Question Bank — The Address

NCERT Class 11 English · Chapter 15 · CBSE Board Pattern

Class 11 English Chapter 15 Question Bank CBSE Board Pattern

Section A — MCQs (10 questions, 1 mark each)

  1. What was Mrs Dorling wearing when she opened the door?
    a) A brown coat
    b) Mother’s green knitted cardigan
    c) A shapeless hat
    d) An old apron

  2. Why did the narrator decide not to go back to Number 46?
    a) She had lost the address
    b) The objects lost their value in strange surroundings
    c) Mrs Dorling refused to meet her again
    d) The girl did not allow her inside

  3. Which item did the narrator immediately recognise on Mrs Dorling?
    a) The antique plates
    b) The green knitted cardigan
    c) The Hanukkah candle-holder
    d) The white tea-pot with gold border

  4. Assertion (A): The narrator felt oppressed by the familiar objects in Mrs Dorling’s house.
    Reason (R): The objects were arranged in a tasteless manner and reminded her of a connection that no longer existed.
    a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
    b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
    c) A is true but R is false.
    d) A is false but R is true.

  5. What did Mrs Dorling say when the narrator first introduced herself?
    a) “I thought that no one had come back.”
    b) “Come in, I have been expecting you.”
    c) “Your mother gave me these things.”
    d) “I cannot recognise you at all.”

  6. Assertion (A): The narrator resolved to forget the address.
    Reason (R): She realised that the objects linked with her past life would only cause pain in her small rented room.
    a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
    b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
    c) A is true but R is false.
    d) A is false but R is true.

  7. Which object in the living-room had a burn mark that the narrator remembered?
    a) The woollen table-cloth
    b) The pewter plate
    c) The white tea-pot
    d) The silver cutlery

  8. Why did the girl’s mother take things from the narrator’s house during the war?
    a) She wanted to steal them
    b) She wanted to save them from being lost
    c) The narrator’s mother forced her to take them
    d) She needed money

  9. What sound did the narrator hear as she left the house the second time?
    a) The jingling of spoons and forks
    b) The moving of the bay-window curtain
    c) The girl calling her mother
    d) The door closing quietly

  10. The story is mainly about:
    a) The joy of recovering lost belongings after war
    b) The decision to move on by leaving behind memories attached to objects
    c) The strong friendship between two women during war
    d) The difficulty of finding an address in a new city

Section B — Reference to Context (3 extracts, 4 marks each)

Extract 1

“She held her hand on the door as though she wanted to prevent it opening any further. Her face gave absolutely no sign of recognition. She kept staring at me in silence.”

i. Who is the speaker and to whom is she speaking?
ii. What does the woman’s action of holding the door reveal about her state of mind?
iii. Identify the literary device used in “Her face gave absolutely no sign of recognition.”
iv. Give the meaning of the word “recognition” in this context.

Extract 2

“I stopped, horrified. I was in a room I knew and did not know. I found myself in the midst of things I did want to see again but which oppressed me in the strange atmosphere.”

i. Who is speaking and where is she at this moment?
ii. Why did the narrator feel both recognition and oppression at the same time?
iii. Identify the literary device in “a room I knew and did not know.”
iv. What inference can be drawn about the narrator’s emotional state?

Extract 3

“Of all the things I had to forget, that would be the easiest.”

i. Who is the speaker and what is “that” she refers to?
ii. Why did the narrator find it easy to forget the address?
iii. Identify the literary device used in the line.
iv. What does this statement tell us about the narrator’s final decision?

Section C — Short Answer (5 questions, 3 marks each)

  1. Why did the narrator’s mother give Mrs Dorling the address of her house?
  2. How did the narrator feel when she saw her mother’s belongings arranged in Mrs Dorling’s house?
  3. What reason did Mrs Dorling give for not letting the narrator come inside on her first visit?
  4. Why did the narrator wait for a long time before going to Mrs Dorling’s house after the war?
  5. What change occurred in the narrator’s feelings towards the stored objects over time?

Section D — Long Answer (2 questions, 6 marks each)

  1. Draw a character sketch of the narrator in the story “The Address”.
  2. “The Address” shows how war disrupts human relationships and attachments to material things. Discuss.

Section E — Language and Writing (2 questions, 4 marks each)

  1. From the unit, fill in the blanks with appropriate words from the text:
    (i) The woman opened the door only a __.
    (ii) A     _ smell came from the passage.
    (iii) The girl had a     back just like her mother.
    (iv) The narrator decided to     ___ the address.

  2. Imagine you are the narrator. After returning from your second visit to Marconi Street, write a diary entry (80–100 words) expressing your feelings about seeing your mother’s belongings and your final decision.

▶ Answer Key Attempt all questions first,
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Section A

  1. b
  2. b
  3. b
  4. a
  5. a
  6. a
  7. a
  8. b
  9. a
  10. b

Section B

Extract 1
i. Narrator to Mrs Dorling
ii. She is reluctant and suspicious
iii. Imagery / personification
iv. Act of identifying or remembering someone

Extract 2
i. Narrator inside Mrs Dorling’s living room
ii. Objects were familiar but placed in an alien, tasteless setting
iii. Paradox / oxymoron
iv. She felt disturbed and emotionally conflicted

Extract 3
i. Narrator; the address (Number 46, Marconi Street)
ii. Objects lost emotional value when seen in strange surroundings
iii. Hyperbole / irony
iv. She chose to move on and forget painful memories

Section C (key points – 1 mark each for any three relevant points)
1. Mother wanted Mrs Dorling to save belongings if they had to leave.
2. Oppressed, horrified, unnatural voice, felt things lost value.
3. “It is not convenient for me now.”
4. Initially afraid and uninterested; later became curious.
5. From fear and disinterest to curiosity, then final rejection.

Section D (key content points – award marks for inclusion of these)
1. Character sketch points: observant, emotional, initially curious, shocked by the arrangement, values memories over objects, finally chooses to forget and move on.
2. Theme points: War separates families, objects survive but lose meaning, human predicament of attachment vs. moving forward, narrator’s growth from desire to rejection.

Section E

  1. (i) chink (ii) musty (iii) broad (iv) forget
  2. Diary entry marking split: Correct diary format (1 mark), content points (narrator’s shock, memories, decision) (2 marks), language & coherence (1 mark).
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All questions are answerable from the NCERT chapter text. Reviewed by GFIS faculty.