CBSE Class 12 English The Last Lesson VBQs

Question. What was M. Hamel’s profession?
(a) carpenter
(b) cobbler
(c) professor
(d) teacher

Answer : D

Question. What kind of teacher was M. Hamel?
(a) lazy
(b) idle
(c) patriot
(d) none of the above

Answer : C

Question. Who was late for school?
(a) Franz
(b) Joe
(c) M. Hamel
(d) Anees

Answer : A

Question. What did Franz fear for coming late to school?
(a) he would be blessed by the teacher
(b) he would be rebuked by the teacher
(c) he would be rewarded by the teacher
(d) he would be given 100 pesos

Answer : B

Question. What homework had been given to Franz?
(a) learn tense
(b) learn modals
(c) learn participles
(d) learn voice

Answer : C

Question. Whom did Franz see drilling in the open fields?
(a) French persons
(b) Prussian soldiers
(c) neighbours
(d) village old people

Answer : B

Question. Where was little Franz going?
(a) to bus stop
(b) to play
(c) to school
(d) to temple

Answer : C

Question. Where did little Franz see a crowd of people?
(a) in the ground
(b) in front of bulletin board
(c) near the river
(d) near the well

Answer : B

Question. Who was reading the bulletin board?
(a) Wachter, the blacksmith
(b) his apprentice
(c) both a & b
(d) M.Hamel

Answer : C

Question. What was the scene when the school began that day?
(a) all silent
(b) hustle and bustle
(c) noise
(d) no student

Answer : A

Question. Who was walking up and down with his terrible iron ruler under his arms?
(a) Franz
(b) Wachter
(c) villagers
(d) M. Hamel

Answer : D

Question. Who is the writer of the lesson ‘The Last Lesson’?
(a) Alphonse Daudet
(b) William Douglas
(c) Anees Jung
(d) Louis Fischer

Answer : A

Question. Who is the narrator of the story ‘The Last Lesson’?
(a) Vincet Daudet
(b) Joe
(c) Franz
(d) M. Hamel

Answer : C

Question.  “Don’t go so fast, you will get to your school in plenty of time” means……………….
(a) getting late
(b) early enough
(c) very early
(d) not early

Answer : B

Question. What did M. Hamel bring for his class on his last day in the school?
(a) new pens
(b) sweets
(c) new notebooks
(d) story books

Answer : C

Question. “I never saw him look so tall”. Which of the following best captures M. Hamel on the last day of school?
(a) cranky, miserable, dedicated, resigned
(b) patient, dignified, emotional, courageous
(c) calm, nostalgic, disappointed, patriotic
(d) proud, reproachful, persistent, heroic 

Answer : B

Question. Franz saw a huge crowd assembled in front of the bulletin board, but did not stop. How would you evaluate his reaction?
(a) Franz was too little to care about the news of lost battles.
(b) Nobody in Franz’s family was in the army, so it did not matter.
(c) Bad news had become very normal, so he went about his task.
(d) It was too crowded for Franz to find out what news was up on the board. 

Answer : C

Question. There was usually great bustle and noise when school began, but it was all very quiet. Which of the following describes Franz’ emotions most accurately?
(a) shock and awe
(b) disappointment and anxiety
(c) confusion and distress
(d) curiosity and uncertainty 

Answer : B

Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow:

Poor man! It was in honour of this last lesson that he had put on his fine Sunday clothes, and now I understood why the old men of the village were sitting there in the back of the room. It was because they were sorry, too, that they had not gone to school more. It was their way of thanking our master for his forty years of faithful service and of showing their respect for the country that was theirs no more.

Question. Choose the option that might raise a question about M. Hamel’s “faithful service”.
(a) When Franz came late, M. Hamel told him that he was about to begin class without him.
(b) Franz mentioned how cranky M. Hamel was and his “great ruler rapping on the table”.
(c) M. Hamel often sent students to water his flowers, and gave a holiday when he wanted to go fishing.
(d) M. Hamel permitted villagers put their children “to work on a farm or at the mills” for some extra money. 

Answer : D

Question. Why does the narrator refer to M. Hamel as ‘Poor man!’?
(a) He empathizes with M. Hamel as he had to leave the village.
(b) He believes that M. Hamel’s “fine Sunday clothes” clearly reflected that he was not rich.
(c) He feels sorry for M. Hamel as it was his last French lesson.
(d) He thinks that M. Hamel’s patriotism and sense of duty resulted in his poverty. 

Answer : C

Question. Which of the following idioms might describe the villagers’ act of attending the last lesson most accurately?
(a) ‘Too good to miss’
(b) ‘Too little, too late’
(c) ‘Too many cooks spoil the broth’
(d) ‘Too cool for school’ 

Answer : A

Question. Choose the option that most appropriately fills in the blanks, for the following description of the given extract.
The villagers and their children sat in class, forging with their old master a (i) _____ togetherness. In that moment, the class room stood (ii) _____. It was France itself, and the last French lesson a desperate hope to (iii) ______ to the remnants of what they had known and taken for granted. Their own (iv) _______.
(a) (i) graceful; (ii) still; (iii) hang on; (iv) country
(b) (i) bygone; (ii) up; (iii) keep on; (iv) education
(c) (i) beautiful; (ii) mesmerised; (iii) carry on; (iv) unity
(d) (i) forgotten; (ii) transformed; (iii) hold on; (iv) identity 

Answer : C

Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow:

M. Hamel went on to talk of the French language, saying that it was the most beautiful language in the world — the clearest, the most logical; that we must guard it among us and never forget it, because when a people are enslaved, as long as they hold fast to their language it is as if they had the key to their prison. Then he opened a grammar book and read us our lesson. I was amazed to see how well I understood it. All he said seemed so easy, so easy!

Question. Which of the following can be attributed to M. Hamel’s declaration about the French language?
(a) subject expertise
(b) nostalgic pride
(c) factual accuracy
(d) patriotic magnification 

Answer : D

Question. “I was amazed to see how well I understood it.” Select the option that does NOT explain why Franz found the grammar lesson “easy”.
(a) Franz was paying careful attention in class this time.
(b) M. Hamel was being extremely patient and calm in his teaching.
(c) Franz was inspired and had found a new meaning and purpose to learning.
(d) Franz had realized that French was the clearest and most logical language. 

Answer : B

Question. Franz was able to understand the grammar lesson easily because he was
(a) receptive.
(b) appreciative.
(c) introspective.
(d) competitive. 

Answer : D

Question. Read the quotes given below.
Choose the option that might best describe M. Hamel’s viewpoint.
(i) Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
(ii) Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going. – Rita Mae Brown
(iii) A poor man is like a foreigner in his own country. – Ali Ibn Abi Talib 
(iv) The greatest propaganda in the world is our mother tongue, that is what we learn as children, and which we learn unconsciously. That shapes our perceptions for life. – Marshal McLuhan
(a) Option (i)
(b) Option (ii)
(c) Option (iii)
(d) Option (iv) 

Answer : B

Short Answer Type Questions :

Question. Franz thinks, "Will they make them sing in German, even the pigeons?" What could this mean?
Answer : This sentence could possibly mean that however hard the authorities try to embed German language in the culture of Alsace and Lorraine, the natural status of French, for them will remain unchanged. French flows in the air and the entire place is imbued with its effect. Even though they train student in German, then basic mode of communication would remain unchanged like the cooing of the pigeons.

Question. Franz didn’t learn French whom did M. Hamel blame?
Answer : M. Hamel didn’t blame Franz for not learning but his parents who were not anxious to have him learn. Instead they wanted him to work on a farm or at the mill to earn money. Even he blamed himself for sending him to water the flowers instead of learning and for declaring holiday when he wanted to go fishing.

Question. What was the news which was put up on the bulletin board? 
Answer : For the last two years all bad news - the lost battles, the orders of the commanding officer was displayed on the notice board. That day, the news that only German would be taught in school of Alsace and Lorraine was displayed on the notice-board which made the crowd gather there to read it.

Question. What did Franz notice that was unusual about the school that day?
Answer : Franz noticed the absence of the routine hustle and bustle caused by the opening and closing of desks, repeating of the lessons and rapping of the teacher's ruler on the table. The usual hustle - bustle was replaced by a strange stillness that was the characteristic of a school on a Sunday morning.

Question. What happened when the church clock struck twelve?
Answer : The moment the church clock struck twelve, they started prayer in the church and the trumpet of Prussian soldiers returning from the drill sounded under their window. M. Hamel stood up and tried to speak but his voice was chocked. He gathered his strength and wrote on the black board as large as he could – ‘Vive La France’ and dismissed the school.

Question. What was more tempting to Franz rather than going to school?
Answer : Since Franz was not prepared with participles and was late for the school, he found warm and bright weather with birds’ songs and Prussian soldiers drill much more tempting than going to school.

Question. What changes did the order from Berlin cause in school that day?
Answer : The order from Berlin brought to a standstill, all the routine hustle-bustle of the school life. M. Hamel taught his lessons with patience and became more sympathetic to his students. The students became more attentive in their classes. The villagers, who were sitting as usual at the empty back benches had come to show their respect and gratitude to M. Hamel, and regretted about not going to school more often.

Question. The people in this story suddenly realize how precious their language is to them. What shows you this? Why does this happen?
Answer : The crowd of villagers at and around the bulletin - board, the silent presence of the villagers in the class, the silence in place of the routine hustle and bustle of the school, the emotions gripping M. Hamel and Franz, representing the teacher and the student community respectively, were all indicators of the realization of the importance of their language to them. In the story, M. Hamel said that people realize the importance of somebody or something in their lives very often only when they lose it or it is snatched away from them. Similarly, it was the order from Berling that made the people realize the importance of their language for them.

Question. What did M. Hamel say about French language?
Answer : He said that it is the most beautiful language in the world, the clearest, and the most logical. He requested them to guard it so that they could be united and fight back for their freedom.

Question. Is it possible to carry pride in one's language too far ? Do you know what 'linguistic chauvinism' means?
Answer : Yes, it is possible to carry pride in one's language too far if one is fond of one's own language at the cost of other. Indifference towards other language is not healthy for any democracy like India.
When the sense of belonging to one's own language crosses the thin line between 'pride' and proud', it becomes linguistic chauvinism. If people feel good about their language and traditions, they must have tolerance for other languages too. Everybody has the right to follow the religion and speak the language as per his/her desire. If fact, it is disparaging to distort the names of communities, for example, Bongs for Bengalis, Gujjus for Gujratis, etc.

Question. What was the narrator’s greatest fear as he moved towards the school?
Answer : Franz had started late for school that day and was afraid of being scolded. His fear gripped him further for he was also unprepared. He had not learnt the rules of participles as instructed by his teacher, thus dreaded the teacher,s anger.

Question. What was Franz expected to be prepared with for school that day?
Answer : Franz was expected to be prepared with lesson on particles for school that day.

Question. How did Franz's feelings about M. Hamel and school change?
Answer :Franz was shocked to hear whatever M. Hamel told the students about the order from Berlin. He was shocked to learn that it was their last French lesson. He understood the pain and agony his teacher was undergoing. He now 'realized with pain what French meant to him and regretted not being attentive in his classes earlier. Suddenly, he felt that the 'difficult concepts' had never been difficult.

Question. What was so unusual about the school on that day?
Answer : Usually there would be a great bustle of opening and closing of the desk, lesson repeated loudly and the teacher’s ruler rapping on the table but that day was very calm and quiet like Sunday morning. The back benches which were usually empty were occupied by the village people; M. Hamel wore his special dress and was pacing up and down with a ruler under his arm.

Question. Why were the villagers seated on the back benches?
Answer : All the village elders were seated on the back benches as a tribute to the teacher who had put in 40 years of sincere service. It was also their way of expressing regret for not learning their mother tongue when they had the chance. They were also expressing their patriotism and solidarity with France

Extract Based Question :

"My children this is the last lesson I shall give you. The order has come from Berlin to teach only German in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine. The new master comes tomorrow. This is your last French lesson."

Question. In which language is the last lesson ?
(A) German
(B) American
(C) French
(D) British

Answer : C

Question. Who is the speaker in the above lines?
(A) Franz
(B) Hauser
(C) M.Hamel
(D) Wachter

Answer : C

Question. Where the order has come from ?
(A) France
(B) Berlin
(C) Lorraine
(D) Alsace

Answer : B

Question. Speaker is speaking to _________.
(A) Franz
(B) villagers
(C) class
(D) soldiers

Answer : C