CBSE Class 10 English HOTs Amanda

Amanda

Summary

This poem is about a little girl, Amanda, who is constantly instructed about what to do and what not to do. She is told not to hunch her shoulders and to sit up straight. She is told to finish her homework and clean her room. She is forbidden from eating a chocolate that she has. But Amanda keeps dreaming of a life of freedom in the open. She dreams of mermaids in the sea, of roaming barefoot in the dusty street and of the golden-haired Rapunzel who lived alone in a high tower. She takes no note of what is being said to her and is rebuked for being moody and sulking all the time

Extract Based Questions

I. (There is a languid, emerald sea, where the sole inhabitant is me — a mermaid, drifting blissfully.)

Question. There is a languid, emerald sea....
Why is the sea called languid?
(a) To create a relaxed and carefree atmosphere.
(b) To give a human attribution to the sea.
(c) To express that Amanda is lazy.
(d) To express Amanda's yearning for freedom and silence.

Answer : D

Question. What does the word languid not mean in the extract?
(a) Relaxed
(b) Active
(c) Lazy
(d) Slow

Answer : B

Question. How does Amanda describe the sea?
(a) Purple
(b) Golden
(c) Blue
(d) Emerald

Answer : D

Question. Why does Amanda want to be at sea all alone?
1. Because she is an introvert.
2. Because she is angry with her parents.
3. Because she wants to live freely without anyone's restrictions.
4. Because she is tired of the constant nagging.
(a) (1) and (2)
(b) (3) and (4)
(c) (3) only
(d) (4) only

Answer : B

Question. Why does Amanda suddenly thinks about a mermaid?
(a) Because she wants to be beautiful like a mermaid.
(b) Because she wants to be a mermaid and be free and away from everyone.
(c) Because she is depressed and therefore having these thoughts.
(d) Because she yearns for silence and freedom like a mermaid.

Answer : D

II. Did you finish your homework, Amanda?
Did you tidy your room, Amanda?
I thought I told you to clean your shoes,
Amanda!

Question. For what do you think the speaker is constantly nagging Amanda?
(a) To make Amanda be at her best behaviour.
(b) To teach Amanda refined manners.
(c) It is the speaker's nature.
(d) To deliberately restrict Amanda's freedom.

Answer : B

Question. Does Amanda listen to the speaker? What does she do?
(a) Yes, she becomes obedient.
(b) No, she doesn’t care and continues with her work.
(c) No, she is immersed in her own thoughts.
(d) No, she doesn't move as she is lazy.

Answer : C

Question. What are the information that can be inferred from the extract? Choose the correct answer
1. The speaker is Amanda's mother.
2. The speaker is very strict and overprotective towards her child.
3. The speaker is very dominating.
4. The speaker only wants Amanda to be well mannered and disciplined.
(a) (1) and (2)
(b) (2) and (3)
(c) (1), (2), (4)
(d) (1) and (4)

Answer : C

Question. Why do you think each stanza ends with an exclamation mark?
(a) To show the anger of the speaker.
(b) To show that the speaker is surprised at Amanda's attitude.
(c) To show the irritation of the speaker.
(d) To stress on the name, as it is the very title of the poem.

Answer : C

Question. What instruction was given to Amanda right before this extract?
(a) Not to eat chocolates.
(b) To stop sulking.
(c) To stop slouching and sit straight.
(d) Not to bite nails.

Answer : C

III. (I am an orphan, roaming the street.
I pattern soft dust with my hushed, bare feet.
The silence is golden, the freedom is sweet.)

Question. Why does Amanda want to be an orphan?
1. Because she is tired of the constant nagging and wants to be left alone.
2. Because she hates to be around her parents as they are very strict and overprotective.
3. Because she is brought up by her teacher and she doesn’t have parents.
4. Because she wants to live a carefree life without any binding rules and restrictions.
(a) (1) and (2)
(b) (3) only
(c) (c) (2) and (4)
(d) (1) and (4)

Answer : D

Question. What does hushed feet mean in the extract?
(a) Amanda is standing still with her bare feet.
(b) Amanda has wounded her bare feet.
(c) Amanda is making patterns with her soft bare feet.
(d) Amanda is making patterns in the dust very softly and quietly with her bare feet.

Answer : D

Question. Which word is the antonym of bare?
(a) To tolerate
(b) Uncover
(c) Robed
(d) Protected

Answer : C

Question. Identify the figure of speech used in the line, silence is golden, freedom is sweet.
(a) Personification
(b) Alliteration
(c) Metaphor
(d) Transferred Epithet

Answer : C

Question. What does the extract tell about Amanda's state or mind?
(a) She is depressed
(b) She is annoyed
(c) She yearns for freedom
(d) She is having mood swings

Answer : C

IV. Read the given extract to attempt the questions that follow:
Don’t eat that chocolate, Amanda!
Remember your acne, Amanda!
Will you please look at me when I'm speaking to you,
Amanda!

Question. Which word is perfectly synonymous to the word eat in the above extract?
(a) Consume
(b) Chew
(c) Bite
(d) Feed

Answer : A

Question. What does his worrying about Amanda's acne tell us about the speaker?
1. The speaker is overprotective.
2. The speaker is a health conscious person.
3. The speaker gives much importance to the physical beauty.
4. The speaker is insensitive to the child’s emotions.
(a) (1) and (3)
(b) (1), (3), (4)
(c) (2), (4)
(d) (1) and (4)

Answer : A

Question. The speaker says, "will you please look at me when I'm talking to you." Why do you think Amanda is not looking at the speaker?
(a) She does not like the speaker.
(b) She is arrogant.
(c) She doesn't care.
(d) She is lost in her thoughts.

Answer : D

Question. Which word in the above extract is an example of repetition?
(a) Don't
(b) Amanda
(c) Remember
(d) Look

Answer : B

Question. Right in the next stanza, after the above extract, Amanda imagines herself as _____.
(a) Rapunzel
(b) Mermaid
(c) A free child
(d) An orphan

Answer : A

V. (I am Rapunzel, I have not a care;
life in a tower is tranquil and rare;
I’ll certainly never let down my bright hair!)
Stop that sulking at once, Amanda!
You’re always so moody, Amanda!
Anyone would think that I nagged at you,
Amanda!

Question. In the line, life in a tower is tranquil and rare, what does tranquil mean?
(a) Annoyed
(b) Lazy
(c) Peaceful
(d) Monotonous

Answer : C

Question. Who is the speaker of the line, Stop that sulking at once, Amanda!
(a) Her mother
(b) Her grandfather
(c) Her friend
(d) Her teacher

Answer : A

Question. What is the meaning of the word sulking in the above extract?
(a) Frowning
(b) Daydreaming
(c) Being Moody
(d) Annoying

Answer : D

Question. What does the extract tells about Amanda? Choose from the following:
1. Amanda is an imaginative girl.
2. Amanda yearns for freedom.
3. Amanda is a child and she is docile.
4. Amanda is lost in her thoughts.
(a) (1), (2), (4)
(b) (1), (2), (3)
(c) (2), (3), (4)
(d) (2) only

Answer : A

Question. Why do you think there is no parenthesis in the last stanza?
(a) Because the constant nagging has made Amanda disobedient.
(b) Because her thoughts are forcefully supressed by the harsh real world.
(c) Because she has realised her mistake.
(d) Because she has given up on her thoughts and wishes due to the constant restrictions, rules and instructions.

Answer : D

Multiple Choice Questions

Question. Which option correctly explains the phrase in the given line from ‘Amanda’ Don’t hunch your shoulders.
(a) Stand up straight
(b) Look into my eyes
(c) Don’t stare
(d) Don’t avoid

Answer : A

Question. Amanda refers to ‘herself as a sole mermaid’ because then___________
(a) she would be alone in the beautiful sea.
(b) she would see her nagging parents.
(c) she would be followed by friendly sea animals.
(d) she would be taken care of by the sea animals.

Answer : A

Question. In the poem Amanda, which option would fall in line with ‘correct posture’ slouching:: sit up straight : hunch::_____
(a) bend down
(b) droop
(c) straighten
(d) arched

Answer : C

Question. Name the literary device used in the line, “Stop that slouching and sit up straight”.
(a) Alliteration
(b) Simile
(c) Metaphor
(d) Assonance

Answer : A

Question. Amanda’s thoughts of drifting, meant that she would ________
(a) be enjoying with her controlling parents.
(b) be enjoying herself alone amidst the beautiful sea.
(c) to overcome her bad habits.
(d) improve her bad habits.

Answer : B

Question. The purpose of warning Amanda ‘Don’t hunch your shoulders’ was to _________.
(a) correct her posture
(b) correct her language
(c) correct her freedom
(d) she was the mother

Answer : A

Question. How should Amanda sit?
(a) Long Sit
(b) Side Sit
(c) Straight
(d) Ring Sit

Answer : C

Question. What was Amanda about to finish?
(a) Her homework
(b) Her hair
(c) Her bath
(d) Catch the fishes

Answer : A

Question. What does Amanda visualise in the second stanza of the poem?
(a) A mermaid
(b) A fish
(c) Rapunzel
(d) An orphan

Answer : A

Question. Which word in the poem means the same as relaxed?
(a) Hunch
(b) Blissfully
(c) Languid
(d) Drifting

Answer : C

Question. Which option correctly replaces the following phrase in the given line from Amanda? Where the sole inhabitant is me.
(a) Control
(b) Ownership
(c) Loneliness
(d) Associates

Answer : B

Question. How old is Amanda and how do you know?
(a) Amanda is a teenager. It is evident from her moody nature and acne.
(b) Amanda is below ten years of age. It is evident from her imaginations.
(c) Amanda is about nine to ten years
(d) Amanda is a young adult. It is evident from her moody nature.

Answer : C

Question. With whom does Amanda want to be in the sea?
(a) Mermaid
(b) Friends
(c) Nobody
(d) Father

Answer : C

Question. Which option correctly replaces the following phrase in the given line from Amanda ? Drifting blissfully.
(a) Flowing with the tide.
(b) Swimming against the tide.
(c) Splashing with the waves.
(d) Sinking in the sea.

Answer : A

Question. What should Amanda not do to her shoulders?
(a) Straighten
(b) Slouch
(c) Hunch
(d) Move

Answer : C

Question. What does Amanda wish to do in the sea?
(a) Catch the fishes
(b) Hunt various animals
(c) Watch soft-moving waves
(d) None of the above

Answer : D

Question. I pattern soft dust with my ____, bare feet. Fill in the blank with appropriate word given in the poem.
(a) cold
(b) dull
(c) bruised
(d) hushed

Answer : D

Question. What kind of sea does Amanda imagine?
(a) Dark Sea
(b) Turquoise Sea
(c) Emerald Sea
(d) Black Sea

Answer : C

Question. What could Amanda do if she were a mermaid?
(a) Be in the green sea
(b) Lead a relaxing life
(c) Both (a) and (b)
(d) None of these

Answer : C

Question. What is the meaning of the word ‘slouching’?
(a) Sitting in a lazy way
(b) Bending
(c) Lying down
(d) Curling

Answer : A

Question. Amanda refers to liberty as “mermaid” because:
(a) a mermaid is governed.
(b) a mermaid drifts alone freely in the open sea.
(c) a mermaid cannot do what she wants.
(d) a mermaid is not a happy go lucky.

Answer : B

Question. She is being instructed to:
(a) clean her room
(b) clean her uniform
(c) wash the dress
(d) lit the candle

Answer : A

Question. What according to the poem will happen to Amanda if she eats chocolate?
(a) She will become fat.
(b) She will get allergy.
(c) She will become moody.
(d) She will get acne.

Answer : D

Question. What does Amanda want to do as an orphan? Choose the correct option.
1. Roam freely in the street
2. Pattern dust with her bare feet
3. Not care
4. Lead a secluded life
(a) (1) only
(b) (2) and (4)
(c) (3) only
(d) (1) and (2)

Answer : D

Question. Whenever Amanda was told ‘not to’ she felt ___________.
(a) she was loved
(b) she was overlooked
(c) she was ignored
(d) she had no choice

Answer : D

Question. Who is the poet of the poem ‘Amanda’ ?
(a) Robert Browning
(a) Robin Klein
(a) Ogden Nash
(a) Robert Frost

Answer : B

Question. What does the exclamation, ‘Don’t bite your nails, Amanda!’ meant ?
(a) Her parents were concerned about her bad habit.
(b) Her parents were encouraging her bad habit.
(c) Her parents were docile.
(d) Her parents were not concerned.

Answer : A

Question. In the poem Amanda, which words have been used to create an imaginative Effect on her?
(a) Don’t bite; don’t cry
(b) Don’t bite; slouch
(c) hunch; Sit up straight
(d) Don’t do this; Do that

Answer : D

Question. In the poem Amanda What does ’I am Rapunzel, I have not a care’ indicate? It indicates that Amanda.
(a) Wants to be left all to herself.
(b) Wants to be partially free.
(c) Wants to enjoy combing her long hair.
(d) Wants to be a princess

Answer : A

Question. In the poem Amanda, what would the girl do as an orphan.
(a) She would sweep the streets.
(b) She would roam about in the streets.
(c) She would sleep on the streets.
(d) She would beg on the streets.

Answer : B

Question. Arrange Amanda's imagination in chronological order as appeared in the poem:
1. Orphan
2. Mermaid
3. Rapunzel
4. To be a nobody
(a) (2), (1), and (3)
(b) (1), (2), and (3)
(c) (4) only
(d) (1), (3), (2)

Answer : A

Question. What does the speaker ask Amanda not to do to her nails?
(a) Wash it
(b) Bite it
(c) Hurt it
(d) None of these

Answer : B

Question. In the poem Amanda, what does ‘languid emerald sea’, indicate ? It indicates that the sea is:
(a) rough blue sea
(b) calm green sea
(c) calm blue sea
(d) rough green sea

Answer : B

Question. In her imagination silence is ______ in colour.
(a) golden
(b) black
(c) dust
(d) yellow

Answer : A

Question. Why do you think Amanda wants to be a Rapunzel?
(a) Because she wants to escape the freedom.
(b) Because she wants to enjoy the freedom away from any restraint.
(c) Because she wants to feel like a princess in the tower.
(d) Because she wants to have a long hair like Rapunzel.

Answer : B

Question. Which amongst the following words is not synonymous to ‘hushed'?
(a) Very quiet
(b) Still
(c) Tranquil
(d) Chaotic

Answer : D

Question. Will you please look at me when I’m speaking to you, Amanda! Said the mother since__________.
(a) Amanda was not listening
(b) Amanda was not making an eye contact
(c) Amanda was grumbling
(d) Amanda was deceptive

Answer : B

Question. After getting scolded from her mother Amanda imagined herself as a/an.
(a) ;Predat
(b) Free bird
(c) Orphan
(d) Mother herself

Answer : C

Question. Which among the following is the correct sentence used in the poem, Amanda?
(a) The silence is golden, the freedom is bitter.
(b) The freedom is golden, the silence is bitter.
(c) The freedom is golden, the silence is sweet.
(d) The silence is golden, the freedom is sweet.

Answer : D

Question. The purpose of the mother asking Amanda to refrain from chocolates was to _______
(a) teach her obedience.
(b) punish her.
(c) prevent her from getting acne.
(d) prevent her from getting improve her diet.

Answer : C

Question. Name the literary device used in the line “Don’t bite your nails, Amanda! Don’t hunch your shoulders, Amanda!”.
(a) Anaphora
(b) Enjambment
(c) Metaphor
(d) Alliteration

Answer : A

Question. Name the literary device used in the line “freedom is sweet"
(a) Anaphora
(b) Enjambment
(c) Metaphor
(d) Alliteration

Answer : C

Question. What does she picture herself as in the last stanza?
(a) Mermaid
(b) Orphan
(c) Rapunzel
(d) None of these

Answer : D

Question. Amanda states I’ll certainly never let down my bright hair! Indicates that_____________.
(a) she will never let anyone into her life and dominate her.
(b) she will never let anyone near her parents.
(c) she will take full control of her parents and her life.
(d) she will protect herself and whoever lives with her.

Answer : A

Question. The Poet feels for the child but at the same time thinks that the parents are responsible for the ____________.
(a) behaviour of the teacher
(b) environment of the child
(c) performance of the child at school
(d) upbringing of the child

Answer : D

Question. I am Rapunzel, I have not a care…"
What is the poetic device used in the given line?
(a) Personification
(b) Assonance
(c) Allusion
(d) Simile

Answer : C

Question. What is the theme of the poem Amanda?
(a) Parents should not make their children feel imprisoned.
(b) Children are moody.
(c) Children must be handled with care.
(d) Children must be guided all the time.

Answer : A

Question. Amanda want to play with ______ being an orphan child.
(a) stones
(b) dust
(c) friends
(d) toys

Answer : B

Question. In the poem Amanda, what does excessive nagging lead to? It indicates that the child.
(a) Will listen to her parents.
(b) Will ignore her parents.
(c) Will enter into the world of dreams and imagination.
(d) Will make them aggressive.

Answer : C

Question. From whose perspective do you think the poem is written?
(a) Amanda’s perspective
(b) Poet's perspective
(c) Amanda's mother's perspective
(d) Omniscient narrator's perspective

Answer : A

Question. “Anyone would think that I___at you, Amanda!” Fill in the blank with the appropriate answer.
(a) nagged
(b) harassed
(c) shouted
(d) beat

Answer : A

Question. Choose the correct option related to the poem ‘Amanda’:
1. Amanda does not desire for freedom.
2. Amanda's mother is too harsh on her.
3. Amanda's mother loves her child.
4. Amanda's mother wants to instil good values at the cost of her daughter's happiness.
(a) (1) and (2)
(b) (2) and (3)
(c) (2) and (4)
(d) (1), (2), (3), (4)

Answer : C

Question. In the poem Amanda, what do you feel about Amanda?
(a) Mature and innocent.
(b) Immature and innocent.
(c) Jaded and mature.
(d) Naughty and haughty.

Answer : B

Question. What is the meaning of the word ‘nagged’?
(a) Harassed
(b) Shouted
(c) Beat
(d) Tortured

Answer : A

Question. According to your view excessive nagging would lead a child to _____________.
(a) obedience
(a) snobbishness
(c) defiance
(d) sympathetic

Answer : C

Question. Why do you think Amanda is sulking?
(a) Because she is being nagged constantly.
(a) Because she is not allowed to eat chocolates.
(a) Because her parents do not love her.
(a) Because she is moody.

Answer : A

Question. Armanda always felt ______________ when she was corrected by her parents.
(a) controlled and instructed
(b) controlled and ignored
(c) ignored and unloved
(d) both curtailed and free

Answer : A

Question. Who is asked to stop sulking?
(a) Amanda
(b) Poet
(c) Amanda’s mother
(d) Poet’s friend

Answer : A

Question. According to Amanda the mannerism of her parents were _____________ for her.
(a) happy
(a) sad
(a) nagging
(a) loving

Answer : C

Question. The strictness of Amanda’s parents made Amanda feel _____________.
(a) free
(b) controlled
(c) happy
(d) comfortable

Answer : B

Question. What do you think Amanda feels missing in her words all through the poem.
(a) Parents guidance
(b) Parents dominance
(c) Parents love
(d) Parents brutality

Answer : C

Question. In the poem Amanda, do you feel it is wrong for the parent to correct a child if wrong?
(a) Yes- child should be given a choice.
(b) Yes-A child should be provoked.
(c) Yes- A child should be corrected by explaining the consequences.
(d) No-A child should be ignored.

Answer : C

Question. In the poem ‘Amanda’, Amanda is a ___________
(a) mermaid
(b) rapunzel
(c) girl
(d) mother

Answer : C

Question. I am Rapunzel, I have not a care…"
What is the poetic device used in the given line?
(a) Personification
(b) Assonance
(c) Allusion
(d) Simile

Answer : C

Question. Identify the option that aptly describes Amanda’ parents according to you.
(a) Proud, controlling
(b) Concerned and correcting
(c) Considerate and selfish
(d) Dominant and strict

Answer : B

Question. The poem focuses on ____________when she is asked, “if she has finished her homework.”
(a) responsibility of a parent on a child
(b) responsibility of a child on her parent
(c) responsibility of a teacher on a child
(d) responsibility of a friend on his peer

Answer : A

Question. Amanda want to play with ______ being an orphan child.
(a) stones
(b) dust
(c) friends
(d) toys

Answer : B

Question. What according to you in the poem, ‘Amanda’ is she at fault to be corrected? If yes or no why?
(a) Yes, she is disobedient to her parents.
(b) Yes, she does not like to be corrected by her parents.
(c) No, she is too immature to understand why she is corrected.
(d) No, She is mature enough to understand to be corrected.

Answer : C

Question. Why does the poet use brackets:
(a) reveal the nagging thoughts of the child.
(b) visual contrast between Amanda’s thoughts and mothers instructions.
(c) confusing contrast between Amanda’s thoughts and mothers instructions.
(d) reveal the imagination of Amanda’s mother

Answer : B

Question. Identify the option that best describes what the parents are trying to inculcate in Amanda in the poem.
(a) Holiness and good manners.
(b) Good manners and habits.
(c) Good manners and egotism.
(d) Egotism and selflessness.

Answer : B

Question. What is the tone of Amanda's mother in the poem?
(a) Dominating
(b) Tired
(c) Angry
(d) Authoritative

Answer : D

Question. In her imagination silence is ______ in colour.
(a) golden
(b) black
(c) dust
(d) yellow

Answer : A

Question. Why do you think Amanda wants to be a Rapunzel?
(a) Because she wants to escape the freedom.
(b) Because she wants to enjoy the freedom away from any restraint.
(c) Because she wants to feel like a princess in the tower.
(d) Because she wants to have a long hair like Rapunzel.

Answer : B

Question. Identify the option that aptly describes Amanda.
(a) haughty
(b) moody
(c) careless
(d) proud

Answer : B

Question. What does, “Did you”, mean in the poem Amanda?
(a) Commanding question.
(b) Commanding order.
(c) Exclamation of joy.
(d) Disgustful exclamation.

Answer : A

Question. Why do you think Amanda, being Rapunzel, will never let her hair down the tower?
(a) So that nobody can cut her hair.
(b) So that nobody can enter the tower and she can be in peace.
(c) Because she has now become obedient.
(d) Both (b) and (c)

Answer : B

Question. What is the synonym of the word ‘roaming’ in the poem Amanda?
(a) Drifting
(b) Wandering
(c) Slouching
(d) Meandering

Answer : B

Question. Amanda thinks that she’ll never let down her:
(a) white hair
(b) bright hair
(c) yellow hair
(d) bronze hair

Answer : B

Question. Who was Amanda?
(a) A college going girl
(b) A school going girl
(c) A factory worker
(d) None of these

Answer : B

Question. Reading through the imagination of a child the poem conveys the message that________.
(a) children should be overlooked.
(b) children’s behaviour should be overlooked.
(c) children need to be allowed more liberty.
(d) children should be corrected.

Answer : C

Question. How does the poet design the inner thoughts of Amanda in the poem Amanda?
(a) by putting it within brackets.
(b) by highlighting.
(c) by always using metaphors.
(d) by personification.

Answer : A

Question. According to the poet what does every child feel in connection with the poem ‘Amanda’.
(a) Free
(b) Not controlled
(c) Well instructed
(d) Dominated

Answer : D

Text Book Questions

Question. What could Amanda do if she were a mermaid?
Answer: She would drift blissfully on a calm sea where she would be all alone.

Question. Is Amanda an orphan? Why does she say so?
Answer: No, Amanda is not an orphan but she wishes she was as she wants to be alone with lack of instructions and freedom to roam the streets.

Question. How old do you think Amanda is? How do you know this?
Answer: Amanda is probably a school going girl entering her teens, The reference to homework and acne suggests this.

Question. Do you know the story of Rapunzel? Why does she want to be Rapunzel?
Answer: She wants to be Rapunzel so that she can live far above in a tower alone with no one instructing or saying anything to her.

Question. Who do you think is speaking to her?
Answer: A parent, most probably her mother, is speaking to her.

Question. Why are Stanzas 2, 4 and 6 given in parentheses?
Answer: The parentheses enclose the thoughts of Amanda while her parent is talking to her.

Question. Who is the speaker in Stanzas 2, 4 and 6? Do you think this speaker is listening to the speaker in Stanzas 1, 3, 5, and 7?
Answer: Amanda is the speaker in Stanzas 2, 4 and 6. No, Amanda is not listening to the speaker of the other stanzas.

Question. What does the girl yearn for? What does this poem tell you about Amanda?
Answer: The girl yearns for freedom from the rules and instructions which she is bombarded with continuously. She loves freedom.

Question. Read the last stanza. Do you think Amanda is sulking and is moody?
Answer: No, Amanda is not moody or sulking. She is just lost in her own world and dreams of a free life.

Short Answer type Questions

Question. What impression of Amanda do you get from the poem ‘Amanda’?
Answer: Amanda is a little school going girl. She is constantly nagged by her parent. It is probably the mother. She keeps asking Amanda to do this or that but poor Amanda longs to be free and live life in her own way.

Question. What is Amanda asked to do or not to do?
Answer: Amanda is asked not to bite her nails, not to hunch her shoulders and not to eat chocolate. She is asked to sit up straight, to finish her homework, to clean her room and to clean her shoes. In fact, she is constantly asked to do or not to do that.

Question. What all does Amanda dream to do?
Answer: Amanda dreams of being a mermaid drifting on the sea all alone. She dreams of being an orphan walking in the streets with no care. She dreams of being Rapunzel living in a high tower away from everybody.

Reference to Context Questions

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :

94. Don’t bite your nails, Amanda!
Don’t hunch your shoulders, Amanda!
Stop that slouching and sit up straight, Amanda!
(There is a languid, emerald sea,
where the sole inhabitant is me —
a mermaid, drifting blissfully.)

(a) Why are there lines given within brackets?
(b) Amanda is getting instructions for what purpose?
Answer: (a) There are lines given within brackets because they reveal the inner thoughts of Amanda. Brackets are used for visual contrast between what Amanda is saying and what her mother is instructing.
(b) Amanda is getting instructions as a part of her upbringing by her parents. Her conduct and manners are getting refined for future purposes.

I am an orphan, roaming the street.
I pattern soft dust with my hushed, bare feet.
The silence is golden, the freedom is sweet.

Question. Who is the speaker here?
(a) An orphan
(b) Amanda
(c) The poet
(d) Amanda's parents

Answer : B

Question. Who is being described in the above lines?
(a) A tree
(b) Amanda
(c) An orphan
(d) A small boy

Answer : B

Question. How does the speaker make designs?
(a) With bare feet
(b) With hands
(c) With a brush
(d) With colours

Answer : A

Question. Where is the speaker making designs?
(a) On a paper
(b) On soft dust
(c) On the wall
(d) On a notebook

Answer : B

Question. How does the speaker look at freedom?
(a) With anxiety
(b) With anger
(c) With love
(d) With surprise

Answer : C