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Q1 Tick the item which best answers the following.
(a) The tall girl with her head weighed down means
The girl
(i) is ill and exhausted
(ii) has her head bent with shame
(iii) has untidy hair(b) The paper-seeming boy with rat’s eyes means
The boy is
(i) sly and secretive
(ii) thin, hungry and weak
(iii) unpleasant looking(c) The stunted, unlucky heir of twisted bones means
The boy
(i) has an inherited disability
(ii) was short and bony(d) His eyes live in a dream, A squirrel’s game, in the tree room other than this means
The boy is
(i) full of hope in the future
(ii) mentally ill
(iii) distracted from the lesson(e) The children’s faces are compared to ‘rootless weeds’
This means they
(i) are insecure
(ii) are ill-fed
(iii) are wastersAns: (a) (ii) is ill and exhausted
(b) (ii) thin, hungry and weak
(c) (i) has an inherited disability
(d) (iii) distracted from the lesson
(e) (iii) are wasters
Q2 What do you think is the colour of ‘sour cream’? Why do you think the poet has used this expression to describe the classroom walls?
Ans: The colour of ‘sour cream’ is referred to the white-yellowish colour which appears on the walls of the classroom. And the poet used this expression to show that the these slum children don’t have bright future and is faded just like the colour of the walls.
Q3 The walls of the classroom are decorated with the pictures of ‘Shakespeare’, ‘buildings with domes’, ‘world maps’ and beautiful valleys. How do these contrast with the world of these children?
Ans: The pictures of ‘shakespeare’ on the walls reflect that they would be getting good and quality education but in reality there was nothing like that. Children were living in the slum. They get half education. The buildings with domes reflect the civilized world which is unknown to them. The world map has no meaning to them because of slum, this world map shows here that history is only created by rich and powerful people not by slum people. The beautiful valley is meaningless to them as they can only see the polluted sky through the broken window panes and shows their dark future.
Q4 What does the poet want for the children of the slums? How can their lives be made to change?
Ans: The poet wants that these children should also get good education as other children gets. They should also get a bright future, they should the break the boundaries of their slums and experience a better life just like a other people.
The poet feels that the governor, inspector and visitor should take a initiative against their current situation to bring some changes for them and to ensure a better way of living for them, they should provide a proper education and provide freedom from their present confines. They only need some opportunities and encouragement to be able to live life freely and with zest.