Sup. Reader : Chapter 1 The Lost Child English (Language & Literature) - Sup. Reader : Chapter 1 The Lost Child

    The man headed towards the place where the snake-charmer still played on the flute to the swaying cobra. "Listen to that nice music, child!" he pleaded. But the child shut his ears with his fingers and shouted his double-pitched strain: "I want my mother, I want my father!" The man took him near the balloons, thinking the bright colours of the balloons would distract the child's attention and quieten him. "Would you like a rainbowcoloured balloon?" he persuasively asked. The child turned his eyes from the flying balloons and just sobbed, "I want my mother, I want my father!"
   The man, still trying to make the child happy, bore him to the gate where the flower-seller sat. "Look! Can you smell those nice flowers, child! Would you like a garland to put round your neck?"The child turned his nose away from the basket and reiterated his sob, "I want my mother, I want my father!"
   Thinking to humour his disconsolate charge by a gift of sweets, the man took him to the counter of the sweet shop. "What sweets would you like, child?" he asked. The child turned his face from the sweet shop and only sobbed, "I want my mother, I want my father!"

(i) What did the man try to distract the child with near the snake-charmer?
(a) Ice cream
(b) Music from the snake-charmer
(c) Rainbow-colored balloons
(d) Flower garlands

(ii) How did the man try to distract the child from his distress, and what was the child's response?

(iii) Read the following descriptions (a) - (c) and identify which one correctly corresponds to the extract:
(a) The passage describes a man's attempt to comfort a crying child by offering various distractions, including music, balloons, flowers, and sweets, but the child continues to cry for their parents.
(b) The passage depicts a scene where a snake-charmer tries to entertain a child with his flute music while the child expresses a desire for their parents.
(c) The passage narrates a man's journey through a market, trying to buy various items for a child who is upset and crying, but the child remains inconsolable, longing for their parents.

(iv) What did the child consistently ask for throughout the interactions?

    He ran quickly again, this time to a shrine to which people seemed to be crowding. Every little inch of space here was congested with men, but he ran through people's legs, his little sob lingering: "Mother, Father!" Near the entrance to the temple, however, the crowd became very thick: men jostled each other, heavy men, with flashing, murderous eyes and hefty shoulders. The poor child struggled to thrust a way between their feet but, knocked to and fro by their brutal movements, he might have been trampled underfoot, had he not shrieked at the highest pitch of his voice, "Father, Mother!" A man in the surging crowd heard his cry and, stooping with great difficulty, lifted him up in his arms.
   "How did you get here, child? Whose baby are you?" the man asked as he steered clear of the mass. The child wept more bitterly than ever now and only cried, "I want my mother, I want my father!"
    The man tried to soothe him by taking him to the roundabout. "Will you have a ride on the horse?" he gently asked as he approached the ring. The child's throat tore into a thousand shrill sobs and he only shouted, "I want my mother, I want my father!"

(i) What did the child encounter near the entrance to the temple?
(a) A group of people praying quietly
(b) A thick crowd of men with aggressive behavior
(c) A line of vendors selling religious offerings
(d) A circle of children playing games

(ii) Where did the child run to after losing his parents, and what obstacle did he face?

(iii) Read the following descriptions (a) - (c) and identify which one correctly corresponds to the extract:
(a) The child was lost in a crowded shrine and desperately called for his parents until a man rescued him, but he continued to cry for his mother and father despite the man's attempts to comfort him.
(b) The child enjoyed the crowded shrine, playing happily among the people until a man offered him a ride on the roundabout.
(c) The child found his parents quickly in the crowded shrine and they all enjoyed a ride on the roundabout together.

(iv) What was the child's response when offered a ride on the horse at the roundabout?

   There was no reply. He turned to look at his parents. They were not there, ahead of him. He turned to look on either side. They were not there. He looked behind. There was no sign of them.
    A full, deep cry rose within his dry throat and with a sudden jerk of his body he ran from where he stood, crying in real fear, "Mother, Father." Tears rolled down from his eyes, hot and fierce; his flushed face was convulsed with fear. Panic-stricken, he ran to one side first, then to the other, hither and thither in all directions, knowing not where to go. "Mother, Father," he wailed. His yellow turban came untied and his clothes became muddy.
   Having run to and fro in a rage of running for a while, he stood defeated, his cries suppressed into sobs. At little distances on the green grass he could see, through his filmy eyes, men and women talking. He tried to look intently among the patches of bright yellow clothes, but there was no sign of his father and mother among these people, who seemed to laugh and talk just for the sake of laughing and talking.

(i) What caused the child to run away in panic?
(a) He lost sight of his favorite sweets.
(b) He couldn't find his parents and felt abandoned.
(c) He was scared of the snake-charmer's music.
(d) He wanted to join the crowd on the roundabout.

(ii) How did the child react when he couldn't find his parents?

(iii) Read the following descriptions (a) - (c) and identify which one correctly corresponds to the extract:
(a) The passage describes a child who becomes separated from his parents in a crowded place and panics, desperately searching for them while crying out for his mother and father.
(b) The passage depicts a child who gets lost in a marketplace and encounters people who seem indifferent to his distress as he searches for his parents.
(c) The passage narrates a child's experience of being left alone by his parents in a crowded area, leading to his overwhelming fear and desperation to find them.

(iv) What happened to the child's parents suddenly?

   A man stood holding a pole with yellow, red, green and purple balloons flying from it. The child was simply carried away by the rainbow glory of their silken colours and he was filled with an overwhelming desire to possess them all. But he well knew his parents would never buy him the balloons because they would say he was too old to play with such toys. So he walked on farther.
   A snake-charmer stood playing a flute to a snake which coiled itself in a basket, its head raised in a graceful bend like the neck of a swan, while the music stole into its invisible ears like the gentle rippling of an invisible waterfall. The child went towards the snake-charmer. But, knowing his parents had forbidden him to hear such coarse music as the snake-charmer played, he proceeded farther.
  There was a roundabout in full swing. Men, women and children, carried away in a whirling motion, shrieked and cried with dizzy laughter. The child watched them intently and then he made a bold request: "I want to go on the roundabout, please, Father, Mother."

(i) What was the child's reaction to seeing the balloons held by the man?
(a) He was filled with fear
(b) He was overwhelmed with a desire to possess them
(c) He ignored them completely
(d) He felt indifferent

(ii) What activity did the child want to participate in at the roundabout, and why did he hesitate to ask his parents?

(iii) Read the following descriptions (a) - (c) and identify which one correctly corresponds to the extract:
(a) The child ignored all attractions at the fair and focused on finding his parents.
(b) The child was fascinated by various sights at the fair but refrained from indulging due to his parents' likely disapproval, except for one bold request to ride the roundabout.
(c) The child enjoyed the roundabout ride and then went to see the balloons and snake-charmer.

(iv) What caught the child's attention at the sight of the man holding the pole?

    A sweetmeat seller hawked, "gulab-jaman, rasagulla, burfi, jalebi," at the corner of the entrance and a crowd pressed round his counter at the foot of an architecture of many coloured sweets. decorated with leaves of silver and gold. The child stared openeyed and his mouth watered for the burfi that was his favourite sweet. "I want that burfi," he slowly murmured. But he half knew as he begged that his plea would not be heeded because his parents would say he was greedy. So without waiting for an answer he moved on.
    A flower-seller hawked, "A garland of gulmohur, a garland of gulmohur!" The child seemed irresistibly drawn. He went towards the basket where the flowers lay heaped and half murmured, "I want that garland." But he well knew his parents would refuse to buy him those flowers because they would say that they were cheap. So, without waiting for an answer, he moved on.

(i) What sweet does the child express a desire for while passing the sweetmeat seller's counter?
(A) Gulab-jaman
(B) Rasagulla
(C) Burfi
(D) Jalebi

(ii)  What sweets did the sweetmeat seller offer, and what caught the child's attention?

(iii) Read the following descriptions (a) - (c) and identify which one correctly corresponds to the extract:
(a) The child eagerly bought sweets and flowers, as his parents always fulfilled his requests without hesitation.
(b) The child wanted to buy sweets and flowers but moved on without asking, knowing his parents would not agree to his requests.
(c) The child was uninterested in the sweets and flowers being sold, preferring to find his parents instead.

(iv) What did the flower-seller hawk?

How did the child react when there was no sign of his parents ?

What happened when the “lost child” entered the grove ? How did he enjoy there ?

Why didn’t the boy wait for an answer after he had pleaded for sweets ?

What was tlje first reaction of the child when he realized that he had lost his parents?

Parents were in a hurry to reach the fair but the child was delaying them. How ?

What all things did the child get attracted to, once be entered the fair ? Was he able to get all the things he desired ? What happened when he made a bold request to his parents ?

How do you know that the lost child was a nature – lover ?

How did the man who found the little boy in the fair, try to soothe him ?

Compare the attitude of the child before and after his separation from his parents.

What changes do you notice in the behaviour of the child, once he is separated from his parents in the story “The Lost Child” ?