Hari Om

CHINMAYA VIDYALAYA CBSE SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL

TEST-1 (2024-25)

Class: X11 Marks: 20

1. Read the extract and answer the following 4

A. Poor man! It was in honour of this last lesson that he had put on his fine Sunday clothes, and now I
understood why the old men of the village were sitting there in the back of the room. It was because they were
sorry, too, that they had not gone to school more. It was their way of thanking our master for his forty years of
faithful service and of showing their respect for the country that was theirs no more.
1.Why does the narrator refer to M. Hamel as ‘Poor man!’?
a) He empathizes with M. Hamel as he had to leave the village.
b) He believes that M. Hamel’s “fine Sunday clothes” clearly reflected that he was not rich.
c) He feels sorry for M. Hamel as it was his last French lesson.
d) He thinks that M. Hamel’s patriotism and sense of duty resulted in his poverty.
2. Choose the option that might raise a question about M. Hamel’s “faithful service”.
a) When Franz came late, M. Hamel told him that he was about to begin class without him.
b) Franz mentioned how cranky M. Hamel was and his “great ruler rapping on the table”.
c) M. Hamel often sent students to water his flowers, and gave a holiday when he wanted to go fishing.
d) M. Hamel permitted villagers put their children “to work on a farm or at the mills” for some extra money.
3. Choose the option that most appropriately fills in the blanks, for the following description of the given
extract.
The villagers and their children sat in class, forging with their old master a (i) _____ togetherness. At that
moment, the classroom stood (ii) _____. It was France itself, and the last French lesson a desperate hope to (iii)
______ to the remnants of what they had known and taken for granted. Their own (iv) _______.
a) (i) graceful; (ii) still; (iii) hang on; (iv) country
b) (i) bygone; (ii) up; (iii) keep on; (iv) education
c) (i) beautiful; (ii) mesmerised; (iii) carry on; (iv) unity
d) (i) forgotten; (ii) transformed; (iii) hold on; (iv) identity
4.. Why did the villagers attend the class?

2.. M. Hamel went on to talk of the French language, saying that it was the most beautiful language in the world
— the clearest, the most logical; that we must guard it among us and never forget it, because when a people are
enslaved, as long as they hold fast to their language it is as if they had the key to their prison. Then he opened a
grammar book and read us our lesson. I was amazed to see how well I understood it. All he said seemed so easy,
so easy! 4
1.Which of the following can be attributed to M. Hamel’s declaration about the French language?
a) subject expertise b) nostalgic pride c) factual accuracy d) patriotic magnification
2. Read the quotes given below. Choose the option that might best describe M. Hamel’s viewpoint.
(i) Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
(ii) Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going. –
Rita Mae Brown
(iii) A poor man is like a foreigner in his own country. – Ali Ibn Abi Talib
(iv) The greatest propaganda in the world is our mother tongue, that is what we learn as children, and which we
learn unconsciously. That shapes our perceptions for life. – Marshal McLuhan
a) Option (i) b) Option (ii) c) Option (iii) d) Option (iv)
3.“I was amazed to see how well I understood it.”
Select the option that does NOT explain why Franz found the grammar lesson “easy”.
a) Franz was paying careful attention in class this time.
b) M. Hamel was being extremely patient and calm in his teaching.
c) Franz was inspired and had found a new meaning and purpose to learning.
d) Franz had realized that French was the clearest and most logical language
4. Franz was able to understand the grammar lesson easily because he was
a) receptive. b) appreciative. c) introspective. d) competitive.

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3. 1. A Usually, when school began, there was a great bustle, which could be heard out in the street, the opening
and closing of desks, lessons repeated in unison, very loud, with our hands over our ears to understand better,
and the teacher’s great ruler rapping on the table. But now it was all so still! I had counted on the commotion to
get to my desk without being seen; but, of course, that day everything had to be as quiet as Sunday morning.
Through the window I saw my classmates, already in their places, and M. Hamel walking up and down with his
terrible iron ruler under his arm. I had to open the door and go in before everybody. You can imagine how I
blushed and how frightened I was. 6
i. List any two sensory details present in this extract.
ii. Why does the protagonist feel anxious about entering the classroom on this particular day?
A. The classmates have started the lesson
B. The teacher is in a bad mood
C. The classroom is too quiet
D. The protagonist is running late
iii. Complete the sentence appropriately.
The phrase “as quiet as Sunday morning” suggests that _____.
iv. Pick evidence from the extract that helps one infer that this was not the protagonist’s first time being late to
school.
v. What does the term ‘terrible iron ruler’ indicate about M. Hamel?
vi. Which of the following headlines best suggests the central idea of the extract?
A. The Fears of a Latecomer
B. The Importance of Punctuality
C. The Rigidity of the School System
D. The Anxiety of a Young Student

4. Your parents were not anxious enough to have you learn. They preferred to put you to work on a farm or at
the mills, so as to have a little more money. And I? I’ve been to blame also. Have I not often sent you to water
my flowers instead of learning your lessons? And when I wanted to go fishing, did I not just give you a oliday?”

Then, from one thing to another, M. Hamel went on to talk of the French language, saying that it was the most
beautiful language in the world — the clearest, the most logical; that we must guard it among us and never
forget it, because when a people are enslaved, as long as they hold fast to their language it is as if they had the
key to their prison. Then he opened a grammar and read us our lesson. I was amazed to see how well I
understood it. All he said seemed so easy, so easy! I think, too, that I had never listened so carefully, and that he
had never explained everything with so much patience. It seemed almost as if the poor man wanted to give us
all he knew before going away, and to put it all into our heads at one stroke. 6

i. According to M. Hamel, what is the importance of holding onto one’s language when a people are enslaved?
ii. Why does the protagonist feel amazed during the French lesson?
A. The grammar was too difficult
B. The teacher was too strict
C. The lesson was too easy
D. The protagonist had never learned French before
iii. Why does M. Hamel blame himself for the protagonist’s lack of education?
iv. What does the phrase “to put it all into our heads at one stroke” suggest about M. Hamel’s teaching
approach?
v. In what ways does M. Hamel express his passion for the French language during the lesson?
vi. Which of the following headlines best suggests the central idea of the extract?
A. The Importance of Language in Cultural Preservation
B. The Consequences of Poor Education
C. The Role of a Passionate Teacher
D. The Benefits of Learning French

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 ANSWERS:
1. c) He feels sorry for M. Hamel as it was his last French lesson.
2. c) M. Hamel often sent students to water his flowers, and gave a holiday when he wanted to go fishing.
3. d) (i) forgotten; (ii) transformed; (iii) hold on; (iv) identity
4. As a mark of respect.

2. d) patriotic magnification
b) Option (ii)
d) Franz had realized that French was the clearest and most logical language
a) receptive

3.The opening and closing of desks and the sound of the teacher’s ruler rapping on the table.
ii. D. The protagonist had counted on the commotion to enter the classroom without being seen, but
everything was quiet, and the classmates were already in their places. Therefore, the protagonist feels
anxious about entering the classroom on this particular day.
iii. The phrase “as quiet as Sunday morning” suggests that the classroom was unusually quiet, just like a
Sunday morning, which is typically a day of rest and quietness.
iv. The protagonist says, “I had counted on the commotion to get to my desk without being seen,” which
implies that the protagonist has been late before and had a plan to enter the classroom unnoticed.
v. The term “terrible iron ruler” indicates that M. Hamel is strict and possibly uses the ruler as a disciplinary
tool.
vi. A. The Fears of a Latecomer.

4. i. According to M. Hamel, holding onto one’s language is important because it can serve as a key to escape
enslavement.

ii. C. The lesson was too easy. The protagonist is amazed by how easy it is to understand the lesson and how
patiently M. Hamel explains everything.

iii. M. Hamel blames himself for the protagonist’s lack of education because he has not always been strict
enough in ensuring that the students prioritize their learning over other activities.

iv. The phrase “to put it all into our heads at one stroke” suggests that M. Hamel is trying to teach as much as
possible in one lesson, perhaps because he knows that he will not have another opportunity to do so.

v. M. Hamel expresses his passion for the French language by describing it as the most beautiful and logical
language in the world, and by emphasizing the importance of preserving it.

vi. A. The Importance of Language in Cultural Preservation. The extract emphasizes the value of preserving
one’s language and cultural identity, as well as the role of passionate teachers in inspiring students to learn.