Rtc-The Portrait of A Lady

PRACTICE QUESTIONS RTC (CH-1)
1 EXTRACT BASED QUESTION
My grandmother and I were good friends. My parents left me with her when they went to live in the
city and we were constantly together. She used to wake me up in the morning and get me ready for
school. She said her morning prayer in a monotonous sing-song while she bathed and dressed me in
the hope that I would listen and get to know it by heart; I listened because I loved her voice but never
bothered to learn it. Then she would fetch my wooden slate which she had already washed and
plastered with yellow chalk, a tiny earthen ink-pot and a reed pen, tie them all in a bundle and hand it
to me. After a breakfast of a thick, stale chapatti with a little butter and sugar spread on it,
we went to school. She carried several stale chapattis with her for the village dogs.
a What does the passage suggest about the grandmother's morning routine?
A) She had a busy and rushed schedule.
B) She prioritized spending time with the narrator.
C) She often forgot to prepare breakfast.
D) She disliked waking up early.
b What might be the reason for the grandmother's act of feeding the village dogs with stale chapattis?
A) She had too much food and wanted to share.
B) She was trying to train the dogs.
C) She wanted to keep the dogs away from the narrator.
D) She cared for the well-being of the village dogs.
c What does the word "monotonous" mean in the context of the passage?
A) Exciting and dynamic
B) Repetitive and dull
C) Expressive and lively
D) Sudden and unexpected

When I went up to University, I was given a room of my own. The common link of friendship was
snapped. My grandmother accepted her seclusion with resignation. She rarely left her spinning-wheel
to talk to anyone. From sunrise to sunset she sat by her wheel spinning and reciting prayers. Only in
the afternoon she relaxed for a while to feed the sparrows. While she sat in the verandah breaking the
bread into little bits, hundreds of little birds collected round her creating a veritable bedlam of
chirrupings. Some came and perched on her legs, others on her shoulders. Some even sat on her head.
She smiled but never shooed them away. It used to be the happiest halfhour of the day
for her.
a What does the change in the grandmother's daily routine after the narrator went to university
symbolize?
A) The grandmother's growing loneliness and isolation
B) The narrator's newfound independence and freedom
C) The grandmother's interest in bird-watching
D) The narrator's neglect of their grandmother
b In the passage, the phrase "creating a veritable bedlam of chirrupings" suggests that the sparrows:
A) Were peacefully perched around the grandmother.
B) Were causing chaos with their noisy chirping.
C) Were helping the grandmother with her work.
D) Were sleeping soundly on the verandah.
c Why did the grandmother accept her seclusion with resignation, as mentioned in the passage?
A) She was unhappy and wanted to be alone.
B) She preferred solitude to socializing.
C) She missed her family who had gone to the city.
D) She understood that her role in the narrator's life had changed.

We lifted her off the bed and, as is customary, laid her on the ground and covered her with a red
shroud. After a few hours of mourning we left her alone to make arrangements for her funeral. In the
evening we went to her room with a crude stretcher to take her to be cremated.
The sun was setting and had lit her room and verandah with a blaze of golden light. We stopped half-
way in the courtyard. All over the verandah and in her room right up to where she lay dead and stiff
wrapped in the red shroud, thousands of sparrows sat scattered on the floor. There was no chirruping.
We felt sorry for the birds and my mother fetched some bread for them. She broke it into little
crumbs, the way my grandmother used to, and threw it to them. The sparrows took no notice of the
bread. When we carried my grandmother’s corpse off, they flew away quietly. Next morning the
sweeper swept the bread crumbs into the dustbin.
a Why did the sparrows not chirrup when they were in the grandmother's room?
A) They were mourning the grandmother's death.
B) They were scared of the people in the room.
C) They were focused on the bread crumbs.
D) They had left the room earlier.
b What is the significance of the sweeper sweeping the bread crumbs into the dustbin the next
morning?
A) It shows the family's disregard for the sparrows.
B) It signifies the end of the mourning period.
C) It suggests a return to normalcy after the funeral.
D) It reflects the family's indifference to cleanliness.
c What does the word "crude" mean in the context of the passage?
A) Simple and unrefined
B) Polite and courteous
C) Delicate and elegant
D) Advanced and sophisticated

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PRACTICE QUESTIONS RTC (CH-1)

1 EXTRACT BASED QUESTION

2 EXTRACT BASED QUESTION

3 EXTRACT BASED QUESTION

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