Practice Paper

Class 9
English Literature
Term - 1
Section A
Q1 Why are so many people crossing the bridge in the story “ Old Man at the
bridge”.
a) The people are crossing the bridge in order to escape from all the
fighting which was going on in the town.
b) An epidemic has broken out in their town
c) There was no food and water and people were dying of starvation.
d) For better prospect

Q2 What does the line " and seed and buds of days to be " in the poem “The
Heart of the tree” indicate?
a) The new blooming flowers
b) The new year
c) The beginning of future
d) Younger generation
Q3 Which figure of speech is used in the line ”In bleak and bitter cold”? a)
Alliteration
b) Repitition
c) Simile
d) Personification
Q 4 Why did Mr Oliver sense that something was wrong when he approached
the boy?
a) The boy seemed to be sitting very still
b) The boy was all alone out in the forest
c) The boy was crying and did not respond to Mr Oliver.
d) The boy was dressed in a peculiar way.
Q5 Roald Dahl begs the reader to …………
a) install a new television set.
b) throw away all the books.
c) buy a new radio.
d) none of the above
Q6 What aspect of Gratiano does Bassanio joke about after Gratiano has left? a)
His small stature
b) His empty speech
c) His social status
d) His physical appearance
Q7 In Act I scene 2, which character says, “my little body is aweary of this great
world”?
a) Salarino
b) Nerrisa
c) Portia
d) Antonio
Q 8 In “Hearts and Hands” where are the two handcuffed men going?
a) Leavenworth
b) San Carlos
c) Washington
d) Denver
Q9 What did each of the men in the poem ‘ The Cold Within” possess and
for what?
a) Each of the men possessed logs of wood to keep the fire going
b) Each of the men possessed a stick to keep away the wild animals
c) Each of the men possessed a stick of wood which they could use to protect
themselves from cold by keeping the fire going.
Q10 What does Shylock's daughter Jessica give Launcelot when he leaves? a)
Her ring
b) letter
c) Keys to Shylock's safe
d) A treasure map

Section B
I. Read the following extract from Act 2 scene 3 of ‘The merchant of Venice’
and answer the following questions that follow by choosing the most
appropriate response from the choices given below: [5x1]
Jessica I am sorry thou wilt leave my father so:
Our house is hell, and thou, a merry devil,
Didst rob it of some taste of tediousness
But fare thee well; there is a ducat for thee.

1. What does Shylock's daughter hate herself for?

a. Wanting to turn her back on her religion.
b. Being too stubborn to see the truth about Launcelot.
c. Not taking after her mother in looks.
d. Being ashamed of her father.
2. Why would Shylock not approve of his daughter's choice in
husband?
a. He is not wealthy.
b. He is not Jewish.
c. He is known to be disloyal.
d. He is too young.
3. How does Shylock's daughter know Launcelot?
a. He was her father's servant.
b. He has been courting her.
c. He is a very popular figure in the area.
d. He does business often with her father 4. Who is
Shylock's daughter sad to see leave?
a. Bassanio.
b. Launcelot.
c. Shylock.
d. Gilroy.
5. Who is called a ‘merry devil’?
a. Launcelot
 b. Gratiano
c. Tubal
d. Lorenzo
II. Read the following extract from The Face in the Dark and answer the
following questions that follow by choosing the most appropriate
response from the choices given below: [5x1]

The Shimla bazaar, with its cinemas and restaurants, was about 3 miles
from the school and Mr Oliver a bachelor, usually strolled into the town
in the evening, returning after dark, when he would take a shortcut
through the pine forest.

1. Where was Mr Oliver returning from?

a. Mr Oliver was returning from a famous bazaar

b. Mr Oliver was returning from a stroll in the forest
c. Mr Oliver was returning from attending a friend’s wedding.
d. Mr Oliver was returning from school

2. How did Mr Oliver usually spend his evenings?

a. He would visit his friend

b. He would give extra classes to the poor children
c. He would take a walk to the town
d. He would watch a movie at the theatre

3. What route did he take while returning? Why did he take it?
a. Through the Simla Bazaar because it was the shortest
b. Through the park because it was well illuminated
c. Through the forest because it was the shortest
d. Through the pine forest because it was safest
 4. What did Mr Oliver carry with him?
a. A torch
b. A lantern
c. A bottle of water
d. A gun

5. What did Mr. Oliver see when he was returning back while passing
through the pine forest?

a. The watchman
b. A boy sitting under a tree
c. A boy sitting on a rock
d. a strange animal
III Read the following extract from The Heart of the Tree’ and answer the
following questions that follow by choosing the most appropriate response
from the choices given below: [5x1]

What does he plant who plants a tree?

He plants a friend of sun and sky,
He plants the flag of breezes free;
The shaft of beauty, towering high;
He plants a home to heaven anigh;

1. Who is asking the question and from whom?

a. The reader is asking the man who plants a tree

b. The poet is asking another character in the poem
c. The poet is asking the farmer
d. The poet is asking the reader

2. According to the poet what are the two uses of planting a tree?

a. Provides shelter for birds

b. Purifies the air
 c. Cools the air
d. All the above

3. In what ways are the trees friends of sun and sky?

a. The tree depends on the sun to carry out the process of

photosynthesis
b. The tree is also friend of the sky because it takes in carbon
dioxide from the air and release oxygen in the air
c. The sun needs the tree to help its light reach the earth
d. The sun gets purified because of the tree

4 What is the phrase ‘The shaft of beauty towering high’ used for?

a. Denotes the branches that grows up vertically up like a tower

b. Denotes the stem of the tree that grows high which makes it
look like a beautiful tower
c. It means the flowers of the tree that ate there on the tall trees
d. None of these

5 What is known as mother-croon of bird?

a. It is a soft song sung by mother bird to her unhatched eggs

b. It is a soft song father bird sings to the mother bird
c. It is a soft song sung by the mother bird to her young ones d It
is a soft song that a mother bird sings before going to sleep
Read the following extract from The Old Man at the Bridge’ and answer the
following questions that follow by choosing the most appropriate response
from the choices given below: [5x1]

He looked at me very blankly and tiredly, then said, having to share his
worry with someone, “The cat will be all right, I am sure. There is no need
to be unquiet about the cat. But the others. Now what do you think about
the others?”

1. What did the old man worry about and why?

a. He was worried about his farm

b. He was worried about his goats because they wouldn’t be able
to escape the artillery
c. He was worried not about the goats but the cats and the pigeons
d. He was worried about his house and the belongings

2. Who looked at the narrator very blankly and tiredly?

a. The old man

b. The soldier
c. The old lady
d. None of these

3. Why is the old man not worried about the cat?

a. Because his cat had been adopted by the soldier

b. Because his cat had already died
c. Because he had brought his cat with him
d. Because his cat can fend for itself
 4. What did the old man tell about his animals?

a. He had various animals and they had all died

b. He had brought all his animals with him
c. He had different types of animals and he was taking care of
them
d. He had to leave his animals because he was too poor to take
care of them
5. How did the narrator console the old man?
a. The narrator told him not to worry about his animals and that
they’ll survive somehow
b. The narrator told him that they would arrange for someone to
take him to a safer place
c. The narrator said that the fighting would be over soon and that
he could return to his hometown D all the above
Read the following extract from The Cold Within’ and answer the following
questions that follow by choosing the most appropriate response from the
choices given below: [5x1]

The third one sat at tattered clothes, He

gave his cat a hitch.
Why should his log be put to use
To warm the idle rich?
The rich man just sat back and thought
Of the wealth he had in store,
And how to keep what he had earned From
the lazy, shiftless poor.

1. Who do you think was the third man?

a. The third man was a lawyer

b. The third man was a poor man
c. The third man was a rich man
d. The third man was a social worker
2. The third man does not want to use his piece of log of wood to
warm the rich. Why?

a. Because the rich one had many logs of wood

b. He had only one log
c. He felt that the rich are misers
d. He had feelings of jealousy and bitterness

3. Why does the poet use the expression ‘idle rich’?

a. The poet says that the rich have too much money and never give
to the poor
b. The rich do not work hard and were becoming richer
c. The rich man had become rich by unfair means
d. The rich became rich at the cost of poor people

4. What thoughts was the rich man occupied with?

a. His greed for money kept the rich man lost in his thoughts
b. He was thinking of how to convince others to use their logs of
wood
c. He was thinking of building his own fire
d. He was thinking of what to eat for dinner

5. What does the rich man think about the poor?

a. They are lazy

b. They don’t have ambition
c. They are worthless
d. All the above
III. Read the following extract from Television’ and answer the following
questions that follow by choosing the most appropriate response from
the choices given below: [5x1]

The most important thing we’ve learned,

So far as children are concerned,
Is never, NEVER, NEVER let
Them near your television set-
Or better still, just don’t install
The idiotic thing at all.

1. What does the poet mean when he says that the most important
thing we’ve learned?

a. children should not be allowed to stay home alone

b. Children should be allowed to watch television as it is the best
form of entertainment
c. Children should be kept far away from the television set
d. The television should never be allowed near the children

2. Why has the poet used the adverb ‘Never’ three times?

a. To lay emphasis
b. To make the poem more interesting by using a literary device
c. It was rhyming
d. None of the above

3. How does Television control the activities of the children?

a. Children lose interest in studies

b. Children become inactive
c. Children don’t go out to play
d. All the above
4. What is an idiotic thing?

a. It refers to the couch where the children lie most of the time b
Refers to the computer where children play games
c refers to the non working television set d refers to
the television set that is there in the house
5. Whom is the poet addressing in the poem? What is his motive?

a. Children
b. Readers
c. Parents
d. His friend