) What reassurance did the tiger give to the coffee drinkers? (2)
(ii) In what way are tigers different from human beings? (2)
(iii) Why were the children delighted? (2)
(iv) Which sentence in the passage tells us that the tiger was badly in need of rest and sleep? (1)
(v) What did the headmaster say some days later? (2)
c) In not more than 50 words describe the tiger's activities from the time it followed the school children till it slept. (8)
Question 5
a) Fill in each of the numbered blanks with the correct form of the word given in brackets.
Answers
Answer:
1 answer:- The tiger while walking down the road assured the coffee drinkers that he was neither in any mood nor had any necessity to hunt them or’frighten them. He wanted them to be calm as his stomach was full and he needed no food at the moment.
2 answer:- Tigers are different from human beings as unlike human they attack onl when they feel hungry and not whenever or wherever it is possible. Neither do t’gers attack for fun, pleasure or to settle personal grudges among them.
3 answer:- Children were delighted because of the fact that the schools were being closed. The reason behind this was not an issue of their concern. They were happy on account of an extra and unexpected holiday.
5 (2) Answer:- Some days later the headmaster remarked that not even in his wildest mood had he expected a tiger coming to his place. He was also surprised on the incident just as the others were.
C Answer:- The tiger ascended the steps of the school and worked in from the open door to Headmaster's office. HE FLUNG himself on the cool floor which gave him the feeling of being back in Mempi cave He was aware of cautious steps and hushed voices all around He was not in a mood to bother about anything. He only wanted to sleep.
Explanation:
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: I rested for a moment at the door of Anand Bhavan, on Market Road, where coffee drinkers and tiffin eaters at their tables sat transfixed uttering low moans on seeing me. I wanted to assure them, ‘Don’t fear, I am not out to trouble you. Eat your tiffin in peace, don’t mind me…. You, nearest to me, hugging the cash box, you are craven with fear, afraid even to breathe. Go on, count the cash, if that’s your pleasure. I just want to watch, that’s all…. If my tail trails down to the street, if I am blocking your threshold : it is because, I’m told, I’m eleven feet tip to tail. I can’t help it. I’m not out to kill…. I’m too full—found a green pasture teeming with food on the way. Won’t need any for several days to come, won’t stir, not until I feel hungry again. Tigers attack only when they feel hungry, unlike human beings who slaughter one another without purpose or hunger…. ’ To the great delight of children, schools were being hurriedly closed. Children of all ages and sizes were running helter-skelter screaming joyously, ‘No school, no school. Tiger, tiger!’ They were shouting and laughing and even enjoyed being scared. They seemed to welcome me. I felt like joining them, and bounded away from the restaurant door and trotted along with them, at which they gleefully cried, ‘The tiger is coming to eat us; let us get back to the school!’ I followed them through their school gate while they ran up and shut themselves in the school hall securely. I ascended the steps of the school, saw an open door at the far end of a veranda, and walked in. It happened to be the headmaster’s room, I believe, as I noticed a very dignified man jumping on his table and heaving himself up into an attic. I walked in and flung myself on the cool floor, having a partiality for cool stone floors, with my head under the large desk—which gave me the feeling of being back in the Mempi cave…. As I drowsed, I was aware of cautious steps and hushed voices all around. I was in no mood to bother about anything. All I wanted was a little moment of sleep; the daylight was dazzling. In half sleep I heard the doors of the room being shut and blotted and locked. I didn’t care. I slept. While I slept a great deal of consultation was going on. I learnt about it later through my master, who was in the crowd—the crowd which had gathered after making sure that I had been properly locked up—and was watching. The headmaster seems to have remarked some days later, ‘Never dreamt in my wildest mood that I’d have to yield my place to a tiger…. ’ A wag had retorted, ‘Might be one way of maintaining better discipline among the boys. ‘Now that this brute is safely locked up, we must decide,’ began a teacher. At this moment my master pushed his way through the crowds and admonished, ‘Never use the words “beast” or “brute”. They’re ugly words coined by humans in their arrogance. The human being thinks all other creatures are “beasts”. Awful word! i-rested-for-a-moment-at-the-door-of-anand-bhavan-on-market-road.
(a) Give the meaning of each of the following words or phrases as used in the passage. One word answers or short phrases will be accepted.
1. transfixed (line 2)
2. helter-skelter (line 12)
3. admonished (line 35)
ANSWERS:-
1. transfixed—Stare continuously
2. helter-sklter—here and there.
3. admonishehelter-—scolded.