1. The poet of ‘On Killing a Tree’ is
(A) Gieve Patel
(B) Kamala Das
(C) Sarojini Naidu
(D) Nissim Ezekiel.
2. What is Gieve Patel’s nationality?
(A) Indian
(B) British
(C) American
(D) German.
3. *In what form of verse is this poem written in?
[WBCHSE Sample Question]
(A) free verse
(B) blank verse
(C) iambic pentameter
(D) rhymed couplet.
4. The style of Gieve Patel’s writing matches with
(A) Arthur Rimbaud
(C) Philip Larkin
(D) Mathew Arnold.
5. *To kill a tree
[WBCHSE Sample Question]
(A) is not easy
(b) is almost impossible
(C) is a right thing
(D) takes less time.
6. Killing a tree is not possible with
(A) a hack of an axe
(B) a jab of the knife
(C) injecting poison
(D) several blows of hammer.
7. *A tree grows
[WBCHSE Sample Question]
(A) rooted deep in the earth
(B) shedding leaves
(C) slowly consuming the earth
(D) eroding soil.
8. *The tree has grown slowly rising out of
(A) root
(B) earth
(C) water
(D) crust.
9. The three basic needs of a tree
(A) light, soil, air
(B) sunlight, air, water
(C) sunlight, air, soil
(D) air, soil, water.
10. *The bark of the tree is described as ‘leprous’ because
[WBCHSE H.S. 2016]
(A) it is soft and smooth
(B) it is wounded by the knife
(C) it is rough and has marks
(D) it is glossy and shining.
11. *“But this alone won’t do it.” Here ‘it’ refers to
(A) stabbing a tree
(B) killing a tree
(C) chopping a tree
(D) whipping a tree.
12. *The expression ‘sprouting leaves’ bars suggests the idea of
(A) continuous life cycle
(B) a vigorous life
(C) approaching death
(D) producing a new replica.
13. *Hacking and chopping inflicts
(A) not so much pain
(B) little pain
(C) a little pain
(D) acute pain.
14. *The bleeding bark of the tree will
(A) come
(B) hail
(C) hack
(D) heal.
15. *The bark of the tree bleeds because of
(A) hacking and chopping
(B) stabbing
(C) choking
(D) uprooting.
16. Which figure of speech is used in the phrase ‘bleeding bark’?
(A) personification
(B) metaphor
(C) simile
(D) periphrasis.
17. *Green twigs that rise from close to the ground are
[WBCHSE H.S. 2019, 2023]
(A) straight
(B) curled
(C) crooked
(D) crinkled.
18. *The ‘curled green twigs’ rise from
[WBCHSE H.S. 2018]
(A) the earth’s cave
(B) the uprooted tree
(C) close to the ground
(D) the rough bark.
19. *”Miniature boughs” The word ‘boughs’ means
[WBCHSE H.S. 2015]
(A) leaves
(B) roots
(C) branches
(D) stems.
20. *”Miniature boughs /Which if unchecked will expand again” The word ‘miniature’ means
[WBCHSE Sample Question]
(A) small
(B) very small
(C) not so big
(D) very big.
21. What will expand to its former size if left unchecked?
(A) saplings
(B) seeds
(C) miniature boughs
(D) green twigs.
22. What is to be pulled out?
(A) thin branches
(B) leaves
(C) root
(D) trunk.
23. Which adjective is used here to qualify the earth?
(A) anchoring
(B) feeding
(C) nourishing
(D) killing.
24. The term ‘anchoring earth’ suggests
(A) the roots have fixed the tree firmly into the earth
(B) the earth is the nourishment of the tree
(C) the top layer of the earth helps the tree to grow
(D) the tree stops soil erosion.
25. The tree is pulled out from the
(A) earth’s hollow
(B) earth-cave
(C) soil
(D) earthen pot.
26. *The strength of the tree gets exposed when it is
(A) stabbed
(B) chopped
(C) planted
(D) pulled out.
27. The tree gets its strength from the
(A) sun
(B) root
(C) water
(D) earth.
28. The root is
(A) pale and wet
(B) green
(C) yellowish
(D) white and wet.
29. *The most sensitive part of the tree is
(A) bough
(B) leaf
(C) root
(D) bark.
30. *The root needs to be pulled out of the
[WBCHSE H.S. 2017]
(A) firm soil
(B) anchoring earth
(C) underground
(D) firm earth.
31. *The first step to finally uproot a tree is to
(A) snap it out
(B) tie a rope
(C) pull it out
(D) dig the earth.
32. The uprooted tree is left in the
(A) field
(B) sun
(C) sand
(D) sea-shore.
33. Ultimately the tree becomes
(A) brown and dry
(B) brown, hard, twisted and withered
(C) dry and lifeless
(D) hard and dry.
34. The killing of the tree is completed when
(A) it becomes dry
(B) it is seasoned into wood
(C) it is uprooted
(D) it is cut.
35. *It takes much time to kill a tree. The statement indicates
[WBCHSE Sample Question]
(A) a sense of impatience, that it takes such effort to kill a tree
(B) a sense of irony, that it is not a simple task to kill a tree
(C) a sense of defeat, that it takes time to kill a tree
(D) a sense of joy, that the tree cannot be easily killed.
36. *The observation about the growth of the tree is
[WBCHSE Sample Question]
(A) the tree grows slowly
(B) the tree does not grow at all
(C) the tree grows steadily
(D) the tree grows rapidly.
37. *The phrase ‘earth-cave’ indicates
[WBCHSE Sample Question]
(A) the cave in which the tree was planted
(B) the hollow in which the tree grows
(C) the earth in which the tree is planted
(D) the gaping hole in the earth when the roots are pulled out.
38. *In the sun the tree
(A) gets softened
(B) gets hardened
(C) turns yellow
(D) turns white.
39. *In the poem, the killing of a tree is described as
[WBCHSE Sample Question]
(A) a healthy exercise
(B) a deliberate act
(C) a woodcutter’s job
(D) an innocent act.
40. *The poet seems to suggest that in order to kill a tree
[WBCHSE H.S. 2020]
(A) plucking out all the leaves will do the job
(B) some pain will do the job
(C) cutting the branches will do the job
(D) total destruction of the roots will do the job.
41. *Where does the irony lie in the poem?
[WBCHSE Sample Question]
(A) that the killing is almost ceremonial
(B) that trees don’t die
(C) that nature is resilient
(D) that man is a killer.
42. *On what tone does the poem end?
[WBCHSE Sample Question]
(A) of achievement
(B) of tragedy
(C) of joy
(D) of irony.
43. *What makes this poem easy to read?
[WBCHSE Sample Question]
(A) conversational ease
(B) subject matter
(C) images
(D) metaphors.
44. *When the roots of the tree are pulled out, they are
[WBCHSE H.S. 2024]
(A) dry and dead
(B) white and wet
(C) hard and twisted
(D) green and moist.
SET – II
1. The poem, “On Killing a Tree” is written by
(B) Kamala Das
(C) Raja Rao
(D) Gieve Patel.
2. To kill a tree it takes
(A) much time
(B) little time
(C) an hour
(D) a day.
3. A simple blow of the knife
(A) can kill a tree
(B) cannot kill a tree
(C) can encourage a tree to grow
(D) can be fatal to a tree.
4. The observation about the growth of the tree is
(A) it grows slowly
(B) it does not grow at all
(C) it grows rapidly
(D) it grows steadily.
5. In the poem the killing of a tree is described as
(A) a healthy exercise
(B) a deliberate act
(C) a woodcutter’s job
(D) an innocent act.
6. “And out of its leprous hide” Here the expression ‘leprous hide’ means
(A) the skin of a leprosy patient
(B) the tree-bark which probably rough and has marks on it
(C) the smooth bark of a tree
(D) the strong covering of a tree.
7. The tree has grown slowly
(A) drinking water
(B) eating manure
(C) consuming gas
(D) consuming the earth.
8. A tree grows by absorbing years of
(A) sunlight
(B) air
(C) water
(D) sunlight, air and water.
9. Leaves sprout out of the tree’s
(A) green twigs
(B) leprous hide
(C) white root
(D) dry stem.
10. The word ‘crust’ means
(A) inner layer
(b) outer layer
(C) sandy layer
(D) muddy of the earth.
11. The poet seems to suggest that in order to kill a tree
(A) plucking out all the leaves will do the job
(B) some pain will do the job
(C) cutting the branches will do the job
(D) total destruction of the roots will do the job.
12. ‘The curled green twigs’ will rise from
(A) close to the earth
(B) the bleeding bark
(C) from the miniature leaves
(D) some hole on the earth.
13. “Not a simple jab of the knife will do it.” The poet wants to mean here
(A) a knife cannot kill a tree
(B) it will take too much time to kill a tree
(C) a woodcutter cannot kill a tree with a knife
(D) a quick blow of the knife is sufficient to kill a tree.
14. “Miniature boughs” suggests
(A) small branches of the tree
(B) green leaves of the tree
(C) the barks of the tree
(D) none of the three above.
15. At the initial stage, twigs of the tree are
(A) straight
(B) curled
(C) brown
(D) large.
16. The most sensitive part or the source of the tree is its
(A) bark
(B) twigs
(C) root
(D) boughs.
17. The poem ends in a tone of
(A) achievement
(B) joy
(C) tragedy
(D) irony.
18. “And then it is done.” The final line of the poem brings a
(A) sense of humour
(B) sense of pathos
(C) sense of laughter
(D) sense of joy.
19. The poem, “On Killing a Tree” is written in
(A) free verse
(B) blank verse
(C) sonnet form
(D) iambic trimeter.
20. The real strength of the tree lies in its
(A) bark
(B) roots
(C) trunk
(D twigs.
