He stalks in his vivid stripes
The few steps of his cage,
On pads of velvet quiet,
In his quiet rage
He should be lurking in shadow
Sliding through long grass
Near the water hole
Where plump deer pass.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-15 07:14 · grounding stimulus+chapter
Model Answer
(i) The vivid stripes refer to the tiger's bold black and yellow markings / stripes on the tiger's body.
(ii) The word opposite of 'loud' from the extract is quiet.
(iii) (d) paws
'Pads of velvet' refers to the tiger's soft, cushioned paws that move silently.
(iv) True.
The cage allows only a few steps, confining the tiger and restricting its natural movement.
(v) (a) to catch its prey
In its natural habitat, the tiger would lurk in shadow near the water hole where plump deer pass, in order to hunt them.
Source: A Tiger in the Zoo, stanza 2
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Explanation
- (i) 'Vivid stripes' is the tiger's most distinctive physical feature — its striking black and orange/yellow stripes.
- (ii) 'Quiet' appears twice in the extract; it directly means the opposite of 'loud.' Pick the exact word from the poem.
- (iii) 'Pads' is the technical word for a tiger's soft underside of the paws — 'velvet' describes their smooth, silent quality.
- (iv) "Few steps of his cage" clearly shows restricted movement — True is correct.
- (v) Context clues ("near the water hole / Where plump deer pass") confirm the tiger lurks to ambush prey, making (a) the right choice.