L-1 The Last Lesson Text-Flamingo

Q3 Multiple Choice Questions based on an extract

A. 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 Why does the narrator refer to M. Hamel as ‘Poor man!’?

a) He empathizes with M. Hamel as he had to leave the village.

b) He believes that M. Hamel’s “fine Sunday clothes” clearly reflected that
he was not rich.
c) He feels sorry for M. Hamel as it was his last French lesson.
d) He thinks that M. Hamel’s patriotism and sense of duty resulted in his
poverty.

ii Which of the following idioms might describe the villagers’ act of attending
the last lesson most accurately?

a) ‘Too good to miss’

b) ‘Too little, too late’
c) ‘Too many cooks spoil the broth’
d) ‘Too cool for school’

iii Choose the option that might raise a question about M. Hamel’s “faithful
service”.

a) When Franz came late, M. Hamel told him that he was about to begin
class without him.
b) Franz mentioned how cranky M. Hamel was and his “great ruler
rapping on the table”.
c) M. Hamel often sent students to water his flowers, and gave a holiday
when he wanted to go fishing.
d) M. Hamel permitted villagers put their children “to work on a farm or at
the mills” for some extra money.

iv Choose the option that most appropriately fills in the blanks, for the
following description of the given extract.

The villagers and their children sat in class, forging with their old master
a (i) _____ togetherness. In that moment, the class room stood (ii)
_____. It was France itself, and the last French lesson a desperate
hope to (iii) ______ to the remnants of what they had known and taken
for granted. Their own (iv) _______.

a) (i) graceful; (ii) still; (iii) hang on; (iv) country

b) (i) bygone; (ii) up; (iii) keep on; (iv) education
 c) (i) beautiful; (ii) mesmerised; (iii) carry on; (iv) unity
d) (i) forgotten; (ii) transformed; (iii) hold on; (iv) identity

B. M. Hamel went on to talk of the French language, saying that it was the
most beautiful language in the world — the clearest, the most logical; that
we must guard it among us and never forget it, because when a people are
enslaved, as long as they hold fast to their language it is as if they had the
key to their prison. Then he opened a grammar book and read us our
lesson. I was amazed to see how well I understood it. All he said seemed
so easy, so easy!

i Which of the following can be attributed to M. Hamel’s declaration about the

French language?

a) subject expertise
b) nostalgic pride
c) factual accuracy
d) patriotic magnification

ii Read the quotes given below.

Choose the option that might best describe M. Hamel’s viewpoint.

(i) Those who know nothing of (ii) Language is the road map of a
foreign languages know nothing of culture. It tells you where its
their own. people come from and where they
are going. – Rita Mae Brown
– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

(iii) A poor man is like a (iv) The greatest propaganda in the world
foreigner in his own is our mother tongue, that is what we
country. learn as children, and which we learn
unconsciously. That shapes our
– Ali Ibn Abi Talib
perceptions for life. – Marshal McLuhan

a) Option (i)
b) Option (ii)
c) Option (iii)
d) Option (iv)

iii “I was amazed to see how well I understood it.”

Select the option that does NOT explain why Franz found the grammar
lesson “easy”.

a) Franz was paying careful attention in class this time.

b) M. Hamel was being extremely patient and calm in his teaching.
c) Franz was inspired and had found a new meaning and purpose to
learning.
 d) Franz had realized that French was the clearest and most logical
language.

iv Franz was able to understand the grammar lesson easily because he was

a) receptive.
b) appreciative.
c) introspective.
d) competitive.

Q 5. Stand-alone MCQs

i Franz saw a huge crowd assembled in front of the bulletin board, but did not
stop. How would you evaluate his reaction?

a) Franz was too little to care about the news of lost battles.
b) Nobody in Franz’s family was in the army, so it did not matter.
c) Bad news had become very normal, so he went about his task.
d) It was too crowded for Franz to find out what news was up on the board.

ii There was usually great bustle and noise when school began, but it was all
very quiet.
Which of the following describes Franz’ emotions most accurately?

a) shock and awe

b) disappointment and anxiety
c) confusion and distress
d) curiosity and uncertainty

iii “I never saw him look so tall”. Which of the following best captures M. Hamel
on the last day of school?

a) cranky, miserable, dedicated, resigned

b) patient, dignified, emotional, courageous
c) calm, nostalgic, disappointed, patriotic
d) proud, reproachful, persistent, heroic

iv Look at the table below. Column A provides instances from the story ‘The
Last Lesson’. Column B provides titles of some famous English language
poems. Choose the option that correctly match items of Column A with
Column B.

Column A Column B

1. M. Hamel distributed new copies (i) ‘Remorse is memory awake’

that looked like little French flags, (Emily Dickinson)
and ended the class with an
emphatic “Vive La France!”.

2. Hauser sat at the end of the class, (ii) ‘A House called Tomorrow’
thumbing his primer, desperately (Alberto Rios)
 trying to learn with the children, even
as he cried.

3. M. Hamel shared how Alsace (iii) ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ (John
always put off learning, and how its Donne)
people always thought they had
plenty of time.

4. Class ended when the church- (iv) ‘Do Not Go gentle into that
clock struck twelve. And then the Good night’ (Dylan Thomas)
Angelus. Simultaneously, Prussian
trumpets sounded under the school
windows.

a) 1 – (i); 2 – (ii); 3 – (iii); 4 – (iv)

b) 1 – (ii); 2 – (iii); 3 – (iv); 4 – (i)
c) 1 – (iii); 2 – (iv); 3 – (i); 4 – (ii)
d) 1 – (iv); 2 – (i); 3 – (ii); 4 – (iii)

Q10 Answer in 30-40 words

i If this had been M. Hamel’s first lesson, how do you think the school
experience of the students might have been impacted?

ii Little Franz is the narrator of the story. The name ‘Franz’ means ‘from
France’.
In what way does the story being told as a first-person narrative of Franz
impact your reading and understanding of the story?
Provide at least one evidence from the text to support your opinion.

iii At the end of his last lesson, M. Hamel decides to leave a little note for each
of his students for them to find the next day at their desks. Based on your
reading of the story, what might his note to Franz read?

You may begin like this:

Dear Franz,
I know you have always preferred to run in the open fields …

Q12 Answer in 120-150 words

i Though tempted by the bright day, Franz stated that he had “the strength to
resist, and hurried off to school.” As the story progresses, the reader
realizes that Franz, M. Hamel and the villagers would perhaps need “the
strength to resist” much larger forces.

Discuss how the story provides strategies for resistance and protection of
one’s identity and community through its events and characters.
Provide relevant textual details to support your argument.

ii On the day of the last lesson, Franz felt that the “whole school was strange”.
 Throughout the story, the reader encounters Franz’ account of how school
usually was, and what it was like on the last day of class with M. Hamel.
This contrast comes across through events, and the actions and viewpoints
of various characters.

• In what way can the story be seen as a comment on schooling in

general?
• Does Franz’ description of school life resonate with your own
experience?
• Do you think the story might also provide advice on what good
education entails?
Substantiate your argument with relevant instances from the text.

Answer key for MCQs

Q3
A i – c ; ii – b ; iii – c ; iv – d

B i – d ; ii – b ; iii – d ; iv – a

Q5
i – c ; ii – b ; iii – b ; iv – d
L-2 Lost Spring Text-Flamingo

Q3 Multiple Choice Questions based on an extract.

A “I will learn to drive a car,” he answers, looking straight into my eyes. His
dream looms like a mirage amidst the dust of streets that fill his town
Firozabad, famous for its bangles. Every other family in Firozabad is engaged
in making bangles. It is the centre of India’s glass-blowing industry where
families have spent generations working around furnaces, wielding glass,
making bangles for all the women in the land it seems.
Mukesh’s family is among them. None of them know that it is illegal for children
like him to work in the glass furnaces with high temperatures, in dingy cells
without air and light; that the law, if enforced, could get him and all those
20,000 children out of the hot furnaces where they slog their daylight hours,
often losing the brightness of their eyes. Mukesh’s eyes beam as he
volunteers to take me home, which he proudly says is being rebuilt.

i The simile ‘dream looms like a mirage amidst the dust of streets’ indicates that
his dream was

a) a reality, yet seemed distant.

b) lost in the sea of dust.
c) illusory and indistinct.
d) hanging in the dusty air.

ii ‘I will learn to drive a car,’ he answers, looking straight into my eyes. This
sentence highlights Mukesh was

1. determined
2. fearless
3. hopeful
4. valiant
5. ambitious
6. stern

a) 1&5
b) 2&4
c) 2&5
d) 3&6

iii Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE with reference to the extract?

a) Children work in badly lit and poorly ventilated furnaces.

b) The children are unaware that it is forbidden by law to work in the
furnaces.
c) Children toil in the furnaces for hours which affects their eyesight.
d) Firozabad has emerged as a nascent producer of bangles in the
country.

iv Every other family in Firozabad is engaged in making bangles indicates that

 a) bangle making is the only industry that flourishes in Firozabad.
b) the entire population of Firozabad is involved in bangle making.
c) majority of the population in Firozabad is involved in bangle making.
d) bangle making is the most loved occupation in Firozabad.

B She still has bangles on her wrist, but no light in her eyes. “Ek waqt ser bhar
khana bhi nahin khaya.” she says, in a voice drained of joy. She has not
enjoyed even one full meal in her entire lifetime-that’s what she has reaped!
Her husband, an old man with a flowing beard says, “I know nothing except
bangles. All I have done is make a house for the family to live in.”
Hearing him one wonders if he has achieved what many have failed in their
lifetime. He has a roof over his head!
The cry of not having money to do anything except carry on the business of
making bangles, not even enough to eat, rings in every home. The young men
echo the lament of the elders. Little has moved with time, it seems in
Firozabad, years of mind-numbing toil have killed all initiative and the ability to
dream.

i ‘She still has bangles on her wrist, but no light in her eyes.’ This implies that

a) she is married but has lost the charm in her eyes.

b) she is a married woman who has lost her grace and beauty.
c) though she is married, her eyes are devoid of happiness.
d) she is a married woman who has lost her eyesight.

ii ‘He has a roof over his head!’ The tone of the author is

a) pessimistic.
b) empathetic.
c) sympathetic.
d) optimistic.

iii Choose the term which best matches the statement ‘The young men echo the
lament of their elders.’

a) acceptance
b) reflection
c) reiteration
d) doubtfulness

iv ‘Years of mind-numbing toil have killed all initiative and the ability to dream’.
This shows that

a) the bangle makers are exhausted yet they are enterprising and have
dreams.
b) the drudgery of work has destroyed their willingness to improve their lot.
c) the daily grind has stolen the dreams of the bangle makers and made them
dull.
d) the bangle makers have been working so hard that there’s no time to
dream.
Q5 Stand Alone MCQs

i ‘But promises like mine abound in every corner of his bleak world’. This
suggests that

a) there is no dearth of promises which remain unfulfilled.

b) there is a scarcity of people promising things for betterment.
c) people make a lot of promises which are often fulfilled.
d) promises made, live up to the expectations of people.

ii From this chapter, it is evident that the author has an attitude of

a) sympathy.
b) apathy.
c) empathy.
d) bewilderment.

iii ‘That’s why they left, looking for gold in the big city.’ Here ‘gold’ indicates

a) misfortune of circumstances.
b) ample wealth.
c) means of survival.
d) a sign of luxury.

iv Choose the statement that is NOT TRUE about ragpickers in Seemapuri.

a) Children are equally involved in rag picking as their parents.

b) The ragpickers settle down in a place permanently.
c) Rag picking has accomplished itself as a skill and form of art.
d) Ragpickers live in unsteady shanties on the outskirts of Delhi.

Q10 Answer in 30-40 words

i Why do you think Mukesh is content to dream of cars and doesn’t dream of
flying a plane?

ii Do you believe that ‘God-given lineage can be broken’? Support your position
with a rationale.

iii How do you think the author’s life might have been impacted after her
interactions with the children and their families mentioned in ‘Lost Spring’?

Q12 Answer in 120-150 words

i How does the story, ‘Lost Spring’ highlight the apathy of society and those in
power to end the vicious cycle of poverty?
Support your answer with textual evidence.

ii Certain traditions and lineage, condemn thousands of children to a life of

abject poverty and choke their aspirations.
 • Do you agree? Explain.
• How can we change this? Suggest some ways to tackle this issue.

Answer key for MCQs

Q3
A. i – c); ii - a); iii – d); iv – c)

B i – c); ii – d); iii – c); iv – b)

Q5
i – a); ii – a); iii – c); iv – c); v – b)