YOUTUBE CHANNEL : SHIPRA MISHRA

PARALLEL AND LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS PRACTICE SHEET

I. '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 Lost Spring)
'...far from the city we make our roadside stand and ask for
some city money to feel in hand'.
(A Roadside Stand)
Create a conversation between a bangle maker and the owner
of a roadside stand with reference to the above extracts.
You may begin the conversation like this:
Owner of a roadside stand: Your bangles are pretty. Tell me
about your experience in this business.

II. Franz from The Last Lesson and the peddler from The Rattrap
demonstrate the importance of learning from our mistakes to
evolve into better people.
Imagine that Shubhangi, your friend, feels as if she has made a
mistake by not taking her academics seriously. Write an essay
to Shubhangi in 120–150 words discussing instances from the
two texts to give her an insight into the human tendency to
make mistakes and learn from them.
You may begin like this:
Shubhangi, all of us have made mistakes at one point or
another in our lives. After all, to err is human...........

III. Both the general (The Enemy) and the Maharaja (The Tiger
King), deal with death. They are powerful figures confronted by
a similar fate.
You wish to include both of these characters in an upcoming
play. As a part of your research essay, compare and contrast
their experiences and their responses to these experiences in
120–150 words. [Clue: Include the similarities and differences of
their circumstances - their way of dealing with things - their
ultimate fate]

IV. The prose selections, Deep Water and Indigo, bring out the
importance of overcoming fear, in order to be able to lead our
lives successfully.
 YOUTUBE CHANNEL : SHIPRA MISHRA

Imagine yourself to be a motivational speaker who has to

address high school students. Write this address in 120 – 150
words elaborating on occurrences from the two texts to inspire
your audience and to convince them about the importance of
overcoming fear. You may begin like this …
Good morning, students!
We all know what it’s like to be afraid. Fear is our body’s natural
response to a perceived threat or danger.
But when …

V. ‘Their mother sighed.

Sophie watched her back stooped over the sink and wondered
at the incongruity of the delicate bow which fastened her apron
strings.’
The prose selection, Going Places includes this telling comment
about Sophie’s mother.
In Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers, we are told that -‘The massive weight
of Uncle’s wedding band Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer’s
Hand.’
Imagine a conversation between Sophie’s mother and Aunt
Jennifer. Create this exchange with reference to the two
extracts given above.
You may begin the conversation like this …
Sophie’s mother: Your embroidery is so beautiful. Do you love
tigers?

VI. On returning home, Tishani Doshi writes her thoughts reflecting

on how her decision to enrol for the Students on Ice programme
has been the single most important decision of her life that has
completely transformed her.
Imagine yourself to be Tishani and express these thoughts.
You may begin like this:
I can’t thank my stars enough for having cashed in on the
opportunity of...........

VII. Both Bama and Zitkala Sa experienced the harsh reality of

discrimination in their childhood. Instead of letting it pull them
down, they both found a way to overcome it.
You wish to include a cameo* of both in your upcoming blog
post.
As a part of the research, compare and contrast the
experiences faced by the two and their response/s to these
 YOUTUBE CHANNEL : SHIPRA MISHRA

experiences, in 120-150 words. [Clue: Include the similarities

and differences in the discrimination they faced - their feelings -
determination to overcome – success]
*a short description that neatly encapsulates someone or
something

VIII. Imagine that a few days after Mr. Lamb's fall from the ladder,
Derry writes his thoughts on how his meeting with Mr Lamb
changed his perspective towards life. Think of yourself as Derry
and express these thoughts.
You may begin like this:
A few days ago, I met an extraordinary person....

IX. 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.

X. Imagine that the bully who threw Douglas into the pool, reads
this chapter and realizes his mistake.
As the bully, write a dairy entry penning down your response to
Douglas’ perseverance and your own feelings of guilt and
regret.

XI. How would you compare the peddler’s actions in relation to the
crofter and Edla?
Would you say kindness does not always beget kindness, and
that the conditions for receiving kindness are important for it to
truly transform people? Elaborate.
Provide relevant textual details to support the analysis.

XII. Let us assume it was Rajendra Prasad who informed Charles

Freer Andrews of Gandhi’s decision and the reasons for other
leaders’ support of him. Thinking creatively of how Andrews
would have responded and pen down the
 YOUTUBE CHANNEL : SHIPRA MISHRA

discussion you think would have taken place between Rajendra

Prasad and Andrews.

XIII. Imagine Asokamitran witnesses a film shooting and visits a film

set of presentday Bollywood. As Asokamitran write a diary entry
penning down the transformation you notice between film
making of yesteryears and today.

XIV. After reading this story, you are impressed by the author’s use
of gentle humour to point out human foibles. Evaluate whether
using such humour contributes towards bringing about change
in people’s attitude and accepting
their foibles.

XV. Imagine that you are Christopher Silvester. You have been
invited to a seminar series titled – ‘Ethics and Techniques of
Interviewing’.
The organisers would like you to speak about the challenges of
conducting interviews, and skills interviewers must have in
order to conduct good and ethical interviews.
Based on your reading of The Interview, Part I and II, draft your
speech. Include relevant details from the text in support of your
answer.

XVI. Mukund Padmanabhan was gifted the ‘Penguin Book of

Interviews – An Anthology from 1859 to the Present Day’ edited
by Christopher Silvester, after interviewing Eco.
He shared his thoughts on his personal blog exploring his own
concerns about interviewing a distinguished writer like Eco,
followed by an evaluation of the interview in light of his reading.
As Mukund Padmanabhan, write the blog post.

XVII. Imagine Sophie’s father finds out about Sophie’s going to the
canal to meet Danny Casey which leads him to think that she
has lied to everyone about
the whole affair. He is infuriated and prohibits Sophie from
going anywhere except to school.
As Geoff, write a diary entry disapproving of your father’s
punishment by citing your reasons for being sympathetic to
Sophie.
 YOUTUBE CHANNEL : SHIPRA MISHRA

You may begin this way:

Monday, 2 September 1940 9 PM
I cannot get myself to stand with father in his tirade against
Sophie. Sure, she is not the
most…

XVIII. Imagine Sophie meets Danny Casey after several years.

Write a dialogue exchange between them where Sophie
explains what that
meeting means to her.

XIX. Imagine the mother gets to know of the poet persona’s fears.
Write a letter, as the mother, telling the daughter why she must
not dwell on these fears.
You may begin this way:
Pallipuram
Cochin, Kerala
22 August ‘60
My dear Kamala
I am writing to you because when you left me at the airport, I felt
something wasn’t right.
Judging by how little you spoke that day ……………………….
………………………………………(continue)……………………
……………
With love
Amma

XX. It could be said that the poem ‘Keeping Quiet’ presents the
poet’s philosophy for a different kind of world.
If you were asked to highlight elements of Neruda’s vision that
resonate in your specific social, political and cultural context,
which three main ideas would you engage with?
Use relevant textual details to support your analysis.

XXI. We have often heard the phrase: ‘Beauty is skin deep’. In spite
of that, we often see people idolising actors and celebrities who
are good looking and
attractive.
You have a conversation regarding this with your friend who
believes that physical beauty defines a person.
 YOUTUBE CHANNEL : SHIPRA MISHRA

Write down that conversation.

XXII. Imagine a car stops and actually buys from the roadside stand.
Keeping in mind the reaction you think the peasants would
have, write a diary entry as the farmer describing not only your
immediate experience but also your after-thoughts on being
able to earn “city-money”.
You may begin this way:
Wednesday, 2nd March XX 9 PM
We had an unexpectedly good day today!...

XXIII. Imagine that Aunt Jennifer read the poem that Adrienne Rich
wrote about her. After much contemplation, she decided to write
a letter to her husband expressing her feelings and thoughts.
Write the letter as Aunt Jennifer.

XXIV. In the story ‘The Third Level’, Charley wanted to go to

Galesburg, Illinois in the year 1894. If you had an opportunity to
go to another time and place, where would you like to go?
Why?
How would Sam analyse your choice of alternate time and
place?

XXV. The king was callous as a ruler and behaved whimsically. Thus,
the people in his kingdom suffered while he fulfilled his desire of
killing a hundred tigers.
Do you find leaders or politicians in the world today being
indifferent to the needs of the people and behaving in the same
way? Comment with relevant
examples.

XXVI.Imagine an interview where Green is asked to explain more

about his work and why he decided to initiate programs for
students.
Keeping both Green and the interviewer’s perspectives in mind,
pen down this interview.
 YOUTUBE CHANNEL : SHIPRA MISHRA

XXVII. Imagine Tom reaches home safely. He has fully recovered

and the war has now come to an end. He owes his life to Sadao
and Hana and is forever indebted to them. Years later, he has
been invited on a radio show as a war hero where he recounts
his tribulations and the experience of being granted a
new life by a Japanese couple.
As Tom, write down that narration.

XXVIII. Imagine that the encounter with Mr. Lamb marked a turning
point in Derry’s life. Many years later, Derry is invited to present
a TED Talk on the challenges he faced and overcame. He
thinks about the bitterness he carried earlier
towards people and the world, and how his attitude changed.
He decides to speak about the transformation in his relationship
with himself, and understanding what kindness towards oneself
might actually means.
He agrees to weave his speech on ‘Not the face of a victim’. As
Derry, create the speech draft for the TED Talk.

XXIX. Imagine your school has organised a panel discussion on

‘Oppression and Its Evils.’
You are one of the speakers. As part of your address, you are
required to reflect on the lessons and ideas from the story,
‘Memories of Childhood’.
Draft the address.
You may begin like this:
Good morning ladies and gentlemen! It is a pleasure to be given
an opportunity to speak today. I would
like to begin by quoting James Baldwin, ‘Not everything that is
faced can be changed, but nothing can
be changed until it is faced.’ Tolerating oppression in any form
is…

XXX. Imagine Zitkala- Sa and Bama meet each other. They both
share their experience of being from marginalised communities.
They reflect on instances of oppression they
faced and how those instances proved to be the source of
strength to fight against such oppression. Write down their
YOUTUBE CHANNEL : SHIPRA MISHRA

discussion in a creative way, with reference to their

experiences.