LITERATURE IN ENGLISH

(ENGLISH PAPER 2)

Formative Assessment-2

Grade- IX Max Marks- 40

Date- Time- 1 Hour

__________________________________________________________________________
Answers to this Paper must be written on the paper provided separately.
You will not be allowed to write during the first 10 minutes.
This time is to be spent in reading the question paper.
The time given at the head of this Paper is the time allowed for writing the answers.

The paper has four Sections.

Section A is compulsory – All questions in Section A must be answered.
You must attempt one question from each of the Sections B, C and D
The intended marks for questions or parts of questions are given in brackets [ ].
_____________________________________________________________________

SECTION - A
(Attempt all questions from this Section)
Question 1
Choose the correct answers to the questions from the given options. [10]
(Do not copy the questions, write the correct answers only.)
(i) What message does Brutus interpret from the letter delivered to him by
Lucius?

(a) He is advised to seek forgiveness from Caesar for past wrongs.

(b) He is informed about a political conspiracy against him.
(c) He is warned about imminent danger from the meteors falling in Rome.
(d) He is called upon to prevent Rome from falling under a king.
 (ii) How does Decious Brutus say he would persuade Caesar to come to the
Senate?

(a) By deceit
(b) By persuasion
(c) By flattery
(d) By showing fear

(iii) Portia pleads with Brutus to share his secret with her claiming which of the
following?

(a) Equal Rights of wifehood

(b) Being his childhood friend
(c) Being his well wisher
(d) Being his close confidant

(iv) Brutus uses which of the following phrases for Caesar?

(a) Slayer of Rome

(b) Devil’s soul
(c) Butcher of butchers
(d) Serpent’s egg

(v) Which of the given options contain the figure of speech that appears in the
following line from Vikram Seth’s ‘A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6,
1945
‘The roof, the walls and, as it seemed, the world
Collapsed in timber and debris, dust swirled
Around me’
(a) Ten thousand saw I at a glance, tossing their heads in sprightly dance
(b) And dead wings carried like a paper kite
(c) All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players
(d) And miles to go before I sleep

(vi) What was weird around the narrator after the flashes in the poem ‘‘A
Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945’?

(a) There were soldiers everywhere

(b) His clothes had vanished
(c) The buildings had collapsed
 (d) People were speechless

(vii) How did the doctor feel when his wife had gone?

(a) Sad
(b) Sorrowful
(c) Cheerful
(d) Terribly lonely

(viii) Select the option that shows the correct relationship between statements (1)
and (2) from Rabindranath Tagore’s short story, ‘The Home Coming’.

Statement: ‘His condition became so abjectly miserable that even his

cousins were ashamed to own him.

Statement 2: ‘There was no more backward boy in the whole school than
Phatik.

(a) (1) is true and (2) is false.

(b) (2) is true (1) is false.
(c) (1) is the cause for 2
(d) (1) and (2) are independent of each other.

(ix) Choose the option that lists the sequence of events in the correct order.

1 He went to his aunt at last, and told her that he had lost his book.
2 Now he was himself plumbing on unfathomable sea.
3 Everyone one seconded the proposal, and it was carried unanimously.
4 At the same time she was somewhat distressed to see Phatik’s extreme
eagerness to get away.

(a) 3,4,1,2
(b) 4,1,2,3
(c) 1,3,2,4
(d) 4,2,1,3

(x) How did Phatik respond to the stranger?

(a) He told where the Chakravortis lived.

(b) He refused to answer
(c) He told him to go and find out
(d) He gave him wrong directions
 SECTION- B
(Answer any one or more questions from this Section)
DRAMA
(Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare)
Question 2
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Brutus: It must be by his death: and, for my part,
I know no personal cause to spurn at him,
But for the general.
(i) Where does the scene take place? In what mood is Brutus? Whose death is
suggested? [3]
(ii) What danger does Brutus foresee if the person is crowned as a king? What
examples does Brutus cite to express his fear? [3]
(iii) What is your feeling for Brutus at this Juncture? Justify. Who came to meet
Brutus at this hour?
How have they disguised themselves? [4]

Question 3
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Brutus: O, name him not: let us not break with him;
For he will never follow ant thing
That other men begin.
Cassius: Then leave him out.
Casca: Indeed he is not fit.
Decius: Shall no man else be touch’d but only Caesar?

(i) Who does “him” refer to over here? What did Brutus want to leave him out
of? Why? [3]
(ii) What is the meaning of “touch’d” here? Who else does Cassius now mention
should be touch’d? What is his reason? [3]
(iii) Brutus contradicts Cassius. Why? What does it reflect about Brutus? [4]
 SECTION C
(Answer one question from this section.)
PROSE – SHORT STORIES
(Treasure Chest – A Collection of ICSE Poems and Short Stories)

Question 4
Read the extract from Rabindranath Tagore’s short story, ‘The Home-Coming’ and
answer the questions that follow:
‘Phatik Chakravorti was a ring leader among the boys of the village. A new
mischief got
into his head.’
(i) What new mischief got into Phatik’s head? What did Makhan do to spoil
the fun? [3]
(ii) What did one of the boys do and why? How did Makhan react to it? What
did Phatik ask his companions to do? [3]
(iii) How according to Phatik’s mother, was Makhan different in his behaviour
from his brother? What did Bishamber offer to do? What impression do
you form of Bishamber? [4]

Question 5
Read the extract from Rabindranath Tagore’s short story, ‘The Home-Coming’ and
answer the questions that follow:
Phatik heard her words, and sobbed out loud: “Uncle I was just going home; but
they dragged me back again.
(i) What had the aunt said that Phatik heard and began to weep? Who are
‘they’ referred to? Why did they bring Phatik home? [3]
(ii) How did Bishamber respond to Phatik’s illness? Why was he delirious?
What did he ask in his delirious state? [3]

(iii) How are the ‘holidays’ related to the title of the story? What feelings do you
have for Phatik at the end of the story? [4]

Question 6
Read the extract from Vikram Seth’s poem ‘A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6,
1945’ and answer the questions that follow:
All the time wondering what had come to pass.
Where was my wife
(i) How is the morning described by the narrator? What startled him? What did
he think of it? [3]
(ii) How much did the narrator personally suffer in the explosion? What was the
condition of his wife? [3]
(iii) How did the narrator console his wife? What does it say about the narrator?
What object did they find on the street? What was their reaction after finding
the object? [4]

Question 7
Read the extract from Vikram Seth’s poem ‘A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6,
1945’ and answer the questions that follow:
Silence was common to us all. I heard
No cries of anguish, or a single word.
(i) The narrator refers to “shadowy forms of people” in the poem, what does he
mean by it? Why were they looking so? What caused the pain as ‘they’
moved? [3]
(ii) What is meant by “Silence was common to all?” [3]
(iii) Describe the physical and psychological sufferings of the people. What has
appealed to you in the poem? Give two examples to justify your opinion.[4]