FIRST TERM MOCK EXAMINATIONS - NOVEMBER 2023

Name: Grade: Division: Roll

7 No:

SUBJECT: English Literature

DAY, DATE:
DURATION: 1 hour 30 minutes
MAXIMUM MARKS: 50
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INSTRUCTIONS
● Answer all questions.
● Write your name in the space at the top of this page.
● Write in dark blue or black pen.
● Answer all questions. Dictionaries are not allowed.
● You must answer on the question paper.
● No additional materials are needed.
● The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question

[Turn over]
 Section A
Prose: Queen of Ice
Read the extract from Queen of Ice by Devika Rangachari and answer the questions:

VALGA
I fear for her while we are away.
I tell Naravahana that we should hasten but he brushes my concerns aside making sure that the prince
is comfortable in the disused stables where we have taken him. This block of dilapidated rooms on the
fringes of the former palace, an hour’s ride from the present one, should be the last place that anyone
would think of searching, so he will be safe for the time being. The prince is terrified but is trying hard
to be brave and does not allow a single word of complaint at the rank interiors and filthy straw strewn
floor to escape his lips. I find myself trembling with anxiety, my heart beating at twice its usual pace. Is
the queen being paranoid or would someone actually try to kill him?

Naravahana posts one of his trusted servants near the stables at a vantage position atop a hillock from
where he can view everything yet remain concealed. Then we hurry back to our horses where they are
peacefully cropping the grass and ride as fast as we can to Varahakshetra. My heart pounds faster. My
horse races beside Naravahana’s and I see his brow tensed with anxiety, has face pale. Now and
then, he throws a glance over his shoulder to see if I am holding on but he is clearly relieved that I am
able to match his pace. We ride on for hours, never stopping for a break or refreshment, although I am
half dead with fatigue.

When we enter Varahakshetra, at long last, the last rays of the autumn sun are painting the sky a vivid
violet and then the colours merge, becoming indistinct, and everything around me blurs and the greys
in the night sky that has covered us. We hear the cries and the laments from a distance and even
before we dismount and walk into the Kshemamatha, we know that it is over. The King is dead. And
the world has changed in a single day.

We find Didda in a chamber that has been hastily screened off as an enclosure, the entrance hung
with the saffron cloth used by the matha’s inmates.

1. What does Phalguna want Didda to prepare for soon after this extract?

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2. What is the argument Naravahana puts forth crush Phalguna’s expectations of Didda?

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3. Identify one line from the extract that explicitly describes the mental condition of the young
prince.

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4. Look at the above extract. Give 2 characteristics of Naravahana and a piece of evidence to
support each.

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5. What caused King Kshemegupta’s death?

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6. Who makes the ultimate sacrifice after the King’s death? What is her reasoning for doing so?
What does this tell us about her character?

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 Section B
Poetry: The Eagle by Lord Alfred Tennyson and After Killing A Spider by Shiki

I. Read the poem and answer the questions that follow:

He clasps the crag with crooked hands;

Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ring'd with the azure world, he stands.

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;

He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.

1. Identify the figure of speech used in the last line and explain the effect it creates. [2]

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2. "The Eagle" is a nature poem that describes eagles as a symbol of power. Do you agree?

Discuss. [3]

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3. In 50-60 words, mention any 2 themes and describe the message that the poet is
trying to convey through this poem. [4]

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II. Read the poem carefully and answer the questions that follow:
After killing
a spider,
how lonely I feel
in the cold of night!
1. What is the poet inspired by?

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2. What is the mood and tone of the poem?

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3. What do we know about the poet Masaoka Shiki?

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 Section C
Prose: How it Happened by Arthur Conan Doyle

I. Answer the following questions based on the short story:

I was quite unable to move. Indeed, I had not any desire to try to move. But my senses
were exceedingly alert. I saw the wreck of the motor lit up by the moving lanterns. I saw the
little group of people and I heard the hushed voices: There were the lodge-keeper and his
wife, and one or two more. They were taking no notice of me but were very busy round the
car. Then suddenly, I heard a cry of pain.

“The weight is on him. Lift it easy,” cried a voice.

“It’s only my leg!” said another one, which I recognised as Perkins.

“Where’s master?” he cried.

“Here I am,” I answered, but they did not seem to hear me. They were all bending over
something which lay in front of the car.

1. What injury has Perkins suffered?

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[2]

2. Explain briefly why Perkins is in this condition.

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3. Why did no one seem to hear the narrator?

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[2]
 4. Give 2 characteristics of the narrator and a piece of evidence to support each.

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5. Where is this story set?

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6. Who is the narrator’s friend introduced in the story?

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**END OF PAPER**