English W.S.The Village Schoolmaster

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CBSE Std. VI Term II English The Village Schoolmaster
Date ___________ The Village Schoolmaster
I. Choose the correct word from the box to complete the sentences given below:
1. Avi himself was at this season stricken down by a severe illness.
2. Dean was amazed at the size of the crowd.
3. The use of iron for arms finally triumphed over bronze.
4. The man frowned and gave me a stern look.
5. The mines became increasingly unprofitable.
6. John was gazing up at Sheila with an adoring expression.
II. Choose the correct option:
1. The students had learnt to trace …
a. the school master’s mood
b. what subject the school master was going to teach
c. the jokes the school master was going to crack
d. none of the above
2. Which of the following were the expertises of the village schoolmaster?
a. work out sums
b. survey land
c. measure the content of a vessel
d. all of the above
3. The teacher was a taskmaster who took his students to task if they …
a. didn’t complete the day’s work
b. played truant
c. were late to school
d. didn’t bring lunch
III. Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow.
1. A man severe he was, and stern to view,
I knew him well, and every truant knew;
Well had the boding tremblers learn’d to trace
The day’s disasters in his morning face.
a. Who says the above lines?
The poet, Oliver Gold Smith says the above lines.
b. Whom did all the truants know?
All the truants knew the schoolmaster.
unprofitable, severe, frowned, amazed, gazing, triumphed
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CBSE Std. VI Term II English The Village Schoolmaster
c. Name and explain the figure of speech in the following line:
I knew him well, and every truant knew;
Repetition: The word ‘knew’ is repeated for poetic effect.
2. In arguing too the parson owned his skill,
For even though vanquished, he could argue still;
While words of learned length and thund’ring sound
Amazed the gazing rustics rang’d around.
a. Who is “he” in the above lines?
‘He’ is the village school master.
b. What is the “skill” that the parson had?
The parson, just like the schoolmaster had very good oratory skills.
c. What is the rhyme scheme of the above stanza? Give the rhyming words.
The rhyme scheme is aabb.
Rhyming words are skill – still, sound – around.
IV. Answer the following questions:
1. Where was the ‘little school’ situated? How does the poet describe the School?
The little school is situated in a small village. It was situated next to the irregular
fence that fringed the village path with full blossomed, beautiful but ornamental
furze.
2. What was the reaction of the villagers when the parson and the school master
argued?
The villagers stood round the two debaters and witnessed the verbal duel. They
were awestruck when they heard the incomprehensible words used by the school
master. They wondered how his small head could keep that enormous hoard of
knowledge.
3. How did the students adapt themselves to the varying moods of the school
master?
The students were afraid of the school master and were sufficiently clever to
assess from his face whether that day would bring any misfortune or not. The
children laughed at his jokes with pretended joy. If they noticed any sign of anger
on his face they would spread the news throughout the classroom.
V. Answer briefly:
1. The school master was ‘skilled to rule’- What according to you, are the skills of a
teacher that enable him/her to successfully rule the school?
Student Specific
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CBSE Std. VI Term II English The Village Schoolmaster
VI. What kind of relationship existed between the poet and his school master? Do
you think the same is reflected in present day student- teacher relationship?
Justify.
Student Specific
VII. Write a letter to your favourite teacher sharing what is it that you learnt from him/
her.
Student Specific
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Teacher’s Signature: Date:
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reference only. Some answers may be in points or key words; however the students
are expected to write complete answers. This answer key should not be displayed in
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