| Board | CBSE |
| Textbook | NCERT |
| Class | Class 12 |
| Subject | English |
| Chapter | CUET English Chapter For Comprehension-Keeping quiet |
| Chapter Name | Keeping quiet |
| Category | CUET (Common University Entrance Test) UG |
CUET English Practice Questions from Language Section IA Chapter-Keeping quiet
Find MCQ Based questions for CUET English Language Section IA Chapter-Keeping quiet. All the important questions from CUET English Clauses are covered with proper explanations of each and every question.
This chapter will help you to build and solve questions based on Reading Comprehension
There will be three types of passages (maximum 300-500 words)
i. Factual
ii. Narrative
iii. Literary
Solving questions from the chapter Keeping quiet will help you understand the chapter which strengthens your Reading Comprehension.
CUET English Practice Questions Chapter-Keeping quiet Set-1
English - MCQ on Flamingo
KEEPING QUIET (Poem) -Pablo Neruda
Whay is the Theme of the Poem
The poet Pablo Neruda urges mankind to cease all activity for a little while. During these few moments of silence and inactivity, all human beings would be one, united, and in harmony with each other and nature. This togetherness and oneness is most desirable for the survival of the earth and of human beings.
PARAPHRASE
Lines 1-6
The poet urges mankind to get into a mode of total inactivity for some seconds. There should only be silence, no movement and a mood of retrospection. He condemns the mundane activities. He says that we should not indulge in any mindless activity or speak any language, nor does he want any gestures of arms that can distract or disturb. He says that we should commit ourselves to complete silence and inactivity.
Lines 7-10
This moment of complete inactivity would be an extraordinary, memorable or cherished moment. There would be no rush of activity, no noise, no disturbance. Man would not have to cope with the fast pace of life. This would be a profound moment of bonding and togetherness. There would be complete relaxation of mind, body and soul.
Lines 11-14
The poet talks about a metaphorical concept in these lines saying that fishermen would not harm marine life. Cold sea denotes coldness of fishermen who do not bother about protection of sea life and in moments of inactivity they would not be able to disturb the sea animals. The salt gatherers would also stop to look at their calloused hands that hurt due to this activity. They too, would pause to think about their mindless activities and their effects.
Lines 15-25
The poet feels that the whole speculation of wars and their destructive qualities would be negated during those moments of silence. ‘Green wars’ refers to environment degradation caused by human activities, ‘wars’ with gases and fires refers to wars fought with nuclear and bio weapons. Man may get the satisfaction of being victorious but ironically, wars leave behind no survivors.
Those human beings who wage wars would be cleansed of all the murk and dirt from their minds. They would then walk about with other individuals and preach (exhibit) amity, brotherhood and harmony. They would do nothing to harm mankind or nature.
Lines 26-38
In these lines, the poet does not wish to advocate total inactivity or silence, which may be misunderstood, as the poet’s association with death. Life continues to remain what we make of it. If we were not so concerned about keeping our lives active i.e. (doing things mindlessly and waging wars- mental degradation) we perhaps would not lose the sight of our goals. Our desire to achieve goals, becomes single minded and desperate, that we lose all perspective. The poet says silence for a while might alleviate sadness from our lives. Quiet productivity in place of all activities is desirable. End of all activities does not mean death but just a break from the monotony of a stressful life.
Lines 39-43
The poet, in the last lines, feels that we can learn a lesson from earth. It can teach us how silence is productive. It appears calm and quiet but is actually nurturing life. Things may die but are reborn and the cycle goes on because the earth brings forth new life. The poet appeals to all human beings to make an effort to keep inactive/quiet. He has initiated the state of inactivity and now it is the human beings who can carry on with this idea while he makes a quiet exit.
Figures of speech
.1. Alliteration
- sudden strangeness (stanza 3)
- clean clothes (stanza 5)
(Referring to clean minds and bodies)
.2 Transferred Epithet
- Cold sea (stanza 4)
Q.1. The poet appeals to the readers to keep quiet for,
a) Twenty seconds
b) 1 hour
c) Thirty seconds
d) Twelve seconds
Answer:
d) Twelve seconds
Q.2. He advises the people not to speak
a) French
b) Spanish
c) Any language
d) English
Answer:
c) Any language
Q.3. What kind of a moment would it be when everyone is silent
a) terrible
b) painful
c) exotic
d) unforgettable
Answer:
c) exotic
Q.4. Sudden strangeness is one of the following poetic devices,
a) simile
b) personification
c) alliteration
d) repetition
Answer:
Q.5. Fishermen in the cold sea would not harm
a) sea horses
b) mermaids
c) alliteration
d) tortoises
Answer:
c) alliteration
Q.6. Who would look at his hurt hands?
a) man gathering salt
b) man gathering stones
c) boys picking rags
d) grave-diggers
Answer:
a) man gathering salt
Q.7. The types of wars the poet talks about are
a) green wars, wars with gas, wars with fire
b) verbal wars
c) technological warfare
d) nuclear wars
Answer:
a) green wars, wars with gas, wars with fire
Q.8. The men in clean clothes would be walking with their
a) wives
b) brothers
c) nephews
d) friends
Answer:
b) brothers
Q.9. Where would they be walking?
a) in the park
b) along the river
c) in the shade
d) on the road
Answer:
c) in the shade
Q.10. What, according to the poet, would interrupt the sadness of man’s
life?
a) great laughter
b) huge silence
c) arguments
d) fights
Answer:
b) huge silence
Q.11. What does man threaten himself with?
a) death
b) birth
c) robbery
d) suicide
Answer:
a) death
Q.12. We can learn a lesson from
a) the trees
b) nature
c) animals
d) The earth
Answer:
d) The earth
Q.13. The poet advocates the balance of nature to be
a) maintained
b) destroyed
c) temporarily disturbed
d) ignored
Answer:
a) maintained
Q.14. In the end he again appeals to the people that he would
a) initiate the state of inactivity
b) will not bother at all
c) completely ignore everyone
d) destroy the earth
Answer:
a) initiate the state of inactivity
Q.15. ‘Have no truck with death’ means
a) will not die of truck accident
b) remove poverty and illiteracy
c) have no association or deal with death
d) will not drive a truck
Answer:
c) have no association or deal with death
Q.16. The poet of ‘Keeping Quiet’ is
a) P.B Shelley
b) Vikram Seth
c) Pablo Neruda
d) Kamala Das
Answer:
c) Pablo Neruda
Q.17. The poet wants entire humanity to
a) Keep talking
b) Keep running
c) Keep laughing
d) Keep still
Answer:
d) Keep still
Q.18. When the poet says ‘we will’ count to twelve he means
a) Entire mankind
b) His own family
c) His friends
d) His wife and himself
Answer:
a) Entire mankind
Q.19. ‘Without rush, without engines’ refers to
a) No noise
b) No hurry to go to office
c) No traveling
d) No holidaying
Answer:
a) No noise
Q.20. ‘Fishermen not harming whales’ means
a) Not causing extinction of whales
b) Not disturbing balance in nature
c) Not going for fishing
d) Not disturbing the sea
Answer:
a) Not causing extinction of whales
Q.21. ‘Cold sea’ is a poetic device
a) Personification
b) Transferred epithet
c) Metaphor
d) Alliteration
Answer:
b) Transferred epithet
Q.22. The man looking at his hurt hands is a
a) Salt gatherer
b) Diamond cutter
c) rag-picker
d) Surgeon
Answer:
a) Salt gatherer
Q.23. According to the poet wars that are fought have no
a) Soldiers
b) Weapons
c) Fighter planes
d) Survivors
Answer:
d) Survivors
Q.24. Man should be; with nature
a) Totally compatible
b) At war
c) Confused
d) irresponsible
Answer:
a) Totally compatible
Q.25. Man needs to learn a lesson from
a) Moon
b) Stars
c) earth
d) Sun
Answer:
c) earth
CUET English Practice Questions Chapter-Keeping quiet Set-2
26. What will counting upto twelve help us with?
a) Achieving harmony, brotherhood
b) Achieving goals and ambitions
c) Fulfilling wishes
d) Winning a race
Answer:
a) Achieving harmony, brotherhood
Q.27. The last line of the poem is
a) And later proves to be alive
b) Life is what it is about
c) I want no truck with death
d) And you keep quiet and I will go
Answer:
d) And you keep quiet and I will go
Q.28. The poet evokes a symbol in order to invoke that there can be life even with stillness. The symbol is
a) Earth
b) Rain
c) Storm
d) Cloud
Answer:
a) Earth
Q.29. The poet uses conversational style and personal pronouns as ‘you’, ‘we’ and ‘I’ because
a) He wants to be intimate with mankind
b) He tries to read out to the readers
c) He wants to establish contact easily
d) Third person is ineffective
Answer:
b) He tries to read out to the readers
Q.30. The poetic device used in the last line ‘when everything seems dead and later proves to be alive’ is
a) Imagery
b) Irony
c) Paradox
d) Transferred epithet
Answer:
b) Irony
Reference to the context
Q.1. Read the lines given below and answer the questions that follow:
Now we will count to twelve And we will all keep still. For once on the face of the Earth Let’s not speak in any language, Lets stop for one second,And not move our arms so much.
a) What does the poet appeal for?
Answer:
The poet appeals for peace and harmony on the earth.
b) To attain this, what does he expect all of us to do?
Answer:
He expects all human beings to be silent, totally inactive and indulge in some introspection.
c) Why does he advocate silence?
Answer:
He advocates silence so that human beings could introspect about themselves without any external disturbance.
d) What kind of activity does the poet feel man in involved with?
Answer:
The poet feels that man is leading a very monotonous and dull existence. He is also engaged in destructive activities that harm himself and nature too.
Q.2. It would be an exotic moment Without rush, without engines,We would all be together in a sudden strangeness.
Fishermen in the cold sea Would not harm whales And the man gathering salt Would look at his hurt hands.
a) What does he mean by ‘exotic moment’?
Answer:
By ‘exotic moment’ the poet means that this moment will be worth cherishing as it would be extraordinary.
b) How could man achieve this exotic moment?
Answer:
In this exotic moment, man would be able to stop all activity, remain silent and introspect on all his actions. He would probably feel enlightened and be in harmony with man and nature.
c) What kind of a feeling would this exotic moment evoke?
Answer:
It would be an extraordinary moment as man would be at peace with himself and his surroundings. This moment might reduce man’s sadness at having generated negative thoughts.
d) What harm do the fishermen do and why do salt gatherer’s hands hurt?
Answer:
The fishermen kill the whales and cause their extinction while salt gatherers’ hands hurt due to the coarse and rough feel of the salt causing pain to their hands.
Q.3. Those who prepare green wars,)
Wars with gas, wars with fire, Victory with no survivors Would put on clean clothes And walk about with their brothers In the shade, doing nothing.
a) What are the kinds of wars mentioned in the above lines?
Answer:
The poet mentions three types of wars, i.e. green wars that man wages against nature and environment. He also mentions wars with gas and wars with fire meaning that man kills other human beings with the help of biological and nuclear weapons.
b) What are green wars?
Answer:
‘Green wars’ refers to the environmental degradation caused by man’s mindless activities.
c) How would the wars affect our lives?
Answer:
Apart from the death of thousands of innocent people, war would not leave anyone victorious because there would be no survivors.
d) What could be the ideal situation?
Answer:
An ideal situation would be one in which human beings would be seen happily walking arm in arm with others hence depicting a feeling of oneness, unity and brotherhood. He would be cool and calm and not concerned about harming anyone.
Q.4. What I want would not be )
Confused With total inactivity.
Life is what it is about; I want no truck with death. If we were not so single-minded About keeping our lives moving, and for once could do nothing, Perhaps a huge silence Might interrupt this sadness Of never understanding ourselves And of threatening ourselves with death.
a) What does the poet mean by inactivity?
Answer:
By ‘inactivity’ the poet means a period of total silence, no work, no disturbance. He visualizes a calm and quiet atmosphere where man is indulging only in introspection.
b) How is inactivity different from death?
Answer:
The poet only wishes for a few moments of inactivity when man would be able to reflect on his actions. Death on the other hand, is the end of life, which the poet does not advocate.
c) What makes us sad and what are we single-minded about?
Answer:
We are single-minded about moving on and focus only on our ambitions and goals. This feeling and the threat to cause our own destruction makes us feel sad.
d) What does the poet mean by ‘to have no truck with death’?
Answer:
The poet wants to have no association with death as death ends life. He only appeals to mankind to be more productive and give up endless and futile pursuits that cause unhappiness.
Q.5. Perhaps the Earth can teach us )
As when everything seems dead And later proves to be alive. Now I’ll count up to twelve And you keep quiet and I will go
a) What can the Earth teach us?
Answer:
The earth teaches us how to be in harmony with others while remaining silent and productive.
b) How does it teach us this lesson?
Answer:
The earth continues to nurture life despite all the harm done to it by man. It remains calm and quiet and this is the lesson that we should learn from it.
c) How does the Earth ‘prove to be alive’?
Answer:
The Earth nurtures life and ensures that life cycle of birth, life and death moves on and the process of regeneration goes on unhampered.
d) What is the poet’s appeal?
Answer:
The poet appeals to mankind to make an effort to keep silent for a few seconds and introspect in order to make amends for a harmonious environment.
SHORT ANSWERS (2 marks each)
Q.1. What is the poet’s appeal to the people?
Answer:
The poet appeals to all the people to count upto twelve and then to be completely silent. During this period of silence, he urges the people to remain calm and stop all physical activity. He only wants peace during this time.
Q.2. To attain this, what does he expect all of us to do?
Answer:
The poet expects all mankind to shun all activity, remain silent and indulge in introspection in order to understand the meaning of life and their own destructive activities and make amends.
Q.3. Why does he advocate silence?
Answer:
He advocates silence because according to him, it is only during the few seconds of silence and inactivity, that man will be able to take stock of his harmful activities and then try to practise harmony and brotherhood in the world.
Q.4. What kind of activity does the poet feel is man involved in?
Answer:
Man is involved with a large number of destructive activities. He is creating noise pollution, environmental pollution and destroying wildlife and marine life. He is waging wars and is also destroying his own fellow men.
Q.5. What does the poet mean by ‘exotic moment’ and hoe could man achieve this ‘exotic moment’?
Answer:
By ‘exotic moment’ the poet means that the moments of silence and inactivity would be extraordinary and memorable because man would be able to reflect on his activities and hence be able to make amends. This exotic moment can only be achieved through total silence and inactivity even if for a few seconds.
Q.6. What kind of a feeling would this exotic moment evoke?
Answer:
This feeling may be a strange feeling because it is not easy to imagine a situation of complete peace and silence. According to the poet, this moment might decrease our sadness at having failed to understand ourselves and having indulges in self-destructive activities.
Q.7. What harm do the fishermen do and why do the salt gatherers hands hurt?
Answer:
The fishermen harm the marine life by killing the whales in the seas and hastening their extinction. The salt gatherers’ hands hurt because the harsh and coarse feel of salt causes discomfort and pain to their hands.
Q.8. What are the kinds of wars mentioned in the poem?
Answer:
The poet mentions green wars, i.e. wars that man is waging against nature hence causing environmental degradation, wars with gas and fire meaning thereby that man is using harmful biological and nuclear weapons to cause maximum destruction to life and property.
Q.9. What can be the consequence of war on our lives?
Answer:
The poet observes that as war would cause a lot of deaths and destructions, it would leave behind no survivors and hence no victory for any one, an ironical situation which can be avoided if man takes action and decides never to wage wars.
Q.10. What could be an ideal situation according to the poet?
Answer:
The poet bly maintains that ideal situation would be when people could happily walk hand in hand with each other under shady trees i.e. cool and harmonious atmosphere and practise oneness, unity and brotherhood.
Q.11. How is inactivity different from death? What does the poet mean by ‘to have no truck with death’?
Answer:
According to the poet total inactivity only means a temporary stillness, where inactivity makes man only temporarily find time to introspect, whereas death on the other hand, means the end of life. ‘No truck with death’ means that the poet does not advocate death, he only urges mankind to halt his activities for a few seconds.
Q.12. What are we single-minded about?
Answer:
The poet feels that individuals only think about keeping our lives moving at all costs, and in the process we lose sight of our goals. We only yearn for progress and fulfillment of ambitions and that remains our only focus while we are alive.
Q.13. What, according to the poet causes sadness?
Answer:
Mindless destructive activities cause sadness in our lives. Even the self-destructive that threaten mankind have led to sadness and unhappiness all around.
Q.14. What can the Earth teach us? How?
Answer:
The Earth can teach us how we can be productive and useful even by maintaining silence. The Earth nurtures all living beings, plants and animals and quietly maintains the balance in nature. This is what we can learn fro earth. It helps in the rebirth of new life. We can all learn to be silent and introspect.
Q.15. How does Earth prove to be alive?
Answer:
The earth nurtures life and brings forth new life. There is regeneration of every living thing on this earth and all things that die, are reborn and the cycle moves on.