BSXAMUB ICE EMA 6 BINGE O EE Baa wane TREASURE TROVE POEMS COLLECTION 1 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou INCLUDED IN THIS SECTION ¥- Mailtiple-Choice Questions (MCQs) for SEM I Exam of ICSE 10th ¥ Solutions 1. Which lines from the poem show that the caged bird has never been free? “his wings are clipped and / his feet are tied / so he opens his throat to sing” (lines 12-14) “his tune is heard / on the distant hill / for the caged bird / sings for freedom” a) b) (lines 19-22) “But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams / his shadow shouts ona nightmare scream” (lines 27-28) “The caged bird sings / with a fearful trill / of things unknown / but longed for still” (lines 31-34) °) d) 2. What does the caged bird’s singing reveal about him? a) Heis terribly unhappy ©) Heis afraid to be free b) He prefers to sing rather than to fly d) He wants to be heard 3. Why does the caged bird sing? a) It wants to challenge the free bird b) Ithas to make others feel good ©) It wants to entertain people d) Ithas only one way to express itself 4, Read these lines from the poemBut a bird that stalks down his narrow cage can seldom see through his bars of rage What do these lines reveal about the caged bird? a) The caged bird is angry b) The caged bird is aware of its surroundings ¢) The caged bird has difficulty flying d) The caged bird is satisfied with its life 5. According to the poem, the free bird can best be described as a) Hungry ©) Cautious b) Content d) Thoughtful 6. What is the main conflict in this poem? a) The caged bird hates the free bird b) The caged bird longs for the life of the free bird c) The free bird laughs at the caged bird d) The free bird cannot sing as well as the caged bird 7. Whatis this poem mainly about? a) Freedom and slavery ©) Joy and singing b) The lives of birds d) The dreams of birds 8, What does the caged bird sing about? a) the unknown things that he longs for and for freedom b) shadows and unknown things ©) freedom and fat worms d) fear and rage 9, What prevents the caged bird from flying?a) His broken wings and his inability ©) His rage at being held captive. to sing, 4) The narrow cage and clipped b) His trimmed feathers and his wings. damaged throat. 10. An idea explored in both the selection and the poem is - a) People escaping slavery ©) The effects of oppression b) The longing for freedom d) The power of fear and the unknown, 11. __ How are the slaves from the working fields the same as the caged bird in the poem? a) They both sing songs of freedom ©) They both fly in the sky b) They both yearn for new d) They both gain freedom Roe 12. Read these lines from the poem The free bird thinks of another breeze ‘and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn and he names the sky his own Which sentence from the choices given below best matches an idea present in these lines? a) Fat worms can fly, but the bird cannot 'b) Fat worms are waiting for birds to leave the cage ¢) Birds cannot eat fat worms d) Fat worms are blown away by winds 13, Who feeds upon whom? a) Fat worms feed upon the bird b) Bird feeds upon the fat worm c) Fat worms cannot eatExam18 ICSE Sem I & Il ENGLISH LITERATURE Question Bank - Class X a) None of the above 14. Read stanza 3 of the poem The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom In the above lines, why does the caged bird sings "with a fearful trill"? a) Allit can do is sing fearfully of the things it wants and does not know b) It is afraid of fat worms ©) Itis in pain because of clipped wings ) Because itis singing song of freedom 15, The grave of dreams represents a) Where the bird will die ©) The possibility for the future b) A feeling of hopelessness d) A feeling of ignorance 46. The free bird demonstrates freedom and power when it a) stalks down its narrow cage ©) shouts on a nightmare scream b) sings with a fearful trill d) claims the sky 17. What is the best example of personification? a) The trade winds soft through the sighing breeze b) Orange sun's rays c) His wings are clipped and his fect are tied 4) The caged bird looks through bars of rage ree wba a sat EG EE OED LD, LE TOLLE,Exami8 ICSE Sem I & Il ENGLISH LITERATURE Question Bank - Class X 18. The caged bird represents a) Ananimal who is locked up b) The hope of the future ©) The loss of freedom and choice d) Ignorance 19. Which words provide a negative connotation? Floats dips claims c) Clipped stalks rage Shouts sings freedom 4) Worms trill tune al b 20. Why does the caged bird sing? a) Because it enjoys singing b) Because that is what birds do c) Because it has to find a way to express his pain d) Because it is calling other birds 21, What "nightmare" is the caged bird referring to? a) His inability to eat fat worms b) Seeing free birds flying ©) Fear about being ever released d) His inability to sing for life 22, How is caged bird an extended metaphor? The caged bird is a metaphor to show the feelings of hopelessness of someone a who has lost their freedom b) Maya is using figurative language to create an image for the reader of a bird ina cage ©) The caged bird does not name the sky or claim the sky for his own d) The free bird is a metaphor and a symbol of freedom 23. The first stanza is meant to show a) The cages bird's feelings of despair and hopelessness b) The beauty of the sun's rays ©) The thrill of being free to live your life as you please 10Exam18 ICSE Sem I & Il ENGLISH LITERATURE Question Bank - U1ass © d) How a bird flies free and claims the sky 24, In which line of the poem does Angelou show the anger one would feel at the loss of freedom? a) The caged bird sings of freedom b) Seldom sees through bars of rage ©) The beauty of the sun's rays d) Fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn. 25. Who has access to the "sighing forests"? a) Free bird ©) Fat worms b) Caged bird d) The owner of bird 26. Who wrote The Caged Bird? a) Maya Angelou ©) EE Cummings b) Walt Whitman d) Edgar Allen Poe 27. What does "reaching far enough to the distant hill" signify? a) metaphor for how calls of justice is ©) Botha&b never heard d) none of the above b) His inability to fly till the hill 28. Which bird is mentioned singing? a) Caged bird ©) Both of them b) Free bird 4) None of them 29, What are the "orange sun rays" symbolic of a) Daylight ©) Summer season b) Glow and Happiness 4) Dawn 30. Name the literary device used in - “sighing trees” a) Personification b) Alliteration ilSer R08 SCHL 9C H BINGLIOAL LLL EVAL UNE WuesuUs wasn Cao 7 ©) Imagery d) Simile 31, Name the literary device used in - “orange sun rays” a) Personification c) Imagery b) Alliteration a) Simile 32. Which stanza of the poem is repeated? a) Stanza c) Stanza 4 b) Stanza3 d) None of the above 33. What does “Bars of rage” represent? a) Imprisonment of innocent blacks ©) Anger of the rich people b) Freedom of blacks d) None of the above 34. Name the literary device used in - “Bars of rage” a) Irony ©) Personification b) Metaphor d) Auditory image 35, What happens when the wings of the birds are clipped? a) Itdies b) It cannot fly c) Itcannot eat 4) None of the following 36. How many stanzas are there in the poem? a) Six ¢) Four b) Seven 4) Eight 37. What does the caged bird long for? a) Freedom c) Other bird b) Food 4) None of the above 38, With what purpose the caged bird sings? 12ExamI8 ICSE Sem I & Il ENGLISH LITERATURE Question Bank - Class X a) Because it likes to sing b) Tocall another bird c) Itis the nature of birds d) Because it has the only way to express its pain 39. Which physical activity does the caged bird does before singing? a) Drinks water ©) Eats something b) Opens its throat d) Does nothing 40. Whom does Maya Angelou symbolize with a cage bird? a) Readers ©) Indians b) White-Americans d) African-Americans 41. When did she publish this poem - 'I know why the caged bird sings’ a) 1970 o) 1969 b) 1959 d) 1965 42, What was Maya’s profession apart from poet? a) Lawyer ¢) Activist b) Doctor d) Jury 43, According to the poet whose future was bleak? a) Caged bird ©) Both b) Free bird 4) None 44, Angelou, with the metaphor of birds, represents the- a) equality among humans ©) inequality of resources b) inequality of food d) inequality of justice 45. What does it mean in the extract - “dares to claim the sky” and for whom it is said for? 13©) Free bird is good at flying a) Whole sky is free bird’s home , : d) Free bird is searching for foog b) Whole sky is caged bird’s home 46. What does the below phrase signify? “his wings are clipped” F a) Its wings are stuck in the cage c) Someone caught him b) Its freedom is taken away. d) Itenjoys living in the cage 47. What was caged bird’s only joy and achievement in life? a) It can have good food in the cage ©) _Itcan go wherever it wants b)_Itcan sing with open throat d) Itcan fly high in the sky 48. His shadow ‘shouts on a nightmare scream’. What is the nightmare in the given sentence? a) Lack of food in the cage c) Flying in the vast open sky b) Dream of freedom is futile d) Unable to sing a song 49. During which movement, this poem uses.ametaphorto compare caged birds to African Americans? a) Civil rights movement ©) Anti-war movement b) Military movement d) Conservation movement 50. The caged bird sings about — a) shadows and unknown things b) hope ©) fearand Tage 9) freedom and unknown things