Class 10 English Chapter 1 Extract Based Question Answers - First Flight

A. Read the following extract and answer the questions/ complete the sentences that follow:

"The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbour and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on."

i. Choose the option with qualities of the cat that Carl Sandburg applies to the fog?
(1) Cats are independent animals, they don’t follow rules, they slip and slide in and out of our lives as they please.
(2) Cats are distrustful of strangers and can be jealous and moody.
(3) Cats are stealthy, moving in slow motion at times and they appear to be moving in a mysterious fashion.
(4) Cats often communicate with a combination of a distinctive sound and body language.
(5) Cats like to move on at their own pace and before you know it, they’ve disappeared.

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

ii. Which one/s of the following applies to the given lines?
(1) Personification is a literary device where you give an animal, object or natural phenomenon, qualities or abilities that only a human can have.
(2) Transferred epithet is a literary device when an adjective usually used to describe one thing is transferred to another.
(3) Imagery is the language used by poets, and writers to create visual representation of ideas in the minds of the readers.
(4) Oxymoron is a figure of speech in which contradictory terms appear side by side.

(a) 1 and 4
(b) 2 and 3
(c) Only 1
(d) Only 3
Ans. (d)

iii. Pick the option that includes an image of the cat on its haunches.

(a) Option (1)
(b) Option (2)
(c) Option (3)
(d) Option (4)

iv. Choose the option that DOES NOT list movement of the fog.

(a) Option (1)
(b) Option (2)
(c) Option (3)
(d) Option (4)
Ans. (c)

v. The poet has used short lines to compose the given poem. Choose the option that lists the most appropriate explanation for the same.
(a) By keeping the lines short, the poet keeps the liberty in stepping away from rule, traditional form, logic, or fact, in order to produce a desired effect.
(b) By keeping the lines short, the poet wants the reader to omit some parts of a sentence, which gives the reader a chance to fill the gaps while reading it out.
(c) By keeping the lines short, the poet wants to introduce ambiguity or contradiction into an otherwise straightforward sentence.
(d) By keeping the lines short, the poet is controlling the pace to make the reader slow down thereby reflecting the slow rolling in of the fog.
Ans. (d)

B. Read the extract and answer the following questions.
“The fog comes 
on little cat feet. 
It sits looking 
over harbour and city 
on silent haunches 
and then moves on.” 

Q1. Which two literary devices has the poet used in ‘Fog’?
(a) Metaphor
(b) Simile
(c) Alliteration
(d) Imagery
Ans. (a , b)

• Metaphor - The poet compares the fog to a cat. This is clear from phrases like ‘little cat feet’ and ‘silent haunches’. 
• Imagery - The entire description of the way the fog enters the city, settles over it and leaves, creates very clear images in our head of a cat entering and leaving a place. 

Q2. Which of these statements is true with reference to the poem?
(a) The fog covers the city partially. 
(b) The fog enters the city silently. 
(c) The fog enters the city noisily. 
(d) The fog covers the city permanently. 
Ans. (b)
The phrase ‘on little cat feet’ indicates that the fog enters the city as silently as a cat enters a room.

Q3. Which of these words is a synonym for ‘harbour’ as used in the poem?
(a) Retreat
(b) Port
(c) Asylum
(d) Haven
Ans. (b)
A ‘harbour’ or a port is a place near the sea where ships are docked. 

Q4. In the poem, what does the word ‘it’ refer to?
(a) The city
(b) The harbour
(c) The fog
(d) The cat
Ans. (c)
Here, ‘it’ refers to the fog which has settled down over the city. The poet then compares this settling over the city to that of a cat sitting on its hind legs. 

C. Read the given extract and answer the following questions. 
“The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbour and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.”

Q1. Identify the tone of the poem.
(a) Calm
(b) Enthusiastic
(c) Judgmental
(d) Gloomy
Ans. (a)
‘Calm’ refers to the absence of strong feelings.  Here, the poet describes the arrival and departure of the fog in a very matter-of-fact way, devoid of any strong feelings. 

Q2. Which of these statements is not true in context of the poem? 
(a) The fog covers the city and the harbour.
(b) The fog arrives and leaves in silence.
(c) The fog enters the city like a cat enters a room.
(d) The fog settles over a resting cat.
Ans. (d)
As per the poem, the fog arrives silently on ‘little cat feet’. It settles over the ‘harbour’ and the ‘city’ for a brief time, and then ‘moves on’. 

Q3. What is the meaning of the word ‘haunches’ as used in the poem?
(a) Walls of a harbour
(b) Back side of an animal
(c) An artificial mist
(d) A cat’s tail
Ans. (b)
‘Haunches’ refers to the back side of the animal. In the poem, the poet describes how the fog covers the city like a cat sits on its ‘haunches’ or back side and looks over its surroundings. 

Q4. What is the poet likely to suggest based on this extract?
(a) Fog is beautiful.
(b) Cats are ungrateful creatures.
(c) Harbours are treasured landmarks.
(d) Nature is powerful.
Ans. (d)
Fog is a natural weather phenomenon. The poem describes how it enters a city and covers it in mist for a short time, disrupting human life. Thus, the poet is evidently demonstrating the power of nature over we humans.