.

Grade -9
Question Bank

Sound of Music

1. Why did Bismillah Khan refuse to start a shehnai school in the USA?
2. The young boy took to music early in life. At the age of three, when his mother took him to his maternal
uncle’s house in Banaras, Bismillah was fascinated watching his uncle practicing the Shehnai. Soon Bismillah
started accompanying his uncle, Ali Bux, to the Vishnu temple of Varanasi where Bux was employed to play
a Shehnai.

a) Who is ‘the young boy’?

(i) Ali Bux (ii) Bismillah Khan (iii) Paigambar Bux (iv) Zahir Shah

b) The expression “took the music” means___________.

(i) Studied (ii) played (iii) took a liking to (iv) wanted

c) Bismillah got his first experience of performing public with_____________.

(i) His uncle (ii) his father (iii) his mentor (iv) his mother

d) Ali Bux was working at ____________.

(i) The Vishnu temple (ii) Bihariji temple (iii) Gangaji temple (iv) his home

e) Bismillah was fascinated by shehnai means that he was _____________.

(i) Captivated (ii) enjoyed (iii) got interested (iv) was curious
(ii) Improving the sound of the Pungi by
A) a musician
B) a singer
C) none of these
D) a barber
(iii) From where did Shehnai get its name?
A) from barber (Nai in Hindi) +King (Shah in Hindi)
B) None of these
C) from a Barber
D) king gave its name

3. His first trip abroad was to Afghanistan where King Zahir Shah was so taken in by the maestro that he gifted
him priceless Persian carpets and other souvenirs.
(i) Bismillah Khan’s first trip abroad was to which country?
(ii) What did Zahir Shah present Bismillah Khan?
(iii) Who was the king of Afghanistan?
(iv) Find word from the passage which has the same meaning as “momento”.
4. How did ’pungi transform into a Shehnai?
5. Why did Aurangazeb ban the playing of Pungi?
6. One day she noticed a girl playing a xylophone and decided that she wanted to play it too. Most of the teachers
discouraged her but percussionist Ron Forbes spotted her potential. He began by tuning two large drums to
different notes.”Don’t listen through your ears,” he would say, “try to sense it some other way.” Says Evelyn,
“Suddenly I realised I could feel the higher drum from the waist up and the lower one from the waist down.”
(i) Who does ‘she’ refer to? What did the teachers discourage her to do ?
(ii) Who said, “Don’t listen through your ears” ?
(iii) What is the contextual meaning of the word ‘potential’ ?
(v) What does this extract tell you about Ron Forbes ?
7. Why did Bismillah Khan refuse to start a shehnai school in the U.S.A.?

A Truly Beautiful Mind

1. Albert Enstein’s mother thought of him as a freak. Explain in about 100-120 words as to why she thought so?
2. How did Einstein fare in high school’
3. Albert Einstein was an unusual child How?
4. He was different from others in many ways. Do you think that those who think differently succeed in their life like
Einstein Comments?
5. Einstein was an unusual child with no indication of potential greatness. Comment.
6.Einstein is a synonym for genius. Justify this statement.
7. In 1900, at the age of 21, Albert Einstein was a university graduate and unemployed. He worked as a teaching
assistant, gave private lessons and finally secured a job in 1902 as a technical expert in the patent office in Bern. While
he was supposed to be assessing other people’s inventions, Einstein was actually developing his own ideas in secret.
He is said to have jokingly called his desk drawer at work the “Bureau of theoretical physics”.
i.In which year did Albert Einstein secure a job in the patent office in Bern?
a) 1947
b) 1902
c) 1912
d) 1900
ii.Albert Einstein finally secured a job in the patent office in Bern as a ________.
a) Technical expert
b) Secretary
c) Accountant
d) Typist
iii.Write the synonym of Bureau.
a) School
b) Office
c) Beaurocrats
d) Brand
iv.In which year did Albert complete his graduation?
a) 1902
b) 1905
c) 1900
d) 1922
v.How old was Albert Einstein when he became a university graduate?
a) 16 years old
b) 18 years old
c) 24 years old
d) 21 years old

8.Why do you think

Einstein hated the school’s regimentation? Do you think he should have had abided by the rules of the school? Write
in about 100-120 words.

The Snake and the Mirror

1. ‘The sound was a familiar one’. What sound did the doctor hear? What did he think it was?
2. What would you have done if you had been the doctor in the dark room with the cobra on your
shoulder ?
The Little Girl

1. What made Kezia’s father punish her?

2.Why did Kezia stammer in front of her father?
3. Compare Kezia’s father with Mr. Macdonald. Do you think sharing with kids is necessary?
4.Who did Kezia compare her father with? What made Kezia think that there were different sorts of fathers ?
5. Do you think men who are hard on theit kids are bad farthers? Substantiate your answer.
6.How did the little girl start understanding her father? Write your answer in the context of The Little Girl.
7.On Sunday afternoon, Grandmother sent her down to the drawing room to have a “Nice talk with Father and Mother”.
But the little girl always found mother reading and father stretched out on the sofa, his handkerchief on his face, his
feet on one of the best cushion, sleeping soundly and snoring.
(i) Who was ’she’ and why did the grandmother sent her down?
(ii) What did she notice about her parents?
(iii) Was she happy with her parents?
(iv) Trace a word that means “undisturbed

My Childhood

1.I was born into a middle-class Tamil family in the island town of Rameswaram in the erstwhile Madras state. My
father, Jainulabdeen, had neither much formal education nor much wealth: despite these disadvantages, he
possessed great innate wisdom and a true generosity of spirit. He had an ideal helpmate in my mother, Ashiamma.
I do not recall the exact number of people she fed every day, but ai am quite certain that far more outsiders are with
us than all the members of our own family put together.

i.“He had an ideal helpmate……”. Which of these qualities does an ideal person not possess?

a.Supportive b. Amiable c.Envious d.Honest

ii. Based on the extract which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?

1. Kalam’s father was a kind-hearted person.

2.Kalam’s father was a naturally wise person.

3.Kalam’s parents had a lot of ancestral property.

4.Several outsiders were fed by Kalam’s parents every day.

iii. Which option is INCORRECT with reference to the meaning of ‘innate’?a.Natural b.Acquired
c.Inborn d. Intuitive

2.What happened when Abdul Kalam was in fifth standard?

3. How did the Second World War affect Rameswaram?

4. How did Kalam earn his ‘first wages’ and ‘first income’?

5. What was the difference Kalam observed when he visited Sivasubramania Iyer’s house the second time?

6.Kalam’s father did not have much formal education, yet he was progressive and secular in his outlook. Justify.

Reach For The Top

1.Maria Sharapova has been invited by her old school in Siberia to speak to the students on her rise to success. As
Maria, write a diary giving a brief what are the qualities that helped Maria attain the number one position in
women’s tennis in 2005. Account of the hardships you endured to attain your goal and the reasons that led to your
success

3.Santosh decided to fight the system in her own quiet way, says the author. How did Santosh rebel but quietly?