Updated on 22/02/2022
1. The Third Level (Jack Finney)
Short Type Q-Ans.
Q. 1 What does the
third level refer?
Ans. Charley is the main character of this story. There are
two levels at Grand Central Station, New York. But he finds there are one
another also. In this story, the mystery of there being a third level has been
dealt with. One day, by mistake he took a wrong turn and reached the third
level.
Q. 2 Do you think that
the third level was a medium of escape for Charley? Why?
Ans. Yes, the third level was a medium of escape for Charley.
Because he was in worries and tensions of life. So the third level is only way
to escape from the worries and tensions of life. Going to the third level gave
him satisfaction.
Q. 3 How does Charley
reach the third level?
Ans. One day, he decided to take the subway from the Grand
Central Station to catch his train from the second level. But when he reached
there, he got lost in a wrong corridor. He kept walking along the corridor and
he found himself on the third level.
Q. 4 How is the
atmosphere on the third level different?
Ans. There rooms were smaller. Ticket windows and train gates
were very less. The information booth was made of wood. The lights were dim.
There were brass spittoons also.
Q. 5 What does Charley
do to make sure he has reached the past?
Ans. When Charley reached the third level, he saw that there
were fewer ticket windows. The rooms were small. The lights were dim. There
everything was old fashioned. A boy was selling newspaper, ‘The World’ which
had not published for many years.
Q. 6 What does Charley
say about Galesburg?
Ans. He says Galesburg is a wonderful town. There were big
houses, huge lawns and long trees. In summer evenings the people sat on these
lawns and talked with one another. He thought this town was really a heaven of
peace.
Q. 7 Who is Sam Weiner?
What does Charley find out about him?
Ans. Sam Weiner is Charley’s friend. He is a psychiatrist.
Charley talked about the third level to him. He said that it is only imaginary.
Like his other friends, he does not believe on this.
Q. 8 What happens when
Charley goes to the ticket counter to buy two tickets for Galesburg?
Ans. When Charley goes to tickets counter to buy two tickets
for Galesburg. Then he gave modern currency to the booking clerk. The booking
clerk looks the currency and thinks, these are fakes & threatens to get
Charley arrested, Charley rushes from there.
2. The Tiger
King (Kalki)
Short Type Q-Ans.
Q. 1 Who is the tiger
king? Why does he get that name?
Ans. The tiger king is the Maharaja of Pratibandapuram. The
astrologers foretold at his birth that his death would be by killing a tiger.
When he grew up, he started to kill tigers. In this way, he got nick-named the
tiger king.
Q. 2 What miracle took
place when the tiger was only ten days old?
Ans. The astrologers foretold that one day, the royal infant
would to die by a tiger. At that moment, a great miracle took place. The
infant, who was only ten days old, he began to speak that all those who are
born would have to die one day. It was no less than a miracle to hear such
words of wisdom from a ten days old baby.
Q. 3 When did the king
come to know about the prediction about his death?
Ans. The prince became the Maharaja, at the age of twenty.
People often talked about the astrologer’s prediction that the king’s death
would come by a tiger. Slowly, this prediction came to the Maharaja ears.
Q. 4 What vow did the
king take?
Ans. When the crown prince Jung Jung Bahadur came to know the
astrologer’s prediction that he would be killed by a tiger. He took a vow that
he would attend all the matters of the state only after killing the hundredth
tiger. At the age of ten, he had killed seventy tigers.
Q. 5 Why was the king
in the danger of losing his throne?
Ans. Once a British officer visited the kingdom. He was very
fond of hunting tigers. More than killing a tiger, he liked to take photograph
with the killed tiger. But the Maharaja refused to give him permission. Because
he had stopped a high ranked British officer to fulfill his desire. Thus the
Maharaja was in danger of losing his throne.
Q. 6 How did the king
solve the problem of finding more tiger for him to hunt?
Ans. The king had killed seventy tigers, when he was only ten
years. Now there were no more tigers in his kingdom. So to solve this problem,
he married a girl from a royal family. There were many tigers in that kingdom.
Each time when he visited the kingdom of his father-in-law, he killed five or
six tigers.
Q. 7 Who actually
killed the hundredth tiger?
Ans. When the Maharaja had gone to kill the hundredth tiger,
the hunters went near the tiger; he found that the tiger was not dead. The
bullet had missed it. The old tiger had fainted from the sharp sound of the
bullet. But they didn’t want to tell this secret to the Maharaja. So one of the
hunters shot and killed the tiger.
Q. 8 What did the king
decided to gift his son on his third birthday?
Ans. A few days later, the king decided to celebrate his
son’s third birthday. He wanted to give him some special gift on his birthday.
The king saw a wooden tiger in a shop; he decided to gift it to his son on his
third birthday.
Q. 9 Discuss in brief
how death at last comes to the tiger king?
Ans. The Maharaja got a tiny wooden tiger as a birthday gift
for his son. The wooden tiger was of a very poor quality. The silvers wood
stood all over it. One of these pierced the Maharaja right hand. In four days,
the infection spread all over the arm, three famous surgeons declared after the
operation. ‘The operation was successful, the maharaja is dead.
3. Journey to the End of the
Earth (Tishani Doshi)
Q. 1 How do geological phenomena help
us to know about the history of humankind?
Ans.
Geological phenomena can help us to know where we have come from and where we
are possibly heading.
Q. 2 How long was the writer’s journey
to Antarctica?
Ans.
Tishani Doshi started her journey form Madras. She had to cross nine time
zones, six check-points, three bodies of water and three ecospheres. She
travelled one hundred hours to reach the Antarctica.
Q. 3 What information does the writer
give about Gondwana?
Ans.
About six hundred and fifty millions years ago, Gondwana was the southern
supercontinent. It centered roughly around present day Antarctica. Humans had
not yet arrived on global scene. The climate was much warmer. There was a huge
variety of flora and fauna.
Q. 4 What is the best place to study
the effect of global warming?
Ans.
Antarctica is the best place to study the effect of the global warming. Its
receding glaciers and collapsing ice shelves tell us how real the threat of
global warming is.
Q. 5 Why is the temperature of the
earth rising?
Ans.
The temperature of the earth is rising due to global warming.
Q. 6 What is the effect of man’s
progress on the environment?
Ans.
Human civilisation has been on this earth just for 12000 years. This is a very
small period as compared to the life of this planet. Yet in this period man has
progressed a lot. But this progress has led to environmental depletion and
pollution.
Q. 7 What was the aim of the programme
‘Students on Ice’?
Ans.
‘Students on ice’ programme aims at taking high school students to the end of
the world. The programme provides the school students an opportunity to get
knowledge and experience of Antarctica and inspire them understand the danger
of global warming. This programme aimed at studying the Antarctica in order to
learn about the earth and its history.
4. The Enemy (Pearl S. Buck)
Short Type Q-Ans.
Q. 1 Who was Dr. Sadao? Where was his house?
Ans. Dr. Sadao was a famous Japanese surgeon and scientist. His house was on a spot of the Japanese coast. It was built upon rocks above a narrow beach.
Q. 2 What will Dr. Sadao and his wife do with the man?
Ans. Dr. Sadao performed his duty as a doctor and saved the life of enemy. Now they decided to hand him over the police but the man is very weak. In this way, they saved a enemy’s life.
Q. 3 What will Dr. Sadao do to get rid of the man?
Ans. The man got recovery soon. But still he was very weak. So he decided to help him in escaping from there. He provided a boat to him to run away from there.
Q. 4 Who was Hana? Where had Sadao met her?
Ans. Hana was Dr. Sadao’s wife. She was an American lady. He had been come to America to learn surgery and medicine. Sadao had met Hana in America first time.
Q. 5 In what condition did Sadao and Hana find the wounded man on the beach?
Ans. The man was wounded. The sand on one side of him had a stain of blood soaking through. He lay motionless. He was in wet rags. An old cap struck on his head. Sadao turned the man’s head. He saw that it was a white man.
Q. 6 Who was Yumi? What did she refuse to do and why?
Ans. Yumi was a maid in Sadao’s house who looks after the children. She refuse to wash the white man. She said that she had never washed a white man. And she said that she would not wash so dirty man as he was.
Q. 7 What did the old gardener say about the white man?
Ans. The old gardener was a superstitious person. He said that the white man ought to die. First he was shot. Then the sea caught him and wounded him with her rocks. It showed the man was feted to die and they had no business to save him.
Q. 8 How did Sadao take the bullet out of the white man’s body?
Ans. Sadao performed an operation. His wife helped him with anesthetic while probing. Sadao felt the tip of his instrument strike against something hard. It was dangerously near the kidney. Then he probed with his fingers and took the bullet out in the cleanest manner.
Q. 9 Describe the time in which the story ‘The Enemy’ is set?
Ans. The story had been set in the time of the second world war (1939-45). An American prisoner of war is washed ashore in a dying state. He is found at the doorstep of a Japanese doctor. The story revolves round the doctor’s way of handling the enemy prisoner.
Q.10 Will Hana help the wounded man and wash him herself ?
Ans. Hana asked her maid servant Yumi to help them in this incident. She asks her to wash the wounded man. But she refused to help them. At this Hana herself washed the wounded soldier.
Q.11 Does the story remind you of ‘Birth’ by A.J. Cronin that you read in Snapshots last year? What are the similarities in both stories?
Ans. Both the stories ‘Birth’ by A.J. Cronin and ‘The Enemy by Pearl S. Buck have the same theme. In both stories, the main character is a doctor who does all he can do to save a human life. The common element in the world of Dr. Sadao is, “I have been trained not to let a man die if I can help him”.
Short Type Q-Ans.
1. How did Roger Skunk’s mommy react when he smelled like roses?
Ans. Roger Skunk mother was very angry when she found that he smelled of roses. She at once took him back to the wizard. She hit the wizard right over the head for changing his smell.
2. Who is Jo? How does she respond to her father’s story-telling?
Ans. Jo was Jack’s daughter. She was four years old. Jack had been telling her stories for last two years. Earlier she would listen to the stories calmly. She took theme as real. But now her wisdom is growing, she has started to ask difficult moral questions about stories. Jack often finds difficult to answer these questions. Even title ‘Should Wizard Hit Mommy’ is also taken from one of her questions.
3. Why was Roger Skunk’s mother angry? What did she finally tell him?
Ans. When Roger Skunk came back home his mother found that he smelled of roses. She was not happy. She thought that Roger should smell like a Skunk. She was angry with the wizard for giving Roger that smell. Roger told his mommy that all animals should run away from him if he got his smell back. But his mother did not care. She took Roger back to the wizard and she hit the wizard on the head.
4. How did Jo want the story to end and why?
Ans. In the end of the story, Roger’s mommy goes to the wizard and hits him. Jo thinks it was not fair. The smell of roses was much better than the bad smell of Skunk. So Jo thinks that the wizard should have hit back Roger’s mommy.
5. What do you think was Jo’s problem?
Ans. Jo’s wisdom and sense was developing. So, she started to ask so many difficult moral questions during the stories. She would not agree with her father. It happened most of the time. It was the result of her growing wisdom. That is why she asked her father that wizard should have hit Roger’s mommy back as she was stupid.
6. Where did Roger Skunk go to solve his problem?
Ans. Roger was a tiny little creature. He smelled very bad. All other animals used to run away from him. Roger went to the wise owl. The owl sent him to the wizard as he could solve his problem. So, he goes to the wizard to solve his problem. The wizard changed his smells like roses.
7. Why does Jack insist that it was the wizard that was hit and not the mother?
Ans. The parents always think that they are always right. In this story, Skunk’s mother wants that her child should smell like a Skunk. The wizard in the story has done nothing wrong to change his bad smell into roses. Yet his mother goes to the wizard and says him to change his smell back. But Jack thinks that the mother was right in hitting him. If the wizard had hit her back, it would be an insult to a mother.
8. What do you think regarding the two ending of the story?
Ans. Roger’s mother hit the wizard for no reason. But it would be wrong if the wizard hit her back. In my opinion the mother should not have hit him. She could ask him politely to change Roger’s smell. In this way neither an elder would feel insulted nor the wizard.
9. Why is an adult’s perspective on life different from that of child ?
Ans. Adults have their own views on different issues. They can be wrong or right. They measure each and everything according to their own perspective. But a child lives in dreams. A child takes the things in his own way. Children’s response to the things is often spontaneous. He doesn’t reason much.
10. Describe Jack’s style of storytelling.
Ans. Jack tells her little daughter, Jo a new story every day. It is about an animal named Roger (as Roger Skunk, Roger Fish, Roger Squirrel, Roger Chipmunk etc. His smell was very bad. The other animals do not like his bad smell. So they don’t play with him.
6. On the Face of it (Susan Hill)
Short Type Q-Ans.
1. Who is Mr. Lamb? How does Derry get into his garden?
Ans. Mr. Lamb is an old man. He owns a big garden and a country house. He keeps the gate of his garden always open. Derry comes there b scaling garden wall.
2. Who is Derry? Why does he go to Mr. Lamb’s garden?
Ans.
3. Why does Derry say people are afraid of him?
Ans. One side of Derry’s face was burnt. Now he looks ugly. People keep away from him. That is why he says that people were afraid of him.
4. What qualities of Mr. Lamb attracted Derry to him?
Ans. Derry found Mr. Lam,b very diffent from others. He didn’t show any shock on seeing Derry’s burnt face. He encouraged Derry to face the world bravely. All this attracted Derry towards Mr. Lamb.
5. How did Derry get his face burnt?
Ans. It was not a fire that had burnt his face. He got acid all down that side of his face. It burnt the face all the way. It ate up his face.
6. What idea does the story of Beauty and the Beast convey?
Ans. It conveys the idea that it doesn’t matter what you look like. It is what you are inside. Handsome is that handsome does.
7. Why does Derry’s mother warn him not to go to see Mr. Lamb?
Ans. Mr. Lamb is an old man who had lost one of his lege in war. He lives alone in a house that has a garden also. People have spread many stories of his and no one ever comes to visit him. This is the reason that Derry’s mother warn his to not to go to see Mr. Lamb.
8. Why does Derry go back to Mr. Lamb?
Ans. Derry sees that Mr. Lamb is quite different from others Mr. Lamb expresses no feeling of repulsion on seeing Derry’s burnt face. Rather, he talks to him in loving manner. He even welcomes him to his garden. Naturally, this geniality draws Derry towards Mr. Lamb.
9. What happens to Mr. Lamb in the end?
Ans. Mr. Lamb puts a ladder against the branch of an apple tree. He tries to pluck apples When, e pulls a branch, his ladder falls back. He falls with the ladder and dies.
7. Evans Tries An O-Level (Colin Dexter)
Q. 1 What kind of a person was Evans?
Ans. Evans was a young and clever prisoner. He had escaped thrice from the prison for which he was known 'Evans the Break'. He had never involved himself in violence.
Q.2 Why was Evans called ‘Evans the Break’?
Ans. Evans was called 'Evans the break' by the prison officers because he had escaped from prison three times. He was imprisoned in the Oxford Prison.
Q.3 What seating arrangements were made in Evans’ cell for the examination?
Ans. The Board accepted the unusual request of conducting the examination of Evans in his cell. All necessary documents were to be sent to the prison. And two square tables were placed opposite to each other in the cell.
Q.4 What were the precautions taken for the smooth conduct of the examination?
Ans. On the day of exam, the prison staff was put on high alert and special care was taken to conduct the exam. All doors and gates were closed. Stephens and Jackson were appointed to keep an eye on the exam proceedings. All sharp instruments like razor and nail -scissors were removed from the cell.
Q.5 How is Evans able to escape the fourth time?
Ans. Evans escapes from the Oxford jail in disguise of McLeery whom Evans has made injured. He misled the officers of the prison by miss guiding them catching him. He pretended to be gorged and while the ambulance was called the cleverly flew from the car.