Question Bank — Vitamin-M

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

1. What does Ravi’s mother wish someone would invent?
   A) A medicine for old age
   B) Vitamin-M for memory
   C) A walking stick for the elderly
   D) A new chess game

2. Why did Grandpa come to live with Ravi’s family?
   A) He wanted to enjoy city life
   B) He was getting too old to live alone
   C) He disliked his brick house
   D) Ravi’s mother needed help

3. Which word best describes Grandpa’s feeling about city life?
   A) Excited
   B) Nostalgic
   C) Indifferent
   D) Angry

4. Assertion (A): Grandpa hated the noise and bustle of the city.
   Reason (R): He missed the quiet of his small brick house with the big mango tree.
   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. How did Ravi feel when his mother spoke loudly to Grandpa?
   A) Proud
   B) Amused
   C) Embarrassed
   D) Relieved

6. What gift did Grandpa give Ravi on his own birthday?
   A) A chess set
   B) The Best Detective Stories
   C) A yellow cap
   D) A walking stick

7. Assertion (A): Grandpa was aware that Ravi had followed him.
   Reason (R): He gave Ravi a detective story book as a gift and made a remark about trailing a suspect.
   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.

8. In the poem “I Cannot Remember My Mother”, what reminds the poet of his mother in the early autumn morning?
   A) The tune of a song
   B) The smell of shiuli flowers
   C) The blue sky
   D) The rocking cradle

9. What literary device is used in the line “a tune seems to hover over my playthings”?
   A) Simile
   B) Personification
   C) Metaphor
   D) Alliteration

10. Which sense is mainly evoked in the second stanza of the poem?
    A) Sight
    B) Hearing
    C) Smell
    D) Touch

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

Extract 1

“I wish,” said Ravi’s mother, hurriedly putting some green, red and orange tablets on a saucer, “that somebody would invent a memory—Vitamin-M, they could call it, and we could give it to old people to help them improve their memories.”
“Shh…Grandpa’ll hear you,” said Ravi, pointing to the frail old figure sitting in the rocking chair, holding the newspaper inches from his nose to read it.

i) Who is the speaker of the first line and what is the context?
ii) What does “Vitamin-M” symbolise in the given extract?
iii) Identify the literary device used in “frail old figure”.
iv) What inference can be drawn about Grandpa’s condition from the extract?

Extract 2

Off he went, twirling his walking stick jauntily, leaving Ravi in a dilemma. His grandfather would feel hurt if he insisted on accompanying him and his mother would be furious if she knew Ravi had let him go out on his own.

i) Who is “he” in the extract and what has he just decided to do?
ii) Explain the dilemma faced by Ravi.
iii) Identify the literary device in “twirling his walking stick jauntily”.
iv) What does the phrase “leaving Ravi in a dilemma” suggest about Ravi’s state of mind?

Extract 3

I cannot remember my mother
only sometimes in the midst of my play
a tune seems to hover over my playthings,
the tune of some song that she used to
hum while rocking my cradle.

i) Who is the speaker and what is the central theme of the stanza?
ii) What does the hovering tune signify?
iii) Identify one example of personification in the extract.
iv) What feeling does the poet convey through the refrain “I cannot remember my mother”?

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

1. Why did Grandpa dislike living in the city with his daughter?
2. How did Ravi’s mother react when Grandpa insisted on going out alone?
3. Describe any two instances that show Grandpa’s generosity and sharp memory.
4. In the poem, how does the poet connect the shiuli flowers with his memory of his mother?
5. What does the title “Vitamin-M” suggest about the needs of the elderly?

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

1. “Grandpa was not as forgetful as his family believed.” Justify the statement with examples from the story.
2. “Memories of loved ones are kept alive through small, everyday experiences.” How does the poem “I Cannot Remember My Mother” illustrate this idea?

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

1. From the unit, classify the following words into movement words and sound words (any four each):
   pottering, boomed, twirling, crouch, bustle, crawl, thudded, shrieks, zigzagging, whirr, evicted, briskly, sprinting, grunted, darted, snoring.
   Then fill in the blanks:
   Ravi 1. ___ behind a bush and 2. __ through the lanes, trying not to make any 3. _. His heart 4. ____ with fear.

2. Write a short diary entry (80–100 words) from Ravi’s point of view after Grandpa returns safely and gives him the detective story book. Express Ravi’s feelings of relief, guilt and growing admiration for his grandfather.