Description : How does the poet react to the untimely, sudden and shocking death of his beloved? What does he imagine her to be after her death? -English 9th
Last Answer : The sudden and untimely death of his beloved leaves the poet stunned. It is not easy to express the poet’s feelings in words. Actually, a deep slumber ‘sealed’ his spirit. He ... will roll round in earth’s diurnal course. She will become one with rocks, stones and trees.
Description : How does the poet imagine her beloved to after her sudden and untimely death? -English 9th
Last Answer : Now his beloved is no more a part of this mortal world. She would be beyond the touch of earthly years. She is beyond the action and reaction of all five senses and the earthly body. However ... will be rolling round in earth’s diurnal course. She will become one with rocks, stones and trees.
Description : How does the poet react to his beloved’s death? -English 9th
Last Answer : The death of the poet’s beloved is so sudden and unexpected that his mind as well as his body seems to be closed off. A deep slumber has taken hold over him. His spirit seems to be ... Her death has cut him off from all earthly fears. A deep slumber has engulfed all his wordly feelings.
Description : “A slumber did my spirit seal”, says the poet. That is, a deep sleep ‘closed off’ his soul (or mind). How does the poet react to his loved one’s death? -English 9th
Last Answer : The poet is shocked and surprised at the death of his loved one. It feels painful. Death does not make anyone feel good. It is always associated with misery.
Description : The passing of time will no longer affect her, says the poet. Which lines of the poem say this? -English 9th
Last Answer : “She seemed a thing that could not feel the touch of earthly years”.
Description : The poet finds the snake beautiful. Find the words he uses to convey its beauty. -English 9th
Last Answer : The poet uses the following words: beautiful and graceful, glides, small and green.
Description : Sergei says, “I am happy that my words have taken effect.” Why does he say so? Is he right in saying so? -English 9th
Last Answer : Sergei looked satisfied with the performance of the beggar and felt happy. When Lushkoff’s job of packing and hauling of the furniture was over, he praised him while handing him a rouble. But he ... so because Lushkoff had not developed the habit of working hard. He was still an idle fellow.
Description : Describe the natural beauty of the snake. It the poet fascinated by it? -English 9th
Last Answer : It is a small snake. It is green in colour. Curvings of its long body have their own appeal. His shapes are graceful and beautiful. So are its movements. The harmless, graceful and beautiful snake attracts the admiration and sympathy of the poet.
Description : What does the poet appeal? -English 9th
Last Answer : Every creature demands our sympathy and protection. The snake is small and green and is harmless even to the children. The poet is a very kind and generous man. He is sympathetic to the snake. So it appeals to let it go safely to his place.
Description : How does the poet describe its shapes? -English 9th
Last Answer : Even a dangerous and venomous creature like a snake has its fascinating appeal and beauty. The poet says that the snake makes beautiful and graceful shapes. It is mesmerized to see the zig-zag walk of the snake.
Description : What does the poet wish for the snake? -English 9th
Last Answer : The poet wishes that the snake should be allowed to go. It should not be killed by the man.
Description : How did he punish her? -English 9th
Last Answer : He cursed her and made her a woodpecker.
Description : The cat and the author are very fond of each other. How has this been shown in the story? Where was the cat after the fire? Who brings it back and how? -English 9th
Last Answer : The author loved his cat very much. He never considered her far from him. She kept sitting beside him when he did his homework and other household work. When the author found his cat back, his ... limits. He grabbed her quickly and felt relieved. This proved that they were very fond of each other.
Description : What did Harris say after the bag was shut and strapped? Why do you think he waited till then to ask? -English 9th
Last Answer : Harris asked the narrator to put the boots in the bag after strapping the bag. He did it with an intention to irritate the narrator.
Description : In what ways did Kezia’s grandmother encourage her to get to know her father better? -English 9th
Last Answer : Kezia’s grandmother sent her to her father’s room to have a nice talk with him. Besides, she asked her to make a gift of a pin-cushion on her father’s birthday.
Description : How does the woodpecker get her food? -English 9th
Last Answer : The woodpecker bores the hard and dry wood to get its food.
Description : Why was Margie doing badly in geography? What did the County Inspector do to help her? -English 9th
Last Answer : Margie had been doing badly in geography. This was because the mechanical teacher was very fast in displaying the questionnaire. The County Inspector adjusted its speed upto an average ten- ... The County Inspector assured that the overall pattern of Margie’s progress was quite satisfactory.
Description : What did Margie write in her diary? -English 9th
Last Answer : Margie wrote in her diary. “Today, 17 May, 2157, Tommy found a real book.”
Description : The sound was a familiar one.” What sound did the doctor hear? What did he think it was? How many times did he hear it? (Find the places in the text.) When and why did the sounds stop? -English 9th
Last Answer : The doctor heard the sound of rats. The sound was a familiar one. He heard this sound four times. The phrases are ‘Again I heard that sound from above’, ‘Again came that noise ... thud as if a rubber tube has fallen’. The sounds stopped after the appearance of the snake.
Description : What was Jerome’s real intention when he offered to pack? -English 9th
Last Answer : Jerome’s real intention was to boss the job. He wanted that Harris and George should work under his guidance and instructions. But they accepted the proposal and sat idle on the chairs comfortably.
Description : Was Bruno a loving and playful pet? Why, then, did he have to be sent away? -English 9th
Last Answer : Yes, Bruno was a loving and playful pet. But he was mischievous also. The bear became very attached to the narrator’s two Alsatian dogs and the children of the tenants. Bruno had grown many times the size he ... to Baba. Now he was getting too big to be kept at home. So he was sent to a zoo.
Description : Who is the real culprit according to the king? Why does he escape punishment? -English 9th
Last Answer : The merchant’s dead father was held responsible for making the wall weak. But according to the king the rich merchant was the real culprit because he had inherited both sins and riches of his father. He escaped the punishment because he was too thin to fit the stake.
Description : How does Toto take a bath? Where has he learnt to do this? How does Toto almost boil himself alive? -English 9th
Last Answer : Toto cunningly tested the temperature with his hand then gradually stepped into the bath. He stepped first one foot, then the other, until he was into the water up to his neck. He rubbed ... he jumped up and down. Suddenly the grandmother arrived at and pulled him out in half-boiled condition.
Description : Lushkoff is earning thirty five roubles a month. How is he obliged to Sergei for this? -English 9th
Last Answer : Sergei played very important role in improving the condition of the beggar. It was because of Sergei that Lushkoff could earn thirty five roubles a month. He offered him the job to chop wood at his ... job of copying. Lushkoff was highly obliged to Sergei because now he was a notary because of him.
Description : Is Lushkoff a willing worker? Why, then, does he agree to chop wood for Sergei? -English 9th
Last Answer : No, he was not a willing worker. He was too weak to work. He had lost his strength and stamina due to his habit of drinking and secondly he was a middle aged man. He agreed to chop wood because ... and he had been trapped by his own words. So he had no other way but to accept Sergei’s offer.
Description : What reasons does he give to Sergei for his telling lies? -English 9th
Last Answer : Lushkoff told the truth and accepted that he was a liar. Formerly he used to be a singer. He told lies to seek the favour of others. If he had spoken the truth none would have helped him. So, he decided to tell lies.
Description : “I looked into the mirror and smiled,” says the doctor. A little later he says, “I forgot my danger and smiled feebly at myself.” -English 9th
Last Answer : The doctor thought that he had a good smile when he first smiled. But when he smiled a little later, he laughed at his destiny. His life was in danger. His thoughts got changed because of the snake. He was quite near to death.
Description : Why does the intruder choose Gerrard as the man whose identity he wants to take on? -English 9th
Last Answer : The Intruder believed that he was similar in build to Gerrard knew how to talk like Gerrard and by putting Gerrards clothes and specs he will look like him. All this will help him to be Vincent Charles Gerrard. Then he will be free to move around without being caught by the police.
Description : How does he describe the old kind of teachers? -English 9th
Last Answer : He says that the old teachers did not live in the house. They had a special building and all the kids went there. They gave homework to students. They were not mechanical teachers, but living human beings.
Description : What did he do? -English 9th
Last Answer : He slowed down the mechanical teacher’s speed upto an average ten-year level. The mechanical teacher’s speed was controlled and adjusted according to the IQ level of Margie.
Description : Do you think that the old lady would have been so ungenerous if she had known who Saint Peter really was? What would she have done then? -English 9th
Last Answer : No, she would not have done this. On the contrary, she would have given him a large piece of cake to make him happy with the greed to get a handsome return.
Description : Which country or countries do you think “the Northland” refers to? -English 9th
Last Answer : It is a country in the north where days are short and nights are long.
Description : Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school must have been fun? -English 9th
Last Answer : Margie hated her school because she had a mechanical teacher. It was in her house. She was supposed to sit in that room alone to complete her hometask or assignments. The part Margie hated ... . Children needed company to enhance their skills. If they are isolated, they get depressed and dejected.
Description : What was Kezia’s father’s routine? -English 9th
Last Answer : He used to kiss Kezia casually before going to his office. He would ask for the newspaper and tea after coming back from his office. On Sundays, he would take rest. He would enjoy sound sleep on the sofa.
Description : Why was Saint Peter tired and hungry? -English 9th
Last Answer : Saint Peter was tired and hungry as he had traveled from very far. He met with a woman who was making cakes. Hunger, tiredness and the reaction of the woman towards him made him lost his temper. He was so hungry that he needed some food very urgently
Description : Let’s look at words at the end of the second and fourth lines, viz., ‘snows’ and ‘clothes’, ‘true’ and ‘you’, ‘below’ and ‘know’. -English 9th
Last Answer : Earth-hearth, done-one, lay-away, another-over, flat-that, faint-saint, form- worm, food-wood, same-flame.
Description : What is a legend? Why is this poem called a legend? -English 9th
Last Answer : A legend is a story from ancient times about people and events. The title of the poem tells that it is a legend. The poet himself says that ‘I don’t believe it is true’.
Description : Write the story of ‘A Legend of the Northland’ in about ten sentences. -English 9th
Last Answer : The poem is a story of an old woman. She is asked by Saint Peter for alms who has become weak because of fasting and travelling. But her greed forces her not to give him anything. He becomes angry ... and she is left with a cap on her head. She continues boring into hard wood for her little food.
Description : Is this a true story? Which part of this poem do you feel is the most important? -English 9th
Last Answer : No, it is an imaginative story. It is a legend. The third stanza of the poem is very important.
Description : What did Saint Peter ask the old lady for? What was the lady’s reaction? -English 9th
Last Answer : Saint Peter asked the old lady for a piece of cake. The lady behaved miserly and kept decreasing the size of the cake. At last she did not give him anything to eat.
Description : When did she leave home for Delhi, and why? (4) -English 9th
Last Answer : When she turned sixteen and was under pressure to get married Santosh threatened her parents that she would never marry if she did not get a proper education. Therefore she left home and got herself enrolled in a school in Delhi.
Description : Why was Santosh sent to the local school? (3) -English 9th
Last Answer : She was sent to the local school in line with the prevailing custom in the family.
Description : Give an example to show that even as a young girl Santosh was not ready to accept anything unreasonable. (2) -English 9th
Last Answer : She used to wear shorts and not the traditional dresses meant for girls.
Description : Why was the ‘holy man’ who gave Santosh’s mother his blessings surprised? (1) -English 9th
Last Answer : The ‘holy man’ who gave Santosh’s mother his blessings was surprised because her grandmother sought blessings for a daughter. In this society most of the people ask the seers to bless for a son.
Description : Why did Jerome have to reopen the packed bag? -English 9th
Last Answer : Jerome packed his spectacles in the bag. So he had to reopen the packed bag.
Description : What ‘horrible idea’ occurred to Jerome a little later? -English 9th
Last Answer : Jerome was going to close the bag after putting the boots in it. He suddenly thought of his toothbrush. While travelling, he must needed the toothbrush which he packed in the bag. Now he had to search for it in the bag.
Description : How did George and Harris react to this? Did Jerome like their reaction? -English 9th
Last Answer : George and Harris accepted the narrator’s suggestion readily. But Jerome did not like it.
Description : Why did the narrator (Jerome) volunteer to do the packing? -English 9th
Last Answer : The narrator felt that he knew more about packing than any other person living. Moreover, he would get an opportunity to boss the job and George and Harris would do the job under his directions.
Description : How many characters are there in the narrative? Name them. (Don’t forget the dog!). -English 9th
Last Answer : There are four characters in the narrative including the dog. They are the narrator, George, Harris and the fourth is the dog named Montmorency.
Description : All of us know that nothing is ours permanently, then why do we suffer so much to have more and more? -English 9th
Last Answer : It is true that nothing belongs to us permanently because one day we have to leave all the things on the earth. Nevertheless, people crave for more wealth, fame, knowledge, beauty and even commit ... would be a much better place to live in. People would not go to extremes to achieve something.