HSC Commerce Class 12 - Tamil Nadu Board of Secondary Education Question Bank Solutions for English

Our only enemy was gold

Read the poem and complete the table with suitable rhyming words.

All through that summer at ease we lay,
And daily from the turret wall
We watched the mowers in the hay
And the enemy half a mile away
They seemed no threat to us at all.

For what, we thought, had we to fear
With our arms and provender, load on load,
Our towering battlements, tier on tier,
And friendly allies drawing near
On every leafy summer road.

Our gates were strong, our walls were thick,
So smooth and high, no man could win
A foothold there, no clever trick
Could take us dead or quick,
Only a bird could have got in.

What could they offer us for bait?
Our captain was brave and we were true…
There was a little private gate,
A little wicked wicket gate.
The wizened warder let them through.

Oh then our maze of tunneled stone
Grew thin and treacherous as air.
The cause was lost without a groan,
The famous citadel overthrown,
And all its secret galleries bare.

How can this shameful tale be told?
I will maintain until my death
We could do nothing, being sold:
Our only enemy was gold,
And we had no arms to fight it with.

Underline the alliterated word in the following line.

With our arms and provender, load on load.

Underline the alliterated word in the following line.

A little wicked wicket gate.

Underline the alliterated word in the following line.

The wizened warder let them through.

Identify the figure of speech used in the following line.

A little wicked wicket gate.

Identify the figure of speech used in the following line.

Oh then our maze of tunneled stone

Identify the figure of speech used in the following line.

Grew thin and treacherous as air.

Identify the figure of speech used in the following line.

How can this shameful tale be told?

Identify the figure of speech used in the following line.

Our only enemy was gold,

Can you call ‘The Castle’ an allegorical poem? Discuss.

Some phrases have been left out in the poem below. Fill in the missing phrases on listening to the reading or the audio played by the teacher. You may listen again, if required

The Soldier

If I should die, ______

That there’s some corner______

That is ______ There shall be

In that rich earth a richer ______

A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,

Gave, _____ roam;

A body ______ air,

Washed ______ suns of home.

And think, ______ away,

A pulse in the ______, no less

Gives somewhere back ______ given;

Her______; dreams happy as her day;

And laughter,______ and gentleness,

In hearts .______ English heaven.

Rupert Brooke

If you are punished for a prank your classmate played, how would you react to the situation?

While many would seek vengeance or feel sorry for themselves, some may put their trust in God, forgive others for the wrongs done to them and move on in life. What is your take on this? Discuss.

Why did Aksionov’s wife stop him from going to the fair?

What is the importance of Aksionov’s wife’s dream?

What made Aksionov leave the inn before dawn?

What were the circumstances that led to Aksionov’s imprisonment?

Why did Aksionov give up sending petitions?

Why didn’t Makar disclose that he had killed the merchant?