N.C.E.R.T. Simplified

Q. The poet has a dual attitude towards the snake. Why does he experience conflicting emotions on seeing the snake? A. When the poet first sees the snake, he thinks of the snake as a magnificent, quasi-harmless creature. He gives it as much respect as he gives to any other human. But soon the 'voice of education', i.e. the man-centric education challenges the poet to kill the snake lest he lacks the courage to do so. Q. Why did the snake flicker its tongue? And what does the poet compare it to? A. The snake uses its tongue as a sense organ. It flickers its tongue to check whether its surroundings are safe or not. The poet compares this flickering to lightning. The lightning on a dark night is easily comparable to the snake's tongue and its realm of the underworld. Q. RTC "And immediately I regretted it  I thought how paltry, how vulgar, what mean act! I despised myself and the voices of my accursed human education  And I thought of the albatross...

Q. What unnatural scenes and sights had been reportedly seen that stormy night? A. The bizarre scenes seen that night were that of a lioness giving birth to her cubs on the street, the dead being thrown out of their graves. Moreover, armies battling each other were seen, which caused a rain of blood over the Capitol. Q. How did Brutus explain Calpurnia's dream? A. Brutus very cleverly turned Calpurnia's negative and depressing dream into an optimistic one for his own advantage. He deciphered Calpurnia's dream of many young Romans bathing their hands in Ceaser's blood as a sign of Ceaser's greatness. He said that Ceaser's blood was a source of energy and inspiration for the youth, urging them to grow Rome's glory. Q. RTC "Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears, I come to bury Ceasar, not to praise him, The evil the men do lives after them, The good is often erred with their bones." i) Who speaks the words...

Q. How was Schultz rescued from 'Warzone'? A. Michael rescued Schultz from 'Warzone' by escorting him safely to the helicopter. They both found a jeep amongst the heavy machine gun and tank fire. But the jeep crashed into a tank. Michael could easily escape the accident but Schultz was thrown into the air. Fortunately, he landed just below the hatch of the helicopter from where Michael rescued him and they both escaped. RTC "It couldn't be the Sebastian Schultz I'd met. I leant forward to read the rest of the article." Q. Who says these words? A. Michael is the speaker of these words. Q. Who is Sebastian Schultz? Where did the person in question meet him? A.  Sebastian Schultz was a 14 year old schoolboy from South London. Michael, the person in question, had first met him in a psycho drive game. Q. "....rest of the article". What article is referred to here? A. The newspaper article about Sebastian...

Q. RTC " Day after day, day after day We stuck, nor breath nor motion As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean." i) Who was stuck and where? A. The ancient mariner was stuck along with his shipmates in the motionless, still sea. ii) What is the effect of repetition in the first line? A. The repetition 'Day after day, day after day' signifies that the ancient mariner's ship was stuck at the same spot in the middle of the lifeless sea for days. iii) What literary devise has been used in the last lines? What effect does it create? A. Simile has been used in the last line. The still ship has been compared to a ship of a painted ship. It shows the lifelessness, stillness and the silence of the sea. Q. What shows the fickle mindedness of the sailors? How did they become partners in crime later? A. When the Ancient Mariner had killed the albatross, the very Christian albatross that made the wind blow, all his comrade...

Q. RTC "I met a traveller from an antique land, Who said: two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert near them, on the sand, half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown." i) Who does 'I' stand for? A.i)  'I' refers to the poet Percy B. Shelly. ii) What does 'antique land' refer to? A.ii)  'Antique land' refers to the place from where the traveller has come and where he saw the dilapidated statue and Ozymandias. It is actually an allusion to Egypt. iii) What does the speaker mean by 'trunkless legs'? A.iii)  The speaker, by this phrase, refers to the dilapidated statue of Ozymandias, which consists only of two legs standing on a pedestal devoid of the upper body. iv) Apart from trunkless legs, what did the traveller see there? A.iv)  Apart from the legs, the traveller saw a frowning and cold face partially sunk in the sand. This face once belonged to the statue of Ozymandias, but w...

Q. Despite being short of money and facing a struggle to make a living, Patol Babu left the scene immediately after his performance without waiting to be paid for it. What light does the incident throw on his character?  A. Patol Babu's act of rejecting money shows how passionate he was about acting. For Patol Babu, playing his role with finese and perfection was more important than getting money. Despite the necessity of moey, Patol Babu was free of avarice. Patol Babu was in financial turmoil since he was laid off from Hudson and Kimberley and getting a role in a film seemed like striking diamond in a coal mine. But he was not excited aboit the financial perks of acting; instead it was the chance to pursue his long lost passion of acting. Although Patol babu neither became rich nor got anything like the lead role in a film, he still made the most out of his piddly role by grasping self satisfaction. Q. Patol Babu was a very punctual man. Find two instances from the story...

Q. Why does Helen say people would not have believed in Hallock's ghosts if they had looked like her? A. Helen had the looks of a sophisticated woman. There was nothing 'ghostly' about her except the way she had appeared in bits and parts from nowhere. However, fiction writers like Hallock often describe ghosts as ugly, horrifying creatures. Helen feels that since people were so used to reading about such stereotypical ghosts, they would not believe in Hallock's ghost if they looked anything like her. Q. "Well I was in no position to contradict Jenkins." Why does Hallock make this statement? A. Jenkins was the editor of the magazine, the only magazine, which published John Hallock's short stories, thus providing him with an additional income. John needed this income very much to cope up with his wife's expenses and thus had no option but to oblige to the demands of Jenkins. Q. RTC "And somehow I had always been able t...

Q. In what ways are the wars wasteful? A. Wars are wasteful because war, like time spare none. Both the parties in a war, be it the winner or be it the loser, face tremendous loss and destruction. Wars are unproductive and a sheer waste of life and resources. Q. RTC "So, till the judgement that yourself arise, You live in this and dwell in lover's eyes." i) "You live in this". What does 'this' stand for here? A.i) 'This' is the sonnet written by Shakespeare for his beloved. ii) Explain 'dwell in lover's eyes'. A.ii) It means that the person this sonnet is dedicated to shall live in Shakespeare's eyes and other admirers who read this poem, even after he/she dies. iii) What would happen on the day of judgement? A.iii) On the judgement day, the world shall face the final judgement by God and Shakespeare's beloved would resurrect for this judgement. iv) Identify the figure of speech i...

Q. What are the three things Mr. Merry Weather planned to do on Monday? A. Mr Merry Weather, after getting a shock from his family, decided that on Monday, he would go to the lawyer and after his will, pay his insurance premium, and get married to Mrs Shorrocks at St. Philips Church. Q. What change does Grandpa make in his will? What effect does it have on his daughters? A. Grandpa Abel decides to change his will and gives all his fortune to the person he'll be living with when he dies. Thus both his daughters now try to persuade him to live with them and pretends to be the most caring daughter the world has seen, while in reality none of them ever wanted to keep Grandpa with them. Q. RTC " Oh Grandpa! I 'm so glad you're not dead. Mrs Slater: (in a vindictive whisper) Hold your tongue, Victoria." i) Why is Vicky delighted to see her Grandfather? A.i) Victoria being the only person in the family who actually loves Grandfather i...

Q. Why do you think the postmaster was keen on delivering the letter to Ali himself? A. When the postmaster did not receive a letter from his daughter for one night he realized the anxiety which Ali had been facing for the past five years. Pumped up with fatherly feelings, empathy and repentance for his insensitivity, the postmaster wanted to deliver Ali's letter himself.   Q. The postmaster calls Ali a pest. Was he right in doing so? Give reasons. A. Ali's persistent inquiry about his daughter's letter annoyed the postmaster who was in a hurry. Thus, out of a momentary impulse of anger, he called Ali a pest. Ali who never obstructed the work of the post officer and only waited quietly for his daughter's letter did not deserve such a rude rebuke. Q. Extrapolative Rebuked by the postmaster, Ali walks away from the post office with a heavy heart. Imagine you are Ali. Write a diary entry in about 150 words to express your condition. 16th May 194...

Q. Why did Mrs. Packeltide wish to kill a tiger?   [N.C.E.R.T.] A. Mrs. Packeltide wished to kill a tiger because she was jealous of Loona Bimberton's feat of flying 11 miles in an aeroplane. She wanted to steal the limelight from Loona,her social rival, and instead make her jealous. Q. What was Louisa Mebbins attitude towards money? A. Louisa Mebbins was very greedy and money minded. She spared no chance where she could squeeze out money from Mrs. Packeltide. She treated anyone's money as if it were her own and gave tips to save it, thus saving people many rubles and francs. She loved money more than anything.  Q. What preparations did the villagers make to arrange for a suitable tiger for Mrs. Packeltide and earn a thousand rupees. A. The villagers poted their children day and night to make sure that the tiger doesn't run away to fresh hunting grounds. They get cheap goats loose so that the old tiger was never in danger of starvation. He was...

Q. RTC " This is a fairy tale And you are Mozart in disguise Come to Earth before my eyes". i) Who says these words and to whom? A.i)  The Nightingale says these words to the frog. ii) Why was the listener been called 'Mozart in disguise'? A.ii) The listener, the frog, has been called so because he convinces the Nightingale that he is a very well known music critic, famous for his splendid baritone. iii) What trait of the speaker's characteristics is revealed by these words? A.iii)  These words reveal that the speaker is gullible and too trusting. She can be easily influenced and is too innocent for the cunning ways of the world. Q. V.B.Q. (Value Based Question)- In this world of deprived moral values, talent is often misused and misdirected. Comment with reference to 'The Frog and The Nightingale'. A. The story of the Nightingale being exploited by the frog reflects the bitter truth of life where rarely is ta...