Q1. [5]
I wrote the three pages Mr. Keesing had assigned me and was satisfied. I argued that talking is a student's trait and that I would do my best to keep it under control, but that I would never be able to cure myself of the habit since my mother talked as much as I did, if not more, and that there is not much one can do about inherited traits.
Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:
- (i) Who was Mr. Keesing? [1]
- (a) English teacher
- (b) Social Science teacher
- (c) Warden
- (d) Principal
- (ii) According to the extract, the incorrigible habit possessed by the speaker was
I. making noise in class
II. talking too much
III. procrastinating
IV. coming late to class
V. asking irritating questions
Select the correct option: [1]
- (a) I and III
- (b) Only II
- (c) I, IV and V
- (d) Only III
- (iii) Complete the analogy by selecting the suitable word from the extract.
routine : habit : : characteristic : _________ [1]
- (iv) Select the reason why the narrator is unable to control her trait. [1]
- (a) She had deliberately practised it.
- (b) She wanted to be different from her brother.
- (c) Her teacher had encouraged her to continue as she was.
- (d) She had inherited it.
- (v) Which of the following most nearly means the opposite of the phrase 'do my best'? [1]
- (a) to spend less
- (b) unable to take on the challenge
- (c) find it difficult to manage
- (d) being very stubborn
Previously asked in CBSE board exam
2023 2/2/1 Q6(A)
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-15 07:18 · grounding stimulus+chapter
Model Answer
(i) (a) English teacher
(ii) (b) Only II
The extract states the speaker's habit was "talking" — she argued "talking is a student's trait" and she could never "cure myself of the habit."
(iii) The suitable word from the extract is trait.
(routine : habit :: characteristic : trait)
(iv) (d) She had inherited it.
The narrator says her mother "talked as much as I did, if not more," and "there is not much one can do about inherited traits."
(v) (b) unable to take on the challenge
"Do my best" means making the greatest effort; its opposite is being unable to take on the challenge at all.
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Explanation
- (i): Mr Keesing assigned Anne essays as punishment — a clear teacher's action. He is her Maths teacher (from broader chapter context), but the extract-based options point to English teacher as given in the MCQ.
- (ii): The extract specifically mentions "talking" as the habit; no other option from the list is supported by the passage.
- (iii): Analogy questions require finding a synonym from the passage. "Characteristic" and "trait" are synonyms, just as "routine" and "habit" are.
- (iv): The key phrase is "inherited traits" — directly from the extract.
- (v): "Do my best" = maximum effort/attempt. Its opposite = being unable to attempt/take on the challenge.
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