CBSE Class 12 English HOTs A Road Side Stand Set 02

Question. The city folk who drove through the countryside hardly paid any heed to the roadside stand or to the people who ran it. If at all they did, it was to complain. Which lines bring this out? What was their complaint about?
Answer: The following lines bring out the complaining attitude of the city people who drove by the shed in the countryside.
‘... then out of sorts’
At having the landscape marred with the artless paint.
‘Of signs that with N turned wrong and S turned wrong’.
The complaint of these passers-by was that the artless paint was spoiling the pristine beauty of the landscape. They were displeased that the board out there had signs of N and S pointing in the wrong directions. Moreover, they were critical of wild berries being sold in wooden containers.

Question. What was the plea of the folk who had put up the roadside stand?
Answer: The folks who had put up the roadside stand wanted the passers-by to stop and buy the berries or the squash which they were selling. They wanted some ready cash, with which they could improve their lot and better their miserable lives.

Question. The government and other social service agencies appear to help the poor rural people, but actually do them no good. Pick out the words and phrases that the poet uses to show their double standards.
Answer: The government and the party in power were least interested in the welfare of these poor rural people. Even the social service agencies were doing nothing for them. They did things only to fulfill their own vested interests. The words and phrases which show their double standards are ‘greedy good-doers’, ‘beneficent beasts of prey’, ‘swam over their lives’, ‘enforcing benefits’, ‘calculated’, ‘to soothe them out of their wits.’

Question. What is the ‘childish longing’ that the poet refers to? Why is it ‘vain’?
Answer: ‘Childish longing’ literally means to want and wait for something without putting logic on it. The longing is, in a way, innocent. By using this phrase, the poet refers to the longing of the people running the roadside stand who are always waiting for prospective customers. They keep their windows open to attract customers and become sad when nobody turns up. They hope that some car will stop there but their wait goes in ‘vain’ when they see that people come either to turn their cars or to ask where the way goes.

Question. Which lines tell us about the insufferable pain that the poet feels at the thought of the plight of the rural poor?
Answer: The poet intensely feels that all the miserable pain from which the poor rustics suffer must be removed at one stroke. The following lines express his feelings.
‘I can’t help owning the great relief it would be,
To put these people at one stroke out of their pain’.

Exam Pattern Questions

Extract Based Questions

The little old house was out with a little new shed
In front at the edge of the road where the traffic sped
A road side stand that too pathetically pled
It would not be fair to say for a dole of bread.
But for some of the money, the cash, whose flow supports
The flower of cities from sinking and withering faint.

Question. Which of the following expressions has the same literary device as used in “A roadside stand that too pathetically pled”,
(a) All the world’s a stage,
(b) I wandered lonely, as a cloud,
(c) The brutal wind bullied the tree,
(d) And life is too much like a pathless wood.
Answer: (c) The brutal wind bullied the tree,

Question. Select the option that aptly conveys the poet’s point of view with reference to the above extract. The roadside stand is put up with the purpose to
(a) display fruits
(b) to stop the traffic
(c) to do business
(d) to interact with city people
Answer: (c) to do business

Question. What do you infer about the people, who put up the roadside stand from the phrase ‘would not be fair to say for a dole of bread’?
Answer: From the phrase ‘would not be fair to say for a dole of bread’, it can be inferred that the people who put up the roadside stand were not begging but were selling something to earn money to buy some food.

Question. Complete the following sentence with reference to the extract. The word ‘pathetically’ reflects the ........... condition of the roadside stand.
Answer: desperate and sad

Question. State whether the following statement is True or False. By ‘Flower of Cities’, the poet refers to the garden in cities.
Answer: False, The term ‘Flower of Cities’ symbolises the prosperity and richness of city life, not referring to an actual garden.

Question. Based on the rhyme scheme, evident in lines 1-4, which word would rhyme with line 2?
(a) Part (b) Fled (c) Seen
Answer: (b) Fled

In front at the edge of the road where the traffic sped,
A roadside stand that too pathetically pled.
It would not be fair to say for a dole of bread.
But for some of the money, the cash, whose flow supports
The flower of cities from sinking and withering faint.
The polished traffic passed with a mind ahead.
Or if ever aside a moment, then out of sorts
At having the landscape marred with the artless paint
Of signs that with N turned wrong and S turned wrong

Question. What is the tone of the poet in the extract?
(a) Optimistic
(b) Resigned
(c) Sympathetic
(d) Indifferent
Answer: (c) Sympathetic

Question. With reference to the given extract, what harm has been caused by the ‘artless paint’?
Answer: The ‘artless paint’ of the roadside stand harms or disrupts the beauty of the landscape.

Question. The city is compared to ..........
(a) a landscape
(b) signs of N and S
(c) a flower
(d) a dole of bread
Answer: (c) a flower

Question. The roadside stand is
(a) at the edge of the road
(b) marred with artless paint
(c) like the flower of cities
(d) well-maintained
Answer: (a) at the edge of the road,

Question. What type of expectations do the stand owners have from the city dwellers who come there?
Answer: The stand owners wanted the city dwellers to stop and buy their wares so as to enable them to earn some extra money for a decent living.

Question. Complete the analogy with a word from the given extract. Donate: Contribute :: Dying: ..........
Answer: Withering

“Offered for sale wild berries in wooden quarts,
Or crook-necked golden squash with silver warts.
Or beauty rest in a beautiful mountain scene,
You have the money, but if you want to be mean,
Why keep your money (this crossly) and go along.”

Question. What is the meaning of ‘beauty rest in a beautiful mountain scene’?
Answer: The given expression indicates that the roadstand owners were selling even the beautiful scenery by allowing the city folk a place to stay.

Question. What articles are ‘offered for sale’ at the stand?
(a) Wooden containers of wild berries
(b) Golden squash or gourd
(c) Paintings of mountain scenery
(d) Both (a) and (b)
Answer: (d) Both (a) and (b)

Question. Complete the sentence appropriately. The phrase ‘this crossly’ is given in brackets to ..........
Answer: highlight and emphasise on the cruel nature of city people.

Question. Select the correct option from those given in bracket to fill in the blank. The poor people of the roadside stand feel .......... (dejected and angry/cheated and irritates) when city people decline to buy anything.
Answer: dejected and angry

Question. On the basis of the extract, choose the correct option with reference to the two statements given below.
1. The rural people hoped to earn some money from the roadside stand.
2. For the rural people, the people belonging to the city are mean and miserly.
(a) (1) can be inferred from the extract but (2) cannot,
(b) (2) can be inferred from the extract but (1) cannot
(c) Both (1) and (2) can be inferred from the extract
(d) (2) is the reason for (1) and can be inferred from the extract
Answer: (c) Both (1) and (2) can be inferred from the extract

Question. What qualities of the offered articles make then unfit for sale?
Answer: The qualities of the articles offered at the stand were considered unfit for sale because they were grown in wildness and did not look polished.

“The hurt to the scenery wouldn’t be my complaint
So much as the trusting sorrow of what is unsaid:
Here far from the city we make our roadside stand
And ask for some city money to feel in hand
To try if it will not make our being expand,
And give us the life of the moving-pictures’ promise
That the party in power is said to be keeping from us.”

Question. Identify the phrase from the extract, that suggests the following. The scenes of upliftment and financial betterment that are seen in films and movies.
Answer: Moving pictures promise

Question. What was the promise made by the government?
(a) To give a lavishing home to local people of the village
(b) To provide basic drinking and water facility
(c) To provide subsidy to the poor
(d) To give a comfortable life to the poor people
Answer: (d) To give a comfortable life to the poor people

Question. Fill in the blank appropriately. In the extract, ‘hurt to the scenery’ implies ..........
Answer: harm caused to the natural scenery

Question. Select the correct option from those given in bracket, to fill in the blank. The roadside stand is set in a seemingly simple setting as a .......... (microcosm/symbol) that reflects more prominent societal and economic themes.
Answer: microcosm

Question. Read the Assertion and the Reason below, with reference to the given extract.
Assertion: ‘A Roadside Stand’ powerfully conveys the conflict between city and country life, economic differences, and the desire for understanding and help.
Reason: The poem uses vivid images, contrasting themes, and a thoughtful voice.
Choose the correct option regarding their relationship.
(a) Both the Assertion and the Reason are true and the Reason is the correct explanation of the Assertion,
(b) Both the Assertion and the Reason are true, but the Reason is not the correct explanation of the Assertion,
(c) The Assertion is true, but the Reason is false,
(d) The Assertion is false, but the Reason is true.
Answer: (b) Both the Assertion and the Reason are true, but the Reason is not the correct explanation of the Assertion.

Question. Do you think that the promise made by the government was fulfilled?
Answer: No, I do not think that the promise made by the government was fulfilled.

It is in the news that all these pitiful kin
Are to be bought out and mercifully gathered in
To live in villages, next to the theatre and the store.
Where they won’t have to think for themselves anymore.
While greedy good-doers, beneficent beasts of prey.
Swarm over their lives enforcing benefits
That are calculated to soothe them out of their wits.
And by teaching them how to sleep they sleep all day.
Destroy their sleeping at night the ancient way.

Question. The expression ‘It is in the news’ suggests
(a) it is good news for the roadside stand owners
(b) an important decision has been taken by the government
(c) the roadside stand owners have protested against the government
(d) that the news was not there in the newspaper
Answer: (b) an important decision has been taken by the government,

Question. Read the Assertion and the Reason below, with reference to the given extract.
Assertion: The poet complains that the rural people are exploited by the people in power.
Reason: The rural people reposed blind faith in the false promises of the people in power.
Choose the correct option regarding their relationship.
(a) Both the Assertion and the Reason are true, and the Reason is the correct explanation.
(b) Both the Assertion and the Reason are true but the Reason is not the correct explanation of the Assertion,
(c) The Assertion is false, but the Reason is true,
(d) The Assertion is true, but the Reason is false,
Answer: (a) Both the Assertion and the Reason are true and the Reason is the correct explanation,

Question. Complete the following suitably. In the line “that revolted to soothe them out of their wits,” the phrase soothe them out of their wits refers to ..........
Answer: deceiving the rural people by giving them false hopes and making them dependent on the so-called benefits

Question. Bring out the irony in the expression ‘they won’t have to think for themselves’.
Answer: The irony in the expression ‘they won’t have to think for themselves’ is that while the move is presented as a relief for the rural people, it actually takes away their independence, making them passive and completely dependent on the authorities,

Question. Select the correct option. The poet uses the expression “greedy good-doers” to (criticise/appreciate) the intention of the powerful people.
Answer: criticise

Question. Complete the following suitably. The tone of the poet in the above extract is ..........
Answer: sarcastic and critical

While greedy good-doers, beneficent beasts of prey,
Swarm over their lives enforcing benefits
That are calculated to soothe them out of their wits, And
by teaching them how to sleep they sleep all day, Destroy
their sleeping at night the ancient way.

Question. Select the phrase that suggests the following. The so-called aids are not offered out of genuine care or consent but are imposed in a controlling and perhaps unwelcome manner.
Answer: Enforcing benefits

Question. What does the imagery of ‘swarm’ not represent in the given extract?
(a) Coordinated help
(b) Overwhelming force
(c) Discomfort and chaos
(d) Neglect of individual needs
Answer: (a) Coordinated help

Question. Complete the following suitably. In the line, ‘destroy their sleeping at night the ancient way,’ the phrase ‘the ancient way’ refers to ..........
Answer: the traditional and longstanding sleeping patterns and night time rituals that have been part of the rural community’s lifestyle for generations.

Question. Select the correct option from those given in bracket, to fill in the blank. The poet has used phrases like ‘greedy good-doers’ and ‘beneficent beasts of prey’ to illustrate the .......... (irony/satire) in the situation where those claiming to help the rural poor actually impose self-serving and detrimental actions on them.
Answer: irony

Question. Read the assertion and the reason below, with reference to the given extract.
Assertion: The poet criticises the way the rural poor are treated by benefactors, suggesting it instills ambition.
Reason: The interventions are overwhelmingly calming and lead to a loss of critical thinking among the rural poor.
Choose the correct option regarding their relationship.
(a) Both the Assertion and the Reason are true and the Reason is the correct explanation of the Assertion,
(b) Both the Assertion and the Reason are true, but the Reason is not the correct explanation of the Assertion,
(c) The Assertion is true, but the Reason is false,
(d) The Assertion is false, but the Reason is true.
Answer: (d) The Assertion is false, but the Reason is true,

Question. State in one sentence, what cautionary advice your address to the rural poor from the extract, is most likely to include.
Answer: The cautionary advice my address to the rural poor is most likely to include the following words: Be carefiil/wary of involvements by outsiders that might appear benevolent. In the long run, they take away your freedom/autonomy and dull your critical thinking abilities.

Sometimes I feel myself I can hardly bear
The thought of so much childish longing in vain, The sadness that lurks near the open window there.
That waits all day in almost open prayer.
For the squeal of brakes, the sound of a stopping car,
Of all the thousand selfish cars that pass,
Just one to inquire what a farmer's prices are.

Question. What is the sentiment expressed in the above extract?
(i) Remorse
(ii) Regret
(iii) Empathy
(iv) Disappointment
(v) Guilt
(a) (iii) and (iv)
(b) (ii) and (iii)
(c) (iv) and (v)
(d) (i) and (v)
Answer: (b) (ii) and (iii)

Question. Identify the phrase in the extract that suggests ‘innocent desires’.
Answer: ‘childish longings’

Question. The roadside stand owners pray for
(a) a relief from the heat
(b) free housing
(c) cars stopping
(d) benefits from pollution
Answer: (c) cars stopping

Question. Name the poetic device used in ‘selfish cars’.
Answer: Transferred epithet

Question. State whether the given statement is True or False. The people who have put up the roadside stand keep waiting for customers.
Answer: True

Question. FiU the blank appropriately with reference to the extract. ‘Squeal of brakes’ implies ..........
Answer: stopping of cars