ABTA English Solution 2025
ABTA Test Papers 2025 English Solution
SAQ – 1 Mark
Page No. 258
2.
PROSE
(i) Who broke into the narrator’s reverie in ‘The Eyes Have It’?
👉In Ruskin Bond’s story ‘The Eyes Have It’ the second fellow-passenger who boarded the train at Saharanpur broke into the narrator’s reverie.
(ii) In kind of locality did Kalam live when he was young?
👉When Kalam was young, he lived in a predominately Muslim locality where quite a lot of Hindu families lived amicably with their Muslim neighbours.
(iii) Why did the hermit live in a forest?
👉The hermit in Leo Tolstoy’s story ‘Three Questions’ lived in a wood because he preferred to lead a simple lonely life.
(iv) Where did Roger fall on losing his balance?
👉Losing his balance, Roger fell on the sidewalk.
(v) Who was the high priest of Rameswaram temple?
👉Pakshi Lakshmana Sastry, a very close of Kalam’s father, was the high priest of Rameswaram temple.
(vi) What did the wounded man promise the Tsar?
👉The wounded man promised the Tsar the Tsar that if he lived then, he would serve him as his most faithful slave, and would bid his sons do the same.
(vii) “I got a great mind” Who is the speaker?
👉In Langston Hughes’s short-story ‘Thank You Ma’am’ Mrs. Jones is the speaker of the above mentioned line.
(viii) How did the narrator describe the voice of the girl in the story ‘The Eyes Have It’?
👉In the story ‘The Eyes Have It’ the narrator described the voice of the girl as the sparkle of a mountain stream.
POETRY
(ix) What increases in the warmth of winter in the poem ‘The Poetry of Earth’?
👉In the poem ‘The Poetry of Earth’ the Cricket’s shrill song increases in the warmth of winter.
(x) “The bleeding bark will heal” How will ‘the bleeding bark’ of the tree heal?
👉The ‘bleeding bark’ of the tree will heal when from the part of the chopped tree close to the ground will rise curled green twigs.
(xi) How does the soldier look in his sun-soaked bed in the poem ‘Asleep in the Valley’?
👉In the poem ‘Asleep in the Valley’ the soldier looks pale in his sun-soaked bed.
(xii) What does the expression ‘eternal summer’ mean in Sonnet No. 18?
👉In Shakespeare’s Sonnet No. 18 the expression ‘eternal summer’ means ‘eternal beauty’.
(xiii) What is meant by ‘anchoring earth’ in the poem ‘On Killing a Tree’?
👉In the poem ‘On Killing a Tree’ by the phrase ‘anchoring earth’ the poet means that like an anchor the root of the tree also firmly grips the tree into earth.
(xiv) When is his complexion dimmed in Sonnet No. 18?
👉In Shakespeare’s Sonnet No. 18 his [the sun’s] gold complexion is dimmed by the thin layer of clouds over it.
(xv) “In his side there are two red holes.” What do the ‘two red holes’ signify?
👉The ‘two red holes’ actually signify ‘two bullets wounds’ visible in one side of the soldier’s body.
(xvi) “A voice will run…” Whose voice is referred to here?
👉The voice of the Grasshopper, the songster of summer, is referred to here in Keats’s sonnet ‘The Poetry of Earth’.
Page No. 265
2.
PROSE
(i) With whom did A.P.J. Abdul Kalam normally eat?
👉A.P.J. Abdul Kalam normally ate with his mother sitting on the floor of the kitchen.
(ii) What was the hermit renowned for?
👉The hermit was widely renowned for his wisdom.
(iii) What did the purse of Mrs. Jones contain?
👉The purse of Mrs. Jones contained everything, but hammer and nails.
(iv) How are the roads in Mussoorie in October?
👉In October the roads in Mussoorie are quiet and almost deserted.
(v) How was Kalam’s childhood?
👉Kalam’s childhood was a very secure one, materially and emotionally.
(vi) “…..but it was a safe remark” What was the safe remark?
👉The safe remark made by the narrator about the girl’s face was that the girl had an interesting.
(vii) What did Roger hear while entering the house of Mrs. Jones?
👉While entering the house of Mrs. Jones, Roger heard other roomers laughing and talking in the large house.
(viii) “Let us see who it is” Who is the man referred to here?
👉Here the man refers to the wounded bearded man who came running out of the wood.
POETRY
(ix) How is the strength of the tree exposed?
👉The strength of the tree, the root is exposed when it is pulled out entirely, out of the anchoring earth.
(x) Who is asked to keep the soldier warm?
👉Nature is asked to keep the soldier warm.
(xi) “Thou art more lovely” Who is referred to as ‘thou’?
👉Here the archaic word ‘thou’ refers to the poet’s young male friend, probably Mr William Herbert, the Earl of Southampton.
(xii) When will the poetry of earth end?
👉The poetry of earth will end never because it is a continuous celebration through the cycle of seasons.
(xiii) What causes the bark of a tree to bleed?
👉The act of hacking and chopping causes the bark of a tree to bleed.
(xiv) How does Rimbaud describe the soldier’s smile?
👉The poet Arthur Rimbaud in his anti-war poem ‘Asleep in the Valley’ describes the soldier’s smile is like an infant’s–gentle, without guile.
(xv) What might one hear on a lone wintry evening?
👉On a lone wintry evening one might hear the shrill song of the Cricket from behind the fireplace.
(xvi) What does the ‘eye of heaven’ refer to?
👉The phrase ‘eye of heaven’ refers to the sun.
Page No. 278
2.
PROSE
(i) How far did the narrator travel alone?
👉In Ruskin Bond’s story ‘The Eyes Have It’ the narrator traveled alone upto Rohana station.
(ii) How, according to Kalam, one achieves freedom, happiness and peace of mind?
👉According to Kalam, once one severs his emotional and physical bond, he achieves freedom, happiness and peace of mind.
(iii) What advice did Mrs. Jones give to Roger?
👉At the end of the story ‘Thank You Ma’am’ Mrs. Jones advised Roger to behave himself.
(iv) Why did the learned men come to the Tsar?
👉The learned men came to the Tsar to answer his three questions.
(v) What did the new passenger remark about himself in ‘The Eyes Have It’?
👉In Ruskin Bond’s story ‘The Eyes Have It’ the new passenger who boarded the train at Saharanpur remarked about himself to the narrator that he was not nearly as attractive a travelling companion as the one i.e. the girl who just left the train.
(vi) In whom did Abdul Kalam’s father have an ideal helpmate?
👉Abdul Kalam’s father had an ideal helpmate in Kalam’s mother, Ashiamma.
(vii) What was the price of the cake the boy was given a part of in ‘Thank You Ma’am’?
👉In Langston Hughes’s short-story ‘Thank You Ma’am’ the price of the cake the boy was given a part of was ten cents.
(viii) What was the hermit doing when the Tsar came to visit him?
👉When the Tsar came to visit the hermit, he [the hermit] was digging the ground in front of his hut.
POETRY
(ix) “And then it is done.” What act is referred to here?
👉The act of complete destruction of the tree is referred to here.
(x) What are the sunrays compared to?
👉The sunrays are compared to a flowing stream.
(xi) What is meant by the expression ‘eye of heaven’?
👉By the expression ‘eye of heaven’ the poet means the all important sun.
(xii) Where do all the birds hide in summer?
👉In summer all the birds hide in cooling trees.
(xiii) What type of a poem is ‘On Killing a Tree’?
👉Gieve Patel’s ‘On Killing a Tree’ is an ironical conversational poem written in free verse.
(xiv) Where are the feet of the soldier?
👉The feet of soldier are among the flowers in the valley.
(xv) What shakes the darling buds of May?
👉The rough wind shakes the darling buds of May.
(xvi) When does the Cricket sing in Keats’s sonnet?
👉In Keats’s sonnet ‘The Poetry of Earth’ on a lone winter evening the Cricket sings from behind a fireplace.
