Comprehension
Sometimes I feel myself I can hardly bear
The thought of so much childish longing in vain,
The sadness that lurks near the open window there,
That waits all day in almost open prayer.
For the squeal of brakes, the sound of a stopping car,
Of all the thousand selfish cars that pass,
Just one to inquire what a farmer’s prices are
And one did stop, but only to plow up grass
In using the yard to back and turn around;
And another to ask the way to where it was bound;
(A Roadside Stand)
The sadness that lurks near the open window there,
That waits all day in almost open prayer.
For the squeal of brakes, the sound of a stopping car,
Of all the thousand selfish cars that pass,
Just one to inquire what a farmer’s prices are
And one did stop, but only to plow up grass
In using the yard to back and turn around;
And another to ask the way to where it was bound;
(A Roadside Stand)
Question: 1
Select the option that has the same literary device as in ‘The sadness that lurks near the open window there’.
Select the option that has the same literary device as in ‘The sadness that lurks near the open window there’.
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The literary device in the given line is personification. Similarly, in option (B), “Art” is personified as washing away dust.
Updated On: Jan 31, 2025
- Lucy moved across the room like a warship sailing into battle.
- Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.
- The water-wraith was shrieking.
- The pen is mightier than the sword.
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The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
The literary device in the given line is personification, where non-human entities are attributed with human emotions or characteristics. Similarly, in (C), “The water-wraith was shrieking” uses personification.
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Question: 2
They prayed for the stopping of a car. When one car finally stopped, it brought ...... to the people of the roadside stand.
They prayed for the stopping of a car. When one car finally stopped, it brought ...... to the people of the roadside stand.
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The car stopped not to buy anything but to use the yard to turn around, disappointing the people.
Updated On: Jan 31, 2025
- Help
- Happiness
- Disappointment
- Cash flow
% Correct answer {Correct Answer:} (C) Disappointment
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The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
The car that stopped did not bring any financial relief to the roadside stand. Instead, it used the area merely to turn around or inquire about unrelated matters, leaving the people disappointed.
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Question: 3
Explain one inference that can be drawn from the line, “ldots childish longing in vain”.
Explain one inference that can be drawn from the line, “ldots childish longing in vain”.
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Focus on how rural people’s aspirations are contrasted with the indifference of urban travelers.
Updated On: Jan 31, 2025
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Solution and Explanation
The line reflects the unfulfilled desires and innocent expectations of the rural people who long for support and recognition but are ignored by the city-dwellers.
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Question: 4
Complete the sentence appropriately.
{The emotion of the poet reflected in the above extract is .......}
Complete the sentence appropriately.
{The emotion of the poet reflected in the above extract is .......}
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The poet feels helpless seeing the plight of rural people, who are ignored despite their efforts.
Updated On: Jan 31, 2025
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Solution and Explanation
The poet expresses sympathy for the plight of the rural people who suffer due to the selfishness of urban society.
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Question: 5
The expression ‘selfish car’ suggests that .......
The expression ‘selfish car’ suggests that .......
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Focus on the contrast between the rural people’s needs and the city-dwellers’ selfish behavior.
Updated On: Jan 31, 2025
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Solution and Explanation
The term “selfish car” symbolizes the insensitivity of travelers who prioritize their convenience over acknowledging or helping the people at the roadside stand.
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Question: 6
Based on the rhyme scheme evident in the last two lines of the extract, which word would rhyme with the last line?
Based on the rhyme scheme evident in the last two lines of the extract, which word would rhyme with the last line?
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The rhyme scheme pairs “bound” with “sound” in the last two lines.
Updated On: Jan 31, 2025
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Solution and Explanation
The rhyme scheme in the last two lines suggests that the word “sound” matches phonetically with the last line.
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Top Questions on Reading Comprehension
“I put the brown paper in my pocket along with the chalks, and possibly other things. I suppose every one must have reflected how primeval and how poetical are the things that one carries in one’s pocket: the pocket-knife, for instance, the type of all human tools, the infant of the sword. Once I planned to write a book of poems entirely about the things in my pocket. But I found it would be too long: and the age of the great epics is past.”
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It is clear that language is used for more than one purpose. The man who hits his thumb nails with a hammer and utters a string of curses is using language to relieve his feeling and needs no audience but himself. But when a philosopher uses language to clarify his ideas on a subject, he is using it as an instrument of thought. When two women gossip over the fence or two men exchange greetings as they pass in the street, language is being used to strengthen the bonds between the members of society. Language, it seems, is a multipurpose instrument. One function, however, seems to be basic — language enables us to influence people's behaviour and thereby makes human co-operation possible. Some animals co-operate especially the social animals like bees and ants, but human co-operation is more thorough, more detailed, more effective than that found anywhere in the animal kingdom. The human co-operation would be unthinkable without language.
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It is clear that language is used for more than one purpose. The man who hits his thumb nails with a hammer and utters a string of curses is using language to relieve his feeling and needs no audience but himself. But when a philosopher uses language to clarify his ideas on a subject, he is using it as an instrument of thought. When two women gossip over the fence or two men exchange greetings as they pass in the street, language is being used to strengthen the bonds between the members of society. Language, it seems, is a multipurpose instrument. One function, however, seems to be basic — language enables us to influence people's behaviour and thereby makes human co-operation possible. Some animals co-operate especially the social animals like bees and ants, but human co-operation is more thorough, more detailed, more effective than that found anywhere in the animal kingdom. The human co-operation would be unthinkable without language.
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The Indian National Army plans went away with the defeat of Japan. Subhash Bose was killed in a plane accident while on his way to Tokyo. It is true that many leaders did not like the idea of India winning freedom with the assistance of a country like Japan and her fascist allies. But during the closing years of the war, Subhash Bose and the Indian National Army served to hold up the dropping spirits of the nationalist Indians at home, who were feeling helpless and frustrated. They set before all sections of the Indian people, including those serving in the army, an example of courage and patriotism which was both inspiring and ennobling. Therefore, when the Government announced their decision to prosecute some of the Indian National Army officers for treason because they had broken their oath of loyalty to the British crown, there was a wave of nationalist protest. There were massive demonstrations all over the country. There were persistent demands that the officers should be released.
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The Indian National Army plans went away with the defeat of Japan. Subhash Bose was killed in a plane accident while on his way to Tokyo. It is true that many leaders did not like the idea of India winning freedom with the assistance of a country like Japan and her fascist allies. But during the closing years of the war, Subhash Bose and the Indian National Army served to hold up the dropping spirits of the nationalist Indians at home, who were feeling helpless and frustrated. They set before all sections of the Indian people, including those serving in the army, an example of courage and patriotism which was both inspiring and ennobling. Therefore, when the Government announced their decision to prosecute some of the Indian National Army officers for treason because they had broken their oath of loyalty to the British crown, there was a wave of nationalist protest. There were massive demonstrations all over the country. There were persistent demands that the officers should be released.
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