5 —David Roth

Empathy is the ability to understand another person’s feelings from one's point
of view. It means to put yourself in another’s shoes. It is this human value that is
projected through the poem, Nine Gold Medals.
 About the Poem

...
The poem celebrates human values pertaining to kindness, cooperation and
empathy. It talks about an exemplary act of the spirit of sportsmanship
shown by the protagonists of the poem.

Poem in Detail
Stanza 1
The athletes had come from all over the country
To run for the gold, for the silver and bronze
Many weeks and months in training
All building up to the games.
Paraphrase: The poem refers to the 'Special Olympics' meant for differently-
abled persons. Athletes from different countries came to participate in various
sports events at these olympics. They were longing to win a medal, gold,
silver or bronze. They knew the competition would be very tough. So, they had
put in a lot of their time in preparation and training for the games.
Stanza 2
All round the field spectators were gathered
Cheering on all the young women and men
Then the final event of the day was approaching
The last race about to begin.
Paraphrase: The spectators sitting all around the field were as enthusiastic
and excited as the participants were. They cheered up the young athletes
loudly. The final event of the day, the hundred metre race, was about to begin.
Stanza 3
The loudspeakers called out the names of the runners

2 ICSE Literature in English Class X

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 ...
The one hundred metres the race to be run
And nine young athletes stood there determined
And poised for the sound of the gun.

Dictionary
Word Meaning
athletes : persons competing in sports
building up : preparing

...
spectators : persons watching a sports event
cheering : encouraging
poised : ready

Nine Gold Medals 3

 OBJECTIVE Type Questions
Multiple Choice Questions
[ 1 mark ]

Answer the following questions by choosing the correct options from

those given below:
1. What was announced on the loudspeakers before the start of the
race in the poem, ‘Nine Gold Medals’?
(a)The nationalities of the runners.
(b)The age of the runners.
(c)The names of the runners.
(d)The gender of the runners.
[ICSE Specimen Paper Sem-2, 2022]
Ans. (a) The nationalities of the runners.
Explanation: The spectators and the participants were excited for the
hundred metre race to begin. The loudspeakers announced the names of
the participants along with their nationalities before the race.
2. From where had the participants arrived to this special event?
(a) From all around the world
(b) From America
(c) From Europe
(d) From a Special home
Ans. (a) From all around the world
Explanation: The poem refers to the ‘Special Olympics’ meant for
differently-abled persons. Athletes from various countries came to
participate in various sports events at these olympics.
3. The poem ‘Nine Gold Medals’ teaches us that the world now needs:
(a) co-operation
(b) cohabitation
(c) competition
(d) condemnation
Ans. (a) co-operation
Explanation: The poem teaches us that the world now needs to develop
the human values of kindness, cooperation and empathy towards others.

4 ICSE Literature in English Class X

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 SUBJECTIVE Type Questions
Extract Based Questions
[ 3+3+3+3+4 = 16 marks ]

4. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
All round the field spectators were gathered
Cheering on all the young women and men
Then the final event of the day was approaching
The last race about to begin.
(A)From where did the ‘young women and men’ hail? What had
brought them together?
(B)What was the concluding event of the day? How many athletes
were participating in this event?
(C)Describe the mood of the spectators.
(D)What happened to the youngest athlete half-way through the
race? How did he respond to the situation?
(E)Describe the manner in which the race ended. [Mod. ICSE
Specimen Paper 2021]
Ans. (A)The young men and women had come from all over the world to
participate in these games. This event, the Special Olympics, for the
differently abled people from all across the world had brought them
together.
(B)The last event of the day was the one hundred metres race. People
had been waiting for this event with bated breath because it was the
last event. Nine athletes were participating in this race.
(C)The spectators were jubilant and cheerful. They had accumulated
from different parts of the world to participate and view these games.
They sat all around the field on the stands- full of enthusiasm and
excitement- to cheer for their preferred participants. Their excitement
was reflected in their cheers.
(D)Halfway through the race, the youngest among the athletes,
staggered, stumbled and fell on his knees to the ground. He gave out
a cry of anguish and frustration as his dreams and efforts of winning
the medal were getting shattered in front of his eyes.
(E)The race ended with all the nine athletes, holding each other's hands,

Nine Gold Medals 5

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 walking towards the finish line with a smile on their face. The race
which was supposed to be a competition, was reduced to a mere walk,
delivering a message of collaboration and cooperation.

5. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Then all nine runners joined hands and continued
The one hundred metres reduced to a walk
And the banner above that said “Special Olympics”
Could not have been nearer the mark
(A)What was distinctive about the behaviour of the athletes? Why
was this exceptional?
(B)How was the race reduced to a walk?
Ans. (A)The unusual behaviour of the eight athletes was displayed when they
stopped running the race and turned to help the young athlete who
had stumbled and fallen to the ground.
The poet calls the behaviour ‘unusual’, because usually in events
like this, a cut-throat competition is seen and nobody cares for their
opponents. But here, to help their opponent, all the other athletes
gave up their dream to win the medal. This shows that they were true
sportsmen.
(B)The eight runners returned and helped the fallen athlete stand on
his feet. Then, they joined hands and walked up to the finishing line
together, instead of running, as the injured athlete could not run. Thus,
the race was reduced to a mere walk.

6 ICSE Literature in English Class X

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