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Treasure Trove Poem - 8 The Patriot Extract 4   1. 'I' refers to the speaker. He is going to the Shambles' Gate or by the scaffold's gate. In the context, rain symbolises speaker's inner crisis and sadness. It also creates a tense atmosphere in the poem.   2. The speaker's hands were tied from behind with a rope. This rope cuts his wrist. It signifies how the speaker is treated now. A year earlier, he was a hero, but now he is tied like a criminal, without any kindness.   3. The phrase adds to the ambiguity in the poem as the speaker is depicted as innocent by the poet. The reader tends to sympathise with him, but his own reference to his 'year's misdeeds'  creates ambiguity in the poem.   4. The poem shows the fickleness of the people. A year ago, he was regarded as a hero. Now the same public throes stones at him. The crowd that wanted to fulfill the speaker's wishes, now wants him executed. The poem portrays how the love, respect and honou...

Treasure Trove   Poem - 8 The Patriot (Workbook Answers 1 to 3) Extract 1   1. The speaker of the poem is a patriot who narrates the story of his golden past. His path was filled with roses as the people of his town gave him a grand welcome when he returned after war.    2. The line 'a year ago on this day' is significant because it helps the reader to understand the speaker's past, and contrasts it with his present state. A year ago, people welcomed him and treated him as a hero. A year later, people treat him as a disgrace.   3. The figure of speech used is Alliteration. The sound 'm' is repeated in this line.   'Myrtle' is a flower. 'Myrtle' symbolises the love shown to the speaker by the townspeople. To welcome the speaker, the people had thrown Myrtle flowers on the road.   4. 'They' refers to the people of the town. This line tells us that on the day when the speaker was welcomed by the people, they were so happy that they would have gi...

Treasure Trove Chapter 7 The Little Match Girl (Workbook Answers) Extract 1 Answer 1. The evening was special as it was New Year's Eve. It was terribly cold, snow was falling and darkness was gathering. Answer 2. The slippers that the girl was wearing belonged to her dead mother. They were too big for her and hence were of no use. The little girl had lost her slippers as she ran across the street to escape from two carriages that were being driven terribly fast. One slipper could not be found and the other was taken away by an urchin. Answer 3. It was a bitterly cold evening but the girl was walking bareheaded and barefoot. Thus we conclude that the girl was poor and dejected. Answer 4. The girl was sent out in the cold by her father to sell matches. Since she could not sell any matches, she was afraid of going back home because she would be beaten by her father. Answer 5. The title 'The Little Match Girl' is appropriate as it revolves around a little girl who sells ...

Treasure Trove Chapter 5 A Face in the Dark (Workbook Answers) Extract 1 Answer 1: Mr Oliver was an Anglo-Indian teacher. He taught at a boarding school in Shimla. His usual activity was to walk down to the Shimla bazar in the evening and to return after dark. He took a shortcut through the pine forest. Answer 2: The school in Shimla, where Mr Oliver was a teacher, has been called the 'Eton of the East'. Eton is one of the most reputed and expensive schools in England. Oliver's School is called 'Eton of the East' because the school was run on English public school lines and the students were from wealthy families.   Answer 3: It was night time and a strong wind was blowing, the pine trees were making mysterious side sounds, indicating that something evil was likely to happen. It creates an atmosphere of fear and suspense . Answer 4: Oliver encountered a boy sitting alone on a rock, one night. After seeing the boy, Oliver stopped and approached the boy. Answer 5...

  Treasure Trove Story - 6 An Angel in Disguise   (Workbook Answers: Extracts 4 & 5) Extract 4 Answer 1: Mrs. Thompson saw her husband, Joe Thompson, approaching. Maggie is the "precious burden". She is called ‘a precious burden’ because Mr. Thompson felt fatherly feelings for Maggie when he lifted her in his hands. Answer 2: Seeing a child in her husband's arm, Mrs. Thompson asked her husband what he had there in his arms.   Joe did not reply immediately but pleaded and cautioned his wife with his looks, asking her to be gentle. Joe spoke to his angry wife only after comfortably placing Maggie on a bed. Joe formed a bond with the child as soon as he lifted her in his arms.   Answer 3: Usually Joe Thompson kept silent in front of his wife but that day he displayed a firmly-set countenance and a resolute pair of eyes. He also answered his wife with real indignation for Maggie, something which he never did before. Answer 4: Joe told his wife that he had brough...

Treasure Trove Chapter 2 Old Man at the Bridge (Workbook Answers) Extract 1 Answer 1: A bridge that is made up of large hollow containers filled with air, is called a Pontoon bridge.   The story is set during the Spanish civil war and the people are crossing the bridge to save themselves from the attack by the enemy troops. Answer 2: The old man is sitting by the side of the road at a pontoon bridge.   The old man was too tired to go any farther because he had already walked 12 kilometres since he left his hometown of San Carlos. Answer 3: The narrator, who is an army scout, is the speaker. He was on a mission to cross the bridge and find out how far the enemy had advanced. Answer 4: The narrator asked the old man where he had come from.   The old man replied, "from San Carlos". He smiled because the mention of his native town gave him pleasure. Answer 5: The old man was the last to leave because he was taking care of his animals. The old man wore dusty clothes and s...

Treasure Trove Poem 2 The Cold Within Extract 1 Answer 1: The figure of speech used is Alliteration. The adjectives 'bleak and bitter' define 'cold'. The coldness of the surroundings is compared to the coldness in the hearts of the six people, because they were not friendly to one another. Answer 2: The people referred to here are the six people who are trapped in a cold place by some accident. They need logs to renew the fire to protect themselves in the cold. Answer 3: The 'first one' is a prejudiced white woman who hates people of other races. The 'next man' is a religious fanatic and a bigot who hates people not belonging to his religion. Answer 4: The first one held back her log. She does this because she was a racist. She didn't want the black man to be saved by the warmth provided by her log. Answer 5: Literally, this line refers to the fire that is dying and needs to be kept alive with the use of a log. Metaphorically, it can be understo...

Treasure Trove Story - 6 An Angel in Disguise   (Workbook Answers: Extracts 1 to 3)    Extract 1   Answer 1: The mother died of intoxication. When she was drunk, she fell upon the threshold of her door and died. "Death touches the spring of our humanity" means that death evokes kindness in the hearts of people and they tend to help them who have lost their beloved ones.   Answer 2: The woman did not have good relations with others. The men, women and even the children in the village hated her. The villagers hated her because of her behaviour and drinking addiction.   Answer 3: Some neighbours took clean grave clothes for the woman's burial while others took food for the children.   Answer 4: The woman and her children were subjected to pitiful conditions. Their hut was small and old. They didn't have many items in their hut. They didn't even have decent clothes.   Answer 5: John, the oldest child was adopted by farmer Jones. The middle child...

Treasure Trove Poem 1 The Heart of the Tree (Workbook Answers)   Extract 1 Answer 1: The poet is asking the question to the readers. By planting trees,the man plants a friend of sun and sky, and a flag of breezes free. Answer 2: The tree is suggested as a friend of sun and sky because one day it will grow tall and appear to reach the sky. The tree is a friend of the sun as the tree depends on sunlight to carry out photosynthesis, to make its food.   The tree is again compared to a flag of free breeze. Like a flag flutters freely in the breeze, the leaves of the tree flutter and provide a soothing, cool breeze to us. Answer 3: Same as Answer 2 Answer 4: The shaft of beauty means "the pillar of beauty". The tree is compared to the shaft. Answer 5: Beginning the poem with a question creates curiosity in the minds of the readers. The figure of speech used here is known as Hypophora or Antipophora.   Extract 2 Answer 1: The soft song that a mother bi...