beside me,

doze, open mouthed, her face

ashen like that
of a corpse and realized with pain
that she was as old as she
looked but soon
put that thought away….
(a) Choose the option that best applies to the given extract
1. a conversation 2. an argument 3. a piece of advice 4. a strategy
5. a recollection 6. a suggestion
a) 1, 3 & 6
b) 2, 4 & 5
c) Only 5
d) Only 1
(b) Choose the book title that perfectly describes the condition of the poet’s mother.
Title 1 Title 2 Title 3 Title 4

You’re only old once! The Gift of Years Somewhere The Book You Wish
—By Dr. Seuss —By Joan Chittister Towards the end Your Parents Had
—By Diana Athill Read
—By Philippa Perry

(i) Title 1 (ii) Title 2 (iii) Title 3 (iv) Title 4

Answer. (iii)

(c) Choose the option that applies correctly to the two statements given below.

Assertion: The poet wards off the thought of her mother getting old quickly.
Reason: The poet didn’t want to confront the inevitability of fate that was to dawn upon her mother.
(i) Assertion can be inferred but the Reason cannot be inferred.
(ii) Assertion cannot be inferred but the Reason can be inferred.
(iii) Both Assertion and Reason can be inferred.
(iv) Both Assertion and Reason cannot be inferred.
Answer. (iii)
(d) Choose the option that displays the same literary device as in the given lines of the extract.
her face
ashen like that
of a corpse…
(i) Just as I had this thought, she appeared and…
(ii) My thoughts were as heavy as lead that evening when …
(iii) I think like everyone else who…
(iv) I like to think aloud when
2.Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
Driving from my parent’s
home to Cochin last Friday
morning, I saw my mother,
beside me,
doze, open mouthed, her face
ashen like that
of a corpse and realised with pain

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 1. What question arises from the complexity of the situation in the poem?
A) how to overcome fears
B) how to do one’s duties
C)how to take care of the parents
D)How to strike a balance between duties and responsibilities
Answer D
2. Who is the poet of this poem?
A) John Keats
B) Rudyard Kipling
C) William Wordsworth
D) Kamala Das
Answer D
3. What is her work known for?
A) for its originality, versatility and flavor of the soil
B) for its popularity
C) for its style
D) for the expressions used
Answer A
4. What does the poem revolve around?
A) poet’s fears
B) poet’s love for her mother
C) poet’s journey
D)Theme of advancing age and fears associated with it
Answer D
3.Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
that she was as old as she
looked but soon
put that thought away, and
looked out at Young
Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling
out of their homes,

1. What do the running trees signify?

A) fast moving appearance
B) speed of the moving car
C) fast moving change in human life from childhood to old age
D) none
Answer A
2. Which poetic device is used here ‘she was as old as she looked’
A) Metaphor
B) Simile
C) Alliteration
D) Repetition
Answer B
3. What is the significance of the title My Mother at Sixty Six?
A) Poet’s fear of losing her old mother
B) Poet’s fear of moving fast
C) Poet’s inability to express her feelings
D) All of these
Answer A
4. Why are the trees described as sprinting?
A) their running appearance and to show fast moving change of human life
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