Objective Questions (MCQs):-
1. What was the content of the package left for Edla by the peddler?
(A) A small rattrap with 30 kroner in it
(B) A small bangle
(C) A necklace
(D) A diamond ring
2. How did the rattrap peddler spend most of his Christmas Eve?
(A) He laughed the whole day round.
(B) He sang Christmas Carols.
(C) He played games with Edla.
(D) He slept for long hours.
3. When the peddler was about to leave, ironmaster's daughter
(A) asked him to stay for that day only
(B) said that she wanted to go with him
(C) told him not to mind what her father had said
(D) asked him to leave after 2 days
4. The ironmaster had mistaken identity of the rattrap peddler and thought him to be:
(A) an old regimental comrade.
(B) an old servant.
(C) an old employee.
(D) an old cousin of his wife.
5. Rattrap is a metaphor used for:
(A) humans and their life.
(B) thieves and robbers.
(C) attractions and distractions.
(D) human greed and distractions.
6. Peddler signed himself as Captain von Stahle because:
(A) he didn't want to hurt the iron master and his daughter.
(B) he forgot his name.
(C) he wanted to meet Edla's expectations of him being an army man.
(D) he was the real Captain von Stahle.
7. "Left to his own meditations", one day the peddler fell into "a line of thought, which really seemed to him entertaining". What does the peddler's conception of the world as a rattrap, signify about him?
(A) The peddler had a lot of time on his hands, with nothing much to do.
(B) The peddler was a reflective man whosewisdom did not depend on his status.
(C) The peddler was a lonely vagrant trying to make sense of his fortunes.
(D) The peddler was a rattrap seller, and his work deeply inspired him.
8. "Yes, that was a fine fellow you let into the house," said her father. What light does the given line throw on the ironmaster as a father?
(A) The ironmaster was disapproving of Edla's decision to let the peddler stay.
(B) The ironmaster blamed his daughter for harbouring a criminal at home.
(C) The ironmaster was being playful with Edla and supported her decisions.
(D) The ironmaster loved Edla but thought her to be too naive and idealistic.
9. Though the reader does not meet Captain von Stahle in person, they encounter the captain symbolically. How?
(A) The ironmaster misidentified the peddler as his old friend, the Captain and invites him home.
(B) The reader realizes the peddler is actually Captain von Stahle when he signs off the letter.
(C) Edla attends to the peddler as respectfully, caringly and kindly, as she would have the Captain.
(D) The peddler accepts the error of his ways, and displays the qualities expected of a Captain.
Answer key:-
1. (A) Explanation: He leaves a rattrap as a Christmas gift for Edla and encloses a letter of thanks and a note of confession in it. He leaves behind the stolen money to be restored to its rightful owner, the crofter, the redeeming himself from his dishonest ways.
2. (D)
3. (A)
4. (A)
5. (D)
6. (C)
7. (B)
8. (A)
9. (D)
Extract Based MCQs:-
I. Read the given passages and answer the questions that follow:
"Since you have been so nice to me all day long, as if I was a captain, I want to be nice to you, in return, as if I was a real captain-for I do not want you to be embarrassed at this Christmas season by a thief; but you i can give back the money to the old man on the roadside, who has the money pouch hanging on the window frame as a bait for poor wanderers:
The rattrap is a Christmas present from a rat who would have been caught in this world's rattrap if he had not been raised to captain, because in that way he got power to clear himself. "Written with friendship and high regard, Captain von Stahle."
1. Which of the following CANNOT be attributed to the peddler, according to the above extract?
(A) Indebtedness
(B) Reform
(C) Self-pity
(D) Self-awareness
2. Why did the peddler gift a rattrap as a Christmas present?
(A) It was all the peddler had that he could give away, and represented his turn to honesty.
(B) It symbolized his successful escape from entrapment as he returned the stolen money.
(C) It served as a reminder for Edla to be wary of the dangerous temptations of the world.
(D) It was a practical and convenient present that the lady of the house could effectively use.
3. This communication includes:
(1) A promise
(2) Regret
(3) An apology
(4) Shame
(A) Only 4
(B) Only 1
(C) 1 & 3
(D) 2 & 4
Answer key :-
1. C
2. A
3. C
II. ...it was a big and confusing forest which he had gotten into. He tried, to be sure, to walk in a definite direction, but the paths twisted back and forth so strangely! He walked and walked without coming to the end of the wood and finally he realised that he had only been walking around in the same part of the forest All at once he recalled his thoughts about the world and the rattrap. Now his own turn had come. He had let himself be fooled by a bait and had been caught. The whole forest, with its trunks and branches, its thickets and fallen logs, closed in upon him like an impenetrable prison from which he could never escape.
1. How would you characterise the mood of the above extract?
(A) Mysterious, restful
(C) Thoughtful, whimsical
(B) Ominous, despairing
(D) Philosophical, anguished
2. By what bait had the peddler been fooled? (A) He had chosen to take the 'safe' forest route.
(B) He had decided to avoid the public highway.
(C) He had stolen money from the trusting crofter.
(D) He didn't realize the power of his rattrap analogy.
3. The consequence of his own turn' having come was that the peddler had :
(A) got irreversibly lost in the thick, warped forest.
(B) been fooled and imprisoned in a hopeless prison.
(C) been walking around the same part of the forest.
(D) walked the whole forest without finding the end.
4. The above extract richly employs literary devices. Choose the option that correctly matches the instances/ examples in Column A with the literary devices in Column B:
Column A
1. The forest closed in upon the peddler like an impenetrable prison.
2. The big and confusing forest with its twisted paths, trunks, branches, thickets and fallen logs.
3. The lost peddler was reminded of the world and the rattrap.
4. It was a big and confusing forest which he had gotten into.The peddler had been fooled and was trapped in the forest.
Column B
(i) Imagery
(ii) Allegory
(iii) Metaphor
(iv) Simile
(A) 1-(i) ; 2-(ii) ; 3-(iii) ; 4-(iv)
(B) 1-(iv); 2-(i); 3-(iii); 4-(ii)
(C) 1-(iii); 2-(iv); 3-(i); 4-(ii)
(D) 1-(ii); 2-(iii); 3-(iv); 4-(i)
Answer key:-
1. B
2. D
3. A
4. B
III. No one can imagine how sad and monotonous life can appear to such a vagabond, who plods along the road, left to his own meditations. But one day this man had fallen into a line of thought, which really seemed to him entertaining.
1. Who is the vagabond here?
(A) Peddler
(B) Blacksmith
(C) Ironmaster
(D) Ironmaster's daughter
2. What kind of life was he leading?
OR
What kind of life did he lead?
(A) Happy and full of joy.
(B) Sad and monotonous.
(C) Nonchalant.
(D) Meditative.
3. What was the thought that struck him one day?
OR
What was the thought that struck his mind?
(A) One should fear the fear itself.
(B) Indigo is a must for today's world.
(C) The world is a rattrap.
(D) None of these
4. Pick up the word which has the same meaning as 'to walk with difficulty.
(A) Vagabond
(B) Plods
(C) Entertaining
(D) Monotonous
Answer key:-
1. A
2. B
3. C
4. B
IV. The world had, of course, never been very kind to him, so it gave him unwanted joy to think ill of it in this way. It became a cherished pastime of his, during many dreary plodding, to think of people he knew who had let themselves be caught in the dangerous snare and of others who were still circling around the bait.
1. Who is 'he' in the above extract?
(A) The ironmaster
(B) The Blacksmith
(C) The Peddler
(D) The Plodder
2. How did the world treat him?
(A) Cheerfully
(B) Kindly
(C) Seriously
(D) Unkindly
3. Which thought used to give him joy?
(A) To see people get trapped in the clutches of their memories.
(B) To see people get trapped in the emotions of their loved ones.
(C) To see people get trapped in the social and cultural rituals.
(D) To see people get trapped in the bait of joys.
4. Find the word synonymous to 'a trap for catching birds or mammals, typically one having a noose of wire or cord'.
(A) Cherished
(B) Dreary
(C) Snare
(D) Bait
Answer key:-
1. C
2. D
3. D
4. C
V. The stranger must have seemed incredulous, for the old man got up and went to the window, took down a leather pouch which hung on a nail in the very window frame and picked out three wrinkled ten-kronor bills. These he held up before the eyes of his guest, nodding knowingly and then stuffed them back into the pouch.
1. Who was the 'old man' in the given lines?
(A) The peddler
(B) The ironmaster
(C) The blacksmith
(D) The crofter
2. Why did the old man show the stranger ten kronor bills?
(A) He thought that the bills were fake.
(B) He suspected that his guest did not believe him.
(C) He was furious with the return of his hard work.
(D) He wanted to show-off to the guest.
3. Why had his own turn come?
(A) He had lost money in the forest.
(B) He had lost way in the forest.
(C) He had lost his luggage in the forest.
(D) He had got the chance to earn fame and money.
4. How did he feel when he was trapped in the forest?
(A) Empowering cat
(B) Barking hound
(C) Helpless mouse
(D) Slow moving turtle
Answer key:-
1. B
2. D
3. B
4. C
VI. All at once, he recalled his thoughts about the world and the rattrap. Now his own turn had come. He had let himself be fooled by a bait and had been caught. The whole forest, with its trunks and branches, its thickets and fallen logs, closed in upon him like an impenetrable prison from which he could never escape.
1. Who is 'He in the above lines?
(A) Crofter
(B) Peddler
(C) Ironmaster
(D) Blacksmith
2. What did he recall?
(A) The world is full of fake people.
(B) No one helps others in the time of need.
(C) East or West, Home is the Best.
(D) The world is a big rattrap.
3. Why had his own turn come?
(A) He had lost money in the forest.
(B) He had lost way in the forest.
(C) He had lost his luggage in the forest.
(D) He had got the chance to earn fame and money.
4. How did he feel when he was trapped in the forest?
(A) Empowering cat
(B) Barking hound
(C) Helpless mouse
(D) Slow moving turtle
Answer key:-
1. B
2. D
3. B
4. C
VII. The blacksmiths glanced only indifferently at the intruder. He looked the way people of his type usually did, with a long beard, dirty, ragged and with a bunch of rattraps dangling on his chest. He asked permission to stay and the master blacksmith nodded a haughty consent without honouring him with a single word.
1. Who is the intruder here?
(A) Rattrap peddler
(B) Ironmaster
(C) Edla
(D) Crofter
2. How was he looking?
(A) Shabby
(B) Ragged
(C) Long beard
(D) All of these
3. Where did he want to stay?
(A) Forge near the railway station.
(B) Forge near the furnace.
(C) Ship ready to sail off.
(D) Blacksmiths' courtyard.
4. Which word in the passage is the antonym of 'disapproval?
(A) Indifferently
(B) Dangling
(C) Permission
(D) Haughty
Answer key:-
1. A
2. D
3. B
4. C
VIII. Naturally, the first thing he saw was the tall ragamuffin who had eased his way so close to the furnace that steam rose from his wet rags. The ironmaster did not follow the example of the blacksmiths, who had hardly deigned to look at the stranger. He walked close up to him, looked him over very carefully, then tore off his slouch hat to get a better view of his face.
1. Who is 'He' in the above lines?
(A) Rattrap peddler
(B) Crofter
(C) Ironmaster
(D) Blacksmith
2. Who is tall ragamuffin?
(A) Rattrap Peddler
(B) Edla
(C) Ironmaster
(D) Crofter
3. How was the attitude of ironmaster different from that of blacksmiths?
(A) He did not ignore the person lying near the furnace.
(B) He gave food to the person.
(C) He combed the hair of the person.
(D) None of these
4. Which word in the passage means 'to do something that one considers to be below one's dignity'?
(A) Ragamuffin
(B) Deigned
(C) Tore
(D) Slouch
Answer key :-
1. C
2. A
3. A
4. B
