Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow.
1. No one can imagine how sad and monotonous life can appear to such a vagabond, who plods along the road, left to his own meditations. But one day this man had fallen into a line of thought, which really seemed to him entertaining. He had naturally been thinking of his rattraps when suddenly he was struck by the idea that the whole world about him-the whole world with its lands and seas, its cities and villages- was nothing but a big rattrap. It had never existed for any other purpose than to set baits for people. It offered riches and joys, shelter and food, heat and clothing, exactly as the rattrap offered cheese and pork, and as soon as anyone let himself be tempted to touch the bait, it closed in on him, and then everything came to an end.
i. The use of the word 'plods' suggests that the peddler leads a very ______________life.
ii. According to the first line of the extract, how does the man feel about life?
iii The man had fallen into a line of thought because:
A. he had been walking for a long time.
B. he had been thinking about his rattraps
C. he had found it entertaining
D. both B and C
iv. State, whether the statement given below, is TRUE or FALSE:
The only purpose for the existence of the world was to set baits and trap people.
v. The baits offered by the world in the story included:
A. food, success, glamour, victory
B. riches, beauty, fame, palaces
C. glory, martyrdom, recognition, fan following
D. joys, shelter, cheese, pork
vi. Baits used in a rattrap include:
A. cheese and pork
B. glory and fame
C. cheese and fame
D. pork and fame
2. Later in the day it became worse, for it was a big and confusing forest which he had gotten into. He tried , to be sure, to walk in a definite direction, but the paths twisted back and forth so strangely! He walked and walked without coming to the end of the wood, and finally, he realised that he had only been walking around in the same part of the forest. All at once he recalled his thoughts about the world and the rattrap. Now his turn had come. He had let himself be fooled by a bait and had been caught.
i. The most appropriate idiom that describes the peddler's condition in the extract is:
A. To get a taste of one's medicine.
B. You reap what you sow.
C. Time and tide stand for none.
D. Both A and B
ii. What became worse during the day was that__________________
iii. The 'bait' in this case was:
A. The cheese he had had for breakfast.
B. The bacon he had had for dinner.
C. The thirty kroner.
D. None of the above is correct.
iv. State whether the statement below is TRUE or FALSE
The forest in this case is a symbol of a prison or a rattrap that he had deliberately stepped into.
v. The overarching emotion of the peddler is that of
A. joy and triumph
B. repentance and regret
C. anger and helplessness
D. depression and hopelessness
vi. Why had the peddler stepped into the forest when he could have continued on the highway?
3. She looked at him compassionately, with her heavy eyes, and then she noticed that the man was afraid. "Either he has stolen something or else he has escaped from jail", she thought, and added quickly, "You may be sure, Captain, that you will be allowed to leave us just as freely as you came. Only please stay with us over Christmas Eve."
i. Describe the tone used by the speaker in the above extract in your own words.
ii. Identify the correct relationship between the below-mentioned statements.
a. "he has escaped from jail"
b. is a good judge of human character.
A. a. is an assumption while b. is an inference.
B. a. is the cause and b. is the effect.
C. b. is the assumption and a is the conclusion.
D. b. is the inference and a. is not true.
iii. The speaker in the above passage is more convincing and persuasive than her father because
A. she is kind but assertive
B. she is disarming and empathetic
C. she is intuitive and wise
D. she is condescending and beguiling
iv. State whether the following statement is TRUE or False.
The speaker in the above passage, unlike her father, exemplifies conditional kindness.
v. The correct meaning for the words, 'heavy eyes' with reference to context is
A. sleepy eyes
B. haunting eyes
C. empathetic eyes
D. neurotic eyes
vi. Fill in the blank with the most appropriate reason.
That the speaker in the extract knew that the peddler was an imposter, yet she wanted to invite
him home to celebrate Christmas suggests that she wanted to share the _____________ with the
peddler.
4. " Honoured and noble Miss, since you have been so nice to me all day long, as if I was a captain, I want to be nice to you, in return, as if I was a real captain - for I do not want you to be embarrassed at this Christmas season by a thief; but you can give back the money to the old man on the roadside, who has the money pouch hanging on the window frame as a bait for poor wanderers."
"The rattrap is a Christmas present from a rat who would have been caught in this world's rattrap if he had not been raised to captain, because in that way he got power to clear himself."
"Written with friendship and high regard,
Captain von Stahle"
i. State whether the statement below is TRUE or FALSE.
With reference to the above note one can state that Edla has been vindicated for inviting a stranger
to her home and for defending him before her father.
ii. Identify the correct relationship between the two statements given below.
a. The writer of the letter has gained the respectability of a captain.
b. Edla treated the writer of the letter with dignity and respect.
A. a. is the inference while b. is the conclusion
B. b. is the cause and a. is the effect
C. b. is not the consequence of a.
D. a. is not a direct consequence of b.
iii. The writer in the extract has written the word 'captain' with 'c' in lower case while he has written
the same word in the complimentary close with the first letter, 'C' in upper case because:
A. In the first case, it has not been capitalized because it is a common noun while in the second case
it has been capitalized because it is a proper noun.
B. In the first case it is a grammatical error while in the second case it is a title connected to the
name.
C. In the first case it is a proper noun while in the second case it is a common noun.
D. None of the above statements is a correct explanation.
iv. The rattrap in the extract, unlike the rattrap in the beginning of the lesson can be labelled as a
A. metaphor for transformation
B. symbol of redemption
C. sign that the peddler has come out of the rattrap
D. All of the above statements are correct.
v. The line, "The rattrap is a Christmas present from a rat who would have been caught in this world's rattrap if he had not been raised to captain, because in that way he got power to clear himself." can be best classified as:
A. A fact
B. An opinion
C. A theme
D. A plot point
vi. The tone in the line, ' "...you can give back the money to the old man on the roadside, who has the money pouch hanging on the window frame as a bait for poor wanderers." can best be described as being:
A. humorous, sarcastic and ironic
B. humourous, witty and jocular
C. humorous, condescending and vitriolic
D. None of the above statements is correct.
