ST.

THOMAS’ CHURCH SCHOOL, HOWRAH

SELECTION EXAMINATION (OPEN BOOK) 2021-2022
CLASS X
ENGLISH PAPER 2 (LITERATURE IN ENGLISH)
TIME- 1hr (inclusive of reading time)
FULL MARKS – 80
(Select the correct option for each of the following questions.)
(Attempt all the questions)
SECTION A – THE MERCHANT OF VENICE (30x1=30)
1) What rumour do Solanio and Salerio discuss and then seek to have
confirmed by Shylock?
a) Antonio’s lost ships
b) Jessica running away
c) Jessica stealing a ring
d) None of the above.
2) What cheers up Shylock after hearing of his daughter’s theft?
a) Bassanio’s financial ruin
b) Launcelot leaving his service
c) Jessica’s elopement with Lorenzo
d) None of the above.
3) How did Salerio comment upon the difference in character between
Shylock and Jessica?
a) Jessica is complete contrast to Shylock as jet is to ivory.
b) Jessica is complete contrast to Shylock as rich red wine is to white
Rhenish wine.
c) Jessica is spendthrift as Shylock is a miser.
d) Both (a) and (b).
4. Of what does Shylock accuse Salerio in Act 3 Scene1?
a) Providing Antonio a place to hideout.
b) Trying to undo the bond.
c) Knowing where Jessica is hiding
d) Knowing Jessica was leaving.
5) What does Shylock says, a man’s flesh is good for?
a) Taking interest on principal
b) To bait fish
c) To give it to Tubal
d) To trade at the Rialto.
6) In Scene 3, how does Shylock respond to Antonio?
a) He acts with compassion.
b) He gives Antonio an opportunity to state his case.
c) He refuses to let Antonio speak.
d) He spits on Antonio.
7) How does Antonio respond to Shylock in Scene 3?
a) He spits on Shylock.
b) He asks for more time to pay off the loan.
c) He accepts that the law is the law.
d) He angrily berates Shylock.
8) To whom does Portia leave in charge of her house during her
absence?
a) Launcelot
b) Nerissa
c) Lorenzo
d) None of the above
9) Who tells Jessica; even though she marries a Christian she is still
damned?
a) Lorenzo
b) Launcelot
c) Shylock
d) Gratiano
10) Who/What is Bassanio referring to in the following lines?
“Thou pale and common drudge/ ‘tween man and man”
a) The Gold casket
b) The Silver casket
c) The Lead casket
d) Shylock
11) What surprise news does Gratiano give Bassanio?
a) Antonio is dead
b) Antonio’s ships have all been destroyed
c) Shylock is on the hunt for Antonio
d) He has fallen in love with Nerissa
12) What does Portia tell everyone as to where she is going?
a) To Venice
b) To Court of Justice, Venice
c) To a monastery
d) To Padua
13. What is Portia’s response to Nerissa when she asks of Bassanio and
Gratiano “Shall they see us?”
a) I’ll tell thee all my device when I am in my coach.
b) Therefore haste away
c) Shall we turn to men?
d) They shall think we are accomplished with what we lack
14. What is the news about Jessica?
a) Jessica’s elopement
b) No one has seen Jessica
c) Jessica gives a tip to Launcelot
d) Jessica spends her father’s money
15. Who brings the news to Shylock from Genoa about Jessica?
a) Solanio
b) Salerio
c) Chus
d) Tubal
16. What does Portia asks Bassanio in Scene 2?
a) Don’t hazard a guess at the casket
b) She reveals her love for him
c) To wait a few days before he chooses the casket
d) Do not take part in the casket ceremony
17. How much had Shylock paid for the diamond stolen by Jessica?
a) Three thousand ducats
b) Fourscore ducats
c) Two thousand ducats
d) None of the above.
18. Why does Shylock go to the synagogue?
a) To hire an officer
b) To get information about his daughter.
c) To say a prayer.
d) To swear an oath that he will take his revenge.
19. What kind of music should be played if Bassanio choose the wrong
casket?
a) Subjects bowing before a newly crowned monarch.
b) Dulcet sounds during the break of day.
c) Swan like end.
d) Like a fancy’s knell.
20. What does Portia compare Bassanio to, while he is going to take part
in the casket test?
a) King of Troy
b) Dardanian
c) Alcides
d) King Midas
21. Who all have persuaded Shylock to deface the bond?
a) Duke, nobleman and twenty merchants.
b) Duke, twenty noblemen and a merchant.
c) Antonio, Bassanio and Portia.
d) Duke, nobleman and Antonio.
22. What does Portia ask Bassanio to do before he goes to Venice to
save Antonio?
a) Go with her to church and get married.
b) Go with her to church and pray.
c) Meet the lawyer.
d) Take advice from her cousin.
23. How confused does Bassanio feel when Portia gives him the ring?
a) On top of the world
b) To take the ring or not
c) Crowd cheering for their beloved Prince after oration
d) Both (a) and (c)
24. How many times richer did Portia wish to become for Bassanio?
a) A thousand times
b) Ten thousand times
c) Twenty times
d) None of the above
25. What does Bassanio feel like after winning Portia?
a) Like a contender who has won the prize
b) Like Jason
c) Like a monarch
d) Like a confused person
26. Act 3 Scene 5 starts out with a discussion between Launcelot and
Jessica. What does Launcelot accuse her of?
a) Being spendthrift
b) Being insincere in her love for Lorenzo
c) Raising the price of hogs
d) None of the above
27. What ‘torture device’ does Bassanio and Portia joke about when
discussing their relationship?
a) The bond
b) The rack
c) Gentle scroll
d) None of the above
28. Which two words does Shylock repeat five times when he is talking
to Antonio and the Gaoler?
a) My bond
b) My ducats
c) Your flesh
d) No mercy
29. What does Bassanio find on opening the lead casket ?
a) Portrait of Portia
b) Portrait of a blinking Idiot
c) A Carrion death
d) Portrait of Portia and a scroll.
30. What are the “snaky golden locks” compared to?
a) Cobwebs
b) Indian beauty
c) Medusa
d) Hesione
SECTION B - A COLLECTION OF POEMS (25x1=25)
31. Who is the narrator of the poem “The Patriot”?
a) The poet
b) The people
c) The patriot.
d) None of the above
32. “Leaped at the sun” is a mythological reference to ___________.
a) Icarus
b) Daedalus
c) Achilles
d) Zeus
33. Which word/words in the poem “The Patriot” tells you that the
speaker is regretful?
a) What else?
b) Alack
c) I trow
d) Me?
34. What is referred to as “the best of the sight”?
a) Old walls of the building
b) Scaffold Gate
c) House-tops
d) At the window set
35. The poem “The Patriot” is a harsh and critical satire on ________.
a) People’s fickle minded attitude
b) Religious intolerance
c) Heroic martyrdom
d) Public hero worship
36. The poem “The Patriot” ends on a _____________ note.
a) Ambitious
b) Optimistic
c) Pessimistic
d) Cynical
37. What happened a year ago in the poem “The Patriot”?
a) He was taken to the Shambles’ Gate.
b) He was hailed as a hero.
c) He lost the battle.
d) He climbed the house roofs.
38. Why were the church bells rung?
a) In honour of the patriot
b) Someone died on that day
c) Patriot was to be hanged
d) Both (a) and (b)
39. What makes you feel that the patriot was over ambitious?
a) He tried to conquer his country.
b) His greed for power
c) He tried to do the impossible for his admirers
d) None of the above
40. Where does the patriot think all the people had gathered that day?
a) On the house roofs
b) On the cross roads
c) At the Shambles’ Gate
d) Both (a) and (c)
41. Who were sitting at the window set?
a) People affected with palsy
b) Countrymen
c) The patriot
d) Both (a) and (c)
42. What is Browning’s philosophy of life in the poem “The Patriot”?
a) Faith in God
b) He will be rewarded by God
c) God is in his heaven and all is well with the world.
d) All of the above.
43. What is the present condition of the patriot?
a) He is imprisoned.
b) He is bedridden
c) He is fated to be hanged.
d) Both (a) and (b).
44. How does a free bird live his life?
a) Free to do as he pleases.
b) Leaps on the back of the wind.
c) Dares to claim the sky.
d) All of the above.
45. Who is referred to as a free bird in the poem?
a) African –American.
b) Maya Angelou
c) The white race
d) Africans
46. What does the caged bird sing about?
a) Of things unknown
b) Freedom that he craves
c) Both (a) and (b)
d) Of another breeze.
47. The poem “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”can be understood on
_____level.
a) Biographical
b) Autobiographical
c) Narrative
d) Humanistic
48. Why does the caged bird sings?
a) Because he is calling to another bird.
b) Because it has to find a way to express his pain .
c) Because he enjoys singing
d) Both (b) and (c).
49. Where does the bird’s song reach?
a) The distant hill
b) The sighing trees
c) The sky
d) None of the above.
50. The poet repeat these lines “His wings are clipped and his feet are
tied/ So he opens his throat to sing”. Why?
a) To fit the pattern of rhyme within the poem.
b) To show poet’s attitude towards the poem.
c) To emphasize the bird’s helplessness.
d) Both (a) and (c).
51. What is the theme of the poem “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”?
a) Emotions against racial discrimination and slavery.
b) Theme of freedom versus enslavement.
c) Faith in God
d) Both (a) and (b).
52. Why does the second stanza of the poem “I Know Why the Caged
Bird Sings” begins with the word ‘But’?
a) For the sake of emphasis
b) For the sake of contrast
c) For the sake of comparison.
d) None of the above.
53. Which song does the caged bird sings?
a) Song of slavery
b) Song of freedom
c) Song of loneliness
d) Both (a) and (c)
54. What is meant by ‘another breeze’ in the poem ?
a) More trade winds
b) More freedom.
c) Flow of movement
d) Back of the wind.
55. What is the “grave of dreams “in the poem “I Know Why the Caged
Bird Sings”?
a) Grave of the caged bird
b) The bird’s cage
c) Restricted movement of the bird
d) None of the above.
SECTION C - A COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES (25x1=25)
56. When did the story take place in “The Little Match Girl”?
a) On a cold New Year’s Eve.
b) In a small town at night.
c) On a cold New Year’s Day
d) During a warm summer’s day.
57. Why did the young girl sell matches?
a) To save up money to buy new slippers.
b) To earn money to help support her poor family.
c) To earn enough money to buy a Christmas tree.
d) To buy a roast goose.
58. What did the visions represent to the little match girl?
a) Each match represented the cold weather.
b) Each match represented fear of going home without any money.
c) Each match is a vision of her hopes and dreams
d) Each match represents her family members.
59. Who was the one person who loved her but was now no more?
a) Her sister
b) Her mother
c) Her grandmother
d) Her dog
60. What does it mean, “She had entered with her dear old grandmother
into the heavenly joy”?
a) It was morning and the little girl was no feeling cold.
b) The little girl died and entered heaven with her grandmother.
c) Her grandmother found her and took her home.
d) The little girl fell asleep and grandmother gave her a blanket to stay
warm.
61. What is the first vision that the girl imagines?
a) A roast turkey.
b) A large iron stove.
c) Her grandmother
d) A brass gas stove.
62. What do the passer- by think about the matches in the girl’s hand?
a) She found them on the street.
b) She used the matches to keep herself warm.
c) She was trying to sell them.
d) She was playing with them.
63. To whom did the little girl’s slippers belong to?
a) Her sister.
b) Her mother.
c) Her grandmother
d) Her father
64. What does the girl do to keep the vision of her grandmother present?
a) She lights all the matches.
b) She tries to grabs her grandmother.
c) She chases after her grandmother.
d) She closes her eyes and helps for the best.
65. The story “The Little Match Girl” is read as a reflection of class based
on _____ society.
a) Elizabethan
b) Victorian
c) Poor
d) Edwardian
66. In the story “The Little Match Girl”, cold is a symbol of _____.
a) Hopelessness
b) Desperation
c) Hardship
d) All of the above.
67. What is moral of the story “The Little Match Girl”?
a) To show sympathy
b) To show empathy
c) To show apathy
d) None of the above
68. What is referred to as “beautiful things” in “The Little Match Girl“?
a) Iron stove and sumptuous feast
b) Christmas tree
c) Her grandmother
d) All of the above.
69. Why did the little girl not want to go home?
a) Did not earn a single penny
b) Was scared of her father.
c) Enjoyed watching the Christmas tree.
d) Both (a) and (b).
70. What does the light from the matches symbolise in the story?
a) Warmth
b) Light of God
c) Hope
d) All of the above.
71. Who were with Sibia during the journey?
a) Her mother
b) Her mother and some other women.
c) Gujar women
d) Milling people
72. Which part/parts of the body can a crocodile be attacked?
a) Head and tail.
b) Body
c) Eyes and underarms
d) Eyes and tail.
73. How long was the crocodile?
a) Thrice the length of a tall man.
b) Twice the length of a woman.
d) Twice the length of a tall man.
74. Sibia’s last meal consisted of ____
a) Chupatti , green chilli and rancid butter.
b) Chupatti , butter and dal.
c) Chupatti , butter and jam.
d)Chupatti ,green chilli and dal.
75. What were the contents of the locked chest?
a) Silver and gold
b) Turquoises and opals
c) Diamonds and opals
d) Platinum and turquoises.
76. The maker’s sign at the edge of the cotton cloth had a ___ symbol.
a) Lion’s head
b) Leopard’s head
c) Tiger’s head
d) Eagle’s head.
77. What were the dangers facing the young crocodile?
a) Shark
b) The great carnivorous fishes.
c) Tiger
d) None of the above.
78. Why couldn’t Sibia skip during her return journey?
a) She was tired.
b) Had to carry a great load.
c) Was dark in the evening.
d) Both (a) and (b).
79. What had Sibia seen and heard while passing through the bazaar?
a) Milling people
b) Dog and monkeys full of anopheles.
c) The bell of sacred cow.
d) All of the above.
80. What is the theme of the story “The Blue Bead?”
a) Poverty
b) Life is a struggle.
c) Extraordinary power of human will.
d) All of the above.

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