4] Read the following passage carefully and answer any four questions given after it in a word or a sentence each (4×1=4)
2. Read the following passages and answer the questions that follow in a word or a sentence each.
Short Story – 1. Playing The Game – [ Read Page 66-68 ]
[a] Do his best! Of course, he would. for Alan was playing in the school cricket match and was mightily proud of being chosen to play. He had practiced bowling with his father for weeks now, and daddy said he was shaping well.Daddy was nearly as excited as Alan over the Match and he promised that if Alan’s side won, he would buy him a bicycle.
1] Do his best! Of course, he would. Who would be doing well?
A] Alan
2]what was he proud of?
A] proud of being chosen to play in the school cricket team
3] How did he practice cricket?
A] He practiced bowling with his father for weeks.
4] what was his father’s promise?
A] If Alan’s side won, he would buy him a bicycle.
5] write the antonym of win?
A] lose
6] Daddy was nearly as excited as Alan over the Match ‘ Here the adverb nearly means… … … Choose the answer’. [ almost / completely / quietly / happily ]
A] Almost
7] What is the informal word used in the passage to refer to father?
A] daddy
8] Write the noun form of ‘practise’.
A] practice
[b]”Where do you, live sir? call Alan at last in the old man’s ear.
“Up the road and some way around the corner,” he answered in his thin, weak voice. I should be so much obliged if you could see me home. you look a very kind little boy.”
See him home? and there was still a long way off! if only he could walk a little faster. why the team would be already on the field, and the captain would be wondering why he did not come.
1] What did Alan ask in the old man’s ear?
A] Where would he live?
2] Where was the old man’s house?
A] “Up the road and some way around the corner,”
3] What request did the old man make to Alan?
A] The old man wanted Alan to see him home.
4]Why was Alan in a hurry?
A] He was in a hurry since he was being late to play the game.
5] If only he could walk a little faster. Why did Alan want the old man to walk faster?
A]As he was getting late to play the game.
6] Why would the captain be wondering?
A] Why Alan did not come?
7] I should be so much obliged if you could see me home. obliged in the sentence means… … …Choose the correct answer. [ forceful / thankful / polished / all the above ]
A] b. thankful
8] Pick out the word from the passage which is the antonym of strong.
A] weak
[c] And in the classroom next morning the boys game Alan three loud cheers, as only school boys can, for in some mysterious fashion they too had learned all about his kind act.
1] From which story is this passage taken?
A] playing the game
2] Who is the writer of the story from which this passage is taken?
A] Henry Arthur Mee
3] Where and when did the school boys meet?
A] They met in the classroom the next morning
4] What did they do?
A] The boys gave Alan three loud cheers
5] Why did the boys give Alan three loud cheers?
A] As they learned Alan’s kind act of helping the old man
6] What does the phrase three loud cheers mean?
A] appreciate, congratulations, etc
7]How did the boys come to know about Alan’s kind act?
A] They came to know in some mysterious fashion.
8]Pick out the word from the passage which means strange.
A] Mysterious
[d] “Bravo, Alan,” he said, patting his little son on the back.
“But, Daddy,” began Alan. But his father interrupted him.
“It’s all right, old man,” he said. “You see, I came up behind that policeman
and he told me what had happened. So I knew you were playing the game although it wasn’t on the cricket pitch. So, I went back into the High Street and bought the bicycle I promised you. It’s a beauty. And, Alan, we’re proud of you, your mother and I.”
1] Who is the writer of the story from which this passage is taken?
A] Arthur Henry Mee
2] Why did Alan’s father pat on his back?
A] To encourage and appreciate what Alan had done
3] How did Alan’s father come to know what had happened?
A] Through the policeman behind whom Alan’s father came
4] I came up behind that policeman. Did Alan’s father go to the spot where Alan helped the old man?
A] Yes
5] Alan’s father says,” …………although it wasn’t on the cricket pitch,” Where did Alan play the game?
A] In the real world-in in-life-on the meadow
6] Why did Alan’s father buy the bicycle?
A] To support and appreciate Alan’s service activities
7] Why were they proud of Alan?
A] because Alan ‘played the game in its true sense
8] When would you use the expression bravo?
A] When we want to appreciate someone’s achievement, we use the word ‘bravo’.
Short Story – 2. The Five Boons Of Life – [ Read Page 75-76 ]
[a] The man considered long, then choose love; and did not mark the tears that rose in the fairy’s eyes.
After many, many years the man sat by a coffin, in an Empty home. And he communed with himself, saying:” one by one they had have gone away and left me; and now she lies here, the dearest and the last. Desolation after desolation has Swept Over Me; for each hour of happiness and treacherous trade, love has sold me I have paid thousand hours of grief. Out of my heart of hearts I curse him”
1] The man chose the gift love at once, without thinking. Write true or false.
A] False
2] With whom did the man commune?
A] The man commune with himself
3] The word rose used as a verb in the passage means came forth. As a noun, it means.
(a.) Stood up (b). a flower (c.) a fruit
A] (b) a flower
4] How is his sadness a loss expressed in the passage?
A] It is expressed using personification, by saying to himself how love has left him in grief and alone
5] Whom did the man call a treacherous trader?
A] Love
6]’ Out of my heart of hearts, I curse him ‘………..whom does the word him refer to?
A] Love
7] Find the antonym of the word bless from the passage.
A] Curse
8] Write the word from the passage which means the box in which a dead body is buried or cremated.
A] Coffin
[b] “Choose yet again. “It was the fairy’s voice.
“Two gifts remain. And do not despair. In the beginning there was but one that was precious and it is still here”.
“Wealth– which is power! how blind I was!” said the man. “Now, at last, life will be worth the living. I will spend, squander, Dazzle. These mockers and despisers will crawl in the dirt before me, and I will feed my hungry heart with their envy.
1] How many gifts had the man already chosen?
A] Three
2] Did the man choose the precious gift before? How do you know?
A] No, because the fairy told that the precious gift is still there, since the beginning.
3] Who does the word I refer to in the sentence, ‘‘How blind I was!’’?
A] The young man
4] With what would his life be worth living?
A] Wealth
5] How would the feed his hungry heart
A] With the envy of mockers and despisers
6] The man said that he was blind to the fact. What was the fact?
A] The fact was that Wealth is Power.
7] What was the man’s real for choosing wealth?
A] His real motive was to make the mocker and despisers crawl in the dirt before him.
8] Write the synonym of the word jealousy from the passage.
A] Envy
[c ] The fairy came, bringing again four of the gifts, but Death was wanting. She said: “I gave it to a mother’s pet, a little child. It was innocent, but trusted me, asking me to choose for it. You did not ask me to choose.”
“Oh, miserable me! What is left for me?”
“What not even you have deserved” the wanton insult of Old Age.”
1. The fairy brought the gift, Death too. Say Yes or No.
A] No
2. Who does the word I refer to?
A] The word “I” refers to the fairy.
3. What did the fairy give the little child?
A] Death
4. What is the epithet used to describe the little child?
A] A mother’s pet
5. The man didn’t respose faith in the fairy. Write true or false.
A] True
6. What was left for the man?
A] Not even what he deserved; The wanton insult of old age.
7. Write the word from the passage that means very unhappy.
A] Miserable
8. Write the antonym of the word intelligent from the passage.
A] Innocent
[d (extra) ] “The years have taught you wisdom – surely it must be so. Three gifts remain. Only one of them has any worth – remember it, and choose warily.”
The man reflected long, then chose Fame, and the fairy, sighing, went her way.
Years went by and she came again and stood behind the man where he sat solitary in the fading day, thinking. And she knew his thought.
1. Two of the remaining gifts are worth. Write true or false.
A] False
2. What did the man opt for this time?
A] Fame
3. Was the fairy happy with his selection?
A] No, the fairy was not happy.
4. Which word in the passage indicates that the man was alone?
A] Solitary
5. Write the synonym of the word renown from the passage.
A] Fame
6. Write the word from the passage which means disappearing gradually.
A] Fading
Short Story – 3. The Short-Sighted Brothers – [ Read Page 82-83 ]
a] Three elderly brothers, all very short-sighted, lived in a large house on the outskirts of a city, in China. One day the youngest brother suggested that he should take charge of the finances. “Elder brother’s sight is so bad, he cannot see how much money he’s receiving or giving,” he said, “and people take advantage of his disability.”
1. Where did the three brothers live?
A] They lived in a large house on the outskirts of a city, in China.
2. What did the youngest brother propose one day?
A] He proposed, that he should take charge of finances
3. How did the youngest brother support his claim?
A] He said that his elders brother sight was bad he cannot see, how much money he has received or given.
4. How would people take the eldest brother’s short-sightedness, according to the youngest brother?
A] People took advantage of the eldest brother’s short-sightedness, he don’t know how much money he is receiving or giving.
5. Was the youngest brother sincere in his suggestion?
A] No
6. Their sight problem was negligible. Is it true or false?
A] False
7. Give the synonym of edge from the passage.
A] Outskirt
8. Write a set of antonyms you find in the passage as good is the antonym of bad
A] Receiving x Giving
b] The tablet has a flowery border. “The second brother went away very pleased with himself. Hardly had he gone when the third brother arrived there. He too enquired about the inscription and on being told what it was, asked if there was any other writing on it.”Only the donor’s name, Wang Lee, at the bottom,” said the monk,
1. What did the tablet have for its decoration?
A] “The tablet has a flowery border.
2 Who answered the question about its decoration?
A] The Monk
3. Who was very happy to know about that decoration?
A] The Second brother
4. When did the third brother reach the monastery?
A] After the second brother hardly left the monastery.
5. What did the youngest brother want to know particularly?
A] He wanted to know If there was any other writing on the tablet.
6. Where was the donor’s name mentioned?
A] At the bottom
7. Why was the second brother happy with himself?
A] Thinking that he was the only one who knew what was written on the tablet
8. Write the Antonym of departed from the passage.
A] arrived
[c] The monk they had talked to the previous evening came out of the monastery just then and walked towards the short-sighted brothers. “Oh, you’ve come to see the inscription,” he said. “So sorry’’. We couldn’t put it up yesterday evening. We are going to put it up today.” The short-sighted brothers realized their follies.
1. When did they all talk to the monk?
A] The previous evening
2. Did each brother know that the others also had talked to the monk?
A] No
3. Where did the monk go?
A] He came out of the monastery and walked towards the brothers
4. Why did the monk say sorry?
A] Monk couldn’t put the tablet up the previous evening
5. What does the word it refers to?
A] The tablet / Incription
6. When were they going to put it up?
A] They were going to put it up the previous evening.
7. What did the brothers realize?
A] Sighted brothers realized their follies.
8. They didn’t put up the inscription as originally scheduled. How did it help the brothers?
A] It helped them in realizing their foolishness.
[d (extra) ] “I have my doubts about that,” said the eldest brother. “Let’s settle this once and for all. I’ve heard the monastery is putting up a tablet inscribed with a saying, above the main doorway, tonight. Let’s go there tomorrow and test our vision.
Whoever can read the inscription with the least strain will get charge of our money. Agreed?”
1] Name the story from which this passage is taken?
A]The short-sighted brothers
2]Who does “T” in the passage refer to?
A]The passage refers to the eldest brother
3] What did the speaker want to settle once and for all?
A] As to who among the three brothers had a better sight
4] What did the speaker come to know?
A] Of the monastery putting up a tablet inscribed with a saying above the main doorway, that night
5] Where should they go to get their vision tested, the following day?
A] To the monastery
6] when was the monastery putting up a tablet above the doorway?
A] On that night [ when this discussion in the story was going on]
7] Who would get the charge of their money, according to the proposal?
A] The one who could read the inscription with the least stain
8] Write the word that is used in the passage that means a place where monks live.
A] Monastery
Short Story – 4. The Dinner Party – [ Read Page 89-90]
a] A spirited discussion springs up between a young girl who insists that women have outgrown the jumping-on-a-char -at-the-sight-of-a-mouse era and a colonel who says that they haven’t.
“A woman’s unfailing reaction in any crisis, “the colonel says, “is to scream. And while a man may feel like it, he has that ounce more nerve control than a woman has. And that last ounce is what counts.”
The American does not join in the argument but watches the other guests. As he looks, he sees a strange expression come over the face of the hostess. She is starting straight ahead, her muscles contracting slightly. With a slight gesture, she summons the native boy standing behind her chair and whispers to him. The boy’s eyes widen; he quickly leaves the room. Of the guests, none expect the American notices this or sees the boy place a bowl of milk on the veranda just outside the open doors.
1) What are the young girls and the colonel arguing about?
A] They are arguing whether a woman screams in a crisis or has good nerve control.
2) The American joins the discussion. Say true or false.
A] False
3) What does the American naturalist notice?
A] He notices a strange expression come over the face of the hostess
4) What does the hostess want the servant to do?
A] To place a bowl of milk on the veranda
5) Identify the Synonym of calls from the passage.
A] Summons
6) Find the Antonym of familiar in the passage.
A] Strange
7) “… he has that ounce more nerve control than a woman has.” What does the word nerve mean?
A] One’s courage or steadiness in demanding situations.
8) Pick out the word that fits the meaning of making narrower in the passage
A] Contracting
b] ” I want to know just what control everyone at this table has. I will count everyone at this table. I will count to three hundred – that’s five minutes. And not one of you is to move a muscle. Those who move will forfeit fifty rupees. Ready!”
The twenty people sit like stone images while he counts. He is saying “… two hundred and eighty…” when, out of the corner of his eye, he sees the cobra emerge and make for the bowl of milk. Screams ring out as he jumps to slam the veranda doors safely shut.
“You were right, Colonell” the host exclaims. ” A man has just shown us an example of perfect control” Just a minute,,” the American says, turning to his hostess. “Mys Wynnes, how did you know that cobra was in the room?” A faint smile lights up the woman’s face as she replies: Because it was crawling across my foot”.
1. What is the proposal from the Americans?
A]To play a game of nerve control/none of them is to move a muscle.
2. What does the American do to make the guest at the party stay stable?
A] He told, he will count to 300 i.e five minutes, till then no one should move a muscle.
3. Pick out the word which means lose as punishment from the passage.
A] forfeit
4. Pick out the word from the passage that means weak or dull.
A] faint
5. Why does the American shut the doors?
A] He shut the doors so that, the cobra doesn’t come back inside again.
6. How does the American react, when the host gives credit to him for having the most control?
A] He asks them to wait and proves to them who really has the nerve control/”Mrs Wynnes, how did you know that cobra was in the room” .
7} What does the hostess prove to her guests?
A] She proves that even a woman can have great nerve control.
8] When does cobra come out?
A] It came out when the bowl of milk was placed and everybody was quiet.
[Removed after 2024]
Short Story – 4. Sanghala Panthulu – [ Read Page 109-111]
a] Thus, things were moving happily. But the farmers were perturbed. They observed the lives of people on the other side of the river Krishna ruled by the British and found that people were happy there. There was no drudgery, no penalties – no beatings either. But if the people of Ramasagaram were to migrate to that side leaving the households and assets earned by their ancestors and their caste trades as well, how would they live?
1. “Thus, things were moving happily.” “Happily,’ to whom?
A] It refers to Ameen Saab and his family.
2. What did the farmers observe?
A] They observed the lives of the people on the other side of the river Krishna ruled by the British.
3. What did the farmers find out?
A] Found that people were very happy on the other side of the Krishna
4. What was the reason for the vast difference in the lives of Ramasagaram people and that of those living on the other side of the river?
A] They were ruled by the British and there was no drudgery, no penalties – no beatings on the other side
5. Was it possible for the people of Ramasagaram to migrate to the other side of the river?
A] No
6. Give the word from the passage that means disturbed /worried/anxious.
A] perturbed
7. According to the passage, two groups of persons were happy. Name those two groups.
A] The police and the people on the other side of river Krishna
8. Write the Noun form of the word migrate.
A] Migration
b] In the evening, about five hundred people gathered under the peepul. Panthulu explained about the nature of drudgery to all of them. He also taught them legal points. He insisted that nobody should agree to drudgery if wages were not paid. While the meeting was still going on, Ameen Saab arrived pompously on a horse along with eight jawans. “Panthulu, are you aware of the Nizam’s Act number 53 pertaining to patrolling?” asked Ameen.
1. Where did the people assemble?
A] Under the peepul Tree
2. What did Panthulu explain to them?
A] Panthulu explained about the nature of drudgery to all of them
3. The villagers meeting under the peepul tree already knew legal points. Say true or false.
A] False
4. What did Panthulu insist on?
A] He insisted that nobody should agree to drudgery if wages were not paid
5. When did the Ameen Saab come there?
A] He came when the meeting was still going on
6. What did Act number 53 deal with?
A] Act number 53 pertaining to patrolling
7. Write the antonym of modestly from the passage.
A] pompously / grandly
8. The passage pictures Panthulu as a man of ___. (Fill in).
1. interested in legal practice
2. promoting violence
3. committed to the cause of the common man
4. Serving the purpose of police
A] 3. committed to the cause of the common man
c] After a week, the Mohathemeem arrived. The police didn’t divulge the disgrace they faced. But they recorded that Panthulu had instigated the villagers to revolt by trying to run a parallel government.
They also mentioned that if the army was not sent, a great danger was looming large. The Mohathemeem summoned the farmers and inquired with them about the incident
1. Why did the Mohatheneem come to Ramasagaram?
A] to inquire into the reported violence
2) What did the police hide from the Mohathemeem?
A] the disgrace the police faced
3) What did the police charge Panthulu with?
A] that Panthulu instigated the villagers to revolt by trying to run a parallel government
4) What did the police request for?
A] for the army to send to the village
5) Who did the Mohathemeem call to know more about the incident?
A] the farmer
6) Write the idiom used in the passage that means something very frightening was certain to happen.
A] A great danger was looming large
7) Write the synonym from the passage of called?
A] summoned
8) Name the part of speech of divulge.
A] verb