1English ( Literature Reader ) for Class 9

Multiple Choice Questions

Read the extracts and answer the questions that follow by choosing the option you consider the most appropriate.

Q1. ‘The Sergeant asked, “You had any training before?”

(a) Who is ‘You’ referred to here?
(i) The author
(ii) Quelch
(iii) The Corporal
(iv) The cook

(b) Why did the sergeant ask this question?
(i) He was impressed
(ii) He was furious
(iii) He felt interrupted
(iv) He wanted to know the name of the training institute

(c) In reply, the person
(i) boasted of his intelligent reading
(ii) kept quiet
(iii) told the name of the training institute
(iv) gave the credit of his knowledge to the sergeant

Ans :
(a) (ii)
(b) (iii)
(c) (i)

Q2. ‘His salute at the paytable was a model to behold.’

(a) Who is ‘his’ referred to here?
(i) The Corporal
(ii) The Sergeant
(iii) Author’s friend ‘Trower’
(iv) Professor

(b) What is the tone of the writer here?
(i) Sarcastic
(ii) Sympathetic
(iii) Appreciative
(iv) Fearful

(c) What would he do when he saw the officers?
(i) He would stop to let them pass
(ii) He would bow before them
(iii) He would look down upon them
(iv) He would swing his skinny arms and march to the canteen like a guardsman

Ans : 
(a) (iv)
(b) (i)
(c) (iv)

Q3. ‘The squad listened in a cowed, horrified kind of silence.’

(a) To whom was the squad listening?
(i) The Corporal
(ii) Quelch
(iii) The writer
(iv) The sergeant

(b) What was the person giving a lecture on?
(i) The war
(ii) A worrying incident
(iii) Hand grenade
(iv) A natural calamity

(c) Why was the squad ‘horrified’?
(i) They were shocked at the rudeness of the Professor
(ii) They could not understand the lecture
(iii) The lecture was too boring
(iv) The squad was afraid of punishment

Ans : 
(a) (ii)
(b) (iii)
(c) (i)

Q4. ‘Through the open door, we could see the three cooks standing against the wall as if at bay.’

(a) Who is ‘we’ referred to?
(i) The Squad
(ii) The Writer and Trower
(iii) The Sergeant and the Writer
(iv) The Writer and the Corporal

(b) What is meant by ‘at bay’?
(i) Trapped and Cornered
(ii) To shout at someone
(iii) To learn something
(iv) To delay work

(c) Who was sermonising the three cooks?
(i) The Corporal
(ii) The Canteen incharge
(iii) The Professor
(iv) The Sergeant

Ans :
(a) (ii)
(b) (i)
(c) (iii)

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

Read the extracts and answer the questions that follow.

Ques 1: “Secretly, Marcy cried as she watched the big man’s grin fade away. Severe face lines set in like cement as Chuck stared at the ceiling for hours, then out of the window, then at Duke.” [CBSE 2010 (Term 1)]

(a) Marcy cried secretly because :
(i) She didn’t want Chuck to be upset
(ii) It was her personal grief
(iii) She was upset at the turn of events
(iv) She didn’t want to exhibit her feelings

(b) Identify the figure of speech from the above lines :
(i) Metaphor
(ii) Simile
(iii) Personification
(iv) Imagery

(c) The big grin was replaced by severe lines because :
(i) Boredom had set in
(ii) He was going into depression
(iii) There was no improvement in his condition
(iv) He started losing hope

Ans:
(a) (i)
(b) (iv)
(c) (iv)

Ques 2: But Duke wouldn’t. He’d lie down with a reproachful eye on Hooper.” [CBSE 2010 (Term 1)]

(a) Duke wouldn’t, what? :
(i) Stop barking
(ii) Stop jumping
(iii) Obey Hooper
(iv) Eat his food

(b) Duke is angry with Hooper because of Hooper :
(i) wouldn’t play with him
(ii) wouldn’t take him out for a walk
(iii) didn’t serve him with interesting food
(iv) would just stare at the wall

(c) Hooper has earned Duke’s reproach because he is :
(i) Not interested in playing
(ii) Bedridden
(iii) Bored with Duke’s game
(iv) His wife doesn’t like it

Ans:
(a) (i)
(b) (ii)
(c) (ii)

Ques 3: ‘‘In 1953, Hooper was a favoured young man. A big genuine grin civilized his highly competitive nature. [CBSE 2010 (Term 1)]

(a) By stating that ‘Hooper was a favoured young man’, the author means that:
(i) Hooper was a successful person
(ii) he was the favourite of all
(iii) he was the answer to all problems
(iv) he could rise higher

(b) By the word civilized, the author wants :
(i) to say that before that Hooper was uncivilized
(ii) to say that he had no sense
(iii) to create humour by suggesting his earlier roughness
(iv) to laugh at Hooper

(c) Hooper had been working as a / an :
(i) sales manager
(ii) area sales manager
(iii) zone sales manager
(iv) assistant sales manager

Ans:
(a) (i)
(b) (iii)
(c) (iii)

Ques 4: The pair set daily goals; Monday, the sixth fence post, Tuesday, the seventh fence post, Wednesday___. [CBSE 2010 (Term 1)]

(a) The pair in the above line refers to :
(i) Doctor & Hooper
(ii) Marcy & Hooper
(iii) Duke & Hooper
(iv) Marcy & Duke

(b) Their daily goal was to :
(i) cross the road
(ii) cover more and more distance
(iii) carry each post everyday
(iv) fence one post everyday

(c) The pair needed to set daily goals as :
(i) Chuck had realized that he could be normal
(ii) they had been given a deadline
(iii) they were in competition
(iv) they were lagging behind

Ans: 

(a) (iii)
(b) (ii)
(c) (i)

Read the extracts and answer the questions that follow by choosing the option you consider the most appropriate.

Ques 1. ‘Her stories usually dealt with complex psychological problems in the lives of ordinary people and were always very interesting.’

(a) Who is ‘her’ referred to?
(i) Krishtakka
(ii) Triveni
(iii) Narrator
(iv) None of the above

(b) What was the person referred to here, by profession?
(i) Writer
(ii) Doctor
(iii) Social Worker
(iv) Teacher

(c) How many years ago did the person referred to here, die?
(i) Ten years
(ii) Thirty years
(iii) Forty years
(iv) Sixty years

Ans: 
(a) (ii)
(b) (i)
(c) (iii)

Ques 2.“Many times, I rubbed my hands over the pages wishing they could understand what was written.” [CBSE 2010 (Term 1)]

(a) The ‘I’ in the above lines refers to :
(i) Sudha Murthy
(ii) Triveni
(iii) Krishtakka
(iv) Saraswati

(b) The ‘pages’ were of a :
(i) Kannada Newspaper
(ii) Magazine
(iii) Novel ‘Kashi Yatre’
(iv) Weekly magazine ‘Karmveera’

(c) “Rubbing my hands over the pages” suggests the speakers:
(i) disappointment
(ii) desperation
(iii) deep yearning
(iv) regret

Ans. 
(a) (iii)
(b) (iv)
(c) (ii)

Ques 3. “Later, she could repeat the entire text by heart.” [CBSE 2010 (Term 1)]

(a) ‘She’ is referred to :
(i) Sudha Murthy
(ii) Sudha Murthy’s classmate
(iii) Sudha Murthy’s grandmother
(iv) Sudha Murthy’s neighbour

(b) The ‘text’ is referred to :
(i) Holy scriptures
(ii) Text-books
(iii) Homework
(iv) The story of the episode

(c) The speaker intends to :
(i) highlight the memory of the girl.
(ii) highlight the memory of the grandmother.
(iii) say that the girl was so fascinated with the episodes of the novel.
(iv) tell that grandmother was very much fascinated with the episodes of the novel.

Ans. 
(a) (iii)
(b) (iv)
(c) (iv).

Ques 4. “I knew my student had passed with flying colours.” [CBSE 2010 (Term 1)]

(a) ‘my student’ refers to :
(i) Duke
(ii) Triveni
(iii) Avva
(iv) Jeanne

(b) The student has passed in :
(i) Flying colours
(ii) Class
(iii) Exam
(iv) Life

(c) I knew that my student had passed when she :
(i) Could read on her own
(ii) Could write on her own
(iii) Paid the fee
(iv) Stopped the classes

Ans.
(a) (iii)
(b) (iv)
(c) (i)

Ques 5. “I have decided I want to learn the Kannada alphabet from tomorrow onwards. I will work very hard.” [CBSE 2010 (Term 1)]

(a) The speaker wants to learn Kannada alphabet______
(i) To be able to read a novel on her own
(ii) To be able to write a novel on her own
(iii) To be able to teach others.
(iv) As the speaker can read other languages fluently but not Kannada.

(b) The above statement reveals that the speaker is______
(i) Humorous
(ii) Helpful
(iii) Determined
(iv) Concerned

(c) At the time of speaking these lines she was______
(i) 61 years old
(ii) 62 years old
(iii) 63 years old
(iv) 64 years old

Ans.
(a) (i)
(b) (iii)
(c) (ii)

Ques 6. “I will work harder than anybody but I will do it.”
 (a) The speaker has decided to learn :
(i) to walk
(ii) to speak Hindi
(iii) to read
(iv) to act

(b) The speaker is addressing :
(i) Maid
(ii) Marcy Hooper
(iii) Sudha Murthy
(iv) Jeanne

(c) From the line, the speaker’s ____ is reflected :
(i) Determination
(ii) Personality
(iii) Attitude
(iv) Stubbornness
Ans.
(a) (iii)
(b) (iii)
(c) (i)

Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow :
Q1. Marie : Pardon, Madam, but I think it was for Mere Gringoire.
Persome : Mere Gringorie indeed. Mere Gringoire. What, the old witch who lives at the top of the hill, and who says she is bedridden because she is too lazy to do any work ? And what did Mere Gringoire want with the money, pray ?
(a) What was done for Mere Gringoire ?
(b) Why does Persome refer to Mere Gringoire as an old witch ?
(c) What does the extract reveal about Persome’s character ? (CBSE 2014)
Ans. (a) The Bishop had to sell his salt-cellars to pay the house rent of Mere Gringoire.
(b) Persome does so as she feels Mere Gringoire is a wicked and selfish woman.
(c) The extract reveals that Persome is short-tempered and narrow-minded. She is not generous like her brother.

Q2. You told him she was feeling poorly, did you ? And so my brother is to be kept out of his bed, and go without his supper because you told him she was feeling poorly. There’s gratitude for you !
(a) Who is ‘she’ in the above extract ?
(b) Who is the speaker’s brother and why was he kept out of bed ?
(c) Explain the line ‘there’s gratitude for you’. (CBSE 2014)
Ans. (a) ‘She’ in the extract is Mere Gringoire.
(b) The speaker’s brother is the Bishop. He was kept out of bed in order to help Mere Gringoire.
(c) Persome remarks ironically that Marie had paid her gratitude to the Bishop by making him help her mother in such bad weather. She wants to say that she had proved to be ungrateful to the Bishop.

Q3. Bishop : That is why they are left open.
Convict: Well they are shut now!
Bishop (sighs) : For the first time in thirty years.
(a) Why were ‘they’ left open ?
(b) Why are they shut now ?
(c) Why weren’t they shut for thirty years ?
Ans. (a) ‘They’ are doors and windows which were left open to welcome any person who came in.
(b) ‘They’ are shut now by the convict to prevent anybody else in the house.
(c) ‘They’ were not shut for thirty years to let anyone come at any time to see the Bishop.

Q4. Bishop : The knife, oh, well, you see, dear, perhaps he may have thought that 1-1 had sold ours, (laughs gently)
Persome : Brother, I am frightened. He glares at us like a wild beast (aside to him).
(а) What is the tone of the Bishop in the above extract ?
(b) Why is Persome frightened ?
(c) Why is‘he’ being compared to a wild beast? (CBSE2014)
Ans. (a) The Bishop’s tone is kind and gentle.
(b) Persome is frightened because the convict’s looks are very cruel and dangerous.
(c) ‘He’ is being compared to a beast as there is no human feeling on his face. Moreover, his way of eating is just like any beast’s.

Q5. None of that, my friend ! I’m too old a bird to be caught with chaff. You would ask your sister for the keys, would you ? A likely story ! You would rouse the house too. Eh? Ha! A good joke truly. Come, where is the food. I want no keys. I have a wolf inside me tearing at my entrails, tearing me; quick, tell me where the food is,
(а) What does the convict mean when he says I’m too old a bird to be caught with chaff ?
(b) Why does the convict say, ‘I have a wolf inside me’ ?
(c) Why does the convict think it is ‘a good joke’. (CBSE 2014)
Ans. (а) The convict wants to say that he is too experienced to be duped by cheap tricks.
(b) The convict says so as he is very hungry and can’t eat anything apart like a hungry wolf.
(c) The convict thinks it to be a good joke that the Bishop will ask his sister to bring keys and she will go out to seek help.

Q6.I -I didn’t believe there was any good in the world One does’t when one has been in Hell, but somehow, I -I know your’re good and, and it’s a queer thing to ask but, but could you, would you bless me before I go ? 1-1 think it would help me.
(a) Why didn’t the speaker believe that there was any good left in the world ?
(b) How did the speaker know about hell ?
(c) Why did he seek the Bishop’s blessing ? (CBSE 2014)
Ans. (а) The speaker believed so as he had been ill-treated and tortured all those years for a petty crime.
(b) The speaker knew about hell as he had been in prison where conditions were as bad as in hell.
(c) He sought the Bishop’s blessings so that he could begin his life anew like a normal human being.

Q7. Convict: Ah, thanks, thanks, Monseigneur. I, I (he sobs) Ah ! Trn a fool, a child to cry, but somehow you have made me feel that, that it is just as if something had come in to me, as if I were a man again and not a wild beast.
Bishop (putting his hand on his shoulder) : Always remember, my son, that this poor body is the Temple of the Living God.
(а) Why was the convict crying like a child ?
(b) How is the speaker ‘a man again’ ?
(c) Explain the phrase ‘the poor body is the temple of the living God’.
(CBSE2014)
Ans. (a) The convict was crying like a child as he felt guilty and remorseful. He realized he had been on the wrong track.
(b) The speaker is a man again as he has regained his faith in God and humanity.
(c) The human body is a sacred place where God dwells.

Q8. ‘My dear, there is so much suffering in the world, and I can do so little ’
(a) Who speaks these lines and to whom ?
(b) What do you learn about him from the given line?
(c) What do you mean by ‘suffering’ ?
Ans. (a) The Bishop speaks these lines to his sister Persome.
(b) The Bishop is extremely generous, selfless and kind-hearted.
(c) ‘pain’.

Q9. ‘One must do a great deal for the devil in order to do a little for God’.
(а) Who is the speaker ?
(b) what does he want to say ?
(c) Give the meaning of the word ‘devil’.
Ans. (a) The Bishop is the speaker.
(b) He wants to say that one has to do a lot to remove wickedness (devil) in doing a bit of service to God.
(c) ‘a wicked being’ (satan).

Q10. ‘Look-here, why the devil are you-ki-kind to me ? What do you want ?
(а) Who is the speaker ?
(b) Why is he so confused ?
(c) What has he actually expected ? 
Ans. (а) The convict is the speaker.
(b) He is baffled at the kind behaviour of his host, the Bishop.
(e) He has actually expected to be treated badly.

Q11. You have your soul, to lose, my son; it is of more value than my heart’.
(а) Why does the Bishop call the convict ‘my son’ ?
(b) What tells you that he is a fearless person ?
(c) What does he want to do ?
Ans. (а) The Bishop calls the convict ‘my son’ as he would call anyone else. In his eyes, he is as good as any other human beings.
(b) He does not care for his life. He is not afraid of being killed by the convict.
(c) He wants to reform the convict by showing him the right path through love
and compassion.

Q12. You told him she was feeling poorly, did you ? And so my brother is to be kept out of his bed, and go without his supper because you told him she was feeling poorly”
(а) Who is ‘she’ referred to in the above lines ?
(b) What is the tone of the speaker ?
(c) Explain ‘kept out of his bed’.
Ans. (а) ‘She’ referred to in the above lines is Marie’s mother.
(б) The speaker (Persome) here speaks in a reproachful tone.
(c) ‘Did not sleep and take rest’.

Q13. If you call out you are a dead man !
(а) What was the Bishop doing when the convict entered ?
(b) What warning did the convict give the Bishop ?
(c) What does‘call out’mean ? 
Ans. (a) He was reading then.
(b) The convict warned the Bishop that if he called for help he would be killed.
(c) ‘Shout

Q14. “I believe you want to convert me; save my soul, don’t you call it ? Well, it’s no good-see ? I don’t want any damned religion, and as for the church – bah ! / hate the church.”
(a) What does the convict resent ?
(b) Why does he hate the church ?
(c) Give the meaning of the word ‘damned’.
Ans. (a) The convict resents the Bishop’s talking of saving his soul.
(b) He hates the church for even the church did not come to his rescue.
(c) ‘accursed’.

Q15. ‘Ah, that is hard, very hard, I – He might have left me those. They were all I had.’
(a) Who speaks these words and to whom ?
(b) What does‘those’refer to here ?
(c) What does ‘hard’ mean in this context ?
Ans. (a) The Bishop speaks these words to his sister Persome.
(b) Those’ refers to the silver candlesticks stolen by the convict.
(c) ‘difficult’.

Q16. Yes, to starve. They feed you in Hell, but when you escape from it you starve.’
(a) Who is the speaker ? Who are ‘they’ ?
(b) Why has he come to ‘starving* ?
(c) Give the meaning of ‘starve’.
Ans. (a) The convict is the speaker. ‘They’ refers to jail authorities.
(b) He is out of jail, but he has no work and no money. He cannot do work for fear of police. So he has come to the state of starvation.
(c) ‘to die of hunger’.

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS (SOLVED)

Answer each of the following questions in 30-40 words ?
Q1. What makes Persome lost her temper ?
Ans.  Persome feels irritated that the Bishop has gone out in the extreme cold. When she learns from the maid, Marie, that he has gone to see Marie’s ailing mother, she loses her temper.

Q2. What grouses does Persome have about her brother ?
Ans.  Persome is the Bishop’s sister. The Bishop is in the habit of helping all who seek his help. He has sold his estate, his furniture and many other valuable things to help the poor. Person who feels concerned about his future naturally has grouses in her mind about this kind of behaviour on his part.

Q3. What comes as a shock to Persome ? 
Ans.  Persome is already pained at her brother’s excessive magnanimity. When she learns about his selling of his silver salt-cellars to help an old lady to pay her rent, she is shocked.

Q4. How and when does the convict enter the Bishop’s room ?
Ans.  It is almost midnight. The Bishop is reading in his room. A convict enters his room stealthily. It is not difficult for anyone to enter the Bishop’s house as its doors and windows are never shut.

Q5. How does the convict behave when he encounters the Bishop ?
Ans.  The convict enters the Bishop’s room. He seizes the Bishop from behind and demands something to eat at once. He threatens to kill him if he raises an alarm.

Q6. How is the convict treated by the Bishop ?
Ans.  The Bishop treats the convict as if he were his guest. He calls him ‘son’ and tries to calm him down. He asks his sister to bring some food for the guest. He offers him bed for rest.

Q7. Why was the convict caught and imprisoned ?
Or
‘Now I’m not a man, now I’m a number.’ How had the speaker become a number ?
Ans. The convict’s wife was ill and starving. He had no money and work at that time. He had to steal to feed his sick wife and was thus caught and imprisoned. In the prison, he was given a number. He suffered there so much that he had forgotten his name. He had been reduced to a mere number.

Q8.Why does the convict call the prison a hell ?
Ans. The convict recalls his days in the prison which was nothing short of Hell. He was chained like an animal. He was fed on filth. He was made to sleep on boards. He suffered from vermins. He was often beaten mercilessly. He became a beast.

Q9. Why does the convict show contempt for the Bishop’s good behaviour ?
Ans.  The convict was in the prison for ten years. He was treated very badly. He lost faith in God and humanity. So he has nothing but contempt for any good behaviour shown by the Bishop.

Q10. Who was Jeanette ? What was the cause of her death ?
Ans.  Jeanette was the convict’s wife. She fell seriously ill. The convict was out of work then. He had no money to feed and treat her. When he stole and got arrested, she died of starvation.

Q11. Do you justify the Bishop’s behaviour in not handing over the convict to the police when he decamps with his silver candlesticks ? Give reason.
Ans.  Had the Bishop handed the convict over to the police, the convict would never have got another chance to reform himself. As the Bishop wants to give him a chance to start a new life he saves him from the police.

Q12. What brings about real transformation in the convict ?
Ans.  When the Bishop gives the convict his silver candlesticks as a gift before he leaves for Paris, the convict is speechless. He kneels himself down before the Bishop and weeps. He feels that he has become a ‘man’ once again. His tears are a symbol of his transformation.

Q13. Do you think the punishment given to the convict was justified ? Why/ Why not ? Why is the convict eager to reach Paris ?
Ans.  The punishment given to the convict for a minor crime was too much and was unjustified. He did not commit a murder or indulge in any other major crime. His circumstances had forced him to steal. No, it. He should have been given a light punishment instead of ten years in a hell¬like jail.

Q14. Before leaving, the convict asks the Bishop to bless him. What brought about this change in him ?
Ans.  The convict had lost all faith in goodness. The Bishop’s love, kindness and generosity bring about a remarkable change in him. He feels as if he were a man once again. He regains his faith in God. So he asks the Bishop to bless him.

Q15. Identify the situations which can be termed as the turning points in the convict’s life ?
Ans.  There are many situations in the play which can be termed as the turning points in the convict’s life. He stole to feed his sick wife. His consequent arrest on the charge of stealing was the first significant turning point in his life. His encounter with the kind, noble and generous Bishop was another turning point in his life. Again, his arrest for having stolen the Bishop’s candlesticks and the Bishop’s magnanimity and kindness in saving him from the police and gifting him his candlesticks are the other turning points in the convict’s life.

Q16. How does the Bishop’s attitude touch the convict ?
Ans.  The Bishop’s attitude towards the convict is extremely amiable, kind and generous. He calls the convict his ‘son’ and ‘friend’ – the words the convict has forgotten in his life. He offers him food and shelter. Even when the convict decamps with his cherished candlesticks, he saves him from the clutches of the police. He even gifts the candlesticks to the convict and helps him escape to Paris. His attitude moves the heart of the convict. The convict feels as if he were a human being again. He sees a ray of hope in his life.

VALUE-BASED LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS (SOLVED)

Q1.‘It is easy to close the doors but difficult to open a window.’ Comment with reference to the play ‘The Bishop’s Candlesticks’. (CBSE 2014)
Ans. The statement-Tt is easy to close the doors but difficult to open a window’- is true. It is easy to close the doors implies that man can easily live selfishly; he can easily shut doors on others and live a life of a recluse, as some religious people do. It is not difficult to dislike or hate others. But to open a window for others is not easy. To go out of one’s way to show the right path ‘ or to help other is indeed a difficult but divine task.
The Bishop in the play ‘The Bishop’s Candlesticks’ keeps his doors and windows literally open for needy persons. He does everything possible to help the poor. But the way he treats the convict is something uncommon. He goes beyond the call of his duty. When his beloved candlesticks are stolen, he finds it difficult to forgive the thief, but very soon he realizes his mistake. By gifting the candlesticks he touches the raw nerves of a hardened criminal. He opens a window at the back of his house for the convict to go to his destination and start a new life. What a noble act !

Q2. ‘Minds are open only when hearts are open. Keeping this in mind, the Bishop’s house had unshuttered windows and unbarred doors for thirty years. Discuss. (CBSE 2014)
Ans.  It is unthinkable that one could keep the doors and windows of one’s house open for thirty long years. Only a really fearless hermit can do it. The Bishop keeps the doors and windows open so that the poor and the needy could come anytime to his house. It reveals that his mind and heart are open. He is so generous and magnanimous that he attaches no importance to any material thing. He sells his estate, his silver salt-cellars and many other valuable things to help the poor. Though he cherishes his silver candlesticks, he readily gifts them to the convict.
Earlier in the play, Persome reminds the Bishop how people take undue advantage of his generosity. Even the convict mocks at him for leaving his windows and doors open. But the Bishop does not have a second thought at what he does.

Q3. Love, compassion and forgiveness are great human values which we must try to imbibe. Discuss it in the context of the play ‘The Bishop’s Candlesticks.’
Ans.  There is no doubt that love, compassion and forgiveness are great human virtues. We should try to imbibe them in our day-to-day life. We should learn to love all. We should be compassionate towards the weak. We should forgive all those who offend or harm us in any way.
The Bishop in the play ‘The Bishop’s Candlesticks’ is a true Christian who has imbibed in him the divine virtues of love, compassion and forgiveness. He loves one and all without any discrimination. He treats even the convict as his friend and guest. The convict proves to be ungrateful by stealing the silver candlesticks of a person who offered him food and shelter and comforted him. However, the Bishop forgives him easily. Rather he gifts the candlesticks to him so that he may start a new life. This is what we should do in our life, though it is not an easy task.

Q4. The prison is meant for reformation, not punishment. Justify this statement with reference to the lesson ‘The Bishop’s Candlesticks’.
(CBSE 2014)
Ans.  The prison is meant for reformation. That is why, it is often called ‘Sudhar Ghar’. Here the prisoners should be treated in such a way that they realize their mistakes and reform themselves. They should not be treated like animals as was done in the prison which the convict calls ‘Hell’. The convict had to steal out of compulsion. When he was in the prison, he was given a number. He was fed on filth. He had to sleep on boards. He was beaten mercilessly. They turned him into a hardened criminal. He lost faith in humanity. He began to hate everybody. When he escaped from the prison, he was not a reformed person. He again stole-this time the silver candlesticks of a really noble person, the Bishop.
If he was a changed man towards the end, it was due to the Bishop’s extremely kind and humane treatment. The Bishop changed his heart by his kindness and generosity.

Q5. ‘I’m a number, number 15729’. An individual’s human identity is being degraded to a mere number. What does your conscience tell you about this ? (CBSE 2014)
Ans.  The convict became a victim of circumstances. He was once a normal human being. He led a poor life with his wife, Jeanette, in a little cottage. She was ill and starving. He was out of work and had no money to buy food for his wife. So he stole money to buy her food and was caught by the police. He tried to explain to the policemen why he had stolen. But they laughed at him and he was sentenced to ten years in the prison hulks. The convict was treated like a beast. He was tortured and beaten. The policemen chained him like a wild beast and lashed him like a hound. He was fed on filth and was covered with vermin. He slept on the board and when he complained, he was lashed again. They treated him cruelly and took away his soul and made him a devil. They took away his name. Now he was not a man; he was a number; number 15729 and he had lived in Hell for ten long years. He lost faith in the essential goodness of man. As for the church he began to hate church. He was so fed up with the society that he told the Bishop that he did not want any of his Faith, Hope and Charity. He considered himself a devil and told the Bishop that his efforts to convert him would fail. He lost belief in religion. He had no identity, no faith in humanity, no faith in church and religion.
Thus, a man who is brutally treated loses his identity and conscience. But it is the society which is at fault in making him what he is.

Q6. In the end realization dawns upon the convict that he is a man again and not a wild beast. Who do you think is responsible for this change in the convict and what qualities would you associate with him ?
(CBSE 2014)
Ans.  The convict, who had been brutally treated in jail for ten long years, escaped, but only to starve. One night he entered the Bishop’s room and demanded food at the point of knife. The Bishop was very kind, generous and loving towards him. He gave him cold pie, bottle of wine and some bread. He also gave him a bed to sleep. But the convict stole his candlesticks and ran away. He was arrested by the police and brought to Bishop’s house. The Bishop pleasantly surprised the convict and the sergeant by saying that the convict was his very good friend. The Bishop told the sergeant that he had supped with him the previous night and that he had given him the candlesticks. He called the convict his ‘son’. So unlike the police and the rest of the society, the Bishop treated him gently and kindly. He called him son and friend. Such affectionate words were not heard by the convict in his life. The Bishop offered him food, shelter and saved him from the clutches of police. The kindest act that the Bishop did was to gift the prized silver candlesticks to him and suggested him a safe passage to Paris. Bishop’s kindness, benevolence and love helped the convict to rediscover his innocence and goodness. In fact, he rediscovered his essential human self. Finally, he learnt from the Bishop that the body is the Temple of the Living God. In this way, the Bishop reformed the convict.

Q7. The Convict goes to Paris, sells the silver candlesticks and starts a business. The business prospers and he starts a reformatory for ex¬convicts. He writes a letter to the Bishop telling him of this reformatory and seeks his blessings.
As the convict, Jean Valjean, write the letter to Bishop.
Ans.  J.V. Reformatory Paris
16 March, 20…
Venerable Father
You will be delighted to know that your ‘son’ has at last found his feet. The candlesticks that you gifted me did wonders for me. I sold the candlesticks and opened a workshop. By the grace of God and with your blessings, my
business flourished and I earned a lot of money. I am now a happy and respectable person in the society. I have recently opened a reformatory for ex-convicts. My aim is to enable the ex-convicts to lead a life of dignity and respect. They work and lead a comfortable life. Learned men are invited for weekly discourses on religious and moral matters. Their discourses leave a great impact on them.
I seek your blessings.
Yours sincerely
Jean Valjean

Q1. Jeanne What on Earth have you done? Gaston I? Made a hundred thousand Francs and a Carot! 
(i) How has Gaston made a hundred thousand francs? 
(b) Mention any two characteristics displayed by Gaston when he made a hundred thousand francs. 
(c) What is a Carot in these lines?

Ans. (a) He had sold Juliette’s villa for three hundred thousand francs to Mrs Al Smith without actually buying it. Subsequently, he bought it from Juliette for two hundred thousand francs.
(b) Gaston appears as an opportunistic and calculative when he made a hundred thousand francs.
(c) A painting made by a French landscape painter who is named JC Carot.

Q2. Juliette Oh Pm fed up with the place. Because nobody really wants it! What time did those agency people say the lady would call? 
(a) Which place is Juliette fed up with? 
(b) What do you think maybe the reason that nobody wants it? 
(c) Identify the context about which the lady would call in.

Ans. (a) Juliette is fed up with the villa.
(b) Nobody is interested in the villa because the villa is very small and the rate of the villa Juliette has quoted is much higher than the actual rate.
(c) The lady would call to see the villa Juliette was going to sell. 

Q3. But still… even so … it would be funny if I couldn’t manage to sell a place here, a stone’s throw from Joinville, the French Hollywood, when all I’m asking is a paltry hundred thousand! 
(a) Identify the speaker and the listener. 
(b) Where is the villa situated? 
(c) What does ‘paltry’ mean?

Ans. (a) Juliette is the speaker and her maid is the listener.
(b) It is situated at a stone’s throw from Joinville, the French Hollywood.
(c) An amount too small to be considered important or useful.
or            
(a) Juliette’s maid is the speaker here.
(b) They’ refers to the film studio people.
(c) She will do so as she is going to play the role of a maid in a film.
or
(a) They’ refers to the film studio people.
(b) Juliette’s maid is the speaker here.
(c) She is going to the film studio.  

Q4. They prefer the real article. They say maids are born, maids are not made maids. They are giving me a hundred francs a morning for doing it. 
(a) Identify the speaker. 
(b) Identify ‘they’. 
(c) How is she going to make a hundred francs? 
or 
(a) To whom does the term ‘they’ refer to? 
(b) Identify the speaker of the given extract. 
(c) Where is the speaker going?

Ans. (a) Juliette’s maid is the speaker of the given line.
(b) Juliette will have to do so if she agrees to play the role of a cook in the film the maid is talking about.
(c) The listener is advised so because Juliette is having a financial crisis and the villa still remains unsold. 

Q5. You would only have to peel potatoes one minute and make an omiette the next, quite easy. 
(a) Identify the speaker. 
(b) Who would have to perform the jobs mentioned in the current stanza and when? 
(c) Why is the listener being advised to accept this role?

Ans. (a) ‘It’ refers to the act in films.
(b) Everybody wants to act in films as it comes with handsome money.
(c) Everybody, whatever their profession maybe, wants to act in films. 

Q6. “Everybody wants to do it. Yesterday the butcher didn’t open his shop, he was being shot all morning. Today, nobody could find the four policemen, they were taking part in Monsieur Milton’s fight scene in his new film”. 
(a) Identify ‘it’. 
(b) Why does everybody want to do ‘it’? 
(c) How can you say that “it” is the most popular business?

Ans. (a) Juliette is going upstairs as she wants to display to her visitors that she is very busy.
(b) The lady is Jeanne, who is scheduled to come to see the villa. (c) She wants to hide that she had been awaiting the visitor for long.
Or
(a) Juliette is going upstairs as she wants to display to her visitors that she is very busy.
(b) She doesn’t want to give the impression that she had been desperately waiting for buyers.
(c) The speaker is revealed as a clever and calculative woman.
or 

(a) Juliette speaks these lines to her maid.
(b) The lady in question is ‘ Jeanne’. She is a prospective buyer of the villa.
(c) Juliette is trying to show that she is not desperate about selling her villa. 

Q7. “I am going upstairs for a moment. If that is the lady, tell her I will not belong. It won’t do to give her the impression that I am waiting for her.” 
(a) Why is the speaker going upstairs? 
(b) Who is the lady being talked about? 
(c) What does the speaker want to hide from the visitor? 
or 
(a) Why is the speaker going upstairs? 
(b) “It won’t do to give her the impression”, what impression is the speaker talking about? 
(c) What character traits of the speaker are revealed in the above passage? 
or 
(a) Who speaks these words and to whom? 
(b) Who is the ‘lady’ here? Why is she expected to visit the speaker? 
(c) What does the speaker try to pretend here?

Ans. (a) He is pointing out to the shortcomings of the villa.
(b) He does not want Jeanne to buy the villa as it is a costly affair.
(c) A heavy cotton material in colorfully printed designs used specially for drapery and slipcovers.

Q8. Gaston And they call that a garden! Why it’s a yard with a patch of grass in the middle. Jeanne But the inside of the house seems very nice, Gaston. Gaston Twenty-five yard of Cretonne and a dash of paint…you can get that anywhere. Jeanne That’s not fair. Wait until you’ve seen the rest of it. Gaston Why should I? I don’t want to see the kitchen to know that the garden is a myth and that the salon is impossible. Jeanne, What’s the matter with it? Gaston Matter? Why you can’t even call it a salon. 
(a) What is Gaston trying to do? 
(b) What do you think maybe the reason for this attitude? 
(c) What is the meaning of ‘Cretonne’?

Ans. (a) We are not means that Gaston and Jeanne are not buying the villa.
(b) Jeanne wants to buy it but Gaston doesn’t seem to be at all interested.
(c) No, he actually bought the villa in the end, but by actually ‘selling’ it before.

Q9. Jeanne Don’t be aggravating, please! If you don’t want the house, tell me so at once and we’ll say no more about it. Gaston I told you before we crossed the road that I didn’t want it. As soon as you see a sign ‘Villa for Sale’, you have to go inside and be shown over it. Jeanne But we are buying a villa, aren’t we? Gaston We are not. Jeanne What do you mean ‘We are not’? Then ‘we’re not’ looking for a villa? 
(a) Explain ‘we are not’. 
(b) Do you really think that they are not buying the villa? 
(c) Did Gaston stuck to his decision till the end?

Ans. (a) Juliette is the speaker and Jeanne and Gaston are the listeners here.
(b) ‘It’ refers to Juliette’s villa.
(c) Juliette is pursuing the couple to buy the villa by, flattering them.
or
(a) ‘It’ refers to the villa.
(b) She is speaking to Gaston and his wife, Jeanne.
(c) She wants to sell her villa and for that purpose, she is trying to flatter the buyers. 

Q10. Juliette, It is a most delightful little place. Its appearance is modest, but it has a charm of its own. I can tell by just looking at you that it would suit you admirably, as you suit it if you will permit me to say so……….. 
(a) Identify the listener. 
(b) Identify ‘it’ used repeatedly. 
(c) What is the attitude of Juliette while talking to the listeners? 
or 
(a) What is the ‘it’ that Juliette describes? 
(b) Who is she speaking to? 
(c) What is her intention that is revealed in this dialogue?

Ans. (a) Mrs Al Smith is the speaker and Gaston is the listener here.
(b) Gaston is being called an exception because he’ says, that he needn’t consult his wife regarding the sale of the villa.
(c) Mrs Al Smith thinks that the French people have no decision making power.
or
(a) ‘You’ refers to Gaston in the above lines.
(b) Mrs Al Smith thinks that the French people have no decision making power.
(c) She calls Gaston an exception because he doesn’t consult his wife before taking decisions.  

Q11. “You are an exception. Frenchmen usually have to consult about ten people before they get a move on. Listen! Do you or don’t you want to sell this house?” 
(a) Identify the speaker and the listener. 
(b) Why is the listener being called an exception? 
(c) What opinion does the speaker seem to have about the French? 
or 
(a) Who is ‘You’ referred to in the above lines? 
(b) What is the opinion of the speaker about Frenchmen? 
(c) Why is the listener, an exception?

Ans. (a) Gaston is the speaker of the given line and Mrs Al Smith is the listener.
(b) Mrs Al Smith is ridiculing the French whereas Gaston is denying her claims.
(c) Parodies are an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect here it means copying the lifestyle.
or
(a) Gaston is the speaker of the given lines.
(b) It means that Americans and Europeans have different mindsets.
(c) Gaston fools Mrs Al Smith by selling her the villa which didn’t even belong to him. 

Q12. “Copies are not always good. We could only imitate you and imitations are ho better than parodies. We are so different. Think of it…” 
(a) Identify the speaker. 
(b) What context are they talking in? 
(c)What are ‘parodies’? 
or 
(a) Who is the speaker in these lines? 
(b) ‘We are so different’ means _______. 
(c) How does the speaker fool the person he is speaking to? “My lawyer is Mr Who, 5, Rue Cambon. He will get in touch with yours about the rest of the transaction. Goodbye.” 
or
(a) Who makes mention of the lawyer? 
(b) Identify ‘yours’. 
(c) Which transaction is being discussed here?  

Ans. (a) Mrs Al Smith makes the mention of her lawyer Mr Who.
(b) ‘Yours’ here refers to Gaston’s lawyer.
(c) The sale of the villa made by Gaston to Mrs Al Smith is being discussed here. 

Q13. Why does Juliette put up her villa for sale? or Despite her ardent love for the villa, Juliette had to sell it. Why?

Ans. Juliette loved her villa very passionately. Yet, she had to put up her villa for sale as she was going through a financial crisis. The business was not doing well and the only possible source of money was through the sale of the villa.  

Q14. Write a note on the theme of the current drama.

Ans. Villa for sale revolves around the sale of a villa owned by Juliette. Juliette wants to sell the villa as she is under a financial crisis. Gaston and Jeanne arrive to see the villa. The opportunist Gaston, sells the villa to Mrs Al Smith at a huge price, while Juliette and his wife were gone inspecting the villa. Hence, he tricks everybody and makes a huge profit.  

Q15. How can you say that Juliette was very fond of her villa?

Ans. She did put up the ‘For Sale’ sign on the villa gate, but only after it was dark. She put up the sign in the dark, so that no prospective buyer would be able to read it and she would have a chance to live in her villa for one more night. She wanted to hold the villa for as long as possible. 

Q16. Why was Juliette ready to dispose off her villa for a lower price?

Ans. The villa had been on sale for over a month. Some customers did approach, but none showed much interest in buying the villa. But their attitude made Juliette worry and suspect lest she should not be able to dispose it off at a handsome price. So, she got ready to dispose it off for a lower price. 

Q17. Why does Jeanne want to buy a villa?
or
Why Jeanne was interested in buying the villa? or Why was Jeanne so desperate to buy a villa in the play “A Villa for Sale”?

Ans. Jeanne doesn’t want to buy the villa for herself. She is looking for a villa for her parents and her sister’s children who would spend time there from the month of April to September. This is the reason why Gaston is against the idea. 

Q18. Why is Gaston not interested in buying the villa in the beginning? 
or 
Why was Gaston not interested in buying the Villa?

Ans. Gaston knows that Jeanne doesn’t want to buy the villa for them. Instead, she wants to buy the villa for her parents. Gaston thinks that Jeanne’s parents along with her sister’s children would occupy it for most of the year. Hence, he was averse to the idea of buying the villa.  

Q19. Why does Gaston agree to buy the villa? 
or 
Describe how the villa was sold or In the end, Gaston has changed his views of buying the villa. Give reasons to support your answer.

Ans. Gaston was reluctant to buy the villa. He was waiting for his wife when Mrs Al Smith arrived and mistook him to be the owner of the house. Gaston tricked her in buying the villa for three hundred thousand francs. Later, he bought the villa from Juliette for two hundred thousand francs and hence made a huge profit.  

Q20. Write a note on Mrs Al Smith’s encounter with Gaston.

Ans. Mrs Al Smith is a haughty character. She met Gaston at Juliette’s villa when the former was waiting for his wife. She thought him to be the owner of the house. She is pretty showy and buys the villa in hastiness. 

Q21. Describe Juliette’s relationship with her maid.

Ans. Juliette and her maid share quite a friendly relationship. Juliette is very kind towards her and listens to what she has to say. The maid also cares about her mistress and when she realises that she is in trouble, advises her to take up an acting assignment.  

Q22. Gaston’s serious interest in buying the villa was a surprise. Why? 
or
How did Jeanne react to Gaston’s decision to purchase the villa?

Ans. Gaston was not at all interested in buying the villa and continuously kept belittling it. But when Juliette and Jeanne come back they are shocked to see that Gaston is actually very keen to buy the villa. His sudden change was a mystery to them.  

Q23. Describe the villa briefly.

Ans. The villa was situated at a stone’s throw from Joinville, the French Hollywood. It had three bedrooms, two large and one small. Besides, it also had two servant’s rooms. It had a modest garden. It had all the basic amenities like cooking gas, electricity, water, telephone, drainage and a bathroom with a bath.  

Q24. How did Juliette persuade the French couple to buy the villa? or Juliette, while commenting to Jeanne, also praised her villa. How? 
or 
In what ways did Juliette flatter Jeanne?

Ans. Juliette tried to persuade the French couple to buy the villa by using a bit of flattery. She said that the villa will suit the couple admirably as they would suit the villa. She added that the couple already appeared to be at home in the house. She called Jeanne an elegant lady and her villa a graceful house. She flattered her all the more by saying it was not easy to find an adequate frame for a delightful pastel.  

Q25. What opinion did Mrs. Al Smith have about the French people?
or 
Mrs Al Smith makes many statements about the French. Pick out any two and explain them. or How does Mrs. Al Smith comment on the French people?

Ans. Mrs Al Smith did not have a high opinion about the French people. She criticised the French, people, who were lacking any business sense and always contemplating their past. She also said that the French people did not possess any decision making power, so they consulted ten people before finalizing a deal.  

Q26. Juliette says “….. now I have only one thought that is to get the wretched place off my hands. I would sacrifice it at any price”, Does she stick to her words? Why / Why not?

Ans. Juliette was quite frustrated at not being able to dispose off her villa. She needed the money desperately. As far as the selling of the villa is concerned, Juliette fails to keep her word at the time of actual sale. She uses all sorts of tactics to convince Gaston and his wife to buy the villa.  

Q27. Who is better in business -Juliette or Gaston? Why? 
or 
What makes Gaston a better businessman than Juliette? Mention any two characteristics.

Ans. Gaston appears to be better at business but through the means of a shady deal. He didn’t even spend a single penny and yet made a profit of a hundred thousand francs. Juliette also made a profit on the deal as she had bought it at a price of fifty thousand francs.  

Q28. Do you like/dislike Gaston? Give your reasons. 
or 
Do you like Gaston? Give reasons for your answer.

Ans. A person like Gaston can never be trusted and hence can never be liked. His money-minded personality makes him stoop to a point that he cheats everybody around him, even his wife. He is mean, a cheat and very selfish.  

Q29. Explain “the whole thing was going to be much more of a sell than a sale.”  

Ans. Juliette thought that her villa was really nice and was also situated at a good place, near French Hollywood. But even after putting it up for sale for over a month, she was unable to strike any deal. Hence, she was utterly disappointed.  

Q30. You are Juliette. You feel duped and cheated by Gaston. You decide to take legal action against him. Write a letter to your friend, sharing this incident and the action you plan to take against him. or You are Juliette. Write a letter to your friend describing how the villa was finally sold and how you suffered a loss. Write the letter.

Ans. Flat no 326 Napoleon Apartment Pans
11th December, 20XX “
Dear Mane
How have you been? I wish that things are good around you and not bad as they are with me. I was tricked by a man who came to buy my Joinville villa. Initially, his wife was interested in purchasing my villa, although her husband was against it. However, after I had shown his wife the whole premises, the man suddenly decided to buy the villa at the price I wanted. This was really very surprising. Actually, while I was showing his wife the house, Mrs Al Smith visited. This man pretended to be the owner of the villa and ‘sold’ it to her for a much higher price than what I had asked! How can he sell a house which is not his own? Now I am consulting my lawyer on how to take legal action against him. Will keep you posted about further happenings. With Regards
Yours sincerely
Juliette   

Q31. “Soul-mates are people who bring out the best in you. They are not perfect, but are always perfect for you.” But Gaston cheated his soul-mate. He was perfect for Jeanne, but his betrayal made him imperfect forever. Elucidate with reference to the current drama.

Ans. Faith and honesty play an important role in our life. But they are more crucial for relationships. Sustaining trust and belief in a relationship is a tough yet continuous task. A relationship is strong only if these two ingredients exist. Without them, the relationship is like a barren land where no fruit of love can grow. Gaston fools all three women including his wife, Jeanne, the landlady, Juliette and the other buyer Mrs Al Smith. For materialistic gain, he has forgotten the importance of relations in life. He may lose the faith of his wife as he does not practise honesty anymore. Juliette and Mrs Al Smith might forgive him as their aims are achieved, but what about Jeanne? She won’t be able to forgive him. She is filled with rage, disgust and helplessness due to Gaston’s betrayal. 

Q32. You are Jeanne. After coming home, you realize that the villa was not actually bought and your husband has fooled both you and the landlady of the villa. You are filled with rage, disgust and helplessness because of your husband’s betrayal. Write your feelings in the form of a diary entry.  

Ans. Wednesday 12th March 20XX. 10 pm
Dear Diary
Today I am shocked to learn about the trick my husband played on me and Juliette, the landlady of the villa. I did not want to buy the villa, as I found it very small and thought that Gaston was right about it. But later his promptness to buy the villa puzzled me greatly. At that time I was too perplexed. to guess about Gaston’s manipulations.
He had actually sold the villa to Mrs. Al Smith at a higher price than what Juliette had asked. He cheated all three of us. I would have been happy had he first bought it and then solid it. gut he duped Mrs. Al Smith, then Juliette and filially his own wife.
I don’t trust him anymore. He has defiled our sacred matrimonial bond. I will never forgive him for this cheating.                                
Jeanne

Q1. I am dotted silver threads dropped from heaven By the gods. Nature then takes me to adorn Her fields and valleys. 
(a) Why does the rain call itself dotted silver threads? 
(b) How is the tone and mood of the rain in the poem? 
(c) What does nature take the rain once it falls from heaven? I am beautiful pearls, plucked from the Crown of Ishtar by the daughter of Dawn, To embellish the gardens.
OR
(a) Who plucks the pearly rain from the crown of Ishtar? 
(b) What is the significance of Ishtar in the poem? 
(c) How is the rain beautiful pearls?

Ans. (a) When raindrops fall apart from one another, in a line of succession, brightened by the sunlight, they appear like dotted silver threads.
(b) The tone and mood of the rain in the poem reflects a love for the Earth.
(c) Once, rain falls, nature takes it to beautify its fields and valleys. 

Q2. When I cry the hills laugh; When I humble myself the flowers rejoice; When I bow, all things are elated. 
(a) Explain the first two lines of the stanza. 
(b) How does the rain help all things to be elated? 
(c) When do the flowers make merry?

Ans. (a) It is the daughter of Dawn that plucks the pearly rain from the crown of Ishtar.
(b) Ishtar is the goddess of fertility. Ishtar is significant in the poem because rain helps nature to add to its fertility.
(c) When droplets fall down to the Earth from clouds, they are pearly round and pearly white in the sunshine.

Q3. The field and the cloud are lovers And between them, I am a messenger of mercy I quench the thirst of one; I cure the ailment of the other. 
(a) Explain- ‘I quench the thirst of one, I cure the ailment of the other’. 
(b) How is the rain the messenger of mercy? 
(c) In what sense are the fields and clouds lovers?

Ans. (a) Rain’s cry refers to downpour. When it rains on the parched hills they laugh with joy at the arrival of a long awaited rain and flowers too rejoice, for they too can bloom and make nature beautiful once again.
(b) Rain helps all things to come back to a normal existence and once again they are all made happy.
(c) Flowers make merry when the rain comes in the form of a drizzle.

Q4. The voice of thunder declares my arrival; The rainbow announces my departure; I am like earthly life which begins at The feet of the mad elements and ends Under the upraised wings of death. 
(a) How is rain similar to earthly life? 
(b) What are the mad elements from where life on Earth begins? 
(c) What are the upraised wings of death for rain?

Ans. (a) The two lovers, fields and clouds, need the rain. The field is thirsty for the clouds’ mercy while the clouds suffer from the ailment that they cannot embrace the field, their lover. When the rain pours down, both the lovers are satisfied.
(b) Rain is a messenger of mercy between the field and the clouds, two lovers. It is a messenger of mercy rather than of love because rain is nature’s merciful blessing for the Earth. Rain takes the messages to and from the fields and the clouds.
(c) Like two lovers who cannot exist without the other, who needs the other for its completion, the parched fields and the dark clouds are complementary. The fields want clouds for its rain and the clouds want the fields for creation. The fields want the clouds to satisfy its passion while the clouds need a warm place to fall down and create.

Q5. I emerge from the heart of the sea and Soar with the breeze. When I see a field in Need, I descend and embrace the flowers and The trees in a million little ways. (a) What does rain mean by its million ways of embracing flowers? (b) What is a field in need? (c) What is the origin of the rain and with how does it soar?

Ans. (a) Birth of rain is similar to the birth of human beings on Earth. Rain undergoes various processes and involvement of multiple elements just like the birth of beings such as animals. Rain turns back to water and then to vapour and then to solid ice before it turns to water again, similar to which is life, that turns from one stage to the other, from one state to another.
(b) The mad elements of life are probably those elements such as carbon, calcium, phosphorus, etc.
(c) The upraised wing under which rain dies is probably the wings of the wind that blows the rain to a stop. 

Q6. I touch gently at the windows with my Soft fingers, and my announcement is a Welcome song. All can hear, but only The sensitive can understand. 
(a) Explain ‘I touch gently ……… welcome song.’ 
(b) Explain ‘All can hear…… understand.’ 
(c) Pick out an instance of personification from the stanza.

Ans. (a) Rain falls down in various ways. All the million drops that fall down are different in size, speed, length and many other qualities. They reach the Earth at various times, creating various sounds.
(b) A field in need is a dry, parched summer field that awaits rain.
(c) The origin of rain in the sea and it soars up into the sky with the breeze. 

Q7. The heat in the air gives birth to me, but in turn, I kill it. As woman overcomes man with The strength she takes from him. 
(a) How does heat in the air give birth to rain? 
(b) How does rain kill the one who begot it? 
(c) Name the poet of the above extract.

Ans. (i) It means that the rain falls very gently on the windows because these are shaded. So, when the rain falls on the windows in showers, it falls like touching them with’ soft fingers’.
(b) The poet believes that the wonderful beauty of rain can be enjoyed only by those who have a passionate love for Nature’s phenomena. Rain falls on everyone alike but its beauty is discovered only by those who love it.
c) The word ‘touch’ inline 1 is a personification. The rain says it touches the windows like a person who does so. 

Q8. I am the sigh to the sea The laughter of the field The tears of heaven So with love Sighs from the deep sea affection, laughter from the colourful field of spirit, Tears from endless heaven of memories. 
(a) How is rain the sigh of the sea? 
(b) How is rain the laughter of the fields? 
(c) How is rain the tears of heaven?  

Ans. (a) It is the heat that evaporates the water into vapour, which gives birth to the rain,
(b) Rain is given birth by the heat but the rain is able to cool the air, thus killing the heat.
(c) Kahlil Gibran is the poet of the above extract.  

Q9) Why is the rain divine?

Ans. Rain is divine as it falls from heaven, from the crown of God Ishtar, and brings love and happiness for people, quenches the thirst of Earth and makes the fields fertile. 

Q10. In this universe, rain performs many functions. What are those?

Ans. Rain adorns the gardens and valleys. It makes hills laugh and embraces the flowers and trees. It quenches the thirst of Earth and makes the land fertile. It cures the clouds who are overloaded by water vapour. It provides joy to everybody and everything in nature. 

Q11. When I cry the hill’s laugh; Where I humble myself the flowers rejoice; When I bow, all things are elated. Cry, humble and. bow indicate different intensity with which the rain falls. Explain the three in context

Ans. ‘Cry’ means when it rains heavily. ‘Humble’ means when it rains modest and light. ‘Bow’ means very light rain.

Q12. How do you think the rain quenches the thirst of the fields and cures the clouds’ ailment?

Ans. When rain falls on the dry fields they become fertile and crops grow in them. Moreover, rain releases clouds from the overburden of water vapour. Clouds, after rainfall, become light and relaxed.  

Q13. Mention a few ways in which rain embraces the trees.

Ans. ‘Rain embraces the trees’ is a metaphor used in the poem. Rain covers the trees with water and washes away all dust and soil, due to which the leaves glisten and look fresh. Moreover, rain makes the roots of the trees strong and provides all the nutrition to them. It provides strength and energy to trees. It becomes a source of life for the trees. Rainfall also promotes the growth of new small trees which have grown like plants. It provides them with water by which they get energy to grow faster. It feels as if the rain hugs all the trees and plants, and give its love and affection to them.  

Q14. ‘All can hear …… but only the sensitive can understand’. What does the poet want to convey?

Ans. The poet wants to convey the idea that everybody hears the sound of rain when it falls. However, only a few sensitive people enjoy that sound and feel the value and need of rain in life. Rain brings joy, happiness, freshness and love for all those who realise it.

Q15. (i) Notice the imagery built around ‘sigh of the sea’, ‘laughter of the field’ and ‘tears of heaven’. Explain the three expressions. 
(ii) How would you express rain as an agent of flood? A source of water for dams?

Ans. Rain rises from the sea in the form of water vapour. This water vapour forms clouds. Due to precipitation, the vapours get converted into rain and fall back to Earth. Fields get water and become fertile. This fertility supports the growth of plants on fields and everyone becomes happy. The rain becomes the drops of heaven as it brings happiness and prosperity on Earth. 

Q16. I am like earthly life… Why does the poet call the rain as earthly life?

Ans. Rain becomes an agent of a flood when it rains heavily nonstop for days together and this unexpected rain overflows the rivers and the water comes to cities, towns and villages. Earth is also unable to sustain that water. Flood causes a lot of miseries to all. Rainwater is properly channelised in the rivers and therefore rain becomes the source of water in dams. Then, as per the needs and requirement, dam water can be properly used. Dam water is used for generating electricity, irrigation and for drinking purposes. 

Q17. Explain the ending of the song.

Ans. The poet calls rain as earthly life. As on Earth, we all are born and die, similarly, rain also emerges from the sea, and then falls back to Earth before death. Life on Earth also goes through the birth and death process. 

Q18. Explain how rain is a messenger of mercy between the two lovers.

Ans. The ending of the song is like a farewell to all with love. “The rain recollects its various aspects. They are ‘sigh from the sea’, ‘laughter from the fields’ and ‘tears due to endless memories of time’. 

Q19. Explain the line ‘ The voice of thunder declares my arrival. The rainbow announces my departure’.

Ans. The fields and the clouds are lovers and between them, the rain is a messenger of mercy. The rain quenches the thirst of one and cures the ailment of the other. The field refers to Earth whereas the cloud refers to heaven. The rain as a messenger between the two tries to connect them as it is divine. As Earth is dry, it needs water, as water is the elixir of life. Therefore, the clouds burst, resulting in rainfall and the clouds are relieved. The rain is trying to suggest that both the Earth and the Heaven need each other and they both depend on rain.

Q20. Explain the lines ‘I am dotted silver threads dropped from heaven’ and ‘lam beautiful pearls, plucked from the crown of Ishtar’.  

Ans. Rain is like earthly life, which begins at the feet of the mad elements and ends Under the upraised wings of death. The rain falls accompanied by thundering. Its sound appears as if it announces the arrival of rain. Soon after the rain falls the beautiful rainbow appears in the sky as if it is informing the Earth about the departure of the rain. The rain is as short-lived as is man’s life on the Earth. It comes and goes just as the man is born and he dies. Both rain and earthly life are similar as both of them are born out of elements of nature and they both meet their death.

Q21. Rain in the hills and rain in the desert present entirely different scenarios. In the hills it revitalises the greenery and freshens the vegetation; it waters the parched land and relieves the thirsty and panting souls in the desert. This has been a year of scanty rains. Imagine how the rain would be welcomed when it pours in the hills and in the desert after a long dry spell. 
(a)What are you likely to see? 
(b) What would happen to the rainwater? 
(c) What would be the scene before and after the rain?

Ans. Rain always comes with joy after a dry spell. When the rain comes, the soil absorbs it and soon the hills and deserts change their dry look. In a hilly area, it presents a green and refreshing colour. In deserts, Earth starts changing its dull colour to greenish with vegetation coming up in the fields. The scanty vegetation of the desert looks fresh and greenish also. The temperature comes down. The dry environment becomes refreshing. Everybody enjoys the greenery and freshness all around.

Q22. Explain the significance of the ending of the poem.

Ans. The lakes are full of water after the rain. Nature takes the help of rainwater to beautify her fields and valleys. People become busy with the process of sowing crops.

Q23. The Poem. ‘Song of the Rain’ is the best form of personification. Illustrate this statement with examples.  

Ans. Actually, rain is regarded as a messenger of love, mercy and blessings. It quenches the thirst of the fields. It embraces all kinds. I of vegetation giving it a new lease of life. After the rain, Earth gets its power to sustain all kinds of life. The dry and uncomfortable environment is replaced by all-round greenery. Beauty and freshness. Everybody welcomes rain with an open heart and enjoys pleasant ambience.

Q1. How I laughed at my mother’s false teeth, As they foamed in the waters beneath, But now comes the reckoning It’s me that they are beckonin Oh! I wish I’d looked after me teeth 
(i) What does ‘they’ in line 2 stands for? 
(ii) The last line’ Oh! I wish I’d Looked After Me Teeth’ expresses………. 
(iii) The rhyming scheme of the stanza is ……..

Ans. (i) In the line 2 ‘they’ stands for teeth other mother,      
(ii) regret            
(iii) aabba 

Q2. Oh, I showed them the toothpaste all right, I flashed it about late at night, But up-and-down brushin’ And pokin’ and fussin’ Didn’t seem worth the time-I could bite! 
(i) What does the line T showed them the toothpaste’ imply? 
(ii) What does the line ‘Didn’t seem worth the time’ mean

Ans. (i) The line implies that the poet used to brush; but not properly.
(ii) The line means that as a child she felt brushing her teeth was a wastage of time, as she could bite without any difficulty. 

Q3. Oh, I wish I’d looked after me teeth, And spotted the perils beneath All the toffees I chewed, And the sweet sticky food Oh, I wish I’d looked after me teeth. 
(a) Why does the poetess wish that she had taken better care of her teeth? 
(b) What caused perils/decay beneath the poetess’s teeth? 
(c) The poetess ate ……….. and ………… is. 
(c) Sweet sticky food and chewed toffees.

Ans. (a) The poetess wishes that she should have taken better care of her teeth and wouldn’t have to face the problems she is facing now.
(b) The poetess used to chew a lot of toffees and sweet sticky food, which caused the decay beneath her teeth.
(c) Sweet sticky food and chewed toffees. 

Q4. I wish I’d been that much more willing’, When I had more tooth there than flllin’ To pass up gobstoppers, From respect to me choppers, And to buy something else with me shillin’ 
(a) What is the present scene inside the poetess’s mouth? 
(b) What happened to the poetess’s teeth when she continued eating all kinds of sweets? 
(c) Explain, from respect to me choppers’?

Ans. (a) The poetess’s teeth are eaten up by cavities. Most of her teeth are filled with amalgum.
(b) When she continued eating all kinds of sweets, her teeth decayed and needed more fillings
(c) This line suggests that now poetess should have paid more attention to her teeth by reducing eating sweets, 

Q5. When I think of the follies I licked, And liquorice all sorts I picked, Sherbet dabs, big and little, All that hard peanut brittle, My conscience gets horribly pricked. 
(a) Why does the poetess feel her conscience horribly pricked? 
(b) What was responsible for the poetess’s present state of pain and suffering and guilt feelings? 
(c) What did the poetess eat the most?

Ans. (a) Having almost all her teeth lost or filled and having gone through the extreme pain of drilling and fillings and having to wait for her turn at the old dentist’s clinic pricked the poetess’s conscience.
(b) The poetess’s love for a number of follies, liquorices, sherbets and peanut brittles was responsible for her present sufferings and guilt.
(c) The poetess ate all kinds of sweets like follies, liquorice, sherbet dabs, peanut brittles etc. 

Q6. Oh! I showed them the toothpaste all right, I flashed it about late at night, But up-and-down brushing, And pokin’ and fussin Didn’t seem worth the time-I could bite! 
(a) Whom did the poetess show the toothpaste? What does ‘show’ means? 
(b) What does poking and fussing mean? 
(c) What did the poetess flash about late at night?

Ans. (a) The poetess, as a child, showed her teeth as brushed with toothpaste to her parents, ‘show’ here means that she brushed very quickly only to please her parents.
(b) Poking and fussing refer to the inspection of the poetess’s teeth done by her mother each night. The poetess’s had to get her teeth inspected by her mother and the mother would blame her the bad brushing and decay that developed.
(c) The poetess’s flashed her toothbrush across her teeth late at night because brushing the teeth is done just before going to bed. 

Q7. If I’d known, I was paving the way To cavities, caps and decay, The murder of mlin’s Injections and drillin’s I’d have thrown all me sherbet away. 
(a) How did the poetess pave the way for cavities in her teeth? 
(b) Explain ‘murder of fillings’. 
(c) What had the poetess not known?

Ans. (a) The poetess paved the way for cavities in her teeth by eating a large amount of sweets, gobstoppers, follies, candies and by not brushing her teeth properly.
(b) ‘Murder of fillings’ means that when the filling is done it  is very painful for her.
(c) The poetess had not known that in eating all kinds of sweets she was causing tooth decay and would need  fillings in her teeth. 

Q8. So I lay in the old dentist’s chair, And I gaze up to his nose in despair, And his drill it do whine In these molars of mine “Two amalgam”, he’ll say, “for in there” 
(a) What would have the poetess done if she had known the pain she would suffer due to her teeth? 
(b) What is ‘amalgam’ ? 
(c) Pick out two expressions that add fear to the poet? How?

Ans. (a) Had the poetess known the pain, she would suffer because of her teeth she would have taken utmost care of her teeth and spent her money in purchasing something other than candies, sweets and sherbets.
(b) Amalgam is a filling made of mercury and silver.
(c) The expression is, His drill it does whine’ and amalgam for in there.’ The dentist is one who doesn’t generally treat patients with sympathy and so she is afraid of him.

Q9. How I laughed at my mother’s false teeth, As they foamed in the waters beneath But now comes the reckonin’ It’s me they are beckonin’ Oh I wish I’d looked after me teeth. 
(a) Explain ‘ But now comes the reckoning, it is me they are beckoning’. 
(b) What is ‘they’ in line 2 of the stanza? 
(c) When did the poetess laugh at her mother’s false teeth?  

Ans. (a) Now, the poetess has to pay for making fun of and laughing at her mother’s false teeth as now she also needs false teeth.
(b) ‘They’ refers to the teeth of the poetess’s mother.
(c) The poetess laughed at her mother’s false teeth when her teeth were in good condition during her childhood. 

Q10. But and up-down brushin’ And pokin and fussin’ Didn’t seem worth the time -1 could bite! What do these lines convey?

Ans. In these lines, the poetess described that she did not follow a proper pattern of brushing the teeth. She did not brush her teeth by moving the brush up and down in all the right directions and did not spend enough time brushing her teeth, as she could bite comfortably.  

Q11. Why did the poetess go to the dentist? How could she have avoided it?

Ans. The poetess went to the dentist for the treatment of her teeth by the process of drilling, filling or injection. She could have avoided this by eating less chocolates and sweets and by brushing her teeth properly and regularly. 

Q12. “If you got a tooth, you got a friend”, what do you understand from this line?

Ans.  It means that a tooth in the mouth is a friend who helps us in chewing food. If there is no tooth in the mouth, one can not chew food and becomes friendless.

Q13. With reference to the poem, how can you look after your teeth?

Ans. We can look after our teeth by avoiding eating chocolates, toffees, sticky sweets etc. It is also necessary to brush our teeth properly and regularly. 

Q14. Give an appropriate proverb that conveys the message that this poem carries.

Ans. Healthy and sparkling teeth. Add lustre to your health. 

Q15. The poetess has misspelt the word amalgum. Why do you think she has done that?

Ans. The poetess’s has knowingly miss pelt the word amalgam as amalgum because children are usually very fond of a candy known as chewing gum. Even while having the cavities in her teeth filled with amalgam, the poetess thinks of her favourite chewing gum and so she misspells the word. This misspelling is deliberate and is done to add humour.

Q16. Write some linguistic variations in the poem.

Ans. Some linguistic variations in the poem are
(i) ‘Me teeth’ for ‘my teeth’
(ii) ‘Me choppers’ for ‘my choppers’
(iii) ‘Me shillin’ for ‘my shillings.’
(iv) ‘All me sherbet’ for ‘all my sherbets.’ 

Q17. What did the poetess wish when she had more teeth than fillings?

Ans. The poetess had more teeth than fillings in her childhood but she didn’t care at all for the health of the teeth. Later she repented for not caring about them. She said she wished that she should have skipped eating hard sweets to keep healthy teeth.

Q18. Write a paraphrase of stanza (7). 
So, I lay in ………………………..he’ll say ‘for in there.’

Ans. The poetess has explained the way she sits in the old dentist’s chair. She looks at the nose of the dentist in hopelessness. She can also listen to the whining sound made by the drill while working in her molars. The dentist would say that two fillings are required to carry out in the molars.  

Q19. Explain the line ‘It’s me they are beckonin’ in the last stanza.

Ans. The poetess saw her mother’s false teeth foaming in the water which were kept there so as to be kept clean. She laughed while looking at them, but now, she is terrified. It means that she is afraid because the fun she used to make has become a reality for her now. She also would have such false teeth someday.  

Q20. The poetess kept on neglecting the care of her teeth; what was the consequence of this neglect?

Ans. The poetess kept on neglecting the care of her teeth. She continued to devour all the sweet stuff, but later regrets her habits which led to tooth decay, cavities, caps and tooth fillings. She also regrets that whenever she was asked to brush her teeth at night, she just pretended to do so and she thought she had fooled her parents and cheated them, but didn’t realise that she was cheating herself only.

Q21. What does the poetess, Pam Ayres, regret for? Why?  

Ans. When the poetess thought of all sorts of candies, tiny or bigger sweets she had eaten, her conscience pricked her. Now, she has fillings and tooth decay in her molars. She regrets neglecting her teeth and her careless and casual approach in brushing.  

Q22. Recently you have read the poem, ‘Oh, I Wish I’d Looked After Me Teeth’. Write a letter to your brother/sister advising him/her how he/she must take care of teeth to avoiding any damage.

Ans. House no 44, ABC Street PQR City
August 27, 2012
Dear Ram/Muskan
I hope this letter finds you in good health. Received your letter two days ago and sounds good that you have joined certain certificate courses to improve yourself in computers. I am giving you advice on how to keep our teeth healthy. You know that children like eating various sweets like toffees, gobstoppers, liquorices, sherbet dabs and other stickles. We brush our teeth very carelessly and casually. We think that eating these sticky sweets won’t harm our teeth, but these items slowly damage our teeth and hence cavities develop. Now I find that I too have developed a few cavities and shall have to go to the dentist for fillings. I shudder when I have to sit in the dentist’s chair gazing at him. So I advise you to stop eating sticky sweets at once. Brush your teeth twice a day. Brush carefully before going to bed. Never try to fool our parents, because in the long run, only you have to pay for such carelessness. So, if you don’t take care, then be ready for drilling and the pain involved with filling cavities. I hope you will remember my advice and do inform your classmates too. Getting late for work. Reply to your views on this important point. Convey my regards to Papa and Mummy. Take care.
Yours XYZ 

Q23. Read the following statement where T refers to ‘you’. 7 can’t afford to, after what Jack’s done to his teeth’, what is it, you think you can’t afford and why? Write a diary entry in not less than 125 words.

Ans. September^25,_2012 9:00 pm
Dear Diary
It was so bad to see Jack with decaying teeth. He had sparkling white teeth earlier. But now his cheeks have also deformed due to loss of teeth. It has ruined his personality. I can’t afford to lose my teeth like that. Healthy teeth lead to a healthy life, whereas decaying and diseased teeth lead to many health problems. There are a number of germs that get accumulated in the mouth. I cannot bear the terror of sitting in the dentist chair. So, I have decided to take good care of my teeth. I will now avoid eating sweets and toffees and brush my teeth properly to make my teeth sparkling like pearls. Not much hard work is required for that.  

Q24. Imagine yourself as the narrator of the poem; Express your regret over the damage of cavities, decay, etc in your teeth.

Ans. I wish I had taken care of my teeth when I had more good teeth than cavities. Now that I have those cavities I have to undergo drilling and have fillings. I have to bear the pain of drilling being done in my mouth. I could have averted this condition of mine, had I stopped eating all kinds of sticky sweets. The items I loved eating were candies, toffees, liquorices sweet hard peanuts, sherbet dabs etc. It is obvious that due to eating all kinds of sweets I had more cavities than before. Now, at this stage I regret neglecting the care of my teeth, I didn’t brush my teeth carefully, rather I thought my parents’ advice to be worthless; but now, I realise the value of those words, Now, I have to sit in the dentist’s chain after taking an appointment and bearing the pain. I also laughed at my mother’s dentures but now I feel that they are beckoning to me, I too have to use artificial teeth and someone else would similarly laugh at me. That is why it is well said, ‘As you sow, so shall you reap’. 

Q25. “Parents alone are responsible for inculcating a good sense of dental hygiene amongst children”. Do you agree with this statement?  

Ans. Yes, of course, It is the parents who are responsible for inculcating a good sense of dental hygiene amongst children. Children can’t be expected to live and behave like adults who know what is good and bad for them. It is the parents who guide their children and educate on hygiene. Actually, children have very/limited knowledge. Which toothpaste to use, how to brush, all these types of questions are answered and explained to children by adults only. As sweets are tasty, children eat them in greater quantities. It is mandatory to wash our mouth after eating, no matter if it is a sweet or any food item that we consume. Children do not know the harmful effects of not cleaning their teeth after eating, hence they keep. So, parents must teach their children, in fact, must caution them against the result of eating more sweets and the outcome in the form of teeth damage and decay. They will undergo the pain of drilling and fillings by the dentists. It is quite possible that someday they will wear false teeth.

Read the given extracts and answer the questions that follow:
Q1. In fair round belly with good capon lined, With eyes severe and beard of formal cut, Full of wise saws and modern instances.
(а) Which stage of life has been described here by Shakespeare?
(b) What are the features of this stage?
(c) Explain the last line. (CBSE2014)
Ans. (a) Here Shakespeare describes the fifth stage of life, that is, of justice.
(b) In this stage, man enjoys prosperity, self-satisfaction, and wisdom. He is fashionable. He has stem looks.
(c) At this stage, man is full of wise sayings and examples from contemporary life. He impresses others with his knowledge and wisdom.

Q2. All the world’s a stage And all the men and women merely players : They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages.
(а) What is the world compared to?
(b) Exits and entrances mean ………….
(c) What do you mean by ‘acts’ in the last line?
Ans. (a) The world is compared to the stage of a theatre.
(b) deaths and births.
(c) ‘Acts’ in the last line mean roles which a person enact in his life-time.

Q3. At first the infant Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.
(а) Which stage of life is being referred to here?
(b) What are the characteristics of this stage?
(c) Give the meaning of ‘mewing’.
Ans. (a) The stage of life described here is infancy.
(b) At this stage an infant is helpless and dependent.
(c) ‘crying’

Q4. Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel And shining morning face, creeping like snail Unwilling to school.
(а) What is the school going by described as?
(b) How does the schoolboy walk to school?
(c) Which simile has been used here?
Ans.
(а) The school-boy is described as unwilling to go to school.
(b) The schoolboy walks very slowly like a snail while going to school.
(c) ‘creeping like snail’.

Q5. And then the lover Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad Made to his mistress’ eyebrow
(a) Is the lover described happy?
(b) How does he behave?
(c) Which figure of speech has been used in the first two lines here?
Ans. (a) No. He is not happy. He is sorrowful.
(b) He sighs and writes sad verses in praise of his beloved’s beauty.
(c) It is a simile. It also acts as an image.

Q6. Then a soldier, Full of strange oaths, and feared like a pard, Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel, Seeking the bubble reputation Even in the cannon’s mouth.
(а) What is the soldier ready to do?
(b) What is the poetic device used in the second line?
(c) What does ‘bubble reputation’ mean?
Ans. (a) The solider is ready to die for name and fame.
(b) It is a simile.
(c) It means that reputation is as short-lived as the life of a bubble.

Q7.The sixth age shifts Into the lean and slippered pantaloon, With spectacles on nose and pouch on side. His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice, Turning again toward childish treble, pipes, And whistles in his sound
(а) What does the phrase ‘shrunk shank’ in this stanza mean?
(б) How is the voice of a man at this stage?
(c) What stage of a man’s life is referred to in these lines?
Ans. (а) It means that his legs become weak and thin.
(b) The voice of a man at this stage becomes shrill like that of a child,
(c) It is the sixth stage of man’s life.

Q8. Last scene of all, That ends this strange eventful history, Is second childishness and mere oblivion, Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
(a) What is man’s condition in the last stage of life?
(b) What do you mean by ‘sans’ ?
(c) What does ‘second childishness’ mean?
Ans. (a) Man is very old and dependent in the last stage of life.
(b) It means ‘without’.
(c) It means that man is helpless like a child.

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS (SOLVED)

Answer each of the following questions in 30-40 words.
Q1. What is the significance of the words ‘entrances’ and ‘exits’ in the poem ‘The Seven Ages’? (CBSE 2014)
Ans. Human life has been compared by the poet to a stage of theatre where actors, appear, enact their roles and quit. ‘Entrances’ here signify human births and ‘exits’ deaths. Human beings take birth, play their parts and die.

Q2. Explain ‘mewling and puking’ in the nurse’s arms. (CBSE 2014)
Ans. The infant cries and vomits milk in the arms of his nurse. He can do nothing but cry to express his needs. He is totally helpless and dependent.

Q3. Why does a man in his life play many parts? (CBSE 2014)
Ans. A man is fated to play many roles in his life. As he grows, his role changes and his character also changes accordingly. He takes birth only to play different roles-the roles of an infant, a school boy, a lover, a soldier, a judge, an old and senile person.

Q4. Describe the second stage of life as elaborated by Shakespeare in the poem ‘The Seven Ages’. (CBSE)
Ans. The second stage of life is the school-going age. The schoolboy sulks as he does not want to go to school. He walks to school as slowly as a snail. He has, of course, a bright face, like that of a sunny morning.

Q5. Explain the first stage of human life. (CBSE 2014)
Ans. Infancy is the first stage of human life. An infant cries and vomits milk in the arms of his nurse. He is helpless and dependent.

Q6. What characteristics would you associate with the stage of a soldier?
(CBSE 2014)
Ans. Energy, enthusiasm, rashness, and patriotism are some of the characteristics of a soldier. A soldier can sacrifice even his life for short-lived reputation.

Q7. Explain the line ‘the lean and slippered pantaloon’. (CBSE 2014)
Ans. The line reveals that in the sixth stage of life, man becomes quite lean and thin. He wears slippers. He looks like a funny old man in his loose clothes.

Q8. Explain the stage of justice. (CBSE 2014)
Ans. The stage of being a judge is perhaps the best. At this stage, man is prosperous and well-fed. He looks stern and impressive. He is full of wise sayings and examples from contemporary life to prove his point.

Q9. Compare the sixth stage with the seventh stage. (CBSE 2014)
Ans. The sixth stage is that in which man becomes old, weak and thin. In his loose clothes, he looks funny. In the seventh stage, he becomes senile. He enters into ‘second childishness’. He is as dependent upon others as a child. He has no teeth, no sense of taste and loses every mental faculty.

VALUE-BASED LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS (SOLVED)

Q1. If human life is nothing but a ‘tamasha’, what message does the poet want to convey to us?
Ans. Shakespeare, through one of his characters Jaques, wants us to realize the fact that human life is like the stage of a theatre. Men and women, like actors, come, play their roles and quit. Each stage of life has its own peculiarities. Nothing good and charming remains for long. The same man who looks charming and dashing looks weak, thin and funny in old age. Then why should we take life seriously? Why should we sulk and complain? We should accept our fate humbly. We should be ready to play our role on the stage of life to quit forever. Nothing in this world is permanent. Nothing is in our hands.

Q2. Describe in brief the seven stages in man’s life.
Ans. Shakespeare conveys through his character Jaques, that human life can be divided into seven stages. The first stage is that of an infant who is totally helpless and dependent. Then the second stage is that of the school-going boy. He is unwilling to go to school. In the third stage, a man plays the role of a lover who heaves deep sighs in the absence of his beloved. In the next stage, he is an energetic, rush soldier who is ready to sacrifice even his life for short-lived reputation. In the fifth stage, he plays the role of prosperous, well fed judge. He shows off his wisdom and knowledge to impress others. Then in the sixth stage, he is a weak, thin old man. He looks funny in his loose clothes. The last stage is that of senility when a man becomes childlike. He loses his reflexes and senses. Thus, ends the drama of his life.

Q1. Behold her, single in the field, Yon solitary Highland lass! Reaping and singing by herself; Stop here or gently pass! 
(i) Identify the speaker and the listener. 
(ii) He is asking them ……………….. 
(iii) The poet is asking them to do so because…………….. 
or 
(i) What is the solitary reaper doing?
(ii) Why does the poet ask the readers to gently pass? 
(iii) What is the effect of the reaper’s song on the poet?

Ans. (i) The poet William Wordsworth is the speaker and the passers-by are the speakers respectively.
(ii) The poet is asking them to come and relish the moment quietly or to pass by without disturbing the peasant girl.
(iii) the Highland lass is singing attentively and he does not want them to divert her attention.
or
(i) The solitary reaper is singing a song while reaping the crops.
(ii) The poet says so as he thinks that the girl might get disturbed and hence stop singing.
(iii) The poet is spellbound by the melodious song of the girl. 

Q2. Alone she cuts and binds the grain, And sings a melancholy strain: O listen! for the vale, profound Is overflowing with the sound. 
(i) Identify ‘she’ in the current stanza. 
(ii) She is………………… 
(iii) She is singing…………………. 
or 
(i) What is she doing? 
(ii) What is the meaning of the expression ‘vale profound’? 
(iii) What is the meaning of ‘a melancholy strain’?

Ans. (i) She refers to the solitary reaper.
(ii) harvesting and singing.
(iii) a sad song.
or
(i) She is cutting, binding and singing.
(ii) The expression ‘vale profound’ refers to the vast deep valley.
(iii) “A melancholy strain’ means a sad song.

Q3. No nightingale did ever chant More welcome notes to weary bands Of Travellers in some shady haunt, Among Arabian Sands. 
(i) Identify the poetic device used in the last line. 
(ii) The speaker quotes the example of the nightingale as………………………
(iii) What do you understand by ‘some shady haunt’?

Ans. (i) The poet has used alliteration in the last line.
(ii) he wants to establish that her voice is more enchanting than that of the nightingale.
(iii) It refers to an oasis in the deserts of Arabia which is frequented by travellers.

Q4. A voice so thrilling ne’er was heard In spring-time from the cuckoo bird Breaking the silence of the seas Among the farthest Hebrides. 
(i) Identify the poetic device used in the last two lines. 
(ii) The speaker compares the voice of the reaper with that of the cuckoo because 
(iii) What wonder does the voice of the solitary reaper has? 
or 
(i) What are ‘the farthest Hebrides’? 
(ii) Whose voice has been mentioned in the above lines? 
(iii) Why has the cuckoo bird been mentioned? What does the poet want to convey? 
or 
(i) Name the poem and the poet of these lines. 
(ii) What is the poetic device used in this stanza? 
(iii) Why does the poet compare the song of the reaper to that of a cuckoo?

Ans. (i) Alliteration is used in the last two lines ‘Silence of the Seas.’
(ii)  he wants to establish that her voice is more thrilling and enchanting than that of the cuckoo.
(iii) The voice of the solitary reaper reaches a very long distance, as far as ‘the farthest Hebrides’.
or
(i) The farthest Hebrides’ refers to the remote group of islands that lie to the North-West of Scotland.
(ii) The voice of the solitary reaper has been mentioned here.
(iii) The cuckoo bird has been mentioned to compare the solitary reaper’s voice. The poet wants to convey that the voice of the solitary reaper is more melodious than that of the cuckoo.
or
(i) Poem-The Solitary Reaper;  Poet William Wordsworth.
(ii) Alliteration-‘Silence of the Seas’ is used in this stanza.
(iii) The poet wants to convey that the voice of the solitary reaper is more melodious than that of the cuckoo. 

Q5. Will no one tell me what she sings? Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow For old, unhappy, far-off things, And battles long ago. 
(i) The poet speaks the first line because The poet conjectures about the song that it may be about……………….. 
(ii) ‘Plaintive numbers’ means ……………….. 
or 
(i) What do the above lines convey about the poet? 
(ii) What do you mean by ‘plaintive numbers’? 
(iii) What are the ‘plaintive numbers’ about?

Ans. (i) the poet is unable to comprehend what the solitary reaper is singing.
(ii) the sad song of the reaper.
or
(i) The poet though mesmerised by the reaper’s song, is unable to understand it.
(ii) ‘Plaintive numbers’ refers to the sad song of the reaper.
(iii) The ‘plaintive numbers’ are about some unhappy happenings of the past. 

Q6. Or is it some more humble lay, Familiar matter of today? Some natural sorrow, loss or pain, That has been and maybe again? 
(i) The poet conjectures about………………….. 
(ii) Lay here means what? 
(iii) Explain the last line. 
or 
(i) Who is singing and where? 
(ii) What is the poet trying to guess? 
(iii) What does ‘humble lay’ stand for?

Ans. (i) the subject matter of the song of the reaper.
(ii) It means the song.
(iii) The reaper could be singing about the loss or pain which has already occurred and may occur again. This sorrow is of universal nature.
or
(i) The solitary reaper is singing in the field.
(ii) The poet is trying to guess the theme of the song.
(iii) ‘Humble lay’ stands for the song of the reaper which may be about a common thing.

Q7. Whatever the theme, the maiden sang As if her song could have no ending; I saw her singing at her work, And o’er the sickle bending; 
(i) Explain’ whatever the theme’. 
(ii) The speaker calls her song having no ending because……………………….
(iii) Which line suggests that she is still harvesting? 
or 
(i) Whose song is being referred to here? 
(ii) Why cannot the poet understand the theme of the song being sung? 
(iii) How did it affect the poet?  

Ans. (i) She is singing in an unknown dialect and the poet does not understand the theme of the song.
(ii) his heart was filled with the song even after his departure.
(iii) The last line suggests that she is still harvesting and singing.
or
(i) The song of the solitary reaper is being referred to here.
(ii) Perhaps he is unaware of the native dialect in which the girl was singing.
(iii) The song had an indelible impression on the poet’s heart and he could hear it even when he was far away from the solitary reaper. 

Q8. How does the poet describes the song of the solitary reaper? 
or 
How does Wordsworth brings out the sweetness of the solitary reaper’s song?

Ans. The poet is greatly fascinated by the sad tone of the solitary reaper. He feels that her voice and melody have outshone even the voices of the nightingale and the cuckoo. The song fills the farthest corner of the valley, entering into the heart of the listeners.

Q9. Why has William Wordsworth compared the solitary reaper’s song with the song of a nightingale and the cuckoo? 
or 
Comment on the comparison of the solitary reaper’s song with the other birds as given in the poem.

Ans. The voice of the solitary reaper is incomparable and has surpassed that of the nightingale and the cuckoo. It is more melodious than that of the nightingale, that can soothe the weary travellers in the Arabian desert. Her voice is better than even the sweetest song of the cuckoo that sings at the break of every spring.

Q10. What request does the poet make to the passers-by and why? 
or 
Why does the poet want the passers-by to stop or gently pass?

Ans. The reaper is deeply engrossed in harvesting and singing so that she is completely forgetful of her surroundings. According to the poet, such dedication and preoccupation need not to be interrupted or she might stop singing. So, he requests them either to pass silently or to stop and listen to her song.

Q11. Having failed to understand the lyrics of the song, what does the poet wish? 
or 
Why did the poet ask someone to tell him what the solitary reaper was singing?

Ans.  As the solitary reaper belongs to the highland region of Scotland, she is singing in Gaelic, which the poet does not comprehend. Yet, his soul is mesmerised by her beautiful voice. When he does not understand the lyrics of the song, but is greatly influenced, thereby he wishes someone could explain to him the contents of her song.

Q12. What are the guesses the poet makes with regard to the solitary reaper’s song? 
or 
What are the probable themes of the song being sung by the solitary reaper? or Wordsworth did not understand the words of the song sung by the reaper. However, he raises a few possibilities- what are these?

Ans. The poet is not able to comprehend the dialect of the reaper’s song. But it appeared melancholic to him. He makes some guesses. According to him, she may be singing about some unhappy events of the past or about the war fought years ago. She may be singing about some current familiar topic or some natural misfortunes. 

Q13. Why do you think Wordsworth has chosen the song of the nightingale and the cuckoo for comparison with the solitary reaper’s song?

Ans. Wordsworth has chosen the song of the nightingale and the cuckoo for comparison with the song of the reaper to highlight the incomparable sweetness of the reaper’s song. The poet wants to convey that the voice and song of the solitary reaper are both sweet and wonderful. 

Q14. In the first stanza, some words or phrases have been used to show that the girl working in the fields is alone. Which are those words and phrases? What effect do they create in the mind of the reader?

Ans. The words ‘single’ and ‘solitary’ and the phrase ‘all by herself reflect the solitude of the girl working in the fields all by herself. These are enough to invoke awe in the minds of the reader, as they enrich the scene with a feeling of romance.

Q15. justify the title of the poem, ‘The Solitary Reaper’.

Ans. The title of the poem is an apt one. The title indicates that the contents of the poem relate to a harvester who is all alone and who is the protagonist of the poem. The word solitary also reflects her untold pain of loneliness and evokes our sympathy with the reaper.

Q16. What effect does the song of the reaper has on the poet? or What is the effect of the solitary reaper’s song on the poet William Wordsworth?  

Ans. The poet was captivated by the reaper’s melancholic song. He stood motionless and heard it in rapt attention. The song left a long-lasting impression in his heart. He bore her music in his heart for a long time afterward even when he could not hear the song.

Q17. Music doesn’t know boundaries. Wordsworth was not able to understand the dialect of the song of the reaper and even though it was melancholic, it left a long-lasting impression in his heart. Describe, in your own words, how music can soothe the tired one even if one doesn’t understand it.

Ans. Wordsworth was on his way when he heard the ‘melancholic strain’ of the solitary reaper, which totally mesmerised him. He was awestruck even though the song was a sad one and he could not understand the language in which the girl was singing. This is what music does. It doesn’t know boundaries. It affects all and the source of the sound doesn’t matters. In the deserts, the nightingale’s song welcomes the tired travellers. In springtime, the cuckoo bird breaks the silence of the seas. Music is above the barriers of language and tones. It affects us and enchants us. 

Q18. Imagine yourself as the poet Wordsworth. You had a wonderful experience listening to the song of the highland girl while out for a walk in the countryside. Write an article expressing the feelings evoked by her song.

Ans. The Song I Can’t Forget By William Wordsworth I have heard a good number of melodies, sung by veteran singers in my life. But the song I heard on that day while travelling in the valley of the Scotland hills, by a reaper, really mesmerised me. The voice, tune, and lyrics all sounded quite wonderful. Perhaps she was singing from the depth of her soul. Her voice outshone that of the nightingale and the cuckoo. That voice was a lullaby for the infants, solace for the tired souls and a feast for music lovers. I wish I could hear that voice daily.

Q19. Describe the theme of the poem, ‘The Solitary Reaper’.

Ans. The poem conveys the theme of the ironic beauty of melancholy over more positive feelings such as joy, projected through the song of a highland girl. He writes specifically about a real human tune heard in a pastoral background. The poet hears the girl singing and finds the song really wonderful. Even though he does not understand her song, he is struck by the beauty of her song and admits that he carried it in his heart long after he couldn’t actually hear it anymore. To an extent, this poem ponders the boundaries of language but praises the beauty of music and the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings that Wordsworth has identified at the heart of poetry. 

Q20. Describe the style of the poem, including the use of poetic devices.  

Ans. The solitary reaper is a short lyrical ballad. The poem is bifurcated into four stanzas, having eight lines each. The poem is dominated by one central figure, a Scottish girl, standing alone in afield harvesting grain and singing melodiously.. The poem is written in the first person and can be categorised as pastoral,   describing a scene from country life.
Each stanza follows a rhyme scheme of ababccdd, though in the first and last stanzas the ‘a’ rhyme is off (field/self and sang/work). The literary devices lend richness to the poem. Hyperbole is a type of figurative speech. It is an exaggeration. In the current poem, ‘breaking the silence of the seas Among the farthest Hebrides’ is an example of hyperbole. There are also several instances of Alliteration.

Q1. 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; 
(i) Explain ‘yellow wood’. 
(ii) The speaker is feeling sorry because____. 
(iii) Why is the poet confused? 
or 
(i) “_____ long I stood.” Where is the poet standing? 
(ii) What is doing while he is standing? 
(iii) Why can’t the poet travel on both the roads?

Ans. (i) The poet is standing amidst a jungle where the leaves of the trees have yellowed.
(ii) he can’t travel both roads.
(iii) The poet seems to be confused about which road will have more potential. He is not able to make a decision.
or
(i) The poet is standing at a divergence in the woods.
(ii) He is staring down the road and wondering which road he should take.
(iii) Obviously, the poet can travel only on one road at a time as he is an individual.

Q2. 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. 
(i) Where are these lines taken from? 
(ii) What is the rhyme scheme of these lines? 
(iii) Why did the speaker choose the other road?

Ans.  (i) These lines are taken from the poem The Road Not Taken’.
(ii) The rhyme scheme of these lines is ‘abaab’.
(iii) The speaker chose the other road because it appealed to him as it was more grassy and less worn out than the other.

Q3. 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) Which morning is the poet talking about? 
(ii) Explain the second line. 
(iii) The speaker decides to _______. 
or 
(i) What does ‘both’ in the above lines refer to? 
(ii) What do you mean by ‘In leaves, no step had trodden black’? 
(iii) What is the poet doubtful about?

Ans. (i) The morning the speaker begins his journey on that road.
(ii) It reflects that the roads have been used by none.
(iii) take the chosen road and take the other one later.
or
(i) ‘Both’ refers to the two roads that diverged in different directions.
(ii) It reflects that the roads have been used by none.
(iii) The poet seems to be doubtful about his choice. 

Q4. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I? I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference. 
(i) Identify the poetic device used in the first line. 
(ii) The speaker sighs, ____ 
(iii) Identify ‘that’ in the last line. 
or 
(i) What does the narrator want to say about the choice? 
(ii) What does the narrator feel on his decision? 
(iii) What does the narrator think about his later life?

Ans. (i) ‘Onomatopoeia’ is the poetic device used in the above lines.
(ii) thinking that had he chosen the worn out road, he would have succeeded in life.
(iii) That refers to the poet’s decision.
or
(i) The narrator appears to be lamenting the choice that he had made.
(ii) The narrator is not happy about his decision.
(iii) Thinking about his later life, the poet sighs. It shows that he will regret his decision.

Q5. 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) Whom does T refer to? 
(ii) Which road does the poet choose and why? 
(iii) What is the doubt the poet was referring to? 
or 
(i) What is the poet describing in this extract? 
(ii) Why does the poet doubt his come back? 
(iii) Explain the first line of the extract.  

Ans. (i) ‘I’ refers to the poet, Robert Frost.
(ii) The poet chose the road which was less travelled as it appealed to him.
(iii) The poet doubted whether he would ever come back to the first road.
or
(i) The poet is describing how one decision leads to another.
(ii) As one way leads to another, the poet doubts that he would ever come back.
(iii) The poet wants to convey that one decision leads to another and we seldom get a chance to change them.

Q6. Describe the two roads that the speaker comes across. or Describe the two roads that the author finds. Which road does he choose?

Ans. The poet comes across a road splitting into two in the yellow woods. He has to choose one of them. One road went into the undergrowth. The other road is not used much. It appears to be very promising to him. So, he decides to take the second road.

Q7. Which road does the speaker choose? Why? 
or 
Why did Frost think that the other road had a better claim? or What does the narrator decide to choose the path that was less travelled by?

Ans. He chooses the grassy road as it appears to be quite favourable to him. He is reluctant to follow the tradition of using the road a number of people have used previously. So, he does not take the well-trodden road. He appears to be adventurous.

Q8. What does the poet promise himself, though he can’t keep his promise? 
or 
Was the poet able to travel on the road he had left for another day?

Ans. The poet promised himself that he would come back some other time and take the often travelled road, Though he knows in his heart, that he won’t be able to keep his promise because a decision, once taken, can’t be changed, as one decision leads to another.

Q9. Does the speaker seem happy about his decision? or Was the poet satisfied with his decision of choosing the second road? Why/why not?

Ans. The poet’s sigh indicates that he is not satisfied about his decision. It is his decision of taking the unused road which has made all the difference in his life. Had he chosen the worn-out road, things would have been different for him.

Q10. The poet says, “I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference.” What is the difference that the poet mentions? 
or 
The poet says, “I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference.” What is ‘the difference’?

Ans. He does not seem happy and satisfied and sighs as the outcome of his decision is not very positive. He regrets that he has chosen the grassy road and because of that his ambition remains unfulfilled.

Q11. justify the title ‘The Road Not Taken’.

Ans. The title ‘The Road Not Taken’ is an apt one, as it indicates the road not travelled, which serves as a metaphor. The roads here indicate the dilemmas that we face in our lives. Our future is a result of the paths that we take.

Q12. Which road would you choose and why?

Ans. I would choose the worn-out road and not the grassy one as the well travelled path leads to a destination. But saying is one thing and doing is another. I can say so as I have read about the poet’s regret. Maybe I would have also taken the grassy road if I wanted to reach a new or unknown destination. It is difficult to say anything.

Q13. Does the title of the poem seem to oppose the content of the poem? How?

Ans. Yes, the title surely opposes the content of the poem. In the poem, the speaker takes the road and later he reflects on the outcome of this choice. But he names the poem after the road he has not taken.

Q14. What do the two roads symbolise in the poem ‘The Road Not Taken’? or What do the two roads stand for in the poem, ‘The Road Not Taken’?

Ans. The two roads symbolise choices in life. But we are always confused about what to choose. If the options are tempting and fascinating, it almost becomes impossible to make a decision. We always try our best to make the best decision. Our decision may prove wrong or right in the long run.

Q15. Write a note on the poet’s style in the poem.

Ans. The poem is narrated in the first person. Its title is misinterpreted as ‘The Road Less Travelled’. Aside from the larger investigation into choice, ‘The Road Not Taken’ has many poetic devices like alliteration, repetition, onomatopoeia, symbolism, imagery and personification, which enhance the poem’s overall tone and the speaker’s voice. 

Q16. Write a note on the symbolism and personification used in the poem.

Ans. The ‘road’ symbolises the decision the speaker has to make in life in order to progress and continue on. Next, ‘because it was grassy and wanted wear’, is an example of personification as we know that a road cannot have a desire want to wear.

Q17. What conflict does the poet face in ‘The Road Not Taken’?

Ans. The poet is confused about the path that he should choose. He has a choice to make but is thinking about which path to follow. He cannot tell which path would be more fruitful. Moreover, he cannot travel both paths.  

Q18. What do you understand by ‘wanted wear’ according to the poem, ‘The Road Not Taken’?

Ans. The road has been personified by Robert Frost here. The road appears to be ‘wanting wear’ as nobody had walked on it. It was avoided by the travellers. The poet is quite adventurous and takes the path that others seldom take.

Q19. What does the choice made by the poet indicate about his personality in the poem ‘The Road Not Taken’?  

Ans. Robert Frost chose the road which others avoided or seldom took. This indicates that the poet is brave and adventurous. He likes to take risks and make his own path rather than following others. 

Q20. Imagine yourself in place of the poet. You want to choose one of the roads. Which road would you choose and why?

Ans. If there are two roads before me, I would choose the unused and not the worn-out road. Though the worn-out road appears more alluring and welcoming, yet I would avoid it. We all know that a comfortable and smooth road can never lead to fulfilment of ambition, as the path to success is always beset with obstructions and hurdles. I know that the grassy road is not easy to cross, but if I want to be successful in life, I have to tread this difficult path. My friends may persuade me to choose the easy path, but I would hear the voice of my instinct, which would remind me of the troubles the legends had to face on the path to success.

Q21. How is the theme of the poem applicable to life? or Making choices seems to be a part of everyone’s life. Yet, they need to be made. Elaborate in relation to the poem, ‘The Road Not Taken’.

Ans. Decisions play an important role in our life. Making the right decision is really tough. We don’t know if our decision is going to prove beneficial in the long run. Yet, we have to make a decision. Once we make a choice, we cannot go back, as one decision leads to another. To restart life from a convenient point is not easy in life.  We can’t go back and correct ourselves, as we have  travelled a long distance. What we can do is that we have to be very wise and careful, while making a decision. We have to visualise the possible consequences of our decisions and then make the best decision as far as possible. 

Q22. Suppose your decision has proved wrong and you want to change your decision, but you can’t. Write a diary entry, expressing your regret and helplessness.

 Ans. Wednesday 12th March, 20XX, 10 pm
Dear Diary
Today, I am shocked to see the negative consequences of my wrong decision. I chose the grassy road and deserted the other, which was worn out. The grassy road appeared to have good prospects. Today. I realise that everything that glitters is not gold. I wish I could change my decision. But a decision is not a text that whenever we want. we can replace it with a new one. Every decision leaves an indelible impression on our life. It changes the course of our life. It makes us happy or sad. But how could one predict the outcome of one’s decision? I think it is destiny and not the decision which gets one success. I am quite helpless but I can’t do anything, but regret. Khitij