A Concrete Example

Multiple Choice Questions (1 mark each)

[Link] is the poet of "My Next-Door Neighbour, Mrs. Jones"?

Ans: Reginald Arkell

[Link] is Mrs. Jones' garden full of?

A) Flowers B) Stones C) Grass D) Trees

Ans: B) Stones

[Link] of these is NOT mentioned in Mrs. Jones' garden?

A) Lily pond B) Sundial C) Rockery D) Fountain

Ans: D) Fountain

[Link] does the poet describe the path in the garden?

A) Straight B) Crazy C) Narrow D) Long

Ans: B) Crazy

[Link] does Mrs. Jones think about the strange device on the sundial?

A) Useless B) Ugly C) Rather nice D) Old

Ans: C) Rather nice

A) In pots B) Between the stones C) Near the pond D) On the sundial

Ans: B) Between the stones

[Link] to the poet, the little plants are:

A) Big and strong B) Delicate and small C) Colorful D) Fragrant

Ans: B) Delicate and small

[Link] does the poet think Mrs. Jones uses to plant the tiny plants?

A) Spoon B) Stick C) Pin D) Finger

Ans: C) Pin

[Link] did Mrs. Jones invite the poet?

A) For tea B) To see her stones C) To see the sundial D) To water plants

Ans: B) To see her stones

[Link] long did they talk about a flower?

A) An hour B) Half an hour C) Quarter of an hour D) Five minutes

Ans: C) Quarter of an hour

[Link] poem is written in what tone?

A) Sad B) Angry C) Humorous D) Fearful

Ans: C) Humorous
[Link] was the "lovely thing" the poet was looking for?

A) The sundial B) A lily C) The tiny flower he was standing on D) A stone

Ans: C) The tiny flower he was standing on

Fill in the Blanks (1 mark each)

[Link] next-door neighbour, Mrs. Jones, has got a garden full of ___

Ans: stones

14.A crazy path, a ___ pond, a rockery and, just beyond...**

Ans: lily

15.A sundial with a strange___ which Mrs. Jones thinks rather nice.**

Ans: device

[Link] are so delicate and small, they don't mean____ at all.**

Ans: anything

17.I can't think how she gets them in, unless she plants them with a ___

Ans: pin

[Link] stood and talked about a flower for quite a ____ of an hour.**

Ans: quarter

19."Where is this lovely thing?" I _____

Ans: cried
20."You're ____on it," she replied.**

Ans: standing

True or False (1 mark each)

[Link]. Jones' garden has many big trees.

Ans: False

[Link] poet understands how Mrs. Jones plants the tiny plants.

Ans: False

[Link] poet was impressed by the sundial.

Ans: False — Mrs. Jones thinks it’s nice, poet calls it "strange"

[Link] poet could easily see the flower they were discussing.

Ans: False

[Link] poem shows a contrast between the poet's view and Mrs. Jones' view of the garden.

Ans: True

Very Short Answer Questions (1 mark each)

[Link] two things found in Mrs. Jones' garden.

Ans: Lily pond and rockery.

Ans: A part of a garden made of rocks with plants growing between them.

[Link] does the poet find "crazy" about the garden?

Ans: The path in Mrs. Jones' garden.

[Link] does the poet say the plants "don't mean anything at all"?

Ans: Because they are so tiny and delicate that the poet thinks they are insignificant.

[Link] surprises the poet at the end of the poem?

Ans: He was standing on the flower they had been talking about for 15 minutes.

Short Answer Questions - 30 to 40 words (2 marks each)

[Link] does the poet describe Mrs. Jones' garden?

Ans: Mrs. Jones' garden is full of stones with a crazy path, lily pond, rockery, and a
sundial. She grows very tiny plants between stones which the poet finds too small to
notice.

[Link] does the poet think Mrs. Jones must use a pin to plant?

Ans: The plants are so delicate and small that the poet cannot imagine how else they
could be planted between the stones. He uses exaggeration for humor.

[Link] is the irony in the last two lines of the poem?

Ans: The irony is that the poet and Mrs. Jones talked about a flower for fifteen minutes,
but the poet couldn't see it because he was standing on it. He missed the very thing he was
looking for.
[Link] do we learn about Mrs. Jones' character from the poem?

Ans: Mrs. Jones is fond of her unusual garden. She finds beauty in tiny details and strange
objects like the sundial's device. She is patient and observant, unlike the poet.

[Link] is humor created in the poem?

Ans: Humor comes from exaggeration and the ending twist. The poet calls the path
"crazy," imagines planting with a pin, and finally realizes he's standing on the flower he’s
searching for.

[Link] is the central idea of the poem?

Ans: The poem shows how people can see the same thing differently. Mrs. Jones values
tiny, delicate beauty in her stone garden, while the poet initially misses it. It teaches us to
look closely.

Reference to Context - RTC (3 marks each)

37."They are so delicate and small, they don't mean anything at all."

a) Who are 'they' here?

b) Why does the poet say they don't mean anything?

c) What does this tell us about the poet?

Ans:

a) 'They' refers to the little plants Mrs. Jones puts between the stones.

b) The poet says this because the plants are extremely tiny and he cannot see their
importance.

c) It shows the poet overlooks small details and values only big, obvious things initially.
38."Where is this lovely thing?" I cried. "You're standing on it," she replied.

a) What is the 'lovely thing'?

b) Why couldn't the poet see it?

c) What is the poetic device used in these lines?

Ans:

a) The 'lovely thing' is the tiny flower they had been discussing.

b) He couldn't see it because he was unknowingly standing on it.

c) The device is irony and surprise ending, creating humor.

Long Answer Questions - 100-120 words (5 marks each)

[Link] Mrs. Jones' garden as seen by the poet. How is it different from a common
garden?

Ans: Mrs. Jones' garden is not a typical garden full of flowers and grass. Instead, it is full of
stones. It has a "crazy path," a lily pond, a rockery, and a sundial with a strange device. She
plants very tiny, delicate plants between the stones, which the poet thinks are insignificant.
A common garden has large, colorful flower beds meant to be easily seen, but Mrs. Jones'
garden needs close observation. The poet is surprised by her choice, but the garden
reflects her unique taste and love for minute beauty.
[Link] poem is humorous but also has a message. Explain.

Ans: The poem uses humor through the poet's confusion and the surprise ending where
he stands on the flower. Lines like "plants them with a pin" are exaggeration. But the
message is serious: beauty exists in small, ignored things. Mrs. Jones sees value in tiny
plants between stones, while the poet misses them. It teaches us to slow down, observe
closely, and respect different perspectives. What seems "meaningless" to one person may
be "rather nice" to another.

[Link] does the poet's attitude towards Mrs. Jones' garden change in the poem?

Ans: At first, the poet is puzzled and slightly dismissive. He calls the path "crazy" and the
sundial's device "strange." He thinks the tiny plants "don't mean anything at all" and jokes
about planting them with a pin. He doesn't understand Mrs. Jones' fondness for her stones.
However, in the end, when he discovers he was standing on the flower, his attitude
changes. He realizes he had overlooked the very beauty Mrs. Jones treasured, teaching him
a lesson in observation.

Vocabulary & Grammar Based (1 mark each)

[Link] the meaning of 'rockery'.

Ans: A heap of rocks arranged in a garden with plants growing between them.

[Link] the synonym of 'peculiar' from the poem.

Ans: Strange

[Link] is a sundial?

Ans: An instrument that shows the time by the shadow of a pointer cast by the sun onto a
plate.
[Link] 'delicate' in a sentence of your own.

Ans: The glass vase is very delicate, so handle it with care.

[Link] kind of poem is this?

Ans: It is a humorous lyric poem.

Value-Based Questions (4 marks each)

[Link] lesson do you learn from Mrs. Jones in the poem?

Ans: Mrs. Jones teaches us to appreciate small things in life. We often ignore tiny details
while looking for big, obvious beauty. She finds joy in delicate plants between stones. The
poem tells us that everyone has different tastes, and we should be observant, patient, and
respectful of others' perspectives instead of dismissing them.

[Link] is it important to look at things closely, as shown in the poem?

Ans: The poet talked about a flower for 15 minutes but couldn't see it because he didn't
look closely. We often miss important details in life when we are careless. Looking closely
helps us understand beauty, avoid mistakes, and value things we usually ignore.

Poetic Devices (2 marks each)

[Link] one example of alliteration from the poem.

Ans: "Sundial with a strange" — repetition of 's' sound.

[Link] one example of hyperbole from the poem.

Ans: "I can't think how she gets them in, unless she plants them with a pin" —
exaggeration for comic effect, as no one actually plants with a pin.