Lesson 1 The Last Lesson

7. What was Franz expected to be prepared with for school that day?
8. What did Franz notice that was unusual about the school that day?
9. What had been put up on the bulletin board?
10. What changes did the order from Berlin cause in school that day?
11. How did Franz‘s feelings about Mr. Hamel and school change?
12. What was the fear in little Franz‘s mind when he started for school in the morning
13. Why did Franz not want to go to school that day?
14. What did Franz see while he was going to school?
15. The teacher did not scold Franz for his coming late to school. Why?
16. How did M. Hamel dress for school on his last day to school?
17. Why did Hauser and the other villagers come to attend ―The Last Lesson?‖
18. What information did M. Hamel give to the children in his class?

Lesson 2 Lost Spring

1 . What is Saheb looking for in the garbage dumps? Where is he and where has he come from?

2. What explanations does the author offer for the children not wearing footwear?
3. Is Saheb happy working at the tea-stall? Explain.
4. What makes the city of Firozabad famous?
5. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry.
6. How is Mukesh’s attitude to his situation different from that of his family?
7. What could be some of the reasons for the Migration of people from villages to cities?
8. Why should child labour be eliminated and how?
9. How can Mukesh realise his dream?

Lesson 3 Deep Water

1 . Why was Douglas determined to get over his fear of water?

2. How did the instructor ‘build a swimmer’ out of Douglas?
3. How did Douglas overcome his fear of water?
4. How did the experience of throwing by the bully affect him?
5. What is the ‘misadventure’ that William Douglas speaks about?
6. What did Douglas experience when he was thrown into the pool again?
7. How did this experience affect him?
8. How did Douglas make sure that he conquered the old terror?
9. “All we have to fear is fear itself.” Explain the statement in your own words.

Lesson 4 The Rattrap

1 . From where did the peddler get the idea of the world being a rat trap?

2. Why was he amused by this idea?
3. Did the peddler expect the kind of hospitality that he received from the crofter?
4. Why was the crofter so talkative and friendly with the peddler?
5. Why did he show the thirty kroner to the peddler?
6. Did the peddler respect the confidence reposed in him by the crofter?
7. What made the peddler think that he had indeed fallen into the rattrap?
8. Why did the ironmaster speak kindly to the peddler and invite him home?
9. Why did the peddler decline the invitation?
10. What made the peddler accept willmansson’s invitation?
11. What doubts did Edla have about the peddler?
12. When did the ironmaster realise his mistake?
13. What did the peddler say in his defence when it was clear that he was not the person the ironmaster had thought he was?

14. Why did Edla still entertain the peddler even after she knew the truth about him?
15. Why was Edla happy to see the gift left by the peddler?
16. What made the peddler finally change his ways?
17. How does the metaphor of the rattrap serve to highlight the human predicament?

Lesson 5 Indigo

1 . Why is Rajkumar Shukla described as being resolute?

2. Why do you think the servants thought Gandhi to be another peasant?
3. Why did Gandhi agree to a settlement of 25% refund to the farmers?
4. How did the episode change the plight of the peasants?
5. How was Gandhi able to influence lawyers?
6. Why did Gandhi consider the Champaran episode to be a turning point in his life?
7. What was the attitude of the average Indian in smaller localities towards advocates of ‘home rule’?

8. What was Gandhi’s politics intertwined with?
9. Why did Gandhi chide the lawyers of Muzaffarpur?
10. “Freedom from fear is more important than legal justice for the poor.” How is this statement relevant in today’s scenario?

Lesson 7 The Interview

1 .Why do most celebrity writers despise being interviewed?

2. What do you understand by the expression “thumbprints on his windpipe”?
3. How does Eco find the time to write so much?
4. What was distinctive about Eco’s academic writing style?
5. What is the reason for the huge success of the novel, ‘The name of the rose’?
6. How have interviews become a common place of journalism?
7. Why did Rudyard Kipling refuse to be interviewed?

Flamingo (Poetry section)

Poem 1 My Mother at Sixty Six

1 . What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels?

2. Why are the young trees described as ‘sprinting’?
3. Why has the mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’?
4. What do the parting words of the poet and her smile signify?
5. What worried the poet when she looked at her mother?
6. What were the poet’s feelings at the airport? How did she hide them?

Poem 2 An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum

1 . What does the poet want for the children of the slums? How can their lives be made to change?

2. How is the atmosphere inside an elementary school classroom in a slum different from the one outside it?

Poem 3 Keeping Quiet

1 . Why does the poet ask us to keep still?

2.What symbol from Nature does the poet invoke to say that there can be life under apparent stillness?

Poem 4 A Thing of Beauty

1 . What pleasure does a beautiful thing give us?

2. Why is ‘grandeur’ associated with the ‘Mighty dead’?
3. What image does the poet use to describe the beautiful bounty of the earth?
4. What makes human beings love life in spite of trouble and suffering?

Poem 5 A Roadside Stand

1 . Where was the stand situated and how was it made?

2. What will be a great relief to the poet? How can the problems of the rural people be solved?

Vistas : supplementary reader

Lesson 2 The Tiger King

1 . Who is Tiger King? Why does he get that name?

2. What did the royal infant grow up to be?
3. What is the author’s indirect comment on subjecting innocent animals to the willfulness of human beings?

4. Which matter about the Tiger King is of extraordinary interest?
5. Why did the Maharaja ban tiger hunting in the state?
6. Why did the Maharaja order the Deewan to double the land tax?
7. How did the hundredth tiger take its revenge upon the Tiger King?

Lesson 3  Journey to the End of the Earth

1 . What was the purpose of the visit to Antarctica?

2. What unique opportunities does the Antarctic environment provide to scientists?
3. What are phytoplanktons?
4. How do geological phenomena help us to know about the history of humankind?
5. ‘The world’s geological history is trapped in Antarctica’. How is the study of this region useful to us?

Lesson 4 The Enemy

1 . What did Dr Sadao and his wife do with the man?

2. Why was Dr Sadao kept in Japan and not sent abroad with the troops?
3. Where did Dr. Sadao and Hana meet?
4. In what condition did Dr Sadao and Hana find the white man at the seashore?
5. How did Dr Sadao help Tom, the white man to escape?
6. Describe the difficulties faced by Dr sadao and his wife, Hana, when they tried to help the enemy soldier?

 

Lesson 5 Should Wizard Hit Mommy?

1 . What was the basic plot of each story told by Jack?

2. What was Roger Skunk’s problem? Why did his mother not like her son smelling like roses?
3. Why did Jo want the wizard to hit Roger Skunk’s mommy?
4. Why is an adult’s perspective on life different from that of a child?
5. What is the moral issue that the story raises?

Lesson 6 On the Face of It

1 . What kind of a person was Evans?

2. Who visited Evans on the morning of the examination? What did they visit him for?
3. What two purposes did the correction slip serve? Which of them did Evans consider more important?

4. How was Evans able to devise a foolproof plan for escape from prison?
5. Should criminals in prison be given the opportunity of learning and education? Give reasons in support of your answer.