Assignments in Communicative English Class-IX (Term 2)

Section-BReading (Poetry)
(Unseen Passages with MCQs)
ASSIGNMENT-1
(LITERARY)
Read the poem carefully and answer the questions by choosing the option you consider the most
appropriate.
EARLY MEMORY
I remember picking up a fistful I hid in the pockets of my blue and white dress.
of sand, smooth crystals, like hourglass sand How she found them and uncurled small sandy
fists.
and throwing it into the eyes of a boy. Johnny
There must have been such rage in me, to give such
or Danny or Kevinhe was not important.
pain

N
I was five and I knew he would cry.
to another person. This afternoon,

A
I remember everything about it

H
I saw a man pull a gold chain off the neck
the sandbox in the corner of the room

S
of a woman as she crossed the street.

A
at Cinderella Day Care ; Ms. Lee, She cried out with a sound that bleached me.

K
who ran over after the boy wailed for his mother, I walked on, unable to help,
A
her stern look as the words No snack formed on knowing that fire in childhood
R
her lips.
clenched deep in my pockets all the way home.
P

My hands with their gritty, half-mooned fingernails by January Gill ONeil

S
R

1. The poet remembers his childhood memories

E

(a) when he was caught with his sandy hands

TH

(b) when he uncurled small sandy fists

(c) when he saw a chain snatching incident
O

(d) when he saw Ms. Lee wailed for the childs mother
R

2. The incident took place

B

(a) at poets house (b) in the play ground

(c) at a day care centre (d) when a woman crossed the road
L
YA

3. The stern look of Ms. Lee

(a) had no effect on the poet when he was a child
O

(b) was as she might have said no snack to the poet

G

(c) was to call the mother of the other child

(d) was to see the sand in the eyes of the other child
4. Find a word with the meaning similar to fade from the poem.
(a) uncurled (b) bleached (c) half-mooned (d) clenched
5. For the poet the name of the child was not important as
(a) he knew he would cry (b) he was only five-year-old
(c) he was a mischievous boy (d) he knew Ms. Lee would save him
Ans : 1. ____________ 2. ____________ 3. ____________ 4. ____________ 5. ____________
1 GOYAL BROTHERS PRAKASHAN
 ASSIGNMENT-2
(LITERARY)
Read the poem carefully and answer the statements that follow by choosing the most appropriate option.

RING OUT WILD BELLS

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

N
Ring out the old, ring in the new,

A
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:

H
The year is going, let him go;

S
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

A
Ring out the grief that saps the mind,

K
For those that here we see no more;
A
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
R
Ring in redress to all mankind.
P

Ring out a slowly dying cause,

S

And ancient forms of party strife;

R

Ring in the nobler modes of life,

E

With sweeter manners, purer laws.

TH

Alfred Tennyson
O

1. The holiday associated with these lines is:

R

(a) Thanksgiving (b) Christmas (c) New Year (d) Summer

B

2. Poet wants the New Year to bring ____________________.

L

(a) happiness and joy (b) sweet manners and purer laws
YA

(c) truth (d) all the above

3. Feud is ________________.
O

(a) an ongoing quarrel with bad feelings on each side

G

(b) a game that creates feelings of comfort

(c) a waterway that is similar to a deep river
(d) a home with separate living quarters for servants
4. Redress in the poem means _______________.
(a) to get dressed again, to change clothes (b) clothing worn by an older person
(c) making up for a wrong or injustice (d) playing holiday music
5. The word which means the opposite of modern is ________________.
(a) happy (b) noble (c) strife (d) ancient
Ans : 1. ____________ 2. ____________ 3. ____________ 4. ____________ 5. ____________
2 GOYAL BROTHERS PRAKASHAN
 ASSIGNMENT-3
(LITERARY)
Read the poem carefully and answer the following questions after choosing from the option you consider the
most appropriate.

ANIMAL DANCES
Little Liza Lillian never could sit down.
She was always dancing, around and around.
Shed knock over furniture, room by room,
Until she made her mother fume:
As she swayed and fluttered from side to side,
She thought how butterflies would glide.
Like swift cheetahs running up and down,
She raced at top speed, all over town.

N
Little Liza Lillian Brown, Like fishes gurgling in the ocean deep,

A
What keeps you dancing around and around ? She swam and swam - even while asleep.

H
You should sit quietly in your chair Little Liza Lillian Brown,

S
And really, show a bit more care! You really are too much of a clown.

What is it that goes through your head,
That makes you want to dance in bed,
And makes you dance through dinner too ?
R
This house feels just like a zoo!
P
A
I do not like this dancing, no.
K
You need to be serious, still, and slow.
A
But Little Liza Lillian Brown
Never stopped dancing around and around.

But Liza Lillian could not stop. She danced through school without a pause,
S

It was in her nature to spin and hop. And then danced on stage to loud applause.
R

She let her arms flow below and above, Liza Lillian is little no more.
E

Pretending she was a snow-white dove. She still finds joy in the dance, like before.
TH

As she scuffed and rumpled all the rugs, Now she has fame and admiring glances,
She jumped and leaped like toads and frogs. As she shares with the world her animal dances.
O
R

1. The poet most likely wrote this poem to__________________.

B

(a) entertain readers (b) show readers how to dance

L

(c) convince readers to behave (d) inform readers

YA

2. As it is used in this poem, the word fume means to be_________________.

(a) angry (b) brave (c) hopeful (d) sorry
O

3. Which question is answered in lines 5-8?

G

(a) Does Liza Lillian take dancing lessons ? (b) Which dance does Liza Lillian do most often ?
(c) How old is Liza Lillian ? (d)What is Liza Lillians last name ?
4. In lines 9-12, Liza Lillians mother does not understand why Liza Lillian_______________.
(a) dislikes dinner (b) likes zoos (c) is so active (d) gets so tired
5. The word applause in this poem means ________________.
(a) stopping (b) crying (c) clapping (d) singing
Ans : 1. ____________ 2. ____________ 3. ____________ 4. ____________ 5. ____________
3 GOYAL BROTHERS PRAKASHAN
 ASSIGNMENT-4
(LITERARY)
Read the poem carefully and answer the following questions by choosing the most appropriate option from
the ones given below.
DID I EVER STOP ?
Did I ever stop to make you smile
When your day was hard or your road was long?
When your light stopped shining for a while,

N
Did I sing for you a happy song?

A
Did I ever try to make you laugh

H
When your eyes held tears and you couldnt speak?

S
When your world seemed almost torn in half,

A
Did I hold your hand or kiss your cheek?

K
Did I ever pause to hear your voice
A
R
When you needed just a moments ear?
P

When youd lost your way or missed a choice,

Did I let you know that I was near?
S
R

Did I ever stop to say I care

E

When I didnt seek to hear it too?

TH

When you werent so sure that Id be there,

Did I ever show my love for you?
O
R

1. The poet seems to be addressing to

B

(a) someone who is feeling low (b) someone who is happy

L

(c) someone who likes to play (d) someone who likes to sing
YA

2. The poem is about

(a) being compassionate to others (b) making others unhappy
O

(c) ones own selfish interests (d)unimportant things like laughter

G

3. The poet sings

(a) a melancholy song (b) a happy song
(c) a sad song (d) an unhappy song
4. Find the word from the text which means the same as ripped.
(a) pause (b) smile (c) missed (d) torn
5. The poet wants to know if he ever showed his _______________ for you!
(a) love (b) anger (c) happiness (d) distrust

Ans : 1. ____________ 2. ____________ 3. ____________ 4. ____________ 5. ____________

4 GOYAL BROTHERS PRAKASHAN
 ASSIGNMENT-5
(LITERARY)
Read the poem carefully and answer the following questions by selecting the most appropriate option from
the ones given below.

THE QUIET LIFE

Happy man whose wish and care
A few paternal acres bound.
Content to breath his native air
In his own ground.

N
Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,
Whose flocks supply him with attire ;

A
Whose trees in summer yield him shade,

H
In winter fire :

S
A
Blest; who can unconcernedly find
Hours, days and years, slide soft away
In health of body, peace of mind.
K
A
Quiet by the day :
R

Sound sleep by night; study and ease

P

Together mixed, sweet recreation

S

And innocence which most does please with meditation.

R

Thus let me live, unseen unknown

E

Thus unlamented let me die,

TH

Steal from the word, and not a stone

Tell where I lie.
O

1. Which man wishes to live in his own native land?

R

(a) A man with large wishes (b)A man with small wishes
B

(c) A rich man (d) A wealthy man

L

2. Why does man described by the poet not have any worries about summer?
YA

(a) He lives in cold land (b) He keeps all facilities to keep away from heat
(c) Trees shield him away from heat (d) None of the above
O

3. What kind of death does the man wish for?

G

(a) sorrowful (b) contented (c) lamented (d) frustrated

4. What is the rhyming scheme in the first stanza?
(a) bb aa (b) aa bb (c) ba ba (d) ab ab
5. Which word in the first stanza means clothes?
(a) shade (b) flock (c) attire (d) partner
Ans : 1. ____________ 2. ____________ 3. ____________ 4. ____________ 5. ____________

5 GOYAL BROTHERS PRAKASHAN

 ASSIGNMENT-6
(LITERARY)
Read the following poem carefully and complete the following sentences by choosing the correct option from
those given below.

A crab, spurting from the water,
Dangling its legs over shells. It lug its body
Sideways, like a survivor dragged clear,
Then shudders into speed
Suddenly splinters of smashed water fill the rock pool,
The sea snatching up loose life,
Leaving in a crossfire of foam.
Not with the crab though. The crab

N
Waits, jerks into limbs and extremities
a hovercrafts height from the rocks, sidestepping

A
And runs through the instant of the waters withdrawal,

H
Periwinkles
Wedges

S
With the ease of a waiter through tables Between rocks

A
Lowers its harness of crab - meat Like a lost coin.

K
Till its belly grinds into the pattern of polyps; Only its eyes spring from the crevice,
A
R
Its pincers twist in, legs become ridges in the stone. Dulled with cloud and my shadow.
P

1. The crab is compared to a waiter in order to describe ___________________.

S

(a) the method the crab uses to catch food (b) the skilful movements of the crab
R

(c) how rapidly the crab is able to move (d) how efficient the crab is at hunting food
E
TH

2. The crab is camouflaged, is suggested to us by the line___________________.

(a) dangling its legs over shells (b) snatching up loose life
O

(c) a hovercrafts height from the rocks (d) legs become ridges in the stone
R

3. The conclusion about the poet that can be drawn from the poem is that ___________________.
B

(a) he was disappointed when shadows obscured his view of the rock pool
(b) he lost sight of the crab once it had reached the rock pool
L

(c) he was concerned that he might disturb the creatures in the rock pool
YA

(iv) he stood close enough to the rock pool to cast a shadow over it
O

4. It is most likely that the poet wrote this poem because he was fascinated by the _______________.
G

(a) impact of the sea on the rock pool

(b) unusual beauty of the creatures that inhabit rock pools
(c) way in which a crab survives in its environment
(d) way creatures coexist in a marine environment.
5. The word from the poem that describes one of crabs action is __________.
(a) smashed (b) leaving (c) shudders (d) withdrawal
Ans : 1. ____________ 2. ____________ 3. ____________ 4. ____________ 5. ____________

6 GOYAL BROTHERS PRAKASHAN

 ASSIGNMENT-7
(LITERARY)
Read the following poem carefully and choose the correct option from the ones given.
Often the idle mariners at sea
Catch albatrosses, vast birds of the deep.
Companions which follow lazily
Across the bitter gulfs the gliding ship.
Theyre scarcely set on deck, these heavenly kings,
Before, clumsy, abashed, and full of shame,
They piteously let their great white wings

N
Beside them drag, oar-like, and halt and lame.

A
See this winged traveller, so awkward, weak!

H
He was so fine : how droll and ugly now!

S
One sailor sticks a cutty in his beak,

A
Another limps to mock the bird that flew!

K
The poets like the monarch of the clouds
A
Who haunts the tempest, scorns the bows and slings;
R
Exiled on earth amid the shouting crowds,
P

He cannot walk, for he has giants wings.

S
R

1. The words the bitter gulfs tell the reader that _______________.
E

(a) the water is frequently cold (b) the journeys are long and perilous
TH

(c) many sailors are sick for long periods (d) disputes often occur among the sailors
O

2. After the sailors have caught the albatrosses they _______________.

R

(a) taunt them (b) free them again

B

(c) keep them as trophies (d) use them as a bait to catch others
3. In the first two stanzas, the poet draws a contrast between ______________.
L

(a) the sadness of the birds and the liveliness of the sailors
YA

(b) the smoothness of the water and the roughness of the deck
O

(c) the graceful curve of the birds wings and the blunt shapes of the ship
G

(d) the agility of the birds in flight and their cumbersome movements in captivity
4. The word in the poem that indicates the importance of a poet is _______________.
(a) monarch (b) haunts (c) tempest (d) scorns
5. Out of the following, an example of alliteration is ______________.
(a) vast birds of the deep (b) great white wings
(c) and halt and lame (d) so awkward, weak!
Ans : 1. ____________ 2. ____________ 3. ____________ 4. ____________ 5. ____________

7 GOYAL BROTHERS PRAKASHAN

 ASSIGNMENT-8
(LITERARY)
Read the poem carefully and answer the questions by choosing the most appropriate option.

ON HIS BLINDNESS
When I consider how my light is spent
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide
And that one talent, which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent

N
To serve herewith my Maker and present

A
H
My true account, lest He, returning, chide;

S
Doth God exact day - labour, light denied ?

A
I fondly ask : but patience, to prevent

K
That murmur, soon replies, God doth not need
A
Either mans work or His own gifts; who best
R
Bear his mild yoke, they serve Him best; His state
P

Is kingly His thousand at His bidding speed,

S

And post oer land and ocean without rest;

R

They also serve who only stand and wait.

E

John Milton
TH
O

1. Light is spent means

R

(a) the poet has lost his vision (b) the poet has lost his patience
B

(c) the poet has lost his ability to think (d) the poet has lost his creativity
2. God does not need
L

(a) any offerings (b) any flowers

YA

(c) any answer (d) either mans work or his own gifts
O

3. bear the suffering is the meaning of

G

(a) soul more bent. (b) returning chide

(c) light denied (d) bear this mild yoke
4. They also serve who
(a) only stand and wait (b) ask fondly
(c) serve therewith (d) bear his mild yoke
5. The word chide means
(a) to ask (b) to murmur (c) to scold (d) to order
Ans : 1. ____________ 2. ____________ 3. ____________ 4. ____________ 5. ____________

8 GOYAL BROTHERS PRAKASHAN

 ASSIGNMENT-9
(LITERARY)
Read the poem and answer the questions that follow by choosing the answers from the given options.
[C.B.S.E. 2011 (Term-11)]
On the door of the temple under the hot sun
I see her everyday.
Her hands and feet are
withered like limbs of a dead tree.
Her eyes, tired of searching for rays of hope
are sunk deep like caves in a rock.
Neither they receive light nor give it.

N
A
Her three yard sari is torn in thirty places.

H
Her body has absorbed sixty years of dirt.
Her knotty matted hair

S
is the abode of worm and lice.

A
K
Here and there some black teeth A
stand as guards in her open mouth.
The lines on her face have spread far and deep
R
like the crows feet.
P

Raising her shaking hands with hope in her eyes,

S

she turns towards me and an electric current

R

joints together our two hearts.

E

Times goes back fifteen years,

TH

her face changes, her eyes twinkle!

When she smiles, her teeth dazzle!
O

In that one magic moment

R

I see the image of my dead mother!

B

1. On the door of the temple the poet sees _____________.

L

(a) a beggar (b) an old lady (c) his mother (d) none of the above
YA

2. Her inability to maintain personal hygiene is reflected by her _____________.

O

(a) torn sari (b) sunken eyes (c) withered limbs (d) dirty body
G

3. Neither they receive light nor give it refers to the _____________.

(a) eyes of the lady (b) lights in the cave
(c) lights in the temple (d) hot sun
4. Towards the end of the poem the poet feels _____________.
(a) sympathetic (b) nostalgic (c) emotional (d) regret
5. The poet goes to the temple _____________.
(a) fortnightly (b) monthly (c) daily (d) weekly
Ans : 1. ____________ 2. ____________ 3. ____________ 4. ____________ 5. ____________
9 GOYAL BROTHERS PRAKASHAN
 ASSIGNMENT-10
(LITERARY)
Read the poem carefully and choose the correct option from the ones given below.

THE DREAMS OF CHILDREN

No one is not good enough,
You are! And so am I!
Every child needs a home,
A plate of food, a prayer, a kiss at bedtime.
Every child needs friends

N
And a little space for thinking

A
If to heaven we are all equal

H
Why do we divide?

S
Why do we race to beat each other?

A
As we walk through life,

K
People cannot see
A
That the trouble is not someone else,
R
The bubble of trouble is you and me.
P

So if we all hold hands,

S

As a family - you and me,

R

Surely we can build a new world

E

And make every dream come true.

TH

(a) By saying No one is not good enough the poet means that ______________.
(i) we all are fond of food (ii) each one of us is unique
O

(iii) we all are bad (iv) no one is good enough

R

(b) The poet wants the people of the world to __________.

B

(i) be like a family (ii) be like two friends

L

(iii) be like you and him (iv) help people who cannot see
YA

(c) Every child needs ___________.

(i) a home (ii) lots of food to eat
O

(iii) a home, food, blessings, love and friends (iv) only good friends
G

(d) Children are sure of making __________.

(i) a family (ii) a home
(iii) their every dream come true (iv) making their friends beat each other
(e) The poem ends with ___________.
(i) a request to bring a change in our attitude
(ii) a feeling of indifference towards the world
(iii) a feeling of happiness that all people are good
(iv) a suggestion that walking in life is necessary
Ans : 1. ____________ 2. ____________ 3. ____________ 4. ____________ 5. ____________
10 GOYAL BROTHERS PRAKASHAN