Section A
A) Read the extract ‘The Brave Old Lady’ and answer the questions.
The Brave Old Lady
The United States of America is a rich country. But not every American is rich. For many
people in the mountains of Tennessee, life is very hard. Women in these mountains have
to do hard work. Men go to the cities for work. People live in wooden huts. Life is
particularly hard in during winter. But mountain people sing beautiful songs and their
music is famous.
An old lady named Mrs. Martin lived in a wooden hut beside a railway track in the
mountains of Tennessee. Her sons had gone to the city for work. She lived with her
daughters-in-law and her grandchildren. The women worked on their little farm. They
made their own bread and looked after their animals. The children walked four miles to
school and played blissfully during their free time.
It was winter. There was a storm at night. The children went out in the morning to collect
broken branches and walked up to the railway tracks. They saw that a big tree, blown
down by the storm, was lying across the railway tracks. They ran home and called their
grandmother. "There is a tree on the tracks. The train is coming soon. There will a terrible
crash!"
The women ran to the tracks. It was getting dark and nothing could save the train! They
thought of lighting a big fire in the middle of the track. The old grandmother said, "Come
on, children! Get some firewood." The wet wood would not catch fire. So they brought
whatever little furniture they had and put it on the fire. Now the fire burned higher and
higher. The entire place looked orange like the blazing sun. Even the mountain was lit up.
The engine driver saw the fire. He thought the forest was on fire. He stopped the train.
The people came out of the train. They thanked the old lady and her family for saving
their lives. They collected money and gave it to the poor family. The Railways also gave
the Martins a huge reward for saving the train and the passengers. The Martins were no
longer poor.
1. What was famous about the mountains of Tennessee?
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2. How did Mrs. Martin’s family spend their day in the mountains of Tennessee?
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3. What does the word blissfully mean? Circle the correct word.



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shabbily
happily
miserably
unhappily
4. Give one word from the last paragraph which means remunerate. Use it in sentence
of your own.
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5. Were Mrs. Martin and her family poor? Tick (√) one box.
 yes
 no
Give evidence from the text to support your answer.
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6. The author uses simile to help describe the fire.
Give one example of simile in the story.
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7. Nothing could save the train! They thought of lighting a big fire in the middle of
the track. The old grandmother said, "Come on, children! Get some firewood." The
wet wood would not catch fire.
The main idea of this text is:
a) The fire was cooling off.
b) There wasn't enough firewood.
c) The fire was burning fiercely.
d) The firewood could not light as it was wet because of the storm.
8. Identify a collective noun from the passage. Refer to paragraph 6 of the text.
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9. The oldest boy walked up to the railway tracks. He saw that a big tree.
Rewrite the above sentences using a connective.
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10.Identify 2 adjectives from the passage and use them in sentences of your own.
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11.Form abstract nouns using the words given below:
a. poor
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b. happy
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12.Identify the verb and state the tense:
a They stayed safely in their hut. _________________________
b People live in wooden huts. ___________________________
13.Do as directed:
a The people came out of the train. (change to simple future tense)
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b The oldest boy walked up to the railway tracks. (change to present tense)
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14.Rewrite using correct punctuation marks:
a) the martins were nice people
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b) how would they save the train
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