MCQs LOST SPRING CLASS-12 FLAMINGO

LOST SPRING :Stories of Stolen Childhood ANEES JUNG
FLAMINGO CLASS-12 PROSE- CHAPTER:2

1. “Lost Spring: Stories of Stolen Childhood” is written by –
A. Kamala Das
B. Asokamitran
C. Anees Jung
D. William Douglas

Ans: C

• She analyses the grinding poverty and traditions which condemn(to sentence somebody) these children to a life of exploitation.
• The title ‘Lost Spring’ symbolize lost freedom & carefreeness of underprivileged children

2. The excerpt ‘‘Sometimes I find a Rupee in the garbage’’ is related to the story of –
A. Saheb
B. Mukesh
C. Ramesh
D. Rakim

Ans: A

3. “Why do you do this?” I ask Saheb. ‘I’ refers to –
A. Mukesh
B. Saheb
C. Savita
D. Anees Jung

Ans: D

4. Saheb was a native of –
A. Seemapuri
B. Dhaka
C. Firozabad
D. Rourkela

Ans: B

5. Why did Saheb & his family leave their native place?
A. Due to frequent drought
B. Their native place was affected by earthquakes
C. Storms swept away their field & homes
D. They were forced to leave

Ans: C

They and many others came from Bangladesh back in 1971

6. Scrounging means –
A. Meal
B. Searching
C. Embarrassed
D. Running bare foot

Ans: B

7. “That’s why they left looking for gold in the big city.’’ Gold here signifies –
A. Gold coins
B. Anything valuable that was unavailable in their homeland.
C. Gold ornaments
D. Both A & B

Ans: B

*Gold for children –  Garbage for children is wrapped in wonder they get Shoes, money, bags, and other such items

*Gold for parents –  Garbage for parents is means of survivals like food, clothing etc.

*Garbage to them is gold – Hyperbole

8. What was the reaction of Saheb when writer asked him a question?
A. He got emotional and went away
B. He mutters “I have nothing else to do”
C. He got furious over this
D. Saheb went back to Dhaka

Ans: B

Saheb replies to the writer that he has nothing else to do other than rag picking, His muttering away suggests his embarrassment

9. ‘How hollow the advice must sound’. Hollow here means –
A. Helpful
B. Rude
C. Important
D. Useless

Ans: D

10. ‘Glibly’ in the chapter means –
A. showing a degree of informality
B. lacking depth and substance
C. being insincere and deceitful
D. speaking with fluency

Ans: B

11. “When they build one, I will go”. ‘They’ here refers to –
A. Anees Jung
B. Parents
C. Teachers
D. Officials

Ans: D

12. Select the option that lists the feelings and attitudes corresponding to the following:
(1) I ask half-joking
(2) …he says, smiling broadly

A.

B.

C.

13. Select the option that lists the feelings and attitudes corresponding to the following:
(1) “Is your school ready?”
(2) “It takes longer to build a school,”

A.

B.

C.

D.

Ans: A

14. Why Saheb was not hurt at the false promise of narrator?
A. He had faith in the narrator
B. He was used to such fake promises
C. Narrator admitted Saheb in her school
D. Saheb started going to school

Ans: B

15. Select the option that lists reasons why Saheb’s world has been called ‘bleak’.
(1) The absence of parental presence
(2) The poor socio-economic conditions
(3) His inability to address problems
(4) His lack of life-skills
(5) The denied opportunities of schooling
A. (1) and (4)
B. (2) and (5)
C. (3) and (5)
D. (2) and (4

Ans: B

16. What is the meaning of ‘‘Saheb-e-Alam’’?
A. Lord of the Rings
B. Lord of Seemapuri
C. Lord of the World
D. Lord of the Universe

Ans: D

17. Saheb roams on the streets because –
A. He likes to chase down the birds
B. He don’t want to attend his classes
C. He is a ragpicker
D. His is a vendor

Ans: C

18. The writer is able to recognize each of them as –
A. They study in her school
B. She had been seeing them for the past few months.
C. She visits them very often
D. They eat with her

Ans: B

19. The author compares the “army of barefoot boys to birds” because both are –
A. looking for food/material on the roads
B. not going to school
C. not having shoes
D. free-spirited and enjoy their freedom.

Ans: A

20. “Why aren’t you wearing Chappals?” To whom did Anees Jung ask this question?
A. One of the ragpickers
B. Man from Udipi
C. Mukesh
D. Saheb

Ans: A

21. ‘wearing nothing in the feet’ means the same as –
A. Footloose
B. Barefoot
C. Barehand
D. Bareback

Ans: B

22. What according to Anees Jung was the reason as to why these children are not wearing footwear?
A.  Perpetual state of poverty
B. Tradition to stay barefoot
C. Mother did not bring the shoes down from the shelf
D. Shoes do not match with each other

Ans: A

She says tradition to stay barefoot was just an excuse to their state of poverty

23. Desolation means –
A. a state of complete emptiness or destruction
B. comfort
C. thoughtful
D. gusty

Ans: A

24. What can we conclude from the story a man from Udipi told to narrator ?
A. He never got shoes he prayed to God
B. Financial condition of priest deteriorated over the past 30 years
C. Financial position of the priest had improved over the last thirty years
D. He got admission in the nearby school

Ans: C

*Son of the priest now wore shoes

25. “Let me never lose them.” What does ‘them’ refers to ?
A. Schoolbag
B. Teachers
C. Pair of socks
D. Pair of shoes

Ans: D

*“Let me never lose them.”

*This demonstrates that the poor cherish everything they get because they have yearned for it.

26. “Seemapuri, a place on the periphery of Delhi yet miles away from it”. What does this represent?
A. Humour
B. Contrast
C. Climactic
D. Ominous

Ans: B

It represents the contrast between the capital city Delhi & its peripheries Seemapuri

27. Identify the incorrect statement
A. 10,000 ragpickers lived in Seemapuri in structures of mud with roofs of tin & tarpaulin
B. Seemapuri is devoid of sewage,drainage & water
C. They have lived here for thirty years with an identity, permits & ration cards
D. For them Food is more important than an identity

Ans: C

28. “If at the end of the day we can feed our families and go to bed without an aching stomach, we would rather live here than in the fields that gave us no grain”. Who says these lines –
A. People of Seemapuri
B. Group of women
C. Saheb & his family
D. Mukesh’s family

Ans: B

These women had migrated from Bangladesh

29. Survival in Seemapuri means –
A. Living in mud houses
B. Stealing things from the main city
C. Rag picking
D. Having ration cards

Ans: C

*Garbage to them is Gold , its their daily bread , a roof over their heads, even if it is a leaking roof. For a child it is even more

30.  “I sometimes find a rupee , even a ten-rupee note” Who is ‘I’ here?
A. Mukesh
B. Saheb
C. Son of priest
D. Savita

Ans: B

 Saheb was happy to say that sometimes he found a rupee and even a ten – rupee note in the dump

31. Which game did Saheb like?
A. Tennis
B. Badminton
C. Cricket
D. Kho-Kho

Ans: A

And this game is out of his reach

32. Saheb is now wearing shoes, these shoes were –
A.  Given by narrator
B. Discarded shoes of some rich boy given to him
C. Given by his parents
D. New shoes he stole from the shoe store

Ans: B

*He probably didn’t want to wear them since they had a hole in one of them. Saheb, on the other hand, was unconcerned about this and had no difficulty wearing them since he couldn’t afford anything nicer. He used to go barefoot, so wearing a shoe, even one with a hole, was a dream come true for him.

33. Where does Saheb work now?
A. In a Shoe store
B. In a School
C. In a tea stall
D. In a hotel

Ans: C

34. Select the suitable option for the given statements, based on your reading of Lost Spring.
(1) The writer notices that Saheb has lost his carefree look.
(2) Saheb has had to surrender his freedom for ₹800 per month.
A. (1) is false but (2) is true.
B. Both (1) and (2) are true.
C. (2) is a fact but unrelated to (1).
D. (1) is the cause for (2)

Ans:  B

35. Which of the following option best describes “Saheb is no longer his own master” ?
A. Canister belongs to the man , the plastic bag he used to carry was his own
B. He was paid 800 rupees and all his meals
C. Now  he was working as a motor mechanic
D. Both A & B

Ans: A

*Saheb felt burdened with duty now that he was working for someone else and carrying his master’s container. Saheb used to be his own boss and carry his own sack as a rag picker.

36. Who announces “I will be a motor mechanic”?
A. Saheb
B. Ragpicker of Seemapuri
C. Father of Mukesh
D. Mukesh

Ans: D

From the excerpt “I want to drive a car”

* Mukesh is very confident about it, he looks straight into the narrator’s eyes

37. “His dream look like a mirage amidst the dust of streets that fill his town Firozabad, famous for its ______”
A. Shoes
B. Sarees
C. Bangles
D. Steel canister

Ans: C

*Centre of India’s glass-blowing industry, making bangles for all the women in the land.

38. ‘He proudly says is being rebuilt’. What is being rebuilt here?
A. Mukesh’s house
B. Saheb’s house
C. Narrator’s house
D. Mukesh’s garage

Ans: A

39. Which of the following describe conditions in which the children like Mukesh work?
A. Work in Glass furnaces with high temperatures
B. In dingy cells without air & light
C. They often lose the brightness of their eyes
D. All of the above

Ans: D

40. ‘through eyes filled with smoke she smiles’; How is ‘she’ related to Mukesh?
A. Wife of Mukesh
B. Mother of Mukesh
C. Wife of Mukesh’s elder brother
D. Mukesh’s grandmother

Ans: C

*She is a thin, young woman cooking the evening meal for the family & in charge of her husband, Mukesh & their father

41. ‘Frail’ in the chapter refers to –
A. Streak
B. Weak
C. Strong
D. Poor

Ans:  B

42. What was the custom to be followed by daughter-in law in Mukesh’s house?
A. Bring veil closer to face
B. Not to come Infront of them
C. No talk to elders
D. Not talk to strangers

Ans: A

*This custom shows prejudice

43. Which art has the father taught to his two sons?
A. Art of shoe making
B. Art of house making
C. Art of cloth making
D. Art of bangle making

Ans: D

* He was a tailor earlier then a bangle maker, has failed to renovate his house & send his sons to school

44. In the chapter lost spring who among the following remarks “ It is his karam , his destiny”
A. Mukesh’s father
B. Mukesh’s grandmother
C. Savita
D. Saheb’s grandmother

Ans: B

 Mukesh’s grandma defended her son by claiming that he was meant to create bangles since it was their family’s profession.

She believes that God-given lineage can’t be broken

45.  Shanty in the chapter refers to –
A. A small, crudely built shack.
B. Shining
C. Well built shed
D. Dingy rooms

Ans: A

46. Why do children lose their eyesight before they become adults?
A. Genetic disease
B. Due to some accident
C. Their eyes adjust to the dark than to light outside
D. As they are rag pickers

Ans: C

47. What do Bangles symbolize?
A. Glass pieces
B. An Indian women’s suhaag
C. Ordeals of married life
D. Plight of bangle makers

Ans: B

Sanctity is attached to bangles as they are an auspicious sign for a woman’s marriage.

*Savita will  realize this sanctity when she gets married

48. Who is Savita referred to in the lost spring?
A. A young girl
B. Ragpicker
C. Daughter of the priest
D. Wife of Mukesh’s elder brother

Ans: A

49. “She still has bangles on her wrist, but no light in her eyes” means –
A. She is a married woman who has lost her charm and beauty.
B. She is a married woman who has lost her eyesight.
C. Though she is married, her eyes are devoid of happiness.
D. She is married but has lost the charm in her eyes.

Ans: C

 “Ek waqt ser bhar khana bhi nahin khaya,” she says, in a voice drained of joy

*Her husband says “I know nothing except bangles”

50. Identify the tone of narrator in “He has a roof over his head”.
A. pessimistic.
B. dramatic.
C. optimistic.
D. uncertain

Ans: C

51. “The cry of not having money to do anything except carry on the business of making bangles, not even enough to eat, rings in every home”

Ans:  Means The issue was present in all of the households where the profession was practised. They didn’t know what else to do than make bangles, and it didn’t even supply them with enough to eat

52. Which word in the chapter has been used for ‘cruel’?
A. Shanty
B. Vicious
C. lament
D. Wilderness

Ans: B

53. Why the young men don’t want to organize themselves into cooperatives?
A. They don’t want to work together
B. They are not allowed by their parents
C. Their customs don’t allow them to form cooperatives
D. They are afraid to be dragged, beaten by police if they get organized

Ans: D

*Hauled – drag

*The writer felt that as they had no leader, they could not think of doing things differently

54. “They talk endlessly in a spiral that moves from poverty to apathy to greed and to injustice” implies –

Ans: It means that bangle makers are unable to move to new occupations due to apathy, i.e. bureaucrats who are too lazy to do anything for people, greed of middlemen who exploit them to make more money, and the injustice of the police who lock them up and beat them for doing something illegal if they dare to dream.

55. What are the two distinct worlds the narrator talks about?
A. Life of Saheb & Life of Mukesh
B. Stigma of caste & poverty
C. Vicious circle of Sahukars, middlemen & politicians
D. Both B & C

Ans: D

*Both of these worlds had forced the young boys to follow the family traditions

56. What was different in Mukesh from other bangle makers?
A. He wished to revolt against middlemen
B. He had a spark to do anything else than bangle making
C. He wanted to become a pilot
D. None 

Ans: B

*He wanted to become a motor mechanic , he will go to a garage and learn

57. “I will walk’’ reflects which quality of Mukesh’s character?
A. Bold & Determined
B. Unambitious
C. Faithful
D. Humorous

Ans: A

58. Why the boy become silent & refused when the narrator asked him if he wanted to fly a plane?
A. He was not interested in flying planes
B. He was born in a caste of bangle makers
C. He did not know about planes
D. He had phobia

Ans: C

59.  ‘Few aeroplanes fly over Firozabad’ indicates that –
A. Mukesh’s dream were restricted to cars only
B. Saheb’s dream were restricted to cars only
C. Children couldn’t think of high ambitions
D. Old traditions and customs had overpowered the dreams

Ans: A

As he has only seen cars moving around

in Firozabad, his dreams are restricted up to them.

60. The workers in the bangle industry of Firozabad are compelled to poverty due to.
A. Cast and ancestral profession
B. Society prejudices and powerful bureaucracy
C. Karma belief
D. All of these

Ans: D

61. The phrase ‘transit homes’ refer to the dwellings that are
A. Unhygienic.
B. Inadequate.
C. Fragile.
D. Temporary.

Ans: D

62. Choose the term which best matches the statement ‘Food is more important for survival than an identity.”?
A. Immorality
B. Necessity
C. Obligation
D. Ambition

Ans: B

63. What does ‘acquired the proportions of a fine art’ mean?
A. Rag-picking has regained its lost status.
B. A segment of ragpickers is skilled in fine arts.
C. Rag-picking has attained the position of a skill.
D. Only a few people are experts in rag-picking.

Ans: C

64. Saheb’s discarded and worn-out tennis shoes are
A. An indication to procure different ones.
B. A dream come true.
C. A sign of his poverty.
D. An insult to the sport itself

Ans:  B

65. Choose the correct option with reference to the two statements given below:
Assertion: Mukesh’s father has been a successful professional
Reason: He has been able to renovate his house & send his sons to school.
A. Both A & R are correct. R is the correct explanation of A
B. Both A & R are correct. R is not the correct explanation of A
C. A is correct, R is wrong
D. Neither A nor R is correct

Ans:  D

IMPORTANT WORD – MEANINGS:
1. Panting – taking short and quick breathes
2. Periphery –outer area
3. Squatters – a person who unlawfully occupies an uninhabited building or unused land
4. Wilderness – a wasteland
5. Tattered – torn
6. Lighting up – show joy and happiness
7. Dingy – dark, dim
8. Slog – work hard
9. Brightness of their eyes – here, refers to the power to see
10. Stinking – bad smell
11. Wobbly – unsteady
12. Bangs – hits
13. Thatched – covered with dry grass
14. Impoverished – very poor
15. Destiny – fate
16. Lament – complaint
17. Stigma – dishonour
18. Baggage – burden
19. Hurtling down – moving around
20. Acquaintance- a person one knows slightly

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