CBQ Practice›Class 12 English Core
📖

Class 12 English Core
CBQ Practice

Competency Based Questions · 3 chapters · 6 CBQ sets

Question types:Case StudySource BasedAssertion–Reason
💡Attempt each question before clicking Show Answers — then compare.
Filter:
Ch 1

The Last Lesson (Flamingo)

2 sets
CBQ 1Source BasedM. Hamel's Final Class4 marks

Source / Extract

Read the following extract from 'The Last Lesson' by Alphonse Daudet: "Then, from one thing to another, M. Hamel went on to talk of the French language, saying that it was the most beautiful language in the world — the clearest, the most logical; that we must guard it among ourselves and never forget it, because when a people are enslaved, as long as they hold fast to their language it is as if they had the key to their prison... Then he opened a grammar and read us our lesson. I was amazed to see how well I understood it. All that he said seemed so easy, so easy! I think, too, that I had never listened so carefully, and that he had never explained everything with so much patience."
1

According to M. Hamel, what does a people's language represent when they are enslaved?

1M
(A)A source of pride and beauty only
(B)The key to their prison — the means to preserve their identity and freedom
(C)A weapon of war against oppressors
(D)An obstacle to learning the new language
2

Why was Franz amazed by how well he understood the lesson?

1M
(A)M. Hamel had become a better teacher overnight
(B)The emotional significance of the last lesson made Franz listen with full attention and understanding
(C)The lesson was simpler than usual
(D)Franz had studied at home the previous night
3

The phrase 'key to their prison' is an example of:

1M
(A)Simile
(B)Personification
(C)Metaphor
(D)Hyperbole
4

What is the central theme of 'The Last Lesson' and how does M. Hamel embody this theme?

1M
CBQ 2Assertion–Reason1 mark
A
Assertion

Franz, the narrator of 'The Last Lesson', undergoes a significant transformation during the course of the story — from a careless boy to an attentive, emotionally aware student.

R
Reason

The impending loss of the French language and the realisation that this is the last chance to learn it triggers Franz's sense of responsibility and regret for his past indifference.

(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
Ch 4

The Rattrap (Flamingo)

2 sets
CBQ 1Source BasedThe Peddler's Philosophy4 marks

Source / Extract

Read the following extract from 'The Rattrap' by Selma Lagerlöf: "He had naturally been thinking of his rattraps when suddenly he was struck by the idea that the whole world was nothing but a big rattrap. It had never existed for any other purpose than to set baits for people. It offered riches and joys, shelter and food, heat and clothing, exactly as the rattrap offered cheese and pork, and as soon as anyone let himself be tempted to touch the bait, it closed in on him, and then everything came to an end. The poor peddler went around with this idea and got great pleasure from thinking ill of the world in this manner."
1

In the peddler's philosophy, the 'rattrap' is a metaphor for:

1M
(A)The peddler's actual trap for catching animals
(B)The world that lures people with temptations and then traps them
(C)The jail where criminals are imprisoned
(D)The forest where the peddler gets lost
2

According to the peddler, what is 'bait' in the rattrap of the world?

1M
(A)Cheese and pork
(B)Riches, joys, shelter, food, heat and clothing
(C)Gold and silver
(D)Kindness and generosity
3

The peddler 'got great pleasure from thinking ill of the world' because:

1M
(A)He genuinely hated all humans
(B)This cynical philosophy consoled him and gave a sense of superiority over those who were 'trapped'
(C)He was planning to steal from people
(D)He wanted to write a book about his philosophy
4

How does Edla Willmansson's kindness ultimately redeem the peddler? What does this suggest about human nature?

1M
CBQ 2Assertion–Reason1 mark
A
Assertion

The title 'The Rattrap' is symbolic and extends beyond its literal meaning throughout the story.

R
Reason

The rattrap metaphor evolves to represent not just worldly temptations in general but also the peddler's own moral entrapment, and ultimately the possibility of escape through human compassion.

(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
Ch 2

My Mother at Sixty-six (Flamingo Poetry)

2 sets
CBQ 1Source BasedKamala Das — Fear of Loss and Parting4 marks

Source / Extract

Read the following lines from 'My Mother at Sixty-six' by Kamala Das: "Driving from my parent's home to Cochin last Friday morning, I saw my mother, beside me, doze, open-mouthed, her face ashen like that of a corpse and realised with pain that she was as old as she looked but soon put that thought away, and looked out at Young trees sprinting, the merry children spilling out of their homes, but after the airport's security check, standing a few yards away, I looked again at her, wan, pale as a late winter's moon and felt that familiar ache, my childhood's fear, but all I said was, see you soon, Amma, all I said was, see you soon."
1

The simile 'her face ashen like that of a corpse' conveys:

1M
(A)The mother's extreme tiredness from travel
(B)The poet's fear of her mother's approaching death and the pallor of old age
(C)The mother's anger at the poet
(D)The cold weather affecting the mother's complexion
2

The images of 'young trees sprinting' and 'merry children spilling out of their homes' are used to contrast:

1M
(A)Urban and rural life
(B)The vitality of youth and life against the poet's awareness of her mother's ageing and decline
(C)India's natural beauty and urban development
(D)The speed of the car and the slowness of walking
3

The phrase 'familiar ache, my childhood's fear' suggests that:

1M
(A)The poet has always feared travelling
(B)The fear of losing her mother is not new — it has been with the poet since childhood
(C)The poet had a traumatic childhood
(D)The poet is afraid of airports
4

Why does the poet say 'see you soon, Amma' instead of expressing her deep fear? What literary device is used and what does it reveal?

1M
CBQ 2Assertion–Reason1 mark
A
Assertion

In 'My Mother at Sixty-six', Kamala Das uses the image of the pale winter moon to describe her mother's appearance at the airport.

R
Reason

The winter moon is dim, distant, and fading — qualities that mirror the mother's frail, pale appearance and suggest the gradual dimming of her life.

(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

Also useful for Class 12 English Core

NCERT Solutions →Important Questions →Chapter Summaries →All CBQ Subjects →Topper Answer Sheets →