Patol Babu cleared his throat and started enunciating the syllable in various ways. Along with that he worked out how he would react physically when the collision took place- how his features would be twisted in pain, how he would fling out his arms, how his body would crouch to express pain and surprise- all these he performed in various ways in front of a large glass window.................

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
'Were these people pulling his leg? Was the whole thing a gigantic hoax? A meek harmless man like him and they had to drag him into the middle of the city to make a laughing stock out of him.'
(a) Who is the speaker?
(b) Why does he think that he is being made a 'laughing stock'?
(c) What does the word 'hoax' mean?

Patol Babu always remembered the words of his mentor that one has to accept whatever is offered and make the best of any opportunity. Write a letter to a friend telling him about the value of hard work and the art of putting in your best. Write the answer in 120–150 words.                                                                                              

Read the following extract and answer the questions by choosing from the alternatives given below.
‘Come in, come in, sir!’ Patol Babu dragged the young man in and pushed the broken-armed chair towards him.

(a) Patol Babu was ___________
(i) a well-known film star
(ii) a rich businessman who ran a variety store
(iii) a successful stage actor
(iv) None of the above

(b) Who was the young man invited in by Patol Babu?
(i) Nishikanto Babu
(ii) Naresh Dutt
(iii) Mr. Pakrashi
(iv) Baren Mullick

(c) Why was Patol Babu excited on seeing the visitor?
(i) The visitor was his mentor.
(ii) He had offered him a role in a film.
(iii) He was his brother-in-law.
(iv) He was a famous director.

Read the following extract and answer the questions by choosing from the alternatives given below.

The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew,
The furrow followed free;
We were the first that ever burst
Into that silent sea.

(a) How did the mariners enter the silent sea?
(i) A storm drove them there.
(ii) The breeze stopped blowing and the sails dropped.
(iii) The Albatross took them there.
(iv) The helmsman steered the ship.

(b) Name the poem and the poet.
(i) The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by P. B. Shelley
(ii) The Ancient Mariner by S.T. Coleridge
(iii) The Mariner and the Albatross by D. H. Lawrence
(iv) The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by S.T. Coleridge

(c) Which poetic device is used in the above lines?
(i) Metaphor
(ii) Alliteration
(iii) Simile
(iv) Personification

What did Sosanko mean when he said that Patol Babu was lucky?

Answer the following in about 120 words:
“That’s odd − the man hadn’t been paid yet. What a strange fellow!” What traits of Patol Babu make him a strange fellow?

'Oh, oh, oh; oh, oh ...' Patol Babu began giving the exclamation a different inflection
each time he uttered it: After doing it a number of times he made an astonishing
discovery.

(a) Why did Patol Babu repeat the word, `oh' over and over again '?

(b) What 'astonishing discovery' did he make?

(c) What does the word, 'uttered' mean?

Who was Mr. Pakrashi and how did he instil the value of being true to one's work in
Patol Babu?

What was the news that Nishikanto Ghosh gave Patol Babu?

How did Patol Babu react? Why?