SRI CHAITANYA SR.

SECONDARY SCHOOL
AFFILIATED TO CBSE, NEW DELHI
HOSUR, T.N. – 635109
ENGLISH SET-A
MARKS : 70M TIME:1:30MINS
I. Answer the following Questions: (70×1=70M)
01. The poem doesn’t talk about _____________________________________ (loss of a loved
one/ human relationship/separation from a loved one / natural [process of aging)
02. The tone of the poet in the poem (My Mother At Sixty Six) is primarily a combination of
_________________& ______________________
03.The poem (My Mother At Sixty Six) in its essential theme presents a universal truth. It is
_______________________________.

Driving from my parent's home to Cochin last Friday morning, I saw my mother, beside me, of
a corpse and realised with pain that she was as old as she
doze, open mouthed, her face ashen like that
looked but soon put that thought away...
And looked out at Young Tress Sprinting, the merry children spilling
out of their homes, but after the airport’s
security check, standing a few yards
away, I looked again at her, wan, pale as
a late winter’s moon & felt that old familiar ache…
04. Choose the option that best applies to the given extract.

1. a conversation 2. an argument

3. a piece of advice 4. a strategy

5. a recollection 6. a suggestion

(a) 1, 3 and 6
(b) 2, 4 and 5
(c) Only 5
(d) Only 1

05. Choose the book title that perfectly describes the condition of the poet's mother.

1. Title 1: You're Only Old Once! by Dr. Seuss

2. Title 2: The Gift of Years by Joan Chittister

3. Title 3: Somewhere Towards the End by Diana Athill

4. Title 4: The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read by Philippa Perry
(a) Title 1 (c) Title 3

(b) Title 2 (d) Title 4

06. Choose the option that applies correctly to the two statements given below.

Assertion: The poet wards off the thought of her mother getting old quickly.

Reason: The poet didn't want to confront the inevitability of fate that was to dawn upon her
mother.

(a) Assertion can be inferred but the Reason cannot be inferred.

(b) Assertion cannot be inferred but the Reason can be inferred.
(c) Both Assertion and Reason can be inferred.
(d) Both Assertion and Reason cannot be inferred.

07. Choose the option that displays the same literary device as in the given lines of the extract.

her face
ashen like that of a corpse...

(a) Just as I had this thought, she appeared and...

(b) My thoughts were as heavy as lead that evening when...
(c) I think like everyone else who...
(d) I like to think aloud when....

08. What is the significance of comparing the mother's face to that of a corpse?

09. The poet put the thought away because __________________________________.

10. The reasons of mother pale face___________________________________ (Mother’s old

age/ Mother’s depleting energy/ Mother’s illness/ Mother’s old age & Depleting energy).

11. The image of merry children is contrast to ___________& ____________ of the poet’s
mother.

12. The expression “Merry Children Spilling” brings in mood of ________________&

_____________________.

13. “Trees Sprinting” Signify _____________________________

14. Choose the correct option out of the ones given below.

1 Simile: “The merry Metaphor: old

children spilling” familiar ache

2. Metaphor: pale as a Imagery: “Young trees

late winter’s moon” sprinting”
3. Personification:
Simile: pale as a late
winter’s moon” “Young trees
sprinting”

a) Option 1 b) Option 2 c) Option 3

15. The word “Doze” refers to ___________________________.

16. Kamala Das attempts to hide the fear through her ____________________.

17. The phrase “besides me” emphasise______________________________.

18. The word “Merry” symbolise__________________________
19. Kamala Das comparing her mother to winter moon signifies________________
i) Human life is as short as that of the moon.
ii) Her mother is old and looks pale
iii) Winter is the last season of the year
iv) Her mother is about to die
20. Why did the poet put ‘that thought’ away?

If we were not so single-minded

about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing,
perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with death.

1. What do you think is the mood of the poet in the above extract?
2. What might the “huge silence” signify?
3. Identify the incorrect statement from the following.
a. The poet’s attitude is positive
b. Speaking different languages will cause misunderstanding
c. The poet advocates total inactivity
d. The poet wants us to keep still instead of doing one thing or the other
4. What does the phrase “keeping our lives moving”?
5. What is the Poetic device that is used in “Huge Silence”?
6. What statement does Neruda make about wars?
a) Wars are of varied kinds – internal, green wars, wars with gas, with fire etc.
b) Wars are wasteful and cause irrecoverable loss and damage to property and life.
c) Wars never yield any winners, and the loss is far greater than what can be measured.
d) Wars are unavoidable in the enduring struggle for human dignity and power.
7. “It would be an exotic moment” It refers to?
8. What does the word “Perhaps” suggest?
9. Which symbol form nature does the poet invoke that there can be life under apparent
stillness?
10. “Those who prepare green wars” the word those refers to?
A flowery band to bind us to the earth,
Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o‘er-darkened ways
Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all
Some shape of the beauty moves away the pall

1. Based on the poem, choose the correct option with reference to the two statements given below.
Statement 1: The earth without the beautiful things is a place full of despair and unpleasantness.
Statement 2: The ornate band created by human beings; ushers hope in their lives.
i) Statement 1 is true but Statement 2 is false.
ii) Statement 1 is false but Statement 2 is true.
iii) Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 can be inferred.
iv) Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 cannot be inferred.
2. In which of the following options can the underlined words be replaced with despondence‘?
i) The man paced about the room showing restlessness.
ii) A chat with a close friend can take away our blues.
iii) I was in jitters, seeing the boy trapped in the trench.
iv) Being dogged is what led him to negotiate the challenges.
3.Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing a flowery band to bind us to the earth –We tie
ourselves to the Earth with _____.
i) life
ii) band of flowers
iii) gloom
iv) beautiful things
4. Which of the following causes suffering and pain to human beings on earth?
i) Unhealthy and miserable ways
ii) Lack of humane qualities
iii) Days that are sad and depressing
iv) All of these
5. Explain-‘in spite of all’.

6. Which of the following phrases have the poetic device expressed in ‘leaping lizard’?
i) inhuman dearth
ii) gloomy days
iii) over darkened ways
iv) noble natures
7. What is the tone of the poet in the last line?
8. “Over darkened ways” refers to?
9.What message does the poem ‘A Thing of Beauty’ convey?
i) i)Beauty never fades away .
ii) ii)A beautiful thing is joy forever.
iii) iii)Beauty raises the spirit higher.
iv) iv)All the above
10. The term ‘pall’ in the extract symbolises _______.
a. the darkness in human emotions
b. the challenges of life
c. the inevitable end of life
d. the weight of human struggles

Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms;

And such too is the grandeur of the dooms
We have imagined for the mighty dead;
All lovely tales that we have heard or read;
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from the heaven’s brink.

1. “All lovely tales” evoke the feeling of

2. Pick the option that uses the same literary device as the ‘mighty dead’.
a) sleepless nights b) deafening silence c) glaring lights d) time is a thief
3. Which of the following themes is best represented in the given extract?
a) The immortality of art and literature
(b) The power of imagination
(c) The beauty of nature
(d) The inevitability of death
4. The use of the word “brink” in the extract suggests that the immortality that is being poured
onto us is on the verge of overflowing. This creates a powerful image of _____.

5. Select the option that is NOT true about the lack of punctuation at the end of line 2 in the
extract. (a) Encourages a revisit to the ideas in the preceding lines.
(b) Encourages the reader to continue reading seamlessly without any pause.
(c) Creates a sense of anticipation and expectation for the reader.
(d) Creates a sense of continuity and flow that connects the line with the second line

6. “In all things of nature there is something marvellous.” According to the poet, what are the
things that have a sublimating effect on the minds of human beings?

It is in the news that all these pitiful kin

Are to be bought out and mercifully gathered in
To live in villages, next to the theatre and the store,
Where they won't have to think for themselves anymore,
While greedy good-doers, beneficent beasts of prey,
Swarm over their lives enforcing benefits

1. The news of the hour is___________________

i) The people like the farmers will be bought out
ii) They are going to be relocated
iii) They wouldn‘t have to fend for themselves
iv) All the above
2. What is the tone of the poet in the above lines?
A. Aggressive B. Tolerant C. Sarcastic D. Resigned. E. Sentimental
Choose the most appropriate option:
(i) Only (A)
(ii) (B) and (C)
(iii) (A), (D) and (E)
(iv) Only (C)
3. Point out the irony in ‘mercifully gathered in’.
4. Complete the following analogy correctly.
Furrow followed free : alliteration: :............: oxymoron.
5. On the basis of the extract, choose the correct option with reference to (1) and (2) given below:
(1) The politicians are referred as ‘greedy good-doers’.
(2) The politicians have ulterior motives.
(i) (1) is true but (2) is false.
(ii) (2) is true but (1) is false..
(iii) (2) is the reason for (1).
(iv) Both (1) and (2) cannot be inferred from the extract.
6. Explain why merciful have been called ‘greedy good-doers‘ and ‘beneficent beasts of prey‘?

2. The polished traffic passed with a mind ahead,

Or if ever aside a moment, then out of sorts
At having the landscape marred with the artless paint
Of signs that with N turned wrong and S turned wrong
Offered for sale wild berries in wooden quarts.
Or crook-necked golden squash with silver warts,
Or beauty rest in a beautiful mountain scene,
You have the money, but if you want to be mean,
Why keep your money (this crossly) and go along
1. Polished traffic is an example of………………….
(i) transferred epithet (ii) metaphor (iii) personification (iv) simile

2. The urban rich feel ___________about the S and N signs that have been painted wrong
i) amused ii) tolerant iii) compassionate iv) annoyed

3. Name two things that were sold at the roadside stand.

4. ‘Marred with the artless paint’ does not include

i) The rural landscape
ii) The disorganized design of dwellings
iii) The lack of artistic finesse among the rural folk
iv) The dirt that splashes on to the polished and beautiful cars

5. ‘The urban and educated people have their minds ahead.’ Choose the option suggesting the correct
meaning behind this line.
i) The people are well-educated and knowledgeable about the condition of the poor.
ii) The people are concentrating on the road that is ahead in order to drive safely.
iii) The people are preoccupied only by the thoughts of their lives and nothing else.
iv) The people are focused on their goal of bettering the country.
6. Find word from the stanza which means ’refined’ .

1. Aunt Jennifer's fingers fluttering through her wool

Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.
The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand.
1. Identify the phrase from the extract, that suggests the following: “Aunt Jennifer had no liberty or will
of her own.”
2. Why does she find it difficult to pull her ivory needle?
3. Describe the irony in the third line.
4. What is Aunt Jennifer’s mood in the above lines?
i) Aunt Jennifer is in a state of anxiety and nervousness.
ii) Aunt Jennifer is in a state of extreme happiness.
iii) Aunt Jennifer is in a state of confusion.
iv) Aunt Jennifer is in a state of dilemma
5. Which of the following does NOT represent the contrast between Aunt Jennifer and the tigers?
i) Uncertainty and confidence
ii) Terror and fearlessness
iii) Fiefdom and freedom
iv) Authority and autonomy
6. Complete the following analogy correctly.
Fingers fluttering: ………… : : terrified hands: transferred epithet.

2. When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie

Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel that she made
Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.
1. Which of the following CANNOT be inferred from the given extract?
i) Aunt Jennifer’s tigers will keep her alive in everyone’s memory.
ii) Aunt Jennifer feels oppressed and constricted in her marriage.
iii) Even in death, Aunt Jennifer cannot escape patriarchal subjugation.
iv) Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance as a lasting symbol of her desires.

2. Read the statements given below . choose the option that accurately describes the given statements.
Statement (1) : The poem is a manifesto against the institution of marriage.
Statement (2) : Aunt Jennifer represents all women artists.
Statement (3) : The poem embodies an alternative for women to express their repressed desires
through art.
i) Statement (1) is True, Statement (2) is false, Statement (3) cannot be inferred.
ii) Statement (1) and Statement (3) are false, Statement (2) cannot be inferred.
iii) Statement (1) and Statement (2) are True, Statement (3)cannot be inferred.
iv) Statement (1) is false, Statement (2) cannot be inferred, Statement (3)is True.

3. Choose the option that DOES NOT reflect the movement implied by ‘prancing’.
i) Bounding ii) Leaping iii)Strutting iv) Shuffling

4. What are the ‘ordeals’ Aunt Jennifer is surrounded by?

5. Complete the following analogy correctly. Prancing proud: alliteration : : ……………: pun.
6. “Turn your pain into art”. It’s a phrase most of us have heard before… Which of the following
represents the meaning associated with the phrase
i) The oppressive nature of her husband compels her to take up designing on the tapestry.
ii) Her choice of design is reflective of her repressed desires.
iii) She revolts silently in her own way by creating tigers, ie through her artistic expression.
iv) All the above.
"Life is a pilgrimage. The wise man does not rest by the roadside inns”