Sharmistha's English

  A Question of Trust Footprints Without Feet  Extract Based Questions  Question 1. Fifteen years ago, Horace had served his first and only sentence in a prison library. He loved rare, expensive books. So he robbed a safe every year. Each year he planned carefully just what he would do, stole enough to last for twelve months, and secretly bought the books he loved through an agent. (a) What does Horace like to collect ? (b) Why does he steal every year ? (c) Which word in the above extract means the same as ‘with a lot of alertness’ ? (d) What is strange in the passage ?  Answer: (a) Horace like to collect rare and expensive books. (b) He steals every year to enable himself to make his both ends meet and to purchase expensive books. (c) ‘carefully’. (d) Stealing of expensive books. Question 2. Now, walking in the bright July sunshine, he felt sure that this year’s robbery was going to be as successful as all the others. For two weeks he had been studying the house at...

  The Midnight Visitor Footprints Without Feet Extract Based Questions  Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow. Question 1. And then there was his accent. Though he spoke French and German passably, he had never altogether lost the American accent he had brought to Paris from Boston twenty years ago. (a) Who is ‘he’ in the above extract? (b) Where is he at present? (c) Find the word from the extract that means the opposite of ‘fluently’. (d) What is the present tense of ‘speak’? Answer: (a) ‘He’ in the above extract is Ausable, a secret agent. (b) At present he is about to enter his room on the sixth floor of a French hotel. (c) The word is ‘passably’. (d) ‘Speak’ is its present tense. Question 2. “You are disillusioned”, Ausable told him. “But take cheer, my young friend. Presently you will see a paper, a quite important paper for which several men and women have risked their lives, come to me. Some day soon that paper may well affect the c...

  The Trees First Flight Extract Based Questions  Read the lines given below and answer the questions that follow : Question 1. The trees inside are moving out into the forest, the forest that was empty all these days Where no bird could sit no insect hide no sun bury its feet in shadow. (a) Which three things cannot happen in a treeless forest ? (b) Why was the forest empty ? (c) Which word here means ‘hide from view’ ? (d) Name the poem and the poet  Answer: A forest is a natural habitat for numerous birds and insects. When forests are cleared no bird can make its nest, nor can insects hide in the bark of the trees and there’s nothing to shade the area from sunlight. (b) The forests are empty and devoid of trees because they are cut down to create land for cultivation and expansion of cities. (c) In the given extract, ‘bury’ means to hide from view. (d) The poem ‘The Trees’ is written by Adrienne Rich. Question 2. The trees inside are moving out into the forest, the for...

  Amanda  First Flight Read the following extracts and answer the questions/complete the sentences that follow : Question 1. Don’t bite your nails, Amanda !  Don’t hunch your shoulders, Amanda ! Stop that slouching and sit up straight, Amanda! (a) The speaker wants Amanda. (b) The speaker is …… . (c) The word from the passage which means the same as ‘erect’ is ………… . (d) Who is the poet ? Answer: (a) to learn good habits. (b) Amanda’s mother. (c) straight. (d) Robin Klen. Question 2. Stop that sulking at once, Amanda !  You’re always so moody, Amanda ! Anyone would think that I nagged at you, Amanda! (a) Who is the speaker of these lines ? (b) What kind of a girl was Amanda ? (c) Did the speaker rebuke her ? (d) Which word in the passage means the same as bending ? Answer: (a) Amanda’s parent is the speaker in these lines. (b) Amanda was a girl who loved freedom. (c) The speaker didn’t rebuke her but pointed out certain habits of her. (d) Sulking. Question 3. There i...

  From the diary of Anne Frank Extract Based Questions Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow: Question 1:  All I think about when I’m with friends is having a good time. I can’t bring myself to talk about anything but ordinary everyday things. We don’t seem to be able to get any closer, and that’s the problem. Maybe it’s my fault that we don’t confide in each other. In any case, that’s just how things are, and unfortunately they’re not liable to change. This is why I’ve started the diary. a) What are Anne’s views on friends? b) What is her fault? c) Explain ‘unfortunately they’re not liable to change’. d) What is the problem which the speaker has with her friends? Answer:  (a) Anne could only think of having a good time with friends, nothing more. (b) Her fault was that they did not confide in each other, and hence, weren’t very close. (c) It means that regrettably, the situation was not likely to change, as she couldn’t confide in fri...