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CBSE TEST PAPER-01

Class - 12 English Core (My mother at sixty six)

General Instruction: -

Question No. 1 to 3 carry Four marks,

Question No. 4 to 10 carry Three marks.

1. ... and looked but soon

Put that thought away, and looked out at young
Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling
Out of their homes
a. Name the poet.
b. What thought did the poet drive away from her mind?
c. Why are the trees described as 'sprinting'?
d. What do the ‘sprinting trees’ signify?
2. I saw my mother,
beside me,
doze, open mouthed, her face
ashen like that
of a corpse and realized with pain
a. Who is ‘I’ referred to here?
b. What did ‘I’ realize with pain?
c. Why was the realization painful?
d. What is the figure of speech used in these lines?
3. ……..and felt that old
familiar ache, my childhood’s fear,
But all I said was, see you soon, Amma,
All I did was smile and smile and smile
a. What was the childhood fear that now troubled the poet?
b. What do the poet’s parting words suggest?
c. Why did the poet smile and smile?
d. Explain, “the old familiar ache”.

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 4. Why has the mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’?
5. What different images does the poet use to convey the idea of her mother’s old age?
6. What were the poet’s feelings at the airport? How did she hide them?
7. What does the poet mean by ‘all I did was smile and smile and smile…’
8. Explain the contrasting situations in the poem. Why does the poet do so?
9. What does Kamala Das do after the security check up? What does she notice?
10. What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels?

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 CBSE TEST PAPER-01
Class - 12 English Core (My mother at sixty six)
Answers

1. a. Kamala Das is the poet of the given lines.

b. She drove away the painful thought that her mother was getting old and she might die
at any time.
c. As the car moved on, the young trees appeared to be moving fast in the opposite
direction. So they are personified and described to be sprinting.
d. The ‘sprinting trees’ signify the vitality of youth.
2. a. ‘I’ is the poet, Kamala Das.
b. Kamala Das realized with pain that her mother was as old as she looked.
c. It was painful because it brought another painful thought that her mother was
nearing her death which would separate the poet from her mother.
d. Simile is used in the above lines.
3. a. As a child, the poet had the fear of losing her mother and the same fear of separation
has troubled her now.
b. The parting words of the poet reveal hope, fear and assurance. The poet hides her real
fear and assures her mother that they will meet again soon.
c. The poet wanted to hide her fears from her mother. That is why she smiled and
smiled.
d. "The old familiar ache" refers to the agony of separation from her mother that the
poet felt in her childhood.
4. The late winter moon lacks luster and brightness. Similarly, the poet’s mother, who is
sixty six, lacks vitality and loses strength of her youth. Moreover, the late winter moon
suggests the end of season and the mother too is nearing the end of her life, therefore the
poet compares her with 'the late winter’s moon'.
5. The poet uses the image of ‘corpse’ to describe her mother’s pale and wrinkled face, ‘late
winter’s moon’ to suggest that her mother is nearing the end of her life. The image of
‘sprinting trees and merry children playing’ is contrasted with the old, week and pale
mother of the poet.
6. The poet experienced two opposite and contrasting feelings at the airport. The ashen and
pale face of her mother brought an image of decay and death. But she immediately hid

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 her real feelings. She tried to look normal. She smiled continuously to assure her mother
that they would meet again soon.
7. After the airport’s security check, the poet stood a few yards away, and looked at her
mother to say goodbye. At that time the poet felt her old familiar ache-the ache of
separating from her mother. It was her childhood fear that she experienced again. She
was trying to conceal her true emotions by smiling and smiling.
8. Kamala Das has used the image of young trees sprinting and merry children spilling out
of their homes to bring a contrast between the old age and the childhood. Her mother’s
ashen and corpse like face stands for old age whereas the merry children symbolize the
spring of life. They also symbolize the spontaneity of life in contrast to the passive and
inactive life of her aged mother.
9. After the security check up, the poet stands a few yards away from her mother and gazes
at her. She notices the declining age of her mother and finds that she is pale and worn out
than ever before.
10. The poet, Kamala Das, while driving back from her parent's home to Cochin observed her
mother as she looked at her mother seated beside her.She realized with pain that her
mother was as old as she looked. She noticed her mother while she was taking a nap. Her
mouth was open and her face was pale like that of a dead body. The poet felt terrified and
agonized at the thought of her mother growing old and was nearing her death which
would separate the poet from her mother. She tried to shift away her thoughts.

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 CBSE TEST PAPER-02
Class 12 English Core (My Mother at Sixty-Six)

General Instructions:-

All questions are compulsory.

Question No.1 to 3 carries 4 marks each.
Question No. 4 to 10 caries 3 marks each.

1. Read the following passage and answer the questions:

Driving from my parent’s home to Cochin
last Friday morning, I saw my mother,
beside me,
doze, open mouthed,
her face ashen like that of a corpse
a. Who is the poet of the poem?
b. What is figure of speech used in the last line?
c. Where was she driving to?
d. What’s the meaning of ‘corpse’?
2. Read the following passage and answer the questions:
and realised with pain that she was
as old as she looked
but soon put that thought away
a. What did the poet realise?
b. What’s the pain she is talking about?
c. Why did she put that thought away?
d. Explain ‘she was as old as she looked.

3. but all I said was,

see you soon, Amma,
all I did was smile and smile and smile......

a. Why did she say, ‘see you soon’?

b. Why did she smile?

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 c. Why has the poet repeated the word 'smile' thrice?
d. Where was her mother?
4. What is the poet trying to convey about her mother’s physical state?
5. What is the realization that has dawned on the poet?
6. ‘Her face ashen like that of a corpse’, elucidate.
7. Which thought did the poet put away and why?
8. Where had the poet gone from where she was returning from?
9. What did the poet do at the airport?
10. The whole poem is in a single sentence, punctuated by commas. Why did the poet use a
single sentence?

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 CBSE TEST PAPER-02
Class 12 English Core (My Mother at Sixty-Six)
Answers

1. a. the poet of the poem ‘My Mother at Sixty Six’ is Kamala Das.
b. Figure of speech used in the last line is simile ‘face ashen like that of a corpse.
c. She was driving to the airport at Cochin.
d. ‘corpse’ means ‘dead body’.
2. a. The poet realized that she was leaving her mother alone in her old age.
b. she is talking about the pain of separation from her mother.
c. She put that thought away because she had to go to her own family and attend to her
duties there.
d. ‘she was as old as she looked’ means she was old according to her age. At sixty-six she
looked too old to survive long.
3. a. She said, ‘see you soon’ because she wanted her mother to believe that she was going
to live long to see her daughter come & meet her again.
b. She smiled suppress her emotions. She didn’t want her mother to know that she was
disturbed leaving her.
c. The poet has repeated the word ‘smile’ thrice to show that it was not a real smile but a
pretence to show that she was happy.
d. Her mother was standing at the Airport a few yards away from the security check.
4. The poet was trying to convey that her mother was physically drained out and looked
very old according to her age. She had the anxiety that she wouldn’t be able to meet her
alive when she went to her the next time.
5. The realization that dawned on the poet was that she was leaving her mother at a time
when she needed her the most. Her mother looked very old. She compared her with a
dead, described her face ashen like, pale wan and a late winter’s moon.
6. ‘Her face ashen like that of a corpse’, symbolizes that the person has lost her the glow of
the youth and eminent death looms large on her. The color of the face has turned grey
and is devoid of any symbol of energy.
7. The thought the poet put away was that she wouldn’t be able to meet her mother alive
when she would visit her the next time. She knew that her mother had become very old
and weak to last much longer. Her death was approaching and was inevitable.

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 8. The poet gone to her mother’s house. Since mother was old she had come to meet her and
spend some time with her before losing her. She seems to be the only child of her parents
and had come to her mother to comfort her.
9. At the airport, the poet told her mother that she would meet her soon and gave a
prolonged and extended smile. In her heart she knew that her mother was going to die
soon but to console her and give her false hope she told her that she will meet her soon.
The long smile was to show that she was comfortable leaving her.
10. The whole poem is in a single sentence, punctuated by commas. The poet used a single
sentence to indicate a single thread of thought interspersed with observations of the real
world around. She also meant to express the way these are connected to the main idea.

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 CBSE TEST PAPER-03
Class 12 English Core (My Mother at Sixty-Six)

General Instructions:-

All questions are compulsory.

Question No.1 to 3 carries 4 marks each.
Question No. 4 to 10 caries 3 marks each.

1. Read the following passage and answer the questions:

and looked out
at Young Trees sprinting,
the merry children spilling
out of their homes,
a. Why did the poet look out?
b. Where did she look out?
c. What is the figure of speech used in the 2nd line?
d. What is the meaning of word ‘sprinting’?
2. Read the following passage and answer the questions:
but after the airport’s security check,
standing a few yards away,
I looked again at her,
wan, pale as a late winter’s moon
a. What is the figure of speech used in the last line?
b. Who is her in the third line?
c. Why did she go for the airport’s security check?
d. What does ‘wan’ mean?
3. Driving from my parent’s home
to Cochin last Friday morning,
I saw my mother, beside me,
doze, open mouthed, her face
ashen like that of a corpse
and realised with pain

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 a. Why was the mother dozing?
b. Why was her mouth open?
c. What is 'ashen like'?
d. Which pain she realized?
4. Where was the poet going to?
5. Why has the mother been compared to late winter’s moon?
6. Why has the poet used words like wan and pale to describe her mother’s color?
7. She says, ‘my childhood fear’. What’s the fear?
8. Poet has compared her mother to a corpse. Was she right in her comparison?
9. Have you ever seen sprinting trees, explain?
10. How has the poet contrasted the scene inside the car with the activities going outside?

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 CBSE TEST PAPER-03
Class 12 English Core (My Mother at Sixty-Six)
[Answers]

1. a. The poet looked out to divert her thoughts from her mother to mother nature.
b. She looked out of the window to get some solace and peace from her thoughts.
c. The figures of speech used in the 2nd line is personification and metaphor.
d. The meaning of word ‘sprinting’ is running at a high speed or short fast run.
2. a. The figure of speech used in the last line is simile (as).
b. Her in the third line is the mother of the poet.
c. She went for the airport’s security check to board a plane to go to her home.
d. ‘wan’ means ‘pale or colorless complexion or appearance of a person giving the
impression of illness or exhaustion’.
3. a. The mother was dozing because she was tired, wearied and emotionally drained out
and didn’t want to disturb her daughter.
b. Her mouth was open because she was taking a nap. Some people sleep with mouth
open when they have lost their teeth.
c. 'Ashen like' is the pale or dull or ash like color of a person who is sick and wearied.
d. She realized with pain that this was her permanent separation from her mother.
4. The poet was going to her home in some other town leaving her mother at her village
near Cochin. She appears to be married and had her own family. She had to fulfill those
responsibilities too.
5. A late winter’s moon is dull and without shine covered by clouds or haziness of the
atmosphere. The four seasons are related to four stages of life. Spring is the childhood,
summer is adulthood, autumn is old age and winter is death. Thus, the mother has been
compared to late winter’s moon.
6. The poet has used words like wan and pale to describe her mother’s color because she is
sick, lacked energy and showed the signs of death. These words give expression that the
person is sick/ill and exhausted.
7. The poet had her childhood’s fear, fear of separation, be it a temporary or permanent.
She seems to be single child of her parents. She had undergone many suppressed
emotions right from her childhood. These suppressed emotions led to the fear.
8. Poet has compared her mother to a corpse. she was right in her comparison as the

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 physical condition of her mother was not very assuring. While sitting with her in the car,
rather than talking to her, she was dozing. Her color had paled, and exhaustion was
visible. Thus, the comparison.
9. Yes, we see sprinting trees when we are moving in a car, train or bus. Trees don’t sprint,
but the visual effect of speeding vehicle gives the illusion that the trees are running in
opposite direction. The poet has brought this comparison to show the energy of youth
against the exhaustion and weariness of old age.
10. The poet has compared the scene inside the car with that of the activities going outside.
She has used stark images to contrast lively ‘spilling’ of children outside with lifeless face
of her mother. The ‘ashen’ face of her mother is pale and lifeless like corpse. She was
dozing off and was lost in herself. The ‘ashen’ and ‘corpse-like’ face is compared with the
young trees ‘sprinting’ outside.

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 CBSE TEST PAPER-04
Class 12 English Core (My Mother at Sixty-Six)

General Instructions:-

All questions are compulsory.

Question No.1 to 3 carries 4 marks each.
Question No. 4 to 10 caries 3 marks each.

1. Read the following passage and answer the questions:

and felt that old familiar ache,
my childhood’s fear,
a. How was the childhood’s fear aroused?
b. What was the childhood’s fear?
c. Why did she feel the old familiar ache?
d. Name the poem from where these lines have been taken.
2. Read the following passage and answer the questions:
but all I said was,
see you soon, Amma,
all I did was smile and smile and smile......
a. Why did she say, ‘see you soon’?
b. Why did she smile?
c. Why has the poet repeated the word 'smile' thrice?
d. Where was her mother?
3. and realised with pain that she was
as old as she looked
but soon put that thought away
a. What did the poet realise?
b. What’s the pain she is talking about?
c. Why did she put that thought away?
d. Explain ‘she was as old as she looked.
4. What is the familiar pain and ache the poet feels?
5. Why do we try to use words that we don’t mean?

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 6. The poet has compared her mother to a corpse, why?
7. Why had the poet no recourse saves smiling?
8. What do the parting words of the poet mean?
9. What is the significance of the prolonged smile?
10. In our life we take many actions that we don’t want to take. Can we avoid such actions?

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 CBSE TEST PAPER-04
Class 12 English Core (My Mother at Sixty-Six)
Answers

1. a. The childhood’s fear was aroused when the poet was required to leave her parents
either for education or some other reason.
b. The childhood’s fear was losing her mother either temporarily or permanently.
c. She felt the old familiar ache because she observed that the mother has become very
old and signs of death were looming large.
d. The poem from where these lines have been taken is ‘My Mother at Sixty Six’.
2. a. She said, ‘see you soon’ because she wanted her mother to believe that she was going
to live long to see her daughter come and meet her again.
b. She smiled to suppress her emotions. She didn’t want her mother to know that she
was disturbed leaving her.
c. The poet has repeated the word 'smile' thrice to show that it was not a real smile but a
pretence to show that she was happy.
d. Her mother was standing at the Airport a few yards away from the security check.
3. a. The poet realized that she was leaving her mother alone in her old age.
b. She is talking about the pain of separation from her mother.
c. She put that thought away because she had to go to her own family and attend to her
duties there.
d. ‘She was as old as she looked’ means she was old according to her age. At sixty-six she
looked too old to survive long.
4. The familiar pain and ache the poet feels are the pangs of disturbed emotions she feels
whenever she is separated from her mother.
5. We try to use words that we don’t mean either because we don’t want the other person to
know our emotions or we try to console the other person against their thoughts.
6. The poet has compared her mother to a 'corpse' because her mother looked exhausted
and ill and showed the signs of decay.
7. The poet had no recourse saves smiling because she wasn’t able to show her emotions to
her mother, nor she wanted her mother to lose heart.
8. The parting words of the poet were very significant both for the mother because she
should be filled with the hope of meeting her daughter again before leaving the world

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 and for daughter to give herself a false hope that she would be able to meet her again
soon.
9. The significance of the prolonged smile is to elude one’s emotions. The extended smile is
always a fake or smile under pretence. Such smile expresses concealed emotions and/or
pretending to be happy against the odds.
10. We can’t avoid taking certain actions that we don’t wish to take because they stand for
our duties and responsibilities. In the poem the poet had to leave her mother while she
was supposed to be with her in her last days. Her mother was ill, withered, exhausted
and emotionally shattered at the departure of her daughter. But the poet had to leave to
attend to her responsibilities at her own home. Her action was against her wishes.

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 CBSE TEST PAPER-05
Class 12 English Core (My Mother at Sixty-Six)

General Instructions:-

All questions are compulsory.

Question No.1 to 3 carries 4 marks each.
Question No. 4 to 10 caries 3 marks each.

1. Read the following passage and answer the questions:

Driving from my parent’s home
to Cochin last Friday morning,
I saw my mother, beside me,
doze, open mouthed, her face
ashen like that of a corpse
and realised with pain
a. Why was the mother dozing?
b. Why was her mouth open?
c. What is ashen like?
d. Which pain she realized?
2. Read the following passage and answer the questions:
and looked out at Young Trees sprinting,
the merry children spilling out of their homes,
but after the airport’s security check,
standing a few yards away,
I looked again at her,
wan, pale as a late winter’s moon and
felt that old familiar ache, my childhood’s fear,
a. Why did she look at her again?
b. What is the figure of speech used in second line?
c. Why is the mother compared to 'late winter’s moon'?
d. What is the familiar ache?

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 3. Read the following passage and answer the questions:
but all I said was,
see you soon, Amma,
all I did was smile and smile and smile......

a. Why did she say, ‘see you soon’?

b. Why did she smile?
c. Why has the poet repeated the word 'smile' thrice?
d. Where was her mother?
4. How was mother affected by the departure of the daughter?
5. Why did the poet say ‘children spilling out of their homes’?
6. What was the thought of the poet when she wrote ‘young trees sprinting’?
7. Where was the poet before leaving for the airport? Where was she going?
8. What was the poet’s childhood fear? Why did she compare it with ache?
9. What were the thoughts that the poet had to put away by looking out of the car?
10. How has the poet compared the scene inside the car with the activities going outside?

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 CBSE TEST PAPER-05
Class 12 English Core (My Mother at Sixty-Six)
[Answers]

1. a. The mother was dozing because she was tired, wearied and emotionally drained out
and didn’t want to disturb her daughter.
b. Her mouth was open because she was taking a nap. Some people sleep with mouth
open when they have lost their teeth.
c. Ashen like is the pale or dull or ash like color of a person who is sick and wearied.
d. She realized with pain that this was her permanent separation from her mother.
2. a. She looked at her again to assure herself that she was sleeping.
b. The figure of speech used in second line is metaphor (indirect comparison with
liquid).
c. The mother is compared to 'late winter’s moon' because she was nearing her death.
Winter is symbolic of decay and late winter’s moon being dull and lifeless gives the
same expression.
d. The familiar ache is the pangs of uncertainty and emotional disturbance that the felt
at every instance of separation from her mother.
3. a. She said, ‘see you soon’ because she wanted her mother to believe that she was going
to live long to see her daughter come and meet her again.
b. She smiled to suppress her emotions. She didn’t want her mother to know that she
was disturbed leaving her.
c. The poet has repeated the word 'smile' thrice to show that it was not a real smile but a
pretence to show that she was happy.
d. Her mother was standing at the Airport a few yards away from the security check.
4. Mother was very disturbed at the departure of the daughter because she knew that she
wouldn’t be able to meet her before her death. She didn’t express her emotions
symbolically or explicitly so as not to disturb he daughter.
5. The poet used expression ‘children spilling out of their homes’ to express the merry
making attitude of children who have lot of energy and exuberance against the sapped-
out attitude of old people who hardly have the energy to bear their own burden.
6. When the poet wrote ‘young trees sprinting’ she was comparing old age with youth.
Young sprinting trees reminded her of the energy, vivacity, vibrance and spirit of

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 endurance as against the lifeless, wearied and drained out energy of old people.
7. The poet was with her mother at her parental home near Cochin before leaving for the
airport. She was going back to her own house where she was staying with her family to
undertake her responsibility towards them.
8. The poet’s childhood fear was losing her mother. It appears that the poet was single child
of her parents and her father had passed away during her childhood. She compared it
with ache because she felt the pangs of emotions while leaving her mother alone.
9. The thoughts that the poet had to put away by looking out of the car were the thoughts of
separation from her mother. She seemed to have a great attachment for her mother. Now
that she had become old and was on the verge of death, leaving her brought a guilt in her
to leave her alone at such a moment.
10. The poet has compared the scene inside the car with that of the activities going outside.
She has used stark images to contrast lively ‘spilling’ of children outside with lifeless face
of her mother. The ‘ashen’ face of her mother is pale and lifeless like corpse. She was
dozing off and was lost in herself. The ‘ashen’ and ‘corpse-like’ face is compared with the
young trees ‘sprinting’ outside.

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