Bihar Board Class 11 English A Snake in the Grass Questions and Answers
Class 11 English A Snake in the Grass
A. Work in small groups and discuss these questions :
Question 1.
Have you ever seen a snake in your house/village ?
Answer:
Yes, I have seen a snake in our village
Question 2.
What was your reaction when you saw it ?
Answer:
I was scared.
Question 3.
How did other people of your family or village react to it ?
Answer:
Some of them stood still. Others said that it must be killed.
Question 4.
Did you kill the snake ? Why ?
Answer:
I did not kill it But another mt n killed it. He said it was dangerous and might bite someone.
Class 11 English A Snake in the Grass
B. 1. Answer the following questions briefly :
Question 1.
Why did the cyclist ring the bell ?
Answer:
The cyclist had seen a cobra getting into a bungalow. He rang the bell to warn the inmates to be careful.
Question 2.
Why did Dasa say, ‘There is no cobra’ ?
Answer:
Dasa said there was no snake because he did not like to be disturbed in his sleep. .
Question 3.
What happens when someone wakes you up and asks you to do something ?
Answer:
I feel irritated.
Question 4.
What fault did the people find with Dasa ?
Answer:
People said that Dasa was the laziest servant. He did not keep the surroundings tidy.
Class 11 English A Snake in the Grass
Question 5.
Do you find fault with the person who refuses to do what you want him to do ?
Answer:
Yes, I do.
Question 6.
What was Dasa’s defence ?
Answer:
Dasa said he had been asking for a grasscutter for months but he did not get any. So he could not cut the grass.
Question 7.
What does ‘with cynical air’ mean ?
Answer:
Here this means that Dasa was not convinced that there was a cobra in the grass.
Class 11 English A Snake in the Grass
Question 8.
Why did the college-boy quote statistics ?
Answer:
He wanted to give an authentic proof that the cobra was deadly and it could bite and kill.
Question 9.
What made the mother nearly scream ?
Answer:
The mother was terrified. She was afraid that the cobra was sure to bite someone of her family.
Class 11 English A Snake in the Grass
B. 2. Answer the fdllowingquestions briefly :
Question 1.
What made the old beggar happy ?
Answer:
The old beggar was happy because she considered the snake as God Subramanya. She said the householders were fortunate.
Question 2.
What did the beggar woman say ?
Answer:
She asked the householders not to kill the snake. She promised to c send a snake-charmer to catch it.
Question 3.
Why did the snake-charmer look helplessly about ?
Answer:
The snake-charmer looked helplessly about because there was no snake in sight. He said he could catch the snake only if they showed it to him.
Question 4.
Why did they cut down all the plants and grass in the garden ?
Answer:
They cut down all the grass and plans in the garden so that the cobra had no place to hide itself.
Question 5.
Cite instances from the lesson which show the old mother’s superstitious nature ?
Answer:
The mother agreed with the old beggar that the cobra was God Subramanya. She was repentent that she had forgotten all about the promised Abhishekam.
Question 6.
Did Dasa, in your opinion, really catch the cobra ?
Answer:
I don’t think Dasa caught the cobra. He just pretended that the snake was in the pot. The cobra was seen coming out of a hole soon after Dasa had left with the pot.
Question 7.
What impression of Dasa do you get from this episode ?
Answer:
Dasa was an easy-going person. He shirked work. But he was quite clever at inventing stories and making excuses.
Class 11 English A Snake in the Grass
C. 1. Long Answer Questions :
Question 1.
The neighbours who assembled to hear of cobra talk about several things. Make a list of the issues they touch upon. What does the conversation suggest about the people’s reaction when danger strikes ?
Answer:
The talk about the danger of snake-bite in the world.The conversation suggests that when danger strikes, people like to blame someone.They try to defend themselves by saying that they could not buy anything made of iron on account of war.They then say how some people try to exploit the situation. . The conversation suggests that when danger strikes, people try to blame others. They look for scapegoats.
Question 2.
How do you react when your parents chide you for neglecting your duties?
Answer:
When my parents chide me for neglecting my duty, I feel very bad. I don’t confess that is way fault. Instead, I try to blame it on circumstances or some obstacles that hindered me from doing my duty. I try to blame someone or something.
Question 3.
Read carefully the following utterances of Dasa:
‘There is no cobra’.
‘Where is the snake ?’
‘I have caught him in this.’
‘Don’t call me an idler hereafter.’
What do these utterances tell about Dasa’s character ?
Answer:
These utterances of Dasa show that he was a leisurely man who would not be provoked into doing something. He refused to believe that there was a snake, and when no snake was found, he said triumphantly, “Where is the snake ?” Still he felt that the immates of the house were still afraid that the snake was there. But the cobra was seen, and luckily it went out of the gate and disappeared. Dasa must have asserted that he had actually caught a snake, and there must have been a couple of them in the garden.
Question 4.
Does the story throw any light on how people faced with sudden danger behave ?
Answer:
It is quite natural to be frightened if any sudden danger falls unexpectedly. This was the situation with the people who were present there. They became panick. In the situation of turmoil they began to charge over the servant dasa. They even made allegations on one-another for their being responsible in inviting danger. They suggested a number of opinions in connection with the danger. snake charmer came to the place but he showed his inability because the cobra disappeared. He told them to inform him when the cobra appeared. Finally the cobra was seen coming out of the hole of compound wall.
Question 5.
Narrate in brief the people attempt to catch the cobra.
Answer:
Hearing the news of the cobra neighbours gathered on the gate of the bungalow. They began to think any way to catch the cobra. The members of the family were worried. They shook the body of the servant Dasa, who was sleeping in a shed. Feeling disturbed he was annoyed and told that there was no cobra in the compound. They youngest son was a college boy who presented a data of casuality due to snake-bite which was 30,000 every year that means one person in every twenty minutes. The land lady cried out of fear. . Five minutes after the deprrture of Dasa the youngest son was a cobra coming out a hole in the compound. The cobra moved under the gate and disappeared along a drain.Thus the story flashes light on the truth how the people made attempt to catch cobra.
Question 6.
Narrate in brief what the snake charmer tells about catching a snake.
Answer:
Hearing the news of cobra people gathered in the compound of the bunglow. They were very much fearful and talking about the way how the cobra would come out. Suddenly a snake charmer appeared. All the people gathered around him they began to request him to catch the cobra. He narrated so many stories of his bravery how he had caught the snake in adventurous way. The people gathered there pointed out the direction where cobra had gone. But the snake charmer showed his inability to catch the snake because the snake had been disappeared. He advised them to inform him and when the cobra appeared. Then only it could be possible to catch the snake.