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Amanda! · Class 10 English · First Flight Poetry: 135 MCQs with answers

All 135 multiple-choice questions from this kit, free and with no sign-up.

Full kit · everything Flashcards · 60 Quick Revision · 36

Warm-up · 10 questions

Q1. Who wrote this poem, and in which book of the Class 10 course is it printed?

Beginner
A Robin Klein, in Footprints Without Feet B Carolyn Wells, in First Flight C Robin Klein, in First Flight D John Berryman, in Moments
Show answer & explanation

Robin Klein, in First Flight

An Australian writer.

Q2. What does the adult say about Amanda's posture?

Beginner
A That she should not stand so close B That she should walk more slowly C That she should keep her head down D That she should stop slouching and sit up straight
Show answer & explanation

That she should stop slouching and sit up straight

Along with hunched shoulders.

Q3. Who is the speaker in the bracketed stanzas?

Beginner
A Her mother B The poet C Amanda herself D A friend of Amanda's
Show answer & explanation

Amanda herself

And she never speaks aloud at all.

Q4. In the first of the three bracketed stanzas Amanda imagines herself drifting through water of one particular colour. Which?

Beginner
A Silver B Sapphire C Emerald D Grey
Show answer & explanation

Emerald

A green sea, relaxed and slow.

Q5. The textbook glosses one of the two adjectives Amanda uses of her imaginary sea. What meaning does it give for 'languid'?

Beginner
A Tired B Relaxed C Unwell D Deep
Show answer & explanation

Relaxed

Not tired or ill — relaxed.

Q6. Amanda describes her movement through the sea with a word the textbook takes the trouble to explain. What does 'drifting' mean here?

Beginner
A Moving slowly B Sinking C Swimming strongly D Being carried away against her will
Show answer & explanation

Moving slowly

A glossed word from the sea stanza.

Q7. In the second of her three escapes Amanda gives herself a name that is not true of her at all. What does she call herself?

Beginner
A A traveller B A beggar C A princess D An orphan
Show answer & explanation

An orphan

Roaming the street.

Q8. The textbook glosses a verb from the street daydream that most readers would recognise only as a noun. What does 'pattern' mean here?

Beginner
A To follow an example B To repeat something C To make patterns D To decorate cloth
Show answer & explanation

To make patterns

In soft dust.

Q9. The textbook asks whether students know the story before it asks anything about the last daydream. Who is Rapunzel?

Beginner
A A mermaid in an old sea story B A character invented by the poet C A girl who ran away from home D A fairy-tale girl shut in a tower, with very long golden hair
Show answer & explanation

A fairy-tale girl shut in a tower, with very long golden hair

The textbook asks whether students know the story.

Q10. One further word from the tower daydream is glossed by the textbook, and it names the quality Amanda wants most. What does 'tranquil' mean?

Beginner
A Secret B Lonely C Calm D Comfortable
Show answer & explanation

Calm

A glossed word from the tower stanza.

Building up · 40 questions

Q11. Looking at the way the seven stanzas are arranged, how are they divided between the two voices?

Intermediate
A The first four are spoken and the last three are thoughts B The stanzas alternate between two children C All seven are spoken by the same person D The odd-numbered stanzas are spoken aloud; the even-numbered ones are thoughts in brackets
Show answer & explanation

The odd-numbered stanzas are spoken aloud; the even-numbered ones are thoughts in brackets

A strict alternation that never breaks.

Q12. Which of these is NOT among the adult's complaints?

Intermediate
A That Amanda bites her nails B That Amanda has not cleaned her shoes C That Amanda is slouching D That Amanda has been late for school
Show answer & explanation

That Amanda has been late for school

Lateness is never mentioned.

Q13. Counting every occurrence in the four spoken stanzas but leaving the title aside, how many times does the girl's name appear?

Intermediate
A Seven B Four C Twenty D Twelve
Show answer & explanation

Twelve

And once more as the title.

Q14. The poet could have placed the girl's name anywhere in a line, but she puts it in the same position every single time. Where?

Intermediate
A At the beginning B At the end C In the middle D It varies from stanza to stanza
Show answer & explanation

At the end

Every adult stanza finishes with it.

Q15. The textbook asks why stanzas 2, 4 and 6 are given in parenthesis. What is the answer?

Intermediate
A Because they are not spoken aloud B Because they were added later by the poet C Because they are quotations from a story D Because they are spoken by a second adult
Show answer & explanation

Because they are not spoken aloud

A set textbook question.

Q16. Is the speaker of the bracketed stanzas listening to the other voice?

Intermediate
A Yes, and she obeys each instruction B No — she has withdrawn into daydreams C Yes, but she disagrees silently D The poem gives no indication either way
Show answer & explanation

No — she has withdrawn into daydreams

The set question has two halves, and this is the second.

Q17. If you were describing the sound and the punctuation of the four stanzas that are spoken aloud, which account would be correct?

Intermediate
A They rhyme in threes and flow smoothly B They do not rhyme; they are commands and questions broken up by exclamation marks C They are long and unhurried D They are written entirely as questions
Show answer & explanation

They do not rhyme; they are commands and questions broken up by exclamation marks

Nothing in them flows.

Q18. Which description of Amanda's lines is correct?

Intermediate
A They do not rhyme at all B They are the shortest lines in the poem C They rhyme in threes, and they are longer, calmer and unhurried D They are punctuated with exclamation marks
Show answer & explanation

They rhyme in threes, and they are longer, calmer and unhurried

Every line of each bracketed stanza chimes with the other two.

Q19. Which set of words belongs to Amanda rather than to the adult?

Intermediate
A Stop, don't, remember, look B Homework, shoes, chocolate, acne C Languid, drifting, hushed, tranquil D Sulking, moody, nagged, straight
Show answer & explanation

Languid, drifting, hushed, tranquil

Two vocabularies that never mix.

Q20. Before the poem begins, the textbook gives the class an instruction about how it should be read. What does it suggest?

Intermediate
A Copying it out in full B Reading it in pairs, each person taking alternate stanzas C Learning the bracketed stanzas by heart D Comparing it with another poem in the book
Show answer & explanation

Reading it in pairs, each person taking alternate stanzas

And it warns that a surprise is coming.

Q21. A student writes that Amanda answers her mother back. What is wrong with that?

Intermediate
A Amanda never speaks aloud; everything of hers is inside brackets B Nothing — she replies in stanza 4 C She answers, but only in the last stanza D It is the adult who never speaks
Show answer & explanation

Amanda never speaks aloud; everything of hers is inside brackets

Which is exactly why the brackets are there.

Q22. Which statements about the poem's structure are correct? 1. The adult's stanzas do not rhyme. 2. Amanda's stanzas rhyme in threes. 3. Amanda replies aloud in the last stanza.

Intermediate
A 1 and 2 only B 1 and 3 only C 2 and 3 only D 1, 2 and 3
Show answer & explanation

1 and 2 only

She never speaks aloud anywhere.

Q23. Which pairing of stanza and speaker is correct?

Intermediate
A Stanza 5 — Amanda B Stanza 6 — Amanda C Stanza 4 — the adult D Stanza 7 — Amanda
Show answer & explanation

Stanza 6 — Amanda

Even-numbered stanzas are hers.

Q24. How many of the textbook's nine questions on this poem concern the bracketed stanzas?

Intermediate
A One B Five C Three D None
Show answer & explanation

Three

Which shows where the examiner's interest lies.

Q25. If you had to state in one sentence what the poem's structure is doing, which would be best?

Intermediate
A It records an argument between a parent and a child B It describes a girl's three favourite stories C It sets a spoken world and a silent one side by side and never lets them meet D It shows a child gradually learning to obey
Show answer & explanation

It sets a spoken world and a silent one side by side and never lets them meet

Two voices, never connecting.

Q26. Who is speaking to Amanda, and how can you tell?

Intermediate
Show answer & explanation

—

Q27. Looking at the length and the rhyme of the three stanzas that are printed inside brackets, how is each of them built?

Intermediate
A Four lines rhyming in pairs B Three lines with no rhyme at all C Three lines, all rhyming with each other D Two lines and a refrain
Show answer & explanation

Three lines, all rhyming with each other

Sea, me, blissfully; street, feet, sweet; care, rare, hair.

Q28. As she roams the street in the second of the bracketed stanzas, the poem describes exactly what her feet are doing. What is it?

Intermediate
A Running as fast as she can B Splashing through water C Standing still at a crossing D Making patterns in soft dust, barefoot and silently
Show answer & explanation

Making patterns in soft dust, barefoot and silently

Hushed, bare feet.

Q29. How does Amanda describe the silence and the freedom of the street?

Intermediate
A The silence is frightening and the freedom is strange B The silence is golden and the freedom is sweet C The silence is brief and the freedom is costly D The silence is heavy and the freedom is lonely
Show answer & explanation

The silence is golden and the freedom is sweet

What she wants is the absence of a voice.

Q30. Amanda describes herself as an orphan in the second bracketed stanza, and the textbook asks students to test that claim. Is she one?

Intermediate
A Yes, and the poem says so B No — somebody is scolding her from the first line of the poem to the last C Yes, which is why she is so unhappy D The poem does not allow an answer
Show answer & explanation

No — somebody is scolding her from the first line of the poem to the last

A set textbook question.

Q31. In the third of her escapes Amanda gives two adjectives and a claim about her own state of mind. How does she describe life in the tower?

Intermediate
A As calm and rare, with not a care B As cold and frightening C As busy but happy D As temporary
Show answer & explanation

As calm and rare, with not a care

Tranquil is glossed as calm.

Q32. What does Amanda add to the Rapunzel story?

Intermediate
A That the tower would be by the sea B That she would take a book with her C That she would certainly never let down her hair D That she would return home in the end
Show answer & explanation

That she would certainly never let down her hair

The sharpest line in the poem.

Q33. A student writes that Amanda wants to be Rapunzel so that a prince will rescue her. What is wrong with that?

Intermediate
A Nothing; the poem mentions a prince B The story has no prince in it C It is the opposite of what she says — she would never let her hair down D Rapunzel is not shut in a tower
Show answer & explanation

It is the opposite of what she says — she would never let her hair down

Most children want the prince. Amanda wants the tower.

Q34. Which statements about the daydreams are correct? 1. All three rhyme aaa. 2. All four glossed words come from them. 3. Amanda speaks them aloud.

Intermediate
A 1 and 2 only B 1 and 3 only C 2 and 3 only D 1, 2 and 3
Show answer & explanation

1 and 2 only

They are inside brackets, and unspoken.

Q35. Which pairing of daydream and quality is correct?

Intermediate
A The sea — a crowd of friends B The street — noise and company C The tower — refusing to be reached D The tower — waiting for a rescuer
Show answer & explanation

The tower — refusing to be reached

The other three reverse the poem's sense.

Q36. How should an answer about the mermaid stanza be built?

Intermediate
A Drifting, blissful, unhurried — and above all the sole inhabitant B The colour of the sea, then the poet's name C The rhyme scheme, then the glossary D A summary of the whole poem
Show answer & explanation

Drifting, blissful, unhurried — and above all the sole inhabitant

The last item is what separates a good answer from a bare one.

Q37. Which single sentence best describes the three bracketed stanzas together?

Intermediate
A Three escapes that grow lonelier, each undoing the complaint before it B Three happy pictures from a child's storybook C Three replies that Amanda speaks under her breath D Three memories of places she has visited
Show answer & explanation

Three escapes that grow lonelier, each undoing the complaint before it

Sea, street, tower.

Q38. The textbook asks how old Amanda is and how you know. What does the poem itself supply?

Intermediate
A No age at all — only evidence to reason from B Her exact age in the first stanza C Her school year D Her birthday
Show answer & explanation

No age at all — only evidence to reason from

Which is why the question asks how you know.

Q39. The poem never states how old Amanda is, so a reader has to reason from evidence. Which detail is the strongest clue?

Intermediate
A Her homework B Her shoes C Her acne D Her bare feet
Show answer & explanation

Her acne

The one physical detail belonging to a particular stage of life.

Q40. A student answers the question about Amanda's age by giving one exact figure and nothing else at all. What is wrong with that?

Intermediate
A The poem never states one, and the question asks how you know B Nothing — the poem gives her age directly C The number is given in the glossary D Only the poet could answer it
Show answer & explanation

The poem never states one, and the question asks how you know

The evidence matters more than the figure.

Q41. Two details in the second bracketed stanza show exactly what sort of freedom Amanda is imagining. Which of these is one of them?

Intermediate
A She is walking quickly B She meets other children C Her feet are hushed and the silence is golden D She is carrying something
Show answer & explanation

Her feet are hushed and the silence is golden

Not company or excitement — quiet.

Q42. What three things does the adult say in the final stanza?

Intermediate
A Finish your homework, clean your shoes, sit up straight B Stop sulking, you are always moody, anyone would think I nagged at you C Come here, look at me, answer me D Stop crying, go to your room, we will talk later
Show answer & explanation

Stop sulking, you are always moody, anyone would think I nagged at you

Three statements, and every one worth examining.

Q43. In the final stanza the adult announces that Amanda is sulking and always moody. On the evidence of the poem, is that true?

Intermediate
A Yes, and the poem confirms it B Yes, because she refuses to answer C No — she is absorbed in a daydream, which the reader has watched three times D The poem gives no way of telling
Show answer & explanation

No — she is absorbed in a daydream, which the reader has watched three times

A set textbook question.

Q44. How often does the word 'nagged' appear in the poem, and who uses it?

Intermediate
A Three times, and Amanda uses it B Twice, once by each speaker C It does not appear at all D Once, and the nagger uses it
Show answer & explanation

Once, and the nagger uses it

A telling detail.

Q45. Which statements about Amanda are correct? 1. She never speaks aloud. 2. She never disobeys. 3. She argues with the adult in the last stanza.

Intermediate
A 1 and 2 only B 1 and 3 only C 2 and 3 only D 1, 2 and 3
Show answer & explanation

1 and 2 only

There is no argument anywhere in the poem.

Q46. Which pairing of evidence and conclusion is correct?

Intermediate
A Acne — early adolescence B Bare feet — poverty C Mermaid — a seaside home D Rapunzel — long hair of her own
Show answer & explanation

Acne — early adolescence

The other three read the daydreams as facts.

Q47. Which is the strongest way to end an answer on this poem?

Intermediate
A On the colour of the sea B On the poet's nationality C On the number of stanzas D On the adult who complains about being thought a nagger and describes the whole poem without knowing it
Show answer & explanation

On the adult who complains about being thought a nagger and describes the whole poem without knowing it

Finish where the poem finishes.

Q48. How should an answer about what Amanda yearns for be built?

Intermediate
A List the poet's other works B Describe the rhyme scheme first C Summarise all seven stanzas in order D Say freedom, narrow it to quiet, and give a detail from each of the three daydreams
Show answer & explanation

Say freedom, narrow it to quiet, and give a detail from each of the three daydreams

Narrowing the word is what earns the mark.

Q49. Which single sentence best captures the last stanza?

Intermediate
A The adult finally apologises to Amanda B Amanda admits she has been sulking C The one attempt to say what Amanda feels is wrong, and the denial that follows it is wronger D The scolding stops and the poem ends peacefully
Show answer & explanation

The one attempt to say what Amanda feels is wrong, and the denial that follows it is wronger

Two mistakes in four lines.

Q50. Which is the best summary of what this poem finally shows?

Intermediate
A A quarrel between a parent and a teenager B A girl learning to obey her mother C A parent gradually growing gentler D A child who has gone somewhere else, and an adult who has not noticed
Show answer & explanation

A child who has gone somewhere else, and an adult who has not noticed

Two people in one room, and a distance between them.

Topper level · 85 questions

Q51. Considering that the complaints concern homework, an untidy room, uncleaned shoes and chocolate, who is most likely to be speaking?

Advanced
A A schoolteacher B A parent — usually taken to be her mother C An older classmate D A neighbour
Show answer & explanation

A parent — usually taken to be her mother

Every item on the list is a household matter.

Q52. Some readers suggest that the voice scolding Amanda belongs to a teacher rather than to a parent. Why is that unlikely?

Advanced
A Teachers never mention homework B A teacher would have no reason to mention shoes, chocolate or an untidy room C The poem is set during the school holidays D The speaker calls Amanda by her first name
Show answer & explanation

A teacher would have no reason to mention shoes, chocolate or an untidy room

A parent fits all eleven complaints; a teacher fits almost none.

Q53. Why does the poem place eleven small corrections end to end with nothing between them?

Advanced
A Because the effect of the series is nothing like the effect of any single item B Because the poet could not think of anything else to say C Because each one belongs to a different day D Because the adult is reading from a list
Show answer & explanation

Because the effect of the series is nothing like the effect of any single item

No praise, no question about how she is, no pause.

Q54. A reader objects that none of the adult's instructions is unreasonable. How should that be answered?

Advanced
A Disagree — every instruction in the poem is absurd B Agree — and point out that the poem's subject is the unbroken series, not any one demand C Point out that the adult is joking throughout D Say that the instructions are addressed to somebody else
Show answer & explanation

Agree — and point out that the poem's subject is the unbroken series, not any one demand

Any parent might say any of them.

Q55. What is the effect of that repetition when the poem is read aloud?

Advanced
A It makes the poem sound like a lullaby B It suggests that several people are speaking C It marks where each new day begins D It becomes a drumbeat, showing the weight of the scolding without describing it
Show answer & explanation

It becomes a drumbeat, showing the weight of the scolding without describing it

Repetition doing the work of description.

Q56. What do parentheses normally do in writing, and what do they do here?

Advanced
A They show that words have been left out B They indicate a quotation from somebody else C They set material apart from the main text; here they mark a separate, private world D They mark the end of a section
Show answer & explanation

They set material apart from the main text; here they mark a separate, private world

The poem takes an ordinary habit of punctuation seriously.

Q57. Given what Amanda is imagining in the bracketed stanzas, how do we know she has stopped listening?

Advanced
A None of it could be going on in a mind attending to instructions about shoes B She says so in the last stanza C The adult accuses her of it directly D The poem places her in another room
Show answer & explanation

None of it could be going on in a mind attending to instructions about shoes

A green sea, dust, a tower.

Q58. Is the adult listening to Amanda?

Advanced
A Yes, and the last stanza shows it B No — nobody notices that the child has gone somewhere else entirely C Yes, which is why the scolding stops D The poem does not say
Show answer & explanation

No — nobody notices that the child has gone somewhere else entirely

And the last stanza proves it by getting her completely wrong.

Q59. Why does the poet make the two voices sound so different?

Advanced
A To make the poem easier to memorise B Because the two speakers come from different places C To disguise which stanzas are spoken aloud D So that the ear separates the two worlds before the reader works out why
Show answer & explanation

So that the ear separates the two worlds before the reader works out why

Sound doing the work of explanation.

Q60. Why is this poem described as a conversation that is not a conversation?

Advanced
A Only one person is present B The stanzas are printed out of order C Two people take strict turns, but neither replies to or hears the other D Both speakers say the same thing
Show answer & explanation

Two people take strict turns, but neither replies to or hears the other

The form of a dialogue with none of its substance.

Q61. Assertion (A): The brackets are the most important device in the poem. Reason (R): The poem was written by Robin Klein and runs to seven stanzas.

Advanced
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
Show answer & explanation

Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A

Both are true, but the poet's name and the stanza count do nothing to show why the brackets matter.

Q62. Which everyday situation most closely matches what the poem shows?

Advanced
A A quarrel in which both sides shout B A lesson in which a pupil asks questions C A letter written but never sent D Two people in one room who are mentally in two different places
Show answer & explanation

Two people in one room who are mentally in two different places

Anybody who has nodded through a lecture has been in this poem.

Q63. What would change if the bracketed stanzas were printed without their brackets?

Advanced
A They would read as spoken replies, and the poem's whole point would collapse B The poem would become shorter C The rhyme scheme would be lost D Nothing at all would change
Show answer & explanation

They would read as spoken replies, and the poem's whole point would collapse

A silent world would become an argument.

Q64. Why does the poem end with the adult's voice rather than with Amanda's?

Advanced
A Amanda has finally gone to sleep B The bracketed stanzas were left unfinished C It is the only stanza that rhymes D The scolding has the last word, and the daydream is left unheard
Show answer & explanation

The scolding has the last word, and the daydream is left unheard

Seven stanzas, four of them out loud.

Q65. Which single observation would most improve an answer about the poem's form?

Advanced
A That the poem has seven stanzas B That the poet is Australian C That rhyme and punctuation separate the two worlds by sound alone D That the name is in the title
Show answer & explanation

That rhyme and punctuation separate the two worlds by sound alone

Most answers stop at who speaks where.

Q66. What does the exclamation mark after the girl's name contribute?

Advanced
A It shows that the adult is pleased B It marks the end of each stanza of daydream C It indicates that the name is being called from far away D It keeps the adult's voice sharp and insistent at the close of every demand
Show answer & explanation

It keeps the adult's voice sharp and insistent at the close of every demand

Nothing in those lines is allowed to flow.

Q67. By the end of the poem, are the two speakers closer together or further apart?

Advanced
A Further apart than when it began B Closer, because the scolding has stopped C Exactly as they were at the start D The poem does not allow a judgement
Show answer & explanation

Further apart than when it began

Seven stanzas, and not one connection between them.

Q68. Which of these best explains why the poem gives Amanda no spoken words at all?

Advanced
A Her silence is the point — she has left the conversation rather than joined it B She is too young to speak clearly C The poet forgot to give her a reply D She has been told not to interrupt
Show answer & explanation

Her silence is the point — she has left the conversation rather than joined it

Withdrawal, not obedience.

Q69. Why are stanzas 2, 4 and 6 given in parenthesis?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q70. Who is the speaker in stanzas 2, 4 and 6, and is that speaker listening to the other?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q71. What effect does the repetition of Amanda's name have?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q72. How do the two voices differ in sound, and why does it matter?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q73. Why has the poem been called a conversation that is not a conversation?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q74. Describe the structure of this poem and show how the poet uses it to keep two worlds apart.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: the strict alternation with the correct stanza numbers; the brackets as unspoken thought and what would be lost without them; the contrast in rhyme, punctuation and vocabulary; the twelvefold repetition of the name at line endings; and the conclusion that n…

Q75. 'Nothing the adult says in this poem is unreasonable, and yet the poem is on Amanda's side.' Discuss.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: acknowledgement that the individual instructions are ordinary; the effect of the unbroken series with nothing between; the repetition of the name and its placing; the privileged access the brackets give the reader; the misreading in the last stanza; and the…

Q76. Rewrite stanzas 1 and 2 as a short piece of prose, keeping both voices, and then explain what the prose loses. About 120–150 words in all.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Accept any faithful prose rendering of the two stanzas. Content should include: a prose version that keeps both the scolding and the daydream; and an explanation naming at least three losses — the visible separation of the brackets, the contrast in rhyme and punctuation, and the r…

Q77. The textbook asks what Amanda could do if she were a mermaid. Which answer is fullest?

Advanced
A Swim faster than anybody else in the sea B Visit her family whenever she wished C Escape from school for a single afternoon D Float about as she pleased, unhurried and blissful, with nobody in the whole sea to correct her
Show answer & explanation

Float about as she pleased, unhurried and blissful, with nobody in the whole sea to correct her

The phrase about being the sole inhabitant is what earns the mark.

Q78. Why is the phrase about being the sea's only inhabitant so important?

Advanced
A It means there is nobody there at all to tell her what to do B It shows the sea is very small C It proves she is lonely rather than free D It explains why the water is green
Show answer & explanation

It means there is nobody there at all to tell her what to do

Not merely alone — the only one there is.

Q79. Given that the stanza before it contains four instructions about her body, why is a mermaid the right fantasy?

Advanced
A Mermaids are known for obeying no one B A mermaid can swim away from a parent C Mermaids appear in the Rapunzel story too D A mermaid is a body that cannot be corrected — it does not sit or slouch, it drifts
Show answer & explanation

A mermaid is a body that cannot be corrected — it does not sit or slouch, it drifts

Nails, shoulders, slouching, sitting up straight.

Q80. Given that somebody is plainly scolding her from the first line of the poem to the last, why does Amanda call herself an orphan?

Advanced
A Because she has quarrelled with her family B Because an orphan would have nobody to nag her C Because she wants attention from strangers D Because she has read about orphans in a story
Show answer & explanation

Because an orphan would have nobody to nag her

The silence and the freedom of answering to no one.

Q81. What does that daydream reveal about how the nagging feels to her?

Advanced
A That she does not love her family B That she is unusually ungrateful C A child who can imagine losing her parents as freedom is showing how heavy it has become D That she has been treated cruelly in other ways
Show answer & explanation

A child who can imagine losing her parents as freedom is showing how heavy it has become

And she does it without complaining once.

Q82. Which detail links the third stanza to the fourth?

Advanced
A Both stanzas mention the sea B Both stanzas use the word tranquil C Both are spoken aloud D She is told to clean her shoes, and in the next stanza she is barefoot
Show answer & explanation

She is told to clean her shoes, and in the next stanza she is barefoot

A duty abolished in the very next stanza.

Q83. Listening closely to the street daydream, what kind of freedom is Amanda actually asking for?

Advanced
A Company and excitement B Money of her own C Permission to stay out late D Quiet — the absence of a voice
Show answer & explanation

Quiet — the absence of a voice

Hushed feet, golden silence.

Q84. Setting aside the long hair and the prince of the fairy tale, what is it about life in a tower that Amanda actually wants?

Advanced
A Because Rapunzel is rescued by a prince B For the solitude — a tower has no door at ground level and nobody can walk in C Because Rapunzel has beautiful hair D Because Rapunzel has many visitors
Show answer & explanation

For the solitude — a tower has no door at ground level and nobody can walk in

A set textbook question.

Q85. Why is that addition so important?

Advanced
A In the tale the hair is how visitors climb up, so refusing it means refusing to be reached B It shows she is proud of her hair C It proves she does not know the story properly D It tells us the tower is very tall
Show answer & explanation

In the tale the hair is how visitors climb up, so refusing it means refusing to be reached

The tower without the rescue.

Q86. How does the tower daydream answer the scolding stanza that comes before it?

Advanced
A That stanza mentions hair B That stanza is about homework, which a tower would end C That stanza makes two demands about being seen, so she climbs where nobody can look at her D There is no connection between them
Show answer & explanation

That stanza makes two demands about being seen, so she climbs where nobody can look at her

Remember your acne; look at me when I'm speaking to you.

Q87. Reading the three daydreams in order, what happens to them?

Advanced
A They get happier and more hopeful B They get lonelier — alone in the open, then without family, then shut away by choice C They become more realistic D They repeat the same wish three times
Show answer & explanation

They get lonelier — alone in the open, then without family, then shut away by choice

A sequence, not three versions of one wish.

Q88. Why does the direction of that sequence matter?

Advanced
A It shows the poem was written in a hurry B It explains the rhyme scheme C It tells us how much time has passed D It is the saddest thing in the poem — the escapes narrow rather than widen
Show answer & explanation

It is the saddest thing in the poem — the escapes narrow rather than widen

Say this and the answer stops being a list.

Q89. Where do all four of the poem's glossed words come from?

Advanced
A The scolding stanzas B The bracketed stanzas C Two from each D The title and the first line
Show answer & explanation

The bracketed stanzas

Languid, drifting, pattern, tranquil — all Amanda's.

Q90. Assertion (A): Amanda's daydreams are not interchangeable. Reason (R): Each one undoes the particular complaint made in the stanza immediately before it, and each is more isolated than the last.

Advanced
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
Show answer & explanation

Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A

The pairing is exact, and most readers miss it.

Q91. Which modern habit is closest to Amanda's tower?

Advanced
A Switching a phone off in order to be unreachable B Travelling to a new city C Joining a large group of friends D Buying something expensive
Show answer & explanation

Switching a phone off in order to be unreachable

An ordinary wish in fairy-tale clothes.

Q92. What would be lost if the three daydreams were printed in a different order?

Advanced
A The rhyme scheme of each stanza B The meaning of the glossed words C Nothing at all D The sense of escapes that narrow steadily towards total isolation
Show answer & explanation

The sense of escapes that narrow steadily towards total isolation

The direction of travel is the point.

Q93. Why does Amanda reach for fairy tales and fantasy rather than for an ordinary wish?

Advanced
A Because she is too young to imagine real places B Because no ordinary wish would remove the voice entirely, and that is what she wants C Because she has just been reading a book of stories D Because the poet wanted to include a mermaid
Show answer & explanation

Because no ordinary wish would remove the voice entirely, and that is what she wants

A sea with one inhabitant, no parents, an unreachable tower.

Q94. What does the poem gain by giving Amanda fantasies rather than arguments?

Advanced
A It makes the poem shorter B Her silence is shown to be full, not empty — she has left rather than lost C It avoids any criticism of the adult D It allows a happy ending
Show answer & explanation

Her silence is shown to be full, not empty — she has left rather than lost

Withdrawal with somewhere to go.

Q95. What could Amanda do if she were a mermaid?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q96. Is Amanda an orphan? Why does she say so?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q97. Why does Amanda want to be Rapunzel?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q98. Show how each daydream answers the scolding that comes just before it.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q99. Trace the sequence of the three daydreams and say what it shows.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q100. What kind of freedom does Amanda actually want, judging from the details of her daydreams?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q101. Describe Amanda's three daydreams and show what each of them tells us about her.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: the form of the bracketed stanzas; the sea with 'sole inhabitant' and the glossed words; the orphan and the explanation that she is not one; the seriousness of that wish; the barefoot link to the shoes; Rapunzel with the tower and the refused hair; and the…

Q102. 'Amanda edits the fairy tale rather than simply borrowing it.' Discuss the Rapunzel stanza in detail.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: the Rapunzel story stated accurately, including the function of the hair; the tower as an attraction because unreachable, with 'tranquil' glossed; the reversal in the line about never letting the hair down; the contrast with what most readers of the tale wa…

Q103. Write a fourth daydream for Amanda, in three rhyming lines, and then explain in prose how you built it. About 120–150 words in all.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Accept any three-line bracketed stanza that rhymes and fits Amanda's voice. Content should include: an explanation naming at least three features imitated — the three-line rhyming form in brackets, the undoing of a specific complaint, the soft and quiet vocabulary, and the increas…

Q104. Taking the acne together with the homework, the manner of the scolding and the fairy-tale daydreams, what age is most likely?

Advanced
A About five or six B Somewhere between about nine and sixteen — probably a young teenager C Around twenty D The evidence points in no direction at all
Show answer & explanation

Somewhere between about nine and sixteen — probably a young teenager

Give a range, not a number.

Q105. Besides the acne and the homework, the bracketed stanzas offer a fourth kind of evidence about how old Amanda is. What is it?

Advanced
A They reach for mermaids and fairy tales, which suggests she is not far past childhood B They mention her school C They describe her birthday D They name her friends
Show answer & explanation

They reach for mermaids and fairy tales, which suggests she is not far past childhood

A fourth piece of evidence, and one most answers miss.

Q106. Answers on this poem often say that Amanda longs for freedom, which is true but far too vague. What is she longing for more precisely?

Advanced
A Friends of her own age B Money and presents C A holiday by the sea D Quiet — the absence of a voice
Show answer & explanation

Quiet — the absence of a voice

Nine lines of daydream, and not one wish for company.

Q107. Across the nine lines she is given there is one thing Amanda never asks for, although most children would. What is it?

Advanced
A Silence B Company C Solitude D Calm
Show answer & explanation

Company

No friends, games, presents, travel or adventure anywhere.

Q108. Which four adjectives best describe Amanda as the poem presents her?

Advanced
A Lazy, rude, careless, defiant B Imaginative, lonely, constantly corrected, not rebellious C Cheerful, sociable, busy, confident D Angry, argumentative, loud, stubborn
Show answer & explanation

Imaginative, lonely, constantly corrected, not rebellious

Each one provable from the text.

Q109. Students often describe Amanda as a rebellious teenager who refuses to cooperate with her mother. Why is that word wrong?

Advanced
A She is too young to rebel B She agrees with everything she is told C She never argues, answers back or refuses anything — there is no defiance in the poem D She rebels only in the last stanza
Show answer & explanation

She never argues, answers back or refuses anything — there is no defiance in the poem

She withdraws instead.

Q110. If Amanda had argued back instead of daydreaming, the poem would be less bleak than it is. Why is withdrawal the sadder response?

Advanced
A Rebellion would have been punished B Withdrawal is easier to notice C Rebellion is still a form of contact; going elsewhere ends the conversation altogether D Rebellion would have made the poem longer
Show answer & explanation

Rebellion is still a form of contact; going elsewhere ends the conversation altogether

And nobody notices that she has gone.

Q111. By the end of the poem the reader and the adult in the room hold very different information about Amanda. What is the difference?

Advanced
A The adult sees silence and calls it sulking; the reader has been inside the daydreams B The adult sees the daydreams and ignores them C The reader sees less than the adult does D There is no difference at all
Show answer & explanation

The adult sees silence and calls it sulking; the reader has been inside the daydreams

The brackets give the reader what the adult is never given.

Q112. Given that the adult has been standing beside Amanda throughout the poem, why does she misread the girl's silence so completely?

Advanced
A A ready-made diagnosis is easier than a question, and nobody asks her anything about herself B Amanda has lied to her C The room is too noisy for conversation D Amanda has behaved badly before
Show answer & explanation

A ready-made diagnosis is easier than a question, and nobody asks her anything about herself

The nearest thing to a question is whether the homework is finished.

Q113. Compared with the three scolding stanzas that come before it, what is unusual about the subject matter of the last one?

Advanced
A It is the only one that rhymes B It is the only one about Amanda's inner state rather than her body, duties or appearance C It is the only one spoken by Amanda D It is the shortest stanza
Show answer & explanation

It is the only one about Amanda's inner state rather than her body, duties or appearance

The one attempt to understand her, and it fails.

Q114. The poem closes on a complaint that many readers find the sharpest thing in it. Explain the irony of that final line.

Advanced
A The adult admits she has been nagging B The adult complains about being thought a nagger immediately after six stanzas of nagging C Amanda accuses the adult of nagging D Nobody in the poem nags at all
Show answer & explanation

The adult complains about being thought a nagger immediately after six stanzas of nagging

And she has no idea she is describing herself.

Q115. When a speaker says something that condemns her without her realising it, the device has a particular name. Which is it?

Advanced
A Dramatic irony between two characters B Sarcasm aimed at Amanda C A pun on the word 'nagged' D Unintentional irony — a statement that condemns its speaker without her knowing
Show answer & explanation

Unintentional irony — a statement that condemns its speaker without her knowing

The poem never criticises the adult in its own voice.

Q116. Nowhere in the poem does the poet comment on the adult or call her unfair in her own voice. How is the criticism delivered instead?

Advanced
A By adding a note at the end B By making Amanda answer back C By letting her finish her own sentence D By repeating the word 'nagged'
Show answer & explanation

By letting her finish her own sentence

The evidence is arranged; the judgement is left to the reader.

Q117. Every scolding stanza in this poem is followed by something, except for the very last one. What is missing after the final stanza?

Advanced
A The poet's name B The glossary C A bracketed daydream D The last line of the scolding
Show answer & explanation

A bracketed daydream

Every other scolding stanza is followed by one.

Q118. The pattern of scolding and escape has held for six stanzas and then simply stops. Why does that absence matter to the ending?

Advanced
A It shows the poem is unfinished B It proves Amanda has left the room C It marks the end of the day D The poem ends on the scolding voice, with the daydream unheard and unanswered
Show answer & explanation

The poem ends on the scolding voice, with the daydream unheard and unanswered

The silence at the end of the page is Amanda's.

Q119. Which words does the poem never use about Amanda?

Advanced
A Moody and sulking B Lonely, unhappy and tired C Orphan and mermaid D Bright and hushed
Show answer & explanation

Lonely, unhappy and tired

Everything the reader concludes about her is inferred.

Q120. Assertion (A): The adult in the last stanza does not understand Amanda at all. Reason (R): She apologises to Amanda in the final stanza and promises to stop correcting her.

Advanced
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
Show answer & explanation

A is true, but R is false

No apology is made anywhere; the adult denies nagging instead. The assertion stands, the reason does not.

Q121. Which everyday habit does the last stanza illustrate?

Advanced
A Telling somebody what they are feeling instead of asking B Repeating an instruction until it is obeyed C Apologising after losing one's temper D Praising a child for good behaviour
Show answer & explanation

Telling somebody what they are feeling instead of asking

Teenagers meet it constantly.

Q122. Why is quiet mistaken for rudeness so easily?

Advanced
A Because rude people are always quiet B Because silence is always deliberate C Because children rarely daydream D Somebody who has stopped speaking may be hurt, tired or elsewhere, and only one of those looks like sulking
Show answer & explanation

Somebody who has stopped speaking may be hurt, tired or elsewhere, and only one of those looks like sulking

And it is the assumption people reach for.

Q123. What would change if Amanda answered the adult aloud in the last stanza?

Advanced
A The poem would be more sympathetic to the adult B The rhyme scheme would break C The poem would become an argument, and the gap between them would close D Nothing at all would change
Show answer & explanation

The poem would become an argument, and the gap between them would close

Her silence is the whole point.

Q124. What does the poem suggest about how adults might do better?

Advanced
A By giving stricter instructions B By ignoring children altogether C By punishing sulking more firmly D By asking a question instead of supplying a diagnosis
Show answer & explanation

By asking a question instead of supplying a diagnosis

Nobody asks Amanda anything about herself.

Q125. Why does the poem's sympathy lie with Amanda even though she does nothing?

Advanced
A The poet says so directly B The reader is given her inner world, and the adult never is C Amanda defends herself in the last stanza D The adult admits to being unfair
Show answer & explanation

The reader is given her inner world, and the adult never is

The brackets decide where the reader stands.

Q126. What does the reader know at the end of the poem that the adult does not?

Advanced
A That Amanda intends to run away B That Amanda has been in a sea, a street and a tower while being scolded C That Amanda is unwell D That Amanda has finished her homework
Show answer & explanation

That Amanda has been in a sea, a street and a tower while being scolded

Three worlds the adult never suspects.

Q127. How old do you think Amanda is, and how do you know?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q128. What does Amanda yearn for?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q129. What does this poem tell you about Amanda?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q130. Look again at the final stanza. Is Amanda really sulking, and is she really moody?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q131. Explain the irony of the poem's final line.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q132. What is missing after the last stanza, and why does it matter?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q133. Write a character sketch of Amanda, using evidence from the whole poem.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: her probable age with the acne as evidence; her imagination, with the three daydreams named; her loneliness inferred from what the daydreams lack; the scale of the correction; the point that she is not rebellious but withdrawn; and a conclusion linking her…

Q134. Discuss the last stanza of the poem and show why it is the best stanza in it.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: the accusation of sulking and moodiness; the observation that this is the only stanza about her inner state; the reason it is wrong, with reference to the daydreams; the explanation that a diagnosis replaces a question; the irony of the final line, correctl…

Q135. Write the letter Amanda might have written to the adult in this poem, saying what she could not say aloud. About 120–150 words.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Accept any letter in Amanda's voice that stays within what the poem supports. Content should include: a denial of sulking; acknowledgement that the individual instructions are reasonable; the absence of anything else — no questions about her; the withdrawal into daydreams as a res…

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