Moments The Lost Child - CBSE Test Papers

CBSE Class 9 English Language and Literature
Moments Chapter-1 The Lost Child
Test Paper-01

Read the following passages and answer the questions
  1. He could not suppress the desire of his heart, even though he well knew the cold stare of refusal in their eyes.
    1. What does ‘he’ well know?
    2. What ‘desire of his heart’ is being talked of?
    3. Why has the narrator said that ‘he’ couldn’t suppress his heart’s desire?
    4. What did the child do when he couldn’t suppress his desire?
  2. Thinking to humour his disconsolate charge by a gift of sweets, the man took him to counter of sweet shop.
    1. Who is ‘the man’ being referred here?
    2. What was the man trying to do?
    3. What was the real intention of the man?
    4. What do you mean by the phrase-to humour the disconsolate charge.
Answer the following questions in about 30 words:
  1. What aspects evidently show that the child was a nature lover?
  2. When did the child feel that his parents would call him ‘greedy’?
  3. Describe the moment when the child realizes that he is lost.
  4. What was the child’s reaction when the man took him to the balloon seller?
  5. Why was the child lagging behind in the crowd?
  6. What excuse will the parents provide for not buying the flowers for the child?
Answer the following questions in about 100 words:
  1. The author beautifully depicts the typical village fair. Explain in detail.
  2. Though the author has beautifully depicted the village fair, he has been more successful in depicting child psychology in the story. Elucidate.
CBSE Class 9 English Language and Literature
Moments Chapter-1 The Lost Child
Test Paper-01

Answers
    1. The child knows it well that his parents will refuse to buy anything, he will ask for.
    2. The child has the desire to get the toys from the shops in the fair.
    3. The narrator said that he couldn’t suppress his heart’s desire as the child demanded the toy to his father even though he knew well that he would not get it.
    4. The child asked for the toy when he couldn’t suppress his heart’s desire.
    1. He was the kind man who was helping the child to find his parents.
    2. First of all, the man was trying to comfort the child who was frantically searching his father and mother.
    3. The man intended to pacify the child know something about his parents.
    4. To humour the disconsolate charge means the man was trying to make the sad and unhappy child feel comfortable.
  1. The child is curiously attracted to the flowering mustard fields on the way. He is a keen observer of natural elements around like dragon flies, bees, butterflies, insects and worms. He forgets his parents when he busied himself collecting showering petals of the flowers, also leaves the petals quickly and gets attracted to cooing doves in the grove. This clearly shows the child’s love for nature.
  2. The child was sure every time about the negative reactions of his parents. When he came across beautifully arranged, multi coloured sweets at the sweet shop, his mouth watered for his favourite ‘burfi’. He was sure that his parents would not purchase him the burfi, instead they would call him ‘greedy’.
  3. The child was deeply fascinated by many objects in the fair. There was a roundabout in full swing. The child stood watching men, women and children carried in whirling motion, screaming and laughing joyfully. When he requested his parents for a ride and received no response from them, made him realize that he was lost.
  4. When the kind man took the child to the balloon seller in the hope that those attractive and colourful balloons would quieten him. Surprisingly, the child turned his eyes away from the balloons, sobbed and just asked for his parents.
  5. There were many things in the fair to fascinate the small child. For sure he might have not got such frequent opportunity to derive joy from all these fascinations like sweets, flower garlands, snake charmer’s tune, toys etc. Very often, he was losing the track of his parents in the crowd as it was difficult for him to ignore all the attractions.
  6. The child in the story knows very well that his parents turn his every demand down by some or the other reasons. He thinks that father would not buy him the flowers saying that they were cheap, whereas he was irresistibly drawn by those gulmohur garlands.
  7. The author Mulk Raj Anand, through his short story gives the minute and very realistic picture of a typical village fair. He also gives us the clear idea of various details of his contemporary period.
    The author begins with the description of narrow and crowded lanes where people were rushing for the fair. We get the clear idea of the transport means used during that time. His vivid account of the natural elements, while a couple with their child is walking their way to the fair, amuses us greatly. The author successfully describes the throngs of people gradually turning into the whirlpool. On such backdrop, the author reveals the child’s fascination towards the charming and unusual things. He couldn’t resist himself from getting attracted by the hawkers selling sweets, balloons, garlands of flowers, the snake charmer and his snake, roundabouts, toys in the shops etc. A very live and detailed description given by the author creates visual imagery.
  8. The author undoubtedly has given an excellent account of a typical village fair but we can’t neglect the theme of the story. It throws light on the childish curiosity as well as child psychology.
    On the backdrop of a village fair, the writer deals with the psyche of a small child. He describes that how when being with parents, he acts carelessly, rather he is confident that his parents are promptly keeping his track, giving him cautionary calls, so he never thought of getting lost. The author has keenly observed curious, eager behaviour of the small children when he minutely describes the child’s fascination for toys, sweets, balloons, flowers, snake charmer etc. He gets enchanted by every unusual thing and also reads well the manner his parents would react and reject all his demands. The same child when realizes that he is lost in the unknown crowd becomes frantic, tries to call and search his parents, fortunately comes across a kind man. This time all those things which charmed him a moment before, failed to attract him now. He insists only one thing that he wants his parents and nothing else.