MODEL QUESTIONS FOR THE PLUS ONE STUDENTS FROM ENGLISH TEXT

I. Read the following excerpt and answer the questions

                                                                                HIS FIRST FLIGHT

1) He leaned out eagerly , tapping the rock with his feet, trying to get nearer to her as she flew across. But when she was just opposite to him, abreast of the ledge, she halted, her legs hanging limp, her wings motionless, the piece of fish in her beak almost within reach of his beak.

a). Who is the “He” in the excerpt?

b). Which word in the excerpt means “stopped”?

c). What was the mother trying to do?

2)“He even gnawed at the dried pieces of eggshell. It was like eating a part of himself”. These lines show how desperately hungry the young seagull was.

a) Do you think his parents were too cruel to ignore him?

b) Can you justify the attitude of the parent gulls? Why?

3) If you can dream –and not make dreams your master; If you can think- and not make thoughts your aim, If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two imposters just the same:

a) What is meant by the word “imposters”?

b) Why shouldn’t one make dreams one’s master?

c) Why should triumph and disaster be treated as imposters just the same?

4) Only his mother was looking at him. She was standing on a little high hump on the plateau, her white breast thrust forward.

a) Whose mother is referred to in the excerpt?

b)What is the implied meaning of the first sentence?

c) Write a note on the role of parents towards the well being of their children?

5) Still they took no notice of him. He saw his two brothers and his sister lying on the plateau dozing, with their heads sunk into their necks. His father was preening the feathers on his white back. Only his mother was looking at him.

a) Explain he context.

b) Do you think that the parents mentioned in the extract were cruel?

c) Can you justify the attitude of the parents?

6) And all the morning, the whole family had walked about on the big plateau midway down the opposite cliff laughing at his cowardice.

a)  Explain the context?

b) Do you think the action of the family members justifiable?

c) What do you mean by the word “Cowardice”?

7) “He leaned out eagerly, tapping the rock with his feet, trying to get nearer to her as she flew across.”

a) Who is the “he” referred here?

b) Why did he tap the rock with his feet?

c)What is the meaning of the phrase  “leaned out”?

8) He waited a moment in surprise, wondering why she did not come nearer and then maddened by hunger he dived at the fish.

a) Who is referred to as ‘he’ in the excerpt?

b) What was ‘she’ doing  and why?

c) What happened after ‘he’ had dived?

9) He uttered a joyous scream and flapped them again. He soared higher. He raised his breast and banked against the wind

a) Who uttered a joyous scream?

b) What do you mean by the word “soared”?

c) Who was swooping past him making a loud noise?

10) “Then he completely forgot that he had not always been able to fly, and commenced to dive and soar, shrieking shrilly.”

a) Who commence to dive and soar?

b) What do you mean by the word ‘commenced’?

c) Who motivated him to fly?

11) He was floating on it. And around him, his family was screaming, praising him, and their beaks were offering him scraps of dog-fish.

a) What do you mean by floating?

b) Where did his feet sink at this time?

c) What do you think the role of family members in bringing up the young ones?  

                                                                                I WILL FLY

12. “Last year I went to a village to inaugurate a programme called “Sasthrayaan”?

a) What is meant by the term “Sasthrayaan”?

b)Who is referred to as ‘I’ in the excerpt? Why was he invited  to that function?

c) What was the mission of ‘Sasthrayaan’?

13. Every youth wants to be unique, that is you!. But the world around you is doing its best, day and night to make you just everybody else!

a) What is Dr.Kalam’s advice to the Indian youth?

b) How can you be unique?

c) Why did Dr.Kalam value the boy’s question?

14. Last year I went to a village to inaugurate a programme called Sasthrayaan which means the propagation of Science. The mission of Sasthrayaan was to ensure the propagation of about two thousand students from different schools towards making them eligible to be engineers, doctors,, qualified managers and civil servants.

a) Identify the speaker

b) Why did the speaker go to a village?

c)Who were the listeners of the speech?

d) What was the mission of Sasthrayaan?

15. He was nervous and a typical representative of the youth of India.

a) Who is referred to as ‘he” in the excerpt?

b) Why is he described as the typical representative of the youth of India?

c) Who made the remark as  nervous and typical representative youth of India?

16. My dear friend, you have put the most difficult question among the many questions received from millions and millions of students whom I have met.

a) Who is referred here as ‘my dear friend”?

b) What makes the question to describe as the most difficult one?

c) Who is referred to as ‘I’ ?

17 . You have to fight the hardest battle which any human being can ever imagine, and never stop fighting until you arrive at your destined place.

a) What is referred here as the ‘hardest battle’?

b) Who is the speaker in this excerpt?

c) What is the destined place described here?

                                                                QUEST FOR A THEORY OF EVERYTHING

18. He invited them to join him in a sensational escape through time and space to find the Holy Grail of science.

a) Whom did Stephen Hawking invite to join in a sensational escape?

b) What is described as the Holy Grail of Science?

c)When did he make this speech?

19. He became popular and well-accepted among his peers. They remember him as lively, buoyant, and adaptable.

a) Who is referred here as popular and well-accepted?

b) Where did he become lively, buoyant and adaptable?

c) What was the music he liked at this time?

20. Hawking contracted a rare disease for which there was no known cure.

a) What was the rare disease Hawking contracted?

b) When did Hawking get this rare disease?

c) What was the name of the disease?

21. “Another recurring dream was the idea of sacrificing my life to save others. After all, if I were going to die, I might as well do some good”

a) Who shared this idea?

b) Why did the speaker share this idea of sacrificing his life?

c)What happened to him after two years?

22. “In fact, although there was a cloud hanging over my future, I found to my surprise that I was enjoying life in the present, more than before”

a) Who expressed this optimistic thought of life?

b) What was the cloud hanging over the speaker’s future?

c) Why did the speaker express this kind of attitude to his life?

23. “ ‘My dreams at that time were rather confused’, he admitted. Before my condition was diagnosed, I had been very bored with life. There did not seem to be anything worth doing. But shortly I came out of hospital, I dreamt that I was going to be executed”

a) Identify the speaker?

b) What times were his dreams rather confused at?

c) I was going to be executed   (Use a single word for the underlined words)

d) What drastic change came over Hawking after the diagnosis of the disease?

e) What trait of Hawking’s character do you detect here?

24. “To her, this dishevelled graduate student seemed terribly intelligent, eccentric and rather arrogant. But he was interesting and she liked his wit.

a) Who is referred to here as ‘her’?

b) Who is the disheveled graduate student described in this excerpt?

c) Write the meaning of the word ‘dishevelled’.     

d) Write one of the qualities of her.

25. “In 1965, at the age of twenty-three, Hawking received his fellowship at Caius”.

a) What important thing happened in his life that year?      

b) Whom did Hawking marry?

c) What did she like most in his character?

26. “She was rather a shy teenager, serious minded with a strong faith in God”

a) Who is described as a shy teenager?

b) Who helped her to have strong faith in God?

c)    What was the brave decision she took in her life?                                                                                     

27. “One will encounter a multitude of paradoxes in the book. In science and with people things are often not what they seem and pieces that ought to fit together refuse to do so”

a) Where can one encounter a multitude of paradoxes ?

b) When did the author publish that book?

c) With whose support did the author publish that book?

28. “He chooses to ignore the difficulty and he expects others to adopt the same attitude”.

a) Who is the ‘he’ referred in this excerpt?

b) What is the attitude he expects others to adopt?

c) What is the difficulty mentioned in the excerpt? Write one of the good qualities that you find in Hawkings.

                                                                                IF

29. “If you can meet Triumph and Disaster  And treat those two imposters just the same”

a) Identify the speaker

b) Whom does ‘you’refer to?

c) Why are ‘Triumph’ and ‘disaster’ called as imposters?

d) Identify the figure of speech in these lines.

e) Do you agree with the idea in these lines?

30. “If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And which is more –you will be a Man my son”

a) What is the message conveyed in this stanza?

b) What is the poer’s approach?

c) Comment on the metaphor given in the stanza.

                                                UNIT  2 WORDS AND DEEDS

AND THEN GANDHI CAME

                                                                               

31. We had become a derelict nation. We seemed to be helpless in the grip of some all-powerful monster: our limbs were paralysed and our minds deadened.

a) What is referred here as all powerful monster?

b) Why were our limbs paralysed?

c) What does Nehru mean by ‘we had become a derelict nation’?

32. And then Gandhi came. He was like a powerful current of fresh air that made us stretch ourselves and take deep breaths, like a beam of light that pierced the darkness…..

a) What is the incident referred to in the passage?

b) Who made us stretch ourselves and take deep breaths?

c)  What do you mean by ‘removing the scales from eyes’?

33. The dominant impulse in India under British rule was that of fear-pervasive oppressing, strangling fear, fear of army, the police, the widespread secret service……..

a) Who asked to fight against fear?

b) Name some kinds of fear people had under the British rule.

c) What is the word used by Nehru to refer to fearlessness?

34. Proud of his Hindu inheritance as he was, he tried to give to Hinduism a kind of universal attire and included all religions within the fold of truth.

a) Who was proud of his Hindu inheritance?

b) How did he give universal attire to Hinduism?

c) What is so special about Indian culture?

                                                THE PRICE OF FLOWERS

35. “Please, Miss, can you tell me if that gentleman is an Indian?”

a) Who is the speaker?

b) Whom does the speaker address as Miss?

c) Why was the speaker interested in Indian?

36. “The girl was thirteen or fourteen years old. Her clothes betrayed her poverty. Her hair hung in a heavy stream down her back.”

a) Who is the girl referred here?

b) Who makes the above observation of the girl?

c) Where did this above incident happen?

37. “It surprised me. Why? What was the matter? Her interest in me aroused my interest in her.”

a) Who is referred as ‘her’ in this excerpt?

b) Who was surprised?

c) Why was she interested in him?

38. “The work is very mechanical. I want work that will make me use my head , brain work”

a) Who is the speaker? Who payed attention to her?

b) Explain the context?

c) What is your viewpoint of doing  a work?

d) What work does the speaker like to do?

39. “What kind of country is India, Sir?” asked Mrs. Clifford, as she resumed her cooking. ‘ A beautiful country’ ‘safe to live in?’ ‘Certainly.  But not cold like this country. It is somewhat hot’.

a) Why is Mrs. Clifford eager to know about India?

b) How did Mr. Gupta describe India to Mrs. Clifford?

c) Which is the country mentioned as ‘cold’?

40. “ I found not more than three or four hungry people scattered around the room. I chose a table, seated myself and opened the newspaper”

a) Who is the ‘I’ in this passage?

b) Which is the place mentioned here?

c) Why did the author go there?

41. “ A young English girl was sitting there. She had been watching me with interested surprise but turned her eyes away as soon as I looked at her”

a) Who is the young English girl referred to in this passage?

b) ‘She had been watching me with interested surprise’ – What could be the reason?

c) Name the place where the author and the young girl are?

42. “Saturday is pay day. That is when she comes. On other days, she may not be able to afford lunch.

a) Saturday is pay day. What is she paid for?

b) She may not be able to afford lunch. What can you gather about the financial condition of the girl?

43 “The week passed. Saturday came again. I presented myself at the vegetarian restaurant once more”.

a) Why did the narrator come to the restaurant on Saturday?

b) “I presented myself” What does the speaker mean by this?

c) Where is the vegetarian restaurant mentioned here?

44. “My elder brother is in India. He is a soldier”

a) What is the name of Maggie’s elder brother?

b) Why did he go to India?

c) Who is the speaker here?

45. The girl’s eyed trimmed with gratitude “ Thank you ever so much!” She said. It is so kind of you! Can you come now?

a) Why did the girl’s eyes trim with gratitude?

b) Can you come now? Where did the girl want the author to come with her?

c) What did the girl want the author to do?

46. No, the work is very mechanical. I want work that will make me use my head , brain work. Like the work of a secretary.

a) Which work is referred to as mechanical?

b) What does the girl mean by ‘head, brain work?

c) Why does the girl like the work of a secretary?

47. What kind of a country is India, sir? Asked Mrs. Clifford, as she resumed her cooking?

a) Why did Mrs. Clifford ask about India?

b) What was she cooking?

c) What impression does Mrs. Clifford have of India?

48. I had heard a lot about crystal gazing. A crystal was set in the ring. I took it up and examined it.

a) Who took the ring and examined it?

b) What is crystal gazing?

c) Who gave the crystal to Mrs. Clifford?

49. Maggie’s face was filled with gratitude. As she thanked me, her voice choked. She took a shilling out of her pocket and put it down on the table in front of me.

a) Why was Maggie’s face filled with gratitude?

b) Why did her voice choke?

c) Why did Maggie give a shilling to Mr. Gupta?

                                                                DEATH THE LEVELLER

50. Some men with swords may reap the field., And plant fresh laurels where they kill: But heir strong nerves at last yield; They tame but one another still: Early or late they stoop to fate

And must give up their murmuring breath, when they, pale captives creep to death.

a) How can men ‘reap the field’ with swords?

b) What is a couplet? Can you identify a couplet in this stanza?

c) What is the rhyme scheme of the stanza?

d) What happens to the men who reap the field?

                                                                                UNIT-3 BEYOND THE HORIZON

                                                                SUNRISE ON THE HILLS

51. The clouds were far beneath me; bathed in light, They gathered around midway round  

The wooded height; And in their fading glory shone like hosts in battle overthrown

a) Who brings out this natural beauty?

b) What is the figure of speech mentioned here?

c) Who shone like hosts?

52. The veil of cloud was lifted, and below glowed the rich valley, and the river’s flow

Was darkened by the forest’s shade, Or glistened in the white cascade

a) What is described as ‘white cascade?

b) What is described as the veil of cloud?

c) How did the rich valley glow?

                                                                                THE TRIP OF LE HORLA

53. “It is thus that nature itself nourishes beings until their birth”

a) What is the context referred here?

b) Who spread and put in place the net which covers Le Horla?

c) How was theappearance of the  balloon lying in the courtyard?

54. When we come out again, the balloon is swaying, enormous and transparent, a prodigious golden fruit, a fantastic pear which is still ripening covered by the last rays of the rising sun

a) Who made the above observation of the balloon?

b) Who are the ‘we’ referred to here?

c) Who is the Captain of Le Horla trip?

55. “Thanks to Captain Jovis, thanks to this brave man, we were able to see, in a single night, from far up in the sky, the setting of the sun, the rising of the moon and the dawn of the day, and to go to Paris to the mouth of the Scheldt through the skies.”

a) Who was Captain Jovis?

b) Whom does ‘we’ refer to?

c)  When did the descent occur?

56. “Then almost at the same time as the bewildered men, some of whom show their astonishment by jumping, with the wild gestures of savages, all the cows that are grazing along the coast come towards us…”

a) what is the context referred here?

b) Who helped them to  pack up all their materials?

c) Peasants ran towards us, but they do not dare approach . Why?

57. “The earth no longer seems to exist, it is buried in milky vapours that resemble a sea”

a) What is the context referred to here?

b) What looked like another balloon travelling opposite us?

c) We have become something indescribable,  ……who do not even have to flap their wings(Fill in the blanks)

58. The view is superb, it is dark on the earth, but we are still in the light, and it is now past ten o’ clock.

a) What is the view described here?

b) Which animals were disturbed at the sight of balloon?

c) What is described as aerial monster?

59. “We can no longer see the earth, a light mist separates us from it; and above our head twinkles a world of stars”

a) When did the team experience this particular situation?

b) What didn’t the earth give back at this time?

c) How did the rice paper fall from them?

60. We are a wandering, travelling world like our sisters, the planets; and this little world carries five men who have almost forgotten it

a) What is described as the wandering world?

b) Who is the captain of this little world?

c) Prepare another suitable title for this lesson.

61. “Isn’t it dog? Indeed, something is running along the ground with great speed, and this something seems to jump over ditches, roads, trees with such ease that we could not understand what it might be”

a) What is described as ‘something’?

b) What is described as large as a child’s ball?

c) Who exclaimed at the speed of the balloon as dog’s running?

62. “Look out! Take a good hold! Raise yourselves by your wrists. We are going to touch the ground”

a) Who gave the above directions?

b) When did he give this above instruction?

c) Why did he demand special care for the heads?

                                                THE SACRED TURTLES OF KADAVU

63. Here, you have a splendid view and will find assembled all the maidens of the village of Namuana, singing a strange chant.

a) What is the splendid view described here?

b) Where can we find the splendid view?

c) What will you see if you sing a strange chant there?

64. They waded out onto the submerged reefs which stretch out from the rocky headline to the east of the bay on which Namuana village is situated.

a) Who is referred to as ‘they’?

b) Why did they wade out onto the submerged reefs? What happened to them while fishing?

c) Where is the village situated?

65. “The women of Namuana are all dressed in mourning .Each carries a sacred club each tattooed in a strange pattern”

a) Who is chanting this strange song?

b) What do you mean by the word ‘club’ here?

c) Why are they chanting this strange song? What happens when they chant this strange song?

                                                  UNIT 4 BRAVING THE HAZARDS

                                DISASTERS AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN INDIA

66. “Due to the lack of an adequate warning system, the tsunami of 2004 devastated a large portion of the coastal regions……”

a) Which are the coastal regions affected by the tsunami?

b) Which is the deadliest disaster of all other disasters?

c) Who is the author of the lesson “Disaster and Disaster Management in India”?

67. India has faced a number of disasters ranging from natural disasters to man-made disasters..

a) Write some examples for natural disasters occurred in India.

b) Give an example for a man-made disaster

c) Where did the hurricane Phailian occur?

68. Disaster Management has assumed greater importance in recent times.

a) Which is an integral part of disaster management?

b) Who plays a facilitating role in disaster management?

c) Who play a major role in disaster management?

69. The UNDAC along with the Government of India has jointly prepared an action plan for cities and towns vulnerable to earthquakes.

a) What is the full form of UNDAC?

b) What should be set up to reduce damage to buildings?

c) What do you mean by the phrase ‘tectonic forces’?

                                                                THE SERANG OF RANAGANJI

70. “Look my dear! Did you ever in your life see such an absurdly comic creature!

a) Who made this remark?

b) Who is referred here as absurdly comic creature?

c)  Where were they standing?

71. “Following their amused gaze, my eyes came to rest upon a squat, very ugly native seaman, with short legs and and large disproportionate head.

a) Who is the squat, ugly native seaman described here?

b) Whose eyes came to rest upon him?

c) What did the author recognize of him  at that time?

72. “Believe me, he’s the finest man I have. You’ve got to keep this thing from spreading.”

a) Who is the finest man described here?

b) What is the ‘thing’ referred here?

c) Who is speaking these words?

73. “For nearly forty years, he had given himself to the oceans of the world, and fifteen of these years had been spent in the Ranaganji”

a) Who is the ‘he’ referred to here?

b) Where was he from?

c)  Where did his parents go from his native place?

74. “He was silent for a long moment. Then he answered: What use is money, Dr. Sahib, to one who has all he needs? I am well enough the way I am”

a) Who is the ‘he’ referred to here?

b) Why was he silent? What trait of his character is revealed here?

c) Who is the Dr. Sahib described here?

75. “He was unmistakably sincere, completely detached from the usual hope of reward”

a) Who is the ‘he’ referred to here?

b) What he had always despised?

c) What he had with him as good virtues?

76.” The huntress from Cheltenham swung round, bent her wit, her fascinations upon me”

a) Who was the huntress referred to here?

b) Whom did she mention in her question to the doctor sahib?

c) How was the serang described by Jope Smith in the end?

                                                THE WRECK OF THE TITANIC

77. “ And with these down the corridors of all time, The Titanic’s story shall sound sublime,

    For never was courage more noble and true, Than was shown on that night, by the Titanic’s crew”

a) Whose courage is referred to here?

b) Who wrote these lines?  Write the name of the Poem

c) Why were their courage described as noble and true?

78. Then Captain Smith, her commander brave, Thought one moment, his own life to save,

   But stood on the bridge, calling out to the crew: Remember your country, Be British, be true

a) What happened to the ship?

b) Comment on the character of Captain Smith

c) What did his crew do to prove that they were truly British?

79. “ Out of Southampton the swung with the stream, A poem of iron and steel, a sea dream.

  And thousands on shore, watched her steaming away: The largest, and grandest of all ships that day

a) Why is the Titanic called ‘ a poem of iron and steel’?

b) Identify the rhyme scheme and list out the rhyming words?

c) Why did thousands come to see the departure of the ship?

                                                                UNIT 5. HARMONY OF LIFE

                                                                                GOOSEBERRIES

80. “Last time when we stopped in Prokofyi’s shed, you were going to tell me a story”

a) Who are the two persons referred to in this passage?

b) Whose story was the narrator going to tell?

c) What happened when he was about to tell the story?

81. “Please gentlemen,” he said ‘‘go to the house. I’ll be with you in a minute.

a) Who spoke these words

b) To whom was this spoken?

c) What type of a house did he build?

82. “ Ah! How delicious! He shouted in glee.” How delicious” Bourkin and Alliokhin were already dressed and ready to go, but he kept on swimming and diving”

a) Who exclaimed saying ‘how delicious’?

b) Why did he find it delicious?

c) Where were they getting ready to go?

83. “Or Father Tchimsha- Himalaysky, was a cantonist, but he died with an officer’s rank and left us his title of nobility and a small estate. After his death the estate went to pay his debts.”

a) Who was Tchimsha –Himalaysky?

b) What was he?

c) What do you mean by the phrase ‘went to pay his debts’?

84. “God forgive me a wicket sinner, he murmured as he drew the clothes over his head.”

a) Who spoke these words?

b) What change came over him?

c) Why does he consider himself as a wicked sinner?

85. “Books on agriculture and the hints in almanacs were his joy, his favourite spiritual food and he liked reading newspapers”

a) Who is referred to as ‘his’ in this passage?

b) Who is making this kind of thoughts?

c) What did he read in the newspapers?

86. “You sit on the veranda drinking tea and your ducklings swim on the pond, and everything smells good……..and there are gooseberries...”

a) Who is thinking like this?

b) Where can one experience this kind of life ?

c) What was indispensable in his concept of a house in the country life?

87. “Money like vodka, can play queer tricks with a man”

a) Where did Nicholai put his money?

b) Whom did he marry? What was his motivation behind this?

c) How did he treat his wife after marriage?

88. “It was hard and sour, but I saw a happy man, one whose dearest dream had come true, who had attained his goal in life, who had got what he wanted, and was pleased with his destiny and with himself”

a) What was really hard and sour? Who felt this kind of experience?

b) Who is the happy man referred to here?

c) What was his dearest dream?

89. “ In my idea of human life there is always some alloy of sadness, but at the sight of a happy man I was filled with something like despair”.

a) Whose idea of human life is referred here?

b) Who is the happy man referred here?

c) Was Nicholai happy with his life? How do you know that?

90. “Freedom is a boon, I used to say, as essential as the air we breathe, but we must wait”

a) Whose thought is revealed here?

b) When did he get this novel ideal of life?

c) What did he understand that night?

91. “We cannot have everything at once, and that every idea is realized in time”

a) Who speaks these words?

b) To whom did the speaker say these words?

c) Whom did the speaker leave the next morning?

                                                                                                TO SLEEP

92. A flock of sheep that leisurely pass by; One after one; the sound of rain and bees

     Murmuring; the fall of rivers, winds and seas; Smooth fields white sheets of water, and pure sky

a) Identify the poem and the poet

b) Identify the poetic device used

c) Idetify the rhyme scheme used in the poem

93. Without Thee what is all the morning’s wealth?

      Come, blessed barrierbetween day and day

      Dear mother of fresh thoughts and joyous health!

a) Why is the first letter of ‘Thee’ capitalized?

b) Identify the poetic device used in the second line

c) Who does the ‘Dear Mother’ refer to?

                                                                                GOING OUT FOR A WALK

94. “When I grew up, it seemed to me that the one advantage of living in London was that nobody ever wanted me to come out for a walk”

a) Who is the ‘I’ referred to in the passage?

b) What according to the author are the reasons why nobody calls him for a walk?

c) Does the author really like going for a walk? Why?

95. “ I wish I could, But –Nothing ever occurs to me except ‘ I have some letters to write’ “

a) What is the author’s excuse to avoid walking?

b) Why is this excuse not generally believed on Sundays?

96. “I forsee that during the rest of the walk he will read aloud any inscriptions that occurs. We pass a milestone. He points at it with his stick and says ‘Uxminster 11 miles’ “.

a) ‘We pass a milestone’. Who are the two persons referred to here?

b) What are they doing?

c) What is ‘Uxminster 11 miles’?

97. I take it that not by his reasoning faculties is a man urged to this enterprise.

a) What is the enterprise referred to?

b) What prompts him to do this enterprise?

c) What happens to the brain when one does this enterprise?

98. “Even if you go to some definite place, for some definite purposes, the brain would rather you took a vehicle; but it does not make a point of this, it will serve you well enough unless you are going out for a walk”

a) Is the author completely against going for a walk?

b) When does he support it?

c) What does walking do willingly for you?

99. “Surely he will never, after the bitter lesson of this morning, go out for another walk”

a) Who is the ‘he’ referred to in the passage?

b) Who makes this comment?

c) How does the author justify his above comment?

                                                                UNIT-6 LEAPS AND BOUNDS

                                                                THE CYBER SPACE

100.” Some property is privately owned and rented out; other property is privately owned and rented out; other property is common land, some places are suitable for children, and others are best avoided by all but the oddest citizens”

a) What does the author mean by property?

b) What do you mean by the phrase ‘common land’?

c) Why some places are best avoided by all? What is the conclusion good citizens jump to?

101. “That means that people can choose where to go and what to see. Yes, community standards should be enforced”

a) What is the place where people can choose where to go and what to see?

b) Who should set those community standards?

c) What according to the author is the important thing we need?

102. “ Growing up means understanding that there are no perfect answers, no all-purpose solutions”

a) Who shares this kind of thought?

b) Can we find a perfect society in cyberspace? Why?

c) What according to the author can we have in cyberspace?

                                                                                IS SOCIETY DEAD

103. “I noticed the rhythms of others again, the sound of airplane, the opinions of the taxi driver, the small social cues that had been obscured before”

a) Who is the ‘I’ referred to in the passage?

b) Why couldn’t he notice the rhythms of people before?

c) What are the features of the ‘I-pod generation’ that the author speaks about?

104. “Try it there is a world out there. And it has a sound track all on its own”

a) What is the world mentioned here?

b) How is the world different from modern world?

c) How is its sound track? Is it enjoyable?

d) What is the author actually hinting at?

105. “But there was something else. And as I looked across the throngs on the pavements, I began to see why”

a) Who makes this observation? Where does he make this observation?

b) What does he see while looking across the throngs on the pavements?

c) Where did the author visit to see this strange sight?

106. “The eyes were a little vacant. Each was in his or her own musical world, walking to their sound track, stars in their own music video, almost oblivious to the world around them”

a) What does the author mean by this statement?

b) Whose eyes were a little vacant?

c) Why are they almost oblivious to the world around them?

107. “When others say ‘Excuse me’, there’s no response. ‘Hi’, ditto, it’s strange to be among so many people and hear so little.”

a) Why does the author say that others don’t get response for ‘excuse me’?

b) What do such people emit unconsciously every now and again?

c) How does the author compare such people?

108. “Unlike other models, it gave me my entire music collection to re-arrange as I saw fit- on the fly, in my pocket.”

a) Who makes this comment?

b) What was once an occasional musical diversion for the author?

c) How did this occasional musical diversion become later for the author?

109. “Get on a subway and you are surrounded by a bunch of stepford commuters staring into mid space as if anesthetized by technology”

a) What is meant by stepford commuters?

b) What do you mean by the phrase ‘anesthetized by technology’?

c) Who makes this kind of observation?

110. “ But music is as atomized now as living is. And it’s secret. That bloke next to you on the bus could be listening to heavy metal or a Gregorian chant”

a) Why does the author say that music is atomized?

b) What do you mean by the word ‘bloke’?

c) What does the author mean by ‘heavy metal’ or ‘Gregorian chant”?

111. “External stimulation can crowd out the interior mind. Even the boredom that we flee has its uses”.

a) Why does the author say like this?

b) What prevents us to have external stimulation?

c) What do you think are the uses of the boredom?

                                                                CONCEPTUAL FRUIT

112. “He hoped the house would be large and have sheer white curtains billowing in all the rooms. He hoped it would have an orchard with fruit to put in real blue bowls; apples, pears, peaches- whatever Greta wanted”.

a) Identify the characters mentioned in the excerpt?

b) List out the other two characters in the story.

c) Mention the seting of the story.

d) What do you think is the plot of the story?

113. “I could buy a house on Pomanger Street’, he said, ‘and put as many rooms in it as I wanted. ‘I could fill it with fruit and make my own library’ ”

a) Who is the ‘I’ referred to here in this extract?

b) Who looked up at this time to the speaker?

c) What was he speaking about? What did his wife and son do at that time?

114. “These days he wanted to give away books and devote his time to Karatte”

a) Who is the ‘he’ referred to in this passage?

b) Why didn’t he give ear to his Dad?

c) How old was his son?

115. “She’d worked hard to tie her shoes by age ten and could read at fifth-grade level, five grades below Joel, even though she was sixteen”

a) Who is the ‘she’ referred to here?

b) What does it tell of her?

c) Where did she go for education?

116. “By the time she left her school, she might be able to type fast enough to get a word processing job. No one knew for sure”.

a) Who is the ‘she’ referred to here?

b) Who makes this prediction on her?

c) Why does he say like this?

117. “ ’ I want a bowl in every room’, she said’. “ ’Peaches in the kitchen and living room and all the bedrooms’”

a) Who is the ‘I’ referred to here?

b) When does Greta pick at her sweater?

c) What colour did she like to get for the bowl?

118. “She would live in a group house with other people like her. He hoped the house would be large and have sheer white curtains billowing in all the rooms”

a) Who hopes this kind of life?

b) Why does he think like this?

c) What does he hope to have in the new house to put in real blue bowls?

             

    

                                               

 I. Read the following excerpt and answer the questions

                                                                                HIS FIRST FLIGHT

1) He leaned out eagerly , tapping the rock with his feet, trying to get nearer to her as she flew across. But when she was just opposite to him, abreast of the ledge, she halted, her legs hanging limp, her wings motionless, the piece of fish in her beak almost within reach of his beak.

a). Who is the “He” in the excerpt?

b). Which word in the excerpt means “stopped”?

c). What was the mother trying to do?

2)“He even gnawed at the dried pieces of eggshell. It was like eating a part of himself”. These lines show how desperately hungry the young seagull was.

a) Do you think his parents were too cruel to ignore him?

b) Can you justify the attitude of the parent gulls? Why?

3) If you can dream –and not make dreams your master; If you can think- and not make thoughts your aim, If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two imposters just the same:

a) What is meant by the word “imposters”?

b) Why shouldn’t one make dreams one’s master?

c) Why should triumph and disaster be treated as imposters just the same?

4) Only his mother was looking at him. She was standing on a little high hump on the plateau, her white breast thrust forward.

a) Whose mother is referred to in the excerpt?

b)What is the implied meaning of the first sentence?

c) Write a note on the role of parents towards the well being of their children?

5) Still they took no notice of him. He saw his two brothers and his sister lying on the plateau dozing, with their heads sunk into their necks. His father was preening the feathers on his white back. Only his mother was looking at him.

a) Explain he context.

b) Do you think that the parents mentioned in the extract were cruel?

c) Can you justify the attitude of the parents?

6) And all the morning, the whole family had walked about on the big plateau midway down the opposite cliff laughing at his cowardice.

a)  Explain the context?

b) Do you think the action of the family members justifiable?

c) What do you mean by the word “Cowardice”?

7) “He leaned out eagerly, tapping the rock with his feet, trying to get nearer to her as she flew across.”

a) Who is the “he” referred here?

b) Why did he tap the rock with his feet?

c)What is the meaning of the phrase  “leaned out”?

8) He waited a moment in surprise, wondering why she did not come nearer and then maddened by hunger he dived at the fish.

a) Who is referred to as ‘he’ in the excerpt?

b) What was ‘she’ doing  and why?

c) What happened after ‘he’ had dived?

9) He uttered a joyous scream and flapped them again. He soared higher. He raised his breast and banked against the wind

a) Who uttered a joyous scream?

b) What do you mean by the word “soared”?

c) Who was swooping past him making a loud noise?

10) “Then he completely forgot that he had not always been able to fly, and commenced to dive and soar, shrieking shrilly.”

a) Who commence to dive and soar?

b) What do you mean by the word ‘commenced’?

c) Who motivated him to fly?

11) He was floating on it. And around him, his family was screaming, praising him, and their beaks were offering him scraps of dog-fish.

a) What do you mean by floating?

b) Where did his feet sink at this time?

c) What do you think the role of family members in bringing up the young ones?  

                                                                                I WILL FLY

12. “Last year I went to a village to inaugurate a programme called “Sasthrayaan”?

a) What is meant by the term “Sasthrayaan”?

b)Who is referred to as ‘I’ in the excerpt? Why was he invited  to that function?

c) What was the mission of ‘Sasthrayaan’?

13. Every youth wants to be unique, that is you!. But the world around you is doing its best, day and night to make you just everybody else!

a) What is Dr.Kalam’s advice to the Indian youth?

b) How can you be unique?

c) Why did Dr.Kalam value the boy’s question?

14. Last year I went to a village to inaugurate a programme called Sasthrayaan which means the propagation of Science. The mission of Sasthrayaan was to ensure the propagation of about two thousand students from different schools towards making them eligible to be engineers, doctors,, qualified managers and civil servants.

a) Identify the speaker

b) Why did the speaker go to a village?

c)Who were the listeners of the speech?

d) What was the mission of Sasthrayaan?

15. He was nervous and a typical representative of the youth of India.

a) Who is referred to as ‘he” in the excerpt?

b) Why is he described as the typical representative of the youth of India?

c) Who made the remark as  nervous and typical representative youth of India?

16. My dear friend, you have put the most difficult question among the many questions received from millions and millions of students whom I have met.

a) Who is referred here as ‘my dear friend”?

b) What makes the question to describe as the most difficult one?

c) Who is referred to as ‘I’ ?

17 . You have to fight the hardest battle which any human being can ever imagine, and never stop fighting until you arrive at your destined place.

a) What is referred here as the ‘hardest battle’?

b) Who is the speaker in this excerpt?

c) What is the destined place described here?

                                                                QUEST FOR A THEORY OF EVERYTHING

18. He invited them to join him in a sensational escape through time and space to find the Holy Grail of science.

a) Whom did Stephen Hawking invite to join in a sensational escape?

b) What is described as the Holy Grail of Science?

c)When did he make this speech?

19. He became popular and well-accepted among his peers. They remember him as lively, buoyant, and adaptable.

a) Who is referred here as popular and well-accepted?

b) Where did he become lively, buoyant and adaptable?

c) What was the music he liked at this time?

20. Hawking contracted a rare disease for which there was no known cure.

a) What was the rare disease Hawking contracted?

b) When did Hawking get this rare disease?

c) What was the name of the disease?

21. “Another recurring dream was the idea of sacrificing my life to save others. After all, if I were going to die, I might as well do some good”

a) Who shared this idea?

b) Why did the speaker share this idea of sacrificing his life?

c)What happened to him after two years?

22. “In fact, although there was a cloud hanging over my future, I found to my surprise that I was enjoying life in the present, more than before”

a) Who expressed this optimistic thought of life?

b) What was the cloud hanging over the speaker’s future?

c) Why did the speaker express this kind of attitude to his life?

23. “ ‘My dreams at that time were rather confused’, he admitted. Before my condition was diagnosed, I had been very bored with life. There did not seem to be anything worth doing. But shortly I came out of hospital, I dreamt that I was going to be executed”

a) Identify the speaker?

b) What times were his dreams rather confused at?

c) I was going to be executed   (Use a single word for the underlined words)

d) What drastic change came over Hawking after the diagnosis of the disease?

e) What trait of Hawking’s character do you detect here?

24. “To her, this dishevelled graduate student seemed terribly intelligent, eccentric and rather arrogant. But he was interesting and she liked his wit.

a) Who is referred to here as ‘her’?

b) Who is the disheveled graduate student described in this excerpt?

c) Write the meaning of the word ‘dishevelled’.     

d) Write one of the qualities of her.

25. “In 1965, at the age of twenty-three, Hawking received his fellowship at Caius”.

a) What important thing happened in his life that year?      

b) Whom did Hawking marry?

c) What did she like most in his character?

26. “She was rather a shy teenager, serious minded with a strong faith in God”

a) Who is described as a shy teenager?

b) Who helped her to have strong faith in God?

c)    What was the brave decision she took in her life?                                                                                     

27. “One will encounter a multitude of paradoxes in the book. In science and with people things are often not what they seem and pieces that ought to fit together refuse to do so”

a) Where can one encounter a multitude of paradoxes ?

b) When did the author publish that book?

c) With whose support did the author publish that book?

28. “He chooses to ignore the difficulty and he expects others to adopt the same attitude”.

a) Who is the ‘he’ referred in this excerpt?

b) What is the attitude he expects others to adopt?

c) What is the difficulty mentioned in the excerpt? Write one of the good qualities that you find in Hawkings.

                                                                                IF

29. “If you can meet Triumph and Disaster  And treat those two imposters just the same”

a) Identify the speaker

b) Whom does ‘you’refer to?

c) Why are ‘Triumph’ and ‘disaster’ called as imposters?

d) Identify the figure of speech in these lines.

e) Do you agree with the idea in these lines?

30. “If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And which is more –you will be a Man my son”

a) What is the message conveyed in this stanza?

b) What is the poer’s approach?

c) Comment on the metaphor given in the stanza.

                                                UNIT  2 WORDS AND DEEDS

AND THEN GANDHI CAME

                                                                               

31. We had become a derelict nation. We seemed to be helpless in the grip of some all-powerful monster: our limbs were paralysed and our minds deadened.

a) What is referred here as all powerful monster?

b) Why were our limbs paralysed?

c) What does Nehru mean by ‘we had become a derelict nation’?

32. And then Gandhi came. He was like a powerful current of fresh air that made us stretch ourselves and take deep breaths, like a beam of light that pierced the darkness…..

a) What is the incident referred to in the passage?

b) Who made us stretch ourselves and take deep breaths?

c)  What do you mean by ‘removing the scales from eyes’?

33. The dominant impulse in India under British rule was that of fear-pervasive oppressing, strangling fear, fear of army, the police, the widespread secret service……..

a) Who asked to fight against fear?

b) Name some kinds of fear people had under the British rule.

c) What is the word used by Nehru to refer to fearlessness?

34. Proud of his Hindu inheritance as he was, he tried to give to Hinduism a kind of universal attire and included all religions within the fold of truth.

a) Who was proud of his Hindu inheritance?

b) How did he give universal attire to Hinduism?

c) What is so special about Indian culture?

                                                THE PRICE OF FLOWERS

35. “Please, Miss, can you tell me if that gentleman is an Indian?”

a) Who is the speaker?

b) Whom does the speaker address as Miss?

c) Why was the speaker interested in Indian?

36. “The girl was thirteen or fourteen years old. Her clothes betrayed her poverty. Her hair hung in a heavy stream down her back.”

a) Who is the girl referred here?

b) Who makes the above observation of the girl?

c) Where did this above incident happen?

37. “It surprised me. Why? What was the matter? Her interest in me aroused my interest in her.”

a) Who is referred as ‘her’ in this excerpt?

b) Who was surprised?

c) Why was she interested in him?

38. “The work is very mechanical. I want work that will make me use my head , brain work”

a) Who is the speaker? Who payed attention to her?

b) Explain the context?

c) What is your viewpoint of doing  a work?

d) What work does the speaker like to do?

39. “What kind of country is India, Sir?” asked Mrs. Clifford, as she resumed her cooking. ‘ A beautiful country’ ‘safe to live in?’ ‘Certainly.  But not cold like this country. It is somewhat hot’.

a) Why is Mrs. Clifford eager to know about India?

b) How did Mr. Gupta describe India to Mrs. Clifford?

c) Which is the country mentioned as ‘cold’?

40. “ I found not more than three or four hungry people scattered around the room. I chose a table, seated myself and opened the newspaper”

a) Who is the ‘I’ in this passage?

b) Which is the place mentioned here?

c) Why did the author go there?

41. “ A young English girl was sitting there. She had been watching me with interested surprise but turned her eyes away as soon as I looked at her”

a) Who is the young English girl referred to in this passage?

b) ‘She had been watching me with interested surprise’ – What could be the reason?

c) Name the place where the author and the young girl are?

42. “Saturday is pay day. That is when she comes. On other days, she may not be able to afford lunch.

a) Saturday is pay day. What is she paid for?

b) She may not be able to afford lunch. What can you gather about the financial condition of the girl?

43 “The week passed. Saturday came again. I presented myself at the vegetarian restaurant once more”.

a) Why did the narrator come to the restaurant on Saturday?

b) “I presented myself” What does the speaker mean by this?

c) Where is the vegetarian restaurant mentioned here?

44. “My elder brother is in India. He is a soldier”

a) What is the name of Maggie’s elder brother?

b) Why did he go to India?

c) Who is the speaker here?

45. The girl’s eyed trimmed with gratitude “ Thank you ever so much!” She said. It is so kind of you! Can you come now?

a) Why did the girl’s eyes trim with gratitude?

b) Can you come now? Where did the girl want the author to come with her?

c) What did the girl want the author to do?

46. No, the work is very mechanical. I want work that will make me use my head , brain work. Like the work of a secretary.

a) Which work is referred to as mechanical?

b) What does the girl mean by ‘head, brain work?

c) Why does the girl like the work of a secretary?

47. What kind of a country is India, sir? Asked Mrs. Clifford, as she resumed her cooking?

a) Why did Mrs. Clifford ask about India?

b) What was she cooking?

c) What impression does Mrs. Clifford have of India?

48. I had heard a lot about crystal gazing. A crystal was set in the ring. I took it up and examined it.

a) Who took the ring and examined it?

b) What is crystal gazing?

c) Who gave the crystal to Mrs. Clifford?

49. Maggie’s face was filled with gratitude. As she thanked me, her voice choked. She took a shilling out of her pocket and put it down on the table in front of me.

a) Why was Maggie’s face filled with gratitude?

b) Why did her voice choke?

c) Why did Maggie give a shilling to Mr. Gupta?

                                                                DEATH THE LEVELLER

50. Some men with swords may reap the field., And plant fresh laurels where they kill: But heir strong nerves at last yield; They tame but one another still: Early or late they stoop to fate

And must give up their murmuring breath, when they, pale captives creep to death.

a) How can men ‘reap the field’ with swords?

b) What is a couplet? Can you identify a couplet in this stanza?

c) What is the rhyme scheme of the stanza?

d) What happens to the men who reap the field?

                                                                                UNIT-3 BEYOND THE HORIZON

                                                                SUNRISE ON THE HILLS

51. The clouds were far beneath me; bathed in light, They gathered around midway round  

The wooded height; And in their fading glory shone like hosts in battle overthrown

a) Who brings out this natural beauty?

b) What is the figure of speech mentioned here?

c) Who shone like hosts?

52. The veil of cloud was lifted, and below glowed the rich valley, and the river’s flow

Was darkened by the forest’s shade, Or glistened in the white cascade

a) What is described as ‘white cascade?

b) What is described as the veil of cloud?

c) How did the rich valley glow?

                                                                                THE TRIP OF LE HORLA

53. “It is thus that nature itself nourishes beings until their birth”

a) What is the context referred here?

b) Who spread and put in place the net which covers Le Horla?

c) How was theappearance of the  balloon lying in the courtyard?

54. When we come out again, the balloon is swaying, enormous and transparent, a prodigious golden fruit, a fantastic pear which is still ripening covered by the last rays of the rising sun

a) Who made the above observation of the balloon?

b) Who are the ‘we’ referred to here?

c) Who is the Captain of Le Horla trip?

55. “Thanks to Captain Jovis, thanks to this brave man, we were able to see, in a single night, from far up in the sky, the setting of the sun, the rising of the moon and the dawn of the day, and to go to Paris to the mouth of the Scheldt through the skies.”

a) Who was Captain Jovis?

b) Whom does ‘we’ refer to?

c)  When did the descent occur?

56. “Then almost at the same time as the bewildered men, some of whom show their astonishment by jumping, with the wild gestures of savages, all the cows that are grazing along the coast come towards us…”

a) what is the context referred here?

b) Who helped them to  pack up all their materials?

c) Peasants ran towards us, but they do not dare approach . Why?

57. “The earth no longer seems to exist, it is buried in milky vapours that resemble a sea”

a) What is the context referred to here?

b) What looked like another balloon travelling opposite us?

c) We have become something indescribable,  ……who do not even have to flap their wings(Fill in the blanks)

58. The view is superb, it is dark on the earth, but we are still in the light, and it is now past ten o’ clock.

a) What is the view described here?

b) Which animals were disturbed at the sight of balloon?

c) What is described as aerial monster?

59. “We can no longer see the earth, a light mist separates us from it; and above our head twinkles a world of stars”

a) When did the team experience this particular situation?

b) What didn’t the earth give back at this time?

c) How did the rice paper fall from them?

60. We are a wandering, travelling world like our sisters, the planets; and this little world carries five men who have almost forgotten it

a) What is described as the wandering world?

b) Who is the captain of this little world?

c) Prepare another suitable title for this lesson.

61. “Isn’t it dog? Indeed, something is running along the ground with great speed, and this something seems to jump over ditches, roads, trees with such ease that we could not understand what it might be”

a) What is described as ‘something’?

b) What is described as large as a child’s ball?

c) Who exclaimed at the speed of the balloon as dog’s running?

62. “Look out! Take a good hold! Raise yourselves by your wrists. We are going to touch the ground”

a) Who gave the above directions?

b) When did he give this above instruction?

c) Why did he demand special care for the heads?

                                                THE SACRED TURTLES OF KADAVU

63. Here, you have a splendid view and will find assembled all the maidens of the village of Namuana, singing a strange chant.

a) What is the splendid view described here?

b) Where can we find the splendid view?

c) What will you see if you sing a strange chant there?

64. They waded out onto the submerged reefs which stretch out from the rocky headline to the east of the bay on which Namuana village is situated.

a) Who is referred to as ‘they’?

b) Why did they wade out onto the submerged reefs? What happened to them while fishing?

c) Where is the village situated?

65. “The women of Namuana are all dressed in mourning .Each carries a sacred club each tattooed in a strange pattern”

a) Who is chanting this strange song?

b) What do you mean by the word ‘club’ here?

c) Why are they chanting this strange song? What happens when they chant this strange song?

                                                  UNIT 4 BRAVING THE HAZARDS

                                DISASTERS AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN INDIA

66. “Due to the lack of an adequate warning system, the tsunami of 2004 devastated a large portion of the coastal regions……”

a) Which are the coastal regions affected by the tsunami?

b) Which is the deadliest disaster of all other disasters?

c) Who is the author of the lesson “Disaster and Disaster Management in India”?

67. India has faced a number of disasters ranging from natural disasters to man-made disasters..

a) Write some examples for natural disasters occurred in India.

b) Give an example for a man-made disaster

c) Where did the hurricane Phailian occur?

68. Disaster Management has assumed greater importance in recent times.

a) Which is an integral part of disaster management?

b) Who plays a facilitating role in disaster management?

c) Who play a major role in disaster management?

69. The UNDAC along with the Government of India has jointly prepared an action plan for cities and towns vulnerable to earthquakes.

a) What is the full form of UNDAC?

b) What should be set up to reduce damage to buildings?

c) What do you mean by the phrase ‘tectonic forces’?

                                                                THE SERANG OF RANAGANJI

70. “Look my dear! Did you ever in your life see such an absurdly comic creature!

a) Who made this remark?

b) Who is referred here as absurdly comic creature?

c)  Where were they standing?

71. “Following their amused gaze, my eyes came to rest upon a squat, very ugly native seaman, with short legs and and large disproportionate head.

a) Who is the squat, ugly native seaman described here?

b) Whose eyes came to rest upon him?

c) What did the author recognize of him  at that time?

72. “Believe me, he’s the finest man I have. You’ve got to keep this thing from spreading.”

a) Who is the finest man described here?

b) What is the ‘thing’ referred here?

c) Who is speaking these words?

73. “For nearly forty years, he had given himself to the oceans of the world, and fifteen of these years had been spent in the Ranaganji”

a) Who is the ‘he’ referred to here?

b) Where was he from?

c)  Where did his parents go from his native place?

74. “He was silent for a long moment. Then he answered: What use is money, Dr. Sahib, to one who has all he needs? I am well enough the way I am”

a) Who is the ‘he’ referred to here?

b) Why was he silent? What trait of his character is revealed here?

c) Who is the Dr. Sahib described here?

75. “He was unmistakably sincere, completely detached from the usual hope of reward”

a) Who is the ‘he’ referred to here?

b) What he had always despised?

c) What he had with him as good virtues?

76.” The huntress from Cheltenham swung round, bent her wit, her fascinations upon me”

a) Who was the huntress referred to here?

b) Whom did she mention in her question to the doctor sahib?

c) How was the serang described by Jope Smith in the end?

                                                THE WRECK OF THE TITANIC

77. “ And with these down the corridors of all time, The Titanic’s story shall sound sublime,

    For never was courage more noble and true, Than was shown on that night, by the Titanic’s crew”

a) Whose courage is referred to here?

b) Who wrote these lines?  Write the name of the Poem

c) Why were their courage described as noble and true?

78. Then Captain Smith, her commander brave, Thought one moment, his own life to save,

   But stood on the bridge, calling out to the crew: Remember your country, Be British, be true

a) What happened to the ship?

b) Comment on the character of Captain Smith

c) What did his crew do to prove that they were truly British?

79. “ Out of Southampton the swung with the stream, A poem of iron and steel, a sea dream.

  And thousands on shore, watched her steaming away: The largest, and grandest of all ships that day

a) Why is the Titanic called ‘ a poem of iron and steel’?

b) Identify the rhyme scheme and list out the rhyming words?

c) Why did thousands come to see the departure of the ship?

                                                                UNIT 5. HARMONY OF LIFE

                                                                                GOOSEBERRIES

80. “Last time when we stopped in Prokofyi’s shed, you were going to tell me a story”

a) Who are the two persons referred to in this passage?

b) Whose story was the narrator going to tell?

c) What happened when he was about to tell the story?

81. “Please gentlemen,” he said ‘‘go to the house. I’ll be with you in a minute.

a) Who spoke these words

b) To whom was this spoken?

c) What type of a house did he build?

82. “ Ah! How delicious! He shouted in glee.” How delicious” Bourkin and Alliokhin were already dressed and ready to go, but he kept on swimming and diving”

a) Who exclaimed saying ‘how delicious’?

b) Why did he find it delicious?

c) Where were they getting ready to go?

83. “Or Father Tchimsha- Himalaysky, was a cantonist, but he died with an officer’s rank and left us his title of nobility and a small estate. After his death the estate went to pay his debts.”

a) Who was Tchimsha –Himalaysky?

b) What was he?

c) What do you mean by the phrase ‘went to pay his debts’?

84. “God forgive me a wicket sinner, he murmured as he drew the clothes over his head.”

a) Who spoke these words?

b) What change came over him?

c) Why does he consider himself as a wicked sinner?

85. “Books on agriculture and the hints in almanacs were his joy, his favourite spiritual food and he liked reading newspapers”

a) Who is referred to as ‘his’ in this passage?

b) Who is making this kind of thoughts?

c) What did he read in the newspapers?

86. “You sit on the veranda drinking tea and your ducklings swim on the pond, and everything smells good……..and there are gooseberries...”

a) Who is thinking like this?

b) Where can one experience this kind of life ?

c) What was indispensable in his concept of a house in the country life?

87. “Money like vodka, can play queer tricks with a man”

a) Where did Nicholai put his money?

b) Whom did he marry? What was his motivation behind this?

c) How did he treat his wife after marriage?

88. “It was hard and sour, but I saw a happy man, one whose dearest dream had come true, who had attained his goal in life, who had got what he wanted, and was pleased with his destiny and with himself”

a) What was really hard and sour? Who felt this kind of experience?

b) Who is the happy man referred to here?

c) What was his dearest dream?

89. “ In my idea of human life there is always some alloy of sadness, but at the sight of a happy man I was filled with something like despair”.

a) Whose idea of human life is referred here?

b) Who is the happy man referred here?

c) Was Nicholai happy with his life? How do you know that?

90. “Freedom is a boon, I used to say, as essential as the air we breathe, but we must wait”

a) Whose thought is revealed here?

b) When did he get this novel ideal of life?

c) What did he understand that night?

91. “We cannot have everything at once, and that every idea is realized in time”

a) Who speaks these words?

b) To whom did the speaker say these words?

c) Whom did the speaker leave the next morning?

                                                                                                TO SLEEP

92. A flock of sheep that leisurely pass by; One after one; the sound of rain and bees

     Murmuring; the fall of rivers, winds and seas; Smooth fields white sheets of water, and pure sky

a) Identify the poem and the poet

b) Identify the poetic device used

c) Idetify the rhyme scheme used in the poem

93. Without Thee what is all the morning’s wealth?

      Come, blessed barrierbetween day and day

      Dear mother of fresh thoughts and joyous health!

a) Why is the first letter of ‘Thee’ capitalized?

b) Identify the poetic device used in the second line

c) Who does the ‘Dear Mother’ refer to?

                                                                                GOING OUT FOR A WALK

94. “When I grew up, it seemed to me that the one advantage of living in London was that nobody ever wanted me to come out for a walk”

a) Who is the ‘I’ referred to in the passage?

b) What according to the author are the reasons why nobody calls him for a walk?

c) Does the author really like going for a walk? Why?

95. “ I wish I could, But –Nothing ever occurs to me except ‘ I have some letters to write’ “

a) What is the author’s excuse to avoid walking?

b) Why is this excuse not generally believed on Sundays?

96. “I forsee that during the rest of the walk he will read aloud any inscriptions that occurs. We pass a milestone. He points at it with his stick and says ‘Uxminster 11 miles’ “.

a) ‘We pass a milestone’. Who are the two persons referred to here?

b) What are they doing?

c) What is ‘Uxminster 11 miles’?

97. I take it that not by his reasoning faculties is a man urged to this enterprise.

a) What is the enterprise referred to?

b) What prompts him to do this enterprise?

c) What happens to the brain when one does this enterprise?

98. “Even if you go to some definite place, for some definite purposes, the brain would rather you took a vehicle; but it does not make a point of this, it will serve you well enough unless you are going out for a walk”

a) Is the author completely against going for a walk?

b) When does he support it?

c) What does walking do willingly for you?

99. “Surely he will never, after the bitter lesson of this morning, go out for another walk”

a) Who is the ‘he’ referred to in the passage?

b) Who makes this comment?

c) How does the author justify his above comment?

                                                                UNIT-6 LEAPS AND BOUNDS

                                                                THE CYBER SPACE

100.” Some property is privately owned and rented out; other property is privately owned and rented out; other property is common land, some places are suitable for children, and others are best avoided by all but the oddest citizens”

a) What does the author mean by property?

b) What do you mean by the phrase ‘common land’?

c) Why some places are best avoided by all? What is the conclusion good citizens jump to?

101. “That means that people can choose where to go and what to see. Yes, community standards should be enforced”

a) What is the place where people can choose where to go and what to see?

b) Who should set those community standards?

c) What according to the author is the important thing we need?

102. “ Growing up means understanding that there are no perfect answers, no all-purpose solutions”

a) Who shares this kind of thought?

b) Can we find a perfect society in cyberspace? Why?

c) What according to the author can we have in cyberspace?

                                                                                IS SOCIETY DEAD

103. “I noticed the rhythms of others again, the sound of airplane, the opinions of the taxi driver, the small social cues that had been obscured before”

a) Who is the ‘I’ referred to in the passage?

b) Why couldn’t he notice the rhythms of people before?

c) What are the features of the ‘I-pod generation’ that the author speaks about?

104. “Try it there is a world out there. And it has a sound track all on its own”

a) What is the world mentioned here?

b) How is the world different from modern world?

c) How is its sound track? Is it enjoyable?

d) What is the author actually hinting at?

105. “But there was something else. And as I looked across the throngs on the pavements, I began to see why”

a) Who makes this observation? Where does he make this observation?

b) What does he see while looking across the throngs on the pavements?

c) Where did the author visit to see this strange sight?

106. “The eyes were a little vacant. Each was in his or her own musical world, walking to their sound track, stars in their own music video, almost oblivious to the world around them”

a) What does the author mean by this statement?

b) Whose eyes were a little vacant?

c) Why are they almost oblivious to the world around them?

107. “When others say ‘Excuse me’, there’s no response. ‘Hi’, ditto, it’s strange to be among so many people and hear so little.”

a) Why does the author say that others don’t get response for ‘excuse me’?

b) What do such people emit unconsciously every now and again?

c) How does the author compare such people?

108. “Unlike other models, it gave me my entire music collection to re-arrange as I saw fit- on the fly, in my pocket.”

a) Who makes this comment?

b) What was once an occasional musical diversion for the author?

c) How did this occasional musical diversion become later for the author?

109. “Get on a subway and you are surrounded by a bunch of stepford commuters staring into mid space as if anesthetized by technology”

a) What is meant by stepford commuters?

b) What do you mean by the phrase ‘anesthetized by technology’?

c) Who makes this kind of observation?

110. “ But music is as atomized now as living is. And it’s secret. That bloke next to you on the bus could be listening to heavy metal or a Gregorian chant”

a) Why does the author say that music is atomized?

b) What do you mean by the word ‘bloke’?

c) What does the author mean by ‘heavy metal’ or ‘Gregorian chant”?

111. “External stimulation can crowd out the interior mind. Even the boredom that we flee has its uses”.

a) Why does the author say like this?

b) What prevents us to have external stimulation?

c) What do you think are the uses of the boredom?

                                                                CONCEPTUAL FRUIT

112. “He hoped the house would be large and have sheer white curtains billowing in all the rooms. He hoped it would have an orchard with fruit to put in real blue bowls; apples, pears, peaches- whatever Greta wanted”.

a) Identify the characters mentioned in the excerpt?

b) List out the other two characters in the story.

c) Mention the seting of the story.

d) What do you think is the plot of the story?

113. “I could buy a house on Pomanger Street’, he said, ‘and put as many rooms in it as I wanted. ‘I could fill it with fruit and make my own library’ ”

a) Who is the ‘I’ referred to here in this extract?

b) Who looked up at this time to the speaker?

c) What was he speaking about? What did his wife and son do at that time?

114. “These days he wanted to give away books and devote his time to Karatte”

a) Who is the ‘he’ referred to in this passage?

b) Why didn’t he give ear to his Dad?

c) How old was his son?

115. “She’d worked hard to tie her shoes by age ten and could read at fifth-grade level, five grades below Joel, even though she was sixteen”

a) Who is the ‘she’ referred to here?

b) What does it tell of her?

c) Where did she go for education?

116. “By the time she left her school, she might be able to type fast enough to get a word processing job. No one knew for sure”.

a) Who is the ‘she’ referred to here?

b) Who makes this prediction on her?

c) Why does he say like this?

117. “ ’ I want a bowl in every room’, she said’. “ ’Peaches in the kitchen and living room and all the bedrooms’”

a) Who is the ‘I’ referred to here?

b) When does Greta pick at her sweater?

c) What colour did she like to get for the bowl?

118. “She would live in a group house with other people like her. He hoped the house would be large and have sheer white curtains billowing in all the rooms”

a) Who hopes this kind of life?

b) Why does he think like this?

c) What does he hope to have in the new house to put in real blue bowls?

             

    

                                               

                                                               

                                               

 I. Read the following excerpt and answer the questions

                                                                                HIS FIRST FLIGHT

1) He leaned out eagerly , tapping the rock with his feet, trying to get nearer to her as she flew across. But when she was just opposite to him, abreast of the ledge, she halted, her legs hanging limp, her wings motionless, the piece of fish in her beak almost within reach of his beak.

a). Who is the “He” in the excerpt?

b). Which word in the excerpt means “stopped”?

c). What was the mother trying to do?

2)“He even gnawed at the dried pieces of eggshell. It was like eating a part of himself”. These lines show how desperately hungry the young seagull was.

a) Do you think his parents were too cruel to ignore him?

b) Can you justify the attitude of the parent gulls? Why?

3) If you can dream –and not make dreams your master; If you can think- and not make thoughts your aim, If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two imposters just the same:

a) What is meant by the word “imposters”?

b) Why shouldn’t one make dreams one’s master?

c) Why should triumph and disaster be treated as imposters just the same?

4) Only his mother was looking at him. She was standing on a little high hump on the plateau, her white breast thrust forward.

a) Whose mother is referred to in the excerpt?

b)What is the implied meaning of the first sentence?

c) Write a note on the role of parents towards the well being of their children?

5) Still they took no notice of him. He saw his two brothers and his sister lying on the plateau dozing, with their heads sunk into their necks. His father was preening the feathers on his white back. Only his mother was looking at him.

a) Explain he context.

b) Do you think that the parents mentioned in the extract were cruel?

c) Can you justify the attitude of the parents?

6) And all the morning, the whole family had walked about on the big plateau midway down the opposite cliff laughing at his cowardice.

a)  Explain the context?

b) Do you think the action of the family members justifiable?

c) What do you mean by the word “Cowardice”?

7) “He leaned out eagerly, tapping the rock with his feet, trying to get nearer to her as she flew across.”

a) Who is the “he” referred here?

b) Why did he tap the rock with his feet?

c)What is the meaning of the phrase  “leaned out”?

8) He waited a moment in surprise, wondering why she did not come nearer and then maddened by hunger he dived at the fish.

a) Who is referred to as ‘he’ in the excerpt?

b) What was ‘she’ doing  and why?

c) What happened after ‘he’ had dived?

9) He uttered a joyous scream and flapped them again. He soared higher. He raised his breast and banked against the wind

a) Who uttered a joyous scream?

b) What do you mean by the word “soared”?

c) Who was swooping past him making a loud noise?

10) “Then he completely forgot that he had not always been able to fly, and commenced to dive and soar, shrieking shrilly.”

a) Who commence to dive and soar?

b) What do you mean by the word ‘commenced’?

c) Who motivated him to fly?

11) He was floating on it. And around him, his family was screaming, praising him, and their beaks were offering him scraps of dog-fish.

a) What do you mean by floating?

b) Where did his feet sink at this time?

c) What do you think the role of family members in bringing up the young ones?  

                                                                                I WILL FLY

12. “Last year I went to a village to inaugurate a programme called “Sasthrayaan”?

a) What is meant by the term “Sasthrayaan”?

b)Who is referred to as ‘I’ in the excerpt? Why was he invited  to that function?

c) What was the mission of ‘Sasthrayaan’?

13. Every youth wants to be unique, that is you!. But the world around you is doing its best, day and night to make you just everybody else!

a) What is Dr.Kalam’s advice to the Indian youth?

b) How can you be unique?

c) Why did Dr.Kalam value the boy’s question?

14. Last year I went to a village to inaugurate a programme called Sasthrayaan which means the propagation of Science. The mission of Sasthrayaan was to ensure the propagation of about two thousand students from different schools towards making them eligible to be engineers, doctors,, qualified managers and civil servants.

a) Identify the speaker

b) Why did the speaker go to a village?

c)Who were the listeners of the speech?

d) What was the mission of Sasthrayaan?

15. He was nervous and a typical representative of the youth of India.

a) Who is referred to as ‘he” in the excerpt?

b) Why is he described as the typical representative of the youth of India?

c) Who made the remark as  nervous and typical representative youth of India?

16. My dear friend, you have put the most difficult question among the many questions received from millions and millions of students whom I have met.

a) Who is referred here as ‘my dear friend”?

b) What makes the question to describe as the most difficult one?

c) Who is referred to as ‘I’ ?

17 . You have to fight the hardest battle which any human being can ever imagine, and never stop fighting until you arrive at your destined place.

a) What is referred here as the ‘hardest battle’?

b) Who is the speaker in this excerpt?

c) What is the destined place described here?

                                                                QUEST FOR A THEORY OF EVERYTHING

18. He invited them to join him in a sensational escape through time and space to find the Holy Grail of science.

a) Whom did Stephen Hawking invite to join in a sensational escape?

b) What is described as the Holy Grail of Science?

c)When did he make this speech?

19. He became popular and well-accepted among his peers. They remember him as lively, buoyant, and adaptable.

a) Who is referred here as popular and well-accepted?

b) Where did he become lively, buoyant and adaptable?

c) What was the music he liked at this time?

20. Hawking contracted a rare disease for which there was no known cure.

a) What was the rare disease Hawking contracted?

b) When did Hawking get this rare disease?

c) What was the name of the disease?

21. “Another recurring dream was the idea of sacrificing my life to save others. After all, if I were going to die, I might as well do some good”

a) Who shared this idea?

b) Why did the speaker share this idea of sacrificing his life?

c)What happened to him after two years?

22. “In fact, although there was a cloud hanging over my future, I found to my surprise that I was enjoying life in the present, more than before”

a) Who expressed this optimistic thought of life?

b) What was the cloud hanging over the speaker’s future?

c) Why did the speaker express this kind of attitude to his life?

23. “ ‘My dreams at that time were rather confused’, he admitted. Before my condition was diagnosed, I had been very bored with life. There did not seem to be anything worth doing. But shortly I came out of hospital, I dreamt that I was going to be executed”

a) Identify the speaker?

b) What times were his dreams rather confused at?

c) I was going to be executed   (Use a single word for the underlined words)

d) What drastic change came over Hawking after the diagnosis of the disease?

e) What trait of Hawking’s character do you detect here?

24. “To her, this dishevelled graduate student seemed terribly intelligent, eccentric and rather arrogant. But he was interesting and she liked his wit.

a) Who is referred to here as ‘her’?

b) Who is the disheveled graduate student described in this excerpt?

c) Write the meaning of the word ‘dishevelled’.     

d) Write one of the qualities of her.

25. “In 1965, at the age of twenty-three, Hawking received his fellowship at Caius”.

a) What important thing happened in his life that year?      

b) Whom did Hawking marry?

c) What did she like most in his character?

26. “She was rather a shy teenager, serious minded with a strong faith in God”

a) Who is described as a shy teenager?

b) Who helped her to have strong faith in God?

c)    What was the brave decision she took in her life?                                                                                     

27. “One will encounter a multitude of paradoxes in the book. In science and with people things are often not what they seem and pieces that ought to fit together refuse to do so”

a) Where can one encounter a multitude of paradoxes ?

b) When did the author publish that book?

c) With whose support did the author publish that book?

28. “He chooses to ignore the difficulty and he expects others to adopt the same attitude”.

a) Who is the ‘he’ referred in this excerpt?

b) What is the attitude he expects others to adopt?

c) What is the difficulty mentioned in the excerpt? Write one of the good qualities that you find in Hawkings.

                                                                                IF

29. “If you can meet Triumph and Disaster  And treat those two imposters just the same”

a) Identify the speaker

b) Whom does ‘you’refer to?

c) Why are ‘Triumph’ and ‘disaster’ called as imposters?

d) Identify the figure of speech in these lines.

e) Do you agree with the idea in these lines?

30. “If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And which is more –you will be a Man my son”

a) What is the message conveyed in this stanza?

b) What is the poer’s approach?

c) Comment on the metaphor given in the stanza.

                                                UNIT  2 WORDS AND DEEDS

AND THEN GANDHI CAME

                                                                               

31. We had become a derelict nation. We seemed to be helpless in the grip of some all-powerful monster: our limbs were paralysed and our minds deadened.

a) What is referred here as all powerful monster?

b) Why were our limbs paralysed?

c) What does Nehru mean by ‘we had become a derelict nation’?

32. And then Gandhi came. He was like a powerful current of fresh air that made us stretch ourselves and take deep breaths, like a beam of light that pierced the darkness…..

a) What is the incident referred to in the passage?

b) Who made us stretch ourselves and take deep breaths?

c)  What do you mean by ‘removing the scales from eyes’?

33. The dominant impulse in India under British rule was that of fear-pervasive oppressing, strangling fear, fear of army, the police, the widespread secret service……..

a) Who asked to fight against fear?

b) Name some kinds of fear people had under the British rule.

c) What is the word used by Nehru to refer to fearlessness?

34. Proud of his Hindu inheritance as he was, he tried to give to Hinduism a kind of universal attire and included all religions within the fold of truth.

a) Who was proud of his Hindu inheritance?

b) How did he give universal attire to Hinduism?

c) What is so special about Indian culture?

                                                THE PRICE OF FLOWERS

35. “Please, Miss, can you tell me if that gentleman is an Indian?”

a) Who is the speaker?

b) Whom does the speaker address as Miss?

c) Why was the speaker interested in Indian?

36. “The girl was thirteen or fourteen years old. Her clothes betrayed her poverty. Her hair hung in a heavy stream down her back.”

a) Who is the girl referred here?

b) Who makes the above observation of the girl?

c) Where did this above incident happen?

37. “It surprised me. Why? What was the matter? Her interest in me aroused my interest in her.”

a) Who is referred as ‘her’ in this excerpt?

b) Who was surprised?

c) Why was she interested in him?

38. “The work is very mechanical. I want work that will make me use my head , brain work”

a) Who is the speaker? Who payed attention to her?

b) Explain the context?

c) What is your viewpoint of doing  a work?

d) What work does the speaker like to do?

39. “What kind of country is India, Sir?” asked Mrs. Clifford, as she resumed her cooking. ‘ A beautiful country’ ‘safe to live in?’ ‘Certainly.  But not cold like this country. It is somewhat hot’.

a) Why is Mrs. Clifford eager to know about India?

b) How did Mr. Gupta describe India to Mrs. Clifford?

c) Which is the country mentioned as ‘cold’?

40. “ I found not more than three or four hungry people scattered around the room. I chose a table, seated myself and opened the newspaper”

a) Who is the ‘I’ in this passage?

b) Which is the place mentioned here?

c) Why did the author go there?

41. “ A young English girl was sitting there. She had been watching me with interested surprise but turned her eyes away as soon as I looked at her”

a) Who is the young English girl referred to in this passage?

b) ‘She had been watching me with interested surprise’ – What could be the reason?

c) Name the place where the author and the young girl are?

42. “Saturday is pay day. That is when she comes. On other days, she may not be able to afford lunch.

a) Saturday is pay day. What is she paid for?

b) She may not be able to afford lunch. What can you gather about the financial condition of the girl?

43 “The week passed. Saturday came again. I presented myself at the vegetarian restaurant once more”.

a) Why did the narrator come to the restaurant on Saturday?

b) “I presented myself” What does the speaker mean by this?

c) Where is the vegetarian restaurant mentioned here?

44. “My elder brother is in India. He is a soldier”

a) What is the name of Maggie’s elder brother?

b) Why did he go to India?

c) Who is the speaker here?

45. The girl’s eyed trimmed with gratitude “ Thank you ever so much!” She said. It is so kind of you! Can you come now?

a) Why did the girl’s eyes trim with gratitude?

b) Can you come now? Where did the girl want the author to come with her?

c) What did the girl want the author to do?

46. No, the work is very mechanical. I want work that will make me use my head , brain work. Like the work of a secretary.

a) Which work is referred to as mechanical?

b) What does the girl mean by ‘head, brain work?

c) Why does the girl like the work of a secretary?

47. What kind of a country is India, sir? Asked Mrs. Clifford, as she resumed her cooking?

a) Why did Mrs. Clifford ask about India?

b) What was she cooking?

c) What impression does Mrs. Clifford have of India?

48. I had heard a lot about crystal gazing. A crystal was set in the ring. I took it up and examined it.

a) Who took the ring and examined it?

b) What is crystal gazing?

c) Who gave the crystal to Mrs. Clifford?

49. Maggie’s face was filled with gratitude. As she thanked me, her voice choked. She took a shilling out of her pocket and put it down on the table in front of me.

a) Why was Maggie’s face filled with gratitude?

b) Why did her voice choke?

c) Why did Maggie give a shilling to Mr. Gupta?

                                                                DEATH THE LEVELLER

50. Some men with swords may reap the field., And plant fresh laurels where they kill: But heir strong nerves at last yield; They tame but one another still: Early or late they stoop to fate

And must give up their murmuring breath, when they, pale captives creep to death.

a) How can men ‘reap the field’ with swords?

b) What is a couplet? Can you identify a couplet in this stanza?

c) What is the rhyme scheme of the stanza?

d) What happens to the men who reap the field?

                                                                                UNIT-3 BEYOND THE HORIZON

                                                                SUNRISE ON THE HILLS

51. The clouds were far beneath me; bathed in light, They gathered around midway round  

The wooded height; And in their fading glory shone like hosts in battle overthrown

a) Who brings out this natural beauty?

b) What is the figure of speech mentioned here?

c) Who shone like hosts?

52. The veil of cloud was lifted, and below glowed the rich valley, and the river’s flow

Was darkened by the forest’s shade, Or glistened in the white cascade

a) What is described as ‘white cascade?

b) What is described as the veil of cloud?

c) How did the rich valley glow?

                                                                                THE TRIP OF LE HORLA

53. “It is thus that nature itself nourishes beings until their birth”

a) What is the context referred here?

b) Who spread and put in place the net which covers Le Horla?

c) How was theappearance of the  balloon lying in the courtyard?

54. When we come out again, the balloon is swaying, enormous and transparent, a prodigious golden fruit, a fantastic pear which is still ripening covered by the last rays of the rising sun

a) Who made the above observation of the balloon?

b) Who are the ‘we’ referred to here?

c) Who is the Captain of Le Horla trip?

55. “Thanks to Captain Jovis, thanks to this brave man, we were able to see, in a single night, from far up in the sky, the setting of the sun, the rising of the moon and the dawn of the day, and to go to Paris to the mouth of the Scheldt through the skies.”

a) Who was Captain Jovis?

b) Whom does ‘we’ refer to?

c)  When did the descent occur?

56. “Then almost at the same time as the bewildered men, some of whom show their astonishment by jumping, with the wild gestures of savages, all the cows that are grazing along the coast come towards us…”

a) what is the context referred here?

b) Who helped them to  pack up all their materials?

c) Peasants ran towards us, but they do not dare approach . Why?

57. “The earth no longer seems to exist, it is buried in milky vapours that resemble a sea”

a) What is the context referred to here?

b) What looked like another balloon travelling opposite us?

c) We have become something indescribable,  ……who do not even have to flap their wings(Fill in the blanks)

58. The view is superb, it is dark on the earth, but we are still in the light, and it is now past ten o’ clock.

a) What is the view described here?

b) Which animals were disturbed at the sight of balloon?

c) What is described as aerial monster?

59. “We can no longer see the earth, a light mist separates us from it; and above our head twinkles a world of stars”

a) When did the team experience this particular situation?

b) What didn’t the earth give back at this time?

c) How did the rice paper fall from them?

60. We are a wandering, travelling world like our sisters, the planets; and this little world carries five men who have almost forgotten it

a) What is described as the wandering world?

b) Who is the captain of this little world?

c) Prepare another suitable title for this lesson.

61. “Isn’t it dog? Indeed, something is running along the ground with great speed, and this something seems to jump over ditches, roads, trees with such ease that we could not understand what it might be”

a) What is described as ‘something’?

b) What is described as large as a child’s ball?

c) Who exclaimed at the speed of the balloon as dog’s running?

62. “Look out! Take a good hold! Raise yourselves by your wrists. We are going to touch the ground”

a) Who gave the above directions?

b) When did he give this above instruction?

c) Why did he demand special care for the heads?

                                                THE SACRED TURTLES OF KADAVU

63. Here, you have a splendid view and will find assembled all the maidens of the village of Namuana, singing a strange chant.

a) What is the splendid view described here?

b) Where can we find the splendid view?

c) What will you see if you sing a strange chant there?

64. They waded out onto the submerged reefs which stretch out from the rocky headline to the east of the bay on which Namuana village is situated.

a) Who is referred to as ‘they’?

b) Why did they wade out onto the submerged reefs? What happened to them while fishing?

c) Where is the village situated?

65. “The women of Namuana are all dressed in mourning .Each carries a sacred club each tattooed in a strange pattern”

a) Who is chanting this strange song?

b) What do you mean by the word ‘club’ here?

c) Why are they chanting this strange song? What happens when they chant this strange song?

                                                  UNIT 4 BRAVING THE HAZARDS

                                DISASTERS AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN INDIA

66. “Due to the lack of an adequate warning system, the tsunami of 2004 devastated a large portion of the coastal regions……”

a) Which are the coastal regions affected by the tsunami?

b) Which is the deadliest disaster of all other disasters?

c) Who is the author of the lesson “Disaster and Disaster Management in India”?

67. India has faced a number of disasters ranging from natural disasters to man-made disasters..

a) Write some examples for natural disasters occurred in India.

b) Give an example for a man-made disaster

c) Where did the hurricane Phailian occur?

68. Disaster Management has assumed greater importance in recent times.

a) Which is an integral part of disaster management?

b) Who plays a facilitating role in disaster management?

c) Who play a major role in disaster management?

69. The UNDAC along with the Government of India has jointly prepared an action plan for cities and towns vulnerable to earthquakes.

a) What is the full form of UNDAC?

b) What should be set up to reduce damage to buildings?

c) What do you mean by the phrase ‘tectonic forces’?

                                                                THE SERANG OF RANAGANJI

70. “Look my dear! Did you ever in your life see such an absurdly comic creature!

a) Who made this remark?

b) Who is referred here as absurdly comic creature?

c)  Where were they standing?

71. “Following their amused gaze, my eyes came to rest upon a squat, very ugly native seaman, with short legs and and large disproportionate head.

a) Who is the squat, ugly native seaman described here?

b) Whose eyes came to rest upon him?

c) What did the author recognize of him  at that time?

72. “Believe me, he’s the finest man I have. You’ve got to keep this thing from spreading.”

a) Who is the finest man described here?

b) What is the ‘thing’ referred here?

c) Who is speaking these words?

73. “For nearly forty years, he had given himself to the oceans of the world, and fifteen of these years had been spent in the Ranaganji”

a) Who is the ‘he’ referred to here?

b) Where was he from?

c)  Where did his parents go from his native place?

74. “He was silent for a long moment. Then he answered: What use is money, Dr. Sahib, to one who has all he needs? I am well enough the way I am”

a) Who is the ‘he’ referred to here?

b) Why was he silent? What trait of his character is revealed here?

c) Who is the Dr. Sahib described here?

75. “He was unmistakably sincere, completely detached from the usual hope of reward”

a) Who is the ‘he’ referred to here?

b) What he had always despised?

c) What he had with him as good virtues?

76.” The huntress from Cheltenham swung round, bent her wit, her fascinations upon me”

a) Who was the huntress referred to here?

b) Whom did she mention in her question to the doctor sahib?

c) How was the serang described by Jope Smith in the end?

                                                THE WRECK OF THE TITANIC

77. “ And with these down the corridors of all time, The Titanic’s story shall sound sublime,

    For never was courage more noble and true, Than was shown on that night, by the Titanic’s crew”

a) Whose courage is referred to here?

b) Who wrote these lines?  Write the name of the Poem

c) Why were their courage described as noble and true?

78. Then Captain Smith, her commander brave, Thought one moment, his own life to save,

   But stood on the bridge, calling out to the crew: Remember your country, Be British, be true

a) What happened to the ship?

b) Comment on the character of Captain Smith

c) What did his crew do to prove that they were truly British?

79. “ Out of Southampton the swung with the stream, A poem of iron and steel, a sea dream.

  And thousands on shore, watched her steaming away: The largest, and grandest of all ships that day

a) Why is the Titanic called ‘ a poem of iron and steel’?

b) Identify the rhyme scheme and list out the rhyming words?

c) Why did thousands come to see the departure of the ship?

                                                                UNIT 5. HARMONY OF LIFE

                                                                                GOOSEBERRIES

80. “Last time when we stopped in Prokofyi’s shed, you were going to tell me a story”

a) Who are the two persons referred to in this passage?

b) Whose story was the narrator going to tell?

c) What happened when he was about to tell the story?

81. “Please gentlemen,” he said ‘‘go to the house. I’ll be with you in a minute.

a) Who spoke these words

b) To whom was this spoken?

c) What type of a house did he build?

82. “ Ah! How delicious! He shouted in glee.” How delicious” Bourkin and Alliokhin were already dressed and ready to go, but he kept on swimming and diving”

a) Who exclaimed saying ‘how delicious’?

b) Why did he find it delicious?

c) Where were they getting ready to go?

83. “Or Father Tchimsha- Himalaysky, was a cantonist, but he died with an officer’s rank and left us his title of nobility and a small estate. After his death the estate went to pay his debts.”

a) Who was Tchimsha –Himalaysky?

b) What was he?

c) What do you mean by the phrase ‘went to pay his debts’?

84. “God forgive me a wicket sinner, he murmured as he drew the clothes over his head.”

a) Who spoke these words?

b) What change came over him?

c) Why does he consider himself as a wicked sinner?

85. “Books on agriculture and the hints in almanacs were his joy, his favourite spiritual food and he liked reading newspapers”

a) Who is referred to as ‘his’ in this passage?

b) Who is making this kind of thoughts?

c) What did he read in the newspapers?

86. “You sit on the veranda drinking tea and your ducklings swim on the pond, and everything smells good……..and there are gooseberries...”

a) Who is thinking like this?

b) Where can one experience this kind of life ?

c) What was indispensable in his concept of a house in the country life?

87. “Money like vodka, can play queer tricks with a man”

a) Where did Nicholai put his money?

b) Whom did he marry? What was his motivation behind this?

c) How did he treat his wife after marriage?

88. “It was hard and sour, but I saw a happy man, one whose dearest dream had come true, who had attained his goal in life, who had got what he wanted, and was pleased with his destiny and with himself”

a) What was really hard and sour? Who felt this kind of experience?

b) Who is the happy man referred to here?

c) What was his dearest dream?

89. “ In my idea of human life there is always some alloy of sadness, but at the sight of a happy man I was filled with something like despair”.

a) Whose idea of human life is referred here?

b) Who is the happy man referred here?

c) Was Nicholai happy with his life? How do you know that?

90. “Freedom is a boon, I used to say, as essential as the air we breathe, but we must wait”

a) Whose thought is revealed here?

b) When did he get this novel ideal of life?

c) What did he understand that night?

91. “We cannot have everything at once, and that every idea is realized in time”

a) Who speaks these words?

b) To whom did the speaker say these words?

c) Whom did the speaker leave the next morning?

                                                                                                TO SLEEP

92. A flock of sheep that leisurely pass by; One after one; the sound of rain and bees

     Murmuring; the fall of rivers, winds and seas; Smooth fields white sheets of water, and pure sky

a) Identify the poem and the poet

b) Identify the poetic device used

c) Idetify the rhyme scheme used in the poem

93. Without Thee what is all the morning’s wealth?

      Come, blessed barrierbetween day and day

      Dear mother of fresh thoughts and joyous health!

a) Why is the first letter of ‘Thee’ capitalized?

b) Identify the poetic device used in the second line

c) Who does the ‘Dear Mother’ refer to?

                                                                                GOING OUT FOR A WALK

94. “When I grew up, it seemed to me that the one advantage of living in London was that nobody ever wanted me to come out for a walk”

a) Who is the ‘I’ referred to in the passage?

b) What according to the author are the reasons why nobody calls him for a walk?

c) Does the author really like going for a walk? Why?

95. “ I wish I could, But –Nothing ever occurs to me except ‘ I have some letters to write’ “

a) What is the author’s excuse to avoid walking?

b) Why is this excuse not generally believed on Sundays?

96. “I forsee that during the rest of the walk he will read aloud any inscriptions that occurs. We pass a milestone. He points at it with his stick and says ‘Uxminster 11 miles’ “.

a) ‘We pass a milestone’. Who are the two persons referred to here?

b) What are they doing?

c) What is ‘Uxminster 11 miles’?

97. I take it that not by his reasoning faculties is a man urged to this enterprise.

a) What is the enterprise referred to?

b) What prompts him to do this enterprise?

c) What happens to the brain when one does this enterprise?

98. “Even if you go to some definite place, for some definite purposes, the brain would rather you took a vehicle; but it does not make a point of this, it will serve you well enough unless you are going out for a walk”

a) Is the author completely against going for a walk?

b) When does he support it?

c) What does walking do willingly for you?

99. “Surely he will never, after the bitter lesson of this morning, go out for another walk”

a) Who is the ‘he’ referred to in the passage?

b) Who makes this comment?

c) How does the author justify his above comment?

                                                                UNIT-6 LEAPS AND BOUNDS

                                                                THE CYBER SPACE

100.” Some property is privately owned and rented out; other property is privately owned and rented out; other property is common land, some places are suitable for children, and others are best avoided by all but the oddest citizens”

a) What does the author mean by property?

b) What do you mean by the phrase ‘common land’?

c) Why some places are best avoided by all? What is the conclusion good citizens jump to?

101. “That means that people can choose where to go and what to see. Yes, community standards should be enforced”

a) What is the place where people can choose where to go and what to see?

b) Who should set those community standards?

c) What according to the author is the important thing we need?

102. “ Growing up means understanding that there are no perfect answers, no all-purpose solutions”

a) Who shares this kind of thought?

b) Can we find a perfect society in cyberspace? Why?

c) What according to the author can we have in cyberspace?

                                                                                IS SOCIETY DEAD

103. “I noticed the rhythms of others again, the sound of airplane, the opinions of the taxi driver, the small social cues that had been obscured before”

a) Who is the ‘I’ referred to in the passage?

b) Why couldn’t he notice the rhythms of people before?

c) What are the features of the ‘I-pod generation’ that the author speaks about?

104. “Try it there is a world out there. And it has a sound track all on its own”

a) What is the world mentioned here?

b) How is the world different from modern world?

c) How is its sound track? Is it enjoyable?

d) What is the author actually hinting at?

105. “But there was something else. And as I looked across the throngs on the pavements, I began to see why”

a) Who makes this observation? Where does he make this observation?

b) What does he see while looking across the throngs on the pavements?

c) Where did the author visit to see this strange sight?

106. “The eyes were a little vacant. Each was in his or her own musical world, walking to their sound track, stars in their own music video, almost oblivious to the world around them”

a) What does the author mean by this statement?

b) Whose eyes were a little vacant?

c) Why are they almost oblivious to the world around them?

107. “When others say ‘Excuse me’, there’s no response. ‘Hi’, ditto, it’s strange to be among so many people and hear so little.”

a) Why does the author say that others don’t get response for ‘excuse me’?

b) What do such people emit unconsciously every now and again?

c) How does the author compare such people?

108. “Unlike other models, it gave me my entire music collection to re-arrange as I saw fit- on the fly, in my pocket.”

a) Who makes this comment?

b) What was once an occasional musical diversion for the author?

c) How did this occasional musical diversion become later for the author?

109. “Get on a subway and you are surrounded by a bunch of stepford commuters staring into mid space as if anesthetized by technology”

a) What is meant by stepford commuters?

b) What do you mean by the phrase ‘anesthetized by technology’?

c) Who makes this kind of observation?

110. “ But music is as atomized now as living is. And it’s secret. That bloke next to you on the bus could be listening to heavy metal or a Gregorian chant”

a) Why does the author say that music is atomized?

b) What do you mean by the word ‘bloke’?

c) What does the author mean by ‘heavy metal’ or ‘Gregorian chant”?

111. “External stimulation can crowd out the interior mind. Even the boredom that we flee has its uses”.

a) Why does the author say like this?

b) What prevents us to have external stimulation?

c) What do you think are the uses of the boredom?

                                                                CONCEPTUAL FRUIT

112. “He hoped the house would be large and have sheer white curtains billowing in all the rooms. He hoped it would have an orchard with fruit to put in real blue bowls; apples, pears, peaches- whatever Greta wanted”.

a) Identify the characters mentioned in the excerpt?

b) List out the other two characters in the story.

c) Mention the seting of the story.

d) What do you think is the plot of the story?

113. “I could buy a house on Pomanger Street’, he said, ‘and put as many rooms in it as I wanted. ‘I could fill it with fruit and make my own library’ ”

a) Who is the ‘I’ referred to here in this extract?

b) Who looked up at this time to the speaker?

c) What was he speaking about? What did his wife and son do at that time?

114. “These days he wanted to give away books and devote his time to Karatte”

a) Who is the ‘he’ referred to in this passage?

b) Why didn’t he give ear to his Dad?

c) How old was his son?

115. “She’d worked hard to tie her shoes by age ten and could read at fifth-grade level, five grades below Joel, even though she was sixteen”

a) Who is the ‘she’ referred to here?

b) What does it tell of her?

c) Where did she go for education?

116. “By the time she left her school, she might be able to type fast enough to get a word processing job. No one knew for sure”.

a) Who is the ‘she’ referred to here?

b) Who makes this prediction on her?

c) Why does he say like this?

117. “ ’ I want a bowl in every room’, she said’. “ ’Peaches in the kitchen and living room and all the bedrooms’”

a) Who is the ‘I’ referred to here?

b) When does Greta pick at her sweater?

c) What colour did she like to get for the bowl?

118. “She would live in a group house with other people like her. He hoped the house would be large and have sheer white curtains billowing in all the rooms”

a) Who hopes this kind of life?

b) Why does he think like this?

c) What does he hope to have in the new house to put in real blue bowls?

             

    

                                               

                                                               

                                               

 I. Read the following excerpt and answer the questions

                                                                                HIS FIRST FLIGHT

1) He leaned out eagerly , tapping the rock with his feet, trying to get nearer to her as she flew across. But when she was just opposite to him, abreast of the ledge, she halted, her legs hanging limp, her wings motionless, the piece of fish in her beak almost within reach of his beak.

a). Who is the “He” in the excerpt?

b). Which word in the excerpt means “stopped”?

c). What was the mother trying to do?

2)“He even gnawed at the dried pieces of eggshell. It was like eating a part of himself”. These lines show how desperately hungry the young seagull was.

a) Do you think his parents were too cruel to ignore him?

b) Can you justify the attitude of the parent gulls? Why?

3) If you can dream –and not make dreams your master; If you can think- and not make thoughts your aim, If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two imposters just the same:

a) What is meant by the word “imposters”?

b) Why shouldn’t one make dreams one’s master?

c) Why should triumph and disaster be treated as imposters just the same?

4) Only his mother was looking at him. She was standing on a little high hump on the plateau, her white breast thrust forward.

a) Whose mother is referred to in the excerpt?

b)What is the implied meaning of the first sentence?

c) Write a note on the role of parents towards the well being of their children?

5) Still they took no notice of him. He saw his two brothers and his sister lying on the plateau dozing, with their heads sunk into their necks. His father was preening the feathers on his white back. Only his mother was looking at him.

a) Explain he context.

b) Do you think that the parents mentioned in the extract were cruel?

c) Can you justify the attitude of the parents?

6) And all the morning, the whole family had walked about on the big plateau midway down the opposite cliff laughing at his cowardice.

a)  Explain the context?

b) Do you think the action of the family members justifiable?

c) What do you mean by the word “Cowardice”?

7) “He leaned out eagerly, tapping the rock with his feet, trying to get nearer to her as she flew across.”

a) Who is the “he” referred here?

b) Why did he tap the rock with his feet?

c)What is the meaning of the phrase  “leaned out”?

8) He waited a moment in surprise, wondering why she did not come nearer and then maddened by hunger he dived at the fish.

a) Who is referred to as ‘he’ in the excerpt?

b) What was ‘she’ doing  and why?

c) What happened after ‘he’ had dived?

9) He uttered a joyous scream and flapped them again. He soared higher. He raised his breast and banked against the wind

a) Who uttered a joyous scream?

b) What do you mean by the word “soared”?

c) Who was swooping past him making a loud noise?

10) “Then he completely forgot that he had not always been able to fly, and commenced to dive and soar, shrieking shrilly.”

a) Who commence to dive and soar?

b) What do you mean by the word ‘commenced’?

c) Who motivated him to fly?

11) He was floating on it. And around him, his family was screaming, praising him, and their beaks were offering him scraps of dog-fish.

a) What do you mean by floating?

b) Where did his feet sink at this time?

c) What do you think the role of family members in bringing up the young ones?  

                                                                                I WILL FLY

12. “Last year I went to a village to inaugurate a programme called “Sasthrayaan”?

a) What is meant by the term “Sasthrayaan”?

b)Who is referred to as ‘I’ in the excerpt? Why was he invited  to that function?

c) What was the mission of ‘Sasthrayaan’?

13. Every youth wants to be unique, that is you!. But the world around you is doing its best, day and night to make you just everybody else!

a) What is Dr.Kalam’s advice to the Indian youth?

b) How can you be unique?

c) Why did Dr.Kalam value the boy’s question?

14. Last year I went to a village to inaugurate a programme called Sasthrayaan which means the propagation of Science. The mission of Sasthrayaan was to ensure the propagation of about two thousand students from different schools towards making them eligible to be engineers, doctors,, qualified managers and civil servants.

a) Identify the speaker

b) Why did the speaker go to a village?

c)Who were the listeners of the speech?

d) What was the mission of Sasthrayaan?

15. He was nervous and a typical representative of the youth of India.

a) Who is referred to as ‘he” in the excerpt?

b) Why is he described as the typical representative of the youth of India?

c) Who made the remark as  nervous and typical representative youth of India?

16. My dear friend, you have put the most difficult question among the many questions received from millions and millions of students whom I have met.

a) Who is referred here as ‘my dear friend”?

b) What makes the question to describe as the most difficult one?

c) Who is referred to as ‘I’ ?

17 . You have to fight the hardest battle which any human being can ever imagine, and never stop fighting until you arrive at your destined place.

a) What is referred here as the ‘hardest battle’?

b) Who is the speaker in this excerpt?

c) What is the destined place described here?

                                                                QUEST FOR A THEORY OF EVERYTHING

18. He invited them to join him in a sensational escape through time and space to find the Holy Grail of science.

a) Whom did Stephen Hawking invite to join in a sensational escape?

b) What is described as the Holy Grail of Science?

c)When did he make this speech?

19. He became popular and well-accepted among his peers. They remember him as lively, buoyant, and adaptable.

a) Who is referred here as popular and well-accepted?

b) Where did he become lively, buoyant and adaptable?

c) What was the music he liked at this time?

20. Hawking contracted a rare disease for which there was no known cure.

a) What was the rare disease Hawking contracted?

b) When did Hawking get this rare disease?

c) What was the name of the disease?

21. “Another recurring dream was the idea of sacrificing my life to save others. After all, if I were going to die, I might as well do some good”

a) Who shared this idea?

b) Why did the speaker share this idea of sacrificing his life?

c)What happened to him after two years?

22. “In fact, although there was a cloud hanging over my future, I found to my surprise that I was enjoying life in the present, more than before”

a) Who expressed this optimistic thought of life?

b) What was the cloud hanging over the speaker’s future?

c) Why did the speaker express this kind of attitude to his life?

23. “ ‘My dreams at that time were rather confused’, he admitted. Before my condition was diagnosed, I had been very bored with life. There did not seem to be anything worth doing. But shortly I came out of hospital, I dreamt that I was going to be executed”

a) Identify the speaker?

b) What times were his dreams rather confused at?

c) I was going to be executed   (Use a single word for the underlined words)

d) What drastic change came over Hawking after the diagnosis of the disease?

e) What trait of Hawking’s character do you detect here?

24. “To her, this dishevelled graduate student seemed terribly intelligent, eccentric and rather arrogant. But he was interesting and she liked his wit.

a) Who is referred to here as ‘her’?

b) Who is the disheveled graduate student described in this excerpt?

c) Write the meaning of the word ‘dishevelled’.     

d) Write one of the qualities of her.

25. “In 1965, at the age of twenty-three, Hawking received his fellowship at Caius”.

a) What important thing happened in his life that year?      

b) Whom did Hawking marry?

c) What did she like most in his character?

26. “She was rather a shy teenager, serious minded with a strong faith in God”

a) Who is described as a shy teenager?

b) Who helped her to have strong faith in God?

c)    What was the brave decision she took in her life?                                                                                     

27. “One will encounter a multitude of paradoxes in the book. In science and with people things are often not what they seem and pieces that ought to fit together refuse to do so”

a) Where can one encounter a multitude of paradoxes ?

b) When did the author publish that book?

c) With whose support did the author publish that book?

28. “He chooses to ignore the difficulty and he expects others to adopt the same attitude”.

a) Who is the ‘he’ referred in this excerpt?

b) What is the attitude he expects others to adopt?

c) What is the difficulty mentioned in the excerpt? Write one of the good qualities that you find in Hawkings.

                                                                                IF

29. “If you can meet Triumph and Disaster  And treat those two imposters just the same”

a) Identify the speaker

b) Whom does ‘you’refer to?

c) Why are ‘Triumph’ and ‘disaster’ called as imposters?

d) Identify the figure of speech in these lines.

e) Do you agree with the idea in these lines?

30. “If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And which is more –you will be a Man my son”

a) What is the message conveyed in this stanza?

b) What is the poer’s approach?

c) Comment on the metaphor given in the stanza.

                                                UNIT  2 WORDS AND DEEDS

AND THEN GANDHI CAME

                                                                               

31. We had become a derelict nation. We seemed to be helpless in the grip of some all-powerful monster: our limbs were paralysed and our minds deadened.

a) What is referred here as all powerful monster?

b) Why were our limbs paralysed?

c) What does Nehru mean by ‘we had become a derelict nation’?

32. And then Gandhi came. He was like a powerful current of fresh air that made us stretch ourselves and take deep breaths, like a beam of light that pierced the darkness…..

a) What is the incident referred to in the passage?

b) Who made us stretch ourselves and take deep breaths?

c)  What do you mean by ‘removing the scales from eyes’?

33. The dominant impulse in India under British rule was that of fear-pervasive oppressing, strangling fear, fear of army, the police, the widespread secret service……..

a) Who asked to fight against fear?

b) Name some kinds of fear people had under the British rule.

c) What is the word used by Nehru to refer to fearlessness?

34. Proud of his Hindu inheritance as he was, he tried to give to Hinduism a kind of universal attire and included all religions within the fold of truth.

a) Who was proud of his Hindu inheritance?

b) How did he give universal attire to Hinduism?

c) What is so special about Indian culture?

                                                THE PRICE OF FLOWERS

35. “Please, Miss, can you tell me if that gentleman is an Indian?”

a) Who is the speaker?

b) Whom does the speaker address as Miss?

c) Why was the speaker interested in Indian?

36. “The girl was thirteen or fourteen years old. Her clothes betrayed her poverty. Her hair hung in a heavy stream down her back.”

a) Who is the girl referred here?

b) Who makes the above observation of the girl?

c) Where did this above incident happen?

37. “It surprised me. Why? What was the matter? Her interest in me aroused my interest in her.”

a) Who is referred as ‘her’ in this excerpt?

b) Who was surprised?

c) Why was she interested in him?

38. “The work is very mechanical. I want work that will make me use my head , brain work”

a) Who is the speaker? Who payed attention to her?

b) Explain the context?

c) What is your viewpoint of doing  a work?

d) What work does the speaker like to do?

39. “What kind of country is India, Sir?” asked Mrs. Clifford, as she resumed her cooking. ‘ A beautiful country’ ‘safe to live in?’ ‘Certainly.  But not cold like this country. It is somewhat hot’.

a) Why is Mrs. Clifford eager to know about India?

b) How did Mr. Gupta describe India to Mrs. Clifford?

c) Which is the country mentioned as ‘cold’?

40. “ I found not more than three or four hungry people scattered around the room. I chose a table, seated myself and opened the newspaper”

a) Who is the ‘I’ in this passage?

b) Which is the place mentioned here?

c) Why did the author go there?

41. “ A young English girl was sitting there. She had been watching me with interested surprise but turned her eyes away as soon as I looked at her”

a) Who is the young English girl referred to in this passage?

b) ‘She had been watching me with interested surprise’ – What could be the reason?

c) Name the place where the author and the young girl are?

42. “Saturday is pay day. That is when she comes. On other days, she may not be able to afford lunch.

a) Saturday is pay day. What is she paid for?

b) She may not be able to afford lunch. What can you gather about the financial condition of the girl?

43 “The week passed. Saturday came again. I presented myself at the vegetarian restaurant once more”.

a) Why did the narrator come to the restaurant on Saturday?

b) “I presented myself” What does the speaker mean by this?

c) Where is the vegetarian restaurant mentioned here?

44. “My elder brother is in India. He is a soldier”

a) What is the name of Maggie’s elder brother?

b) Why did he go to India?

c) Who is the speaker here?

45. The girl’s eyed trimmed with gratitude “ Thank you ever so much!” She said. It is so kind of you! Can you come now?

a) Why did the girl’s eyes trim with gratitude?

b) Can you come now? Where did the girl want the author to come with her?

c) What did the girl want the author to do?

46. No, the work is very mechanical. I want work that will make me use my head , brain work. Like the work of a secretary.

a) Which work is referred to as mechanical?

b) What does the girl mean by ‘head, brain work?

c) Why does the girl like the work of a secretary?

47. What kind of a country is India, sir? Asked Mrs. Clifford, as she resumed her cooking?

a) Why did Mrs. Clifford ask about India?

b) What was she cooking?

c) What impression does Mrs. Clifford have of India?

48. I had heard a lot about crystal gazing. A crystal was set in the ring. I took it up and examined it.

a) Who took the ring and examined it?

b) What is crystal gazing?

c) Who gave the crystal to Mrs. Clifford?

49. Maggie’s face was filled with gratitude. As she thanked me, her voice choked. She took a shilling out of her pocket and put it down on the table in front of me.

a) Why was Maggie’s face filled with gratitude?

b) Why did her voice choke?

c) Why did Maggie give a shilling to Mr. Gupta?

                                                                DEATH THE LEVELLER

50. Some men with swords may reap the field., And plant fresh laurels where they kill: But heir strong nerves at last yield; They tame but one another still: Early or late they stoop to fate

And must give up their murmuring breath, when they, pale captives creep to death.

a) How can men ‘reap the field’ with swords?

b) What is a couplet? Can you identify a couplet in this stanza?

c) What is the rhyme scheme of the stanza?

d) What happens to the men who reap the field?

                                                                                UNIT-3 BEYOND THE HORIZON

                                                                SUNRISE ON THE HILLS

51. The clouds were far beneath me; bathed in light, They gathered around midway round  

The wooded height; And in their fading glory shone like hosts in battle overthrown

a) Who brings out this natural beauty?

b) What is the figure of speech mentioned here?

c) Who shone like hosts?

52. The veil of cloud was lifted, and below glowed the rich valley, and the river’s flow

Was darkened by the forest’s shade, Or glistened in the white cascade

a) What is described as ‘white cascade?

b) What is described as the veil of cloud?

c) How did the rich valley glow?

                                                                                THE TRIP OF LE HORLA

53. “It is thus that nature itself nourishes beings until their birth”

a) What is the context referred here?

b) Who spread and put in place the net which covers Le Horla?

c) How was theappearance of the  balloon lying in the courtyard?

54. When we come out again, the balloon is swaying, enormous and transparent, a prodigious golden fruit, a fantastic pear which is still ripening covered by the last rays of the rising sun

a) Who made the above observation of the balloon?

b) Who are the ‘we’ referred to here?

c) Who is the Captain of Le Horla trip?

55. “Thanks to Captain Jovis, thanks to this brave man, we were able to see, in a single night, from far up in the sky, the setting of the sun, the rising of the moon and the dawn of the day, and to go to Paris to the mouth of the Scheldt through the skies.”

a) Who was Captain Jovis?

b) Whom does ‘we’ refer to?

c)  When did the descent occur?

56. “Then almost at the same time as the bewildered men, some of whom show their astonishment by jumping, with the wild gestures of savages, all the cows that are grazing along the coast come towards us…”

a) what is the context referred here?

b) Who helped them to  pack up all their materials?

c) Peasants ran towards us, but they do not dare approach . Why?

57. “The earth no longer seems to exist, it is buried in milky vapours that resemble a sea”

a) What is the context referred to here?

b) What looked like another balloon travelling opposite us?

c) We have become something indescribable,  ……who do not even have to flap their wings(Fill in the blanks)

58. The view is superb, it is dark on the earth, but we are still in the light, and it is now past ten o’ clock.

a) What is the view described here?

b) Which animals were disturbed at the sight of balloon?

c) What is described as aerial monster?

59. “We can no longer see the earth, a light mist separates us from it; and above our head twinkles a world of stars”

a) When did the team experience this particular situation?

b) What didn’t the earth give back at this time?

c) How did the rice paper fall from them?

60. We are a wandering, travelling world like our sisters, the planets; and this little world carries five men who have almost forgotten it

a) What is described as the wandering world?

b) Who is the captain of this little world?

c) Prepare another suitable title for this lesson.

61. “Isn’t it dog? Indeed, something is running along the ground with great speed, and this something seems to jump over ditches, roads, trees with such ease that we could not understand what it might be”

a) What is described as ‘something’?

b) What is described as large as a child’s ball?

c) Who exclaimed at the speed of the balloon as dog’s running?

62. “Look out! Take a good hold! Raise yourselves by your wrists. We are going to touch the ground”

a) Who gave the above directions?

b) When did he give this above instruction?

c) Why did he demand special care for the heads?

                                                THE SACRED TURTLES OF KADAVU

63. Here, you have a splendid view and will find assembled all the maidens of the village of Namuana, singing a strange chant.

a) What is the splendid view described here?

b) Where can we find the splendid view?

c) What will you see if you sing a strange chant there?

64. They waded out onto the submerged reefs which stretch out from the rocky headline to the east of the bay on which Namuana village is situated.

a) Who is referred to as ‘they’?

b) Why did they wade out onto the submerged reefs? What happened to them while fishing?

c) Where is the village situated?

65. “The women of Namuana are all dressed in mourning .Each carries a sacred club each tattooed in a strange pattern”

a) Who is chanting this strange song?

b) What do you mean by the word ‘club’ here?

c) Why are they chanting this strange song? What happens when they chant this strange song?

                                                  UNIT 4 BRAVING THE HAZARDS

                                DISASTERS AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN INDIA

66. “Due to the lack of an adequate warning system, the tsunami of 2004 devastated a large portion of the coastal regions……”

a) Which are the coastal regions affected by the tsunami?

b) Which is the deadliest disaster of all other disasters?

c) Who is the author of the lesson “Disaster and Disaster Management in India”?

67. India has faced a number of disasters ranging from natural disasters to man-made disasters..

a) Write some examples for natural disasters occurred in India.

b) Give an example for a man-made disaster

c) Where did the hurricane Phailian occur?

68. Disaster Management has assumed greater importance in recent times.

a) Which is an integral part of disaster management?

b) Who plays a facilitating role in disaster management?

c) Who play a major role in disaster management?

69. The UNDAC along with the Government of India has jointly prepared an action plan for cities and towns vulnerable to earthquakes.

a) What is the full form of UNDAC?

b) What should be set up to reduce damage to buildings?

c) What do you mean by the phrase ‘tectonic forces’?

                                                                THE SERANG OF RANAGANJI

70. “Look my dear! Did you ever in your life see such an absurdly comic creature!

a) Who made this remark?

b) Who is referred here as absurdly comic creature?

c)  Where were they standing?

71. “Following their amused gaze, my eyes came to rest upon a squat, very ugly native seaman, with short legs and and large disproportionate head.

a) Who is the squat, ugly native seaman described here?

b) Whose eyes came to rest upon him?

c) What did the author recognize of him  at that time?

72. “Believe me, he’s the finest man I have. You’ve got to keep this thing from spreading.”

a) Who is the finest man described here?

b) What is the ‘thing’ referred here?

c) Who is speaking these words?

73. “For nearly forty years, he had given himself to the oceans of the world, and fifteen of these years had been spent in the Ranaganji”

a) Who is the ‘he’ referred to here?

b) Where was he from?

c)  Where did his parents go from his native place?

74. “He was silent for a long moment. Then he answered: What use is money, Dr. Sahib, to one who has all he needs? I am well enough the way I am”

a) Who is the ‘he’ referred to here?

b) Why was he silent? What trait of his character is revealed here?

c) Who is the Dr. Sahib described here?

75. “He was unmistakably sincere, completely detached from the usual hope of reward”

a) Who is the ‘he’ referred to here?

b) What he had always despised?

c) What he had with him as good virtues?

76.” The huntress from Cheltenham swung round, bent her wit, her fascinations upon me”

a) Who was the huntress referred to here?

b) Whom did she mention in her question to the doctor sahib?

c) How was the serang described by Jope Smith in the end?

                                                THE WRECK OF THE TITANIC

77. “ And with these down the corridors of all time, The Titanic’s story shall sound sublime,

    For never was courage more noble and true, Than was shown on that night, by the Titanic’s crew”

a) Whose courage is referred to here?

b) Who wrote these lines?  Write the name of the Poem

c) Why were their courage described as noble and true?

78. Then Captain Smith, her commander brave, Thought one moment, his own life to save,

   But stood on the bridge, calling out to the crew: Remember your country, Be British, be true

a) What happened to the ship?

b) Comment on the character of Captain Smith

c) What did his crew do to prove that they were truly British?

79. “ Out of Southampton the swung with the stream, A poem of iron and steel, a sea dream.

  And thousands on shore, watched her steaming away: The largest, and grandest of all ships that day

a) Why is the Titanic called ‘ a poem of iron and steel’?

b) Identify the rhyme scheme and list out the rhyming words?

c) Why did thousands come to see the departure of the ship?

                                                                UNIT 5. HARMONY OF LIFE

                                                                                GOOSEBERRIES

80. “Last time when we stopped in Prokofyi’s shed, you were going to tell me a story”

a) Who are the two persons referred to in this passage?

b) Whose story was the narrator going to tell?

c) What happened when he was about to tell the story?

81. “Please gentlemen,” he said ‘‘go to the house. I’ll be with you in a minute.

a) Who spoke these words

b) To whom was this spoken?

c) What type of a house did he build?

82. “ Ah! How delicious! He shouted in glee.” How delicious” Bourkin and Alliokhin were already dressed and ready to go, but he kept on swimming and diving”

a) Who exclaimed saying ‘how delicious’?

b) Why did he find it delicious?

c) Where were they getting ready to go?

83. “Or Father Tchimsha- Himalaysky, was a cantonist, but he died with an officer’s rank and left us his title of nobility and a small estate. After his death the estate went to pay his debts.”

a) Who was Tchimsha –Himalaysky?

b) What was he?

c) What do you mean by the phrase ‘went to pay his debts’?

84. “God forgive me a wicket sinner, he murmured as he drew the clothes over his head.”

a) Who spoke these words?

b) What change came over him?

c) Why does he consider himself as a wicked sinner?

85. “Books on agriculture and the hints in almanacs were his joy, his favourite spiritual food and he liked reading newspapers”

a) Who is referred to as ‘his’ in this passage?

b) Who is making this kind of thoughts?

c) What did he read in the newspapers?

86. “You sit on the veranda drinking tea and your ducklings swim on the pond, and everything smells good……..and there are gooseberries...”

a) Who is thinking like this?

b) Where can one experience this kind of life ?

c) What was indispensable in his concept of a house in the country life?

87. “Money like vodka, can play queer tricks with a man”

a) Where did Nicholai put his money?

b) Whom did he marry? What was his motivation behind this?

c) How did he treat his wife after marriage?

88. “It was hard and sour, but I saw a happy man, one whose dearest dream had come true, who had attained his goal in life, who had got what he wanted, and was pleased with his destiny and with himself”

a) What was really hard and sour? Who felt this kind of experience?

b) Who is the happy man referred to here?

c) What was his dearest dream?

89. “ In my idea of human life there is always some alloy of sadness, but at the sight of a happy man I was filled with something like despair”.

a) Whose idea of human life is referred here?

b) Who is the happy man referred here?

c) Was Nicholai happy with his life? How do you know that?

90. “Freedom is a boon, I used to say, as essential as the air we breathe, but we must wait”

a) Whose thought is revealed here?

b) When did he get this novel ideal of life?

c) What did he understand that night?

91. “We cannot have everything at once, and that every idea is realized in time”

a) Who speaks these words?

b) To whom did the speaker say these words?

c) Whom did the speaker leave the next morning?

                                                                                                TO SLEEP

92. A flock of sheep that leisurely pass by; One after one; the sound of rain and bees

     Murmuring; the fall of rivers, winds and seas; Smooth fields white sheets of water, and pure sky

a) Identify the poem and the poet

b) Identify the poetic device used

c) Idetify the rhyme scheme used in the poem

93. Without Thee what is all the morning’s wealth?

      Come, blessed barrierbetween day and day

      Dear mother of fresh thoughts and joyous health!

a) Why is the first letter of ‘Thee’ capitalized?

b) Identify the poetic device used in the second line

c) Who does the ‘Dear Mother’ refer to?

                                                                                GOING OUT FOR A WALK

94. “When I grew up, it seemed to me that the one advantage of living in London was that nobody ever wanted me to come out for a walk”

a) Who is the ‘I’ referred to in the passage?

b) What according to the author are the reasons why nobody calls him for a walk?

c) Does the author really like going for a walk? Why?

95. “ I wish I could, But –Nothing ever occurs to me except ‘ I have some letters to write’ “

a) What is the author’s excuse to avoid walking?

b) Why is this excuse not generally believed on Sundays?

96. “I forsee that during the rest of the walk he will read aloud any inscriptions that occurs. We pass a milestone. He points at it with his stick and says ‘Uxminster 11 miles’ “.

a) ‘We pass a milestone’. Who are the two persons referred to here?

b) What are they doing?

c) What is ‘Uxminster 11 miles’?

97. I take it that not by his reasoning faculties is a man urged to this enterprise.

a) What is the enterprise referred to?

b) What prompts him to do this enterprise?

c) What happens to the brain when one does this enterprise?

98. “Even if you go to some definite place, for some definite purposes, the brain would rather you took a vehicle; but it does not make a point of this, it will serve you well enough unless you are going out for a walk”

a) Is the author completely against going for a walk?

b) When does he support it?

c) What does walking do willingly for you?

99. “Surely he will never, after the bitter lesson of this morning, go out for another walk”

a) Who is the ‘he’ referred to in the passage?

b) Who makes this comment?

c) How does the author justify his above comment?

                                                                UNIT-6 LEAPS AND BOUNDS

                                                                THE CYBER SPACE

100.” Some property is privately owned and rented out; other property is privately owned and rented out; other property is common land, some places are suitable for children, and others are best avoided by all but the oddest citizens”

a) What does the author mean by property?

b) What do you mean by the phrase ‘common land’?

c) Why some places are best avoided by all? What is the conclusion good citizens jump to?

101. “That means that people can choose where to go and what to see. Yes, community standards should be enforced”

a) What is the place where people can choose where to go and what to see?

b) Who should set those community standards?

c) What according to the author is the important thing we need?

102. “ Growing up means understanding that there are no perfect answers, no all-purpose solutions”

a) Who shares this kind of thought?

b) Can we find a perfect society in cyberspace? Why?

c) What according to the author can we have in cyberspace?

                                                                                IS SOCIETY DEAD

103. “I noticed the rhythms of others again, the sound of airplane, the opinions of the taxi driver, the small social cues that had been obscured before”

a) Who is the ‘I’ referred to in the passage?

b) Why couldn’t he notice the rhythms of people before?

c) What are the features of the ‘I-pod generation’ that the author speaks about?

104. “Try it there is a world out there. And it has a sound track all on its own”

a) What is the world mentioned here?

b) How is the world different from modern world?

c) How is its sound track? Is it enjoyable?

d) What is the author actually hinting at?

105. “But there was something else. And as I looked across the throngs on the pavements, I began to see why”

a) Who makes this observation? Where does he make this observation?

b) What does he see while looking across the throngs on the pavements?

c) Where did the author visit to see this strange sight?

106. “The eyes were a little vacant. Each was in his or her own musical world, walking to their sound track, stars in their own music video, almost oblivious to the world around them”

a) What does the author mean by this statement?

b) Whose eyes were a little vacant?

c) Why are they almost oblivious to the world around them?

107. “When others say ‘Excuse me’, there’s no response. ‘Hi’, ditto, it’s strange to be among so many people and hear so little.”

a) Why does the author say that others don’t get response for ‘excuse me’?

b) What do such people emit unconsciously every now and again?

c) How does the author compare such people?

108. “Unlike other models, it gave me my entire music collection to re-arrange as I saw fit- on the fly, in my pocket.”

a) Who makes this comment?

b) What was once an occasional musical diversion for the author?

c) How did this occasional musical diversion become later for the author?

109. “Get on a subway and you are surrounded by a bunch of stepford commuters staring into mid space as if anesthetized by technology”

a) What is meant by stepford commuters?

b) What do you mean by the phrase ‘anesthetized by technology’?

c) Who makes this kind of observation?

110. “ But music is as atomized now as living is. And it’s secret. That bloke next to you on the bus could be listening to heavy metal or a Gregorian chant”

a) Why does the author say that music is atomized?

b) What do you mean by the word ‘bloke’?

c) What does the author mean by ‘heavy metal’ or ‘Gregorian chant”?

111. “External stimulation can crowd out the interior mind. Even the boredom that we flee has its uses”.

a) Why does the author say like this?

b) What prevents us to have external stimulation?

c) What do you think are the uses of the boredom?

                                                                CONCEPTUAL FRUIT

112. “He hoped the house would be large and have sheer white curtains billowing in all the rooms. He hoped it would have an orchard with fruit to put in real blue bowls; apples, pears, peaches- whatever Greta wanted”.

a) Identify the characters mentioned in the excerpt?

b) List out the other two characters in the story.

c) Mention the seting of the story.

d) What do you think is the plot of the story?

113. “I could buy a house on Pomanger Street’, he said, ‘and put as many rooms in it as I wanted. ‘I could fill it with fruit and make my own library’ ”

a) Who is the ‘I’ referred to here in this extract?

b) Who looked up at this time to the speaker?

c) What was he speaking about? What did his wife and son do at that time?

114. “These days he wanted to give away books and devote his time to Karatte”

a) Who is the ‘he’ referred to in this passage?

b) Why didn’t he give ear to his Dad?

c) How old was his son?

115. “She’d worked hard to tie her shoes by age ten and could read at fifth-grade level, five grades below Joel, even though she was sixteen”

a) Who is the ‘she’ referred to here?

b) What does it tell of her?

c) Where did she go for education?

116. “By the time she left her school, she might be able to type fast enough to get a word processing job. No one knew for sure”.

a) Who is the ‘she’ referred to here?

b) Who makes this prediction on her?

c) Why does he say like this?

117. “ ’ I want a bowl in every room’, she said’. “ ’Peaches in the kitchen and living room and all the bedrooms’”

a) Who is the ‘I’ referred to here?

b) When does Greta pick at her sweater?

c) What colour did she like to get for the bowl?

118. “She would live in a group house with other people like her. He hoped the house would be large and have sheer white curtains billowing in all the rooms”

a) Who hopes this kind of life?

b) Why does he think like this?

c) What does he hope to have in the new house to put in real blue bowls?