CLASS - XII

ENGLISH
Assignment on Lost Spring by Anees Jung

Question1. The following table has eight excerpts from the Lost Spring. After reading the chapter,
complete the table. An example has been done for you……

S.No. Excerpt Who said/thought it Reasons

1. Garbage to them is gold Narrator It is garbage that provides them with

their daily bread and a roof over their
heads.
2.
I sometimes find a rupee,
even a ten-rupee note

3. Someone gave them to

me

4. Saheb is no longer his

own master!

5. It is his karam, his destiny

6.
I wonder if she knows the
sanctity of the bangles,
she helps make

7. When I sense a flash of it

in Mukesh, I am cheered

8.
He is suddenly silent.
“No,” he says, staring at
the ground.

Question 2. One person’s trash is another person’s treasure. Discuss the statement in the
light of Saheb's rag picking. ( Answer in 40-50 words)
Question 3. Giving instances from the story, prove that the young men echo the lament
of their elders in Firozabad. ( Answer in about 100 words)
 MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
Q1. Food is more important for survival than an identity. ”If at the end of the day we can feed our
families and go to bed without an aching stomach, we would rather live here than in the fields that
gave us no grains,” say a group of women in tattered saris when I ask them why they left their
beautiful land of green fields and rivers. Wherever they find food, they pitch their tents that become
transit homes. Children grow up in them, becoming partners in survival. And survival in Seemapuri
means rag-picking. Through the years, it has acquired the proportions of a fine art. Garbage to
them is gold.
(i) What forces the people of Seemapuri to live a life of exploitation?
1. greed 2. perpetual poverty 3. garbage collection 4. deprivation of amenities 5. peers 6.
politicians
(a) (1) and (6) (b) (2) and (4) (c) (3) and (5) (d) (2) and (6)
(ii) Choose the term which best matches the statement “Food is more important for survival
than an identlty?
(a) Immortality. (b) ambition. (c) necessity. (d) obligation.
(iii) What does ‘acquired the proportion of fine art’ mean?
(a) Rag-picking has regained its lost status.
(b) A segment of ragpickers are skilled in fine arts.
(c) Rag-picking has attained the position of a skill.
(d) Only a few people are experts in rag-picking.
(iv) Identify the figure of speech used in the sentence “Garbage to them is gold.”
(a) simile (b) hyperbole (c) synedoche (d) metaphor
(v) From this chapter, it is evident that the author has an attitude of _____
(a) Sympathy (b) empathy (c) apathy (d) bewilderment
(vi) Choose the statement that is NOT TRUE about ragpickers in Seemapuri
(a) Children are equally involved in rag picking as their parents.
(b) The ragpickers need food to settle down in a place permanently.
(c) Rag picking has accomplished itself as a skill and form of art.
(d) Rag pickers’ plight echoes the hollowness of a country’s existing political system.

Q2. “Go to school.” I say glibly, realising immediately how hollow the advice must sound.
(i) How hollow the advice must sound means …….
(a) there is no dearth of promises which remain unfulfilled.
(b) there is a scarcity of people promising things for betterment.
(c) people make a lot of promises which are often fulfilled.
(d) promises made, live up to the expectations of people.
(ii) If the rag pickers are provided with at least the facility of education, their world would be?
(a) optimistic (b) energetic (c) ‘confident (d) ambitious
(iii) ASSERTION – Go to school is a wise suggestion from the author.
REASONING – He can go to school to earn better livelihood.
1. A is true and B is false.
2. A and B are false.
3. A is true and B is the correct reason of A.
4. A is true and B is the incorrect reason of A.
(iv) Based on the given extract, choose which option/s state/s Facts (F) and which support/s
Opinion/s?
1. Student A – I think without education, rag pickers will continue living a miserable life.
2. Student B – I think taking conducive efforts for their improvement, is the need of the hour.
3. Student C – I think there are other basic requirements which they need to fulfil
4. Student D - I think rag pickers have no time to go to school for they have to support their
families.
 (a) F- 1and 4;O- 2 and 3 (b) F- 3and 4;O- 1 and 2 (c) F- 2and 3;O- 1 and 4 (d) F- 1and
2;O- 3 and 4
Q3. “Together they have imposed the baggage on the child that he cannot put down. Before he is
aware, he accepts it as naturally as his father. To do anything else would mean to dare.”
(i) Who has imposed the baggage on the child?
(a) Middle men (b) sahukars (c) politicians (d) all of the above
(ii) Read the quotes given below. Choose the option that might best describe Annes Jung’s
viewpoint.

(1) The fact remains; chauvinism is (2) All our dreams can come true. If we
prevailing. – Emma Bonins have the courage to pursue them. –
Walt Disney.

(3) Better to die fighting for freedom than (4) There are no secrets to success. It is
be a prisoner all the days of your life. – the result of preparation, hard work,
Bob Marley and learning from failure. – Colin
Powell

(a) Option (1) (b) Option (2) (c) Option (3) (d) Option (4)
(iii) What does ‘Baggage imposed on the children’ reflect?
(a) Glimpses of hope.
(b) Glimpses of resilience.
(c) Glimpses of struggle.
(d) Glimpses of achievement.
(iv) The title Lost Spring suggests the loss of ___________ .
(a) Flowers and leaves (b) independence (c) beautiful phase of life; childhood (d) hope
and optimism
Q4. Read the statements given below, and then select the option that best describes the given
statement.
Statement I – The two short stories relate the narrator to the bleak and almost non existing
world of the poor.

Statement II – The narrator was unaware of the facts related to the lives of the poor.

Statement III – The narrator wanted the aristocrats to do something for the well being of these
children.

(a) Statement I is true, Statement II cannot be inferred, Statement III is false.

(b) Statement I and III are true, Statement II cannot be inferred.
(c) Statement I is cannot be inferred, Statement II false, Statement III is true.
(d) Statement I and III are false, Statement II is true.

Q5 “I will walk,” he insists. “Do you also dream of flying a plane?” He is suddenly silent. “No, he
says, staring at the ground. Based on this extract, what is the narrator NOT likely to think at the
moment.

(a) Oh! What will be the future of these poor children.

(b) Wow! Everything is going to be right now,
(c) Alas! I have never thought of their such future.
(d) One day, these children will make their own world.