CBSE Class 11 English Literary Passage Assignment Set 01

Literary Passage

Read the poem given below.

THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF THE TIGER
- By Amit Dahiyabadshah

(1) When you have stolen my skin from my entity
and removed the roar from my life
O hunter, wield that skinning knife
with some grace, a little skill
I too have hunted and killed many many times
but every kill
was a prayer in praise of the Creator
My movements were always quick, clean, merciful
Such is the way of true believers

(2) But do you now slice, slash and cut clean, O Skinner?
I pray only that you leave no part of me behind
to be eaten by the jackal and the hyena
for I have ruled this forest on behalf of the creator himself
and there is no honour in a king becoming carrion

(3) So send the sacred colour from my coat
back to the maker of sunsets
Send the darkness of my stripe
back to the shadows of the undergrowth
for that is where it was obtained
Send the white from the fur of my belly back to a new ice age
to the frost of a new ice age
that it return to avenge me
Send my roar back to my maker
that he fill the heavens with my rage
at this shabby end for a true king

(4) Send my claws to the young of the high-born
to save them from their own nightmares
Send my teeth to Tibet that their aspirations
for freedom find new teeth
Send my bones to China so they find a cure
for the fear that builds such great walls
Send my fat to Singapore
so they learn to make a balm for pain
that is mine not only in name
Send my waste to the alchemists
for this is the only substance they have not yet tried

(5) Give my entrails to whoever shall have them
But hang on to my eyes, you puny murderer
That your tribe might know
that you did not fell a creature beneath you
that I looked you in the eye and did not flinch
when you shot me

(6) Instead I have turned away
released
from the cancer of your footprint

Question. Why does the tiger want its roar to be sent back to the maker?
(a) To take revenge
(b) To fill heaven with rage
(c) To make a balm for pain
(d) In honour of the tiger’s life
Answer: (b) To fill heaven with rage

Question. Which of the following emotions are embedded in the poem?
(1) Gloomy (2) Anger
(3) Fear (4) Restlessness
(5) Pride (6) Fearlessness
(7) Selflessness
(a) (2), (5), (6), (7)
(b) (1), (3), (4), (6)
(c) (2), (3), (4), (7)
(d) (4), (5), (6), (7)
Answer: (a) (2), (5), (6), (7)

Question. The tiger wants the tribe of the hunter to know that the:
(a) hunter is happy with the kill
(b) puny murderer doesn’t deserve an applaud
(c) tiger was not afraid of dying
(d) tiger fell beneath the hunter
Answer: (c) tiger was not afraid of dying

Question. Complete the given statement.
The advice given to the hunter is to ___________________.
Answer: wield the skinning knife with some grace and a little skill.

Question. Fill in the blank.
The claws of the tiger are worn by the young of the rich to protect them from _______________.
Answer: their own nightmares

Question. The sacred colour of the tiger’s coat can be sent back to the maker of the shadows. (True/False)
Answer: False

Question. Complete the following statement appropriately.
The tiger tells the hunter to hang on to its eyes, so that ________________.
Answer: his tribe might know that he did not fell a creature beneath him and that the tiger looked him in the eye and did not flinch when he shot him.

Question. Fill in the blank with ONE WORD.
Every kill of the tiger was a prayer in praise of the ____________________.
Answer: Creator

Question. Who is an alchemist?
(a) A person who turns base metal into gold.
(b) A person who makes gold jewellery.
(c) A person who never tries to invent gold.
(d) A person who has not tried a new substance.
Answer: (a) A person who turns base metal into gold.

Question. What does the word ‘carrion’ given in stanza 2 mean?
(a) Carrier
(b) Corpse
(c) Culprit
(d) Creator
Answer: (b) Corpse

Read the poem given below.

RHYME OF THE RIVER AVEN
- By Bhavna Ramakrishnan

(1) The river flows, where it goes, nobody knows
The trees are like towers touching the stars
Down they bow their heads in a row
To the river as it flows
Down the town the river flow as, swirling it goes
Meandering the playground and houses in rows

(2) The rocks on the bank look still and stern
The waves, from eddies that twirl and turn
Water bubbles drench the flowers and ferns
Lovers gaze with a faraway look and yearn
Children enter into boats that cruise and return

(3) Slipping and sliding through the hills and forest green
The blue waters roaring, and then placid and serene
The bard’s town sliced by enigmatic stream
The waves dancing on the rainbow coloured sun beams
Through the labyrinth of branches, filtered sunlight gleams

(4) The river flows, silent and deep
Life’s lesson learnt as it bounds and leaps
Spread the message of peace, friendship you reap
Forget all sorrows, wonderful memories you keep
Life is a playground and sometimes mountains steep

(5) The river never stops till it merges with the ocean
Success and failure in life unfold in slow motion
Cut your own path and stay steadfast in this notion
Let ambition and determination be interspersed with emotion
Like the river, never stop until you reach your destination.

Question. Complete the following statement.
The river stops flowing when it _____________________.
Answer: merges with the ocean.

Question. The poet calls life a:
(a) playground and enigmatic stream
(b) playground and steep mountain
(c) playground and coloured rainbow
(d) playground and grasslands
Answer: (b) playground and steep mountain

Question. Fill in the blank with a word/phrase.
The filtered sunlight gleams through _________________________.
Answer: the labyrinth of branches

Question. The blue water is:
(a) like the ocean; placid and roaring
(b) like raging waterfall; placid and quiet
(c) roaring and sometimes placid and quiet
(d) absolutely quiet and sometimes roaring
Answer: (c) roaring and sometimes placid and quiet

Question. Rocks on the shore appear to be:
(a) still and stern
(b) moving with the river
(c) filled with fungus
(d) still and moving
Answer: (a) still and stern

Question. Any two qualities of human beings that have been enlisted in the poem:
Answer: (1) ambition (2) determination

Question. The flowing river flashes the message that:
(a) life is deep and silent
(b) forget all sorrows of life
(c) live life king size
(d) give in to troubles
Answer: (b) forget all sorrows of life

Question. The waves are dancing on the:
(a) eddies
(b) meandering path
(c) sunlight falling on them
(d) rainbow-coloured sunbeams
Answer: (d) rainbow-coloured sunbeams

Question. State whether the following statement is TRUE or FALSE.
The poet says that success and failure in life unfold in slow motion.
Answer: True

Question. Find a word from the poem that means the same as ‘a maze’.
Answer: labyrinth

Read the poem given below.

I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD
- By William Wordsworth

(1) I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

(2) Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

(3) The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed – and gazed – but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

(4) For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Question. Complete the following.
The poet saw a crowd, a host of golden daffodils, ____________________.
Answer: beside the lake, beneath the trees

Question. Fill in the blank.
The narrator has compared himself with a __________________.
Answer: cloud

Question. The expression ‘a crowd’ is used for:
(a) lake
(b) trees
(c) breeze
(d) daffodils
Answer: (d) daffodils

Question. The poet has compared the spread of the daffodils to the millions of stars in the milky way. (True/False)
Answer: True

Question. The sight of the dancing daffodils was a:
(a) painful experience for the poet
(b) memorable experience for the poet
(c) a shocking experience for the poet
(d) grief-causing experience for the poet
Answer: (b) memorable experience for the poet

Question. What happens when the poet’s heart fills with pleasure?
(a) He feels very lonely.
(b) He dances with the daffodils.
(c) He feels very light-hearted.
(d) He goes into a vacant and pensive mood.
Answer: (b) He dances with the daffodils.

Question. Complete the given statement.
The poet says that he acquired a great deal of wealth by ___________________.
Answer: gazing at the beautiful sight of the daffodils.

Question. Fill in the blank with a word/phrase.
During the times when he lays on his couch, the memories associated with the daffodils flash upon this inner mind, and this he believes is the ____________________________________.
Answer: bliss of solitude

Question. The daffodils were stretched in a never-ending line along the margin of a bay. (True/False)
Answer: True

Question. Find the word from the poem which means the same as ‘loneliness’.
(a) Bliss
(b) Joined
(c) Pensive
(d) Solitude
Answer: (d) Solitude

Read the poem given below.

A LUCKY THING
- By Alice Schertle

High up in a hawthorn tree
a robin perched, where he could see
into a coop of wire and wood.
Inside the coop a farmer stood
Flinging grain upon the ground.
Twelve fat chickens gathered round.
The robin, singing, cocked his head
and watched the chickens being fed.
He saw it was a lucky thing
To be a chicken: Farmers bring
You golden grain, scoop after scoop,
If you’re a chicken in a coop —
A lovely coop with nesting boxes
Safe from cats and crows and foxes.
The chickens
In the coop could see
The bird. They heard his melody
And clucked it was a lucky thing
To be a robin who could sing
A song upon a hawthorne tree.
They watched him through the woven wire.
They saw him fly up high, and higher.
Twelve fat chickens
Scratched the floor.
The farmer closed
And latched the door.

Question. The robin feels _______________ the chickens because they are safe from predators and do not have to look for their food.
(a) happy about
(b) sorry for
(c) envious of
(d) none of these
Answer: (c) envious of

Question. Complete the following.
Through the poem, the poet conveys the thought that people often feel that ________________________.
Answer: the grass is greener on the other side.

Question. People are content to be in a situation they perceive as being better than theirs. (True/False)
Answer: True

Question. Which one of the following situations is similar to the situation described in the poem?
(a) An insect hopes to escape being eaten by a frog.
(b) A dog wishes to catch the cat living nearby.
(c) A squirrel hopes to gather enough food for the winter.
(d) A cow wishes to run free with wild horses.
Answer: (d) A cow wishes to run free with wild horses.

Question. The farmer closed and latched the door after feeding the chickens, so that predators could not attack the chickens, and the chicken would not escape. (True/False)
Answer: True

Question. Complete the following statement appropriately.
The chickens are safe from _______________________________________. (Name the three predators)
Answer: cats, crows and foxes.

Question. Identify the rhyme scheme used in lines 1-6.
(a) aabbcc
(b) abcd
(c) abbcc
(d) adccd
Answer: (a) aabbcc

Question. The relationship between hawthorn tree and the coop is most similar to the relationship between the chickens and the robin. (True/False)
Answer: True

Question. Fill in the blank.
The ______________ yearned to be in the farmer’s coop.
Answer: robin

Question. Identify any one example of alliteration from the poem.
Answer: golden grain