Question

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follows: - [20]
Isaac Newton‟s name may still be seen today carved out into the wood of a window still at King‟s School, Grantham, where he studied Grammar and Latin. At first, Isaac Newton seemed to be rather a dull boy, and not very good at his lessons. But he used to use his hands, and used to make little machines such as windmills. He caught mice and compelled them to drive some of his little machines.
One day at school, Newton was kicked by a bigger boy who was higher up in the class the he was himself. The kicking made Newton very angry and he turned on the bigger boy and gave him a good beating. He also decided to beat him at lessons, and this made him start to work harder. After that, he improved at his studies, and so perhaps the big boy who kicked Newton did a service to the world.
Newton went to Cambridge University where he studied Mathematics and science. He started to make discoveries in Mathematics while at college. However, Newton did not confine his studies to Mathematics. He became very interested in the behaviour of light, and he showed that sunlight, which appears to us as white light, can split up into the colours of the rainbow.
One day at school, Newton watched an apple as it fell from a tree to the ground. He began to wonder why it moved towards the Earth, and not upwards towards the sky. After a great deal of thought on this subject, he produced his theory of gravitation and published it in his great book „Principia Mathematica‟. He showed that every body attracts every other body. The sun and the Earth attract each other, and so we do not fly away from the sun into the darkness and coldness of outer space; the moon and the Earth also attract each other, which is why the moon stays near us and does not rush away, leaving us in darkness every night.
Newton‟s head was usually so full of ideas and problems that he was often quiet lost in thought. Many stories are told of his absent – mindedness. Once, when he was entertaining some guests at dinner, he went out of the room to fetch some more wine. For a long time his friends awaited his return, but neither the host nor the wine appeared. At last they went to look for him, and found him hard at work in his study. The wine, the dinner and his guests were all forgotten.
O another occasion, he invited one of his friends to dinner, but when the man arrived, the great philosopher was not there. The guests sat down to wait and repeatedly looked hungrily at the dinner table not far away. Two plates were laid and everything seemed ready for an excellent meal.
After having waited a long time, the guest could wait no longer. He sat down at the table and enjoyed a splendid dinner alone which he returned to his other chair and sat down once more to wait for his missing host.
At last Newton came in. He looked at his friend in a puzzled manner and realised that he had entirely forgotten him. After shaking his hand and apologizing, he turned to the dinner table and noticed that someone had already dined. “I‟m sorry,” he said, apologizing once again.
„I see that I have eaten my dinner, I certainly ought to have waited for you.‟
a) Give the meaning of the following words as used in the passage. One – word answers or short phrases will be accepted: [3]
i) compelled ii) confine iii) splendid
b) Answer the following questions briefly in your own words:
i) How did Newton spend his early days in school? [2]
ii) What was Newton‟s immediate reaction when he was kicked by a bigger boy? [2]
iii) Why is it said that the boy who kicked Newton did a service to the world? [2]
iv) What other discovery did Newton make besides the theory of gravitation? [2]
v) Quote the line from the passage which illustrates Newton‟s theory of gravitation.[1]
c) In not more than 50 words of your own, show how Newton was truly absent – minded. [8]​ why​

Answer 1

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