The last lesson by Alphonse Daudet
Short answer type
I. Why was Franz late for school that day?
II. What surroundings did Franz find near his school? What did he expect earlier?
III. What were surprises in school that day and what surprised Franz the most?
IV. What was the thunderous blow for Franz? What did he feel after that?
V. What happened when M. Hamel asked question on participle to Franz? How did he react?
VI. Whom did M. Hamel blame after Franz dis not reply?
VI. What did M. Hamel appeal to the people present in the classroom?
VI. What was the behaviour of the students in the classroom that day?
VII. What did Franz feel when he heard cooing of the pigeons?
IX. How was the end of the last lesson? What did M. Hamel wrote on the board?
Long Answer type
1. What were people's reactions on imposition of German language in the schools of Alsace Lorraine?
2. How does M. Hamel convince them importance of mother tongue to them?
Or
Explain with reference to the chapter " one's language is one's identity
3. What compelled Franz to think" will they make them sing in German... "?
Lost Spring ( stories of stolen childhood) by Anees Jung
I. What is Saheb looking for in the garbage dumps? Where is he and where has he come from?
II. What explanations does the author offer for the children not wearing footwear?
III. Garbage has two different meanings—one for the children and another for the adults. Comment.
IV. Survival in Seemapuri means rag-picking.
V. Question 21.
Why did Saheb’s parents leave Dhaka and migrate to India?
VI. What is Mukesh’s dream? Do you think he will be able to fulfil his dream?
VII. How was Mukesh different from other bangle makers?
VIII. How are Saheb and Mukesh different from each other?
IX. "It is his karam, his destiny.” What is Mukesh’s family’s attitude towards their situation?
X. What does the title, ‘Lost Spring’ convey?
Long Answer type
1. Why does the author say that the bangle makers are caught in a vicious web?
2. Why didn’t the bangle makers of Ferozabad organise themselves into a cooperative?
3. The bangle-makers of Ferozabad make bea-utiful bangles and make everyone happy but they live and die in squalor. Elaborate.
4. Describe the life of squatters at Seemapuri. Elaborate
5. Garbage to them is gold’. How do ragpickers of Seemapuri survive?
6. "Lost Spring’ explains the grinding poverty and traditions that condemn thousands of people to a life of abject poverty." Do you agree? Why/Why not?
Deep Water by William O Douglas
I. What is the 'misadventure' that William talk about?
II. Which childhood experience did the narrator remind when he went to the YMCA pool for the first time and why?
III.How did the incident affect him?
IV. Why was Douglas determined to get rid of the fear of water?
V. How did the instructor build a swimmer out of Douglas?
VI. How did Douglas make sure that he had overcome his old fear?
Long Answer type
1. How did Douglas’s experience at the YMCA pool affect him and how did he overcome his fear of water?
2. The story “Deep Water” has made you realize that with determination and perseverance one can accomplish the impossible. Write a paragraph in about 100 words on how a positive attitude and courage will aid you to achieve success in life.
Or
Desire, determination and diligence lead to success. Explain the value of these qualities in the light of Douglas’ experience in “Deep Water”
3. "All we have to fear is fear itself.” Describe Douglas’s experiences which led to the making of this statement.
4. We always admire those as heroes who face challenges bravely in different phases of life and emerge successfully. Elaborate on this statement with reference to William Douglas
The Rattrap by Selma lagerlof
Short Answer Type
I. Why did the peddler think that the world was a rattrap?
II. Which act of the crofter surprised the peddler? Why?
III. Why was the crofter so talkative and friendly with the peddler?
IV. Why did the peddler keep to the woods after leaving the crofter’s cottage? How did he feel? V. Why did the peddler decline the invitation of the ironmaster?
VI. How did the ironmaster react on seeing the stranger lying close to the furnace?
VII. Why did the ironmaster speak kindly to the peddler and invite him home?
VIII. What did Edla perceive seeing the vagabond in the ironmill?
IX. What made the peddler finally change his ways?
X. Why did Edla plead with her father not to send the vagabond away?
Long Answer Type
1. Describe how the story, ‘The Rattrap’ shows that basic human goodness can be brought out by understanding and love.
OrThe Rattrap’ highlights the impact of compassion and understanding on the hidden goodness in human beings. Substantiate with evidence from the story.
2. Give examples from the story, “The Rattrap” to show how the iron master is different from his daughter.
Or
How are the attitudes of the ironmaster and his daughter different? Support your answer from the text.
OrGiven his temperament, Edla’s father would have failed in reforming the peddler. How did Edla succeed?
3. The story ‘The Rattrap’ focuses on human loneliness and the need to bond with others. Explain.
4. How does the peddler respond to the hospitality shown to him by the crofter?
5. How did the seller of rattraps realize that he himself was caught up in a rattrap after he left the crofter’s cottage?
Indigo by Louis Fischer
Short Answer Type
I. How did Rajkumar Shukla establishthat he was resolute?
II. How was Gandhi treated at Rajendra Prasad’s house?
III. What were the terms of the indigo contract between the British landlords and the Indian peasants?
IV. Why did Gandhiji feel that taking the Cham-paran case to the court was useless?
V. How was Gandhiji able to influence the lawyers at Champaran?
VI. The battle of Champaran is won.” When and why did Gandhiji exclaim this?
VII. Why did Gandhiji accept 25 percent compensation?
VIII. How did the Champaran peasants react when they heard that a Mahatma had come to help them?
IX. While at Champaran how did Gandhiji keep a long distance watch on his ashram?
X. Why was Gandhiji opposed to C.F. Andrews helping him in Champaran?
Long Answer Type
I. How was the Champaran incident a turning point in Gandhiji’s life?
Or
Why do you think Gandhiji considered the Champaran episode to be a turning-point in his life?
2. How did Gandhiji use satyagraha and non-violence at Champaran to achieve his goal?
3. Exploitation is a universal phenomenon. The poor indigo farmers were exploited by the British landlords to which Gandhiji objected. Even after our independence we find exploitation of unorganized labour. What values do we learn from Gandhiji campaign to counter the present day problems of exploitation?
4. Why did Gandhiji agree to a settlement of 25 per cent refund to the farmers? How did it influence the peasant-landlord relationship in Champaran?
5. Gandhiji’s was not a loyalty to abstractions; it was a loyalty to living human beings. Why did Gandhiji continue his stay in Champaran even after indigo sharecropping disappeared?
6. Leadership is all about a strong concern for others. What light does Champaran episode throw on Gandhiji’s leadership?
Poems
My Mother at Sixty-six by Kamla Das
Short Answer Type
I. What did the poet notice about her mother in the car and why?
II. What does the poet realise with pain? Why does the poet ‘put that thought away’ and look outside?
III. Why are young trees describing as sprinting?
IV. Why has the poet use the image of merry children sapling out of their homes?
V. Why has the mother been compared to late winter's moon?
VI. What was the poet’s childhood fear?
VII. What do the parting words of the poet and her smile signify?
An Elementary School... by Stephen Spender
I. How does the poet present the slum children in the first stanza?
II. Why does the poet use the phrase "the unlucky heir"?
III. Whose eyes live in the dream? What does he dream for?
IV. How does the poet describe the classroom?
V. What does the colour of the classroom walls suggest?
VI. Which two worlds does the poet mention and how is the contrast between the two worlds presented?
VI. Explain "open handed map awarding the world its world"
VII. Why does the poet say " Shakespeare wicked and the map a bad example *?
VIII. What kind of future is awaiting to them?
IX. What does the poet mean by" from frog to endless night"?
X. What and why does the poet convey through ‘So blot their maps with slums as big as doom’?
XI. What kind of life do these children live?
XI. What does the poet want from the inspector, governor and visitors?
XII. How can the map in the classroom become their window?
XIiI. Why does the poet use the word "catacomb"?
XIV. Explain the phrase "History theirs whose language is the sun" with reference to the poem An elementary school classroom in a slum.
Keeping Quiet by Pablo Neruda
I. What does the poet hope to achieve by keeping quiet?
II. What does the poet mean by ‘not move our arms so much’?
IIi. What is the exotic moment the poet Pablo Neruda wishes for?
IV. Why is Pablo Neruda against ‘total inactivity’?
OrDo you think the poet, Pablo Neruda advocates total inactivity and death? Why/ Why not?
V. Which sadness is Pablo Neruda worried about in his poem?
VI. How can suspension of activities help?
VII. What lesson does the Earth teach us?
VIII. What are the different kinds of wars mentioned in the poem? What is Neruda’s attitude towards these WARS?
A thing of beauty by John Keats
I. What is the message of the poem, ‘A Thing of Beauty’?
II. How is a thing of beauty a joy forever?
III. What are the flowery bands that bind us to the earth?
IV. What are things of beauty mentioned in the poem?
Or
What image does Keats use to describe the beautiful bounty of the earth?
V. What makes man love life in spite of all its problems and miseries?
VI. What does the phrase, ‘pass into nothingness’ mean?
VII. Why and how is grandeur associated with the mighty dead?
VIII. What does Keats consider an endless fountain of immortal drink and why does he call its drink immortal?
Aunt Jennifer's Tigers by Adrienne Rich.
I. Describe the tigers created by Aunt Jennifer. Or
What tigers does Aunt create on screen?
Or
How do ‘denizens’ and ‘chivalric’ add to our understanding of the tigers’ attitude?
II. Why did Aunt Jennifer choose to embroider tigers on the panel?
III. Why are tigers described as denizens of a world of green?
IV. Why are they not afraid of the men?
V. Why are Aunt Jennifer’s hands fluttering through her wool?
VI. What will happen to Aunt Jennifer’s tigers when she is dead?
VII. Describe the contrast between Aunt Jennifer ‘ and her creation, the tigers.
Vistas
The third level by Jack Finney
Short Answer Type
What does the third level refer to?
How does Charley reach there?
What does Sam say about Charley's visit to the third level?
Why does Charley feel that the Grand central is growing like a tree?
What changes does Charley notice at the third level?
How does he confirm that he has reached into the past?
Why does Charley run away from the third level?
Where did Sam go?
How does Charley come to know about Sam's presence in the third level?
What does Same write in his letter to Charley? What appeal does he make to Charley and lousia?
Long Answer Type
How did Charley reach the third level of Grand Central? How was it different from the other levels?
Do you think that the third level was a medium of escape for Charley? Why
What kind of people did Charley ‘See’ at the third level?
How does Charley make his description of the third level very realistic?
The Enemy by Pear S. Buck
What was Sadao’s father’s dream for him? How did Sadao realise it?
What role did the American professor play in bringing Hana and Sadao together?
Why was Dr. Sadao not sent with army to battlefield?
In what condition was the American sailor when Dr. Sadao found him?
How does the writer indicate that Dr. Sadao’s father was a very traditional and conventional man?
Why had Hana to wash the wounded man herself?
How did servants react on Sadao's decision of treating the American soilder?
What help did Dr. Sadao seek from Hana while operating on the wounded white man?
Why did Dr. Sadao treat the American soldier even though it was an unpatriotic act on his part?
Why did the General not order immediate arrest of Dr. Sadao who had sheltered a white man?
Long Answer Type
Dr. Sadao was a patriotic Japanese as well as a dedicated surgeon. How could he honour both the value? Or. Dr. Sadao faced a dilemma. Should he use his surgical skills to save the life of a wounded person or hand an escaped American P.O.W. over to the Japanese police? How did he resolve this clash of values?
How did the arrival of the prisoner destroy the peace of Sadao’s home?
How did Dr. Sadao rise above narrow prejudices of race and country to help a human being in need?
Describe the difficulties faced by Dr. Sadao when he decided to help the enemy soldier.
Dr. Sadao was compelled by his duty as a doctor to help the enemy soldier. What made Hana, his wife sympathies with him in the face of open defiance from the domestic staff?
What explains the attitude of the General in the matter of the enemy soldier? Was it human consideration, lack of national loyalty, dere-lition of duty or simply self-absorption?
Why did Sadao help the American soldier to escape? How did he do it?
Should Wizard hit mommy? by John Updike
What was the basic plot of each story told by Jack?
Why did Roger Skunk want to change?
Why did Roger Skunk visit the owl? What did the owl advise him?
How did Roger Skunk pay the wizard?
How did the Wizard help Roger Skunk?
Why did Jo think Roger Skunk was better off with the new smell?
Why was Roger Skunk’s mummy angry with him? What did she finally tell him?
How did Jo want the story of Roger Skunk to end?
How did Jo want the wizard to behave when mommy Skunk approached him?
What part of the story did Jack himself enjoy the most and why?
Why does Jo insist that her father should tell her the story with a different ending?
How was the Skunk’s story different from the other stories narrated by Jack?
Why does Jack insist that it was the wizard that was hit and not the mother?
Long Answer Type
Why did Jo disapprove of Jack’s ending of the story of Roger Skunk? How did she want it to end?
What impression do you form of Jack as a father?
A child’s standpoint invariably is different from that of an adult. Justify the statement with reference to the story, Should Wizard Hit Mommy. or Different generations can have different views. Such differences should be respected. What is the difference between Jo’s and Jack’s views on Roger Skunk story?
Why did Jack feel himself caught in ugly middle position?
On the Face of it by Sushan Hill
Who was Derry? What did he suffer from?
Why does Derry enter the garden jumping the fence?
Why does Derry stay away from people?
What consolation did people give when they saw his acid burnt face?
Mr. Lamb told Derry the story of a man who hid himself in his room. Why did the man do so and with what result?
Why does Mr. Lamb leave his gate always open?
How does Mr. Lamb keep himself busy when it is a bit cool?
What peculiar things does Derry notice about the old man, Lamb?
In what sense is the friendship between Mr. Lamb and Derry fruitful?
Why did Mr. Lamb help Derry?
Why did Derry insist that he would go back to Mr. Lamb?
What did Derry’s mother think of Mr. Lamb?
How did Derry’s handicap damage his life?
What does Mr. lamb try to tell Derry through the example of a weed and a flower?
Long Answer Type
The lesson, ‘On The Face of It’, is an apt depiction of the loneliness and sense of alienation experienced by people on account of a disability. Explain.
How did Mr. Lamb try to give courage and confidence to Derry? orHow did Mr. Lamb’s meeting with Derry become a turning point in Derry’s life?
What is the bond that unites the two—the old Mr. Lamb and Derry, the small boy? How does the old man inspire the small boy?
Derry said, “It (acid) ate me up.” How did this fact affect his attitude towards life?
Evans tries an O level by Colin Dexter
What did the Governor tell the Secretary of the Examination Board about Evans?
What kind of person was Evans? Why did he want to sit for O-level German examination?
How do we know that Evans had no chance of getting through the O-level German examination? Why did he take the test?
What precautions were taken for the smooth conduct of Evan’s O-Level examination
Why did Evans not take off his hat when Jackson ordered him to do so?
What were the contents of the small brown suitcase that McLeery carried?
On the day of the examination, with what excuse did Evans keep Stephens out of his cell? What was the actual reason?
Which important call did the governor receive when the examination was going on?
How did McLeery misguide the police officials?
What clues did the question paper of Evans provide to the Governor?
Long Answer Type
Describe the precautions taken by the prison authorities for a smooth conduct of Evan’s examination.
How did the question paper and the correction slip help the prisoner and the Governor?
How was ‘injured’ McLeery able to befool the prison officers?
It was sheer negligence on the part of the prison staff that helped Evans to escape.
Give a character sketch of the Governor of Oxford Prison based on your understanding of the story, ‘Evans Tries an O level.
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