CBSE Class 10 English A Tiger in the Zoo Assignment Set 03

Short Answer Type Questions
 

Question. Stalking the length of his cage,
Ignoring visitors.
What is the tiger doing? Why is he ignoring the visitors?
Answer: The tiger is moving inside his cage. He is ignoring visitors because he does not like to be confined in the cage. He would rather wander about in his natural habitat, the jungle.

Question. “But he’s locked in a concrete cell.” How does the tiger behave in a concrete cell ?
Answer: The tiger is locked in a strong and solid concrete cell of the zoo. His strength is restrained behind the bars of the cell. He is walking in his cell in a proud and stiff manner without taking any notice of the visitors. The tiger is wretched in its cage as his power is confined behind the bars.

Question. “He hears the last voice at night.” What kind of voice is it ? What does the tiger do at night ?
Answer: While in the cage of the zoo, the tiger hears at night the last voice of the patrolling cars which keep watch over the area. At night, he stares at the very bright stars with his bright eyes.

Question. How does the tiger move in the cage in the zoo ?
Answer: The tiger, with vivid stripes on his body and soft velvet pads, walks slowly in anger. He is in a quiet rage as he is has been put in a small cage and has hardly any space to walk freely.

Question. Explain the line, ‘The few steps of his cage’.
Answer: The tiger was locked in a concrete cell. He could take only a few steps in the cage because the cage was very small. So, he moves very slowly in a threatening way as his freedom has been curtailed.

Question. Where should the tiger have been according to the poet ?
Answer: According to the poet, the tiger should have been in the jungle, lurking in the shadow of long grass, waiting for his prey, a plump deer, somewhere near a water hole. He should be on the outskirts of the jungle snarling, growing and terrorising the villagers and not in the concrete cell of the zoo.

Question. Why should the tiger snarl around houses at the edge of the forest ?
Answer: The tiger loves his natural habitat but human beings are encroaching upon his habitat. So, he tends to make his presence felt by showing his fangs and claws. He wants to scare the people so that they learn to respect wildlife and their habitat.

Question. How does the tiger prepare himself for hunting when he is in his natural habitat-the jungle ?
Answer: The mighty tiger roams freely in his natural habitat - the wilds. He knows how to ambush his prey. He waits for his prey lurking unseen in the shadow of trees. He slides through the long grass quite unnoticed. He comes to the water hole where he can find his favourite prey - plump deer.

Question. ‘He stalks in his vivid stripes.” Elaborate this line describing how does the tiger look in his cage?
Answer: The tiger has sharp, clear stripes on his body. He looks majestic as he moves slowly and quietly in his cage. He has soft velvety pads. He makes no noise as he moves. He has brilliant shining eyes.

Question. What does the tiger do in his cage?
Answer: It is a very small cage. The tiger can hardly take a few steps along the length of the cage. He doesn’t take any notice of the visitors who come there. With his shining eyes, he keeps looking at the bright stars.

Question. What would the tiger have been doing if he were in the jungle?
Answer: The tiger would have been lurking in the shadows of trees. He would have been sliding slowly through the long grass or sitting by some water hole and waiting for some plump deer to pass that way.

Question. What would the tiger have been doing if he were at the edge of the jungle?
Answer: The tiger would have been moving around the houses in a nearby village. He would have been growling while moving around. The sight of his white fangs’ and his terrible claws would have filled the villagers with terror.

Question. Why do you think the tiger looks at the stars?
Answer: The tiger has lost all hope from men. Now, he has hope from heaven only. It is this hope that has kept the brilliance in his eyes. That is why the tiger looks at the brilliant stars with his brilliant eyes.
 

Long Answer Type Questions

Question. Animals, big and small, are being used by humans for their selfish ends ? What is your opinion regarding the exploitation of animals ?
Mention some examples that you can see a possible solution to this problem.
Answer: It is true that animals, big and small, are being used by humans for their selfish ends. We use them for our own benefits. Animals are killed, poached and captured for commercial benefits. Humans have encroached on their space and sheltered them in zoos which is truly inhuman. In the poem, the poet has showed the plight of a tiger. He is captured and confined in a small cage. He is frustrated, angry and restless. He longs for freedom. Confinement brings bondage and bondage is cruelty.
Everyday we see many animals suffering due to humans. Monkeys bears captured and made to dance on roads. Elephants are chained and forced to lift heavy loads. Many animals are sheltered in zoos for the entertainment of human beings. They are kept in poor conditions. They are treated inhumanly. We should learn to respect nature and its inhabitants. After all, these animals to share the earth with us.

Question. When there is a natural habitat for tigers and other wild animals, is it justified for humans to shift them from there to other locations ? Give a reasonable answer to justify it.
Answer: The tiger in the poem is wretched in its cage. It longs for freedom. It may be well looked after, but the fact of the matter is that unless one is free, one is not alive. It is rightly said that love for freedom is the natural instinct of every living being. Everyone loves freedom and does not want to live in confinement. Similarly, the tiger also longed for freedom. He was so fed up being caged that he even ignored the visitors. He took to and fro steps in the cage as if trying to while away the time. The tiger wanted to escape this captivity. Confinement brings bondage, and bondage is cruelty. One may argue that at least this way the tigers or animals in general will not be killed and become extinct. However, taking away one’s freedom to keep one alive kill the desire to live anyhow. Even humans throughout the world oppose the chains of slavery and oppression. How are other living creatures any different ? Humans have encroached on their space, and sheltering them in zoos is truly inhuman. Humans must learn to respect nature, for humans exist only due to nature.

Question. Freedom is such an essential virtue that is valued not only by human beings but also by animals alike. Justify the statement with reference to Leslie Norris’s poem ‘A Tiger in the Zoo’.
Answer: Freedom is an essential virtue valued by all. Not only humans but even the denizens of the forest value it. No one knows it better than a caged tiger in a zoo. Animals, particularly the animals of the wilds, feel free only in their natural habitats. Any attempt to ‘domesticate’ ferocious and mighty animals like lions or tigers by locking them in concrete cells will be against natural justice. The tiger roams around in the jungle hunting its prey at will. He rarely kills his prey for sport. He kills them only when he is hungry. He knows how to ambush his prey. He lurks unnoticed in the long grass before pouncing upon his prey. He also knows where he can find his favourite plump deer. He may come out of the forest sometimes and terrorise the villagers living at the outskirts of the jungle. But he rarely kills them, untill he is provoked.
The same tiger feels depressed and low in spirits when he is put behind the bars. He stalks constantly the length of his cage in his ‘quiet rage’. He ignores the visitors and feels helpless. Behind the bars, he keeps on staring at the brilliant stars in the open sky. This sadly reminds him of his loss of freedom and intensifies his grief.

Question. Animals are being used by human beings for their selfish ends, for recreation and entertainment. What do you feel about the exploitation of animals?
Answer: It is true that animals, big and small, are being used by humans for their selfish ends. We use them for our own benefits. Animals are killed, poached and captured for commercial benefits. Humans have encroached upon their space and sheltered them in zoos which is truly inhuman. In the poem, the poet has shown the plight of a tiger. He is captured and confined to a small cage. He is frustrated, angry and restless. He longs for freedom. Confinement brings bondage and bondage is cruelty. Every day we see many animals suffering due to human callousness. Monkeys are captured and made to dance on roads, elephants are chained and forced to lift heavy loads. Many animals are sheltered in zoos for the entertainment of human beings. They are kept in poor conditions. They are treated inhumanly We should learn to respect nature and its inhabitants. After all, these animals too share the earth with us.

Question. “And stares with his brilliant eyes, At the brilliant stars”. How does this line sum up the condition of the tigers in the zoo? What is expected of human beings in this regard?
Answer: The tiger in the poem is wretched in its cage. It longs for freedom. It may be well looked after, but the fact of the matter is that unless one is free, one is not alive. Confinement brings bondage, and bondage is cruelty. One may argue that at least this way they all will not be killed and become extinct. However, taking away one’s freedom to keep one alive kills the desire to live anyhow. Even human beings throughout the world oppose the chains of slavery and oppression. But they are inhuman towards other living creatures. Human beings have encroached upon their space, and are sheltering them in zoos which is truly inhuman. Human beings must learn to respect nature.
 

Extract Based Questions

1. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
He should be snarling around houses
At the jungle’s edge,
Baring his white fangs, his claws,
Terrorising the village!

But he’s locked in a concrete cell,
His strength behind bars,
Stalking the length of his cage,
Ignoring visitors.

Question. Fill in the blank with one word.
The speaker describes the tiger as ‘stalking’ up and down his cage to show how _____ the tiger felt.
Answer: restless/trapped/confined

Question. What could be a reason the speaker mentions the behaviour of the tiger at the jungle’s ‘edge’ and not at its centre? Answer in about 40 words.
Answer: The author has described the tiger at the ‘edge’ of the jungle to show how a tiger would react and respond to the people encroaching his territory. He would scare them. This is done to contrast how the tiger behaves towards people when caged.

Question. Which of these explains the meaning of the phrase ‘His strength behind bars’?
(a) The tiger’s strength is in its ability to break free from the cage it is in.
(b) The tiger’s strength is shown when he pushes against the bars of the cage.
(c) The tiger’s strength is in his resilience and ability to adapt to a new environment.
(d) The tiger’s strength is confined within the bars of the cage and this makes him less threatening.
Answer: (d) The tiger’s strength is confined within the bars of the cage and this makes him less threatening.

Question. Why does the tiger ignore the visitors?
Answer: The tiger ignores the visitors because he is disinterested in his confined environment and feels indifferent towards the visitors.

2. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follows :
He should be lurking in shadow,
Sliding through long grass
Near the water hole
Where plump deer pass.

Question. According to the extract, the poet wishes for the tiger to be ‘sliding’ through the foliage as this would
(a) assist in keeping the prey unsuspecting of the predator’s sound.
(b) aid in camouflaging the presence of the predator before it rushes in.
(c) help the predator pounce on the prey comfortably without getting tired.
(d) support the predator’s vision as it eyes its prey.
Answer: (a) assist in keeping the prey unsuspecting of the predator’s sound.

Question. Fill in the blank with one word.
‘Shadow’ here, refers to the shadow of long _____
Answer: grass

Question. What is the poet trying to convey in the given extract? Answer in about 40 words.
Answer: In these lines, the poet is filled with sorrow for the caged tiger. He feels that a tiger should be free in his natural habitat. He should be hiding in the shadows and quietly moving through the long grass near the water hole. He should be waiting for a fat and healthy deer to pass, in the hopes of getting a heavy meal. The poet wants to convey that the actual life of a tiger is in a jungle and not in a cage.

Question. Which word in the extract means the same as ‘fat’?
Answer: plump