The Last Lesson

2025
Q1. Read the following extracts and answer the questions:
My Last French Lesson! Why, I hardly knew how to write! I should never learn any more! I must stop there, then! Oh, how
sorry I was for not learning my lessons, for seeking birds ‘eggs or going sliding on the Saar! My books, that had seemed such
a nuisance a while ago, so heavy to carry, my grammar, and my history of the saints, were old friends now that I couldn’t give
up and M. Hamel, too; the idea that he was going away, that I should never see him again, made me forget all about his ruler
and how cranky he was.
Poor man! It was in honour of this last lesson that he had put on his fine Sunday clothes, and now I understood why the old
men of the village were sitting there in the back of the room. It was because they were sorry, too, that they had not gone to
school more. It was their way of thanking our master for his forty years of faithful service and of showing their respect for
the country that was theirs no more.
(i) Choose the correct option:
What is the tone of the speaker in the expression ‘I hardly knew how to write…. how sorry I was for not learning my
lessons’?
(A) confused
(B) regretful
(C) surprised
(D) happy
Ans. (B) regretful
(ii) Choose the correct option :
The speaker refers to ‘seeking birds’ egg’ and ‘sliding on the Saar’ as
(A) part of his routine
(B) his daily routine
(C) source of distraction from learning
(D) fun time with friends
Ans. (C) source of distraction from learning
(iii) What is reflected through the shift in the speaker’s perception of his books through his expression of calling them his
‘old ‘friends’ rather than considering them as ‘nuisance’?
Ans. When he realizes that he will no longer be able to study French, there is a change in his feelings. The books which were
a nuisance become his old friends.
(iv) Select the correct option from those given in brackets to fill in the blank:
“It was because they were sorry too….”
They were sorry for ___________(not following the government order / not learning their language)
Ans. not learning their language
(v) What is inferred from the expression ‘the country that was theirs no more’?
Ans. It infers that their land had been occupied by another rule and now, they would obey their orders.
(vi) What does M. Hamel’s ruler reflect about his image?
Ans. He was a strict teacher.
2024
Q1. Read the following extracts and answer the questions:
For a moment I thought of running away and spending the day out of doors. It was so warm, so bright! The birds were
chirping at the edge of the woods; and in the open field back of the sawmill the Prussian soldiers were drilling. It was all
much more tempting than the rule for participles, but I had the strength to resist, and hurried off to school.

(i) List two sensory details present in the extract.

Ans. Warm and bright weather
Birds chirping at the edge of the woods

(ii) Why is the narrator tempted to spend the day out of doors?
Ans. The narrator is tempted because of the pleasant weather, the chirping birds, and the sight of Prussian soldiers drilling in
the open field.
(iii) Complete the sentence appropriately.
I hurried off to school resisting _______________.
Ans. I hurried off to school resisting the temptation to skip the day and enjoy the outdoors.

(iv) Why does the narrator want to bunk school?

(A) He doesn’t like the teachers.
(B) He doesn’t like his classmates.
(C) He wasn’t prepared for the test on participles.
(D) He had forgotten to complete his homework.
Ans. (C) He wasn’t prepared for the test on participles.

(v) Which trait of the protagonist is revealed in the sentence ‘I had the strength to resits’?
(A) sincerity
(B) determination
(C) bravery
(D) kindness
Ans. (B) determination

(vi) Which of the following headlines best suggests the central idea of the extract?
(A) The Drilling of Prussian Soldiers
(B) The Rule of Participles
(C) Strength to Resist
(D) Out of Doors
Ans. (C) Strength to Resist

Q2. Read the following extracts and answer the questions :

I heard M. Hamel say to me, “I won’t scold you, little Franz : you must feel bad enough, see how it is ! Everyday we have said
to ourselves. Bah! I’ve plenty of time I’ll learn it tomorrow. And now you see where we’ve come out. Ah, that’s the great
trouble with Alsace; she puts off learning till tomorrow. Now those fellows out there will have the right to say to you. ‘How is
it; you pretend to be Frenchmen, and yet you can neither speak nor write your own language?’ But, you are not the worst,
poor little Franz. We’ve all a great deal to reproach ourselves with”.

(i) ‘And now you see where we’ve come out.’ The tone of M. Hamel in the above line is that of :
(A) kindness
(B) happiness
(C) regret
(D) enthusiasm
Ans. (C) regret

(ii) ‘We’ve all a great deal to reproach ourselves with.’

Select the option, which conveys the meaning of ‘reproach’ as reflected in the above line.
(A) The player received a reprimand for breach of rules.
(B) The students approached the management with a demand for new canteen.
(c) The clerk received a letter of appreciation for his innovative ideas
(D) She could not find a way to broach the subject with her boss.
Ans. (A) The player received a reprimand for breach of rules.

(iii) State whether the following statement is true or false with reference to the extract.
1. Hamel endorses the belief that there is plenty of time to learn their language.
Ans. False
(iv) Complete the sentence appropriately.
‘You must feel bad enough.’ Through these words M. Hamel urges the people _______.
Ans. ‘You must feel bad enough.’ Through these words M. Hamel urges the people to realize the consequences of their
procrastination and neglect of their language.

(v) Identify the line from the text that reinforces the theme of patriotism in the story.
Ans. “How is it; you pretend to be Frenchmen, and yet you can neither speak nor write your own language?”

(vi) She puts off learning till tomorrow. The phrase ‘puts off” suggests _____.
Ans. She puts off learning till tomorrow. The phrase “puts off suggests procrastination.
The Lost Spring
2025
Q1. Read the following extracts and answer the questions :
“It takes longer to build a school.” I say, embarrassed at having made a promise that was not meant. But promises like mine
abound in every corner of his bleak world.
After months of knowing him, I ask him his name. ‘Saheb-e-Alam’, he announces. He does not know what it means. If he
knew its meaning – lord of the universe – he would have a hard time believing it. Unaware of what his name represents, he
roams the streets with his friends, an army of bare feet boys who appear like the morning birds and disappear at noon. Over
the months, I have come to recognise each of them.
“Why aren’t you wearing chappals?” I ask one.
“My mother did not bring them down from the shelf.” He answers simply.
“Even if she did he will throw them off,” adds another who is wearing shoes that do not match.
Select the option from those given in brackets, to fill in the blank.
(i) The intention of the speaker in the first line of the extract is one of __________.(clarification/confusion)
Ans. confusion
(ii) What is implied by the expression ‘he would have a hard time believing it’.
(A) Saheb is too innocent to believe everything.
(B) Saheb is living upto his name.
(C) Saheb’s living condition is contrary to the meaning of his name.
(D) Saheb is not used to anyone calling his name.
Ans. (C) Saheb’s living condition is contrary to the meaning of his name.
(iii) Select the correct option from those given in brackets to fill in the blank:
“Promises like mine abound in every corner of his bleak world.” The above statement of the speaker reveals the fact that
people like Saheb are ____(deluded/empowered) by such promises.
Ans. deluded
(iv) State one reason for the boy was wearing shoes that did not match.
Ans. He had got the shoes from a garbage dump. So they were not a matching pair of shoes but two different shoes.
(v) The speaker describes Saheb’s life as a ‘bleak world’ because
(A) he lives in a house without electricity.
(B) his world is his friends.
(C) his life is devoid of hope.
(D) he belongs to the world of illiterates.
vi. “Why aren’t you wearing chappals ?” I asked one. The conversation between the speaker and the boys reflects the
_____ of the speaker.
Ans. concern
2024
Q1. Read the following extracts and answer the questions :
They have lived here for more than thirty years without an identity, without permits but with ration cards that get their
names on voters’ lists and enable them to buy grain. Food is more important for survival than identity. “If at the end of the
day we can feed our families and go to bed without an aching stomach, we would rather live here than in the fields that gave
us no grain,” say a group of women in tattered saris when I asked them why they left their beautiful land of green fields and
rivers. Wherever they find food, they pitch their tents.
 (i) The ragpickers have been living there for ____________ decades.
(A) three
(B) four
(C) two
(D) five
Ans. (A) three

(ii) Why do these people have ration cards?

Ans. These people have ration cards to get their names on voters’ lists and enable them to buy grain.

(iii) What do you infer about their lifestyle from the phrase ‘pitch their tents’?
Ans. Their lifestyle is nomadic and transient, as they move frequently in search of food and shelter.

(iv) In spite of the hardships, they are not willing to go back to their homeland because__________.
Ans. They believe that finding food and feeding their families is more important than returning to their fields.

(v) The women had a/an __________ approach towards life.

(A) idealistic
(B) passive
(C) indifferent
(D) practical
Ans. (D) practical

(vi) What does the term ‘go to bed without an aching stomach’ indicate?
Ans. It indicates having enough food to eat and not going hungry.
Q2. Read the following extracts and answer the questions :
“Children grow up in them, becoming partners in survival. And survival in Seemapuri means rag-picking. Through the years,
it has acquired the proportions of a fine art. Garbage to them is gold. It is their daily bread, a roof over their heads, even if it
is a leaking roof. But for a child it is even more.”
(i) Complete the sentence appropriately.
Children become partners in survival suggests that ________.
Ans. they are deeply involved in the struggle for basic needs and livelihood, which is a part of their daily lives.

(ii) Rag-picking has acquired the proportion of a fine art means:

(A) artistic bend of mind is required.
(B) it has proportionately displaced art.
(C) it has become a highly skilful activity.
(D) it has discovered pieces of art.
Ans. (C) it has become a highly skilful activity.

(iii) State whether the given statement is True or False with reference to the extract.
The children and their parents have left Dhaka to live in Seemapuri.
Ans. False

(iv) Why does the author say ‘survival in Seemapuri means rag-picking’?
Ans. The author says this because rag-picking is the only means by which the people of Seemapuri can earn their livelihood
and survive.

(v) What does the phrase “for a child it is even more” reveal about the children’s dreams?
Ans. It reveals that for children, rag-picking represents not just survival but also a loss of their innocence and dreams, as it
becomes their whole world.
(vi) Which of the following headlines suggests the central idea of the extract?
(A) Seemapuri, A Pot of Gold
(B) Rag-picking – Different Perspectives
(C) Art in Delhi and in Seemapuri
(D) Saheb-e-Alam in Seemapuri
Ans. (B) Rag-picking – Different Perspectives

Q3. Read the following extracts and answer the questions:

“Why do you do this?” I ask Saheb whom I encounter every morning scrounging for gold in the garbage dumps of my
neighbourhood. Saheb left his home long ago. Set amidst the green fields of Dhaka, his home is not even a distant memory.
There were many storms that swept away their fields and homes, his mother tells him. That’s why they left, looking for gold
in the big city where he now lives.
“I have nothing else to do,” he mutters, looking away.
“Go to school,” I say glibly, realizing immediately how hollow the advice must sound.
“There is no school in my neighbourhood. When they build one, I will go.”

(i) Choose the correct option.

The expression ‘scrounging for gold’ refers to
(A) searching for gold items.
(B) looking for something that can fetch money.
(C) rummaging the garbage.
(D) digging to find food to eat.
Ans. (B) looking for something that can fetch money.

(ii) The influence of nature in Saheb’s life was that it _______.

(A) brought prosperity
(B) yielded food for them
(C) gave them home
(D) brought disaster
Ans. (D) brought disaster

(iii) Complete the sentence with an appropriate word.

Saheb’s conversation with the narrator draws _____ of readers towards Saheb.
Ans. Saheb’s conversation with the narrator draws sympathy of readers towards Saheb.

(iv) Explain one inference that can be drawn from the line “…… realizing how hollow the advice must sound”.
Ans. The narrator understands that advising Saheb to go to school is impractical because there are no schools in his
neighbourhood, and his immediate need is survival.

(v) The expression ‘when they build one, I will go’ indicates Saheb’s _______ to go to school.
Ans. The expression ‘when they build one, I will go’ indicates Saheb’s willingness to go to school.

(vi) State whether the following statement is TRUE or FALSE.

‘… his home is not even a distant dream’ states that Saheb sees his home often in his dream.
Ans. FALSE
2023
Q1. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow.
“I sometimes find a rupee, even a ten rupee note”, Saheb says, his eyes lighting up when you can find a silver coin in a heap
of garbage, you don’t stop scrounging, for there is hope of finding more. It seems that for children, garbage has a meaning
different from what it means to their parents. For the children it is wrapped in wonder, for the elders it is a means of survival.
One winter morning I see Saheb standing by the fenced gate of the neighbourhood club, watching two young men dressed in
white, playing tennis. “I like the game”, he hums, content to watch it standing behind the fence. “I go inside when no one is
around” he admits. “The gate keeper lets me use the swing.”

(i) Saheb found a rupee

(a) on the street
(b) in the garbage dump
(c) in Firozabad
(d) on the tennis court
Ans. (b) in the garbage dump

(ii) Which emotion of Saheb is revealed in the phrase ‘his eyes lighting up’?
(a) anxiety
(b) envy
(c) happiness
(d) greed
Ans. (c) happiness

(iii) For the elder’s garbage is ____ and for children it is ________.
Ans. a means of survival, while for children, wrapped in wonder.

(iv) On the basis of the extract, choose the correct option with reference to I and II given below :
1. Saheb watches the game from outside.
2. Saheb had lost the previous match.
(a) I is true but II is not
(b) II is true but I is not
(c) Both I and II are true
(d) Both I and II are untrue
Ans. (a) I is true but II is not

(v) ‘Scrounging’ in the passage most nearly means.

(a) digging
(b) searching
(c) flinging
(d) burying
Ans. (b) searching

(vi) ‘There is hope for finding more’. Explain with reference to the above extract.
Ans. Saheb says that he finds a rupee or even a ten-rupee note in the garbage sometimes, and when he does find something
valuable, his eyes light up with happiness. He adds that even if he finds a silver coin, he doesn’t stop scrounging, because
there is always hope of finding more. This implies that despite the fact that Saheb’s family relies on garbage to survive, he is
able to find some joy and excitement in the activity of scrounging. The hope of finding more valuable items is what
motivates him to continue searching through the garbage, and this hope gives him a sense of purpose and optimism even in
difficult circumstances

Q2. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:
And in dark hutments, next to lines of flames of flickering oil lamps, sit boys and girls with their fathers and mothers, welding
pieces of coloured glass into circles of bangles. Their eyes are more adjusted to the dark than to the light outside. That is why
they often end up losing their eyesight before they become adults.

(i) Complete the sentence with reference to the extract :

Their eyes are more adjusted to the dark than to the light outside because ____.
Ans. They regularly work in flickering dim lights, in dark hutments so they are more adjusted to the dark.

(ii) Which of the following would NOT be true?

(a) The hutments were shining and inviting.
(b) The children’s lives were as bleak as their surrounding.
(c) There were no electricity connections.
(d) The boys and girls had got used to the dark.
Ans. (a) The hutments were shining and inviting.

(iii) The bangle workers lose their eyesight before they became adults because
(a) they already have poor eyesight.
(b) they work in dim light.
(c) they are married in childhood.
(d) they are malnourished.
Ans. (b) they work in dim light.

(iv) Which of the following most nearly means ‘adjusted’ in the context of the extract?
(a) conditioned
(b) favoured
(c) accepted
(d) reconciled
Ans. (a) conditioned

(v) ‘Flickering oil lamps’ suggests _____.

Ans. The dim lights.

(vi) What is the antonym from the extract of the word ‘rarely’?
Ans. ‘often’
Deep Water
2024
Q1. Read the following extracts and answer the questions:
My introduction to the Y.M.C.A. swimming pool revived unpleasant memories and stirred childish fears. But in a little while I
gathered confidence. I paddled with my new water wings, watching the other boys and trying to learn by aping them. I did
this two or three times on different days. (Deep Water)

(i) Identify the phrase from the given extract that bears evidence to the fact that the narrator’s association with ‘childish
fears’ was not a recent one.
Ans. “Revived unpleasant memories and stirred childish fears.”

(ii) How does the writer try to learn it? Mention any two ways.
Ans. The writer tries to learn by paddling with water wings and watching and imitating the other boys.

(iii) What did the Y.M.C.A. pool bring back to Douglas?

(A) Unpleasant memories
(B) Memory of a boat
(C) Meeting a bruiser of a boy
(D) Memory of his visit to the Yakima River
Ans. (A) Unpleasant memories

(iv) The two emotions of Douglas mentioned in the given extract are ______ and __________.
Ans. confidence and fear
(v) Why did Douglas ape the other boys?
Ans. Douglas aped the other boys to learn how to swim by observing and mimicking their techniques.

(vi) The writing style of the extract is autobiographical because ___________ .

Ans. It recounts the personal experiences and emotions of the narrator, providing a first person perspective on overcoming
fear.

2023
Q1. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:
The next I remember I was lying on my stomach beside the pool, vomiting. The chap that threw me in was saying, “But I was
only fooling.” Someone said, “The kid nearly died. Be all right now. Let’s carry him to the locker room.”
Several hours later, I walked home. I was weak and trembling. I shook and cried when I lay on my bed. I couldn’t eat that
night. For days a haunting fear was in my heart. The slightest exertion upset me, making me wobbly in the knees and sick to
my stomach.
I never went back to the pool. I feared water. I avoided it whenever I could.

(i) With reference to the extract, Douglas was vomiting because

(a) he had got severe food poisoning.
(b) he had just been rescued from nearly drowning in the pool.
(c) he was frightened when he saw the big man.
(d) he had gone for a swim on an empty stomach.
Ans. (b) he had just been rescued from nearly drowning in the pool.

(ii) Rewrite the sentence by replacing the underlined phrase with its inference.
For days a haunting fear was in my heart.
Ans. For days a recurring fear was in my heart.

(iii) On the basis of the extract, choose the correct option with reference to the two statements given below :
1. The boy did not know how to swim.
Il. The boy took a long time to recover from his fear.
(a) I can be inferred from the extract but II cannot.
(b) I cannot be inferred from the extract but II can.
(c) I is true but II is false.
(d) Both I and II are true.
Ans. (d) Both I and II are true.

(iv) Identify the textual clue that allows the reader to infer that the chap threw the boy into the pool just for fun (clue : a
phrase)
Ans. But I was only fooling

(v) Complete the sentence with an appropriate explanation as per the extract.
The slightest exertion upset the boy because ________.
Ans. The slightest exertion upset the boy because he had swallowed a lot of water and the fear had caused a lot of exertion.
(vi) Replace the underlined word with its synonym from the extract.
The boy felt unsteady in the knees.
Ans. wobbly
2020
Q1. Read the extracts given below and briefly answer the questions that follow each.
This went on until July. But I was still not satisfied. I was not sure that all the terror had left. So I went to Lake Wentworth in
New Hampshire, dived off a dock at Triggs Island, and swam two miles across the lake to Stamp Act Island. I swam the crawl,
breast stroke, side stroke, and back stroke. Only once did the terror return. When I was in the middle of the lake, I put my
face under and saw nothing but bottomless water. The old sensation returned in miniature.
(i) Name the chapter and its writer.
Ans. Deep Water is the title of the chapter, and William Douglas is the author.

(ii) Why was the writer still not satisfied?

Ans. The writer was nevertheless unsatisfied since he still felt a sliver of worry now and then.
• He had a near-death experience that left a lasting impression on his psyche.
• As a result, he was motivated to overcome his phobia, and even after the trainer had completed his training, he was
unsatisfied.

(iii) What did ‘he’ do to satisfy himself?

Ans. To satisfy himself, he did the following:
• After the trainer had done training him, he went swimming alone.
• He travelled to New Hampshire’s Lake Wentworth.
• Eventually, he overcame his fear by swimming across Warm Lake.

(iv) Which ‘old sensation’ did he experience?

Ans. He felt like he was drowning when he had the “old sensation.”
• He went to a California beach with his father when he was a toddler and was pushed down by heavy surf. He was
terrified as a result of the encounter.
• When he was around ten or eleven years old, he was likewise thrown into the YMCA pool by a gang of youngsters.
He was terrified because he couldn’t get to the surface.
• He was terrified of water after these two experiences.