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Question
The cat and the author are very fond of each other. How has this been shown in the story? Where was the cat after the fire? Who brings it back and how?
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Solution
The cat and the author were very fond of each other. The author said that the cat was never far from him. He had rescued it when it was a kitten and he felt that it knew that he was the one responsible for giving it ‘the good life’. The cat had been so freaked by the fire that it ran over a mile away. A woman took it in and worked hard to find out whose cat it was. The cat’s collar had their phone number on it. However, their phones had been destroyed and disconnected due to the fire. The woman somehow knew that the cat was loved and missed. She eventually managed to bring it back to the author.
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RELATED QUESTIONS
Answer of these question in a short paragraph (about 30 words).
What characteristics does he say he inherited from his parents?
Match the phrases in Column A with their meanings in Column B.
| A | B | ||
| (i) | broke out | (a) | an attitude of kindness, a readiness to give freely |
| (ii) |
in accordance with |
(b) | was not able to tolerate |
| (iii) | a helping hand | (c) | began suddenly in a violent way |
| (iv) | could not stomach | (d) | assistance |
| (v) | generosity of spirit | (e) | persons with power to make decisions |
| (vi) | figures of authority | (f) | according to a particular rule, principle, or system |
Read the poem silently.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and II
took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.
About the Poet
Robert Frost (1874-1963) was born in San Franscisco, Frost spent most of his adult
life in rural New England and his laconic language and emphasis on individualism in
his poetry reflect this region. He attended Dartmouth and Harvard but never earned a
degree. As a young man with a growing family he attempted to write poetry while
working on a farm and teaching in a school. American editors rejected his submitted
poems. With considerable pluck Frost moved his family to England in 1912 and the
following year, a London publisher brought out his first book. After publishing a
second book, Frost returned to America determined to win a reputation in his own
country, which he gradually achieved. He became one of the country's best-loved
poets. Unlike his contemporaries, Frost chose not to experiment with the new verse
forms but to employ traditional patterns, or as he said, he chose "the old-fashioned
way to be new." Despite the surface cheerfulness and descriptive accuracy of his
poems, he often presents a dark, sober vision of life, and there is a defined thoughtful
quality to his work which makes it unique.
Look at the passage below and study how the personal pronouns refer to different people.

It was a summer evening,
Old Kaspar's work was done,
And he before his cottage door
Was sitting in the sun,
And by him sported on the green
His little grandchild Wilhelmine.
She saw her brother Peterkin
Roll something large and round,
Which he beside the rivulet
In playing there had found;
He came to ask what he had found,
That was so large, and smooth, and round.
Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow.
Who was Peterkin?
"They say it was a shocking sight
After the field was won;
For many thousand bodies here
Lay rotting in the sun;
But things like that, you know, must be
After a famous victory.
"Great praise the Duke of Marlbro'won,
And our good Prince Eugene."
"Why,'twas a very wicked thing!"
Said little Wilhelmine.
"Nay...nay...my little girl,"quoth he,
"It was a famous victory.
"And everybody praised the Duke
Who this great fight did win."
"But what good came of it at last?"
Quoth little Peterkin.
"Why that I cannot tell,"said he,
"But 'twas a famous victory."
Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow.
In “The Battle of Blenheim,” why are Wilhelmine’s words “twas a very wicked thing” ironic?
Lights were shining from every window, and there was a savoury smell of roast goose, for it was New-year’s eve—yes, she remembered that. In a corner, between two houses, one of which projected beyond the other, she sank down and huddled herself together. She had drawn her little feet under her, but she could not keep off the cold; and
she dared not go home, for she had sold no matches, and could not take home even a penny of money. Her father would certainly beat her; besides, it was almost as cold at home as here, for they had only the roof to cover them, through which the wind howled, although the largest holes had been stopped up with straw and rags. Her little hands were almost frozen with the cold. Ah! perhaps a burning match might be some good, if she could draw it from the bundle and strike it against the wall, just to warm her fingers. She drew one out—“scratch!” how it sputtered as it burnt! It gave a warm, bright light, like a little candle, as she held her hand over it. It was really a wonderful light. It seemed to the little girl that she was sitting by a large iron stove, with polished brass feet and a brass ornament. How the fire burned! and seemed so beautifully warm that the child stretched out her feet as if to warm them, when, lo! the flame of the match went out, the stove vanished, and she had only the remains of the half-burnt match in her hand.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
Describe her home.
Sibia sprang.
From boulder to boulder she came leaping like a rock goat. Sometimes it had seemed difficult to cross these stones, especially the big gap in the middle where the river coursed through like a bulge of glass. But now she came on wings, choosing her footing in midair without even thinking about it, and in one moment she was beside the shrieking woman. In the boiling bloody water, the face of the crocodile, fastened round her leg, was tugging to and fro, and smiling. His eyes rolled on to Sibia. One slap of the tail could kill her. He struck. Up shot the water, twenty feet, and fell like a silver chain. Again! The rock jumped under the blow. But in the daily heroism of the jungle, as common as a thorn tree, Sibia did not hesitate. She aimed at the reptile’s eyes. With all the force of her little body, she drove the hayfork at the eyes, and one prong went in—right in— while its pair scratched past on the horny cheek. The crocodile reared up in convulsion, till half his lizard body was out of the river, the tail and nose nearly meeting over his stony back. Then he crashed back, exploding the water, and in an uproar of bloody foam he disappeared. He would die. Not yet, but presently, though his death would not be known for days; not till his stomach, blown with gas, floated him. Then perhaps he would be found upside down among the logs at the timber boom, with pus in his eye. Sibia got arms round the fainting woman, and somehow dragged her from the water.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
What would happen to the crocodile?
Why were the red chilli kept in the backyard?
What was the condition on which Nishad said he will cooperate with Maya?
What did Kari eat and how much?
Give the character sketch of the bear in The Bear Story’.
Who really helped Vijay Singh in defeating the ghost? How?
How does an electric fan managed to throw so much air when it is switched on?
Multiple Choice Question:
The child in this poem seems to be ____________.
With your partner, complete the following sentence in your own word using the ideas in the poem.
English is a __________________ with words that everyone can play.
Replace the italicised portion of the sentence below with a suitable phrase from the box. Make necessary changes, wherever required.
When I saw a pile of dirty dishes, I felt very disappointed.
Having observed the squirrels around us, can we say that a squirrel is a fast paced animal?
Does the poet get scared at the thought of peeping through the window?
Referring closely to the short story, The Sound Machine, give specific instances to show how Klausner was obsessed with sound.
