Practice Paper - General Questions

Subject: English Chapter: Wind

Std: IX Max. Marks:

General Instructions:
1. The Practice Paper comprises short and long answer type questions.
2. Attempt all questions.
3. There is no negative marking.

Q. No. Questions Marks

Q 1. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
(a) Wind, come softly 4x1=4
Don’t break the shutters of the windows.
Don’t scatter the papers
Don’t throw down the books on the shelf.
i. Write about any two destructive activities of the wind.
Two destructive activities of the winds are: (any two)
(a) It breaks the shutters of windows.
(b) It scatters the papers.
(c) It throws down the books.
ii. To whom does the poet make a request in the above lines?
The poet makes a request to the wind in the above lines.
iii. What appeal is made by the poet?
The poet makes an appeal to the wind to come softly and not break
down the shutters of the windows, not to scatter the papers in his
room or to throw down the books from his bookshelves.
iv. Find the antonym for the word ‘gather’.
scatter

(b) There, look what you did – you threw them all down. 4x1=4
You tore the pages of the books
You brought rain again.
i. What does the poet express through these lines?
The poet tells the wind that it is the wind that is responsible for the
mess in his room.
ii. What effect does the wind have on the poet’s books?
The wind had thrown all the books down from the bookshelves with
its force and torn pages out of those books as well.
iii. The poet does not restrict his vision only to the inside of his house.

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 Practice Paper - General Questions
Explain.
The poet gazes outside his window and accuses the wind of having
brought a bout of rainfall with it, while approaching his house.
iv. Give the antonym for the word ‘tore’.
mended

(c) You’re very clever at poking fun at weaklings. 4x1=4

Frail crumbling houses, crumbling doors, crumbling rafters,
crumbling wood, crumbling bodies, crumbling lives,
crumbling hearts –
the wind god winnows and crushes them all.
i. Whom does the wind trouble? How?
The wind troubles the weaklings. It makes fun of anyone who is too
meek and mild to protest against its actions.
Whom does the wind crumble down?
ii. The wind crumble’s down houses, doors, rafters, wood, weak
bodies, and fragile hearts.
iii. Why has the poet used the phrase ’winnows them all’?
The wind god separates the weak from the strong and crushes the
weak, just as the light chaff is separated from the grain during
winnowing.
iv. Find the synonym for the word ‘weak’.
frail

(d) He won’t do what you tell him, 4x1=4

So, come, let’s build strong homes.
Let’s joint the doors firmly.
Practice to firm the body.
Make the heart steadfast.
i. What does ‘he’ stand for?
‘He’ stands for the wind.
ii. What does the poet advise us?
The poet advises us to build strong homes, join the doors firmly,
and to make our body firm and strong.
iii. ‘He won’t do what you tell him.” What does the line mean?
It means that the wind does not follow our command.
iv. Find a word from the extract that means ‘loyal/faithful’.

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 Practice Paper - General Questions
steadfast

(e) The wind blows out weak fires

He makes strong fire roar and flourish
His friendship is good
We praise him everyday
i. How does the wind affect the weak fires?
The wind blows out the weak fires.
ii. What is the effect of the wind on strong fire?
The wind makes the strong fire even stronger and increases its
power.
iii. How can we be friends with the wind?
We can be friends with the wind by making ourselves strong, both
physically and mentally.
iv. Find the synonym for the word ‘prosper’.
flourish

2 marks
Q.2 Answer the following in 30-40 words.
each

(a) Describe the central idea of the poem.

The poem ‘Wind’ inspires us to face the challenges thrown at us
with grit and firm determination. We should be strong enough to
face all the hardships of life with courage. Wind symbolizes
problems and obstacles that we all face and go through at some
point time in our lives.

(b) Why is the wind regarded as a symbol of destruction in the poem?

In the poem, the first stanza depicts the destruction caused by the
wind. The wind breaks the shutters of the windows, tears the pages
of the books, brings rain again, and destroys the weaker section of
the world. The strong or gusty winds represent turmoil and trouble
in our life.

(c) The wind blows strongly and causes a lot of destruction. How can we
make friends with it?
Strong winds causes a lot of destruction and damage but its energy
can be of great use once we make friends with it. This can be done
by taking proper precautions and measures. For instance, we can

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 Practice Paper - General Questions
build stronger homes, keep ourselves strong in body and mind. We
can also build windmills to harness its energy that can be used to
generate electricity.

(d) Can the wind ever be friend with us?

Wind, literally, can be our friend. Wind is a phenomenon which
teaches us to be strong. Our parents always teach us to be strong
and determined. In difficult times, wind wants us to bravely face our
obstacles. Hence, we have to be strong when there are obstacles in
our life so that we don’t get beaten up by them.

4 marks
Q3 Answer the following in 100-120 words.
each

(a) What challenges are posed by the wind in the life of the common man?
In our lives, wind disrupts our daily routine. It hampers and
dampens the spirit of life around. According to the poet, rain and
wind are deeds of nature that are perceived as the tempest forces
which destroy the old and evil inside a man in order to create joy
and liberty in his mind. Wind is that natural phenomenon which is
very difficult to be predict accurately just as our problems which can
arise from nowhere. It can hit us at any time of our lives. For frail
people, literally and metaphorically, wind creates barriers. Winds do
not let a frail body or a frail mind survive but on the other hand, if
you are strong, you have the power and the will to survive and fight
back, and the wind can never be a threat to your living.

(b) Does the poem reflect the human suffering being initiated by wind?
Explain with examples.
Wind is invisible, but the effects it has on this world are clear and
evident. The poem reflects upon both the constructive and
destructive paths taken by the wind. Wind is extreme and violent,
but not necessarily legitimately with anger and emotions. Wind
creates compassion, but apathy at the same time in human life.
Wind emphasizes the passionate, intense nature of the poet, while
the decay and death inherent suggest the sacrifice and suffering of
humans. We also see that wind is a metaphor for the god’s will
because its effects in this world can be both beneficial and
apparently destructive.

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