Chapter: 02. Piano
Practice Paper: Piano
A. Answer these questions.
At what time of day does the woman begin singing to the poet? What is the main sound the child hears while sitting under the piano? What specific weather condition is mentioned as being outside during the Sunday evenings the poet remembers? What does the poet compare his past emotions to when he states, “I weep like a child for the past”? B. Answer these questions with reference to the context.
“Taking me back down the vista of years, till I see A child sitting under the piano…”
a. What does the phrase “vista of years” suggest about the poet’s journey back in time?
b. How does the imagery of a “child sitting under the piano” contribute to the overall feeling of the poem? “So now it is vain for the singer to burst into clamour With the great black piano appassionato.”
a. What does the poet mean by saying the singer’s efforts are “vain”?
b. How does the “great black piano appassionato” contrast with the poet’s memory of the “tinkling piano”? C. Think and answer.
How does the poet’s use of different sounds (e.g., “boom,” “tingling,” “tinkling,” “clamour”) help to convey the changing atmosphere or emotional state in the poem? The poem explores the theme of memory’s power. Discuss how the poet’s reaction to the music changes from a gentle recollection to an overwhelming emotional experience. Imagine you are the woman singing to the poet. How might you feel witnessing his profound emotional reaction to your music? D. Appreciation: Simile and Transferred Epithet
Identify the simile in the following sentence and explain what two things are being compared:
“The silence stretched out like an endless road.” Underline the transferred epithet in these sentences and explain which noun the adjective truly describes:
a. He passed a sleepless night worrying about the exam.
b. She shook her angry finger at the disobedient child.
c. They navigated the lonely road through the desert. E. Learn About Language: Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
Identify the verbs in these sentences and say whether they are transitive (T) or intransitive (I). Also circle the subject of each verb and underline the object of each transitive verb.
My mother baked a delicious cake. The artist painted a beautiful portrait. F. Language Lab: Double Consonant Sounds
Read the words given in the box aloud. Circle the words that contain double consonant sounds. There may be some words without double consonant sounds.
butter, table, rabbit, summer, happy, music, yellow, paper, coffee, runner, future, apple.
Practice Paper