CBSE Class 10 English First Flight Poems Extract Based and Short Answers Assignment Set 03

Answer: (a) The poet was in a sad, gloomy mood and regretted a bad day.
(b) A crow shook some snow on him from a hemlock tree, and this cheered him up.
(c) The word rued means regret.
(d) The rhyme scheme is abab (mood/rued and heart/part).

Teacher's Note: Read the rhyming words of the second and fourth lines to find the scheme.

Answer: The poet uses visual imagery of a crow, a hemlock tree and falling snow. The crow and hemlock are usually seen as signs of sorrow and death, but here a small act of nature brings joy.

Teacher's Note: Give an example if the question allows.

Answer: Nature heals and refreshes us. A small, unexpected event in nature, such as a shower of snow, can lift a sad mood and give a new view of life. Nature teaches, comforts and gives us joy.

Teacher's Note: Write a short, clear answer.

Answer: (a) Ice stands for hatred.
(b) The cause of destruction could be desire and hatred.
(c) The word perish stands for destruction.
(d) According to the poet, the world will end in fire (desire) or in ice (hatred).

Teacher's Note: Remember this for your exam.

Answer: The poet has tasted desire, and he knows how fiercely it can burn and destroy. So he agrees with those who say the world will end in fire.

Teacher's Note: Learn this point and write it in your own words.

Answer: Some people say the world will end in fire, and others in ice. Fire stands for desire, greed and passion, and ice for cold hatred and indifference. The poet says that if the world has to end twice, hatred is also enough to destroy it. Both are destructive, so we must avoid greed and hate.

Teacher's Note: Use the key term in your answer.

Answer: (a) The tiger is locked in a cell because he is kept as a zoo exhibit, for people to see.
(b) The word opposite to recognise is ignoring.
(c) The visitors are the people who come to see him in the zoo.
(d) The tiger stalks up and down the length of his cage.

Teacher's Note: Give an example if the question allows.

Answer: In the forest the tiger is a hunter. He lies in wait near the water hole, creeps up quietly on his prey, and terrifies the villagers when he roars and kills their cattle.

Teacher's Note: Write a short, clear answer.

Answer: (a) The speaker is Amanda's mother (or an elder who is scolding her).
(b) The speaker is angry because Amanda bites her nails, hunches her shoulders and slouches.
(c) The word that means bend is hunch.
(d) The first line shows that Amanda has a bad habit of biting her nails.

Teacher's Note: Remember this for your exam.

Answer: Amanda is told not to eat chocolate because it is thought to make her fat or spoil her teeth and meals. The elders keep correcting every habit of the child.

Teacher's Note: Learn this point and write it in your own words.

Answer: The poem is named after Amanda, a child who is constantly told what to do. The title shows that she is the centre of the poem, which is about the way adults keep ordering children and take away their freedom. Amanda dreams of being free like a mermaid or an orphan.

Teacher's Note: Use the key term in your answer.

Answer: (a) The poet is Carl Sandburg.
(b) The fog has been compared to a cat.
(c) The cat's feet show that the fog comes silently and softly, without any noise.
(d) The figure of speech is a metaphor (also personification).

Teacher's Note: Give an example if the question allows.

Answer: The poet says fog comes on little cat's feet, sits looking over the harbour and city on silent haunches, and then moves on. He gives it the movements of a cat.

Teacher's Note: Write a short, clear answer.

Answer: The poet compares fog to a cat. Like a cat, fog arrives silently and quietly, sits still for a while, looks over the harbour and city, and then moves on without any noise.

Teacher's Note: Remember this for your exam.