HSC Arts Class 11 - Tamil Nadu Board of Secondary Education Question Bank Solutions

Not everybody loves to play and participate in games, sports and other extra-curricular activities. Some of us wish to be mere spectators. List out the activities in which you like to be either a performer or a spectator. Share your views with the class.

Why does the poet feel glad that he does not play any game?

Do you think the narrator is heroic? Why?

The poet is satisfied just watching the heroic deeds of others. What could be the reason?

The poet does not wish to exchange position with the runners. Why?

Are the athletes conscious of the feelings of others? Why do you say so?

Why would the referee ask whether there was a doctor in the stands? What stands is he referring to?

Why does the poet prefer to buy tickets worth their weight in radium? Bring out the significance of the metal referred to here.

Read the poem again and complete the summary using the words given in the box.

In the poem ‘Confessions of a Born Spectator,’ Ogden Nash talks about how people choose different sports in their lives or decide to become athletes. While admiring the talents of athletes and sportsmen, the poet (i)______he is glad that he is neither a sportsman nor an athlete. Children have different (ii)______and wish to play various games. Each child has in mind something in particular, but the narrator is (iii)______he is not one of the players. Though the narrator (iv) ______the talents of all athletes, he derives satisfaction from watching them, but does not wish to (v) ______places with them. He also sometimes regrets that (vi)______athletes play rough games without caring for the feelings of their sporting rivals. He feels that good sense and caution win over ego. The narrator wholeheartedly offers (vii) ______the modest (viii) ______of athletes. Ultimately the narrator is (ix)______that he himself is not an athlete.

How does the poet establish the victory of common sense over ego?

The poet does not wish to exchange places with the athletes. How does he justify his view?

According to the poet, what contributes most to the injuries sustained by the athletes?

Read the given lines and answer the questions that follow in a sentence or two.

With all my heart I do admire

Athletes who sweat for fun or hire

1. Whom does the poet admire?
2. For what reasons do the athletes sweat?

Read the given lines and answer the questions that follow in a sentence or two.

Well, ego it might be pleased enough But zealous athletes play so rough…

1. What pleases the ego?
2. Why are athletes often rough during play?

Read the poem and answer the following in a short paragraph of 8–10 sentences each.

When officialdom demands Is there a doctor in the stands?

1. Why are doctors called from stands by the sponsors?
2. Why does the poet make such an observation?

Read the given line and answer the question that follow in a sentence or two

When snaps the knee and cracks the wrist….

Identify and explain the use of the literary device in this line.

Explain the following with reference to the context in about 50–60 word each.

I am just glad as glad can be That I am not them, that they are not me…

Explain the following with reference to the context in about 50–60 word each.

They do not ever in their dealings Consider one another’s feelings…

Explain the following with reference to the context in about 50–60 word each.

Athletes, I’ll drink to you, Or eat with you, Or anything except compete with you…

Read the poem and complete the table with suitable rhyming words