English Core Revision Sheet

Read the following extracts and answer the questions given below.
( each of 1 mark)
1. ……….and clear rills
That for themselves a cooling covert make 'Gainst the hot season; the mid
forest brake, Rich with the sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms;
i. Identify the poem and the poet.
ii. What is the role of the clear rills ?
iii. How has the mid forest brake become rich?
iv. Name the figure of speech in 'cooling covert'.
2. When I was studying in the third class, I hadn't yet heard people speak
openly of untouchability. But I had already seen, felt, experienced and been
humiliated by what it is. I was walking home from school one day, an old bag
hanging from my shoulder. It was actually possible to walk the distance in
ten minutes. But usually it would take me from half an hour to an hour to
dawdle along watching all the fun and games that were going on, all the
entertaining novelties and oddities in the streets, the shops and the bazaar.
(i) The narrator was humiliated because………………………………………….
(ii) The narrator 'dawdled along' as she-
(a) enjoyed looking at the various sights (b) was getting late for school
(c) she didn't like going home (d) she enjoyed haggling and shopping

(iii) On the basis of the extract, choose the correct option with reference to the two statements
given below:

(I) The distance from school to home was very short.

(II) She was feeling upset and so dawdling her way home.
(a) (I) can be inferred from the extract but (II) cannot
(b) (II) can be inferred from the extract but (I) cannot
(c) Both (I) and (II) cannot be inferred from the extract
(d) Both (I) and (II) can be inferred from the extract

(iv) The word 'novelties' in the passage most nearly means

(a) colourful trinkets (b) wooden toy (c) unique and interesting items (d) expensive souvenirs

3. To make sure, I walked over the newsboy and glanced at the stack of papers at his feet. It
was The World and The World hasn't been published for years. The lead story said
something about President Cleveland. I've found that front page since, in the Public library
files, and it was printed June 11, 1894. I turned toward the ticket windows knowing that
here on the third level at Grand Central - I could buy tickets that would take Louisa and me
anywhere in the United States we wanted to go. In the year 1894. And I wanted two tickets
to Galesburg, Illinois.

(i) The newspaper that covered the lead story about President Cleveland was
(a) The Pioneer (b) The New York Times (c) The World (d) The Times

(ii) The narrator wanted to buy tickets to

(iii) Which of the following in the extract most nearly means the opposite of 'stare'?

(a) glance (b) peek (c) ignore (d) examine

(iv) Charley wanted two tickets because he wanted to go with

(a) Sam (b) Cleveland (c) Louisa (d) the Psychiatrist

4. A thing of beauty is a joy forever

Its loveliness increases, it will never

Pass into nothingness, but

A bower quiet for us, and a sleep

Full of sweet dreams, and health and quiet

Breathing.

Therefore on every morrow are we

wreathing A flowery band to bind us to the
earth:

Spite of despondence of the inhuman dearth

Of noble natures of the gloomy days Of

all the unhealthy and over darkened
ways Made for our searching
i. Keats defines beauty as ………
(A) Eternal B) Transient C) short-lived D) illusionary
ii. Read the assertion and the reason below, with reference to the given extract.
Assertion : The poet believes that beauty provides eternal joy and helps us stay
connected to life.

Reason : Beauty exists despite the challenges of life, but it cannot ease the despondence
or gloom completely.

Choose the correct option regarding their relationship:

(A) Both the assertion and the reason are true, and the reason is the correct explanation
of the assertion.
(B) Both the assertion and the reason are true, but the reason is not the correct
explanation of the assertion.
(C) The assertion is true, but the reason is false.
(D) The assertion is false, but the reason is true.

iii. Complete the following suitably.

‘will keep a bower quiet for us’ means _____.

iv. Select the correct option from those given in brackets, to fill in the blank.
The things that create _____ (unhappiness/happiness) are lack of noble nature.
v. Based on the rhyming scheme of the poem, evident in lines 2-10, of the given extract, which
word would rhyme with line 1?

vi. What does the poet say about the nature of beauty in the given lines?

vii. According to the poet ‘every morrow ‘we are………………………..

viii. Complete the analogy.

Flowery band: metaphor:: ………………………… : alliteration

ix.The poet attributes the trials and tribulations one encounters in the journey of life to-

a) unhealthy and over darked ways b) a flowery band

C) We wreathing d) on every morrow

5. "I sometimes find a rupee, even a ten rupee note", Saheb says, his eyes lighting up when
you can find a silver coin in a heap of garbage, you don't stop scrounging, for there is hope
of finding more. It seems that for children, garbage has a meaning different from what it
means to their parents. For the children it is wrapped in wonder, for the elders it is a means
of survival. One winter morning I see Saheb standing by the fenced gate of the
neighbourhood club, watching two young men dressed in white, playing tennis. "I like the
game", he hums, content to watch it standing behind the fence. “I go inside when no one is
around" he admits. "The gate keeper lets me use the swing."

i) Saheb found a rupee

(a) on the street (b) in the garbage dump (c) in Firozabad (d) on the tennis court

(ii) Which emotion of Saheb is revealed in the phrase 'his eyes lighting up'?

(a) anxiety (b) envy (c) happiness (d) greed

(iii) For the elders garbage is …………………….and for children it is………………………….

(iv) On the basis of the extract, choose the correct option with reference to I and II given below :

I. Saheb watches the game from outside.

II. Saheb had lost the previous match.

(a) I is true but II is not (b) II is true but I is not

(c) Both I and II are true (d) Both I and II are untrue

(v) 'Scrounging' in the passage most nearly means.

(a) digging (b) searching (c) flinging (d) burying

(vi) 'There is hope for finding more'. Explain with reference to the above extract.
 6. And in dark hutments, next to lines of flames of flickering oil lamps, sit boys and girls
with their fathers and mothers, welding pieces of coloured glass into circles of bangles.
Their eyes are more adjusted to the dark than to the light outside. That is why they often
end up losing their eyesight before they become adults.

Savita, a young girl in a drab pink dress, sits alongside an elderly woman, soldering
pieces of glass. As her hands move mechanically like the tongs of a machine, I
wonder if she knows the sanctity of the bangles she helps make. It symbolizes an
Indian woman’s suhaag, auspiciousness in marriage. It will dawn on her suddenly one
day when her head is draped with a red veil, her hands dyed red with henna, and red
bangles rolled onto her wrists. She will then become a bride.

i. List any two details about the boys and girls of bangle making industries.

ii. What does bangle symbolise?

(A) Indian woman’s suhaag (B) Auspiciousness in marriage
(C) Both (A) and (B) (D) The tyranny of women
iii. Complete the sentence appropriately.
Savita sits alongside an elderly woman _____.

iv. Pick evidence from the extract that helps one infer that Sabita, a young girl is also engaged
in ancestral profession.

v. What does ‘their eyes’ over here refer to?

vi. Which of the following headlines best suggests the central idea of the extract?
(A) The rigidity of bangle makers
(B) The importance of bangle makers
(C) The fears of bangle makers
The miserable condition of bangle makers

7. Those who prepare green wars, wars with gas, wars with fire, victory with no
survivors, would put on clean clothes and walk about with their brothers in the
shade, doing nothing.

(a) Whom does the word 'those' refer to ?

(b) What does the poet mean by: 'put on clean clothes'?

(c) Describe the irony in the third line.

(d) When can a person walk about with 'their' brothers?

8. Now we will count to twelve And we will all keep still.

For once on the face of the Earth

Let’s not speak in any language

 Let’s stop for one second
And not move our arms so
much

i. Which of the following themes is best represented in the given extract?

(A) Sustaining peace and silence (B) War and violence
(C) War (D) Introspection of others

ii. Read the assertion and the reason below, with reference to the given extract.
assertion : The poet urges humanity to remain silent and still to promote unity and peace.
reason : The poet suggests that by stopping all movement and speech, people can reflect
on their differences and resolve conflicts.

Choose the correct option regarding their relationship.

(A) Both the assertion and the reason are true, and the reason is the correct explanation
of the assertion.
(B) Both the assertion and the reason are true, but the reason is not the correct
explanation of the assertion.
(C) The assertion is true, but the reason is false.
(D) The assertion is false, but the reason is true.
iii. Complete the following suitably.
The poet asks us to stop for one second because the moment of quietness will give us the
time to meditate and introspect upon the kind of turmoil _____.

iv. Select the correct option from those given in brackets, to fill in the blank.
The poet asks the readers to ‘count till twelve’ in the extract. This symbolizes the way to
_____ (calm/ uneasy) our minds and focus on the present moment.

v. Based on the rhyme scheme of the poem, evident in the extract, which word would you
rhyme with ‘second’?

vi. What is the significance of “the face of the Earth” in the extract?
9. MR LAMB : You could lock yourself up in a room and never leave it. There was a man who
did that. He was afraid, you see. Of everything. Everything in this world. A bus might run
him over, or a man might breathe deadly germs onto him, or a donkey might kick him to
death, or lightning might strike him down, or he might love a girl and the girl would leave
him, and he might slip on a banana skin and fall and people who saw him would laugh their
heads off. So he went into this room, and locked the door, and got into his bed, and stayed
there.

i. Why does the speaker refer to the uncertainty of life?

ii. Which intolerable situation is best described in the given extract?

(A) The situation when people passed sarcastic remarks on him.
(B) The situation when people abused him.
(C) The situation when people laughed at him.
 (D) None of these
iii. Why does the speaker refer to the example of a man who locked himself in the
room?
iv. What was Mr Lamb doing by giving such example to him?
10. As soon as they got up from the table he went around to each one present and said
thank you and good night, but when he came to the young girl she gave him to
understand that it was her father’s intention that the suit which he wore was to be a
Christmas present-he did not have to return it; and if he wanted to spend next
Christmas Eve in a place where he could rest in peace and be sure that no evil would
befall him, he would be welcomed back again.

i. What did Edla tell the peddler?

ii. What did the girl want to convey to the guest?

(A) She wanted to thank him
(B) She wanted him to wear the suit
(C) Her father wanted him to wear the suit

(D) She liked him

iii. Complete the sentence with reference to the extract. The guest was
asked not to _____ the suit.
iv. What did Edla also invited the peddler for?

v. How does Edla’s gesture affect the peddler?

vi. What does the given extract show about Edla?

(A) That she was cheerful (B) That she was charitable
(C) That she was benevolent (D) That she was
11. MR LAMB : Rubbish? Look, boy, look.... what do you see?

DERRY : Just....grass and stuff Weeds.

MR LAMB : Some call them weeds. If you like, then.... a weed garden, that. There’s
fruit and there are flowers, and trees and herbs. All sorts. But over there.... weeds. I
grow weeds there. Why is one green, growing plant called a weed and another
‘flower’?

Where’s the difference? It’s all life.... growing. Same as you and me.

DERRY : We’re not the same.

MR LAMB : I’m old. You’re young. You’ve got a burned face, I’ve got a tin leg. Not
important. You’re standing there.... I’m sitting here. Where’s the difference
 i. Why does Mr Lamb draw Derry’s attention and stress on ‘looking?
ii. What are the fundamental differences between Derry’s and Mr Lamb’s
understanding of the world and life? These are:
(A) Derry: introvert; Mr Lamb: extrovert
(B) Derry: nervous; Mr Lamb: domineering
(C) Derry: self-pity; Mr Lamb: accepting
(D) Derry: unseeing; Mr Lamb: appreciative

iii. How is Derry’s tone when he says, “We’re not the same?

iv. Why does Mr Lamb emphasise the importance of weeds? What is the idea behind

it?

12. DERRY And no one'll kiss me, ever. Only my mother, and she kisses me on the other

side of my face, and I don't like my mother to kiss me, she does it because she has to.

Why should I like that? I don't care if nobody ever kisses me. MR LAMB Ah, but do you

care if you never kiss them.

i. What is the tone of the speaker in the first line?

ii. Why does no one kiss Derry? This is because of

(A) his shabby appearance (B) his haft-burnt leg (C) his outdated clothes (D) his half-burnt face

iii. What kind of attitude Derry has towards life?

iv. Complete the sentence appropriately. The author's purpose in using contractions, is to

13. Listening to them, I see two distinct worlds-one of the family, caught in a web of poverty,

burdened by the stigma of caste in which they are born; The other a vicious circle of the

sahukars, the middleman, the policemen the keepers of law, the bureaucrats and the

politicians. Together they have imposed the baggage on the child that he cannot put down.

Before he is aware, he accepts it as naturally as his father. To do anything else would mean

to dare. And daring is not part of his growing up

i. List any two details about two distinct worlds.

ii. “...The other vicious circle of Sahukasrs...” In this line ‘vicious circle’ refers to _____.
(A) passing the occupation to next generation
(B) trap made by moneylenders for workers
(C) carrying the tradition of family (D) none of these
iii. Complete the sentence appropriately.
Ironically, millions of children have lost _____.

iv. Pick evidence from the extract that helps one infer that the baggage has been imposed on
the children.

v. How does the child accept the burden?

vi. Which of the following headlines best suggests the central idea of the extract?
(A) The passion of children (B) The web of poverty
(C) The desire of adults (D) The happiness of children

14. He remembered his old teacher of anatomy, who had been so insistent
on mercy with the knife, and then he remembered the face of his fat and
slatternly landlady. He had great difficulty in finding a place to live in
America because he was a Japanese. The Americans were full of prejudice
and it had been bitter to live in it, knowing himself their superior. How he
had despised the ignorant and dirty old woman who had at last consented
to house him in her miserable home! He had once tried to be grateful to her
because she had in his last year nursed him through but it was difficult, for
she was no less repulsive to him in her kindness."

i. Complete the sentence appropriately. had cared for Dr Sadao when he fell ill
in America.

ii. Select the option that completes the given sentence appropriately. The
Americans were full of prejudice and it had been bitter to live in
(A) Dr Sadao's place (B) The General's place (C) America (D) The White Man's
place
iii. How were the Americans, according to Sadao?
iv. What difficulty did Dr Sadao face in America?