Passage - 2

Q.4. Read the passages given below and answer the questions that follow each of them:
The Nightingale and the Glow-worm
A nightingale, that all day long
Had cheered the village with his song,
Began to feel as well he might,
The keen demands of appetite ;
When looking eagerly around,
He spied far off, upon the ground,
Something shining in the dark,
And knew the glow-worm by his spark ;
So, stooping down from the hawthorn top,
He thought to put him in his crop.
The worm, aware of his intent,
Harangued him thus, right eloquent-
"Did you admire my lamp", quoth he,
"As much as I your minstrelsy
You would abhor to do me wrong,
As much as I to spoil your song ;
For 'twas the self-same power divine,
Taught you to sing, and me to shine ;
That you with music, I with light,
Might beautify and cheer the night."
The songster heard his short oration,
And warbling out his approbation
Released him, as my story tells,
And found a supper somewhere else.
-William Cowper

Answer the following questions briefly:
(i) The intent of the nightingale was
(a) to sleep
(b) to feed the glow worm
(c) to eat the glow worm
(d) to enjoy the night

Ans: (c)

Explanation: The lines "So, stooping down from the hawthorn top, / He thought to put him in his crop" show that the nightingale intended to swallow the glow-worm. The bird's hunger (the "keen demands of appetite") motivates this action.

(ii) The night became beautiful
(a) due to the clouds
(b) due to the song of the nightingale
(c) due to the light of the glow-worm
(d) both (ii) and (iii)

Ans: (d)

Explanation: The poem says the nightingale "Had cheered the village with his song," and it also describes the glow-worm's "spark" shining in the dark. Together, the bird's music and the insect's light "beautify and cheer the night," so both contribute to making the night beautiful.

(iii) Both the nightingale and the glow-worm.
(a) had an important role to play in the world
(b) had no role to play in the world
(c) were jealous of each other
(d) had plans to kill

Ans: (a)

Explanation: The glow-worm says they were both given gifts by the same power "That you with music, I with light, / Might beautify and cheer the night." This shows each has an important role - one gives music, the other light.

(iv) The act 'released him' means that the nightingale
(a) approved of his point of view
(b) approved of the glow-worm's point of view
(c) did not like the insect's taste
(d) felt proud for releasing the glow-worm

Ans: (b)

Explanation: After the glow-worm's speech, the nightingale "warbling out his approbation" released him. This shows the bird agreed with the insect's point that both have useful gifts, so he let him go.

(v) The phrase 'warbled out his approbation' means
(a) singing more vigorously
(b) spilled out words
(c) gave judgment
(d) expressed his appreciation

Ans: (d)

Explanation: The verb "warbled" means sang in a pleasing way, and "approbation" means approval. Together they show the nightingale sang to show his approval of the glow-worm's words.

Q.5. Read the passages given below and answer the questions that follow each of them:
Death to the Dentist!
Death to his chair!
Death to his 'This might hurt'!
"There! There! There !"
Death to his injections!
Death to his Nurse!
Death to his amalgam!
Curse! Curse! Curse!
Death to his needle!
Death to his drill!
Death to his "Open wides"!
Kill! KU1! Kill!
-A poem from Tasmania

Answer the following questions briefly:
(i) The patient _________ to go to the dentist.
(a) loves
(b) is encouraged
(c) dislikes
(d) had

Ans: (c)

Explanation: The poem repeats angry lines such as "Death to his chair!", "Curse! Curse! Curse!" and similar cries. These show strong dislike and fear of the dentist rather than any liking or encouragement.

(ii) The doctor quotes _________.
(a) This is going to hurt
(b) This might hurt
(c) The extraction is painful
(d) The extraction will hurt a little bit

Ans: (b)

Explanation: The line in the poem reads "Death to his 'This might hurt'!" That exact phrase shows what the dentist is quoted as saying, so option (b) is correct.

(iii) The instructions given by the dentist __________.
(a) will help the dentist do the needful
(b) will not help the dentist do the needful
(c) will help the patient get rid of the pain
(d) will not help the patient get rid of the pain

Ans: (a)

Explanation: Commands such as "Open wides" and the dentist's preparations (chair, nurse, instruments) are given to allow the dentist to perform the dental work correctly. These instructions help the dentist do what is needed.

(iv) The word 'Amalgam' is
(a) a verb
(b) an adjective
(c) a noun
(d) an adverb

Ans: (c)

Explanation: "Amalgam" names a thing - a material used in dentistry. Words that name people, places or things are nouns, so here "amalgam" functions as a noun.

(v) The patient's sense of thinking
(a) is positive about the dentist
(b) is negative about the doctor and his techniques
(c) is of killing everything
(d) is to ignore the dentist's instructions

Ans: (b)

Explanation: The patient uses angry exclamations like "Death to his...", "Curse!", and "Kill!" which show strong negativity and fear toward the dentist and his methods. This makes the patient's attitude clearly negative.

Q.6. Read the passages given below and answer the questions that follow each of them:
Weavers, weaving at the break of the day,
Why do you weave a garment so gay?
Blue as the wing of a halcyon wild,
We weave the robes of a newborn child.
Weavers, weaving at fall of night,
Why do you weave a garment so bright?
Like the plumes of a peacock purple and green,
We weave the marriage veils of a queen.
Weavers, weaving solemn and still,
What do you weave in the moonlight chill?
White as a feather and white as a cloud,
We weave a dead man's funeral shroud.

Answer the following questions briefly:
(i) The 'break of day' has parallel thoughts to:
(a) the day is over
(b) the new-born babies
(c) cheerful looking colors
(d) both (ii) and (iii)

Ans: (d)

Explanation: The stanza for dawn speaks of weaving "the robes of a newborn child" and uses bright, cheerful colour images ("Blue as the wing of a halcyon wild"). Thus, dawn (break of day) connects to both newborn babies and cheerful colours.

(ii) 'Blue' is common to :
(a) sky, halcyon
(b) halcyon, newborn baby
(c) Baby, its dress
(d) both (i) and (ii)

Ans: (a)

Explanation: The poem uses the phrase "Blue as the wing of a halcyon wild." A halcyon (kingfisher) has blue wings like the sky. Therefore "blue" is common to both the sky and the halcyon's wing.

(iii) The color of the baby's dress is:
(a) silver
(b) gray
(c) white
(d) blue

Ans: (d)

Explanation: The line "Blue as the wing of a halcyon wild, / We weave the robes of a newborn child" clearly links the newborn's robes with the colour blue, so the baby's dress is blue.

(iv) The phrase 'white as a cloud' is a:
(a) metaphor
(b) simile
(c) consonance
(d) assonance

Ans: (b)

Explanation: A simile compares two things using words like "as" or "like." The phrase "white as a cloud" uses "as" to compare the shroud's whiteness to a cloud, so it is a simile.

(v) Weavers weave different colors:
(a) to match the occasion
(b) to match the person
(c) to bring out the beauty
(d) both (i) and (ii)

Ans: (d)

Explanation: Different stanzas show weavers making robes for a newborn (to suit the person) and veils for a queen (to suit the occasion). Thus they choose colours to match both the occasion and the person.