SEEN PASSAGE

Question 1.

Saheb left his home long ago. Set amidst the green fields of Dhaka, his home is not even a distant memory. There were many storms that swept away their fields and homes, his mother tells him. That’s why they left, looking for gold in the big city where he now lives.

Answer the following.

(a) Saheb is a __________ from Dhaka.

(b) Saheb’s mother told about __________ at their native place.

(c) Find a word from the extract that means ‘remote’.

(d) They left Dhaka as they did not like the place. (True/False)

Question 2.

“It takes longer to build a school, ” I say, embarrassed at having made a promise that was not meant. But promises like mine abound in every comer of his bleak world.

Answer the following.

(a) __________ was embarrassed, as she made a false promise.

(b) Their world was __________ .

(c) Pick the opposite of ‘unabashed’ from the extract.

(d) The author was serious about their education. (True/False)

Question 3.

“I want shoes, ” says a third boy who never owned a pair all his life. Travelling across the country I have seen children walking barefoot, in cities, on village roads. It is not lack of money but a tradition to stay barefoot, is one explanation. I wonder if this is only an excuse to explain away a perpetual state of poverty. Answer the following.

(a) Children remain barefoot due to __________ .

(b) Tradition is an excuse to remain barefoot. (True/False)

(c) Pick the synonym of ‘everlasting’ from the extract.

(d) The third boy was the __________ of Saheb.

Question 4.

My acquaintance with the barefoot children leads me to Seemapuri, a place on the periphery of Delhi yet miles away from it, metaphorically. Those who live here are squatters who came from Bangladesh back in 1971. Saheb’s family is among them.

Answer the following. .

(a) The author was __________ with the ragpickers.

(b) Seemapuri, though near Delhi, is nowhere like it. (True False)

(c) Seemapuri is known as __________ for ragpickers and squatters.

(d) Seemapuri is at the outer border of Delhi. Pick out a word from the extract for the underlined meaning.

Question 5.

When you can find a silver coin in a heap of garbage, you don 7 stop scrounging for there is hope of finding more. It seems that for children, garbage has a meaning different from what it means to their parents.

Answer the following.

(a) Scrounging was equivalent to treasure hunt for them.

(b) At times children find __________ in the garbage.

(c) Garbage is a means of survival for __________ .

(d) Find a word from the extract that means ‘search’.