Extracts (1) to (8) Bharat Our Land | Subramania Bharati | Class IX | CBSE | Kaveri
(1) “The mighty Himavant is ours there’s no equal anywhere on earth. / The generous Ganga is ours which other river can match her grace?” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The repetition of the phrase “is ours” in these lines creates a sense of: [1] A. greed and possessiveness towards natural landmarks B. collective pride and belonging the mountains and rivers are shared by all the people of Bharat C. legal ownership of natural resources by the state D. the poet’s personal attachment to the Himalayas and the Ganga
Ans. B collective pride and belonging. The repeated “is ours” is an inclusive statement it speaks for all the people of Bharat together. The mountains and the river are not owned by any individual but are shared national inheritances that all citizens can take pride in.
(ii) What does the description of the Ganga as “generous” suggest about the river’s significance to the people of Bharat? [1]
Ans. “Generous” personifies the Ganga as a giving, nurturing presence. A generous being gives without condition or limit. By applying this quality to the river, Bharati suggests that the Ganga freely sustains the people along its banks with water, fertility, and spiritual nourishment as a generous person sustains those around them.
(iii) How does Bharati use the rhetorical questions in these lines to build the poem’s tone of celebration and pride? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The rhetorical questions “there’s no equal anywhere on earth” and “which other river can match her grace?” do not seek answers but assert that no equal exists. This technique builds a tone of confident, joyful pride: the poet is not inviting debate but making declarations that challenge any possible counter-claim. The questions invite the reader to share in the pride rather than to dispute the comparisons.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “kindness and elegance of movement or manner.” [1]
Ans. “Grace” the extract asks “which other river can match her grace?”, meaning the Ganga’s quality of flowing with elegance and beauty that no other river possesses.
(2) “The sacred Upanishads are ours what scriptures else to name with them? / This sunny golden land is ours she’s peerless, let’s praise her!” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “what scriptures else to name with them” suggests: [1] A. the poet is unfamiliar with the scriptures of other traditions B. the Upanishads are so significant that no other scriptures can be meaningfully compared with them C. the Upanishads should be the only scriptures studied in Bharat D. all world scriptures have been influenced by the Upanishads
Ans. B the Upanishads are so significant that no other scriptures can be meaningfully compared with them. The question is rhetorical, implying that the answer is “none”. The Upanishads are presented as incomparable in their depth and wisdom within the context of Bharat’s heritage.
(ii) What does the description of Bharat as “peerless” mean, and why is it significant in the context of the poem? [1]
Ans. “Peerless” means without equal no other land can be placed alongside Bharat as a comparable entity. In the context of the poem, this is significant because it establishes the poem’s celebratory thesis: the natural beauty, the spiritual heritage, and the cultural achievements of Bharat together make it incomparable among the nations of the world.
(iii) How does the call “let’s praise her” function as the poem’s central refrain and what effect does it have on the reader? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. “Let’s praise her” is the poem’s refrain a repeated call that invites the reader to join the act of celebration. The inclusive “let’s” makes the praise collective rather than individual, turning the poem into a shared act of national affirmation. Each time it returns, the reader has been given more reasons to praise, so the refrain accumulates meaning with each repetition, building a sense of joyful communal pride.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “having no equal; matchless.” [1]
Ans. “Peerless” the extract states “she’s peerless, let’s praise her”, meaning Bharat has no equal among the lands of the world.
(3) “Gallant warriors have lived here, many a sage has sanctified this land. / The divinest music has been heard here, and here all auspicious things are found.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The listing of warriors, sages, and music in a single line suggests: [1] A. Bharat values military power above all other qualities B. Bharat’s greatness is multidimensional it encompasses courage, wisdom, and artistic beauty together C. warriors and sages are more important than musicians in Indian tradition D. the poet is listing the different castes of Indian society
Ans. B Bharat’s greatness is multidimensional. By placing warriors, sages, and music side by side, Bharati argues that the land’s excellence cannot be reduced to any single dimension. It is great in courage, in spiritual wisdom, and in artistic expression simultaneously. This breadth is what makes it truly remarkable.
(ii) What does the word “sanctified” suggest about the sages’ relationship to the land? [1]
Ans. “Sanctified” means made holy or sacred. The sages do not merely live on the land they consecrate it through their presence, their wisdom, and their spiritual practice. Their association with the land transforms it from a physical territory into a sacred space. The word suggests that holiness has been embedded in the very earth of Bharat through the lives of those who devoted themselves to spiritual knowledge here.
(iii) How does the phrase “all auspicious things are found” function as a summary of Bharat’s qualities? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The phrase “all auspicious things are found” is an inclusive, comprehensive claim it does not list specific good things but asserts that everything that is blessed, fortunate, and sacred has its home in Bharat. This makes the line function as a conclusion to the stanza’s catalogue of specific excellences: warriors, sages, and divine music are examples of the auspiciousness that is generally and universally present in this land.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “bringing good fortune; associated with positive outcomes and divine favour.” [1]
Ans. “Auspicious” the extract states “here all auspicious things are found”, meaning things that are considered fortunate, blessed, and associated with good outcomes and divine favour.
(4) “The mighty Himavant is ours there’s no equal anywhere on earth. / The generous Ganga is ours which other river can match her grace?” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The word “mighty” applied to the Himavant suggests: [1] A. the Himalayas are the most dangerous mountain range in the world B. the Himalayas possess a grandeur and power that commands awe and respect C. the mountains are used as a military defence for India’s northern border D. the poet has personally climbed the Himalayas and knows their difficulty
Ans. B the Himalayas possess a grandeur and power that commands awe and respect. “Mighty” is associated with great strength and impressive scale qualities that inspire both admiration and a sense of the sublime. The word frames the mountains as more than a geographical feature, presenting them as a presence that commands reverence.
(ii) What is the significance of opening the poem with the Himavant and the Ganga rather than with historical events or cultural achievements? [1]
Ans. By opening with natural features the mountains and the river Bharati grounds Bharat’s greatness in the land itself rather than in human achievement alone. The natural world is presented as the original and enduring foundation of the country’s identity, upon which human achievements warriors, sages, music, scriptures are built. This gives the country’s greatness a permanence that transcends any particular historical period.
(iii) How does the poem use comparison and contrast to establish Bharat’s uniqueness in these opening lines? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The poem establishes Bharat’s uniqueness by asserting the absence of any equal or comparable counterpart: “no equal anywhere on earth”, “which other river can match her grace?” Each comparison is immediately closed by the claim that no comparison holds. This technique of asserting and then dismissing the possibility of a rival creates a portrait of Bharat as genuinely singular not the best among many but incomparable.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “powerful and impressive in scale.” [1]
Ans. “Mighty” the extract refers to “the mighty Himavant”, meaning the Himalayas as powerful and impressively grand in their scale and presence.
(5) “Gallant warriors have lived here, many a sage has sanctified this land. / The divinest music has been heard here, and here all auspicious things are found.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “the divinest music has been heard here” suggests that Indian classical music is: [1] A. played only in temples and religious ceremonies B. so spiritually elevated that it approaches the divine it is not merely aesthetic but transcendent C. louder and more complex than music from other traditions D. a form of music composed exclusively for royal courts
Ans. B so spiritually elevated that it approaches the divine. “Divinest” is the superlative of divine, meaning the most sacred and spiritually elevated music imaginable. The claim is not simply that Indian music is beautiful but that it has a transcendent quality that goes beyond ordinary aesthetic experience.
(ii) What does the phrase “gallant warriors have lived here” add to the poem’s portrait of Bharat? [1]
Ans. The mention of gallant warriors adds the dimension of courage and martial honour to the portrait. Bharat is not only a land of spiritual wisdom and artistic beauty but also of heroic human action. The word “gallant” implies that the warriors fought with honour and distinction, not merely with force, which integrates their presence into the poem’s overall vision of Bharat as a land of excellence across all dimensions of human life.
(iii) How does the juxtaposition of warriors and sages in the same line reflect Bharati’s vision of a complete civilisation? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. Placing warriors and sages in the same line without hierarchy argues that a complete civilisation requires both the strength to defend what is valued and the wisdom to know what is worth valuing. Bharati’s vision of Bharat is not exclusively spiritual or exclusively martial but integrates both, suggesting that the country’s greatness lies in its capacity to honour and produce excellence across the full range of human possibility.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “brave and noble in behaviour, especially in battle.” [1]
Ans. “Gallant” the extract refers to “gallant warriors”, meaning warriors who fought with bravery, nobility, and honour.
(6) “Here Brahma-knowledge has taken root, and the Buddha preached his dhamma here. / Of hoary antiquity is Bharat, she’s peerless, let’s praise her!” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The reference to both Brahma-knowledge and the Buddha’s dhamma in the same line suggests: [1] A. Hinduism and Buddhism are the same religion B. Bharat is a land where multiple profound spiritual traditions have originated and flourished together C. the poet believes the Buddha was more important than other Indian thinkers D. religious knowledge is the only form of knowledge valued in Bharat
Ans. B Bharat is a land where multiple profound spiritual traditions have originated and flourished together. By naming both Brahma-knowledge Vedic/Hindu philosophical tradition and the Buddha’s dhamma Buddhist teaching in the same breath, Bharati presents Bharat as a civilisation capacious enough to have given birth to more than one of the world’s great spiritual traditions.
(ii) What does the phrase “of hoary antiquity is Bharat” convey about the country’s history? [1]
Ans. “Hoary antiquity” means extreme oldness an age so great that it inspires awe. The phrase places Bharat within the most ancient reaches of human civilisation, suggesting that the country’s history extends back further than that of most other nations and that its traditions, achievements, and character have been formed over an exceptionally long time. This deep age is itself presented as a source of distinction.
(iii) How does the poem use the presence of both Brahma-knowledge and the Buddha’s dhamma to argue for Bharat’s spiritual significance in world history? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. By placing two of the world’s most significant philosophical and spiritual traditions Vedic knowledge and Buddhism as achievements of the same land, Bharati argues that Bharat’s contribution to human spiritual thought is unmatched. Both traditions have shaped civilisations far beyond the subcontinent. The poem uses this pairing to claim that Bharat is not only spiritually rich within its own tradition but has given the world more than one of its foundational philosophical systems.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that means “of very great and ancient age, reaching back into the deepest past.” [1]
Ans. “Hoary antiquity” the extract states “of hoary antiquity is Bharat”, meaning the country is of an extremely great and ancient age that extends far back into the earliest reaches of human civilisation.
(7) “The sacred Upanishads are ours what scriptures else to name with them? / This sunny golden land is ours she’s peerless, let’s praise her!” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The description of Bharat as “sunny golden” suggests: [1] A. the climate of India is hot throughout the year B. the land is blessed with both natural warmth and the richness associated with gold making it a place of abundance and radiance C. India’s gold reserves make it one of the wealthiest countries in the world D. the poet is describing the colour of wheat fields in the harvest season
Ans. B the land is blessed with both natural warmth and richness. “Sunny” suggests warmth, brightness, and the life-giving quality of the sun; “golden” suggests abundance, preciousness, and a quality that shines. Together the two adjectives present Bharat as a land that is both naturally blessed and inherently valuable.
(ii) Why does Bharati use a rhetorical question to make the claim about the Upanishads rather than a direct statement? [1]
Ans. The rhetorical question “what scriptures else to name with them?” is more powerful than a direct statement because it draws the reader into the claim. Rather than telling the reader that no scriptures compare, the poet asks the reader to think of any and implies that none can be found. The question form makes the assertion interactive and invites shared conviction rather than passive reception.
(iii) How does the pairing of the Upanishads with the physical description of the land reflect the poem’s vision of Bharat as both spiritually and materially blessed? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The line moves directly from the Upanishads Bharat’s greatest spiritual achievement to the “sunny golden land” its natural beauty and abundance. The two are presented as equally part of what makes Bharat peerless: the country is not only intellectually and spiritually rich but physically beautiful and naturally blessed. Bharati’s vision of national greatness encompasses both the life of the spirit and the life of the body in the land.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “holy or connected with God or religious worship.” [1]
Ans. “Sacred” the extract refers to “the sacred Upanishads”, meaning the Upanishads are considered holy and connected with spiritual and religious significance.
(8) “Here Brahma-knowledge has taken root, and the Buddha preached his dhamma here. / Of hoary antiquity is Bharat, she’s peerless, let’s praise her!” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “Brahma-knowledge has taken root” uses the metaphor of a root to suggest: [1] A. Brahma-knowledge was planted by a specific person at a specific time B. this form of knowledge has established itself so deeply and durably in this land that it has become part of its fundamental character C. the knowledge grew from a single small seed into a large tradition D. roots are associated with wisdom in Indian philosophical tradition
Ans. B this form of knowledge has established itself so deeply and durably in this land that it has become part of its fundamental character. A root is not a recent addition to the surface but a deep, foundational structure that anchors and sustains what grows from it. Brahma-knowledge having taken root means it is inseparable from the land’s identity.
(ii) What does the phrase “the Buddha preached his dhamma here” contribute to the poem’s portrait of Bharat as a sacred land? [1]
Ans. The fact that the Buddha chose this land to preach his dhamma his teaching makes Bharat the origin point of one of the world’s great religions and philosophical systems. The poem presents this not as a historical fact alone but as a mark of the land’s special spiritual character: it is the kind of place where such teachings arise and where the greatest spiritual teachers choose to speak.
(iii) How does the refrain “she’s peerless, let’s praise her” accumulate meaning each time it appears in the poem? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. Each time the refrain appears, it follows a new set of reasons for pride: the Himavant and Ganga, the scriptures and golden land, the warriors and sages, the music and auspicious things, Brahma-knowledge and the Buddha’s dhamma. With each recurrence, “peerless” carries the weight of all the specific excellences that have been named. The praise becomes richer and more grounded with each repetition, and the invitation to join it becomes more compelling.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “the moral and spiritual teaching of the Buddha.” [1]
Ans. “Dhamma” the extract states “the Buddha preached his dhamma here”, meaning the Buddha’s moral and spiritual teaching, the central doctrine of Buddhist philosophy.
Extracts (1) to (8) Gifts of Grace: Honouring Our Vocations | Class IX | CBSE | Kaveri
(1) “I hear Bharat celebrating, the varied vocations I hear; / Those of craftsperson, each one celebrating their craft, / woven with colours and myriad hues.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The repetition of the word “celebrating” in these lines suggests: [1] A. the poet is writing about a national festival B. each vocation is presented as a source of pride and joy, not merely a means of earning a living C. the craftspersons are celebrating a holiday from work D. the poet is listing the names of different festivals across India
Ans. B each vocation is presented as a source of pride and joy, not merely a means of earning a living. The word “celebrating” elevates work from a necessity to an affirmation each craftsperson takes pride in what they do and expresses that pride through the doing of it.
(ii) What does the phrase “woven with colours and myriad hues” suggest about the nature of craft work? [1]
Ans. The phrase suggests that craft is rich, varied, and multidimensional not uniform or mechanical. “Woven” implies that different elements are interlaced with skill and intention, and “myriad hues” suggests an almost infinite variety of expression within the tradition of craft. The work is as visually and aesthetically rich as a woven textile.
(iii) How does the opening of the poem establish the relationship between individual vocation and national identity? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The poem opens with the poet hearing Bharat India itself celebrating, which immediately frames the individual vocations as expressions of the nation’s collective identity. The varied voices of craftspersons, artisans, carpenters, and others are not separate from India but constitute it. The poem argues that the nation is not an abstract entity but the living sum of the people and their work, and that to hear the vocations is to hear India itself.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “a great number and variety of different kinds.” [1]
Ans. “Myriad” the extract refers to “myriad hues”, meaning an extremely large and varied number of different colours and shades.
(2) “The artisans with lutes, each hailing varied emotions / and celebrating dreams, echoing in the streets.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The image of artisans with lutes “echoing in the streets” suggests: [1] A. artisans play music while they work to pass the time B. the artisans’ work and expression are not confined to private spaces but resonate outward into public life C. the streets of Indian cities are always full of musical performances D. lutes are the most common instrument made by artisans in India
Ans. B the artisans’ work and expression are not confined to private spaces but resonate outward into public life. The echo in the streets means that what the artisans feel and dream and make enters the shared world it is heard by everyone, becoming part of the collective soundscape of the community.
(ii) What does the phrase “hailing varied emotions” suggest about the artisan’s relationship with their creative work? [1]
Ans. “Hailing” means acknowledging and celebrating with enthusiasm. The artisans do not suppress or separate their emotions from their work they actively bring them in and give them voice. The variety of emotions suggests that the creative act is emotionally rich and complex, drawing on the full range of human feeling rather than being performed mechanically or neutrally.
(iii) How does the image of artisans celebrating dreams through their work reflect the poem’s broader argument about vocation? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. By showing artisans as people who celebrate their dreams through their craft, the poem argues that a vocation is not simply the execution of a skill but the expression of the inner life of the person who practises it. The dreams of the artisans are not separate from their work but are realised through it. Vocation, the poem suggests, is the point at which a person’s deepest aspirations and their daily labour become the same thing.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “sounding back from a surface; reverberating.” [1]
Ans. “Echoing” the extract states the artisans’ celebration is “echoing in the streets”, meaning the sound of their work and expression reverberates outward into the surrounding public space.
(3) “The carpenters celebrating; they create anything out of wood / with mathematical precision.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “mathematical precision” applied to carpentry suggests: [1] A. carpenters must study mathematics at university before they can work B. carpentry involves exact measurement, calculation, and accuracy it is as intellectually demanding as it is physically skilled C. carpenters use calculators and computers to design their work D. mathematical precision is more important than creativity in carpentry
Ans. B carpentry involves exact measurement, calculation, and accuracy, making it as intellectually demanding as it is physically skilled. The poem elevates carpentry by insisting that it is not merely manual work but requires the same precision of thought that mathematics demands.
(ii) What does the phrase “create anything out of wood” suggest about the carpenter’s skill and creative range? [1]
Ans. The phrase suggests an almost unlimited creative capacity the carpenter is not restricted to a narrow set of objects but can produce anything the material allows. This breadth of possibility, combined with mathematical precision, presents the carpenter as both a versatile creator and a rigorous craftsperson. The word “anything” conveys an expansive confidence in the skill.
(iii) How does the poem use the carpenter to argue that manual and intellectual work are not opposites? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. By pairing the carpenter’s physical creativity creating anything out of wood with mathematical precision, the poem refuses the common division between manual and intellectual labour. The carpenter does not work by instinct or brute effort alone; they bring mathematical thinking to the material. This argues that skilled craft is always both intellectual and physical simultaneously, and that the separation of these two modes of work is artificial and misleading.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that means “with exact accuracy and careful measurement.” [1]
Ans. “Mathematical precision” the extract states that carpenters “create anything out of wood with mathematical precision”, meaning with the exactness and accuracy that mathematics requires.
(4) “The electricians humming; they get ready for work, / work with cables and wires to brighten our lives.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “brighten our lives” carries a double meaning because: [1] A. electricians work only during the day when there is natural light B. electricians literally bring light through their work with cables and wires, and also metaphorically improve the quality of people’s lives C. the poet is using “brighten” to mean “make more colourful” D. electrical work is a cheerful profession that makes workers happy
Ans. B electricians literally bring light through their work with cables and wires, and also metaphorically improve the quality of people’s lives. The double meaning is precise: the physical work of laying cables and connecting wires results in electric light, which both literally brightens spaces and figuratively enhances human life.
(ii) What does the detail of electricians “humming” before they begin work suggest about their relationship to their vocation? [1]
Ans. Humming is a sign of quiet contentment and absorbed readiness the electrician hums while getting ready, which suggests that the approach to work is comfortable and self-contained. There is no dread or reluctance in the image, only a quiet, embodied preparation that implies the worker is at ease in their vocation and finds it natural and satisfying.
(iii) How does the electrician’s work serve as an example of the poem’s argument that every vocation contributes something essential to collective life? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The electrician’s work is invisible in its final form once the wires are laid and the lights come on, the labour that made it possible disappears behind the walls. Yet without it, the lives of everyone in the community would be dimmer in the most literal sense. The poem uses the electrician to argue that essential contributions are often invisible, and that the people who make daily life possible are frequently the least celebrated.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “making a continuous low musical sound with the lips closed.” [1]
Ans. “Humming” the extract states “the electricians humming”, meaning they make a quiet, continuous musical sound as they prepare for their work.
(5) “The boatmen gathering their nets from the shore, sailing, / and singing while at work, return to tell the tales of life at sea.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The image of boatmen “singing while at work” suggests: [1] A. boatmen are professional singers who perform on their boats for passengers B. their vocation is so deeply part of who they are that joy and work have become inseparable C. singing helps the boatmen row their boats more efficiently D. the sea is a quiet place where singing is the only form of entertainment
Ans. B their vocation is so deeply part of who they are that joy and work have become inseparable. The singing is not a break from work but part of it the boatmen do not sing instead of working but while working, which shows that their labour carries its own pleasure and expression.
(ii) What does the phrase “return to tell the tales of life at sea” suggest about the relationship between work, experience, and storytelling? [1]
Ans. The phrase suggests that the boatmen’s work at sea generates stories that their experience of their vocation produces a form of knowledge and narrative that they bring back to share with others. The work is not only economic but experiential and narrative: it gives the boatmen something to tell, a particular understanding of life that comes only from going out onto the water and returning.
(iii) How does the portrayal of the boatmen in this extract reflect the poem’s celebration of work as a complete way of life rather than merely an economic activity? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The boatmen in the extract gather nets, sail, sing, and return with stories their work encompasses physical skill, creative expression, and the production of narrative. It is not a single activity performed for wages but a whole way of engaging with the world. The poem presents this completeness as the hallmark of a true vocation: it shapes the person’s body, spirit, and relationship to their community, not only their income.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that means “accounts and stories drawn from direct personal experience of working at sea.” [1]
Ans. “Tales of life at sea” the extract states the boatmen “return to tell the tales of life at sea”, meaning the stories and accounts that their direct experience of working on the water produces.
(6) “The shoemakers affirming the quality of their work, / for the feet that walk, dance, run, jump, return home.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The list of actions “walk, dance, run, jump, return home” is used to show: [1] A. the different types of shoes that shoemakers must be able to make B. the full range of human movement and life that the shoemaker’s work must support and enable C. the exercises that shoemakers perform to keep themselves fit D. the activities that people do when they are not at work
Ans. B the full range of human movement and life that the shoemaker’s work must support and enable. Each action represents a different dimension of human life: the everyday walk, the joyful dance, the urgent run, the playful jump, and the return home. The shoemaker’s craft must serve all of these, which makes it foundational to human movement in every form.
(ii) What does the word “affirming” suggest about the shoemaker’s relationship to the quality of their work? [1]
Ans. “Affirming” means declaring and confirming with conviction. The shoemaker does not merely produce work and hope it is good enough they assert and stand behind its quality. This is a form of professional pride that is also a form of accountability: the shoemaker’s affirmation is a commitment to the people whose feet will trust the shoes.
(iii) How does the poem use the shoemaker to argue that even the most ordinary craft carries a significant human responsibility? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. By enumerating all the activities that human feet perform walk, dance, run, jump, return home the poem shows that the shoemaker’s product supports the full movement of human life. The shoes that the shoemaker affirms are not merely footwear but the foundation of everything a person does in the world. This gives the shoemaker’s craft a human responsibility that is easy to overlook but essential to recognise.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “stating or declaring something to be true with confidence.” [1]
Ans. “Affirming” the extract states “the shoemakers affirming the quality of their work”, meaning they declare and stand behind the quality of what they have made with conviction.
(7) “The delicious singing of the cook, or the rhythm of designer, mason, / each celebrating what belongs to them and to none else.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “what belongs to them and to none else” suggests: [1] A. the workers own the products they create and cannot be asked to share them B. each worker possesses a unique form of knowledge, skill, and creative identity that cannot be replicated by anyone else C. different professions should not interfere with each other’s work D. the workers are possessive and do not like to collaborate
Ans. B each worker possesses a unique form of knowledge, skill, and creative identity that cannot be replicated by anyone else. The phrase insists on the irreducible individuality of each vocation: what a cook knows, what a designer creates, what a mason builds belongs to their particular skill and experience and cannot be simply transferred or duplicated.
(ii) What does the phrase “delicious singing of the cook” suggest about how the cook’s vocation is expressed? [1]
Ans. “Delicious” is a word associated with taste, which connects directly to the cook’s domain. By applying it to singing, the poem suggests that the cook’s expression even their music carries the flavour of their craft. The cook’s vocation is so deeply embodied that it colours everything they do, even their voice. Their singing is delicious in the same way their food is: it is an expression of who they are through what they do.
(iii) How does the grouping of cook, designer, and mason in this extract reinforce the poem’s argument about the equal dignity of all vocations? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. By placing the cook, the designer, and the mason side by side, the poem refuses any hierarchy between them. Each celebrates what belongs to them alone each has a unique, irreplaceable skill and identity. The grouping insists that the cook’s artistry with food, the designer’s artistry with form, and the mason’s artistry with stone are equally valuable expressions of human creative ability. No vocation in this list is more important than any other.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “a person who cuts, shapes, and builds with stone or brick.” [1]
Ans. “Mason” the extract lists “the rhythm of designer, mason”, where mason refers to a skilled craftsperson who works with stone, brick, or similar materials in construction.
(8) “The voice of their vocation is the voice of their identity. / I hear Bharat celebrating, the varied voices I hear!” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The statement “the voice of their vocation is the voice of their identity” argues that: [1] A. workers should speak louder about their achievements in public B. a person’s work and their sense of self are inseparable what one does is who one is C. only vocational workers have a true identity while others do not D. identity is formed only through the work one does and not through family or community
Ans. B a person’s work and their sense of self are inseparable what one does is who one is. The poem’s concluding statement makes the connection between vocation and identity absolute: the voice that speaks through the work is the same voice that speaks as the person. Vocation is not something added to identity but is its very expression.
(ii) What is the effect of the exclamation mark in the poem’s final line? [1]
Ans. The exclamation mark gives the final line the quality of a joyful declaration rather than a quiet statement. The poet is not merely observing the varied voices of India but celebrating them with enthusiasm and conviction. The exclamation transforms the ending from a conclusion into an affirmation the varied voices of Bharat are something to be heard with joy and pride.
(iii) How does the repetition of the opening line at the end of the poem create a sense of completeness and reinforce the poem’s central message? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The poem opens and closes with “I hear Bharat celebrating, the varied vocations/voices I hear”, creating a circular structure that returns the reader to the beginning with a deepened understanding. Having encountered the specific voices of craftspersons, artisans, carpenters, electricians, boatmen, shoemakers, cooks, designers, and masons, the reader now hears the opening and closing line not as a general statement but as the sum of all those specific, individual voices together.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that expresses the poem’s final, definitive statement about the relationship between work and selfhood. [1]
Ans. “The voice of their vocation is the voice of their identity” this is the poem’s central philosophical claim, stating that the way a person works is inseparable from who they are, and that the voice of the work is the same voice as the voice of the person.
PAID CONTENT Extracts (1) to (8) Gifts of Grace: Honouring Our Vocations | Class IX | CBSE | Kaveri
(1) “I hear Bharat celebrating, the varied vocations I hear; / Those of craftsperson, each one celebrating their craft, / woven with colours and myriad hues.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The choice of the word “Bharat” rather than “India” in the poem’s opening suggests: [1] A. the poet does not know the English name for India B. the poet uses the name Bharat to invoke the deep cultural and civilisational roots of the country and its people C. the poem was originally written in Hindi and then translated D. Bharat is a more poetic word than India with no specific cultural significance
Ans. B the poet uses the name Bharat to invoke the deep cultural and civilisational roots of the country and its people. Bharat carries connotations of ancient tradition, cultural continuity, and the people’s shared civilisational identity. By beginning with Bharat, the poem locates the celebration of vocations within this deeper cultural context.
(ii) What does the image of craft “woven with colours and myriad hues” suggest about the diversity of India’s craft traditions? [1]
Ans. The image of weaving with multiple colours and hues suggests that India’s craft traditions are not uniform but extraordinarily varied each region, community, and tradition contributes a different colour to the whole. The weaving metaphor also implies that these different strands are interlaced rather than separate, creating a unified whole from their diversity, just as a woven textile is made from many distinct threads.
(iii) How does the poem’s opening establish a tone of celebration that shapes the reader’s response to everything that follows? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. By beginning with “celebrating” and “I hear Bharat celebrating”, the poem establishes joyful affirmation as its dominant emotional register. This shapes how the reader receives the individual vocations that follow: each is heard not as a description of work or a social category but as a voice in a celebration. The tone insists from the outset that work is something to be honoured and rejoiced in, not merely documented or sympathised with.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “interlaced or intertwined together to form a unified whole.” [1]
Ans. “Woven” the extract describes the craftsperson’s craft as “woven with colours and myriad hues”, meaning the different elements of the craft are interlaced and intertwined, as threads are woven in a textile.
(2) “The artisans with lutes, each hailing varied emotions / and celebrating dreams, echoing in the streets.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “each hailing varied emotions” suggests that the artisans’ work: [1] A. causes them to feel a wide range of emotions that they cannot control B. actively acknowledges and gives expression to the full range of human feeling C. is emotionally difficult and requires great personal sacrifice D. produces different emotional responses in different audiences
Ans. B it actively acknowledges and gives expression to the full range of human feeling. “Hailing” is an act of welcome and celebration the artisans bring their emotions to the work and give them voice rather than suppressing them. The variety of emotions suggests that the creative process draws on joy, longing, grief, and aspiration alike.
(ii) What does the phrase “celebrating dreams” suggest about the artisan’s inner life and its relationship to their craft? [1]
Ans. The phrase suggests that the artisan’s dreams their deepest aspirations and imaginings are not suppressed or deferred but actively celebrated through the work itself. The craft is the medium through which the artisan’s inner life is expressed and honoured. This makes the work deeply personal: it is not merely the production of objects but the realisation of the self’s most valued imaginings.
(iii) How does the image of artisans echoing in the streets develop the poem’s argument about the public significance of vocational work? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The echo in the streets takes what begins as a private creative act and sends it outward into the community. The artisans’ work does not remain in their workshops but resonates through public space, reaching and shaping the life of everyone around them. The poem argues through this image that vocational work is not a private matter but a public contribution it enters and enriches the shared life of the community.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “greeting or acknowledging something enthusiastically.” [1]
Ans. “Hailing” the extract states the artisans are “hailing varied emotions”, meaning they are enthusiastically acknowledging and giving voice to the emotions that their creative work draws on and expresses.
(3) “The carpenters celebrating; they create anything out of wood / with mathematical precision.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The poem pairs celebration with mathematical precision to argue that: [1] A. carpentry is a more joyful profession than mathematics B. craft excellence and emotional satisfaction can exist together the joy of a vocation is not diminished by its technical demands C. carpenters are better at mathematics than other workers D. mathematical precision is what makes carpentry a form of celebration
Ans. B craft excellence and emotional satisfaction can exist together. The carpenter celebrates their vocation even as they execute it with exact precision. The poem refuses the idea that discipline and joy are opposites rigorous technical skill is presented here as itself a source of celebration rather than a constraint on it.
(ii) What does the word “anything” in “create anything out of wood” contribute to the portrait of the carpenter? [1]
Ans. “Anything” gives the carpenter an almost unlimited creative range there is no object too simple or too complex that the skill cannot address. This breadth elevates the carpenter from a producer of specific items to a universal maker whose material is wood and whose capacity is as wide as imagination and precision allow together.
(iii) How does the carpenter serve as an example of the poem’s argument that every vocation requires both creativity and rigour? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The carpenter creates anything which requires creative imagination and the ability to envision what does not yet exist and does so with mathematical precision which requires exact measurement, calculation, and disciplined execution. The two qualities together define the carpenter’s vocation as simultaneously creative and rigorous. The poem uses this pairing to argue that genuine craft always demands both, and that the presence of one does not diminish the other.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “exactness and accuracy in measurement and execution.” [1]
Ans. “Precision” the extract states that carpenters work “with mathematical precision”, meaning with the exactness and accuracy of mathematical calculation applied to physical making.
(4) “The electricians humming; they get ready for work, / work with cables and wires to brighten our lives.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “get ready for work” applied to electricians suggests: [1] A. electricians take a long time to begin working each day B. the preparation before the work begins is as much a part of the vocation as the work itself C. electricians need special training before they can work with cables and wires D. the electricians are lazy and reluctant to begin
Ans. B the preparation before the work begins is as much a part of the vocation as the work itself. The getting ready laying out tools, checking cables, humming quietly is part of the rhythm of the vocation. The poem gives equal attention to preparation and action, suggesting that the whole cycle of a working day is worthy of notice and respect.
(ii) How does the use of the first person plural “our” in “brighten our lives” affect the reader’s relationship to the electrician’s work? [1]
Ans. The word “our” draws the reader directly into the relationship the electrician is brightening our lives, not someone else’s. This creates an immediate sense of personal indebtedness and connection between the reader and the worker. It prevents the reader from observing the electrician from a comfortable distance and insists that their work is something the reader personally benefits from and depends on.
(iii) How does the electrician’s portrayal contribute to the poem’s argument that all vocations are equally important to collective life? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The electrician’s work of laying cables and wires is not glamorous or publicly celebrated, but its result the brightening of lives is universal and indispensable. By including the electrician alongside artisans, carpenters, boatmen, and others, the poem refuses to rank these vocations by prestige or visibility. Each contributes something essential that cannot be provided by any other, which makes all of them equally important to the collective life they sustain.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that captures both the literal and the figurative result of the electrician’s work. [1]
Ans. “Brighten our lives” the extract states electricians work “to brighten our lives”, which refers literally to bringing electric light and figuratively to improving the quality of daily life for everyone.
(5) “The boatmen gathering their nets from the shore, sailing, / and singing while at work, return to tell the tales of life at sea.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The sequence of actions gathering, sailing, singing, returning, telling presents the boatman’s working day as: [1] A. a series of separate tasks with no connection between them B. a complete, rhythmic cycle in which work, expression, and community are naturally integrated C. an exhausting routine that the boatmen endure without enjoyment D. a series of actions that could be performed by anyone regardless of skill
Ans. B a complete, rhythmic cycle in which work, expression, and community are naturally integrated. Each action flows naturally into the next: gathering leads to sailing, sailing includes singing, returning brings storytelling. The sequence presents the boatman’s day as a coherent whole in which the physical work, the creative expression, and the social sharing are all part of the same vocation.
(ii) What does the detail of returning with “tales of life at sea” suggest about the social value of the boatman’s vocation? [1]
Ans. The tales are the boatman’s contribution to the community’s shared story they bring back knowledge, experience, and narrative from a world that most community members cannot directly access. Their vocation generates not only fish and livelihood but stories that enrich the community’s understanding of the world. This gives the boatman’s work a cultural and social value that extends well beyond its economic function.
(iii) How does the singing of the boatmen function in the poem as a symbol of the unity between work and self-expression? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The boatmen sing while at work not before or after, but during. This inseparability of singing and sailing is the poem’s symbol for a life in which self-expression and labour have not been separated. The singing does not pause the work or interrupt it; it accompanies and animates it. This is the poem’s image of what a true vocation looks like: work in which the person’s full humanity including the capacity for joy and song is always present.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “travelling across water in a boat.” [1]
Ans. “Sailing” the extract describes the boatmen “sailing”, meaning they are travelling across the water in their boats as part of their working day.
(6) “The shoemakers affirming the quality of their work, / for the feet that walk, dance, run, jump, return home.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “return home” at the end of the list of actions is significant because: [1] A. it shows that shoemakers make shoes specifically for walking home B. it closes the cycle of human movement and grounds all the other actions in the fundamental human need for belonging and return C. it suggests that shoemakers themselves return home after a long day’s work D. returning home is the most important activity that shoes must support
Ans. B it closes the cycle of human movement and grounds all the other actions in the fundamental human need for belonging and return. Walk, dance, run, and jump are the different modes of moving through the world; return home is the action that gives all the others meaning. By ending the list with it, the poem suggests that all human movement is ultimately oriented towards home.
(ii) What does the word “affirming” reveal about the shoemaker’s professional pride? [1]
Ans. “Affirming” is an active, confident declaration the shoemaker does not merely hope their work is good but asserts it. This reflects a professional pride rooted in genuine skill and accountability: the shoemaker stands behind what they have made and vouches for it publicly. This form of pride is not boastfulness but a form of honest self-knowledge and professional responsibility.
(iii) How does the poem use the shoemaker’s work to suggest that craft is always in service to human life and movement? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. By anchoring the shoemaker’s affirmation in the specific activities that human feet perform walking, dancing, running, jumping, returning home the poem shows that the craft is always defined by the human needs it serves. The shoemaker does not make shoes in the abstract; they make them for the feet that will walk a particular road, dance at a particular celebration, run towards something urgent, and return home to someone waiting.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that describes the complete range of movement that human feet perform in the course of a life. [1]
Ans. “Walk, dance, run, jump, return home” this sequence describes the complete range of human movement that the shoemaker’s craft must support and enable.
(7) “The delicious singing of the cook, or the rhythm of designer, mason, / each celebrating what belongs to them and to none else.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The use of the word “rhythm” to describe the designer and mason’s work suggests: [1] A. designers and masons work to music in their studios B. skilled work of any kind has a natural pace and pattern a rhythm that comes from expertise and ease with the material C. the designer and mason are being compared to musicians D. rhythm is a quality found only in creative and artistic work
Ans. B skilled work of any kind has a natural pace and pattern that comes from expertise and ease with the material. When a worker has truly mastered their craft, the work develops its own rhythm a flow that is neither rushed nor laboured but moves at the right pace. The poem uses this word to suggest that the designer’s and mason’s mastery has reached this level.
(ii) What does the phrase “what belongs to them and to none else” suggest about the individuality of each vocation? [1]
Ans. The phrase suggests that each vocation has its own irreducible identity a specific combination of skill, knowledge, and creative character that belongs uniquely to the person who practises it. It cannot be copied, replaced, or fully transferred. The cook’s singing, the designer’s rhythm, the mason’s craft each is distinctly their own, shaped by a particular person’s life and commitment to their calling.
(iii) How does the grouping of cook, designer, and mason challenge conventional distinctions between creative and non-creative work? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. By placing the cook alongside the designer and the mason, the poem refuses the distinction between creative professions design and manual ones cooking and masonry. Each is presented as possessing its own form of artistry: the cook’s singing, the designer’s rhythm, the mason’s craft. The poem argues that the creative dimension is present in all skilled work, and that labelling some work creative and other work non-creative is a false and limiting distinction.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “a regular, repeated pattern of sound or movement.” [1]
Ans. “Rhythm” the extract refers to “the rhythm of designer, mason”, meaning the natural, regular pattern of pace and movement that comes with skilled, practiced work.
(8) “The voice of their vocation is the voice of their identity. / I hear Bharat celebrating, the varied voices I hear!” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The poem’s structure returning to the opening line at the close creates a sense of: [1] A. the poet having run out of things to say B. a complete circle in which the individual vocations return to the larger whole they constitute C. the poem being unfinished and requiring further verses D. the poet repeating themselves because the poem was written quickly
Ans. B a complete circle in which the individual vocations return to the larger whole they constitute. The poem opens with the general Bharat celebrating moves through the specific voices of individual workers, and returns to the general at the end. The circle is now complete with meaning: the closing line carries the weight of everything heard in between.
(ii) What does the word “varied” in the poem’s closing line contribute to its meaning? [1]
Ans. “Varied” insists on plurality and diversity the voices are not a single unified sound but a collection of distinct, different ones. This is the poem’s final affirmation of diversity as a positive quality: India is not celebrated despite its variety of vocations but through it. The varied voices are what make Bharat’s celebration rich, full, and representative of the whole people.
(iii) How does the equation of vocation with identity in the poem’s penultimate line function as the poem’s philosophical conclusion? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The statement “the voice of their vocation is the voice of their identity” resolves the poem’s central argument: it is not that workers have identities separate from their work, or that work is merely what people do for money. The vocation and the person are the same voice. This is the poem’s philosophical claim that a true calling is not what a person does but what a person is, expressed through what they do.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that captures the poem’s argument about the inseparability of work and selfhood. [1]
Ans. “The voice of their vocation is the voice of their identity” this is the poem’s central claim, stating that the way a person expresses themselves through their work is identical to the way they exist as a person. The vocation and the self speak with the same voice.
Extracts (1) to (8) Canvas of Soil | Maya Anthony | Class IX | CBSE | Kaveri
(1) “Palette of earth, rich and deep, / Where dreams of gardeners seep. / Brushstrokes of seeds, planted true, / Awaiting spring’s vibrant hue.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “palette of earth, rich and deep” presents the soil as: [1] A. a dark and dangerous place beneath the surface B. a source of creative possibility as varied and abundant as a painter’s palette of colours C. a formal art supply used by professional gardeners D. a description of the colour of mud after rain
Ans. B a source of creative possibility as varied and abundant as a painter’s palette of colours. The palette is the artist’s starting point the range of possibilities from which a work of art is made. By calling the earth a palette, Anthony places it at the beginning of a creative act, rich with potential.
(ii) What does the phrase “where dreams of gardeners seep” suggest about the relationship between the gardener and the soil? [1]
Ans. The phrase suggests that the gardener’s intentions, hopes, and creative vision gradually enter and permeate the soil, just as liquid seeps into a surface. The garden begins not with the physical act of planting but with the dreaming the imagining of what could grow and these dreams are absorbed into the earth as a condition of what will emerge.
(iii) How does the extended metaphor of painting established in these lines frame the poem’s central argument about gardening as a creative art? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. By opening with a palette of earth and brushstrokes of seeds, Anthony establishes from the very first lines that gardening is to be understood as a form of visual art. The soil is the palette, the seeds are the brushstrokes, and the spring colours are the painting in progress. This framing insists that the gardener’s work involves the same creative intention and expressive choice as any formal artistic practice.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “bright, strong, and full of colour.” [1]
Ans. “Vibrant” the extract refers to “spring’s vibrant hue”, meaning the bright, intense colours that spring brings to the garden.
(2) “Brushstrokes of seeds, planted true, / Awaiting spring’s vibrant hue. / Blossoms bloom, a painted sight, / Dancing in the morning light.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “brushstrokes of seeds, planted true” suggests: [1] A. seeds are painted onto the soil using a brush B. each act of planting is a deliberate, purposeful creative gesture, like a brushstroke made with intention and care C. seeds must be planted in straight lines to grow correctly D. the gardener is copying a pattern from a painting
Ans. B each act of planting is a deliberate, purposeful creative gesture, like a brushstroke made with intention and care. The word “true” reinforces this: the seed is planted with accuracy and sincerity, the way a skilled artist lays down a considered mark. There is nothing accidental or careless in either the brushstroke or the planting.
(ii) What does the image of blossoms “dancing in the morning light” suggest about the garden at its moment of fullest expression? [1]
Ans. The image gives the blossoms movement and joy they are not static objects to be observed but living presences engaged in their own response to the light. Dancing implies delight and spontaneity. The morning light is the moment of freshest beauty, before the heat of the day, and the blossoms’ response to it is presented as a form of celebration.
(iii) How does the movement from planting to blooming in these lines reflect the poem’s understanding of the creative process? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The movement from brushstrokes of seeds to blossoms blooming enacts the creative process in miniature: the deliberate initial gesture, the period of waiting, and the emergence of something beautiful that is both the product of intention and a response to natural conditions. The poem presents this as parallel to artistic creation the painter plants marks on a canvas and waits for the painting to reveal itself, just as the gardener plants seeds and waits for spring.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “flowers, especially when they have fully opened.” [1]
Ans. “Blossoms” the extract states “blossoms bloom, a painted sight”, meaning the flowers have fully opened into their most beautiful form.
(3) “Blossoms bloom, a painted sight, / Dancing in the morning light. / Shades of green, red, and blue, / Nature’s artwork, ever new.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “a painted sight” describes the blooming garden as: [1] A. a garden that has been artificially coloured with paint B. a scene so beautiful and deliberately arranged that it resembles a completed work of art C. a view that has been photographed and turned into a painting D. a sight that only painters are able to appreciate fully
Ans. B a scene so beautiful and deliberately arranged that it resembles a completed work of art. The phrase invites the viewer to see the garden as they would see a painting as a composed, intentional, aesthetically satisfying whole rather than simply as a collection of plants.
(ii) What does the phrase “nature’s artwork, ever new” suggest about the garden’s relationship to time and change? [1]
Ans. The phrase suggests that the garden’s art is never finished or fixed it renews itself constantly with each season, each bloom, each shift of light. Unlike a painting that remains the same once completed, nature’s artwork is always in process, always presenting something new. This makes the garden a more dynamic and living form of art than any static canvas.
(iii) How does the use of specific colours green, red, and blue contribute to the poem’s extended metaphor of the garden as a painting? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. By listing specific colours, Anthony makes the garden’s visual vocabulary concrete and immediate. These are not vague descriptions of beauty but the precise palette that a painter might name and mix. The listing green, red, and blue treats the garden’s natural colours as deliberate artistic choices as if nature were itself selecting from a palette which reinforces the central argument that the garden is a form of artwork produced by a conscious creative force.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that means “always changing and presenting something fresh and different.” [1]
Ans. “Ever new” the extract describes nature’s artwork as “ever new”, meaning it is always in a state of renewal, never repeating exactly the same form.
(4) “Shades of green, red, and blue, / Nature’s artwork, ever new. / Each plot, a canvas wide, / Where art and life coincide.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “each plot, a canvas wide” suggests: [1] A. every garden plot is the same size as a standard painting canvas B. each individual section of the garden is a distinct creative space in which a separate work of art is being made C. garden plots should be measured carefully before planting begins D. the canvas is wide because the garden is visible from a distance
Ans. B each individual section of the garden is a distinct creative space in which a separate work of art is being made. The canvas is wide because the creative space is generous and open each plot holds the full potential of what can be grown and arranged within it.
(ii) What does the phrase “where art and life coincide” suggest about the significance of the garden? [1]
Ans. The phrase suggests that in the garden, the separation between art which is often considered distinct from everyday life and life itself disappears. The garden is the place where these two things meet and become the same: the living plants are the artwork, and the artwork is living. This convergence is what makes the garden uniquely significant among human creative practices.
(iii) How does the movement from individual colours to individual plots in these lines develop the poem’s central argument? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The movement from shades of colour to individual plots scales the argument from the detail to the whole: first the poem identifies the specific colours that make up nature’s palette, then it shows each plot as a distinct canvas on which those colours are arranged. The argument develops by showing that the garden operates simultaneously at the level of detail each colour, each shade and at the level of composition each plot as a complete canvas.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “happen at the same time and place; come together.” [1]
Ans. “Coincide” the extract states “where art and life coincide”, meaning the point at which art and life come together and occupy the same space simultaneously.
(5) “Each plot, a canvas wide, / Where art and life coincide. / In the hands of those who till, / Gardens become paintings still.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “in the hands of those who till” locates the creative power of the garden in: [1] A. professional artists who design formal gardens B. the farmers and gardeners whose physical labour transforms the soil into a living artwork C. nature alone, without any human involvement D. the tools used for digging and planting
Ans. B the farmers and gardeners whose physical labour transforms the soil into a living artwork. The hands that till are the hands of ordinary agricultural workers, not professional artists. The poem insists that it is their work daily, physical, uncelebrated that produces the beauty and art of the garden.
(ii) What does the final image “gardens become paintings still” suggest about the completed garden? [1]
Ans. The phrase “paintings still” carries a double meaning: the garden becomes a painting that is still motionless, fixed, completed at a moment of perfect beauty and it becomes a painting still, meaning it continues to be a painting even now, even after all the work is done. The ambiguity captures both the arrested beauty of the garden at its fullest expression and the continuity of its artistic character through time.
(iii) How does the closing couplet bring together the poem’s central argument about gardening, art, and human creativity? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The closing couplet resolves the poem’s central metaphor: it is in the hands of those who till that gardens become paintings. The transformation from soil to artwork is not automatic or purely natural it requires human hands, human intention, and human labour. The poem concludes that art is not separate from work but the product of it, and that the gardener who tills with care is as truly an artist as anyone who holds a brush.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “to cultivate and prepare land for growing crops or plants.” [1]
Ans. “Till” the extract refers to “those who till”, meaning those who cultivate and work the soil to prepare it for planting and growth.
(6) “Palette of earth, rich and deep, / Where dreams of gardeners seep. / Brushstrokes of seeds, planted true, / Awaiting spring’s vibrant hue.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The word “awaiting” in the final line suggests that the garden is: [1] A. a passive space in which nothing happens until spring arrives B. a space of active, hopeful anticipation the seeds have been planted and the garden is in a state of readiness for what will come C. a place where the gardener waits without doing any further work D. a space that is empty and barren before spring
Ans. B a space of active, hopeful anticipation. Awaiting is not passive emptiness but a condition of readiness the seeds have been planted, the brushstrokes have been laid, and the garden now holds within it the potential of what spring will reveal. The anticipation is creative, not idle.
(ii) What does the word “seep” suggest about the way the gardener’s dreams enter the soil? [1]
Ans. “Seep” suggests a slow, gradual, pervasive entry not a sudden flood but a quiet infiltration of the gardener’s dreams into the earth. This implies that the connection between the gardener’s imagination and the soil is not immediate or dramatic but builds slowly over time, as the dreams work their way into the conditions from which the garden will grow.
(iii) How does the poem use the language of waiting and anticipation to suggest that creativity requires patience? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The seeds are planted true but spring’s hue is not yet here the creative work has been done and now the gardener must wait. This waiting is not a pause in the creative process but part of it. The poem suggests that creativity requires not only the initial act of planting but the patience to allow what has been planted to reveal itself in its own time, without forcing or hurrying the result.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “the particular colour or shade of something.” [1]
Ans. “Hue” the extract refers to “spring’s vibrant hue”, meaning the particular colour and shade that spring brings to the garden when the planted seeds bloom.
(7) “Blossoms bloom, a painted sight, / Dancing in the morning light. / Shades of green, red, and blue, / Nature’s artwork, ever new.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The word “dancing” applied to blossoms in the morning light is an example of: [1] A. a simile comparing blossoms to dancers B. personification giving the blossoms a human quality of joyful movement C. hyperbole an exaggeration of how blossoms actually move D. alliteration the repetition of the same sound at the start of words
Ans. B personification, giving the blossoms a human quality of joyful movement. Dancing is a human activity associated with joy and celebration. By attributing it to the blossoms, Anthony gives them an emotional and animated quality, making them appear to be participating actively in the beauty of the morning.
(ii) What does the phrase “nature’s artwork, ever new” suggest about the difference between natural beauty and man-made art? [1]
Ans. The phrase suggests that nature’s artwork has an advantage over man-made art: it is always renewing itself and never repeating. A painting on a gallery wall remains fixed; the garden changes with every season, every dawn, every shift of weather. Nature’s capacity for perpetual novelty makes its artwork inexhaustible in a way that no human artist can fully replicate.
(iii) How does this extract use colour and movement together to create a vivid image of the garden at its most beautiful? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The extract combines the visual richness of specific colours green, red, blue with the kinetic image of blossoms dancing in the light, creating a garden that is beautiful both in its palette and in its vitality. The colours give the scene depth and variety; the dancing gives it life and energy. Together they produce an image of a garden that is not merely pretty but alive, joyful, and in motion.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “varieties or tones of a particular colour.” [1]
Ans. “Shades” the extract refers to “shades of green, red, and blue”, meaning the different tones and varieties within each of these colours as they appear in the garden.
(8) “Each plot, a canvas wide, / Where art and life coincide. / In the hands of those who till, / Gardens become paintings still.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “where art and life coincide” is the poem’s way of saying that: [1] A. artists and farmers should work together on the same land B. in the garden, the boundary between creative expression and living experience disappears C. life is more important than art D. art can only be made by people who work outdoors
Ans. B in the garden, the boundary between creative expression and living experience disappears. The garden does not produce art as a separate product from life it is simultaneously alive and artistic. The creative act and the living thing are the same, which is what makes the garden a unique form of art.
(ii) What does the word “still” at the end of the poem contribute to its meaning? [1]
Ans. “Still” carries a double meaning that enriches the poem’s ending. It means motionless the garden at a moment of arrested beauty resembles a still painting. It also means nevertheless or even now gardens continue to be paintings still, even in the present, even after everything the poem has described. This double meaning gives the final word a quiet resonance that closes the poem with both an image and a statement.
(iii) How does the poem use its final couplet to make a definitive statement about the relationship between human labour and artistic beauty? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The final couplet makes the poem’s central claim explicit and unambiguous: it is in the hands of those who till that gardens become paintings. Beauty does not arise from the soil alone, nor from nature’s processes alone it requires the human hands that prepare, plant, tend, and shape the garden over time. The poem concludes that artistic beauty and physical labour are not separate categories but are produced together, in the same hands, in the same soil.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that describes the garden at the moment when its living beauty resembles a completed artwork. [1]
Ans. “Gardens become paintings still” the extract states that “gardens become paintings still”, describing the moment when the tended garden achieves a beauty that resembles a finished painting, motionless and complete.
Extracts (1) to (8) I Cannot Remember My Mother | Rabindranath Tagore | Class IX | CBSE | Kaveri
(1) “I cannot remember my mother / only sometimes in the midst of my play / a tune seems to hover over my playthings, / the tune of some song that she used to hum while rocking my cradle.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “a tune seems to hover over my playthings” suggests that the memory of the mother: [1] A. interrupts the child’s play and makes him stop B. floats gently into the present moment without being summoned, like something suspended in the air above ordinary life C. is a deliberate memory the child calls up when he wants to think of his mother D. is associated specifically with the toys the mother gave him
Ans. B the memory floats gently into the present moment without being summoned. “Hover” suggests something light and suspended, drifting into awareness rather than arriving with force. The tune does not stop the play but comes to rest above it, present without being intrusive.
(ii) What does the word “seems” in “a tune seems to hover” tell us about the nature of the child’s memory of his mother? [1]
Ans. “Seems” introduces uncertainty the child is not sure whether the tune is truly there or whether it is an impression, a feeling, something between real and imagined. This uncertainty is central to the poem: the mother is not remembered directly or clearly but is sensed, as if just beyond the reach of full recollection. The word captures the elusive quality of very early memory.
(iii) How does Tagore use the image of the cradle song to suggest that the mother’s presence lives in the child even without conscious memory? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The cradle song was heard before the child could form conscious memories it was received by the body and the senses before the mind was capable of storing it as a named recollection. By having the tune return during play, Tagore suggests that what cannot be remembered consciously can still be felt bodily and sensorially. The mother’s humming has entered the child at a level deeper than memory, persisting as a felt presence rather than a recalled image.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “to float or remain suspended in the air close to something.” [1]
Ans. “Hover” the extract states “a tune seems to hover over my playthings”, meaning the tune floats and remains suspended in the air just above the child’s toys and play.
(2) “I cannot remember my mother / but when in the early autumn morning / the smell of the shiuli flowers floats in the air / the scent of the morning service in the temple comes to me as the scent of my mother.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The association of the mother with the scent of shiuli flowers and temple service suggests: [1] A. the mother worked as a priest in a temple B. the child connects the mother to early morning devotion, natural beauty, and a sense of the sacred C. the mother’s favourite flowers were shiuli and she wore them every day D. the child associates the mother only with religious occasions
Ans. B the child connects the mother to early morning devotion, natural beauty, and a sense of the sacred. The shiuli flowers bloom in early autumn mornings; the temple service is a moment of devotional quiet. Both are associated with a particular quality of sacred, gentle presence that the child experiences as belonging to the mother.
(ii) What does the phrase “comes to me as the scent of my mother” suggest about how memory works in the poem? [1]
Ans. The phrase suggests that the mother is not recalled as an image or a name but as a sensation specifically a scent. Scent is the most involuntary and evocative of the senses, capable of retrieving impressions that the mind cannot consciously access. Tagore shows that the child’s memory of the mother lives in the body’s sensory experience rather than in the mind’s conscious archive.
(iii) How does Tagore use the natural and the devotional together in this stanza to elevate the mother into something beyond an ordinary human figure? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. By associating the mother with the scent of shiuli flowers which are associated in Indian tradition with devotion and temple offerings and with the morning service itself, Tagore gives the mother a quality that is simultaneously natural and sacred. She is not remembered as a person performing domestic acts but as a presence that is bound up with the most beautiful and spiritually significant moments of the natural and devotional world. This elevates the memory of her beyond the personal into the reverential.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that describes the moment when a natural scent triggers the memory of the mother. [1]
Ans. “The scent of the morning service in the temple comes to me as the scent of my mother” the extract describes the moment when the fragrance of the morning temple service arrives as the same sensation as the memory of the mother’s presence.
(3) “I cannot remember my mother / only when from my bedroom window / I send my eyes into the blue of the distant sky, / I feel that the stillness of my mother’s gaze on my face has spread all over the sky.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “I send my eyes into the blue of the distant sky” suggests: [1] A. the child is looking for his mother in the sky because he believes she is there B. the child’s act of gazing into the sky is a form of longing and open-ended reaching towards something vast and unreachable C. the child has poor eyesight and must look at distant objects D. the sky reminds the child of a blue blanket his mother used to cover him with
Ans. B the child’s act of gazing into the sky is a form of longing and open-ended reaching towards something vast and unreachable. The sky is the image of infinity and distance looking into it is the gesture of someone reaching towards what cannot be grasped. The child sends his eyes outward as a way of expressing a longing that has no specific object it can find.
(ii) What does the phrase “the stillness of my mother’s gaze” suggest about the quality of the mother’s way of looking at her child? [1]
Ans. “Stillness” suggests a gaze that was calm, steady, and unhurried a gaze that rested on the child with complete, undemanding attention. It is the opposite of a distracted or anxious look. The mother looked at her child with a quality of absolute present-ness and peace, and it is this quality the stillness that the child has carried within himself and now projects onto the sky.
(iii) How does the final stanza of the poem use the image of the sky to express the magnitude of the child’s loss and the depth of the mother’s love? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The sky is the largest image available it covers everything, extends to every horizon, and has no boundary visible from below. By saying that the stillness of the mother’s gaze has spread all over the sky, Tagore makes the mother’s love proportional to the sky’s vastness. The loss is of something that cannot be measured; the love was something that covered the child’s entire world. The sky makes the invisible magnitude of both the love and the loss visible.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “the quality of being calm, quiet, and without movement.” [1]
Ans. “Stillness” the extract refers to “the stillness of my mother’s gaze”, meaning the calm, quiet, unmoving quality of the way the mother looked at her child.
(4) “I cannot remember my mother / only sometimes in the midst of my play / a tune seems to hover over my playthings, / the tune of some song that she used to hum while rocking my cradle.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “in the midst of my play” is significant because it shows that the memory of the mother arrives: [1] A. only when the child is sitting quietly and deliberately thinking about her B. spontaneously, in the middle of an ordinary, absorbed activity without any effort or intention on the child’s part C. only when the child is playing with the toys his mother gave him D. at the moment when the child stops playing and begins to feel lonely
Ans. B spontaneously, in the middle of an ordinary, absorbed activity. The child is not seeking the memory he is playing. The tune comes to him in that state of absorption, unbidden and unexpected. This is how involuntary memory works: it arrives not when summoned but when the conscious mind is occupied elsewhere and the guard is down.
(ii) What does the detail of “rocking my cradle” tell us about when the child last had conscious contact with the mother? [1]
Ans. The cradle is associated with infancy the earliest stage of life, before the child could form deliberate memories. The detail tells us that the mother was lost when the child was still an infant, too young to remember her consciously. What remains is not a memory of a person known but the trace of a sensory experience a tune heard before consciousness was fully formed.
(iii) How does Tagore capture the paradox of a love that is deeply felt but cannot be remembered in this stanza? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The paradox is stated in the opening line and immediately complicated: “I cannot remember my mother” but then the tune comes. The child cannot remember the person, the face, the voice in any specific sense, yet something of her persists and returns. Tagore captures the paradox by showing that the mother’s love was received at such a deep level rocking the cradle, humming that it became part of the child before he was capable of storing it as a retrievable memory.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “a small bed for an infant, designed to rock back and forth.” [1]
Ans. “Cradle” the extract refers to the mother “rocking my cradle”, meaning the small rocking bed in which the infant child was laid.
(5) “I cannot remember my mother / but when in the early autumn morning / the smell of the shiuli flowers floats in the air / the scent of the morning service in the temple comes to me as the scent of my mother.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The setting of “early autumn morning” is significant in this stanza because: [1] A. the mother died in the autumn and the child associates the season with her death B. early autumn morning is a time of particular sensory and devotional quality a moment when the world is still and fragrant that mirrors the quality of the mother’s presence C. shiuli flowers bloom only in early autumn and the poet wants to name the exact season D. the child’s bedroom window faces east and catches the morning light only in autumn
Ans. B early autumn morning is a time of particular sensory and devotional quality that mirrors the character of the mother’s presence. The early morning is quiet, cool, and fragrant; the autumn is a season of gentle transition. These qualities match the stillness and grace associated with the mother throughout the poem.
(ii) What does the word “floats” in “the smell of the shiuli flowers floats in the air” suggest about how the memory of the mother arrives? [1]
Ans. “Floats” suggests something light, effortless, and unhurried the scent does not arrive forcefully but drifts. This mirrors the way the mother’s presence comes to the child in the poem: not through deliberate remembering but through a gentle, involuntary drift of sensation into awareness. The floating of the scent is the perfect image for the floating quality of this kind of memory.
(iii) How does Tagore use scent as a vehicle for memory to explore what is lost and what persists when a person cannot consciously remember someone they loved? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. Scent is the sense most deeply linked to involuntary memory it bypasses conscious recall and retrieves impressions directly from the body. By having the mother return to the child as a scent the fragrance of flowers and temple worship Tagore suggests that what cannot be consciously remembered can still be bodily felt. The mother persists not as a picture in the mind but as a quality of experience in the body, which is both more and less than a memory.
(iv) Find the name of the flower mentioned in the extract that is associated with early autumn mornings and devotional offerings. [1]
Ans. “Shiuli” the extract refers to “the smell of the shiuli flowers”, a flower that blooms in early autumn in Bengal and is traditionally associated with morning worship and temple offerings.
(6) “I cannot remember my mother / only when from my bedroom window / I send my eyes into the blue of the distant sky, / I feel that the stillness of my mother’s gaze on my face has spread all over the sky.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “from my bedroom window” places the child in a position of: [1] A. confinement the child is trapped inside and cannot reach what he longs for B. threshold between the interior domestic space and the vast exterior world, looking outward from a place of safety towards something unreachable C. observation the child is watching events in the street below D. prayer the bedroom window faces the direction of the temple
Ans. B threshold, between the interior domestic space and the vast exterior world. The bedroom window is neither inside nor outside it is the point of separation between the private, domestic world the child inhabits and the vast, open sky beyond. This liminal position mirrors the child’s relationship to the memory of the mother: he is between what he knows and what he cannot reach.
(ii) What is the effect of using the word “feel” rather than “see” or “think” in “I feel that the stillness of my mother’s gaze has spread all over the sky”? [1]
Ans. “Feel” locates the experience in the body rather than in vision or thought. The child does not see the mother in the sky or think rationally about her he feels her presence, which is a somatic, whole-body experience of connection. This is consistent with the poem’s entire approach to the mother: she is not remembered visually or intellectually but felt through the senses and the body.
(iii) How does the image of the mother’s gaze spreading all over the sky transform the sky into a symbol of maternal love? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The sky covers everything it is the largest, most encompassing presence in the visible world. By saying that the mother’s stillness has spread all over the sky, Tagore makes her love proportional to this vastness. The sky becomes a surface on which the invisible presence of the mother is made visible. It is a symbol of love that asks for nothing, observes without demand, and extends without limit precisely the qualities of the gaze the child remembers.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that describes the child’s act of looking outward into the sky as a form of longing. [1]
Ans. “I send my eyes into the blue of the distant sky” the extract uses this phrase to describe the child’s deliberate act of directing his gaze outward into the sky, which is the physical expression of his longing for something vast and unreachable.
(7) “I cannot remember my mother / only sometimes in the midst of my play / a tune seems to hover over my playthings, / the tune of some song that she used to hum while rocking my cradle.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “the tune of some song” rather than “a specific song” suggests: [1] A. the child does not know the name of the song B. the memory is fragmentary and indefinite not a specific, nameable song but a general quality of melody that cannot be fully identified C. the mother sang many different songs and the child cannot tell them apart D. the poet does not want to name the song for the sake of privacy
Ans. B the memory is fragmentary and indefinite. “Some song” implies that the child cannot name or identify the specific song only its general melodic quality has persisted. This indefiniteness is authentic to the nature of very early memory, which preserves atmosphere and sensation rather than specific content.
(ii) What does the phrase “while rocking my cradle” contribute to the emotional tenderness of the stanza? [1]
Ans. The image of rocking the cradle is one of the most intimate and tender of all parental acts a slow, rhythmic motion designed to soothe and comfort the infant. The phrase places the mother at the earliest and most vulnerable moment of the child’s life, caring for him before he was capable of knowing she was there. This tenderness gives the memory its particular ache: the deepest care was given at the moment least capable of being consciously received and retained.
(iii) How does the contrast between the active word “play” and the gentle word “hover” capture the poem’s central tension between the present and the past? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. “Play” is active, present-tense, and absorbed the child is fully in the moment. “Hover” is gentle, ethereal, and suspended it belongs to a different register, the register of the past that has not quite departed. The contrast captures the poem’s central tension: the child is living fully in the present but the past does not leave it hovers at the edge of the present, present without demanding to be acknowledged, persistent without being intrusive.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “to make a low, melodious sound with the mouth closed.” [1]
Ans. “Hum” the extract states the tune was “some song that she used to hum while rocking my cradle”, meaning the mother made a low, musical sound with her lips closed as she rocked the child.
(8) “I cannot remember my mother / but when in the early autumn morning / the smell of the shiuli flowers floats in the air / the scent of the morning service in the temple comes to me as the scent of my mother.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The repeated phrase “I cannot remember my mother” at the opening of each stanza functions as: [1] A. an expression of anger that the child cannot remember her B. an honest acknowledgement of the limitation of conscious memory that paradoxically opens the space for a deeper form of remembering C. a refrain that the poet uses because he has run out of things to say D. a statement intended to make the reader feel sorry for the child
Ans. B an honest acknowledgement of the limitation of conscious memory that paradoxically opens the space for a deeper form of remembering. Each time the poem says “I cannot remember”, it immediately follows with “but” or “only” and then a form of remembering that is deeper than conscious recall. The statement of forgetting is the doorway through which the deeper memory enters.
(ii) What does the association of the mother with temple worship suggest about the child’s unconscious understanding of her? [1]
Ans. The association suggests that even though the child cannot consciously remember the mother, something in him connects her to the sacred, the devotional, and the spiritually elevated. The morning service is the purest, most reverent moment of the day. The child’s body and senses have preserved this association the mother is experienced as a sacred presence, on the level of the divine rather than the merely personal.
(iii) How does this stanza suggest that grief for someone who cannot be remembered is different from and in some ways more complex than grief for someone who is remembered clearly? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. Grief for someone remembered clearly has a specific object a face, a voice, a set of known experiences. The child in this poem cannot grieve in that way. His grief has no specific content only a scent, a feeling, a hovering tune. This makes it more diffuse and in some ways more pervasive: the loss is everywhere because it cannot be located anywhere specific. It is the grief of a gap that was there before the child knew what was missing.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that describes the moment when natural fragrance becomes the presence of someone who is absent. [1]
Ans. “Comes to me as the scent of my mother” the extract describes the scent of the temple morning service as something that “comes to me as the scent of my mother”, meaning the natural and devotional fragrance arrives as the felt presence of someone who cannot otherwise be remembered.
Extracts (1) to (8) Nine Gold Medals | David Roth | Class IX | CBSE | Kaveri
(1) “The athletes had come from all over the country / To run for the gold, for the silver, and bronze / Many weeks and months of training / All coming down to these games.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “all coming down to these games” suggests: [1] A. the games are the most important sporting event in the world B. all the effort, sacrifice, and preparation of the athletes finds its moment of meaning in this single event C. the athletes have had to travel a long distance to reach the games D. the games are held at a lower altitude than where the athletes trained
Ans. B all the effort, sacrifice, and preparation of the athletes finds its moment of meaning in this single event. “Coming down to” means being reduced to or concentrated in weeks and months of training have been building towards this single culminating moment. The phrase gives the event its weight and establishes why what happens next matters so deeply.
(ii) What does the listing of “gold, silver, and bronze” in the second line establish about the athletes’ initial motivations? [1]
Ans. The listing establishes that the athletes have come with conventional competitive goals to win medals in the recognised order of achievement. This is important because the poem will go on to show that what the athletes actually achieve is something entirely different from and more valuable than these conventional prizes. The listing sets up the contrast between what they came to win and what they end up giving.
(iii) How does this opening stanza establish the context and tone that will make the poem’s climax emotionally powerful? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The opening stanza establishes a conventional competitive context: athletes from across the country, months of training, medals to be won. This is the familiar world of sport with its familiar values of individual achievement and competitive success. By establishing this context clearly, the poem ensures that what happens later the abandonment of competition in favour of collective compassion will be measured against it and understood as a genuine departure from what everyone has come expecting to see.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that means “the effort and preparation that has been building towards a single defining moment.” [1]
Ans. “Many weeks and months of training / All coming down to these games” this phrase describes the accumulated effort of training that has been concentrated into and will be expressed in the games.
(2) “The spectators gathered around the old field / To cheer on all the young women and men / The final event of the day was approaching / Excitement was high to begin.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “to cheer on all the young women and men” rather than “to cheer on their favourites” suggests: [1] A. the spectators do not know any of the athletes personally B. the spectators are there to support all the athletes collectively, not merely to celebrate individual winners C. the athletes are all equally skilled and any of them could win D. the spectators have come out of obligation rather than genuine enthusiasm
Ans. B the spectators are there to support all the athletes collectively. The phrase is inclusive it names all the competitors, not a favourite or a team. This establishes a community of support that will be echoed at the poem’s end when the crowd gives a standing ovation not to a single winner but to all nine athletes together.
(ii) What does the detail of “the old field” contribute to the atmosphere of the poem? [1]
Ans. “The old field” suggests a modest, familiar venue not a grand stadium but a local, well-used space with a history. This grounds the poem in an ordinary, accessible community setting rather than an elite sporting arena. The modesty of the setting contrasts with the extraordinary human quality of what will happen there, which is part of what makes the poem’s message feel genuine and universal rather than spectacular.
(iii) How does the build-up of spectator excitement in this stanza contrast with the emotional quality of the poem’s ending? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The spectators gather with the excitement of anticipating conventional competitive sport they expect to watch athletes race, to see winners, to cheer achievements measured in speed and medals. The poem’s ending gives them something entirely different: not a race won but a race walked together, not individual triumph but collective compassion. The standing ovation they give is for something they did not know they were going to see, which makes it more genuine than the excitement they arrived with.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that describes the moment just before the race begins, when anticipation is at its highest point. [1]
Ans. “The final event of the day was approaching / Excitement was high to begin” this phrase captures the moment of heightened anticipation just before the race starts, when the atmosphere is charged with expectation.
(3) “The blocks were all lined up for those who would use them / The hundred-yard dash and the race to be run / These were nine resolved athletes in the back of the starting line / Poised for the sound of the gun.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The word “resolved” used to describe the athletes suggests: [1] A. their differences with each other had been settled before the race B. they are determined and firmly committed they have made up their minds to give everything to this race C. they have been tested and found to meet the required standard for the race D. they are calm and unafraid of the competition ahead
Ans. B they are determined and firmly committed, having made up their minds to give everything. “Resolved” carries a sense of settled, deliberate determination these are not casual participants but people who have committed themselves wholly to the moment.
(ii) What does the phrase “poised for the sound of the gun” convey about the athletes’ state of readiness? [1]
Ans. “Poised” means balanced and ready to act at the triggering moment. The phrase conveys a state of total physical and mental readiness the athletes are held in perfect equilibrium, every muscle prepared to respond instantly to the starting signal. The image captures the charged stillness of the moment before a race begins, when all the preparation is concentrated into a single point of readiness.
(iii) How does the detail of nine athletes at the starting line create the conditions for the poem’s emotional impact? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. Knowing there are nine athletes is essential to the poem’s ending: nine gold medals, nine faces beaming, nine people crossing the finish line together. The detail of nine at the start is not incidental but structural the poem will trace what happens to all nine and show that none is left behind. The starting line where nine stand resolved is the same line from which nine will eventually walk together to the finish.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “balanced and ready to act; holding oneself in a state of readiness.” [1]
Ans. “Poised” the extract states the athletes were “poised for the sound of the gun”, meaning they held themselves in a state of perfect readiness, balanced and prepared to move at the starting signal.
(4) “The signal was given, the pistol exploded / And so did the runners all charging ahead / But the smallest among them, he stumbled and staggered / And fell to the asphalt instead.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The word “exploded” used for the pistol suggests: [1] A. the starting pistol malfunctioned and caused an accident B. the force and suddenness of the race’s beginning everything bursts into motion at once C. the noise of the pistol frightened the smallest runner and caused him to fall D. the pistol was fired by someone in the crowd rather than an official
Ans. B the force and suddenness of the race’s beginning, with everything bursting into motion at once. “Exploded” gives the start an explosive, kinetic energy the sound detonates and the runners are propelled forward as if by the same force. The word makes the start feel simultaneous and total.
(ii) What is the effect of the word “instead” at the end of the final line? [1]
Ans. “Instead” creates a sudden, jarring shift from what was expected to what actually happened. The runners were supposed to charge ahead and most did but the smallest among them fell instead. The word marks the exact point at which the poem’s expected trajectory changes, and it does so with the same abruptness as the fall itself. It is a hinge word that pivots the poem from conventional race narrative to something entirely different.
(iii) How does the contrast between the explosive start of the race and the single athlete’s fall create the emotional pivot of the poem? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The explosive start the pistol, the charging runners creates a sense of forward momentum that is immediately interrupted by the single fall. The contrast between the energy of the field surging ahead and the one figure stumbling and falling to the asphalt creates a moment of sudden stillness within the poem’s movement. Everything that follows the other runners stopping, turning back, helping grows from this single moment of interruption, which is why the contrast that creates it is so important.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that describes the stumbling and losing of balance that preceded the fall. [1]
Ans. “Stumbled and staggered” the extract describes the smallest runner as one who “stumbled and staggered” before falling, meaning he lost his footing and moved unsteadily before hitting the ground.
(5) “He gave out a cry of frustration and anguish / His dreams and his efforts dashed in the dirt / But as sure as I’m standing here telling this story / The same goes for what next occurred.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “his dreams and his efforts dashed in the dirt” suggests: [1] A. the boy had been physically injured and his training notes were scattered B. everything he had worked towards and hoped for seemed, in that moment, to have been destroyed along with his fall C. the boy was embarrassed rather than hurt by the fall D. the dirt of the track had spoiled his uniform and equipment
Ans. B everything he had worked towards and hoped for seemed destroyed along with his fall. “Dashed in the dirt” is a metaphor: his dreams and efforts have been thrown to the ground as completely as his body. The phrase captures the full emotional weight of the moment not just a physical fall but the apparent collapse of everything the preparation had been building towards.
(ii) What is the effect of the phrase “as sure as I’m standing here telling this story”? [1]
Ans. The phrase introduces the narrator directly into the poem, creating a sense of personal testimony. The narrator stakes their own presence “I’m standing here” on the truth of what follows, which gives the next event the quality of witnessed fact rather than poetic invention. The phrase also creates a moment of suspension: the reader knows something significant is coming and is held in anticipation before it is revealed.
(iii) How does the boy’s cry of frustration and anguish prepare the reader emotionally for what the other eight runners will do? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The cry makes the boy’s distress fully real and fully heard by the spectators, by the other runners, and by the reader. By establishing the depth of his anguish, the poem ensures that when the other runners respond, their response is understood as a genuine act of compassion towards a specific, deeply felt human suffering rather than a symbolic gesture. The cry makes the help that follows necessary and meaningful rather than merely kind.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that uses a physical image to describe the destruction of the boy’s hopes and preparation. [1]
Ans. “His dreams and his efforts dashed in the dirt” this phrase uses the image of something thrown violently to the ground to describe the apparent destruction of everything the boy had hoped for and worked towards.
(6) “The eight other runners pulled up on their heels / The ones who had trained for so long to compete / One by one they all turned round and went back to help him / And brought the young boy to his feet.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “pulled up on their heels” suggests the runners stopped: [1] A. after finishing the race and coming back to check on the fallen boy B. suddenly and decisively, interrupting their own momentum to respond to what had happened C. because a race official had blown a whistle to stop the race D. because they were too tired to continue running at full speed
Ans. B suddenly and decisively, interrupting their own momentum. “Pulled up on their heels” is the image of a sudden arrest of forward motion the runners were charging ahead and then stopped sharply, redirecting themselves entirely. The physical image captures the decisiveness of the choice: they did not slow down gradually but stopped.
(ii) What is the significance of the phrase “one by one” in describing how the runners turned back? [1]
Ans. “One by one” suggests that the decision was made individually rather than collectively each runner made their own separate choice to turn back. This is important because it means the compassionate response was not a coordinated plan or an instruction from an official but a series of individual human decisions, each person independently arriving at the same choice. The phrase makes the collective act more powerful because it shows it was composed of individual conscience.
(iii) How does the detail that these were the runners “who had trained for so long to compete” deepen the significance of their decision to stop? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. By reminding the reader of the investment these runners have made the months of training, the sacrifices, the preparation all building to this moment the poem makes the cost of stopping fully clear. They are not giving up something trivial. They are surrendering the very thing they came to win, at the moment they were winning it. The depth of the sacrifice is proportional to the length and seriousness of the preparation they have made.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that describes the physical act of helping the fallen boy regain his standing position. [1]
Ans. “Brought the young boy to his feet” the extract states the runners “brought the young boy to his feet”, meaning they physically helped him stand up after his fall.
(7) “Then all the nine runners joined hands and continued / The hundred-yard dash now reduced to a walk / And a banner above that said Special Olympics / Could not have been more on the mark.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “the hundred-yard dash now reduced to a walk” is significant because: [1] A. it shows the runners were too exhausted to run after stopping B. it marks the transformation of a competitive race into a shared act of solidarity speed has been replaced by togetherness C. it suggests the race organisers changed the rules after the fall D. it shows that walking is more appropriate than running for Special Olympics athletes
Ans. B it marks the transformation of the race from competition to solidarity. The hundred-yard dash is defined by speed; what the runners are now doing is its opposite in form but its superior in human quality. The reduction from dash to walk is not a diminishment but a transformation the race has become something better than what it was.
(ii) What does the phrase “could not have been more on the mark” mean in relation to the Special Olympics banner? [1]
Ans. “On the mark” means exactly right and precisely appropriate. The phrase says that the banner proclaiming “Special Olympics” could not have been more perfectly and precisely suited to what was happening beneath it. The Special Olympics exists to celebrate inclusion, participation, and the spirit of the human person beyond competitive result. Nine runners walking hand in hand to the finish is the fullest possible expression of that spirit.
(iii) How does the image of nine runners joining hands transform the meaning of the race itself? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. A race is defined by separation each runner strives alone, and the purpose is to arrive before the others. By joining hands, the nine runners dissolve the race’s defining logic: they are no longer separate competitors but a single unit moving together. The race they complete is not the race they started. It has been transformed from a contest of individual achievement into a demonstration that the value of a person is not measured by how fast they can run.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that means “perfectly appropriate and exactly right for the situation.” [1]
Ans. “Could not have been more on the mark” the extract uses this phrase to say that the Special Olympics banner was perfectly and precisely suited to the meaning of what was happening beneath it.
(8) “That’s how the race ended, with nine gold medals / They came to the finish line holding hands still / And a standing ovation and nine beaming faces / Said more than these words ever will.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “nine gold medals” for all the runners rather than a single winner suggests: [1] A. the race officials made an error and gave medals to the wrong people B. the highest honour belongs not to the fastest but to all those who demonstrated the greatest human quality C. Special Olympics always awards gold medals to every participant D. the race was declared invalid because it was not properly completed
Ans. B the highest honour belongs not to the fastest but to all those who demonstrated the greatest human quality. The poem redefines what is worth a gold medal: not speed but compassion, not individual achievement but collective human dignity. All nine receive gold because all nine gave and received something more valuable than competitive victory.
(ii) What does the phrase “said more than these words ever will” suggest about the limits of language in capturing the meaning of the event? [1]
Ans. The phrase acknowledges that the standing ovation and the nine beaming faces the lived, visible reality of the moment communicate something that language, however carefully used, cannot fully equal. The event speaks for itself more powerfully than any description of it. The poem is aware of its own limitation: the most moving moments of human experience exceed what words can hold, and the best a poem can do is point towards them.
(iii) How does the ending of the poem redefine the meaning of winning and achievement? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The poem ends by giving the gold medal the symbol of the highest achievement to all nine runners equally, not because they finished first but because they finished together. This redefines winning as something that can be shared and that is earned through compassion rather than through speed. Achievement, the poem argues, is not measured by where you arrive relative to others but by what you choose to do when someone else falls.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that describes the physical expression of the crowd’s recognition of what the athletes had done. [1]
Ans. “A standing ovation” the extract states the race ended with “a standing ovation”, meaning the crowd rose to its feet to applaud, which is the highest form of public recognition an audience can give.
Extracts (1) to (8) A Friend Found in Music | Bryanna T. Perkins | Class IX | CBSE | Kaveri
(1) “Music is the ocean / That pulls me to the shore.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The metaphor “music is the ocean” suggests that music is: [1] A. deep, vast, and powerful a force that surrounds and moves the speaker B. cold and dangerous like the sea in a storm C. something the speaker fears but is drawn to against their will D. a physical place the speaker travels to for relaxation
Ans. A deep, vast, and powerful, a force that surrounds and moves the speaker. The ocean is one of the largest and most powerful presences in the natural world. By equating music with it, the poet suggests that music is not a small or contained experience but something immense that the speaker is drawn into completely.
(ii) What does the phrase “pulls me to the shore” suggest about the relationship between the speaker and music? [1]
Ans. The phrase suggests that music draws the speaker towards it with the steady, irresistible force of a tide. “Pulls” implies that the movement is not entirely voluntary the speaker is drawn by something stronger than their own intention. The shore is both a destination and a place of arrival, suggesting that music brings the speaker to a specific and welcome place of rest.
(iii) How does the ocean metaphor establish the poem’s central relationship between the speaker and music in just two lines? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. In just two lines, the ocean metaphor establishes music as something vast and powerful that the speaker does not control but is drawn towards. The ocean does not ask permission it pulls. The shore is where the speaker arrives through music’s influence, which suggests that music consistently brings the speaker to a place of grounding and arrival. The relationship is one of being drawn, pulled, and delivered not chosen but given.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “draws something towards itself with force.” [1]
Ans. “Pulls” the extract states music is “the ocean / That pulls me to the shore”, meaning the ocean-like music draws the speaker towards it with an irresistible force.
(2) “Music is the rhythm / That moves me to the core.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “moves me to the core” suggests that music: [1] A. physically moves the speaker’s body when they dance B. affects the speaker at the deepest level of their being, not just on the surface C. changes the speaker’s opinion about important matters D. makes the speaker want to move to a new place
Ans. B affects the speaker at the deepest level of their being. “To the core” means to the very centre of a person the deepest, most essential part. Music does not merely touch the surface of the speaker’s emotions but reaches into the innermost part of who they are.
(ii) What does the word “rhythm” add to this metaphor of music that the word “sound” would not? [1]
Ans. “Rhythm” implies pattern, pulse, and regularity it is the living beat of music rather than just its sound. Rhythm is felt in the body as well as heard by the ear, which connects to the phrase “moves me to the core” the movement is physical and felt, not merely intellectual. “Sound” would be more passive and external; “rhythm” suggests something that enters the body and drives it from within.
(iii) How do the two metaphors in the first two stanzas ocean and rhythm work together to describe music’s power over the speaker? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The ocean metaphor presents music as a vast external force that draws the speaker towards it; the rhythm metaphor presents music as an internal force that moves the speaker from the inside. Together they describe a complete relationship: music is both the large external presence that calls the speaker and the internal pulse that moves them once they have arrived. Music works on the speaker from both outside and inside simultaneously.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that means “at the most fundamental and central level of a person’s being.” [1]
Ans. “To the core” the extract states music is “the rhythm / That moves me to the core”, meaning it affects the speaker at the deepest, most central level of their inner self.
(3) “Music is the therapy / I need when I feel blue. / Music lifts my spirits / To make sure I pull through.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The description of music as “therapy” suggests: [1] A. the speaker visits a professional therapist who uses music as treatment B. music performs a healing function for the speaker when they are emotionally distressed C. the speaker believes music is more effective than medical treatment for physical illness D. therapy is the only word the poet could find that rhymes with the next line
Ans. B music performs a healing function for the speaker when they are emotionally distressed. Therapy is treatment that heals or helps a person recover. By calling music therapy, the poet places it in the category of something necessary for the speaker’s emotional wellbeing not a luxury or entertainment but a form of healing that the speaker needs.
(ii) What does the phrase “feel blue” mean, and what does the poet’s use of it suggest about the tone of the poem? [1]
Ans. “Feel blue” is an idiomatic expression meaning to feel sad, low, or depressed. The poet’s use of this familiar, informal phrase gives the poem a conversational and accessible tone the speaker is not using elevated or literary language to describe their sadness but a common, everyday expression. This keeps the poem grounded in ordinary human experience rather than making the emotional content seem special or unusual.
(iii) How does the phrase “make sure I pull through” suggest that music’s role in the speaker’s life goes beyond comfort? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. “Pull through” means to survive a difficult period to get to the other side of something difficult rather than being overcome by it. This phrase suggests that without music, the speaker might not pull through that the emotional difficulty could be serious enough to overwhelm them. Music is therefore not merely comforting but actively sustaining: it provides the means by which the speaker survives periods of real emotional distress.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that means “to recover from or survive a period of difficulty or distress.” [1]
Ans. “Pull through” the extract states music lifts the speaker’s spirits “to make sure I pull through”, meaning to ensure the speaker survives and recovers from their difficult emotional period.
(4) “The times when I’m most cheerful, / It’s clear, music was there. / Music is the needed friend / When no one seems to care.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “music was there” in relation to the speaker’s most cheerful times suggests: [1] A. music happened to be playing in the background during happy occasions B. music is consistently present at the moments of the speaker’s greatest happiness it is part of what creates and sustains that happiness C. the speaker only feels cheerful when listening to music deliberately D. music was there because the speaker was at a concert or performance
Ans. B music is consistently present at the moments of the speaker’s greatest happiness. “It’s clear” signals a recognised pattern: whenever the speaker looks back at their happiest moments, music is reliably there. This consistency suggests that music does not merely accompany happiness but is part of what makes those moments happy.
(ii) What does the phrase “when no one seems to care” reveal about the speaker’s emotional circumstances? [1]
Ans. The phrase reveals that the speaker has experienced moments of isolation and emotional abandonment times when human relationships failed to provide the support they needed. “No one seems to care” suggests a felt absence of human connection and empathy. This detail gives the poem its emotional depth: the speaker is not simply celebrating music as an enjoyment but acknowledging it as a companion in periods of genuine loneliness and neglect.
(iii) How does the final stanza bring together the poem’s emotional argument about the relationship between music and human connection? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The final stanza completes the poem’s emotional arc by showing music in both its brightest and its most necessary roles: present in moments of cheerfulness and present as a substitute for human care when no one else is available. The poem argues that music is not simply an enhancement to life but a form of companionship that fills the gaps left by human relationship a friend found precisely when friendship is most needed and least available.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that describes music in its most essential role as a companion in moments of loneliness and neglect. [1]
Ans. “The needed friend / When no one seems to care” the extract describes music as “the needed friend / When no one seems to care”, meaning the companion that is present and helpful precisely at the moments when other people are absent or indifferent.
(5) “Music is the ocean / That pulls me to the shore.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The poem uses “the shore” rather than “the deep” as the destination in the ocean metaphor because: [1] A. the deep sea represents danger and the shore represents safety and arrival B. swimming to the deep is impossible and the poem must be realistic C. the shore is where concerts and performances take place D. the poet is describing a literal experience of swimming
Ans. A the deep sea represents danger and the shore represents safety and arrival. The shore is where the sea meets the land a place of arrival, grounding, and safety after the vastness of the water. Music brings the speaker not into the dangerous depth but to the shore to solid ground, to a place where one can rest and be still. This makes music a guiding and grounding force rather than a disorienting one.
(ii) What does the word “pulls” suggest about whether the speaker has control over their response to music? [1]
Ans. “Pulls” suggests that the speaker does not choose to be drawn to music through a deliberate act of will they are pulled, meaning the force originates in music and acts upon them. There is a pleasant absence of control in this: the speaker does not have to effortfully seek music out but is drawn to it by its own power. This gives the relationship a quality of natural, inevitable attraction rather than deliberate decision.
(iii) How does the ocean metaphor in the first stanza prepare the reader for the poem’s later claims about music’s power to heal and sustain? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The ocean metaphor establishes from the beginning that music is a force of natural, irresistible power not a small or optional comfort but something vast that consistently draws the speaker towards a place of arrival and rest. This establishes the scale of music’s importance in the speaker’s life, which makes the later claims that music is therapy, that it lifts spirits, that it is a needed friend feel proportional and credible rather than exaggerated.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “the land at the edge of a body of water, where the speaker arrives.” [1]
Ans. “Shore” the extract states music pulls the speaker “to the shore”, meaning the edge of the ocean where land and water meet the place of arrival and grounding that music consistently brings the speaker to.
(6) “Music is the rhythm / That moves me to the core.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The use of the present tense “moves” rather than the past tense “moved” suggests: [1] A. the speaker is listening to music while writing the poem B. music’s effect on the speaker is continuous and ongoing, not a past or occasional experience C. the present tense is used throughout the poem for grammatical consistency D. the speaker believes music will always move them in the future
Ans. B music’s effect on the speaker is continuous and ongoing. The present tense makes the statement a general truth about the speaker’s current life rather than a memory of past experience. Music moves the speaker to the core now, always it is a present and active force in their life.
(ii) What does it mean that rhythm is specifically the quality of music that “moves” the speaker? [1]
Ans. Rhythm is the physical pulse of music it is felt in the body through vibration and beat. Of all music’s qualities melody, harmony, lyrics rhythm is the most bodily and the most directly felt. The fact that it is the rhythm that moves the speaker suggests that music’s effect on them is primarily physical and felt rather than intellectual or aesthetic. It enters through the body before it is understood by the mind.
(iii) How does the two-line stanza format used throughout the poem affect the reader’s experience of the poem? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The two-line stanzas give the poem a rhythmic, pulse-like structure that mirrors the rhythm of music itself. Each couplet delivers a single, complete statement about music before pausing, and the short, regular form creates a feeling of beat and repetition. The form enacts the content: reading the poem has a rhythmic quality that reflects music’s own nature, making the poem’s structure inseparable from its argument.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “a strong, regular, repeated pattern of sound or movement.” [1]
Ans. “Rhythm” the extract describes music as “the rhythm / That moves me to the core”, meaning the regular, pulsed beat of music that moves the speaker at the deepest level.
(7) “Music is the therapy / I need when I feel blue. / Music lifts my spirits / To make sure I pull through.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “music lifts my spirits” uses the word “lifts” to suggest: [1] A. music raises the volume of the speaker’s voice when they sing along B. music raises the speaker’s emotional state from low to higher, like a physical lifting from below C. music steals or takes away the speaker’s sadness D. the speaker feels physically lighter when listening to music
Ans. B music raises the speaker’s emotional state from low to higher. “Lifts” is a spatial metaphor for emotional elevation: spirits that are low are raised upward by music. The image of lifting suggests that music acts on the speaker from below their current state, providing an upward force that counteracts the downward pull of sadness.
(ii) What is the significance of the word “need” in “the therapy I need”? [1]
Ans. “Need” places music in the category of necessity rather than preference or luxury. The speaker does not merely want music when they are sad they need it, as one needs water or rest. This word choice establishes music as essential to the speaker’s emotional survival and wellbeing, not as an optional enhancement to their mood. It deepens the poem’s argument about music’s role from enjoyment to necessity.
(iii) How does this stanza develop the poem’s extended metaphor of music as a living, responsive companion rather than an inanimate art form? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. By describing music as therapy it provides and spirits it lifts, the stanza gives music active, almost personal agency it responds to the speaker’s need, it acts on their emotional state. Music is not a passive recording or an abstract art form but something that responds, helps, and sustains. This personalisation of music is consistent throughout the poem and builds towards the final stanza’s description of music as an actual friend a companion that responds to need.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that describes the emotional state of sadness or lowness that music responds to and relieves. [1]
Ans. “When I feel blue” the extract states music is the therapy needed “when I feel blue”, meaning when the speaker is feeling sad, low, or emotionally distressed.
(8) “The times when I’m most cheerful, / It’s clear, music was there. / Music is the needed friend / When no one seems to care.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “it’s clear” in the second line suggests: [1] A. the speaker is making a logical argument that they want to be transparent about B. the pattern has been noticed and confirmed through repeated experience it is self-evident to the speaker that music accompanies their happiest times C. the speaker wants the reader to pay close attention to this line D. “it’s clear” is used to fill the line for the sake of the rhyme
Ans. B the pattern has been noticed and confirmed through repeated experience. “It’s clear” means something has become obvious through observation over time. The speaker has looked at their life and seen a consistent pattern: whenever they have been most cheerful, music has been present. The clarity is the clarity of a recognised truth, not an argument.
(ii) How does the final couplet “music is the needed friend / when no one seems to care” function as the emotional climax of the poem? [1]
Ans. The final couplet is the poem’s most vulnerable and direct statement. All the metaphors ocean, rhythm, therapy have been building towards this: the admission that there are times when human care is absent and music is what fills that absence. Naming music as the “needed friend” when no one cares is the most personal and emotionally exposed thing the poem says, and its placement at the end gives it the force of a conclusion and a confession simultaneously.
(iii) How does the poem as a whole build an argument about music’s role that is both universal and deeply personal? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The poem moves through universal claims music as ocean, rhythm, therapy that any reader might recognise, before arriving at a personal admission: music as the friend present when no human cares. This movement from the general to the intimate gives the poem its emotional arc. The universal metaphors establish music’s power; the personal admission establishes why that power matters because for this speaker, music has been a companion in genuine loneliness.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that describes the emotional gap that music fills when human relationships fail to provide connection. [1]
Ans. “When no one seems to care” the extract describes the circumstances in which music becomes the needed friend as “when no one seems to care”, meaning the times when the speaker feels that no other person is present or attentive to their emotional needs.
Extracts (1) to (8) Words | Charles Swain | Class IX | CBSE | Kaveri
(1) “If words could satisfy the heart, / The heart might find less care; / But words, like summer birds, depart, / And leave but empty air.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The simile “words, like summer birds, depart” suggests that words are: [1] A. beautiful and musical like birdsong B. pleasant while present but temporary they arrive, stay briefly, and leave without lasting effect C. free and wild, impossible to control or direct D. associated with warmth and the season of summer
Ans. B pleasant while present but temporary. Summer birds are seasonal visitors they come when the weather is warm and leave when conditions change. The simile suggests that words, however pleasant in the moment, do not stay. They depart and leave nothing behind that can truly satisfy the heart.
(ii) What does the phrase “leave but empty air” suggest about the lasting effect of words on the heart? [1]
Ans. “Empty air” suggests that words, once spoken and gone, leave nothing of substance behind them. The heart reaches for what the words promised or offered, and finds nothing only the absence where the words were. The phrase suggests that words are ultimately immaterial: they occupy space in the air while they are being said but leave no lasting impression that the heart can hold onto.
(iii) How does the opening stanza establish the poem’s central argument about the limitations of words as a source of emotional satisfaction? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The stanza opens with a conditional “if words could satisfy the heart” that immediately implies they cannot. The argument is established through the contrast between the promised comfort of words and their actual effect: they depart like summer birds and leave empty air. The heart is left not consoled but more aware of its unsatisfied need. The stanza argues that the heart requires something more substantial than words can provide.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that describes what is left behind after words have been spoken and their effect has faded. [1]
Ans. “Empty air” the extract states that words “leave but empty air”, meaning after words have departed, nothing of substance remains only the emptiness of the air they briefly occupied.
(2) “The heart, a pilgrim upon earth, / Finds often, when it needs, / That words are of as little worth / As just so many weeds.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The metaphor of the heart as “a pilgrim upon earth” suggests: [1] A. the heart belongs to a religious person making a journey to a holy place B. the heart is always in search of something it has not yet found it is a traveller seeking meaning and connection C. the heart is homeless and has no place to rest D. the heart travels from person to person looking for love
Ans. B the heart is always in search of something it has not yet found. A pilgrim is someone on a journey towards a destination of deep meaning, not yet arrived. The heart as pilgrim is always seeking connection, comfort, genuine expression and the poem argues that words rarely provide what the seeking heart truly needs.
(ii) What does the comparison of words to “weeds” suggest about their quality and value? [1]
Ans. Weeds grow abundantly without being cultivated or valued they take up space, crowd out what is genuinely useful, and serve no nutritional or aesthetic purpose. By comparing words to weeds, Swain argues that words are often plentiful and available but of little real value: they occupy the space of genuine expression without providing what is truly needed. Like weeds, many words are produced easily but contribute nothing of worth.
(iii) How does the image of the pilgrim deepen the poem’s argument about the heart’s need for something more than words can offer? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. A pilgrim’s journey is motivated by genuine, deep spiritual need they are not simply travelling but seeking something essential. By making the heart a pilgrim, Swain argues that the heart’s need is not superficial or easily satisfied. Words, which are plentiful and freely given, cannot meet a need of this depth and seriousness. The pilgrim seeks sustenance for the journey and finds weeds abundant but worthless.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that compares words to something that is common, worthless, and takes up space without offering value. [1]
Ans. “Just so many weeds” the extract states that words are “of as little worth / As just so many weeds”, comparing them to the abundant, valueless plants that grow without cultivation and serve no useful purpose.
(3) “A little said, and truly said, / Can deeper joy impart / Than hosts of words, which reach the head, / But never touch the heart.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The contrast between words that “reach the head” and those that “touch the heart” argues that: [1] A. the head is more important than the heart in receiving communication B. intellectual understanding and emotional connection are different things words can inform the mind without ever genuinely moving the heart C. it is impossible for any words to reach both the head and the heart simultaneously D. the heart is more reliable than the head as a judge of what is true
Ans. B intellectual understanding and emotional connection are different things. Words can be understood, processed, and stored in the mind without generating any genuine emotional resonance. Swain argues that most words do exactly this they reach the head and stop there. The words that matter are the rare ones that bypass the head and touch the heart directly.
(ii) What does the word “impart” suggest about the way that truly said words communicate? [1]
Ans. “Impart” means to give or share something of value to transmit something real from one person to another. The word suggests that truly said words do not merely convey information but give something genuine: joy, warmth, meaning. The choice of “impart” rather than “produce” or “create” implies that what is given already exists in the speaker and is shared with the receiver, which makes the communication intimate and personal rather than manufactured.
(iii) How does this stanza make the poem’s central argument about quality versus quantity in speech? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The stanza argues directly that a little said truly is worth more than hosts of words said without genuine feeling. “Hosts of words” suggests an army vast in number but ultimately ineffective when it matters. A little truly said, by contrast, carries real weight because it comes from genuine emotion and reaches the heart rather than merely the head. The poem insists that depth of sincerity, not volume of expression, is what gives words their value.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that means “a very large number of words spoken without genuine feeling or connection.” [1]
Ans. “Hosts of words” the extract contrasts a little said truly with “hosts of words”, meaning a very large quantity of words that fail to connect because they are not genuine or sincere.
(4) “The voice that wins its sunny way, / A lonely home to cheer, / Hath oft the fewest words to say; / But, oh! those few, how dear!” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “wins its sunny way” suggests that the voice the poem celebrates: [1] A. speaks loudly and confidently to overcome opposition B. makes its way gently and warmly, bringing light and warmth as it goes C. competes with other voices for attention and wins D. uses cheerful language to disguise difficult truths
Ans. B makes its way gently and warmly, bringing light and warmth as it goes. “Sunny” is associated with warmth, brightness, and life-giving energy. “Wins its way” suggests a gentle, gradual progress not force but natural, welcome penetration. The voice is not loud or assertive but warm and consistent, and it succeeds precisely because of these qualities.
(ii) What does the image of “a lonely home to cheer” suggest about the context in which the fewest words have the most power? [1]
Ans. A lonely home is a place of isolation, silence, and emotional emptiness the kind of space where a human presence and genuine words are most deeply needed and most profoundly felt. The image suggests that the power of a few sincere words is greatest precisely in conditions of loneliness: where there has been nothing, even a small genuine expression fills the space completely.
(iii) How does the exclamation “But, oh! those few, how dear!” function as the emotional climax of this stanza? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The exclamation breaks the stanza’s regular, measured tone with a burst of genuine feeling. “Oh!” is the sound of being moved beyond the capacity of ordinary language it is the point at which the poem’s argument becomes felt rather than merely stated. The break in tone enacts the very thing the poem is describing: the moment when a few genuinely spoken words pierce through to the heart. The exclamation is itself an example of the kind of expression the poem celebrates.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that describes the voice that has the greatest power to comfort and connect, despite saying the least. [1]
Ans. “Hath oft the fewest words to say” the extract states that the voice which wins its sunny way to cheer a lonely home “hath oft the fewest words to say”, meaning the most powerful and comforting voice is typically the one that speaks least.
(5) “If words could satisfy the chest, / The world might hold a feast; / But words, when summoned to the test, / Oft satisfy the least!” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The image of “the world holding a feast” if words could satisfy suggests: [1] A. words are a form of food and should be consumed carefully B. there is no shortage of words if words truly satisfied, the world would have more than enough and everyone would be fed C. feasts are associated with celebration and words are associated with celebrations D. the world is a place of abundance that words have failed to exploit
Ans. B there is no shortage of words. The feast image captures the sheer abundance of words in the world: they are produced in vast quantities. If words truly satisfied, this abundance would mean everyone was fully satisfied. The irony is that despite the feast of words available, the heart remains unsatisfied which proves that words themselves cannot provide what is needed.
(ii) What does the phrase “summoned to the test” mean, and what does it reveal about the failure of words? [1]
Ans. “Summoned to the test” means called upon to prove their worth in a moment of genuine need when they are needed to actually deliver comfort, connection, or truth. The phrase reveals that words fail precisely at the moment they are most needed. When they are casual or abundant, their inadequacy is less apparent; when they are required to genuinely satisfy, they “oft satisfy the least” their emptiness is exposed by the real demand placed on them.
(iii) How does this stanza develop the poem’s argument by moving from the individual heart to the world as a whole? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The first stanza addressed the individual heart; this stanza expands the argument to the world. The scale of the claim grows: it is not one person’s heart that words fail to satisfy but the entire world. This expansion strengthens the argument the failure of words is not a personal or occasional experience but a universal condition. The world has an abundance of words and yet remains unsatisfied, which proves that more words cannot solve what words themselves cannot address.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that means “called upon to prove their value in a genuine moment of need.” [1]
Ans. “Summoned to the test” the extract states that words, “when summoned to the test”, often satisfy the least, meaning when called upon to genuinely deliver comfort or connection in a moment of real need.
(6) “Like plants that make a gaudy show, / All blossom to the root; / But whose poor nature cannot grow, / One particle of fruit!” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The metaphor of plants with gaudy blossom and no fruit compares words to: [1] A. flowers that are beautiful but have a short season B. plants that are visually impressive but produce nothing of real nourishment or substance C. vegetation that grows in the wrong conditions D. plants that attract attention but are poisonous
Ans. B plants that are visually impressive but produce nothing of real nourishment or substance. The blossom is the showy, attractive surface; the fruit is what actually feeds and sustains. Words, the poem argues, can be as spectacular as blossoming plants eloquent, beautiful, plentiful while producing no fruit: no genuine comfort, connection, or truth.
(ii) What does the word “gaudy” suggest about the kind of words the poem is criticising? [1]
Ans. “Gaudy” means showy, bright, and ostentatious in a way that is excessive or tasteless attracting attention through surface display rather than through genuine quality. Gaudy words are words that are designed to impress or attract notice rather than to communicate something real. They are concerned with their own appearance rather than with the effect they have on the heart of the person who receives them.
(iii) How does the final stanza use the plant metaphor to bring together the poem’s central argument about the difference between the appearance of words and their substance? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The plant metaphor is the poem’s most vivid summation of its argument: blossom and fruit represent the difference between what words look like and what they deliver. A gaudy blossom makes a spectacular show just as eloquent or abundant words can while producing nothing that nourishes. The poem concludes that most words are like this: impressive in surface display, barren in actual substance. What the heart needs is fruit, not blossom.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that means “not even the smallest amount of something useful or nourishing.” [1]
Ans. “One particle of fruit” the extract states the plant “cannot grow / One particle of fruit”, meaning it cannot produce even the smallest amount of something genuinely nourishing or valuable.
(7) “If words could satisfy the heart, / The heart might find less care; / But words, like summer birds, depart, / And leave but empty air.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The conditional “if words could satisfy the heart” at the opening of the poem implies: [1] A. it is possible that words might satisfy the heart in the future B. words cannot satisfy the heart the “if” introduces a condition that the poem will show to be false C. the poet is uncertain whether words can or cannot satisfy the heart D. satisfaction of the heart depends on the quality of the words used
Ans. B words cannot satisfy the heart. The conditional “if” introduces a hypothetical that the poem treats as counterfactual: since words cannot satisfy the heart, the heart cannot find less care through them. The entire first stanza and the poem that follows are an argument for why the condition cannot be met.
(ii) What does the phrase “the heart might find less care” suggest about the nature of the heart’s experience? [1]
Ans. “Care” here means worry, sorrow, and emotional burden. The phrase suggests that the heart habitually carries a weight of care it is the nature of the heart to feel deeply and therefore to suffer. If words could truly satisfy, this weight might be lightened. But since they cannot, the heart continues to carry its care. The line establishes from the outset that the heart’s suffering is real and that it is looking for something that words cannot provide.
(iii) How does the summer bird simile capture the specific quality of words that makes them unsatisfying? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. Summer birds are beautiful, pleasant, and welcome they bring life and sound to a season but they are seasonal and leave without warning when conditions change. Words are similarly pleasant while present: they can be eloquent, warm, and seemingly comforting. But like the birds, they depart. They do not stay in the heart and do not leave anything of lasting substance. Their very pleasantness is part of what makes their departure and their ultimate emptiness more keenly felt.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “go away; leave a place.” [1]
Ans. “Depart” the extract states “words, like summer birds, depart”, meaning words leave and go away just as summer birds migrate when their season is over.
(8) “A little said, and truly said, / Can deeper joy impart / Than hosts of words, which reach the head, / But never touch the heart.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The poem’s argument in this stanza could be summarised as: [1] A. fewer words are always better than more words in any situation B. sincere, genuine expression however brief reaches deeper than eloquent but hollow speech C. joy can only be given through spoken words, not through actions D. the head and the heart are always in conflict when receiving communication
Ans. B sincere, genuine expression reaches deeper than eloquent but hollow speech. The stanza does not argue for silence or brevity as values in themselves but for sincerity. A little said truly is more valuable than hosts of words said without genuine feeling. The quality of sincerity, not the quantity of speech, is what determines whether words reach the heart.
(ii) What does the phrase “deeper joy” suggest about the kind of satisfaction that genuine words can provide? [1]
Ans. “Deeper joy” suggests a form of happiness that goes beneath the surface and reaches into the inner life of the person who receives it. Surface joy is easy to produce and quickly fades; deeper joy is harder to reach but more lasting and more real. The poem argues that a little truly said can reach this deeper level, which hosts of hollow words for all their abundance never can.
(iii) How does this stanza serve as the poem’s positive argument telling the reader not just what is wrong with words but what is right about the few that truly matter? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. Most of the poem argues negatively what words fail to do, what they leave behind, how they disappoint. This stanza offers the poem’s positive claim: genuine words, however few, can reach the heart and impart deep joy. The stanza does not abandon the poem’s critical argument but complicates it: the problem is not with words themselves but with insincere, hollow, or merely abundant words. A few truly said remain genuinely powerful.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that describes words that are processed and understood intellectually but produce no genuine emotional effect. [1]
Ans. “Reach the head, / But never touch the heart” the extract describes words that “reach the head, / But never touch the heart”, meaning they are received and understood by the mind but produce no genuine emotional resonance or connection.
PAID CONTENT Extracts (1) to (8) Words | Charles Swain | Class IX | CBSE | Kaveri
(1) “If words could satisfy the heart, / The heart might find less care; / But words, like summer birds, depart, / And leave but empty air.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The poem opens with a conditional rather than a direct statement because: [1] A. the poet is not sure of the argument they want to make B. the conditional form allows the poet to establish what is not true words cannot satisfy the heart without stating it bluntly, which is more powerful than a direct claim C. conditional sentences are required in formal poetry D. the poet is inviting the reader to imagine an alternative world
Ans. B the conditional establishes what is not true without stating it bluntly. By saying “if words could satisfy” rather than “words cannot satisfy”, the poet invites the reader to feel the force of the impossibility themselves. The conditional is more persuasive than the direct negative because it first lets the reader imagine the world where the condition is met and then shows why it cannot be.
(ii) What does the choice of “summer birds” rather than “autumn birds” or “winter birds” add to the simile? [1]
Ans. Summer birds are associated with the most pleasant season their presence brings warmth, song, and life. Choosing summer birds rather than a less positive species makes the simile more precisely painful: the words are not simply unhelpful but genuinely pleasant while they last, which makes their departure more keenly felt. If the birds were winter birds, their departure would be a relief; summer birds leaving takes warmth and beauty away.
(iii) How does the first stanza of the poem establish both the heart’s need and language’s inadequacy in meeting it? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The stanza establishes the heart’s need through the phrase “might find less care” the heart habitually carries care and seeks relief from it. It establishes language’s inadequacy through the departure of words and the empty air they leave. The gap between the heart’s genuine need for satisfaction and what words actually deliver empty air is the poem’s central concern, and it is stated clearly and completely in the opening four lines.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “anxiety, worry, or emotional burden.” [1]
Ans. “Care” the extract states “the heart might find less care”, where care means the worry, sorrow, and emotional burden that the heart habitually carries.
(2) “The heart, a pilgrim upon earth, / Finds often, when it needs, / That words are of as little worth / As just so many weeds.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “when it needs” is significant because it specifies that words fail: [1] A. whenever the heart attempts to express itself to another person B. specifically at the moment of genuine need when words are tested against a real emotional requirement, their inadequacy is most apparent C. only when the person using them is not skilled with language D. only in certain cultures where words carry less social weight
Ans. B specifically at the moment of genuine need. Words may pass unexamined in casual conversation. It is when the heart genuinely needs them for comfort, for connection, for truth that their inadequacy becomes visible. The phrase “when it needs” locates the failure of words precisely at the point of genuine emotional requirement, which is the most damning possible moment for them to fail.
(ii) What does the metaphor of the pilgrim suggest about the heart’s relationship to satisfaction and arrival? [1]
Ans. A pilgrim has not yet arrived at their destination they are always on the way towards it. The heart as pilgrim is always seeking the satisfaction it has not yet found. This gives the heart’s situation a quality of perpetual, active longing: not passive emptiness but directed, purposeful search. The tragedy that the poem identifies is that when the pilgrim-heart reaches out to words for sustenance on its journey, it finds weeds rather than the nourishment it needs.
(iii) How does the weed metaphor work on both a literal and figurative level to describe the nature of empty words? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. Literally, weeds are plants that grow abundantly, take up space, and offer nothing useful. Figuratively, words as weeds are expressions that are produced in quantity, occupy the space of genuine communication, and provide nothing of real emotional value. The metaphor works on both levels simultaneously: just as a garden full of weeds frustrates the gardener who needs fruit or flowers, a heart surrounded by many words but no genuine expression is frustrated in its genuine need.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “a person who travels to a place of spiritual or religious significance.” [1]
Ans. “Pilgrim” the extract describes “the heart, a pilgrim upon earth”, where pilgrim means someone on a journey towards a place of deep meaning or spiritual significance.
(3) “A little said, and truly said, / Can deeper joy impart / Than hosts of words, which reach the head, / But never touch the heart.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The word “truly” in “truly said” is the key word in the stanza because: [1] A. it emphasises that the speaker is telling the truth in this stanza B. it identifies sincerity as the quality that gives words their power to reach the heart truth of feeling rather than truth of fact C. it contrasts with the false things that are said by people who use many words D. it suggests that only factually accurate statements can reach the heart
Ans. B sincerity is the quality that gives words their power to reach the heart. “Truly said” means said with genuine feeling and honest intention, not said with factual accuracy alone. The poem is not arguing about true versus false statements but about sincere versus hollow ones. A few words said with genuine emotion carry more weight than multitudes said without it.
(ii) What does the word “hosts” suggest about the kind of speech the poem is criticising in this stanza? [1]
Ans. “Hosts” means a very large number an army-sized quantity. The word suggests that the speech the poem criticises is not simply lengthy but overwhelmingly, excessively numerous. This abundance is itself part of the criticism: the words are not thoughtfully selected but produced in mass quantities, which is precisely the opposite of the quality the poem celebrates a little truly said. The more words, the less likely any of them is to carry genuine feeling.
(iii) How does this stanza reframe the poem’s argument from a negative critique of words to a positive statement about what genuine expression can achieve? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. All the stanzas around this one argue negatively words depart, words are weeds, words satisfy the least, words are all blossom and no fruit. This stanza argues positively: a little truly said can impart deeper joy than any abundance of hollow words. The shift is significant the poem is not condemning all speech but identifying the specific quality sincerity that makes the rare few words genuinely powerful.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that describes the difference between where most words stop and where genuinely sincere words go. [1]
Ans. “Reach the head, / But never touch the heart” the extract contrasts the many words that “reach the head, / But never touch the heart” with the few truly said that impart deeper joy.
(4) “The voice that wins its sunny way, / A lonely home to cheer, / Hath oft the fewest words to say; / But, oh! those few, how dear!” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “wins its sunny way” suggests the voice achieves its effect through: [1] A. arguing persistently until the lonely person agrees to be cheerful B. gentle warmth and natural goodness rather than effort or force C. saying particularly clever or amusing things D. speaking at greater length and volume than other voices
Ans. B gentle warmth and natural goodness rather than effort or force. “Wins its way” suggests gradual, natural progress; “sunny” suggests warmth and brightness. The voice does not force or persuade but simply makes its way through the warmth of its genuine feeling, and it wins reaches and cheers because of the quality of what it carries, not the quantity of what it says.
(ii) What does the phrase “a lonely home to cheer” reveal about the specific conditions in which few genuine words have the greatest impact? [1]
Ans. The lonely home is a place of silence, isolation, and emotional emptiness a place where the contrast between having nothing and receiving a genuine human expression is at its sharpest. In abundance and company, a few sincere words might go unnoticed; in a lonely home, they fill a space entirely. The phrase reveals that genuine words have their greatest power precisely in the conditions of greatest need.
(iii) How does the stanza use the contrast between quantity and value to make its argument about what genuine speech offers? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The voice that cheers the lonely home has the fewest words to say but those few are described as “dear”, meaning precious and deeply valued. The stanza argues that value and quantity are inversely related in genuine speech: the fewer the words, the more precious they are, because each one has been chosen for what it genuinely carries rather than produced in abundance to fill a space. Scarcity of sincere words makes each one more valuable.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “precious and greatly valued because of the genuine feeling it carries.” [1]
Ans. “Dear” the extract concludes “But, oh! those few, how dear!”, where dear means precious and greatly valued the few genuine words are treasured precisely because they carry genuine feeling.
(5) “If words could satisfy the chest, / The world might hold a feast; / But words, when summoned to the test, / Oft satisfy the least!” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The shift from “heart” in the first stanza to “chest” in this stanza suggests: [1] A. the poet made an error and should have used “heart” again B. “chest” adds a physical, bodily dimension to the emotional need the hunger for genuine connection is felt in the body as well as the soul C. “chest” refers to a treasure chest and the stanza is about material rather than emotional satisfaction D. the two words are used interchangeably with no meaningful distinction
Ans. B “chest” adds a physical, bodily dimension. “Heart” is the emotional and spiritual centre; “chest” is the physical location where the heart sits and where emotion is physically felt the tightening, the heaviness, the ache of genuine feeling. The shift from heart to chest makes the argument more embodied: the need for genuine connection is not merely emotional or spiritual but physically felt in the body.
(ii) What does the word “feast” contribute to the argument in this stanza? [1]
Ans. A feast is an abundance that satisfies completely the fullest, most generous provision imaginable. The image suggests that if words could truly satisfy, their sheer abundance in the world would mean a feast of satisfaction for everyone. The irony is that the feast of words already exists the world produces them in extraordinary abundance but it fails to satisfy anyone. The feast metaphor makes the failure of words more visible by pointing to how many there already are.
(iii) How does this stanza develop the poem’s argument by shifting the scale from the individual heart to the world as a whole? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The earlier stanzas address individual experience one heart, one pilgrim, one lonely home. This stanza makes the same argument at the scale of the world: the entire world has access to an abundance of words, and yet the world remains unsatisfied. The expansion of scale is the expansion of the claim: this is not a personal failure of communication but a universal condition. Words, however abundant, cannot provide what the world’s hearts and chests genuinely need.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that means “most frequently fail to provide satisfaction precisely when needed most.” [1]
Ans. “Oft satisfy the least” the extract states that words, “when summoned to the test, / Oft satisfy the least”, meaning they most frequently fail to provide genuine satisfaction at the moment they are most needed.
(6) “Like plants that make a gaudy show, / All blossom to the root; / But whose poor nature cannot grow, / One particle of fruit!” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “all blossom to the root” suggests: [1] A. the plant has beautiful flowers all the way from its tip to its base B. the plant’s entire nature is given over to surface display there is no capacity for anything other than show C. the roots of the plant are particularly strong and healthy D. blossoming begins at the root and works upward
Ans. B the plant’s entire nature is given over to surface display. “All blossom to the root” means the plant is blossom through and through there is no part of it that is capable of producing fruit because its whole nature is committed to the gaudy show. This is the most complete possible form of superficiality: not a plant that could produce fruit but chooses not to, but one whose fundamental nature makes fruit impossible.
(ii) What does the word “poor” in “poor nature” suggest about the plant-like words the poem is describing? [1]
Ans. “Poor” here means meagre, inadequate, and deficient not rich enough to produce what is needed. “Poor nature” suggests that the fundamental character of these words is lacking they are constitutionally incapable of producing fruit because their nature does not contain what fruit requires. The word carries a sense of genuine deficiency: not laziness or choice but incapacity built into the thing’s essential character.
(iii) How does the final stanza function as a conclusion to the poem’s entire argument about the difference between the appearance and the substance of words? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The final stanza provides the poem’s most complete and vivid image for its central argument. The gaudy plant is every form of impressive but empty speech made visible: beautiful on the surface, utterly barren in substance. The image resolves the poem’s argument by showing that the problem with hollow words is not accidental or situational but fundamental they are constitutionally incapable of producing the fruit that the heart needs. The poem ends not with hope but with a clear-eyed assessment of what most words are.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “tastelessly bright and showy; attracting attention through excessive display.” [1]
Ans. “Gaudy” the extract describes “plants that make a gaudy show”, where gaudy means excessively showy and bright in a way that attracts attention but lacks genuine quality or taste.
(7) “The voice that wins its sunny way, / A lonely home to cheer, / Hath oft the fewest words to say; / But, oh! those few, how dear!” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The archaic word “hath” in “hath oft the fewest words to say” contributes to the poem by: [1] A. making the poem difficult to understand for modern readers B. giving the poem a formal, measured dignity that reinforces the seriousness with which the poet treats the value of genuine expression C. showing that the poem was written before the English language had its current form D. suggesting that the poet is quoting from an older source
Ans. B giving the poem formal, measured dignity. The archaic form “hath” belongs to a more formal register of English that carries weight and seriousness. Its use reinforces the poem’s argument that the few words that matter deserve to be spoken of with the same care and gravity as the poem’s formal diction suggests.
(ii) Why is the home described as “lonely” rather than simply as “a home”? [1]
Ans. “Lonely” is essential to the stanza’s argument: it is specifically in conditions of loneliness and emotional emptiness that the few genuine words have their greatest impact. A home that is not lonely already contains human warmth and connection; a lonely home has nothing and it is into this nothing that the voice with few but genuine words arrives. The loneliness is what gives those few words their power to cheer.
(iii) How does the stanza argue that the value of words is inversely proportional to their quantity? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The stanza shows the voice that says the fewest words producing the greatest effect winning its way, cheering a lonely home, making those few words so precious they warrant an exclamation of delight. The argument is clear: value and quantity run in opposite directions. The more words are used, the less each one carries; the fewer words used, provided they are genuine, the more precious each one becomes. Scarcity of sincere expression creates value.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that captures the surprised, moved quality of the poet’s response to the power of a few genuine words. [1]
Ans. “But, oh! those few, how dear!” the extract uses this exclamation to express the poet’s moved, delighted response to the discovery that a few genuine words can be so precious and effective.
(8) “Like plants that make a gaudy show, / All blossom to the root; / But whose poor nature cannot grow, / One particle of fruit!” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The plant metaphor in the final stanza is the most effective image in the poem because: [1] A. everyone is familiar with plants and will understand the comparison easily B. it makes the difference between appearance and substance visible and concrete blossom and fruit are things the reader can see and touch C. nature metaphors are traditionally the most powerful in English poetry D. the image of a garden connects to the poem’s earlier image of weeds
Ans. B it makes the difference between appearance and substance visible and concrete. Abstract arguments about hollow versus genuine words are made tangible by the plant image. The reader can see the gaudy blossom; the reader knows the emptiness of a plant that bears no fruit. The concreteness of the image makes the poem’s abstract argument about words physically real and immediately understood.
(ii) What does “one particle of fruit” suggest about the absolute barrenness of gaudy, empty words? [1]
Ans. “One particle” is the smallest possible unit a fragment, an atom, an almost negligible amount. By saying the plant cannot grow even one particle of fruit, the poem insists on the completeness of the barrenness: there is not even the smallest gesture towards genuine substance. The plant is not merely unproductive it is constitutionally incapable of producing even the most minimal quantity of what is needed.
(iii) How does the poem use the contrast between blossom and fruit throughout its final stanza to summarise its argument about the nature of empty versus genuine words? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. Blossom is surface beauty attractive, visible, designed to impress but it does not feed or sustain. Fruit is the result of genuine growth it nourishes and provides what is needed. The poem maps this contrast onto the distinction between hollow words and genuine ones throughout the final stanza. Empty words blossom impressively but produce nothing of value; the few truly said, like fruit, actually nourish the heart that has been hungry for something real.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that describes something that cannot produce even the smallest amount of genuine value or nourishment. [1]
Ans. “Cannot grow / One particle of fruit” the extract states the plant’s “poor nature cannot grow / One particle of fruit”, meaning it is constitutionally incapable of producing even the smallest amount of genuine nourishment or substance.
Extracts (1) to (8) Believe in Yourself | Robert Langley | Class IX | CBSE | Kaveri
(1) “Step up to the challenge / There is no crowd to see, / It’s just you and the future / And where you want to be.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “there is no crowd to see” suggests that the challenge the poet is addressing is: [1] A. taking place in a private setting away from public spaces B. fundamentally personal and internal it is faced alone, without audience or external validation C. too small and ordinary to attract any public attention D. one that the speaker wants to keep secret from others
Ans. B the challenge is fundamentally personal and internal, faced alone without audience or external validation. The absence of a crowd removes any social motivation there is no applause to seek, no embarrassment to avoid. The challenge must be faced purely on its own terms, which makes it more demanding and more authentic than anything performed for an audience.
(ii) What does the phrase “it’s just you and the future” suggest about the nature of the decision the poem is asking the reader to make? [1]
Ans. The phrase strips the decision down to its essentials: the person and what lies ahead of them. There are no other people, no supporting structures, no distractions only the individual and the future they are moving towards or away from. This simplicity is both clarifying and demanding: it places complete responsibility on the individual and removes any possibility of sharing the weight with others.
(iii) How does the first stanza of the poem establish both the personal nature of the challenge and the reader’s agency in facing it? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. By removing the crowd and reducing the situation to “just you and the future”, the stanza places full agency with the individual reader. No one is watching, no one is judging, no one can help the challenge belongs entirely to the person facing it. The phrase “where you want to be” reinforces agency: the destination is defined by the reader’s own desire, which means the responsibility for moving towards it is also entirely theirs.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that describes the private, one-to-one encounter between the individual and their own future. [1]
Ans. “It’s just you and the future” the extract reduces the challenge to this direct, private encounter between the individual and what lies ahead, with no other parties involved.
(2) “Will it pull you forward / Or push you back in fear? / Difficult are choices / When the future is getting near.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The contrast between being “pulled forward” and “pushed back in fear” presents the future as: [1] A. a physical force that moves the reader’s body in different directions B. something that can produce two opposite responses attraction towards possibility or retreat into the safety of fear C. an unpredictable force that affects different people in different ways beyond their control D. something that is equally likely to be positive or negative for any individual
Ans. B something that can produce two opposite responses: attraction towards possibility or retreat into fear. The future is the same entity in both cases; what differs is the response of the person facing it. The poem presents this as a genuine choice: the future will pull or push depending on what the individual allows it to do to them.
(ii) What does the phrase “the future is getting near” suggest about the urgency of the choice the poem is addressing? [1]
Ans. The phrase suggests that the moment of decision cannot be indefinitely postponed the future is approaching whether the person is ready or not. “Getting near” implies a narrowing of the time available for preparation or delay. The choice must be made, and it must be made now, because the future will arrive regardless of whether the person has decided how to meet it.
(iii) How does the second stanza develop the poem’s argument by introducing the element of fear? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The first stanza presents the challenge in neutral terms just you and the future. The second stanza introduces fear as the specific obstacle that may prevent the reader from stepping up to it. By naming fear directly, the poem acknowledges that the challenge is not only about opportunity but about the internal resistance that makes opportunity difficult to embrace. The question “will it pull you forward or push you back?” puts the reader’s response to fear at the centre of the poem’s argument.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that describes the response of retreating away from a challenge because of anxiety or dread. [1]
Ans. “Push you back in fear” the extract describes the possibility of the future “pushing you back in fear”, meaning the anxiety associated with facing the future causes a person to retreat rather than advance.
(3) “There is such ease in comfort / To maintain the status quo, / But this isn’t what we are made for / This isn’t how we grow.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “maintain the status quo” refers to: [1] A. obeying the rules and regulations of society B. keeping things exactly as they are and avoiding any change or risk C. maintaining one’s current level of achievement without trying to improve D. following the advice of others rather than making independent decisions
Ans. B keeping things exactly as they are and avoiding any change or risk. The status quo is the existing state of affairs. To maintain it is to choose familiarity and safety over the uncertainty and effort of change. The poem acknowledges that this choice is easy before arguing that it is not what human beings are made for.
(ii) What does the phrase “this isn’t what we are made for” suggest about human nature and its relationship to challenge? [1]
Ans. The phrase suggests that human beings are fundamentally designed for growth, change, and challenge that comfort and the status quo are not their natural state but a deviation from it. The word “made” implies a kind of purposeful design: humans have a nature that is oriented towards becoming and striving, not towards staying still. Choosing comfort is therefore a form of living against one’s own deeper nature.
(iii) How does this stanza acknowledge the appeal of comfort while still arguing against it? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The stanza begins by honestly acknowledging what comfort offers ease, not having to change, the relief of the familiar. It does not pretend that comfort is unattractive or that choosing safety is foolish. Then it argues, using the first person plural “we”, that this ease, however genuine, is not what people are made for and not how they grow. The acknowledgement makes the argument more honest and more persuasive the poem is not dismissing comfort but naming what it costs.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that describes the natural process through which a person develops and becomes more than they currently are. [1]
Ans. “This isn’t how we grow” the extract states that maintaining comfort and the status quo is “not how we grow”, meaning genuine development and growth require leaving the ease of the familiar behind.
(4) “The first step is the hardest / There is no turning back, / You just need to believe in yourself / For your future to be on track.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The phrase “the first step is the hardest” suggests: [1] A. walking is physically more difficult than any other aspect of the challenge B. beginning is the most difficult part of any significant endeavour once a person starts, subsequent steps become easier C. the first decision is the only one that truly matters D. the person should take a long time to think before making the first move
Ans. B beginning is the most difficult part. The first step requires overcoming inertia, fear, and the pull of the status quo simultaneously. Once it has been taken, subsequent steps are made easier by the momentum of having already begun. The poem uses this truth to encourage the reader: the hardest moment is the one they are at now, before they begin.
(ii) What does the phrase “there is no turning back” add to the poem’s argument about the first step? [1]
Ans. “There is no turning back” gives the first step a quality of irreversibility that makes it both more daunting and more liberating. The reader cannot take the first step and then retreat to the safety of the status quo once it is taken, it changes things permanently. This irreversibility is part of why the first step is hardest, and also part of why it matters so much: it is a genuine and permanent commitment.
(iii) How does the final stanza bring together the poem’s central message about self-belief, challenge, and the future? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The final stanza gathers all the poem’s elements into a single clear resolution: the first step is hardest, there is no turning back, and what enables the person to take it is belief in themselves. The future being “on track” connects the act of self-belief to the destination believing in oneself is not a passive feeling but the specific, active condition that makes the desired future achievable. The stanza moves from the difficulty of beginning to the means of overcoming it.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that means “progressing as planned and moving towards the desired goal.” [1]
Ans. “On track” the extract states that believing in yourself will allow “your future to be on track”, meaning progressing as planned and moving purposefully towards the desired destination.
(5) “Step up to the challenge / There is no crowd to see, / It’s just you and the future / And where you want to be.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The instruction “step up to the challenge” uses an imperative verb to: [1] A. give the reader an order they must follow B. address the reader directly and personally, creating a sense of immediate, personal encouragement C. suggest that the reader has been avoiding the challenge for too long D. warn the reader that consequences will follow if they do not act
Ans. B the imperative addresses the reader directly and personally, creating immediate, personal encouragement. “Step up” is the voice of someone speaking directly to the person facing the challenge not a general observation but a personal call to action directed at the individual reader. This directness gives the poem an intimate quality, as if the poet is speaking to the reader alone.
(ii) How does the phrase “where you want to be” keep the focus of the poem on the reader’s own desires rather than on external standards of success? [1]
Ans. “Where you want to be” defines the destination in personal terms it is where the reader wants to go, not where others expect them to be or where conventional success would place them. This keeps the poem’s focus on intrinsic motivation: the challenge is worth facing not because others will be impressed but because the reader genuinely wants the future it leads to. The poem respects the reader’s own definition of what is worth striving for.
(iii) How does the removal of the crowd in this stanza change the nature of the courage the poem is asking for? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. When a crowd is watching, courage is partly sustained by the desire to appear courageous by social recognition of the brave act. Removing the crowd removes this social scaffold. The courage the poem asks for must be entirely self-generated and self-sustained: there is no audience to impress, no approval to earn. This is a purer and more demanding form of courage than anything performed for others, and the poem is asking specifically for this kind.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “a situation that tests a person’s abilities and requires effort and courage to overcome.” [1]
Ans. “Challenge” the extract opens with “step up to the challenge”, where challenge means the situation that requires effort, courage, and commitment from the person facing it.
(6) “Will it pull you forward / Or push you back in fear? / Difficult are choices / When the future is getting near.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The inversion in “difficult are choices” rather than “choices are difficult” is used to: [1] A. correct a grammatical error in the original text B. place emphasis on the word “difficult” by bringing it to the front the difficulty of the choice is the most important element of the line C. make the line fit the rhyme scheme D. mirror the way questions are structured in formal English
Ans. B placing “difficult” at the front gives it emphasis. In standard word order, “choices are difficult” is a neutral statement. By inverting to “difficult are choices”, the poet foregrounds the difficulty itself, making it the first and most insistent word the reader encounters. The emphasis enacts the feeling being described the difficulty arrives first, before the explanation.
(ii) What does the question form “will it pull you forward or push you back?” ask the reader to do? [1]
Ans. The question form asks the reader to examine themselves honestly to consider which of the two responses they are currently experiencing in relation to their own future. It is not a rhetorical question with a predetermined answer but a genuine one directed at the reader’s self-knowledge. The poem is asking the reader to identify where they stand: are they drawn forward or retreating in fear?
(iii) How does this stanza use the contrasting images of pulling and pushing to describe two fundamentally different relationships with the future? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. Being pulled forward suggests attraction, possibility, and the willingness to move towards what is coming. Being pushed back suggests resistance, fear, and the desire to return to the safety of the familiar. Both are responses to the same future, which means the difference lies entirely in the person’s inner state. The poem uses the physical images of pulling and pushing to make this inner difference concrete and immediately felt.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that describes the experience of the future becoming an immediate and pressing reality. [1]
Ans. “The future is getting near” the extract states that choices become difficult “when the future is getting near”, meaning when the future is no longer distant and abstract but approaching as an immediate reality.
(7) “There is such ease in comfort / To maintain the status quo, / But this isn’t what we are made for / This isn’t how we grow.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The use of “we” rather than “you” in “we are made for” and “how we grow” suggests: [1] A. the poet is speaking only about themselves and their own experience B. the poet includes themselves in the argument the pull of comfort and the need to grow are shared human conditions, not a lecture directed at the reader alone C. the poet is addressing a group of people rather than an individual D. “we” is used to make the poem sound more formal and authoritative
Ans. B the poet includes themselves in the argument. Shifting from “you” in the earlier stanzas to “we” here makes the statement about human nature inclusive. The poet is not standing outside the temptation of comfort and instructing the reader to resist it they are naming a shared human condition: all of us are tempted by ease, and all of us are made for something beyond it.
(ii) What does the repetition of “this isn’t” in the final two lines of the stanza achieve? [1]
Ans. The repetition gives the stanza a tone of firm, clear rejection. “This isn’t what we are made for / This isn’t how we grow” the two denials reinforce each other, making the argument more emphatic and more certain. The repetition also creates a rhythmic emphasis that gives the lines the quality of a declaration: not tentative or qualified but clear and direct about what comfort and the status quo cannot offer.
(iii) How does this stanza function as the philosophical heart of the poem? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. While the other stanzas address the mechanics of facing a challenge the first step, the fear, the self-belief this stanza addresses the deeper question of why one should face challenges at all. The answer it gives is philosophical: human beings are made for growth, not comfort, and choosing the status quo is living against one’s own nature. This gives the rest of the poem’s practical encouragement its deeper foundation and motivation.
(iv) Find a word from the extract that means “the existing state of affairs; the current situation as it is.” [1]
Ans. “Status quo” the extract refers to maintaining “the status quo”, meaning keeping things exactly as they currently are rather than allowing or initiating change.
(8) “The first step is the hardest / There is no turning back, / You just need to believe in yourself / For your future to be on track.” (5 marks)
(i) Choose the correct option: The word “just” in “you just need to believe in yourself” suggests: [1] A. the poet thinks believing in oneself is a simple and easy thing to do B. self-belief is the single necessary and sufficient condition everything else follows from it, and nothing else is required C. the reader has been doing too many complicated things and should simplify their approach D. the poet is minimising the importance of self-belief in order to make it seem more achievable
Ans. B self-belief is the single necessary and sufficient condition. “Just” here means only there is only one thing required: belief in yourself. Everything else the poem has described the challenge, the fear, the difficulty of the first step can be met if the person has this one thing. The word makes self-belief the master key that opens everything.
(ii) What does the image of the future being “on track” suggest about the relationship between self-belief and direction? [1]
Ans. “On track” is a railway metaphor a track is a defined path that leads to a destination. A future that is on track is one moving along a clear line towards a chosen destination. The image suggests that self-belief is what keeps a person on their chosen path, preventing them from being derailed by fear or distracted by the ease of the status quo. Without self-belief, the future loses direction; with it, the path remains clear.
(iii) How does the final stanza of the poem resolve the tension between fear and possibility that the poem has established? Answer in about 40–50 words. [2]
Ans. The poem has established that the future may pull forward or push back, that the first step is hardest, that comfort is tempting and fear is real. The final stanza resolves all of this through a single, direct statement: you just need to believe in yourself. The resolution is not complex or conditional it is simple, personal, and complete. Self-belief is the one thing that can convert all the difficulties the poem has named into a future that is on track.
(iv) Find a phrase from the extract that describes the act of committing to a course of action from which retreat is no longer possible. [1]
Ans. “There is no turning back” the extract states that once the first step is taken “there is no turning back”, meaning the commitment is permanent and the person cannot return to their previous position.