SHERWOOD HIGH

UNIT TEST JULY 2022

NAME: DATE:21.07.2022
CLASS: IX SEC: TIME: 1hr.
SUBJECT: ENGLISH LITERATURE MARKS: 40
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Attempt all questions
The intended marks for questions or parts of questions are given in brackets []..
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Section A
The Merchant of Venice - Shakespeare.

Question 1
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
ANTONIO:
Well, tell me now, what lady is the same
To whom you swore a secret pilgrimage,
That you today promis’d to tell me of?
a. Which secret pilgrimage is Antonio talking about? Who is the lady talked about? [3]
b. Explain in your own words Bassanio’s extravagant way of life. [3]
c. Give any two character traits of Antonio in the scene. How are they different from the character
traits of Bassanio? [4]

Question 2
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
PORTIA:
Therefore, for fear of the worst, I pray thee,
Set a deep glass of Rhenish wine on the
contrary casket; for if the devil be within and
that temptation without, I know he will
choose it, I will do anything, Nerissa, ere I will
be married to a sponge.
a. What plan does Portia make to prevent the young German from choosing the right casket? [3]
b. Give the meaning of: [3]
i) when he is worst, he is little better than a beast.
ii) set a deep glass of Rhenish wine on the contrary casket.
c. Why is the young man referred to as ‘a sponge’? [4]

Section B
Poem – Treasure Trove
Question 3
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
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The last man of this forlorn group
Did nought except for gain.
Giving only to those who gave
Was how he played the ga
Their logs held tight in death’s still hands
Was proof of human sin.
They didn’t die from the cold without
They died from the cold within.
a. Explain the phrase ‘forlorn group’. Which figure of speech is used here? [3]
b. What game is the poet referring to while mentioning the last man of the group? [3]
c. The poet says that the six men ‘died from cold within’. What message is the poet trying to
convey in the poem? [4]

Section C
Short Stories – Treasure Trove
Question4

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
“I am without politics,” he said. “I am seventy-six-year-old. I have come twelve kilometers now and I think
now I can go no further.” “This is not a good place to stop,” I said. “If you can make it, there are trucks up
the road where it forks for Tortosa.”
a. What does the old man mean when he states, “I am without politics”? Why does he mention
his age? [3]
b. Describe the old man’s appearance. What was he doing in San Carlos? [3]
c. Explain why the old man finally resigns to his fate. What is the old man’s fate symbolic of? [4]

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