English Final Exam

Question & Answers

Literature Reader
Ch-5: Her First Party

- Kate Chopin

1. Why had Mother given her consent to her children to attend the party?

Millie and her brother Bob had convinced Mother that it was the first-ever grown-
ups party that Millie would attend. They further told her that there would be
charades, tableaus, and recitations in which Millie was to take a leading role. So,
Mother had given her consent.

2. Why were Bob and Millie looking forward to the party?

Millie and Bob were looking forward to the party as it was being given by Bob’s
class at the College Hall. Moreover, there would be charades, tableaus, and
recitations in which Millie was to take a leading role.

3. What were Millie’s apprehensions about the party?

Millie was afraid that something might go wrong and prevent her from going to
the party. She feared that the weather might be bad, the party dress might catch
fire, or she might sprain her ankle. In addition to these, her aunt Mildred was ill.

4. A dread that for the moment made her feel faint took possession of Millie.

i. What had alarmed Millie?

A letter from Aunt Jane alarmed Millie.

ii. What was her fear?

She feared that there would be some bad news about her aunt Mildred in the
letter.
iii. Was her dread misplaced?

No. Her dread was not misplaced. It turned out that the doctors had given up
hope on Mildred’s recovery.

5. What did Millie do with the letter? What were her thoughts that made her
decide so?

Milled hid the letter by keeping it in her pocket. She thought that one day would
not make any difference.

6. What were Millie’s first thoughts as she dressed for the party?

Millie thought of delivering the letter to her mother as she dressed for the party.

7. What made Millie change her mind?

The joyous and merry time that she would have at the party made Millie change
her mind.

8. How did the mood at home change after Mother read the letter?

The mood at home changed to sorrowfulness after Mother read the letter.

9. Do you empathize with Millie’s preoccupation with attending the party?

Why/Why not?

Yes. I empathize with Millie’s preoccupation. She could not miss the party and at
the same time, she could not forget that she hid the letter.

10. “It seems to me she has gained something.” What had Millie gained?

Millie had gained the wisdom of coping with the realities of life. One cannot enjoy
when one’s near and dear are not okay.

Ch-4: The Nightingale and the Glow-worm

- William Cowper
1. The speaker seems to show two contrasting sides to the nightingale's character
in the course of the poem. What are these?

The speaker shows two contrasting sides to the nightingale’s character in the
course of the poem. On one side the nightingale is shown as a tireless musician
who cheers all the villages throughout the day. On the other side, the nightingale
is shown as a ruthless predator who wants to hunt and eat the glow-worm.

2. Although the glow-worm is much tinier than the nightingale, he still talks about
himself as being equal to the bird. Which four lines show this?

These are the four lines in the poem which show that the glow-warm talked about
himself as being equal to the bird.

For ‘twas the self-same power Divine

Taught you to sing, and me to shine

That you with music, I with light,

Might beautify and cheer the night.

3. Do you think that the glow-worm makes use of flattery to save his life? Quote
the line which shows this?

Yes. I think that the glow-worm makes use of flattery to save his life. It cannot run
away or fight with the nightingale. It knows that it has no other chance than
flattery. It has to convince the nightingale not to eat it.

Here are the lines which show it in the poem. ‘As much as I your minstrelsy and
that you with music …….Might beautify and cheer the night.

4. When the glow-worm speaks of the ‘power Divine’, do you think he is truly
glorifying God or is simply being very clever? Justify your answer.

The glow-worm cleverly uses ‘power Divine’ both for glorifying God and to
convince the Nightingale that a glow-worm and a Nightingale are equally gifted by
God. It convinced the Nightingale that both of them are created by God to
‘beautify and cheer’ the world.
5. Do you think that the glow-worm could really spoil the nightingale’s song? If
yes, how? If no, why does he say so?

No. I don’t think that the glow-worm could really spoil the nightingale’s song. It
was only trying to save itself. It wanted to flatter the nightingale.

Literature MCB
Ch-3: Somebody’s Mother
- Mary Dow Brine

1. Why was it difficult for the woman to cross the road?

The woman was old, tired. It is cold and the road was slippery. She was afraid that
the crowd, the horses, or the carriages might harm her.

2. Who helped the old lady?

An unknown schoolboy, who was the gayest of all the boys helped the old lady.

3. What was his reason for helping her?

The old lady was somebody’s mother. He hoped that someday, his mother would
be helped by an unknown person in case he is far away from home and not in a
position to help her himself.

4. What was the old woman’s reaction to being helped?

The old woman was very happy and grateful to being helped. That night prayed to
God to look after the good boy, somebody’s son, who had helped her.

5. Pick a simile from this poem and explain it?

Writers use a simile to compare two things with words like ‘as’ and ‘like’. ‘Came
the boys like a flock of sheep’ is the simile in this poem. Here the poet compares a
group of boys who are coming out of their school to a flock of sheep. 
 Ch-7: Pocahontas

1. Who was Pocahontas? How did she get her name?

Pocahontas was the daughter of Chief Powhatan. She got her name for her
beauty and liveliness. Pocahontas means playful one.

2. Why did the Powhatans not like the settlers?

Powhatans didn’t like the settlers because the settlers kill the native people and
take their lands.

3. How did Pocahontas help John Smith twice?

Pocahontas helped John Smith twice by saving his life. The first time, she
persuaded her father not to kill John Smith. The second time, she revealed her
father's secret plan of murdering John Smith, enabling him to escape.   

4. How did Captain Argall manage to capture Pocahontas as a hostage?

Captain Argall took the help of Chief Japazaws to lure Pocahontas onto his ship.
He invited the Chief with his wife and Pocahontas to visit his ship. Thus he
managed to take Pocahontas as a hostage.

5. What did Captain Argall expect to achieve by holding Pocahontas to ransom?

Captain Argall expected the release of English prisoners and the return of English
weapons tools by holding Pocahontas to ransom.

6. How did captivity change Pocahontas’ life forever?

Pocahontas learned the English language. She also learned English customs and
way of life. She took Christianity and married an Englishman. Her marriage with
an Englishman brought peace and harmony among the warring natives and
settlers.
7. Why did Pocahontas go to England?

Pocahontas and her family along with some native women went to England to
raise support for their settlements in America.

8. How was Pocahontas received in England?

Pocahontas was received well in England. She toured all of England and her
presence in London created a sensation. He visited several important persons
there including the king.

Ch-13: The Diamond Maker

- H.G. Wells

1. Where did the narrator meet the mysterious man?

The narrator met the mysterious man on the Embankment near the Waterloo
Bridge.

2. Why is the narrator shocked when the man talks about throwing away name,
wealth, position, and doing a small business?

The stranger looked like a poor man. He was ragged and dirty. He started talking
about the worries of a big business. His appearance and his words did not match.
So, the narrator is shocked by the stranger’s words.

3. How does the man prove that he was not lying about himself?

The man showed the narrator a brown pebble. He claimed that it was a diamond
made by him. The brown pebble was pulled out of a canvas bag kept in the pocket
of his tattered coat.

4. Why was the narrator not keen on buying diamonds from him?

The narrator was not keen on buying the diamonds from the stranger because it
was difficult to believe his words and trust him. The narrator was not carrying
enough money to buy it and no one buys diamonds from an unknown person in
dim-light.

5. Why did the man want to keep his diamond-making business a secret?

The diamond-making business was against the law and risky. The process was
dangerous. If others knew about it, they would steal his idea and profit from it.

6. Why was the man unable to sell his diamonds?

The man was unable to sell his diamonds because he could not convince any
buyer. He made those diamonds illegally, without the permission of the
government.

7. What do you think happened to the man in the end?

I think that the man might have died. He was poor and homeless. He had nothing
to eat and he was suffering from cough. He could not sell his diamonds and get
any money. He never came back to the narrator again. That leads to the
conclusion that he was dead.

Ch-16: The Red-Headed League

-Arthur Conan Doyle

1. How did Mr. Watson land about the weekend what were the qualifications
needed to apply for the vacancy in the red headed league?

Spaulding Mr. Watson's assistant true his attention to the advertisement In the
paper for the vacancy of the red headed league .He encouraged Mr. Wilson to
apply and even a company him to the offices fighting through the crowd and
getting him a job instantly upon meeting the manager Duncan Ross. The only
qualifications required for the job work red headed men who were sound in body
and mind and above the age of 21.

2. Why did Mr. Jabez Wilson go to see Holmes?

Gone to see Sherlock Holmes for the purpose of solving the mystery of his sudden
loss of employment with the red headed league he knew that Sherlock would
sometimes help people on a ‘pro bono’ basis if their problems interested him.

3. What ‘fact’ does Holmes deduce from Mr. Wilson's appearance? How did
Holmes know these facts?

The Facts deduce by Mr. Homes from Mr. Wilson's appearance was
1. He had been to China at some time 
2. He has done a “considerable amount of writing” at sometime in the recent
past. 
Mr. Holmes explain that Mr. Wilson right cuff is ‘shiny’ and his left sleeve has a
bare patch on by the elbow which is from the position Mr. Wilson takes when
writing at his desk. Meanwhile there is a tattoo of a fish about the man's right
wrist which Mr. home deduce must have been done in China because of the way
it's scales have been dyed pink similarly that is a Chinese coin hanging from
Wilson’s watch chain

4. Why did Mr. Wilson employ Vincent Spaulding? Why does he spend a lot of
time in the cellar?

Mr. Wilson employed Vincent Spaulding as his assistant as he was extremely

smart and had agreed to work for half wages. Spaulding was spending a lot of
time in the seller of the pawnshop because he was making a tunnel to get into the
strong room of the bank in the next street at the back of the shop

5. What work was Mr. Wilson expected to do for the league? 

Mr. Wilson was expected to copy the Encyclopedia from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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everyday 

6. What did Mr. Wilson find on the door of the office after 8 weeks?

He kept on working there for 8 weeks and one day when he went there he found
something on the door. It was written there that the ‘Red headed League had
been dissolved’ he got worried and went to his friend for help.
7. Why did Holmes pretend to be lost and ask Spaulding for directions?

Holmes was Suspicious of Mr. Wilson assistant and so he visited Wilson’s shop
and pretended to be seeking direction in order to make observations about the
assistant appearance and get clarity on his case

8. Why did Spaulding and Ross hire Mr. Wilson to copy the encyclopedia?

Mr. Wilson was hired to copy the encyclopedia to keep him away from his pawn
shop from 10 AM to 2 PM everyday. This was done so that when Wilson went to
work, Mr. Ross and Spaulding could have enough time to make a tunnel from his
shop to the bank.
Ch-18: Haunted Houses
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

1. Where is the poem set? What are the phantoms doing?

The poem is set in a haunted house. The phantoms are gliding through open
doors noiselessly. They are moving about the house doing their own errands.

2. Where does the poet cross the ghost? How does he perceive them?

The poet crosses the ghost on the doorway, stairs, along the passages and at the
dining hall. The poet perceives them as a domestic ghost, unnoticeable, busy with
errands, moving purposefully around the house as they did in life. The speaker
describes them as harmless and inoffensive. 

3. There are more guests at the table than the host.

a. Who are the guests? 
b. Who are the host? 
c. What are they doing?

Ans: a. The ghosts are the guests

b. The hosts are the living people around.
c. They are noiselessly sitting at the dining table of the well lit room
4. The poet feels that the world we call the ‘real world' is only part of all reality.
The world of the spirits. Is also real. How does he convey this? 

The poet feels that we cannot ignore the presence of the spirits around us. They
exist as much as we do. Reality extends much beyond what we can see rationally.
The world has various realms. We know only a part of it. The spirit world around
this world of sense. Floats like an atmosphere and everywhere. These lines
convey the same thought. 
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