CBSE Class 11 Humanities English · Ch 1: The Portrait of a Lady

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Difficulty: 3 easy · 7 medium · 20 hard

Sample questions with answers

The first 5 questions of this free test.

1. Q1. In 'The Portrait of a Lady', the author notes that the turning point which broke the 'tie' between him and his grandmother was his shift to a city school. Which of the following best explains WHY this particular change, rather than mere physical distance, weakened their bond?

   • A. He was given a separate room in the city, so they stopped sharing the same bedroom from childhood
   • B. The grandmother fell seriously ill and could not leave her room to help him study
   • C. The new school taught English words, Western science and music, things she could not share or approve of, ending her role in his education
   • D. He now travelled by motor bus, so she could no longer feed the village dogs with him
   Solution

   At the village school the grandmother was closely involved in his education (religious lessons, walking him there), but the city school taught English, science and music — subjects she could neither share nor approve of, so she could no longer participate in his learning.

2. Q2. Match each stage of the grandmother's life with her activity and choose the correct option: (a) Village temple school (i) Sang about the homecoming of warriors with a drum (b) The narrator's return from abroad (ii) Read the scriptures (c) City home (iii) Spun thread and fed the sparrows (d) Her last hours (iv) Told her beads in silent prayer

   • A. (a)-(i), (b)-(ii), (c)-(iv), (d)-(iii)
   • B. (a)-(ii), (b)-(i), (c)-(iii), (d)-(iv)
   • C. (a)-(iii), (b)-(iv), (c)-(i), (d)-(ii)
   • D. (a)-(ii), (b)-(iv), (c)-(iii), (d)-(i)
   Solution

   She read scriptures at the temple, celebrated his return by singing with a drum, fed sparrows in the city, and prayed silently in her last hours.

3. Q3. When the narrator's corpse-side bread was thrown to them, the thousands of sparrows sat quietly and did not touch it. What does this behaviour of the sparrows most clearly suggest?

   • A. The sparrows preferred the grains she used to give over bread
   • B. The sparrows were frightened by the gathering of mourners
   • C. The sparrows had already been fed earlier by the mother
   • D. The sparrows were silently mourning the death of the grandmother
   Solution

   The sparrows mourned the grandmother who used to feed them daily, showing the depth of the bond of love between them.

4. Q4. Why was the grandmother upset when she learnt that music was being taught to the narrator at the city school?

   • A. She was afraid he would want to become a professional singer
   • B. She thought music had indecent associations and was meant only for beggars and low people
   • C. She disliked the English songs taught in the school
   • D. She felt music would take time away from his study of the scriptures
   Solution

   She believed music had 'lewd' associations and was fit only for beggars and low-class people, not for respectable homes.

5. Q5. Read the statements about the grandmother's response to the narrator's city (English) school and choose the correct combination: I. She was unhappy that nothing was taught about God and the scriptures. II. She disapproved of the music lessons given at school. III. She was delighted that he now learnt about gravity and Archimedes. IV. She was distressed that she could no longer help him with his lessons.

   • A. I, III and IV
   • B. I, II and IV
   • C. II, III and IV
   • D. I, II and III
   Solution

   She disliked the lack of religious teaching and the music, and felt helpless about the new subjects; she was not pleased about science, so III is wrong.

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