Alanna Bryant

March 19, 2021

10 1

Instructions: Read the following poem carefully and then answer Items 26-36 on the basis of what is stated or
implied.

The Children

One swing up-

wards towards the sky,
ascending cool stairs of rope
which end, like magic
5 in clouds

another does
cartwheels, hurdling grass
into grace.
A third peels cane with the teeth.
10 The rest, imagination programmed by TV

play cowboy.
Tonight, circled by snow
in a foreign country,
I praise one of the children
15 who stood alone,

hearing old drums

under the bam bam bangarang;
who passed unto man-
hood through the eye of the sun,
20 and smelted

lonely calypsoes and “soul”

against the long morning of English rule.

Source Unknown

1. Stanza 1 (lines 1-5) conveys the idea that 2. A change in focus in the poem is signalled
the child by

(A) found climbing easy (A) “magic” (line 4)

(B) enjoyed being high in the air (B) “The rest” (line 10)
(C) was training for the trapeze event (C) “Tonight” (line 12)
(D) was entertained by the different (D) “alone” (line 15)
 patterns in the clouds

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3.. What does the expression “The rest, 7 The poet describes the drums as being “old”
imagination programmed by TV”, (line10) (line 16) MAINLY to suggest that
mean?
(A) the belong to the child’s inherited
(A) The TV stimulated their creativity past
And reactions. (B) time has passed so they are now
(B) The TV programmes influenced outdated
their imagination. (C) different drums are now used in his
(C) The poet admired their games more people’s rituals
Then the other children’s. (D) they have survived in spite of
(D) The children were more active Calysoes and “soul”
Because they watched TV.

8. The expression “bam bam bangarang” (line

17) is an example of
4. The expression “circled by snow” (line 12)
is used to (A) simile
(B) Metaphor
(A) suggest that the narrator is isolated (C) onomatopoeia
and lonely in a strange land. (D) personification
(B) contrast the games that children
play tropical and cold countries
(C) indicate that in the cold, foreign 9.. The word that BEST conveys the poet’s tone
in lines 18-22 is
country one child will no longer
Be able to play outdoors (A) regret
(D) reveal that the narrator is living in (B) nostalgia
a
cold country, but remembers what (C) excitement
life is like in the tropics (D) disappointment

5. Which of the following can be said of the 10. The MAIN message of the poem is that
Child “who stood alone” (line 15)?
(A) it is best to assert one’s cultural
(A) He was not idle like the other identity
children. (B) there is a need to liberate ourselves
from the past
(B) He is able to endure the cold snow (C) we should expect the contrast in the
in a foreign country. attitudes of
(C) His tropical spirit survives English (D) a happy childhood world is lost
cultural influences. Through immigration
(D) After attaining manhood, he did not
lose his appreciation for music.

6.. The poet’s attitude to the child described

In lines 15-22 can BEST be described as one
of

(A) pity
(B) envy
(C) derision
(D) admiration

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