THE LETTER BY DHUMKETU -COMPLETE PREPARATION WITH 274 QUESTIONS -CBSE CLASS X ENGLISH

1.
“In the grey sky of early dawn stars still
glowed, as happy memories light up a life that is nearing its close.”

a)
With what is the grey sky compared?

b)
What are compared with stars?

c)
Whose life is meant here?

d)
From which this extract is taken?

2.
“An old man was walking through the town, now and again drawing his tattered clothes tighter to shield his body from the cold and biting wind.”

a)
Who is the old man?

b)
What is meant by ‘tattered’?

c)
Explain- ‘to shield’.

d)
What time of the day is meant here?

3.
“From some houses came the sound of grinding mills, and the sweet voices of women singing at their work, and the sounds
helped him along his lonely way.”

a)
What are ‘grinding mills’?

b)
Whose way is talked here?

c)
Why is he lonely?

d)
Where is he going?

4.
“Except for the occasional bark of a dog, the distant steps of a workman going early to work, or the screech of a bird disturbed before its time, the whole town was wrapped in deathly silence.”

a)
From which story is the text taken?

b)
Name the author of the story?

c)
Explain- “the screech of a bird disturbed before its time”

d)
Why was the town wrapped in deathly silence?

5.
“Most of its inhabitants were still in the arms of sleep, the sleep which grew more and more profound on account of the intense
winter cold; for the cold used sleep to extend its sway over all things even as a false friend lulls his chosen victim with caressing smiles.”

a)    Why were the inhabitants still in the arms of sleep?

b)
Why did the sleep grow profound?

c)     What do you understand by the word ‘sway’?

d)     Explain- ‘lulls’.

6.
“The old man, shivering at times but fixed of purpose, plodded on till he came out of the town-gate on to a straight road. Along with this he now went at a somewhat slower pace, supporting himself on his old staff.”

a)    Who is the old man?

b)     What is the purpose of the man?

c)     Explain “Slower pace”?

d)     What do you understand by ‘staff’?

7.
“The sky was darker now and the cold more intense, for the wind was blowing straight along the road, on which they fell like frozen snow, only the faint light of the morning star.”

a)    What time of the day is meant here?

b)     Give a synonym for ‘intense’.

c)     Which season of the year is meant here?

d)     What is ‘Morning Star’?

8.
“At the end of the garden stood a handsome building of the newest style, and the light gleamed threw the crevices of its closed doors and windows.”

a)    What is the handsome building here?

b)     What do you understand by ‘gleamed’?

c)     Why are the buildings and the doors closed?

d)     Why did the man come here?

9.
“Beholding the wooden arch of this building, the old man was filled with the joy that the pilgrim feels when he first sees the goal of his journey.”

10.
“On the arch hung an old board with the newly painted letters “Post Office.” The old man went in quietly and squatted on the veranda. The voices of two or three people busy and their routine work could be faintly heard threw the wall.”

a)    What is meant here by ‘squatted’?

b)     Whose voices are meant here?

c)     What is their routine work?

d)     What is meant by ‘faintly’?…….

a)
How did the author explain the fine morning
scene?

b)
What view did the author put about the effect of
the winter?

c)
How was the effect of the winter on the old man
in the morning?

d)
How the expression of the man on seeing the Post Office was and what did he do there after reaching?

e)
Explain the line- “The old man started at the sound, but composed himself again to wait. But for the faith and love, that warmed him, he could not have borne the bitter cold.”

1.)
“Love and Separation is inescapable in life”- Discuss in relation to the story “The Letter”.

2.)
Give a character sketch of Coachman Ali?

3.)
“Sin makers are punished by the Almighty”. How does this statement go right with the story “The Letter”?