Somebody’s Mother
I. Answer the following question and share your responses with your partner.
1.What
kind of a woman do you find in this poem?
Answer:The woman was very old, poor, and very weak. She was not able to
tolerate that severe cold.
2.Where
was the woman standing? Why was she standing there?
Answer:The woman was standing at the crossroad to cross the road.
3.Why
was the woman very anxious?
Answer:She was very anxious because the road was very busy and slippery. She
was weak and couldn’t cross it alone.
4.What
are the children compared to?
Answer:The school children came there like flocks of sheep.
5.Did
the boys lend the old woman a helping hand?
Answer:No, the boys didn’t lend a helping hand to the woman.
6.Why
was the old woman hesitating to cross the street?
Answer:She was very weak and her legs were trembling with cold. She had no
courage to cross such a busy and slippery road. So she was hesitating to cross
the road.
II. Read and discuss your responses with your partner. Then write:
1.How
did the boy help the old woman?
Answer:When the boy saw this old woman waiting to cross the road, he ran to her
and asked in a low voice that if she agreed, he could help her to cross the
road. He took her aged hand in his strong young arms, he guided her trembling
feet along and crossed the road without hurt or harm.
2.What
made the boy happy?
Answer:The boy was full of love and compassion and he might have been taught
the importance of helping the needy by his parents, when he did the same, he
got satisfaction and joy.
3.What
did the boy tell his friends?
Answer:The boy told his friends that she was somebody’s mother, aged, poor and
slow, so he helped her. Some day his own mother would be in a similar
situation, someone else would help her when he is not there.
4.What
did the old woman say in her prayers that night? Why?
Answer:That night at home, the old lady prayed for the boy who had helped her
to cross the road. Her heart was overflowing with gratitude and pride. She
prayed, “God be kind to him, Somebody’s Son.
5.Do
you like this poem? Why or why not?
Answer:Yes, I like this poem. Because the helping nature and kindness of the
boy inspired many readers to do the same. This shows that we gain happiness if
we help others.
III . Answer the following as directed:-
1.Pick out the rhyming words in the poem, and
read them aloud.
Answer:The rhyming words are grey-day, snow-slow, long-throng, by-eye, shout
out, sheep-deep, grey-way, her-stir, feet-street, troop-group, low-go,
arm-harm, along-strong, went-content, know-slow, hand-stand, grey- away,
head-said, boy-joy.
2.Name the figure of speech in these lines:
1.
….came
boys….like a flock of sheep. What are the boys compared to? Simile
The boys are compared to a flock of sheep. The Comparison is direct and used
the word like.
2. Her aged hand on his strong young arm. Synecdoche.
IV Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow:
1.Nor
offered a helping hand to her, So meek, so timid, afraid to stir.
a) Who is ‘her’?
A)
The old woman.
b) Who did not offer help to her?
A)
The children who came that way.
c)
Why was the lady afraid to stir?
A) The lady was old and bent and her feet aged and slow. So, she was afraid to
stir.
2.God
be kind to the noble boy Who is somebody’s son and pride and joy.
a) Who said this prayer?
A)
The old woman
b) Who is the noble boy referred to?
A)
The boy who had helped her cross the road.
c) Why did she pray for him?
A) Because of all the boys in the group, he was the only one who had helped
her.
V Four alternatives are given for each of the following questions/ incomplete statements. Choose the most appropriate one.
1.The
poem ‘Somebody’s Mother’ is written by
A) Mary Dow Brine
B) Isaac Watts
C) Sarojini Naidu
D) Rudyard Kipling
Answer:A) Mary Dow Brine
2.‘Hailing
the snow, piled white and deep’. The word ‘hailing’ means
A) clearing
B) welcoming
C) attracting
D) digging
Answer:B) welcoming
0 Comments