MP Board Class 10th General English Important Extracts from Prose

Students get through the MP Board Class 10th English Important Questions General English Extracts from Prose which are most likely to be asked in the exam.

MP Board Class 10th General English Important Extracts from Prose

Read the given passages and answer the questions that follow:

I. Someone came and whispered, informing them that the bodies had been taken away through another gate.

The British were bent upon their treacherous way. The bodies of the valiant leaders were mercilessly chopped off, filled in the sacks and carried away to the bank of the river Sutlej at Ferozepur through a back gate. The last rites were to be performed by a Sikh granthi and a Hindu pandit.

The sacks containing the parts of the bodies were taken off the truck. Kerosene was spilled over them and set ablaze in the most cruel and heartless manner.

Question 1.
Give meaning of the word ‘whispered’.
Answer:
To speak something in very low voice particularly into someone’s ear.

Question 2.
Find a word that means ‘not to be relied’ or ‘deceptive’.
Answer:
Treacherous.

Question 3.
Make a sentence with the phrase “Set ablaze”.
Answer:
The crowd set ablaze the bus.

Question 4.
Why were the bodies taken away through another gate?
Answer:
The bodies were taken through another gate because at the front gate a huge crowd had gathered. It was feared that it may turn violent.

Question 5.
Whose bodies were they?
Answer:
They were the bodies of great martyrs Sardar Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdeo.

II. I met Swami Shivanandas – a man who looked like a Buddha wearing a snow-white dhoti and wooden slippers. He had an olive complexion and blacke piercing eyes. I was stuck by his irresistible, almost child-like smile and gracious manner. I introduced myself to the Swamiji. My Muslim name aroused no reaction in him. Before I could speak any further, he inquired about the source of my sorrow. He offered no explanation of how he knew that I was sad and I did not ask.

I told him about my unsuccessful attempt to join the Indian Air Force and by long cherished desire to fly. He smiled, washing away all my anxiety almost instantly. (M.P. 2014, 16 Imp.)

Question 1.
Who was looking like Buddha:
(a) Ravindranath Tagore
(b) Swami Shivananda
(c) A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Answer:
(b) Swami Shivananda was looking like Buddha.

Question 2.
Who had a gracious and child like smile?
Answer:
Swami Shivananda had a gracious and childlike smile.

Question 3.
Meaning of the word irresistible is:
(a) Prevent
(b) That can’t be stopped
(c) Explain
Answer:
(b) That can’t be stopped.

Question 4.
Who went to meet Swami Shivanand and why?
Answer:
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam went to meet Swami Shivanand to find answer to his worries.

Question 5.
Name the lesson from which this extract has been taken.
Answer:
One step ahead.

Question 6.
The meaning of the word ‘attempt’ is: (M.P. 2014)
(a) effort
(b) job
(c) source
Answer:
(a) effort.

Question 7.
The writer of this lesson, from which the extract has been taken, is: (M.P. 2014)
(a) Minakshi G. Jain
(b) A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
(c) Sudha Murthy.
Answer:
(b) A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Question 8.
The writer wanted to join: (M.P. 2014)
(a) Indian army
(b) Indian Air Force
(c) Indian Navy
Answer:
(b) Indian Air Force.

Question 9.
What was the writer struck by? (M.P. 2014)
Answer:
He was struck by his irresistible, almost child-like smile and gracious manner.

III. It is astonishing how the landscape changes as one moves northwards. The rich and fertile plains of the river Ganga and its numerous tributaries have invited invasions, turmoil and change. Around 1500 BC, fair-skinned Aryans swept in through the mountain passes from the far north-west. The tenth century brought Muslims, who later mingled with the local people and became an integral part of this country. One empire gave way to another. Religious conquests continued. All this time, the part of India south of the Tropic of Cancer remained largely untouched, safe behind the shield of the Vindhya and Satpura mountain ranges.

Question 1.
Give a synonym of astonishing.
Answer:
Surprizing.

Question 2.
Find a word that means necessary to make a whole complete.
Answer:
Integral.

Question 3.
Give antonym of conquest.
Answer:
Defeat.

Question 4.
Who is the author of these lines?
Answer:
Dr. A.P.J. Kalam is the writer of these lines.

Question 5.
Which line divides India into two parts?
Answer:
The Tropic of Cancer divides India into two parts.

IV. Sardar Kishan Singh was on the verge of losing his nerve. He continued delivering his speech in his delicious manner. When the milkman ran towards him and gave the dreaded news that the execution was over. Sardar Kishan Singh announced to the crowd “Bhagat Singh has been executed. I am going to fetch his body. None of you should budge from here. I don’t wish that in taking away the body of Bhagat Singh I shall have to take away many more. (M.P. 2017)

Question 1.
If I say don’t budge from here. I mean:
(a) Don’t move from here
(b) Don’t buy from here
(c) Don’t play over here
Answer:
(a) Don’t move from here

Question 2.
From which lesson has the extract been taken:
(a) The power of determination.
(b) Salutation to the nation
(c) Don’t play over there.
Answer:
(b) Salutation to the nation

Question 3.
Who was Sardar Bhagat Singh? He was Sardar Kishan Sing’s:
(a) Son
(b) Brother
(c) Friend
Answer:
(a) Son

Question 4.
What news did the milkman give?
Answer:
He gave the dreaded news that the execution was over.

V. Work is worship and unless we treat it as such neither we nor our country will progress. There is nothing to be ashamed of doing work. Some people feel that it is below their dignity to do a certain job. It is said that a foreign diplomat once visited America. As the visitor went in he found the great President polishing his shoes, shocked at what he saw. The Diplomat asked him, why he himself polished his shoes. President Lincoln asked “Why? who polishes yours”?. The great Ishwar Chandra Vidya Sagar carried the luggage of a snobbish young man where the later was looking around for a porter to carry the light luggage he had. Mahatma Gandhi to teaches us about dignity of work. Let us follow the examples of great people and realize that labour is dignifying and should be equated with worship.

Question 1.
According to the passage whose example should we follow:
(a) Our own
(b) Other
(c) Great people
Answer:
(c) Great people

Question 2.
Supply one word from the passage for praying to God?
Answer:
Prayer

Question 3.
Why was the foreign diplomat shocked?
Answer:
When he saw Lincoln polishing his shoes, he was shocked.

Question 4.
Who carried the luggage of the young man?
Answer:
Ishwar Chandra Vidya Sagar carried the luggage of the young man.

Question 5.
What does Mahatma Gandhi teach us?
Answer:
Labour is dignifying and should equated with worship.

VI. Kubuddhi was greedy and had a plan to cheat his friend of his share of the gold coins. He said, “It is unwise to take all the gold to the city”. When the friends see so much money, they will ask us to lend some to them, or they may even steal it. Let’s take one hundred coins each and bury the remaining in the forest. We can always come back and take the money whenever we need it. Subuddhi agreed with Kubuddhi. Together they buried the money under an old banyan tree and returned to their homes with a part of their new found wealth. (Imp.)

Question 1.
Name the lesson from which this extract has been taken.
Answer:
The pot of gold

Question 2.
Find out the word from the extract which means ‘money-hungry’.
Answer:
Greedy.

Question 3.
They buried the money and then they:
(a) Went to the city
(b) Came back to their homes
(c) Went to the forest
Answer:
(c) Went to the forest.

Question 4.
What was the plan of Kubuddhi? (M.P. 2014)
Answer:
Kubuddhi’s plan was that they should take one hundred wins each and bury the remaining in the forest. He had decided that later he will come back and take away all gold.

VII. The greater the number of good citizens in a country is, the more enlightened will the country be as a whole.

A chain is as strong as its weakest link. Each one of us is a link in the chain that is our country. If we are weak and poor citizens, then our country will suffer, even though we may try to comfort ourselves with the false idea that it does not make any difference what one person does in such a large country where so many people live. But if one candle goes out then in that one place there is darkness instead of light. It is only when all the candles bum brightly that the whole house will be full of light.

Question 1.
Give antonym of weakest.
Answer:
Strongest.

Question 2.
Give synonym of idea.
Answer:
Notion.

Question 3.
Give meaning of enlighten.
Answer:
Make more knowledgeable.

Question 4.
How strong is a chain?
Answer:
A chain is as strong as its weakest link.

Question 5.
What will happen if every individual is not taken care of?
Answer:
If every individual is not taken care of then our country will suffer.

VIII. That night, I was sleeping in the passage room. When I woke up in the morning I found my elder brother’s blanket on me added to mine. Early at dawn he had left for the fields without a blankets on his shoulders. If he had been asked why, he would have surely said in his usual manner that he did not feel cold. Now I have a comfortable income. Yet it had never occured to me to think of buying any warm cloth for my elder brother. (M.P. 2010 Imp.)

Question 1.
The time of the day when light first appears is called:
(a) morning
(b) dawn
(c) day
Answer:
(b) dawn

Question 2.
From which lesson has the extract below been taken?
Answer:
The Tribute.

Question 3.
The writer is:
(a) A.P.J. Kalam
(b) Pt. Nehru
(c) Das Benhur.
Answer:
(c) Das Benhur.

IX. Read the extract carefully and answer the questions given below it: (M.P. 2013 Imp.)

In those days, there was no communal divide in the village. People from different communities lived together in peace. Many would come to our house to ask for alms. There were Muslim Fakirs, Hindu Dasalahs who roamed the countryside singing devotional songs Yellamma Jogathis who appeared holding the image of Goddess Yellamma over their heads, poor students and invalid people.

We never had too much cash in the house and the only help my grandfather could gives these people was in the form of rice. People who receive help do not talk too much. They would receive the rice, smile and raise their right hand to bless us.

Question 1.
The meaning of the word ‘alms’ is ………..:
(a) rice
(b) donation
(c) Devotional Songs
Answer:
(b) donation

Question 2.
The only help to the needy people:
(a) cash
(b) clothes
(c) rice
Answer:
(c) rice

Question 3.
Writer of this lesson is:
(a) Sudha Murty
(b) W.M. Ryburn
(c) Minakshi G. Jain
Answer:
(a) Sudha Murty.

Question 4.
What do people do after receiving help?
Answer:
They would receive the rice, smile and raise their right hand to be bless us.

Question 5.
The name of the lesson is:
(a) One Step Ahead
(b) Torch Bearers
(c) The Red Rice Granary
Answer:
(c) The Red Rice Granary

Question 6.
How did the people live in the village according to the writer?
Answer:
The people lived in the village peacefully. There was no communal divide in the village.

X. Read the extract carefully and answer the questions given below it: (M.P. 2015, Imp.)

Mamta has been studying in a small school in the near by town hill then, as her parents could not afford to send her to any one of the public schools in the city. It was only because of the scholarship she had won from a trust that it had been possible for her to join this reputed convent school. Being away from home, in a hostel, she yearned for some friends, but till now most of the girls had refused to accept a small town girl as their friend. Most of the girls in the school came from rich families. They treated her as unwelcome guest who was two low in status by their standards.

Question 1.
Mamta had been studying in a …………:
(a) big school
(b) famous old school
(c) small school
Answer:
(c) small school

Question 2.
From which lesson this extract has been taken:
(a) The new player in the team
(b) The tribute
(c) One step Ahead.
Answer:
(a) The new player in the team

Question 3.
Mamta could not join any public school because …………:
(a) She was weak in studies.
(b) Her parents could not afford to send her to school.
(c) She could not get scholarship.
Answer:
(c) She could not get scholarship.

Question 4.
Why did the girls in the school avoid Mamta’s company?
Answer:
Because Mamta was from small town and was too low in status by their standards.

XI. Read the extract carefully and answer the questions given below it: (M.P. 2015)

Usually my elder brother does not write to me. He does not need anything from me. He has never sought a token from me in lieu or his concern for me as an elder brother. In those days when I was a student. the only thing that he enquired about was my well-being.

During my stay at home, he would catch fish for me from the pond behind our house and would ask his wife to prepare a good dish, for I loved fish. When the catch was scanty, the dish would be prepared exclusively for me. He would say to his wife: “You must make the dish as delicious as possible, using mustard paste for Babuli.” Even now, he is the same man with same tone of love and compassion. Nothing has changed him-his seven children, father, mother, cattle, fields, household responsibilities. He is the same-my elder brother.

Question 1.
Name of the lesson from which the extract has been taken is:
(a) The tribute
(b) The torch Bearer
(c) The Pot of God
Answer:
(a) The tribute

Question 2.
My ……… brother does not write to me.
(a) younger
(b) cousin
(c) elder
Answer:
(c) elder

Question 3.
Find out the word from extract which means “small in quantity or size”.
Answer:
scanty.

Question 4.
When elder brother caught the fish; what would he say to his wife?
Answer:
He would say to his wife to make the dish as delicious as possible using mustard paste for Babuli.

XII. Read the extract carefully and answer the questions given below it: (M.P. 2015, 16, 17)

Once more the brave boy made up his mind. He would not be a cripple. He would walk. But unfortunately from the waist down, he had no motor ability. His thin legs just dangled there, all but lifeless. Ultimately, he was released from the hospital. Everyday his mother would massage his little legs, but there was no feeling, no control, nothing. Yet his determination that he would walk was as strong as ever. This determined young man, Dr. Glenn Cunningham, ran the world’s fastest mile!

Question 1.
The word in the passage similar in meaning to ‘disable’ is ………..:
(a) dangle
(b) cripple
(c) determination
Answer:
(b) cripple

Question 2.
What had caused the disability to the boy:
(a) He suffered an accident while crossing the road.
(b) A truck ran over him.
(c) He got burnt.
Answer:
(c) He got burnt.

Question 3.
By what name do we know the boy:
(a) Mahatma Gandhi
(b) Roger Bannister
(c) Glenn Cunningham
Answer:
(c) Glenn Cunningham

Question 4.
How did the mother help the boy to overcome his disability?
Answer:
The mother helped the boy to overcome his disability by massaging his little legs regularly.

XIII. Read the extract carefully and answer the questions given below it:

The little country school house was heated by an old fashioned, pot bellied coal stove. A little boy had the job of coming to school early each day to start the fire and warm the room before his teacher and his classmates arrived. One morning they arrived to find the school house engulfed in flames. They dragged the unconscious boy out of the flaming building more dead than alive. He had major bums over the lower half of his body and was taken to the nearby country hospital.

Question 1.
The antonym of Major is:
(a) Small
(b) Minor
(c) Fat
Answer:
(b) Minor

Question 2.
The boy was taken to the:
(a) School
(b) Bank
(c) Hospital.
Answer:
(c) Hospital.

Question 3.
The meaning of the word unconscious is:
(a) Alert
(b) Slept
(c) Senseless.
Answer:
(c) Senseless.

Question 4.
What was the condition of the little boy when he was taken to the hospital?
Answer:
The boy was senseless when he was taken to the hospital.

XIV. Read the extract carefully and answer the questions given below it:

I bathed in the Ganga and revelled in the purity of its water. Then I walked to the Shivanand Ashram situated a little way up the hill. I could feel intense vibrations when I entered. I saw a large number of sadhus seated all around in a state of trance. I had read the sadhus were psychic people – people who know things intuitively and in my dejected mood, I sought answer to the doubts that troubled me.

Question 1.
The writer of this lesson is:
(a) A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
(b) Das Benhur
(c) Pt. Nehru.
Answer:
(a) A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

Question 2.
The lesson’s name is:
(a) The Tribute
(b) One Step Ahead
(c) Torch Bearers
Answer:
(b) One Step Ahead

Question 3.
The word purity means:
(a) Dirty
(b) Pretty
(c) Clean and clear.
Answer:
(c) Clean and clear.

Question 4.
Who are the sadhus according to the writer?
Answer:
The Sadhus are psychic people who know things intuitively.

XV. Read the extract carefully and answer the questions given below it:

Now, we all live in a big house which we call our native country. We have each of us been given, some one rupee, some two rupees, some three and some four. These rupees are not rupees with which we can buy things, but they are different powers we have been given. Each of us has powers of body, powers of mind and powers of character. Each of us has strength, time and intelligence, which can be use. As we leave school and go out into the world, we are tested as to how we are going to use these talents which we possess.

Question 1.
‘By native country’ the writer means:
(a) the country where he lives
(b) the house in which he lives
(c) a foreign country.
Answer:
(b) the house in which he lives

Question 2.
The name of the lesson from which the extract has been taken is:
(a) The Power of Determination
(b) The Torch Bearer
(c) The Pot of Gold.
Answer:
(b) The Torch Bearer

Question 3.
Give the name of the writer of the lesson.
Answer:
W.M. Rybum.

Question 4.
What do rupees signify in the extract?
Answer:
In the extract rupees signifies different powers we have been given.