Practice 1

Questions 1 3 are based on the extract from the poem I wonder.

I Wonder
I wonder why the grass is green,
And why the wind is never seen?
Who taught the birds to build a nest,
And told the trees to take a rest?
O, when the moon is not quite round,
Where can the missing bit be found?
Who lights the stars, when they blow out,
And makes the lightning flash about?
Who paints the rainbow in the sky,
And hangs the fluffy clouds so high?
Why is it now, do you suppose,
That Dad wont tell me, if he knows?
1. What does the use of the word wonder in the poem show?
A. thinking
B. solving problems
C. making silly remarks
D. feeling of shock
2. The phrase how the wind looks like tells us that the writer is.
A. curious
B. confused
C. passionate
D. angry
3. What is hanging according to the persona?
A. stars
B. clouds
C. rainbow
D. wind
Practice 2
1. In this poem, the persona is a
A. man
B. child
C. woman
D. father
2. The persona is enthusiastic in
A. exploring the nature
B. finding out if his dad knows anything
C. looking at the sky
D. finding out more about the moon
3. What is the best title for to replace I wonder if you have to?
A. I am Lost
B. Oh My God
C. Please Answer Me
D. Please Help Me
Practice 3
1. Which word means to make something look bright?
A. paints
B. hangs
C. lights
D. makes

2. The title of the poem implies that the persona has

A. desire to know
B. very little patience
C. a lot anger
D. no desire to know
3. State one value that we can learn from the poem?
A. Nature should be appreciated
B. Nature should be left alone
C. We must not be so curious
D. We should not ask too many questions.
Practice 4
1. Who is the persona disappointed with?
A. God
B. Her mother
C. Her father
D. Nature
2. What is invisible?
A. The lightning
B. The wind
C. The clouds
D. The moon
3. The word fluffy means
A. light
B. feathery
C. thin
D. crispy
Practice 5
1. The phrase blow out means
A. explode
B. brighten
C. disappear
D. appear
2. What is the persona wondering about the birds?
A. How the birds can fly
B. How they can build their nests
C. Why they are so small
D. Why they cannot talk
3. In the fourth couplet, the word they refers to the
A. lights
B. stars
C. moon
D. rainbow
Practice 6
1. What does the phrase the missing bit refers to?
A. fluffy clouds
B. parts of the moon
C. parts of the stars
D. the trees
2. How does the rainbow look like?
A. hanging
B. fluffy
C. painted
D. round
3. Two pairs of rhyming words from the poem.
A. fluffy- clouds

B. round- found
C. lightning-flash
D. birds-build
Practice 7
1. Which characteristics will allow a child to learn more?
A. Being lazy
B. Being curious
C. A happy go lucky attitude
D. Always being suspicious
2. What does the poet really mean when she says that the trees take a rest?
A. the trees are strong
B. there is no wind
C. the wind is too strong
D. the trees are swaying in the rain.
3. What does the use of the word wonder in the poem indicate?
A. the reality of life
B. magical happenings
C. man is always thinking
D. the creation of nature
Practice 8
1. One of the major themes in the poem is
A. the value of money
B. the value of education
C. nature is a crazy place to live in
D. the poet is a wanderer
2. What is the poem about?
A. Our world is mysterious and that there are so many crazy people.
B. We are living in a world that really does not have any answers.
C. We must try to find questions and answers all the time.
D. Our world is mysterious and there are so many unanswered questions
3. The last two lines imply that
A. fathers like to keep secrets.
B. fathers are actually very stupid
C. a teacher is needed to guide the curious child
D. a child does not need to so busy body
Practice 9
1. Who is the speaker relating the events?
A. An angry father asking his child
B. A curious child asking his father
C. A child who is always disturbing his father.
D. A father who does not want to answer the questions.
2. The half moon is seen as
A. something not normal
B. a completed puzzle
C. a puzzle missing some of its pieces
D. a round object
3. The poem somehow portrays the thinking of a child
A. who thinks about unnecessary things in life
B. who is really bored with life
C. who generalises everything using his own concept
D. who is very pampered and spoilt by the parents.
Practice 10
1. What can you say about the persona in the poem?
A. Worried about the animals
B. sensitive and alert about nature
C. angry with his father for being fierce.

D. sensitive about his father.

2. Which phrase show human characteristics in non living things?
A. Birds build a nest
B. the trees to take a rest
C. the grass is green
D. wind is never seen
3. The mood of the poem is
A. cheerful and inspiring
B. dull and uninspiring
C. sad and gloomy
D. humorous
POEM
HEIR CONDITIONING
Practice 1
Questions 1 3 are based on the extract from the poem Heir Conditioning
Heir Conditioning
Grand dad did you breathe
before air cons were invented?
was it hard staying
alive without modern inventions?
Grandma werent you flustered
as you fluttered with paper fans?
could you communicate before
faxes and long distance calls
became basic necessities?
Grandchild we lived
before your age. Because
of our ignorance,
we did not know
pollution, stress, traffic jams
destruction of forests, streams and
hills
we feared God and nature
now nature fears you and
money is your new God.
1. Which word rhymes with heir?
A. hare
B. air
C. airy
D. hair
2. What is the tone of the poem?
A. Sad
B. Sarcastic
C. Anger
D. Sorrow
3. How does the poet view modernization?
A. optimistic
B. pessimistic
C. confident
D. cynical
Practice 2
Questions 1 3 are based on the extract from the poem Heir Conditioning
Heir Conditioning

1 In stanza 1, the grandparents did not have all the following except
A. air conditioners
B. telephone
C. fax machine
D. paper fans
2. What does the title of the poem suggest?
A. Changes on how the younger generation thinks.
B. Changes in the mindset of the older generation
C. We must appreciate all the modern inventions
D. Technology is very important to mankind
3. What is meant in the line we feared God and nature now nature fears you?
A. we are scared of nature
B. we are scared of God
C. we actually destroyed nature
D. nature destroyed our faith to God
Practice 3
1. What is meant by money is your new God?
A. Money can buy all the new inventions
B. The younger generation worship money.
C. Money is very important in our lives.
D. The older generation realizes the importance of money.
2. What does the word feared imply?
A. scared of
B. believed in
C. hated
D. angry at
3. How many speakers does the poem have?
A. one
B. two
C. three
D. four
Practice 4
1. What is the theme of the poem?
A. The usefulness of modern inventions.
B. Technology is not good for us
C. Respecting God
D. Effects of development
2. What can you infer from the line Grand child we lived before your age?
A. Grandparents enjoyed a long life
B. Grandparents have more experience than grandchild
C. Grandparents have lived a difficult life for a long time.
D. Grandparents do not understand grandchilds lifestyle
3. What is the poets main concern in the second stanza?
A. Spiritual well being
B. Natures gift
C. Gods gift
D. Respect for the elders
Practice 5
1. What is the message that the poet wishes to express in this poem?
A. Grandchild is very modern
B. Grandfather is very modern
C. Effects of progress
D. Nurture of spiritual beings
2. Which parties are talking in the dialogue in the poem?

A. Grandfather and Grandmother

B. Grandfather and God
C. Grandparents and Grandchild
D. Grandfather and Grandson
3. The word flustered means
A. comfortable
B. uncomfortable
C. cool
D. good
Practice 6
1. According to the poem, how does man treat nature nowadays?
A. with a lot of fear
B. with no respect
C. with a lot of love
D. with a lot of care
2. What is the grandchilds reaction to his grandparents life in the past?
A. angry
B. disappointed
C. puzzled
D. sad
3. An example of basic necessities would be something that is
A. expensive
B. very essential
C. trivial
D. hardly useful
Practice 7
1. The poet suggests that damage to the environment cannot be prevented because
A. human beings are trained to do so.
B. of the attitude of the young generation
C. of the attitude of the older generation
D. it is in Gods hands
2. The phrase money is your new God show that nowadays we are
A. Lazy
B. Materialistic
C. Very spiritual
D. Very hard working
3. What is the theme of the poem?
A. modern inventions are useless
B. progress destroys mankind
C. we should not forget our spiritual values
D. importance of money to buy modern gadgets
Practice 8
1. The phrase because of our ignorance, we did not know pollution, stress, traffic jams is
A. metaphor
B. sarcasm
C. symbolism
D. personification
2. The poet wants the younger generation to have
A. The exact life as their grandparents
B. balance between development and conserving environment
C. a good balance in the bank account and be very spiritual
D. respect for their grandparents.
3. One of the messages in the poem is
A. we should not be too dependent on modern gadgets to run our life
B. we should be independent enough to choose modern gadgets.
C. we should not be too dependent on modern gadgets as it will ruin our life
D. we should be dependent on modern gadgets to run our life.

Practice 9
1. In the first stanza, the persona is the
A. grandchild
B. grandparent
C. both grandparent and grandchild
D. grand dad and grandma.
2. According to the grandparents, they did not have to live in a polluted world
A. as they did not want any gadgets
B. because there were a lot of trees left
C. because they did not much money
D. as they were not dependent on modern gadget
3. The verse we feared God and nature, now nature fears you is an example of
A. Similarities between the past and present
B. How things are better now
C. Comparison between the past and the present
D. Things that not changed at all
Practice 10
1. What are the problems mentioned in the poem?
A. modern inventions
B. stress and pollution
C. increase in crime rate
D. power failure
2. Why did the poet use many questions in stanza one?
A. to portray that the young generation is stupid
B. to show that the inquisitiveness of a child
C. to ensure that the grandparents answer the questions
D. to portray that children were not educated in the past
3. Which of these lines show comparison between the past and present?
A. Grandchild we lived before your age. Because of our ignorance,..
B. we feared God and nature now nature fears you..
C. Grand dad did you breathe before air cons were invented?
D. Grandma werent you flustered as you fluttered with paper fans?

Practice 1
I WONDER
I wonder why the grass is green,
And why the wind is never seen?
Who taught the birds to build a nest,
And told the trees to take a rest?
O, when the moon is not quite round,
Where can the missing bit be found?
Who lights the stars, when they blow out,
And makes the lightning flash about?
Who paints the rainbow in the sky,

And hangs the fluffy clouds so high?

Why is it now, do you suppose,
That Dad wont tell me, if he knows?
Jeannie Kirby

Who is the persona in the poem?

_______________________________________

(a) Can a tree take a rest?

_______________________________________

(b)What does the poet really mean when she says that the trees take a rest?

______________________________________________________________
Practice 3
List three things that the persona is wondering about.
_______________________________________________________

4. State one moral value found in the poem.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Practice 5
Identify the word that means to make something look bright?

_______________________________________________________

(a) What does the title of the poem imply about the persona?
___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

(b) Explain in your own words, what you understand by the last two lines.
___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
Practice 7
Who is the speaker relating the events to?
___________________________________________________________

(a) What is the half moon seen as?

___________________________________________________________

(b) The poem somehow portrays the thinking of a child. Describe the characteristics of the child.

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________
Practice 9
Identify a phrase/line that shows human characteristics in non living things?
______________________________________________________________

(a) What is the mood of the poem?

______________________________________________________________

(b) What is the poem about?

______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________
Practice 2
Heir Conditioning
Grand dad did you breathe
before air cons were invented?
was it hard staying
alive without modern inventions?
Grandma werent you flustered
as you fluttered with paper fans?
could you communicate before
faxes and long distance calls
became basic necessities?
Grandchild we lived
before your age. Because
of our ignorance,
we did not know
pollution, stress, traffic jams
destruction of forests, streams and
hills
we feared God and nature
now nature fears you and
money is your new God.
by SHANmugalingam

List three things in the poem that indicate the negative effects of modernization?
__________________________________________________________________

What does the title of the poem mean to you? Provide an explanation for your answer
___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
Practice 4
What is the poets main concern in the second stanza?
_______________________________________________________

What is the message that the poet wishes to express in this poem?
___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Practice 6
What can you infer from the line Grand child we lived before your age?
_______________________________________________________

Explain why Grand child would find it difficult to live without modern inventions.
___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
Practice 8
What is the tone of the poem?
____________________________________________________

(a) Who is the persona in the second stanza?

____________________________________________________

(b)

How does the poet view modernization?

_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
Practice 10
Based on stanza 1, list two things that the grandparents did not have.
____________________________________________________

(a) What is another word which sounds similar to the title?

____________________________________________________

(b)What does the title suggests? Briefly explain as you understand it.
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

ANSWERS;
Practice 1
A young child
(a) No, they are not human
(b) Wind is not blowing to make the leaves sway or move.
Practice 2
pollution, stress, traffic jams
destruction of forests, streams and
hills
The title of the poem Heir Conditioning suggests about the conditioning of the minds of the younger
generation who are so dependent on modern inventions in their daily life. Their minds are so
tuned/conditioned to having modern inventions to manage their daily life that to them it may seem
impossible to live without these inventions.

Practice 3
Why the grass is green/ why the wind is never seen/who taught the birds to build a nest/
We must always be resourceful and independent in enriching our world of knowledge. As for example,
by being inquisitive and asking people around us and taking the initiative to read to broaden our
horizon!
Practice 4
The poet expresses his concern that though there is progress with modern inventions, man is
regressing. If modern amenities and development are there to give us comfort, easy access and a
better lifestyle, how come we have to deal with calamities and problems like stress and traffic jams?
The poet is trying to impart the message that modernization should be a gradual process and that
mankind should not be overly dependent or taken up with new inventions that could lead to the
destruction of the environment.
Practice 5
Flash
(a) curious child who seeks for answers to questions about the wonders of life and nature.
(b) Towards the end of the poem, she is annoyed as her father fails to answer her questions.

Practice 6

The grandparent explains that he/she lived a longer life(before your age)
The grandchilds questions seem naive, childlike and amusing when the grandchild asks grandparents
how they could actually live without modern inventions such as air conditioners, fans, and fax
machines. It is as though without these inventions, the older generations seemed to have suffered
living.
Practice 7
The persona himself/herself
(a) incomplete puzzle
(b) In this poem, the persona is a child who is enthusiastic in exploring the nature. The inspiring
curiosity within the child himself leads him to learn more about the miracles of nature. He seems to
appreciate every detail of the world and he wants to know how such things happen
Practice 8
The poem is light yet punctuated with irony and scarsm.
(a) The grandfather
(b) Here, he is speaking very strongly from a personal point of view. He uses we to show that the
older generation lived a rich and peaceful life. They were spared from living in a polluted world as they
were not dependent on modern gadget.
Practice 9
the trees to take a rest
(a) the tone of the poem is informal, easy and relaxed.
(b) The poem shows that our beautiful world is so big and mysterious and that there are so many
unanswered questions. But we always try and look for ways to find out the answers to all of our
questions.

Practice 10
Electric fan, telephone.
(a) air conditioning
(b) The poet is deeply conscious of the fact that the new generation are heirs to a future world
doomed by the conditioning need for development and modern gadgets.