LOST SPRING TEST
FULL MARKS – 51 TIME – 2HRS
A. Reference to context: (3X6=18)
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
1. "I sometimes find a rupee, even a ten rupee note", Saheb says, his eyes lighting up when you can find a silver
coin in a heap of garbage, you don't 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. For the children it is wrapped in
wonder, for the elders it is a means of survival.
(a) Saheb found a rupee:
(i) on the street (ii) in the garbage dump (iii) in Firozabad (iv) on the
tennis court
(b) Which emotion of Saheb is revealed in the phrase "his eyes lighting up'?
(i) Anxiety (ii) Envy (iii) Happiness (iv) Greed
(c) For the elders garbage is __________and for children it is _______________
(d) On the basis of the extract, choose the correct option with reference to I and II given below:
I. Saheb watches the game from outside.
II. Saheb had lost the previous match.
(i) I is true but II is not (ii) Both I and II are true
(iii) II is true but I is not (iv) Both I and II are untrue
(e) 'Scrounging' in the passage most nearly means:
(i) digging (ii) searching (iii) flinging (iv) burying
(f) 'There is hope for finding more'. Explain with reference to the given extract.
2. Mukesh insists on being his own master. "I will be a motor mechanic", he announces. "Do you know anything
about cars?" I ask.
"I will learn to drive a car." he answers, looking straight into my eyes. His dream looms like a mirage amidst the
dust of streets that fill his town Firozabad, famous for its bangies. Every other family in Firozabad is engaged in
making bangles. It is the centre of India's glass blowing industry where families have spent generations
working around furnaces, welding glass, making bangles for all the women in the land it seems.
(a) What does the author try to convey by the expression 'being his own master?
(b) Complete the given statement.
Through the expression"............. looking straight into my eyes" the narrator is trying to convey
(c) "His dream looms like a mirage." What does this indicate?
(d) "None of them know that it is illegal for children to work in glass furnaces." Select the inference in reference
to the above statement.
(i) The children are innocent and do not realise the hardships of life.
(ii) Their illiteracy and ignorance are exploited by the unscrupulous businessmen.
(iii) They have no one to support them legally to get out of the situation.
(iv) The children are ready to work in glass furnaces due to their poverty.
(e) Select the option that lists the facts about Firozabad.
(1) Almost all the families are engaged in bangle making. (2) The children work as motor mechanics.
(3) The children work in a hazardous situation. (4) Firozabad is the centre for car making.
(i) (1) and (2) (ii) (2) and (3) (iii) (1) and (3) (iv) (3) and (4)
(f) Mukesh wants to learn to become a motor mechanic by:
(i) finding a tutor (ii) going to a garage to learn (iii) reading books (iv) joining a school
3. "I will learn to drive a car," he answers, looking straight into my eyes. His dream looms like a mirage amidst
the dust of streets that fill his town Firozabad, famous for its bangles. Every other family in Firozabad is
engaged in making bangles. It is the centre of India's glass-blowing industry where families have spent
generations working around furnaces, welding glass, making bangles for all the women in the land it seems.
(a) Complete the following.
The simile 'dream looms like a mirage amidst the dust of streets' indicates that his dream was _______________
(b) "I will learn to drive a car," he answers, looking straight into my eyes. This sentence highlights Mukesh was:
(1) Determined (2) Fearless (3) Hopeful (4) Valiant (5) Ambitious (6) Stern
(i) (1) and (5) (ii) (2) and (4) (iii) (2) and (5) (iv) (3) and (6)
(c) Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE with reference to the extract?
(i) Children work in badly lit and poorly ventilated furnaces.
(ii) The children are unaware that it is forbidden by law to work in the furnaces.
(iii) Children toil in the furnaces for hours which affects their eyesight.
(iv) Firozabad has emerged as a nascent producer of bangles in the country.
(d) Every other family in Firozabad is engaged in making bangles indicates that:
(i) bangle-making is the only industry that flourishes in Firozabad.
(ii) the entire population of Firozabad is involved in bangle-making.
(iii) majority of the population in Firozabad is involved in bangle-making.
(iv) bangle-making is the most loved occupation in Firozabad.
(e) Why is Mukesh considered different from other bangle makers?
(f) "children out of the hot furnaces where they slog their daylight hours, often losing the brightness of their
eyes. Mukesh's eyes beam as he volunteers to take me home, which he proudly says is being rebuilt." Which
literary device has the author used in these lines?
B. Short Answer Type Questions: (3X5=15)
1. In spite of despair and disease pervading the lives of the slum children, they are not devoid of hope. How far
do you agree?
2. Why do you think Mukesh is content to dream of cars and doesn't dream of flying plane?
3. Do you believe that God-given lineage can be broken? Support your position with a rationale.
4. How do you think the author's life might have been impacted after her interaction with the children and their
families mentioned in 'Lost Spring'?
5. 'Little has moved with time, it seems, in Firozabad.' State any one reason why the writer says this.
C. Long Answer Type Questions: (6X3=18)
1. Grinding poverty and tradition condemn the children of ragpickers or bangle-makers to a life of exploitation.
Such children are deprived of all opportunities in life. Mukesh, who opts out of the existing profession of his
forefathers by resolving to start a new job of a motor mechanic symbolises the modern youth. What lesson do
we learn from Mukesh's example?
2. "For the children it is wrapped in wonder, for the elders it is a means of survival." What kind of life do the
ragpickers of Seemapuri lead?
3. In the lesson 'Lost Spring', Saheb and Mukesh are deprived of their childhood pleasures and education. Nobel
Peace prize winners Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai have been fighting for the rights of the children.
Motivated by these activist, write an article on the topic, 'Evils of child labour and denial of education'. You are
Mahesh/Malvika. Write your article in about 120-150 words.