CBSE Class 11 English Literary Passage Assignment Set 02

Read the poem given below.

UPON WESTMINSTER BRIDGE
- By William Wordsworth

Earth has not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This City now doth, like a garment, wear
The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky;
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;
Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! The very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!

Question. The morning sight of the city bears a/an:
(a) peaceful and serene look
(b) noisy and crowdy look
(c) dark and dreary scene
(d) enchanting and haunting experience
Answer: (a) peaceful and serene look

Question. Complete the following.
The river glides at its own sweet will because ___________.
Answer: there are no obstructions and everything is quiet.

Question. Fill in the blank with ONE WORD.
The poet feels a profound ____________________ while relishing the beauty of the city of London in early morning.
Answer: calm

Question. In the poem, the poet describes the beauty of the morning as silent and bare. (True/False)
Answer: True

Question. ‘All bright and glittering’ refers to the:
(a) residents of the city
(b) gardens of the city
(c) malls and multiplexes of the city
(d) ships, towers, domes, theatres and temples of the city
Answer: (d) ships, towers, domes, theatres and temples of the city

Question. ‘A sight so touching in its majesty’. Which sight is referred to here?
(a) The sight of silent factories
(b) The sight of smokeless and noiseless surrounding
(c) The sight of the city of London surrounded by nature
(d) None of the options
Answer: (c) The sight of the city of London surrounded by nature

Question. ‘…the very houses seem asleep.’ This implies that _____________________.
Answer: the city is at rest and total silence prevails in the early morning.

Question. Find a word from the poem which means the same as ‘magnificence or grandeur’.
(a) Bare
(b) Splendour
(c) Glideth
(d) Mighty
Answer: (b) Splendour

Question. Fill in the blank.
According to the poet, _______________ could pass by the captivating beauty of nature as shown by the earth.
Answer: Dull would he be of soul

Question. The poet sees London as:
(a) part of nature
(b) the nerve centre of commerce
(c) alienated from nature
(d) isolated
Answer: (a) part of nature

Read the poem given below.

BALLAD OF THE TEMPEST
- By James Thomas Fields

We were crowded in the cabin,
Not a soul would dare to sleep, —
It was midnight on the waters,
And a storm was on the deep.

‘Tis a fearful thing in winter
To be shattered by the blast,
And to hear the rattling trumpet
Thunder, “Cut away the mast!”

So we shuddered there in silence, —
For the stoutest held his breath,
While the hungry sea was roaring
And the breakers talked with death.

As thus we sat in darkness
Each one busy with his prayers,
“We are lost!” the captain shouted,
As he staggered down the stairs.

But his little daughter whispered,
As she took his icy hand,
“Isn’t God upon the ocean
Just the same as on the land?”

Then we kissed the little maiden,
And we spake in better cheer,
And we anchored safe in harbour
When the morning was shining clear.

Question. ‘Then we kissed the little maiden,’ The sailors did this because:
(a) she was a pretty little girl
(b) they wanted to say goodbye
(c) she was the captain’s daughter
(d) she filled their hearts with hope
Answer: (d) she filled their hearts with hope

Question. The captain’s daughter had faith that:
(a) winter would soon end
(b) god would protect them
(c) her father could save the ship
(d) she could stop the storm
Answer: (b) god would protect them

Question. Complete the given statement appropriately.
According to the poet, it is a fearful thing to ____________________________________.
Answer: be shattered by the blast.

Question. Why were the people in the cabin not able to sleep?
(a) Because a party was going on
(b) Because no one wanted to sleep
(c) Because their ship was caught in a storm
(d) Because the captain had not permitted them
Answer: (c) Because their ship was caught in a storm

Question. Fill in the blank.
The poet personifies the sea as hungry because ________________________.
Answer: it was roaring and ready to swallow them.

Question. ‘The stoutest held his breath’ means even the:
(a) captain was scared
(b) bravest was scared
(c) captain’s daughter was panicked
(d) sea was afraid
Answer: (b) bravest was scared

Question. The captain’s hands were icy because:
(a) he had taken a dip in the chilled sea
(b) he was suffering from high fever
(c) he had noticed an iceberg on his way
(d) he was scared and had given up hope
Answer: (d) he was scared and had given up hope

Question. State whether the given statement is TRUE or FALSE.
The winds would be icy cold and the water too would be freezing during winter on the sea.
Answer: True

Question. Fill in the blank with ONE WORD.
The sea was so rough that the poet was trying to suggest that _______________ was around the corner.
Answer: death

Question. The sailors in darkness amidst the tempest could do nothing except:
(a) shouting
(b) praying
(c) fearing
(d) cheering
Answer: (b) praying

Read the following passage carefully.

(1) Had Dr Johnson written his own life, in conformity with the opinion which he has given, that every man’s life may be best written by himself; had he employed in the preservation of his own history, that clearness of narration and elegance of language in which he has embalmed so many eminent persons, the world would probably have had the most perfect example of biography that was ever exhibited.
(2) Wherever narrative is necessary to explain, connect, and supply, I furnish it to the best of my abilities; but in the chronological series of Johnson’s life, which I trace as distinctly as I can, year by year, I produce, wherever it is in my power, his own minutes, letters or conversation, being convinced that this mode is more lively, and will make my readers better acquainted with him, than even most of those were who actually knew him, but could know him only partially; whereas there is here an accumulation of intelligence from various points, by which his character is more fully understood and illustrated.
(3) Indeed I cannot conceive a more perfect mode of writing any man’s life, than not only relating all the most important events of it in their order, but interweaving what he privately wrote, and said, and thought. Had his other friends been as diligent and ardent as I was, he might have been almost entirely preserved. As it is, I will venture to say that he will be seen in this work more completely than any man who has ever yet lived.
(4) And he will be seen as he really was, for I profess to write, not his panegyric, which must be all praise, but his life; which, great and good as he was, must not be supposed to be entirely perfect. To be as he was, is indeed subject of panegyric enough to any man in this state of being; but in every picture there should be shade as well as light, and when I delineate him without reserve, I do what he himself recommended, both by his precept and his example, as quoted below.
“If the biographer writes from personal knowledge, and makes haste to gratify the public curiosity, there is danger lest his interest, his fear, his gratitude, or his tenderness, overpower to fidelity, and tempt him to conceal if not to invent.”

Question. It can be inferred from the passage that Dr Johnson:
(a) wrote many biographies
(b) wrote his own autobiography
(c) was against writing his autobiography
(d) did not want the author to write about him
Answer: (a) wrote many biographies

Question. Dr Johnson would probably have agreed that:
(a) a biography tends to over-praise
(b) an autobiography is always misleading
(c) an autobiographer is the greatest authority on his own life
(d) All of the options
Answer: (c) an autobiographer is the greatest authority on his own life

Question. The author intends to acquaint his readers completely with Johnson’s life by following a chronological order, giving an account of his:
(a) personal thoughts
(b) feelings
(c) trauma
(d) both (a) and (ii)
Answer: (d) both (a) and (ii)

Question. State whether the given statement is TRUE or FALSE.
The author seems most proud of his thoroughness in obtaining the biographical materials.
Answer: True

Question. Complete the given statement appropriately.
In the quotation given in the last paragraph of the passage, Dr Johnson is concerned that ____________________.
Answer: personal knowledge and haste to gratify curiosity might tempt biographers to conceal or invent details.

Question. Which of the following words means ‘preserved someone or something in an unalterable state’?
(a) Perfect
(b) Preservation
(c) Frozen
(d) Embalmed
Answer: (d) Embalmed

Question. Fill in the blank with an appropriate word or phrase.
The author adopted the method of chronologically narrating Dr Johnson’s life along with his own _________________.
Answer: minutes, letters or conversation

Question. Which of the following is the correct synonym of the word ‘panegyric’?
(a) Eulogy
(b) Myth
(c) Portrait
(d) Fame
Answer: (a) Eulogy

Question. Complete the given statement appropriately.
According to the author, if Dr Johnson had written his own biography, the world would have __________________________.
Answer: had the most perfect example of biography that was ever exhibited.

Question. Pick a word from paragraph (4) which is the correct antonym of the word ‘dissatisfy’.
Answer: gratify

Read the following passage carefully.

(1) Justin was always prepared. His motto was “Never throw anything out, you never know when it might come in handy.” His bedroom was so full of flat bicycle tires, bent tennis rackets, deflated basketballs and games with missing pieces that you could barely get in the door. His parents pleaded with him to clean out his room.
(2) “What use is a fish tank with a hole in the bottom?” his father asked. But Justin simply smiled and repeated his motto, “Never throw anything out, you never know when it might come in handy.”
(3) When Justin was away from home, he always carried his blue backpack. He liked to think of it as a smaller version of his bedroom, a place to store the many objects that he collected. It was so worn and stretched that it hardly resembled a backpack anymore. It was full of the kind of things that seemed unimportant, but when used with a little imagination, might come in handy.
(4) Justin had earned a reputation for figuring things out and getting people out of otherwise hopeless situations. Many of his classmates and neighbours sought him out when they needed help with a problem. On the first day of school, his friend Kenny came looking for Justin.
(5) “Do you think you have something in your bag that could help me remember my locker combination?” he asked. “I lost the scrap of paper it was written on. I have science class in two minutes and if I’m late on the first day it’ll make me look bad for the rest of the year.” Kenny looked genuinely worried.
(6) “Relax,” Justin said, taking his backpack off and unzipping the top. “Remember how you borrowed my notebook in homeroom to write the combination down? Well, I know how we can recover what you wrote.”
(7) He took the notebook and a soft lead pencil out of his bag. The page that Kenny had written on had left faint indentations on another page in the notebook. Justin held the pencil on its side and rubbed it lightly over the indentations. Slowly but surely the numbers of the locker combination appeared in white, set off by the gray pencil rubbings. “That’s amazing!” Kenny said. “I owe you one.” And he dashed off to open his locker.

Question. The author’s purpose to write this story is to:
(a) inform
(b) entertain
(c) educate
(d) satirize
Answer: (b) entertain

Question. State whether the following statement is TRUE or FALSE.
Kenny had left indentations of the locker combination in Justin’s notebook.
Answer: TRUE

Question. In what way is Justin’s backpack a smaller version of his bedroom?
(a) He uses it as a place to store objects.
(b) He uses it to carry his books and sports equipment.
(c) His parents tell him to clean it all the time.
(d) He has had it for a long time.
Answer: (a) He uses it as a place to store objects.

Question. Why is Justin’s room a mess?
(a) He always forgets to clean it.
(b) He never throws anything away.
(c) He has no time to clean it.
(d) He shares the room with Kenny.
Answer: (b) He never throws anything away.

Question. How does Justin help his friends?
(a) He offers them advice.
(b) He loans them his backpack.
(c) He listens to their problems.
(d) He uses the objects in his backpack.
Answer: (d) He uses the objects in his backpack.

Question. Complete the following statement appropriately.
Justin helped Kenny by rubbing with a pencil lightly over the indentations so that __________________.
Answer: the numbers of the locker combination appeared.

Question. Fill in the blank with ONE WORD.
The word ___________________ from paragraph 4 means ‘how one is thought of by others’.
Answer: reputation

Question. Justin is resourceful and finds importance in many things. (True/False)
Answer: True

Question. Fill in the blank with ONE WORD.
Justin helped people get out of __________________ situations.
Answer: hopeless

Question. What does Justin’s motto in paragraph 2 mean?
(a) Being organised is a good trait.
(b) Keeping old things might help you become rich.
(c) It is always nice to keep things of no use already.
(d) Things which you think are useless may be of use again in urgent cases.
Answer: (d) Things which you think are useless may be of use again in urgent cases.