ENG101 Assignment No.2 Solution

English Comprehension -ENG101)                     

Assignment No. 2   Total Marks: 15

Objectives:

• To enhance and test students’ knowledge of grammatical terms, and their usage.
• To assess students’ knowledge of Text Organization.

Instructions:

1.      No assignment will be accepted via e-mail after the due date.

2.      Plagiarism will NOT be tolerated. Plagiarism occurs when a student uses work done by someone else without acknowledging the actual author. It also means copying and pasting the material from handouts and internet source without rephrasing it in his/her own words.

Questions:

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

Q1: What do you infer after reading the above lines” Stopping by Woods on a

        Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost?                                         (5)

Q2: Define different ways through which characters are revealed to a reader in the

       given story?                                                                                 (5)

Della finished her cry and attended to her cheeks with the powder rag. She stood by the window and looked out dully at a grey cat walking a grey fence in a grey backyard. Tomorrow would be Christmas Day, and she had only $1.87 with which to buy Jim a present. She had been saving every penny she could for months, with this result. Twenty dollars a week doesn't go far. Expenses had been greater than she had calculated. They always are. Only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim, her Jim. Many a happy hour she had spent planning for something nice for him. Something fine and rare and sterling-something just a little bit near to being worthy of the honor of being owned by Jim.

Q3: Read the sentences carefully and decide which one of the four choices comes

       closest in meaning to the underlined words.                               (5)

1: The voters were so upset about the outcome of the election that a skirmish broke out      and the police had to break it up.

1.   fight
2. sunshine
3. hurricane
4. creature

2: The tornado annihilated the whole town to the point that nothing was left standing.

1. destroyed
2. saved
3. created
4. constructed

3: Katie appeared infallible in math class because she had never gotten a problem wrong.

1. mistaken
2. wrong
3. incorrect
4. never wrong

4: The professor was a favorite among the students at the college. His sagacity was helpful to them as they pursued their degrees. The professor was known to use his experience, insight, and common sense to help students pursue their education.

1. silliness
2. thoughtlessness
3. wisdom
4. negligence

5. A sleuth, such as Sherlock Holmes, can be very helpful in solving crimes.

1. senior citizen
2. detective
3. man
4. pilot

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Solution:

Q1: What do you infer after reading the above lines” Stopping by Woods on a

        Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost?                                         (5)

KEY

"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost seems to be a simple story apparently but reveals multiple meanings when read between the lines. It encapsulates a number of mysteries and questions that we are concerned with as human beings in our lives. Beginning with the oddly tentative note struck in the poem's first line, we are guided by a speaker who, it seems, conceals as much as he reveals. Let us infer that the speaker is a man, the poet Frost himself, who represents all people on their journey through life. When he sees an appealing scene, woods filling with snow, he stops to observe. Why does this scene appeal to him? Because, he says, the woods are “lovely, dark, and deep”. Perhaps he wishes to lose himself in its silent mystery, away from the routine and regimen of everyday life—at least for a while. Maybe the woods remind him of his childhood, when he watched snow pile up in hopes that it would reach Alpine heights and cancel school and civilization for a day. Or perhaps the woods represent risk, opportunity—something dangerous and uncharted to be explored. It could be, too, that they signify the mysteries of life and the afterlife .......The traveler might also regard the woods as the nameless, ordinary people who have great beauty within them but are ignored by others as the traveler appears worried that he is committing an offense by looking upon woods owned by another man. Nevertheless, he steals a look, for the other man "will not see me stopping here. Thus we can infer a number of ideas from this stanza.

Q2: Define different ways through which characters are revealed to a reader in the

       given story?                                                                                 (5)

Della finished her cry and attended to her cheeks with the powder rag. She stood by the window and looked out dully at a grey cat walking a grey fence in a grey backyard. Tomorrow would be Christmas Day, and she had only $1.87 with which to buy Jim a present. She had been saving every penny she could for months, with this result. Twenty dollars a week doesn't go far. Expenses had been greater than she had calculated. They always are. Only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim, her Jim. Many a happy hour she had spent planning for something nice for him. Something fine and rare and sterling-something just a little bit near to being worthy of the honor of being owned by Jim.

KEY
In this paragraph, Della's character is round and static due to the characteristic traits of Della. She appears as an extremely loving wife, who tries to arrange for funds to present a wonderful gift to her husband. She is sympathetic, caring, loving and understanding towards her husband. Thus the above paragraph is the best example of indirect narration as “Della’s” thoughts, speech, appearance, role, action and effect on other characters in the plot have been revealed through her action. Della is introduced by the writer through her appearance and action. On the other hand Jim was introduced by Della’s thoughts and feelings.

Scrutiny of character revelation through the text:

1. Della finished her cry and attended to her cheeks with the powder rag.

Basic human emotions are exposed through the action as it shows that the character appears sad but at the same time by applying face power she is trying to hide her expression of gloom.

2. Tomorrow would be Christmas Day and she had only $1.87 with which to buy Jim a present. She had been saving every penny she could for months, with this result.

Indirect narration has been used by the writer to show Della’s poverty and deprivation of basic necessities of life.

3. Expenses had been greater than she had calculated.

This shows the height of deprivation and a contrast between the socio economic conditions as well.

4. Something fine and rare and sterling-something just a little bit near to being worthy of the honor of being owned by Jim.

Relationships and depth of love between Della and Jim have been revealed through these lines.

Q3: Read the sentences carefully and decide which one of the four choices comes

       closest in meaning to the underlined words.                               (5)

1: The voters were so upset about the outcome of the election that a skirmish broke out      and the police had to break it up.

1.   fight
2. sunshine
3. hurricane
4. creature

2: The tornado annihilated the whole town to the point that nothing was left standing.

1. destroyed
2. saved
3. created
4. constructed

3: Katie appeared infallible in math class because she had never gotten a problem wrong.

1. mistaken
2. wrong
3. incorrect
4. never wrong

4: The professor was a favorite among the students at the college. His sagacity was helpful to them as they pursued their degrees. The professor was known to use his experience, insight, and common sense to help students pursue their education.

1. silliness
2. thoughtlessness
3. wisdom
4. negligence

5. A sleuth, such as Sherlock Holmes, can be very helpful in solving crimes.

1. senior citizen
2. detective
3. man
4. pilot

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