CBSE Class 10 English How to Tell Wild Animals Worksheet

 

This humorous poem suggests some dangerous ways to identify wild animals. The poet gives a beautiful description of the Asian Lion and the Bengal Tiger. Then he points out about the Leopard and the Bear. He describes the Hyena for its smiling face and the crocodile for its tears. Then the poet describes how the Chameleon changes its colour.

 

 

‘How to Tell Wild Animals’ is a beautiful poem by Carolyn Wells about the strange habits and behaviours of some wild animals. The poet says that Asian lion is a large tawny beast with a fearful roar. A tiger has black stripes on his yellow skin and is always ready to eat his victim. A leopard has black spots on his skin. He leaps on his prey and eats it up. A bear can come to human colonies. He hugs up a person and can put to death. A crocodile always sheds tears while eating its victim. A hyena always looks smiling. A chameleon always changes its colour according to its surrounding. This is the strange world of some of the wild animals.

 

 

 

 

 

* As soon as it has lept on you. He will only lep and lep again

  In the first instance it should have been ‘leapt’ instead of ‘lept’.

  In the second instance the term ‘lep’ should have been spelt as ‘leap’

  In the third instance the line should have begun with ‘it’ instead of ‘T’

 

EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS

1. They do not sweat and whine about their condition.
Question. They don’t feel
i. Miserable at their condition
ii. Happy at their condition
iii. Satisfied at their condition
iv. Excited at their condition
Answer. A

2. They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins
Question. Animals evidently have
i. A disturbed sleep at night
ii. A sound sleep at night
iii. Restful sleep at night
iv. Little sleep at night
Answer. C

3. I think I could turn and live with animals. They are so placid and self-contained.
Question. The poet wants to turn
i. Into an animal
ii. Into a fine gentleman
iii. Into a new person
iv. Into a beast
Answer. A

4. I wonder where they get the tokens
Question. The poet wonders from where
i. Animals have got that ferocity
ii. Animals have got those virtues
iii. Animal have got those noble virtues and tokens of love
iv. Animals have got that much love
Answer. B

5. They bring me tokens of my self
Question. The line means
i. They bring out those noble virtues that are present in the poet
ii. They show noble virtues they learned
iii. The show love and respect
iv. They are like human beings.
Answer. A

 

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Question. They do not sweat and whine about their condition. What is the meaning of the word ‘whine’?
a. Beverage
b. Cry
c. Shout
d. Now
Answer. B

Question. Who wrote the poem “Animals”?
a. Robert Forest
b. Carl Sandburg
c. Walt Whitman
d. W.B. Yates
Answer. C

Question. “I wonder where they get those tokens” Name the literacy device used in the line
a. Alliteration
b. Assonance
c. Personification
d. Metaphor
Answer. A

Question. Who kneels to another?
a. Man
b. Animal
c. Both
d. Name of the above
Answer. A

Question. How do animals appear to the poet?
a. Calm
b. Full of self confidence
c. Well contented
d. All of the above
Answer. D

Question. What does the poet want to turn from?
a. Human beings
b. Animals
c. Good qualities
d. All the above
Answer. A

Question. The poet wants to live in the world of
a. Birds
b. War
c. Animals
d. People
Answer. C

Question. Animals never ---in front of anyone
a. Sleep
b. Lie
c. Bow down
d. Jump
Answer. C

Question. Animals do not talk about the duty towards -----
a. Family
b. Others
c. God
d. Society
Answer. C

Question. The word “demented” means
a. Liked
b. Mad
c. Loved
d. Eccentric
Answer. B

Question. The animals evidently show that the ‘tokens’ are -------
a. Near the others
b. Away from them
c. In their possession
d. In other’s pockets
Answer. C

Question. what qualities have the humans given up
a. Truthfulness
b. Kindness
c. Innocence
d. All of the above
Answer. D

Question. What is the meaning of ‘placid’?
a. Clumsy
b. Peaceful
c. Greedy
d. Jealous
Answer. B

Question. Human beings have the mania of owning -------
a. Friends
b. Good habits
c. Happiness
d. Money
Answer. D

Question. What does the poet wish to live with?
a. Humans
b. Gods
c. Animals
d. None of the above
Answer. C

Question. “Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth”. This refers to ----
a. Social leaders
b. Common people
c. Animals
d. Animal lovers
Answer. C

Question. “Weep for their sins” refers to --------
a. Cruelty of animals
b. Sinful human beings
c. Beings in general
d. All those commit sin.
Answer. B

Question. Assertion: Animals are more humane than humans
Reason: Animals possess the same qualities as human beings
A. Assertion is true but reason is false
B. Assertion is false but reason is true
C. Both assertion and reason are true
D. Both assertion and reason are false
Answer. A

Question. Assertion; The poet Walt Whitman is thinking about turning from being a human being to being an animal.
Reason; Animals are more human and simpler than human beings.
A. Assertion is true but reason is false
B. Assertion is false but reason is true
C. Both assertion and reason are true
D. Both assertion and reason are false
Answer. C

Question. Assertion: The poem ‘Animals’ is antagonistic to the traditional Indian culture
Reason: Many of the country’s cultural values like reverence given to those who lived thousands of years ago, duty to God, weeping for the sins, etc. are scoffed at by the poet.
A. Assertion is true but reason is false
B. Assertion is false but reason is true
C. Both assertion and reason are true
D. Both assertion and reason are false
Answer. D

 

Read the stanza and answer the questions that follow:

1. If ever you should go by chance To jungles in the east; And if there should to you advance A large and tawny beast, If he roars at you as you’re dyin’ You’ll know it is the Asian Lion…

Question. Where should you go by chance?
Answer. You should go to the jungles in the east by chance.

Question. What do you mean by 'the east'?
a. The east means the islands in the eastern part of the world.
b. The east means the oceans in the eastern part of the world.
c. The east means the mountains in the eastern part of the world.
d. The east means the countries in the eastern part of the world.
Answer. The east means the countries in the eastern part of the world.

Question. How does the described animal look?
a. The described animal looks small and yellow coloured.
b. The described animal looks large and yellow coloured.
c. The described animal looks large and reddish coloured.
d. The described animal looks small and black coloured.
Answer. The described animal looks large and yellow coloured.

Question. How will you know that it is an Asiatic lion?
Answer. You will know it is an Asiatic lion when it is roaring at you when you are dying with fear.

Question. What is the poet’s real purpose to give such a suggestion?
a. The poet’s real purpose to give such suggestion is to create fear.
b. The poet’s real purpose to give such suggestion is to advice to be careful of wild animals.
c. The poet’s real purpose to give such suggestion is to create humour.
d. The poet’s real purpose to give such suggestion is to create confusion.
Answer. The poet’s real purpose to give such suggestion is to create humour.

 

2. Or if sometime when roaming round, A noble wild beast greets you, With black stripes on a yellow ground, Just notice if he eats you. This simple rule may help you learn The Bengal Tiger to discern.

Question. Who is the noble wild beast?
Answer. The noble wild beast is Bengal Tiger.

Question. Describe the beast’s appearance.
a. The beast has white stripes on a yellow background.
b. The beast has black stripes on a yellow background.
c. The beast has black dots on a yellow background.
d. The beast has black stripes on a white background.
Answer. The beast has black stripes on a yellow background.

Question. What are the rhyming words in the stanza?
Answer. Round-ground, you- you, learn-discern

Question. What should we be careful of when we meet the noble beast?
a. We should be careful about being eaten.
b. We should be careful about being tricked.
c. We should be careful about being friendly.
d. We should be careful about being bien.
Answer. Be should be careful about being eaten.

Question. Write the meaning of the words 'discern' and 'noble'.
a. noble-recognize discern-high borne
b. noble-high born, discern-recognize
c. noble-born poor, discern-recognize
d. noble-high born, discern-anxious
Answer. noble-high born, discern-recognize

 

3. If when you’re walking round your yard You meet a creature there, Who hugs you very, very hard, Be sure it is a Bear. If you have any doubts, I guess He’ll give you just one more caress.

Question. Name the poem and the poet.
Answer. The poem is 'How to tell wild animals' and the poet is Carolyn Wells

Question. What is the rhyming scheme of this stanza?
a. aabb
b. abcd
c. abba
d. abab
Answer. abab

Question. Where can you meet the bear?
Answer. We can meet the bear around our yard.

Question. What does the bear do on meeting a person?
a. The bear beats the person very hard when he meets them.
b. The bear hugs the person very hard when he meets them.
c. The bear gives the person honey when he meets them.
d. The bear bites the person very hard when he meets them.
Answer. The bear hugs the person very hard when he meets them.

Question.  What is the meaning of the word 'yard'?
a. The dining area of a house
b. The glade in a forest.
c. The lawn area of a house.
d. The lawn area of a forest.
Answer. The lawn area of a house.

 

ANSWER THE GIVEN QUESTIONS BRIEFLY. 

Question. What does the poet wish to do at the beginning of the poem?
Answer. The poet wishes that he could transform and become one with animals.

Question. What do humans do to other human beings who lived thousands of years ago?
Answer. Human beings hold their ancestors in great respect.

Question. What conclusion does the poet come to at the end of the poem?
Answer. The poet says that as a human being he must have lost his natural virtues sometime in the past. Presently those virtues are possessed only by the animals.

Question. “I think I could turn and live with animals…” What is the poet turning from?
Answer. The poet is turning away from living with other humans as he finds them complicated and false. He would rather live with animals that are self-contained and non-complaining.

Question. Do humans kneel to other humans who lived thousands of years ago? Give reason for your answer.
Answer. Yes, humans kneel to other humans who lived thousands of years ago. They worship their ancestors and pray by kneeling in front of their portraits. They hold religious sermons and ceremonies in their memory.

Question. Why does the poet like animals?
Answer. The poet likes animals for their self-contained and quiet nature. The fact that animals are not like human beings and are satisfied with their lives appeals to the poet a lot.

Question. Explain the satisfaction that animals have and humans don’t. [CBSE 2014]
Answer. Animals do not have the desire to possess worldly things. On the other hand, the more humans own, the more their desire to own grows, leaving them dissatisfied forever. The absence of this greed in animals keeps them satisfied and its presence keeps humans dissatisfied.

Question. Why do animals not weep for their sins? Answer. Animals do not weep for their sins because they do not need to do so. They are innocent creatures that commit no sins. It is the humans who commit sins and later weep for it too. 9. What makes the poet sick?
Answer. The fact, that humans commit all kinds of sins and still discuss their duty to God, makes the poet sick. This shows the hypocrisy of humans, who on one hand do wrong and on the other pray to God.

Question. Differentiate between humans and animals in terms of desire.
Answer. Animals are very different from humans as they have no desire to own things. They are happy without an unending greed while humans become maniacs in their greed for possessing valuables.

Question. What does the poet mean by, “Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth”?
Answer. The poet means that animals do not pray to God or to any ancestors, and all of them are equal. Hence no one is more respectable than the other. The good values of animals and their lack of social conventions make them happy.

Question. What are the ‘tokens of myself’ for the poet which the animals bring back to him?
Answer. The ‘tokens of myself’ are tokens of love, affection, sympathy, kindness, fellow-feelings for all etc. These are shown by animals. They are very essential for a smooth life. The animals show these in their behaviour. Thus they differ from men, who are deceptive, greedy and dishonest.

Question. How does the poet look at animals?
Answer. For the poet the animals are more humane than the humAnswer. They have no such bad qualities as the humans have. In their world all are happy and content. They do not complain about anything. They show their relations to the poet and he accepts them.

Question. What are the poetic devices used by the poet in the poem?
Answer. The first poetic device that comes to our mind when we talk about Walt Whitman’s poem is his use of ‘free verse’. It is that type of poem where the poet does not follow any rhyme scheme or metre. Another poetic device used in the poem is ‘Repetition’-It is the repetition of words or phrases in the same line. For example, “I stand and look at them long long.” Another poetic device employed in the poem is ‘Alliteration’- It is the repetition of the same initial consonant sounds in the same line. Eg: - Mania of owning things. The poet also makes use of ‘Metaphor’ in the poem. For example, the comparison of inner qualities of human beings as ‘tokens’.

Question. Mention three things that humans do and animals don’t.
Answer. The poet has drawn three comparisons between humans and animals. Humans sweat and work to make a living and later whine and sulk about the amount of work they have to do to survive. Animals, on the other hand, are satisfied with their life and do not whine about their condition. Humans lie awake at night and cry for the sins they have committed. Animals do not weep for anything they do and sleep peacefully. Finally, humans make each other sick by discussing their duties to God. However, animals do not have any Gods, and they live and survive without any prayers or fasts.

Question. Differentiate between humans and animals in terms of desire.
Answer. Animals are very different from humans as they have no desire to own things. They are happy as they are devoid of unending greed while humans become maniacs in their greed for possessing valuables.

 

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Question. What are the ‘tokens’ that the poet says he may have dropped long ago, and which the animals have kept for him? Elaborate this with reference to the poem, ’Animals’.
Answer. Walt Whitman belongs to the Romantic tradition that includes Rousseau and Wordsworth, and holds the view that civilisation has made humans false to their own true nature. The poet in the poem, ‘Animals’ says “I wonder where they get those tokens, Did I pass that way huge times ago and negligently drop them?” The token that the poet says he might have dropped long ago, and which the animals have kept for him, is his true nature as a human. While humans came close to civilisation, they gradually moved away from their true nature. The natural instincts that humans had and the innocence with which they lived and helped each other have been left behind somewhere. As they got near civilisation, they chose to leave behind the virtues of kindness, sincerity, selflessness, joy, satisfaction, respectability, and sharing attitude. They took to vices such as greed, selfishness, desire to capture everything, and many other such inhuman characteristics. Animals have carried forward the real instincts and characteristics, which the poet looks at and tries to remember where he had negligently lost his true nature.

Question. Why do you think the poet has called the desire to own things, a mania? Is the poet right in doing so? Write your own views.
Answer. The poet uses words such as ‘demented’ and ‘mania’ for never ending desire of human beings to own things. These words show that poet is comparing this desire to madness. The poet stands right in doing so as this desire makes us so greedy and traps us in a vicious circle of aspiring for more and more. Animals that are free from any possession are also free from sins, worries and complaints. In order to gain more wealth, humans leave all the important values such as morality and kindness behind.

Question. What according to you should be the virtues that humans should possess?
Answer. Human beings should be gentle not only to their own kind but also to everything around them. Virtues such as kindness bring along other important values like innocence and honesty that together make the world a better place to live. The lack of such values results in a corrupt society where people commit sins and weep over them in dark. This situation makes them dissatisfied and unhappy in life. Human beings probably had these virtues in them but along with civilisation processes, they have left them behind and adopted greed and cunningness.

Question. It is not complaining but accepting a situation, the key to happiness in life. Elaborate in context of the poem Animals’. 
Answer. The poet Walt Whitman in his poem ‘Animals’ compares animals to human beings and differentiates between them on the basis of their characteristics. Animals have been ranked much higher than humans in the poet’s perception. Since animals do not complain about their situation, they are considered to be much happier than humAnswer. Animals live in natural surroundings and accept their natural lives. Humans, on the other hand, have never accepted Nature. They complain about it and try to change it, leading to an unhappy life.

Question. The poet in the poem ‘Animals’ laments the loss of certain values on the part of human beings, whereas animals seem to have retained them and are self-contented. Analyse the cause of degeneration of values in today’s hard times.
Answer. In the modern civilised world, human beings have achieved a lot of material values but lost the real virtues. The more developed and modern human beings became, the more they lost the essence of their characters. Animals, on the other hand, never adapted to any material ways and always remained natural. This natural aspect of animals has helped them maintain their values. Humans, in order to possess more and more, have forgotten kindness and innocence.

 

 

1.If when you are walking around your yard,

   You meet a creature there,

   Who hugs you very, very hard,

   Be sure it is a Bear.

   If you have any doubts, I guess

   He’ll give you just one more caress.

 

(a) Who is found in the yard?

(b) What quality of the creature does the poet tell us?

(c) `He will give you just one more caress’ in order to_________

 

2. If ever you should go by chance

    To jungles in the east;

    And if there should to you advance

    A large and tawny beast,

    If he roars at you as you’re dying’

    You’ll know it is the Asian Lion.

 

(a) Where can you meet a lion?

(b) How, according to the poet, can you identify him?

(c) What is the poet’s real purpose to give such a suggestion?

(d) Which expression in the above stanza means — ‘a brown coloured wild animal?

 

3. The true chameleon is small,

    A lizard sort of a thing;

    He hasn’t any ears at all,

    And not a single wing.

    If there is nothing on the tree,

    It’s the chameleon you see.

 

(a) Which other creature does a chameleon resemble?

(b) How does the poet describe a chameleon?

(c) Name the Poem and the poet.

(d) Why can’t one see a chameleon on the tree?

 

 

1. What is the famous saying associated with crocodiles and what does it mean?

2. What is the theme of the poem -‘How to Tell Wild Animals’?

3.What does the poet say about the Asian Lion in this poem? 

4. How does the Bengal Tiger look? What is so distinct about a hint?

5. Why does the poet say that a bear’s ‘hug’ may confuse a novice?

6. How does one identify a chameleon?

 

 

1. ‘Humour is the best medicine for every ailment in life’. Comment. (Value based question)