VIBGYOR HIGH

Term 2 Sample Paper

AY 2023-2024
ENGLISH LITERATURE
Grade: IX Max. Marks: 80
Date: dd/mm/2024 Time Allowed: 2 hour

INSTRUCTIONS:

 Answers to this paper must be written on the paper provided separately.

 You will not be allowed to write during the first 15 minutes.
 This time is to be spent in reading the question paper.
 The time given at the head of this paper is the time allowed for writing the answers.
 This paper has four Sections.
 Section A is compulsory. All questions in Section A must be answered.
 You must attempt one question from each of the sections B, C and D and one other
question from any Section of your choice.
 The intended marks for the questions or parts of questions are given alongside the
questions in brackets [ ].
 This question paper consists of 10 printed pages.

SECTION A
(Attempt all questions from this section)
Question 1
Choose the correct answers to the questions from the given [16]
options.
(Do not copy the question, write the correct answers only.)
(i) Select the option that correctly displays the characteristics
of Skimbleshanks.

(a) Silly, lively, intelligent

(b) Intelligent, alert, revengeful

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 (c) Intelligent, lively, alert
(d) Intelligent, silly, lively

(ii) Choose the option that lists the sequence of events in the correct
order:
1. The beggar was standing on a raised platform in the corner
of the studio.
2. Hughie assumed he would find the beggar waiting for him in
his apartment.
3. Hughie got a scolding from his fiancé for his extravagance.
4. Hughie visited Trevor in his studio.

(a) 4,2,3,1

(b) 4,1,3,2

(c) 4,3,2,1

(d) 3,2,1,4

(iii) Where was the mail train heading towards?

(a) Paris

(b) London

(c) Glasgow

(d) Crawford

(iv) ‘Nor brought too long a day’. In this line who is the
speaker talking about?

(a) God

(b) Poet

(c) Sun

(d) None of the above

(v) Why was Phatik’s aunt not very happy with his arrival?

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 (a) Phatik was very mischievous.

(b) Phatik had the reputation of fighting with everyone.

(c) She was prejudiced against him.

(d) She had three sons quite enough to manage.

(vi) Which of the following lines contain the same literary

device as the one in the line ‘The roof, the walls and, as it
seemed the world collapsed in timber and debris’?

(a) A fair breeze blow, the white foam flew, the furrow followed
free.

(b) Ten thousand I saw at a glance.

(c) Because I could not stop for death, it kindly stopped for me.

(d) Frail as a dragon fly’s wing.

(vii) What amount was offered to anybody who would take

Oliver Twist?

(a) Five pounds

(b) Ten pounds

(c) Fifteen pounds

(d) Twenty pounds

(viii) What is the metaphorical reference of the poem ‘A work of

Artifice’?

(a) The restrictions of women in a male-dominated society

(b) The exploitation of the working class

(c) The importance of matriarchy in the society

(d) The atrocities on the African-American women

(ix) What was Chandi Babu’s appearance similar to?

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 (a) His chin looked like that of a camel.

(b) He looked like a rat.

(c) He looked like a flittermouse.

(d) He had the eyes of a tortoise.

(x) Who ran out of the barber’s shop with one side of the neck
still unshaven?

(a) Deep Chand

(b) An elderly gentleman

(c) Old Ganpat, the beggar

(d) Kamal Kishore

(xi) Who are the tribunes?

(a) Officers selected by the people to protect their liberties

against the Senates and Consuls
(b) Officers selected by the people to protect their liberties
against the colonialists
(c) Officers selected by the people to protect their liberties
against the emperor
(d) Officers selected by the people to protect their liberties
against Roman statesmen.

(xii) Why does Caesar ask his wife to stand in the way of Mark Antony?

(a) To stop Anthony from moving ahead

(b) To be a lucky charm for Anthony

(c) To get instantly pregnant

(d) To be touched by Anthony so as to be free from the curse of

sterility

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(xiii) Which of these had not been witnessed by Casca before?

(a) Scolding winds

(b) Knotting oaks being rived

(c) Oceans swelling and exalting to the heavens

(d) Tempest dropping fire

(xiv) Which day is the festival of Lupercal celebrated?

(a) The fifteenth of February.

(b) The fifteenth of January.

(c) The fifteenth of March.

(d) The fifteenth of May.

(xv) Describe the relation between the following two facts in Julius
Caesar Act 2 Scene 4?
1. Portia asks Lucius to go to the senate and return.
2. Portia does not give any specific instructions to him.
(a) 1 is the cause of 2.

(b) 2 is the contradiction of 1.

(c) 1 is independent of 2.

(d) 2 is the cause of 1.

(xvi) Why does Portia wish to have a mountain placed between her heart
and her tongue?
(a) She cannot cry on hearing the noise.

(b) She cannot shriek out of fear.

(c) She cannot reveal the secret.

(d) She cannot shout at her servant.

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 Section B
(Answer one or more questions from this Section.)
DRAMA
(Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare)
Question 2 [16]
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that
follow:

Portia: Dwell I but in the suburbs

Of your good
pleasure? If it
be no more,
Portia is Brutus’
harlot, not his
wife.
Brutus: You are my true and honorable wife,
As dear to me
as are the ruddy
drops
That visit my
sad heart.

(i) Describe the time and setting of the given scene from the play. What [3]
does Brutus claim in the part before this given extract and why does
Portia refuse to believe him?
(ii) Elaborate on why Portia feels troubled. [3]
(iii) What does Brutus mean when he refers to ‘the ruddy drops’ and his [3]
‘sad heart’? Why is he feeling this despair?
(iv) What does Portia say to indicate that she belongs to the inner circle [3]
of Brutus’ life?
(v) Enlist traits of Portia’s personality revealed in this scene. What proof [4]
does Portia give to justify her strength of character and power of
endurance?

Question 3 [16]

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 Read the extract given below and answer the questions that
follow:
Caesar: The cause is my will: I will not come: That is
enough to satisfy the senate.
(i) What cause does Caesar refer to? To whom does Caesar say [3]
these words? When does he say them?
(ii) Describe what meaning and interpretation Calpurnia attached to her [3]
dreams?
(iii) How did the listener interpret the dream? Why did he do so? [3]
(iv) What did Caesar say to t h e v i s i t o r ’ s interpretation of [3]
Calpurnia’s dream? What did he decide to do? Explain the
contrast in his decision prior to the visitor providing his
interpretation.
(v) Explain the line- “the cause is in my will.” To which [4]
comment of the visitor does Caesar retort with the given
line? What does this line reveal about Caesar’s
character?

SECTION C
(Answer one or more questions from this Section.)
PROSE – SHORT STORIES
(Treasure Chest: A Collection of ICSE Poems and Short
Stories)

Question 4 [16]
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that
follow:

Look, I have been observing you. And I have

examined your arms and legs. You belong to a
much inferior species. There is no doubt about
that. However, as human beings go, you are not
too bad.

(i) Who is the speaker and the listener? According to the [3]
speaker, what was the listener ’s major fault?

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 (ii) How does the speaker describe his superiority over the listener? Why [3]
according to the speaker, has the listener not progressed in life?
What must the speaker do if provoked by someone?
(iii) Describe what happened when the listener tried to express [3]
his gladness on having been acquainted with the speaker in
the extract. Why did the listener consider himself to be
fortunate?

(iv) Who was the listener’s true friend in the story? Why? What [3]
change did it create in the listener’s personality?
(v) The listener has both negative and positive attributes. Enlist and [4]
justify the same with reference to the story.

Question 5 [16]
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that
follow:
‘My dear Alan,’ cried Hughie. I shall probably
find him waiting for me when I am home. But of
course, you are only joking. Poor old wretch! I
wish I could do something for him.

(i) To whom does the pronoun ‘him’ refer? What does Alan tell Hughie [3]
about this person?
(ii) What did Hughie have at home? What did he want to do with it? What [3]
attribute/attributes of Hughie’s character is highlighted in the extract?
(iii) ‘But he looks splendid in them’. Who utters the sentence given? What [3]
does the pronoun ‘them’ refer to? In which tone is the sentence
spoken?
(iv) What information about Hughie had Alan Trevor revealed? How did [3]
Hughie react to this?
(v) What was Alan’s viewpoint about romance and poverty? How was it [4]
opposed to Hughie’s viewpoint?

SECTION D
(Answer one or more questions from this Section.)
POETRY

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 (Treasure Chest: A Collection of ICSE Poems and Short
Stories)
Question 6 [16]
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that
follow:

Oh, it’s very pleasant when you

have found your little den
With your name written up on the
door.

(i) What does the den signify? How is it made cozy? [3]
(ii) What are the facilities available in the little den? [3]
(iii) How does Skimble ensure that the travellers have no trouble during [3]
the journey?
(iv) How does the poet describe the railway compartment? [3]
(v) What impression do you form of Skimble? In what way does the [4]
poet make the cat appear as a hilarious creature?
Question 7 [16]
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that
follow:

I remember, I remember
Where I was used to swing,
And thought the air must rush as fresh
To swallows on the wing;
My spirit flew in feathers then,
That is so heavy now,
And summer pools could hardly cool
The fever on my brow!

(i) What did the poet’s brother plant? When did he plant it? What was [3]
so exciting about it?
(ii) How does the poet describe his experience on a swing? Enlist the [3]
feelings he experienced? What did the feeling represent for the
poet?

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(iii) Elaborate the contrast between ‘then’ (childhood) and ‘now’ [3]
(adulthood). To what does he compare his spirit? What does he
mourn?
(iv) Name the poetic device used in the line- ‘To swallows on the wing’. [3]
Explain the significance of the word ‘swallows’ with reference to the
poem.
(v) Explain the last two lines of the given extract. Why according to the [4]
poet can his childhood memories not soothe him anymore?

*****

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