PRACTICE QUESTIONS:

1. For a moment I thought of running away and spending the day out of doors. It
was so warm, so bright! The birds were chirping at the edge of the woods; and
in the open field back of the saw mill the Prussian soldiers were drilling. It was
all much more tempting than the rule for participles, but I had the strength to
resist, and hurried off to school. When I passed the town hall there was a crowd
in front of the bulletin-board. For the last two years all our bad news had come
from there — the lost battles, the draft, the orders of the commanding officer —
and I thought to myself, without stopping, “What can be the matter now?”

(a) ‘It was all much more tempting than the rule for participles’. From this line
one can infer that following subject was to be taught at school

(i) Science

(ii) Geography

(iii) Language

(iv) Mathematics

(b) Why do you think a bulletin board was installed at the town hall?

(i) It was the central place of the town

(ii) It was a lonely place of the town

(iii) It did not have any traffic

(iv) It was the brightest place in the town

(c) “What can be the matter now?” This sentence indicates which of the
following emotion of the speaker

(i) Happiness

(ii) Worry
(iii) Negligence

(iv) Anger

(d) The environment outdoors was

(i) Pleasant

(ii) Tempting

(iii) Active

(iv) All the above

2. But now it was all so still! I had counted on the commotion to get to my desk
without being seen; but, of course, that day everything had to be as quiet as
Sunday morning. Through the window I saw my classmates, already in their
places, and M. Hamel walking up and down with his terrible iron ruler under his
arm. I had to open the door and go in before everybody. You can imagine how I
blushed and how frightened I was. But nothing happened. M. Hamel saw me
and said very kindly, “Go to your place quickly, little Franz. We were beginning
without you.”

(a) Franz had expected the school to be….

(i) Noisy

(ii) Spotless

(iii) Silent

(iv) Bright

(b) Which style of writing has been used in ‘that day everything had to be as
quiet as Sunday morning’?

(i) Hyperbole

(ii) Simile
(iii) Pun

(iv) Allegory

(c) According to the extract M. Hamel seemed to be

(i) Worried

(ii) Puzzled

(iii) Sad

(iv) Happy

(d) ‘We were beginning without you’ implies that….

(i) The teacher started to expel Franz.

(ii) The class was about to start.

(iii) Lot of time was left to start the class.

(iv) The class had already begun.

3. Poor man! It was in honour of this last lesson that he had put on his fine
Sunday clothes, and now I understood why the old men of the village were
sitting there in the back of the room. It was because they were sorry, too, that
they had not gone to school more. It was their way of thanking our master for
his forty years of faithful service and of showing their respect for the country
that was theirs no more.

(a) Why does the narrator refer to M. Hamel as ‘Poor man!’?

(i) He empathizes with M. Hamel as he had to leave the village.

(ii) He believes that M. Hamel’s “fine Sunday clothes” clearly reflected that he was
not rich.

(iii) He feels sorry for M. Hamel as it was his last French lesson.
(iv) He thinks that M. Hamel’s patriotism and sense of duty resulted in his
poverty.

(b) Which of the following idioms might describe the villagers’ act of attending
the last lesson most accurately?

(i) ‘Too good to miss’

(ii) ‘Too little, too late’

(iii) ‘Too many cooks spoil the broth’

(iv) Too cool for school’

(c) Choose the option that might raise a question about M. Hamel’s “faithful
service”.

(i) When Franz came late, M. Hamel told him that he was about to begin class
without him.

(ii) Franz mentioned how cranky M. Hamel was and his “great ruler rapping on the
table”.

(iii) M. Hamel often sent students to water his flowers, and gave a holiday when
he wanted to go fishing.

(iv) M. Hamel permitted villagers put their children “to work on a farm or at the
mills” for some extra money.

(d) Choose the option that most appropriately fills in the blanks, for the
following description of the given extract.

The villagers and their children sat in class, forging with their old master a (I)
_____ togetherness. In that moment, the class room stood (II) _____. It was
France itself, and the last French lesson a desperate hope to (III) ______ to the
remnants of what they had known and taken for granted. Their own (IV) _______.

1 (I) graceful; (II) still; (III) hang on; (IV) country

2 (I) bygone; (II) up; (III) keep on; (IV) education
3 (I) beautiful; (II) mesmerized; (III) carry on; (IV) unity
4 (I) forgotten; (II) transformed; (III) hold on; (IV) identity

STAND ALONE MCQ’S

1. The word “rapping” means

a) singing loud
b) slapping hard
c) teaching strictly
d) striking to get attention

2. From where did the orders come to teach only German in the districts of
Alsace and Lorraine?

a) France

b) Lorraine

c) Berlin

d) German

3. What were the things being taken for granted by the people of Alsace?

a) Teachers of the school

b) Time and school

c) People around

d) Money and power

QUESTIONS BASED ON ASSERTION AND REASONING
1. Assertion: Franz saw a huge crowd in front of the bulletin – board.

Reason: For the last two years, the people of Alsace received their bad news
from the bulletin – board.

a) Both Assertion and Reason are true and Reason is the correct explanation
of Assertion.
b) Both Assertion and Reason are true but Reason is NOT the correct
explanation of Assertion.
c) Both Assertion and Reason are true but Reason is NOT the correct
explanation of Assertion.
d) Assertion is false but Reason is true.

2. Assertion: M. Hamel was wearing his best clothes that day.

Reason: M. Hamel was dressed up for the Prize Distribution Day.

a) Assertion can be inferred but the Reason cannot be inferred.

b) Assertion cannot be inferred but the Reason can be inferred.
c) Both Assertion and Reason cannot be inferred.
d) Both Assertion and Reason can be inferred.

3. Assertion: The old men of the village were sitting in the back of the
classroom.
Reason: They were sorry, as they had not gone to school more.

a) Assertion can be inferred but the Reason cannot be inferred.

b) Assertion cannot be inferred but the Reason can be inferred.
c) Both Assertion and Reason cannot be inferred.
d) Both Assertion and Reason can be inferred.
 ANSWER KEY
(a) ‘It was all much more tempting than the rule for participles’. From this line
one can infer that following subject was to be taught at school

(i) Science

(ii) Geography

(iii) Language

(iv) Mathematics

(b) Why do you think a bulletin board was installed at the town hall?

(i) It was the central place of the town

(ii) It was a lonely place of the town

(iii) It did not have any traffic

(iv) It was the brightest place in the town

(c) “What can be the matter now?” This sentence indicates which of the
following emotion of the speaker

(i) Happiness

(ii) Worry

(iii) Negligence

(iv) Anger

(d) The environment outdoors was

(i) Pleasant

(ii) Tempting

(iii) Active
(iv) All the above

2. (a) Franz had expected the school to be….

(i) Noisy

(ii) Spotless

(iii) Silent

(iv) Bright

(b) Which style of writing has been used in ‘that day everything had to be as
quiet as Sunday morning’?

(i) Hyperbole

(ii) Simile

(iii) Pun

(iv) Allegory

(c) According to the extract M. Hamel seemed to be

(i) Worried

(ii) Puzzled

(iii) Sad

(iv) Happy

(d) ‘We were beginning without you’ implies that….

(i) The teacher started to expel Franz.

(ii) The class was about to start.

(iii) Lot of time was left to start the class.

(iv) The class had already begun.

3. (a) Why does the narrator refer to M. Hamel as ‘Poor man!’?

(i) He empathizes with M. Hamel as he had to leave the village.

(ii) He believes that M. Hamel’s “fine Sunday clothes” clearly reflected that he
was not rich.

(iii) He feels sorry for M. Hamel as it was his last French lesson.

(iv) He thinks that M. Hamel’s patriotism and sense of duty resulted in his
poverty.

(b) Which of the following idioms might describe the villagers’ act of attending
the last lesson most accurately?

(i) ‘Too good to miss’

(ii) ‘Too little, too late’

(iii) ‘Too many cooks spoil the broth’

(iv) Too cool for school’

(c) Choose the option that might raise a question about M. Hamel’s “faithful
service”.

(i) When Franz came late, M. Hamel told him that he was about to begin class
without him.

(ii) Franz mentioned how cranky M. Hamel was and his “great ruler rapping on the
table”.

(iii) M. Hamel often sent students to water his flowers, and gave a holiday when
he wanted to go fishing.

(iv) M. Hamel permitted villagers put their children “to work on a farm or at the
mills” for some extra money.

(d) Choose the option that most appropriately fills in the blanks, for the
following description of the given extract.
The villagers and their children sat in class, forging with their old master a (I)
_____ togetherness. In that moment, the class room stood (II) _____. It was
France itself, and the last French lesson a desperate hope to (III) ______ to the
remnants of what they had known and taken for granted. Their own (IV) _______.

5 (I) graceful; (II) still; (III) hang on; (IV) country

6 (I) bygone; (II) up; (III) keep on; (IV) education
7 (I) beautiful; (II) mesmerized; (III) carry on; (IV) unity
8 (I) forgotten; (II) transformed; (III) hold on; (IV) identity

STAND ALONE MCQ’S

2. The word “rapping” means

a) singing loud
b) slapping hard
c) teaching strictly
d) striking to get attention

2. From where did the orders come to teach only German in the districts of
Alsace and Lorraine?

a) France

b) Lorraine

c) Berlin

d) German

3. What were the things being taken for granted by the people of Alsace?

a) Teachers of the school

b) Time and school

 c) People around

d) Money and power

QUESTIONS BASED ON ASSERTION AND REASONING

4. Assertion: Franz saw a huge crowd in front of the bulletin – board.

Reason: For the last two years, the people of Alsace received their bad
news from the bulletin – board.

e) Both Assertion and Reason are true and Reason is the correct explanation
of Assertion.
f) Both Assertion and Reason are true but Reason is NOT the correct
explanation of Assertion.
g) Both Assertion and Reason are true but Reason is NOT the correct
explanation of Assertion.
h) Assertion is false but Reason is true.

5. Assertion: M. Hamel was wearing his best clothes that day.

Reason: M. Hamel was dressed up for the Prize Distribution Day.

e) Assertion can be inferred but the Reason cannot be inferred.

f) Assertion cannot be inferred but the Reason can be inferred.
g) Both Assertion and Reason cannot be inferred.
h) Both Assertion and Reason can be inferred.

6. Assertion: The old men of the village were sitting in the back of the
classroom.
Reason: They were sorry, as they had not gone to school more.
e) Assertion can be inferred but the Reason cannot be inferred.
f) Assertion cannot be inferred but the Reason can be inferred.
g) Both Assertion and Reason cannot be inferred.
h) Both Assertion and Reason can be inferred.