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Question
Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:
All lovely tales that we have heard or read;
An endless fountain of immortal drink.
Pouring unto us from the heaven's brink.
(a) Name the poem and the poet.
(b) What is the thing of beauty mentioned in these lines?
(c) What image does the poet use in these lines?
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Solution
(a) The given lines are from the poem 'A Thing of Beauty' by John Keats.
(b) The things of beauty mentioned in the given lines are the lovely tales of mighty men.
(c) In these lines, the poet uses the image of ‘an endless fountain of immortal drink’ to describe the beautiful bounty of the Earth. The Earth, like a fountain, gives us numerous beautiful sights like the Sun, the Moon, flowers, rivers and greenery.
RELATED QUESTIONS
A1. Saving Motherland
I can save my motherland by putting an end to ……..
Republic Day! We grow aware
That nothing can be wrought by prayer
-Prop of the credulous-until
It is supported everywhere
By an all-powerful people's will !
We have been witness in the past to sights impossible to bear:
Famine and drought and dread and doom
Continue still to spread the gloom
Of humans turned to skeletons, to shrivelled bags of naked bones
Who have not even strength to vent their suffering through sobs and groans……
MAY EVERY Indian's heart become
An unafraid announcing drum
Echoing and re-echoing a new hope and a new desire
To burn up rubbish-heaps of hate,
Once and for all. Time cannot wait!
Burn up all selfish aims and ends in a great nation's cleansing fire!
Let India's millions chant in chorus:
A mighty future stands before us-
Down with all ruthless tyranny, down with all exploitation which
Renders the poor the poorer-and renders the bloated rich, more rich !
A 2. How does the poet express the condition of people during famines and droughts? (2)
Match:
Match the line with the figure of speech:
| 'A' | ‘B’ |
| (i) Drought and dread and doom | (a) Personification |
| (ii) Time cannot wait | (b) Alliteration |
| (c) Metaphor |
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Perhaps the Earth can teach us
as when everything seems dead
and later proves to be alive.
Now I’ll count upto twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go.
(i) What does the Earth teach us? (1)
(ii) What does the poet mean to achieve by counting upto twelve? (1)
(iii) What is the significance of ‘keeping quiet’? (1)
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
'Never shall a young man,
Thrown into despair
By those great honey-coloured
Ramparts at your ear."
(a) Who is the speaker of these lines? Who is he speaking to ?
(b) What does the young man mean by 'honey-coloured ramparts' ?
(c) What does the word 'despair' mean ?
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below :
If you accept counsel without getting sore
And re-assess yourself in the light thereof
If you pledge not to be obstinate any more
And meet others without any frown or scoff.
You may be the person I am looking for.
If you have the will to live and courage to die
You are a beacon-light for people far and wide
If you ignore the j eers and, thus, expose the lie
' That virtue and success do not go side by side.'
You are the person I am looking for.
(1) What advice does the poet give us about the interaction with others? (1)
(2) According to you, how should you behave with your parents? (1)
(3) Name and explain the figure of speech in the following line : If you have the will to live and courage to die' (1)
(4) Pick out the words from the extract which indicate negative traits. (1)
Read the following extract and answer the questionsgiven below:
By this time, I felt very small
And now my tears began to fall.
I quietly went and knelt by her bed;
"Wake up, little girl, wake up," I said.
"Are these the flowers you picked I'm me?"
She smiled, "I found' em, out by the tree.
I picked'em because they're pretty like you.
I knew you would Iike'em, especially the blue."
I said, Daughter, I'm sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn't have yelled at you that way"
(1) Why did the mother go to her daughter "s room? (1)
(2) How can the mother be a friend to her daughter' (1)
(3) Name and explain the figure of speech in the following line
" ..... they're pretty like you". (1)
(4) What is the effect of dialogues in the poem? (1)
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below:
And then they came to its massive trunk
Fifty men with axes chopped and chopped
The great tree revealed its rings of two hundred years
We watched in terror and fascination this slaughter
As a raw mythology revealed to us its age
Soon afterwards we left Baroda for Bombay
Where there are no trees except the one
Which grows and seethes in one's dreams, its aerial roots Looking for ground to strike.
(1) What did the rings of the trunk of the tree reveal about its age? (1)
(2) According to you, how do trees help the mankind? (1)
(3) Give an example of 'Repetition' from the extract. (1)
(4) The poem has picturesque expressions. They make the poem lively. Pick out such expressions from, the extract. (1)
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below :
We, heroes and poor devils;
the feeble, the braggarts; the unfinished,
and capable of everything impossible
as long as it's not seen or heard
Don Juans, women and men, who come and go
with the fleeting passage of a runner
or of a shy hotel for travellers.
And we with our small vanities,
our controlled hunger for climbing
and getting as far as everybody else has gotten
because it seems that is the way of the world.
(1) Who are heroes and what are they capable of? (1)
(2) According to you, what difficulties do the middle-class people face? (1)
(3) Name and explain the figure of speech in the following line :
... Women and men, who come and go. (1)
(4) Pick out the line from the extract, which shows the overambitious nature of the middle-class people. (1)
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below:
Not gold but only men can make
A people great and strong;
Men who for truth and honor's sake
Stand fast and suffer long.
Brave men who work while others sleep,
Who dare while others fly ...
They build a nation's pillars deep
And lift them to the sky.
(1) What do you think is the underlying message of the extract?
(2) Which qualities of great men would you like to imbibe in you?
(3) Give the rhyming pairs of words of the first stanza.
(4) Pick out the expressions from the extract which show the hard work of brave men.
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below:
Old women do not fly on magic wands
nor make obscure prophecies
from ominous forests.
They just sit on vacant park benches
in the quiet evenings,
call doves by their names
and charm them with grains of maize.
Or, trembling like waves
they stand in endless queues in
government hospitals.
(1) What do old women do in the quiet evenings?
(2) Do you feel old women should be looked after by their
families? Justify your answer.
(3) Name and explain the figure of speech in the following
line: 'Or, trembling like waves.'
(4) Pick out two pictorial images from the extract.
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below:
I ran into a stranger as he passed by
"Oh, excuse me please'' was my reply.
He said, ''Please excuse me too; wasn't even watching ·for you.''
We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said good-bye.
But at home, a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.
Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My daughter stood beside me very still.
When I turned, I nearly knocked her down.
''Move out of the way," I said with a frown.
She walked away, her little heartbroken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.
(1) How does the poetess greet the stranger?
(2) Describe an incident when your mother was harsh at you.
(3) Write down the rhyme scheme of the first stanza.
(4) Pick out the line from the extract which shows the mother's anger.
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below:
If you crave not for praise when you win
And look not for sympathy while you lose
If cheers let not your head toss or spin
And after a set-back you ofter no excuse.
You may be the person I am looking for.
If you accept counsel without getting sore
And re-assess yourself in the light thereof
If you pledge. not to be obstinate any more
And meet others without any frown or scoff.
You may be the person I am looking for.
(1) How should you behave when you are a winner and a loser?
(2) Do you agree with the poet's view about an ideal person? Justify your answer.
(3) Pick out an example of Antithesis from the extract.
(4) Pick out the words from the extract showing our stubbornness and expression of displeasure.
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below:
The banyan tree was three times as tall as our house
Its trunk had a circumference of fifty feet
Its scraggly aerial roots fell to the ground
From thirty feet or more so first they cut the branches
Sawing them off for seven days and the heap was huge
Insects and birds began to leave the tree
And then they came to its massive trunk
Fifty men with axes chopped and chopped
The great tree revealed its rings of two hundred years
We watched in terror and fascination this slaughter
(1) How does the poet describe the banyan tree?
(2) According to you, how are trees important to maintain ecological balance?
(3) Pick out an example of repetition from the extract.
(4) Pick out the words in the extract which are related to the killing.
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below:
Read the given extract and then do all activities that follow:
If you do not get lowered in your own eyes
While you raise yourself in those of others
If you do not give into gossips and lies
Rather heed them not,- saying, ‘Who bothers?’
You may be the person I am looking for.
If you crave not for praise when you win
And look not for sympathy while you lose
If cheers let not your head toss or spin
And after a set-back you offer no excuse.
You may be the person I am looking for.
If you accept counsel without getting sore
And reassess yourself in the light thereof
If you pledge not to be obstinate any more
And meet others without any frown or scoff.
You may be the person I am looking for.
A1. Enlist (2)
Enlist any four things that inspire you to live inspire of failures:
(i) ____________________
(ii) ___________________
(iii) ___________________
(iv) ___________________
A2. Poetic Device? (2)
Figure of speech :
Pick out an example of Refrain from the extract and write down its criteria to identify it.
A3. Personal Response (2)
Express your views in about 50 words, the need to look for an ideal person.
A4. Poetic creativity? (2)
If you do not get lowered in your own eyes.
While you raise yourself in those of others.
If you do not give in to gossips and lies
--------------------------------------------------------------------
You may be the person I am looking for.
Compose a line of your own to rhyme with the second line in the given stanza.
Read the extract and do the activities that follow: (4)
| Tom | : | (down L.). I believe the place is haunted |
| George | : | Nonsense. No one believes in haunted houses nowadays. There's someting gueer about the place, I'II admit, but can't be haunted. (Scream off R.) |
| Ginger | : | Listen! What was that ? (Scream repeated. This time much louder.) |
| Alfie | : | I want to go home ! |
| Tom | : | It sounds as though someone's being murdered. (Grappling with the door). I'm going to force this door. |
| Ginger | : | (Crossing L.) It's going to be a tough job, Tom |
| Alfie | : | (more lustily). I want to go home |
| George | : | (up C.) Shut up Alfie, you'II rose the house. Listen! There's someone coming _____ and it's someone in white |
| Ginger | : | It's a ghost |
| Alfie | : | (rushing to the door L.) I'm going home! |
| George | : | (coming down L.) Let me give you a hand with this door. |
| Tom | : | Buck up! |
| Ginger | : | Put your shoulder against it. (Enter the Ghost R. In the dim light his figure has a distinctly uncanny appearance). |
| Ghost | : | What on earth's the meaning of this commotion? (IIe switches on the light and is seen to be a dentist, wearing a white surgical coat. The “grinning mouths'' are seen to be models made of plaster of Paris. The boys stare about them in amazement) |
| Dentist | : | (sternly). Who are you, and what are you doing in my house? |
| Tom | : | I say – I'm awfully sorry – but we thought you were a ghost. |
| Dentist | : | (bewildered). A ghost! Why on earth should you think I was a ghost? |
| George | : | (crossing C.) I'm awfully sorry, sir. You see, we were out carol-singing, and____ |
| Dentist | : | Oh, so it was you who who were making that horrible din outside? |
| George | : | Yes – that was Ginger's idea ____ |
B1. Complete _____
Complete the following sentences:
(i) The boys considered the dentist as a ghost , because ________
(ii) Listening to the repeated scream, Tom thought that ________
(iii) The grinning mouths were models made of ________
(iv) The idea of carol-singing was given by _______
B2. Convert dialogue into a story:
Convert the above dialoguc into a story in about 50 words.
Read the extract and do the activities that follow: (4)
| Tom | : | (nervously). But, I say, we can’t go prowling about someone else’s house. |
| George | : | We can if we hear any suspicious noises. You never know ? this place might belong to a gang of criminals. |
| Tom | : | (sarcastically). You certainly are trying to cheer us up, George. We don’t want to meet a gang of criminals. |
| George | : | Why not? We’re all strong, healthy chaps, aren’t we? Are you in a funk already? |
| Tom | : | No, of course not; but ? well ? Alfie’s got his best suit on, and |
| Ginger | : | Never mind about Alfie's suit. (With a great show of courage). I’m not afraid of any criminals. Here, George, lend me that torch. (Taking the torch and going up R.C.). I’ll show you if I’m afraid. (Suddenly seeing the White models and letting out a yell of terror.) Ow! W - what's that? |
| Tom | : | (down C., not daring to look round). What’s what? |
| Ginger | : | C- come here. I thought I saw something grinning at me. |
| Tom | : | (crossing hastily to door L.). I’m going to get out of here. |
| Ginger | : | (Coming down C.) So am I. I’m not afraid of criminals, but I believe this place is haunted. |
| George | : | Talk sense, Ginger. Here, give me that torch. (Takes torch and goes up R. C.) |
| Alfie | : | (down L.C.) I want to go home. |
| Ginger | : | Can you see anything, George? |
| George | : | (cautiously approaching white models). I can’t make out what it is, but I believe it's an animal. I say ? there’s something alive in here ? I can see its teeth. (Under the light of George’s torch a row of teeth can be dimly seen). |
| Alfie | : | (rushing to the door) Let me out! Let me out! I want to go home! |
B1. Pick up the false sentences from those given below and write down the correct ones for them :(2)
(i) Alfie wanted to stay at the place to fight with the animal.
(ii) Ginger yelled of terror when he noticed white models grinning at him.
(iii) According to George's opinion, the boys could not go prowling about someone else’s house.
(iv) Tom had no desire to meet a gang of criminals.
B2. Convert dialogue into a story : (2)
Convert the above dialogue into a story form in about 50 words.
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below:
Now there is only one type of bobcat we see
The one that is for free, clearing the pavements of all debris
We used to walk through a footpath in a forest of pine
The smell intoxicating our lungs and mind
Now the only smell to be found comes from plastic trees
Swaying on my rear-view mirror, labelled pine breeze
We used to watch the valley play hide and seek
Questions:
(1) What signs of urbanisation are mentioned in the first six lines of the extract?
(2) Do you think skyscrapers are necessary? Why do you think so?
(3) Pick out the example of personification from the extract.
(4) Pick out the lines from the extract expressing the fond memory of the poet about the pines.
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below:
The banyan tree was three times as tall as our house
Its trunk had a circumference of fifty feet
Its scraggly aerial roots fell to the ground
From thirty feet or more so first they cut the branches
Sawing them off for seven days and the heap was huge
Insects and birds began to leave the tree
And then they came to its massive trunk
Fifty men with axes chopped and chopped
The great tree revealed its rings of two hundred years
We watched in terror and fascination this slaughter
As a raw mythology revealed to us its age
(1) What were the feelings of the family members at the felling of the banyan tree?
(2) Why, according to you, did insects and birds begin to leave the banyan tree?
(3) Find out an example of 'Repetition' from the extract.
(4) Pick out the line from the extract expressing the feelings of the people who watched the merciless cutting of the banyan
tree.
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below:
Old women once
were continents.
They had deep woods in them,
lakes, mountains, volcanoes even,
even raging gulfs.
When the earth was in heat
they melted, shrank,
leaving only their maps.
You can fold them
and keep them handy:
who knows, they might help you find
your way home.
Question
(1) For what purpose did the old women leave their 'maps' behind them?
(2) How can old people be helpful to us?
(3) Name and explain the figure of speech in the following lines:
Old women once
were continents.
(4) Make a list of geographical expressions from the extract.
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below:
Not gold but only men can make
A people great and strong;
Men who for truth and honor's sake
Stand fast and suffer long.
Brave men who work while others sleep,
Who dare while others fly ...
They build a nation's pillars deep
And lift them to the sky.
(1) What qualities of people according to poet, are essential to build a nation?
(2) “Not gold but only men make A people great and strong” Do you agree? Explain.
(3) Name and explain the figure of speech in the line “ Stand fast and suffer long”.
(4) What is the underlying message of the extract
Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow:
(There is a languid, emerald sea,
where the sole inhabitant is me-
a mermaid drifting blissfully.)
Questions :
(a) Who does 'me' stand for?
(b) How does 'me' feel?
(c) Who is 'me' compared to?
(d) Which word in the extract means the opposite of 'sorrowfully'?
Based on the careful reading of the passage given below, answer any four out of five questions that follow:
|
1. When you see me sitting quietly, 2. When my bones are stiff and aching, 3. I’m the same person I was back then, - Maya Angelou |
- What does the poet think she looks like, when sitting quietly?
- Does the poet invite pity? Quote a line to support your argument.
- What has changed in the poet over the course of years?
- Pick out a word from the second stanza which means ‘faltering’.
- Why does the poet consider herself lucky?
