(ii) Why, according to Lady Adela, did Dancy leave the army? Why does she call him reckless?
(iii) Where had De Levis kept the money which was stolen? Where had he gone after keeping the money? How much did he lose?
(iv) Why is Winsor outraged when De Levis says he had locked his door? What was the height of the room from the ground? How do they know that the thief did not use a ladder to climb up to De Levis’ room?
(v) How does General Canynge react when De Levis first accuses Dancy of committing the theft? What is your opinion of De Levis?
Give one reason to justify your answer.
Why do the worker ants carry the grubs about?
Answer the following question.
Kari was like a baby. What are the main points of comparison?
What made Ravi feel that Lalli will never learn to play the violin?
Who was Gopal? What was the challenge given to him by the king? How he won it?
Give the character sketch of the narrator.
Who finds it difficult to imagine what a desert is Uke?
If you were a baby crocodile, would you tell Makara that he was wrong? What would you say to convince him?
Why do we make swings on trees?
Word in the box given below indicates a large number of… For example, ‘a herd of cows’ refers to many cows. Complete the following phrase with a suitable word from the box.
a ________________ of sheep
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The word ‘caring’ in the passage means ______
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Read the lines given below and answer the following question:
| “But my darling, if you love me,” thought Miss Meadows, “I don’t Mind how much it is. Love me as little as you like.” |
What had the “darling” informed Miss Meadows?
