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How to Tell Wild Animals · 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 · 4 questions

Q1. Who wrote 'How to Tell Wild Animals'?

Beginner
A Carolyn Wells B Leslie Norris C John Berryman D Robin Klein
Show answer & explanation

Carolyn Wells

The other three wrote other poems in this book.

Q2. A traveller who has wandered by chance into the jungles of the east meets a large tawny beast: how does the poem say he will learn what it is?

Beginner
A It roars at you while you are dying B It has black stripes on a yellow ground C Its hide is peppered with spots D It hugs you very hard
Show answer & explanation

It roars at you while you are dying

A large tawny beast, in the jungles of the east.

Q3. What does the expression 'crocodile tears' mean?

Beginner
A False grief, put on for show B Overwhelming sorrow C Tears of relief D Weeping caused by illness
Show answer & explanation

False grief, put on for show

Every language needs a name for grief that is not meant.

Q4. Which pairing of expression and meaning is correct?

Beginner
A Bearhug — a sudden fright B Crocodile tears — grief that is not meant C Laughing hyena — an animal that is easily amused D Crocodile tears — tears of great relief
Show answer & explanation

Crocodile tears — grief that is not meant

The other three are all wrong in the same way — they take the phrase literally.

Building up · 45 questions

Q5. Reading the poem from the jungles of the east to the empty tree at the end, how is it laid out?

Intermediate
A Four stanzas of eight lines each B One block of thirty-six lines C Six stanzas of six lines each D Twelve stanzas of three lines each
Show answer & explanation

Six stanzas of six lines each

One creature per stanza, except the fifth.

Q6. What does the textbook's headnote say about the identification methods in this poem?

Intermediate
A That they are used by real naturalists B That they only work at night C That they were invented by the poet's children D That they are dangerous
Show answer & explanation

That they are dangerous

It also calls the poem humorous.

Q7. The poem calls its method for the Bengal Tiger a simple rule: what exactly does the reader have to do in order to apply it?

Intermediate
A Count the stripes along his side B Notice whether he eats you C Listen for the pitch of his roar D Watch whether he climbs a tree
Show answer & explanation

Notice whether he eats you

The word 'discern' is exactly a field guide's word.

Q8. Once the leopard has been correctly identified the stanza does not stop there: what does the poem go on to warn the reader about?

Intermediate
A He is faster than any other animal in the poem B Roaring with pain will not help, because he will do it again C He hunts only after dark D He can be driven off by shouting
Show answer & explanation

Roaring with pain will not help, because he will do it again

A hide peppered with spots, and then a second landing.

Q9. The first three stanzas send the reader off to distant jungles, but the fourth moves somewhere quite different: where does the meeting with the bear happen?

Intermediate
A In the jungles of the east B In your own yard C Beside a river D On a mountain path
Show answer & explanation

In your own yard

The most domestic setting in the poem.

Q10. Suppose a reader has felt the creature's grip and is still not certain what has hold of him: what does the poem helpfully offer next?

Intermediate
A A clear view of his claws B The chance to run away C A look at his footprints D One more caress
Show answer & explanation

One more caress

A caress is glossed as a gentle, loving touch.

Q11. The fifth stanza admits that separating beasts of prey is hard for a beginner and then offers one test: how does it say the hyena and the crocodile differ?

Intermediate
A Crocodiles come smiling; the one that weeps is a hyena B Hyenas are spotted and crocodiles are striped C Hyenas come smiling; the one that weeps is a crocodile D Only the crocodile approaches in daylight
Show answer & explanation

Hyenas come smiling; the one that weeps is a crocodile

Students reverse this more often than any other detail.

Q12. How is the chameleon described in the last stanza?

Intermediate
A Large, brightly coloured and very fast B Spotted, silent and dangerous C Small, a lizard sort of thing, with no ears and no wings D Striped, with unusually long legs
Show answer & explanation

Small, a lizard sort of thing, with no ears and no wings

Three of those details are things it does not have.

Q13. A reader who has searched a tree and can make nothing out among its branches is told something surprising: what does the poem say he is looking at?

Intermediate
A It will change colour as you watch B It will make a small hissing sound C It will run across your foot D There will be nothing on the tree
Show answer & explanation

There will be nothing on the tree

An identification by absence.

Q14. The textbook prints a short glossary beside this poem, and one of its entries explains the word 'discern': what meaning does it give?

Intermediate
A To make out or identify B To run away quickly C To hide among leaves D To describe in writing
Show answer & explanation

To make out or identify

Exactly the word a serious field guide would use.

Q15. What do 'hide' and 'peppered' mean in the leopard stanza?

Intermediate
A A hiding place, and sprinkled with dust B A leather bag, and seasoned with spice C An animal's skin, and covered with spots D A shelter, and dotted with holes
Show answer & explanation

An animal's skin, and covered with spots

Both are glossed by the textbook.

Q16. What do 'novice' and 'nonplussed' mean?

Intermediate
A An expert; and delighted B A traveller; and exhausted C Somebody new to a job; and puzzled, confused or surprised D A hunter; and frightened
Show answer & explanation

Somebody new to a job; and puzzled, confused or surprised

Both come from the crocodile stanza.

Q17. Which statements about the poem are correct? 1. It has six stanzas. 2. The chameleon is harmless. 3. The hyena is the one that weeps.

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

The crocodile weeps; the hyena smiles.

Q18. A student writes that the poem gives useful advice for identifying animals. How should this be corrected?

Intermediate
A Every sign arrives during the attack, so the poem is a parody of a field guide B The advice works only for animals kept in zoos C The advice is useful for five of the six creatures D The poem gives no advice of any kind
Show answer & explanation

Every sign arrives during the attack, so the poem is a parody of a field guide

The form is kept perfectly; only the usefulness is removed.

Q19. Which creature in the poem could the reader actually survive meeting?

Intermediate
A The hyena B The chameleon C The bear D The leopard
Show answer & explanation

The chameleon

And it is the only one identified without an attack.

Q20. Which is the best summary of the whole poem?

Intermediate
A A warning about the dangers of travelling in the east B A guide to identifying animals in which every clue arrives too late to help C A description of six animals and their natural habitats D An argument that wild animals should be left alone
Show answer & explanation

A guide to identifying animals in which every clue arrives too late to help

Except for the chameleon, which is a different joke.

Q21. Which pair correctly matches a creature with its sign?

Intermediate
A The leopard — black stripes on a yellow ground B The bear — a very hard hug in your own yard C The tiger — a hide peppered with spots D The lion — merry smiles
Show answer & explanation

The bear — a very hard hug in your own yard

The stripes belong to the tiger and the spots to the leopard.

Q22. What note does the textbook print beside this poem?

Intermediate
A A short biography of Carolyn Wells B A warning about the dangers of zoos C A list of animals found in Indian forests D That English is funny — we have noses that run and feet that smell
Show answer & explanation

That English is funny — we have noses that run and feet that smell

A joke about the language, beside a poem about language jokes.

Q23. How does the poet suggest you identify the lion and the tiger, and when can you do so?

Intermediate
Show answer & explanation

—

Q24. Take the reader through the six stanzas of the poem and show how the joke is built.

Intermediate
Show answer & explanation

—

Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include at least six of: the headnote's warning; the shared shape of five stanzas; the lion and its roar; the tiger and the eating; the leopard, the spots and the second leap; the bear, the yard and the caress; the fifth stanza separating two animals; the smiles and…

Q25. What is the rhyme scheme of each stanza of the poem?

Intermediate
A ababab B ababcc C aabbcc D abcabc
Show answer & explanation

ababcc

Four alternating lines and then a closing couplet.

Q26. Are the words 'lept' and 'lep' in the third stanza spelt correctly?

Intermediate
A Yes — both are standard English spellings B No — the ordinary forms are 'leapt' and 'leap' C Only 'lept' is correct; 'lep' is a printing error D Both were correct when the poem was written
Show answer & explanation

No — the ordinary forms are 'leapt' and 'leap'

A set textbook question.

Q27. How should the line 'A novice might nonplus' be written correctly?

Intermediate
A A novice might be nonplussed B A novice might nonplussed C A novice may nonplus it D The novice nonpluses
Show answer & explanation

A novice might be nonplussed

The verb is normally used only in the passive.

Q28. The third stanza needs a rhyme for the word 'Leopard', and the poet has planted one earlier in the same stanza: which word is it?

Intermediate
A Spotted B Dappled C Freckled D Peppered
Show answer & explanation

Peppered

And it is glossed by the textbook as covered with spots.

Q29. How many of the textbook's seven questions on this poem are about language rather than meaning?

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

Three

One each on pronunciation, spelling and grammar.

Q30. What does the textbook's sixth question ask students to find?

Intermediate
A Photographs of the six animals in the poem B The dictionary meanings of every rhyming word C Other examples of poets taking liberties with language D A poem by Carolyn Wells on another subject
Show answer & explanation

Other examples of poets taking liberties with language

In English or in the student's own languages.

Q31. Which statements about the poem's form are correct? 1. The rhyme scheme is ababcc. 2. The couplet carries the joke. 3. Every line has the same number of syllables.

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

The lines alternate long and short.

Q32. A student says the odd spellings are printing errors. How should this be corrected?

Intermediate
A They are regional forms used in the poet's country B They were standard English when the poem was written C They were introduced by the textbook's editors D They are deliberate respellings made to force a rhyme with 'Leopard'
Show answer & explanation

They are deliberate respellings made to force a rhyme with 'Leopard'

And the textbook asks students to work out why.

Q33. What should a student write first when answering the 'nonplus' question?

Intermediate
A An opinion about whether the poem is funny B The rhyme scheme of the stanza C The meaning of the word 'novice' D The corrected sentence, before explaining why the poem's version is better
Show answer & explanation

The corrected sentence, before explaining why the poem's version is better

The question asks for both, in that order.

Q34. Which is the best summary of this topic?

Intermediate
A The poem contains several errors that the editors missed B The poem's language is simple and needs little explanation C The rhymes are conventional and the metre is irregular D Wells bends sound, spelling and grammar on purpose, and the bending is the comedy
Show answer & explanation

Wells bends sound, spelling and grammar on purpose, and the bending is the comedy

Three of the seven set questions are about exactly that.

Q35. Which pair correctly matches a liberty with what it achieves?

Intermediate
A 'Dyin'' — a rhyme with 'roars' B 'Nonplus' — a rhyme with 'prey' C 'Peppered' — a rhyme with 'view' D 'Lep' — a sound that matches LEP-ard
Show answer & explanation

'Lep' — a sound that matches LEP-ard

'Nonplus' answers 'thus', and 'peppered' answers 'Leopard'.

Q36. State the rhyme scheme and say what it does for the poem.

Intermediate
Show answer & explanation

—

Q37. According to the textbook's own gloss, what is a bearhug?

Intermediate
A A grip used by hunters to hold a bear still B A term for the way bears sleep through winter C A friendly and strong hug, of the kind bears supposedly give as they attack D A wrestling move invented in the last century
Show answer & explanation

A friendly and strong hug, of the kind bears supposedly give as they attack

The question explains it before asking about the other two.

Q38. Why is the spotted hyena called the laughing hyena?

Intermediate
A It is known to play with its prey before eating B Early travellers thought it smiled at them C It makes a high giggling call that resembles human laughter D Its face is marked with a curved line like a smile
Show answer & explanation

It makes a high giggling call that resembles human laughter

The name records a sound, not a feeling.

Q39. Long before anybody had watched a crocodile carefully, books of travel were repeating a particular claim about the animal: where does the phrase 'crocodile tears' come from?

Intermediate
A A poem written in the last century B A misreading of an Egyptian carving C An old belief that the animal weeps while eating its prey D A children's story about a river
Show answer & explanation

An old belief that the animal weeps while eating its prey

Repeated as fact in early books of travel.

Q40. What does the textbook's seventh question ask for, beyond the lines a student finds funny?

Intermediate
A The serious ideas that lie behind the humour B A biography of the poet C A drawing of each animal D The dictionary meaning of every rhyme word
Show answer & explanation

The serious ideas that lie behind the humour

That second half is where the marks are.

Q41. Which of these best describes what the poem is a parody of?

Intermediate
A A traveller's diary B A field guide to identifying wild animals C A children's counting rhyme D A hunting licence
Show answer & explanation

A field guide to identifying wild animals

With every feature kept except usefulness.

Q42. Which sequence best plans an answer on the animal expressions?

Intermediate
A Origin, then a drawing, then an opinion B A list of animals, then their scientific names C Meaning, then origin, then the point about danger in friendly words D The rhyme scheme, then the meaning
Show answer & explanation

Meaning, then origin, then the point about danger in friendly words

The third step is what lifts it above a list.

Q43. Which sequence best plans an answer on the serious ideas?

Intermediate
A The poet's life, then the rhyme scheme, then a summary B Identification arriving too late, then the parody, then the chameleon C A list of the six animals in order D The glossary words, then the metre
Show answer & explanation

Identification arriving too late, then the parody, then the chameleon

Strongest point first, proof last.

Q44. Which statements about the poem's serious ideas are correct? 1. It parodies instruction. 2. Its knowledge arrives too late to help. 3. It argues that wild animals should be protected.

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

Conservation is nowhere in the poem.

Q45. A student writes that the poem has no serious point because it is funny. How should this be corrected?

Intermediate
A The poem has no serious point, and the student is right B The serious point is that wild animals are dangerous C The serious point is that spelling matters D The set question asks for the serious ideas directly, and the best is that identification always comes too late
Show answer & explanation

The set question asks for the serious ideas directly, and the best is that identification always comes too late

Comic verse is not the opposite of meaning something.

Q46. Researchers who record and compare the calls of spotted hyenas can read more from a giggle than the animal's state of mind: what else does it tell them?

Intermediate
A Its age and rank B Its distance from water C The size of its territory D The number of its young
Show answer & explanation

Its age and rank

A great deal of information in a sound we hear as a giggle.

Q47. Which of these would be the weakest answer to the seventh question?

Intermediate
A Explaining that identification comes too late B Saying the poem is funny and nothing more C Describing the poem as a parody of a field guide D Pointing to the chameleon as harmless and invisible
Show answer & explanation

Saying the poem is funny and nothing more

The question asks for the ideas behind the humour.

Q48. Which phrase from the poem works in the same way as the expression 'bearhug'?

Intermediate
A The lion's roar B The tiger's stripes C The chameleon's tree D The leopard's caress
Show answer & explanation

The leopard's caress

Affectionate words for something that is tearing at you.

Q49. Explain 'laughing hyena' and 'crocodile tears'.

Intermediate
Show answer & explanation

—

Topper level · 86 questions

Q50. Which shape do five of the six stanzas share?

Advanced
A A question followed by a one-line answer B A setting, a creature, a feature, and a confirmation by attack C A description of the animal's habitat and diet D A warning followed by a piece of advice about escape
Show answer & explanation

A setting, a creature, a feature, and a confirmation by attack

The confirmation is always something done to you.

Q51. What makes the fifth stanza different from the four before it?

Advanced
A It separates two animals instead of naming one B It is written in a different rhythm C It describes an animal that cannot be seen D It has eight lines rather than six
Show answer & explanation

It separates two animals instead of naming one

The crocodile and the hyena, told apart by their faces.

Q52. The smile-and-tears test sounds far more practical than the tests in the earlier stanzas, so why does it turn out to be no more useful than they are?

Advanced
A Neither animal ever shows any expression B Both animals look identical from the front C The rule only works in the dark D By the time you can see a crocodile weeping it is close enough to reach you
Show answer & explanation

By the time you can see a crocodile weeping it is close enough to reach you

It is the only identification that does not require being attacked.

Q53. Why is the last stanza an effective ending?

Advanced
A It is the shortest stanza in the poem B It explains all the earlier jokes C The creature is harmless, the sign is an absence, and the joke turns from violence to invisibility D It returns to the jungles of the east
Show answer & explanation

The creature is harmless, the sign is an absence, and the joke turns from violence to invisibility

Three things change at once.

Q54. The glossary explains 'caress' as a gentle loving touch, and the poem then applies it to a creature that is crushing you: why is that funny?

Advanced
A It is a word the bear would not understand B It rhymes with an animal's name C It is the only French word in the poem D The gentlest word in the poem describes a person being crushed
Show answer & explanation

The gentlest word in the poem describes a person being crushed

A caress is glossed as a gentle, loving touch.

Q55. Which description best fits the poem's tone?

Advanced
A Excited and full of exclamations B Angry at people who harm animals C Frightened of the creatures it describes D Patient, helpful and slightly formal, like a guidebook
Show answer & explanation

Patient, helpful and slightly formal, like a guidebook

Nothing in it ever admits to being a joke.

Q56. In two of the six stanzas the poem generously promises that the whole demonstration will be repeated if the reader remains in any doubt: which two are they?

Advanced
A The lion's and the tiger's B The crocodile's and the chameleon's C The leopard's and the bear's D The tiger's and the chameleon's
Show answer & explanation

The leopard's and the bear's

Another leap, and another hug.

Q57. What is the poem parodying?

Advanced
A A children's counting rhyme B A newspaper report about an escaped animal C A zoo's information board D A field guide, which keeps the form 'if you see X and it does Y, it is Z'
Show answer & explanation

A field guide, which keeps the form 'if you see X and it does Y, it is Z'

Wells keeps the form and replaces useful evidence with fatal evidence.

Q58. Assertion (A): None of the poem's identification methods is of any practical use. Reason (R): In every case except the last, the confirming evidence is something the animal is doing to you at the time.

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 information and the disaster arrive together.

Q59. What is the effect of the euphemisms in the poem?

Advanced
A They make the animals seem tame and friendly B They hide the identity of each creature C The gentler the word, the worse the event it describes D They allow the poet to avoid rhyming
Show answer & explanation

The gentler the word, the worse the event it describes

A crushing is a caress; a killing is something to notice.

Q60. Why does the poem ask to be read with a strong, regular rhythm?

Advanced
A The rhythm makes the animals easier to remember B It is the rhythm of a traditional hunting song C The brisk confident beat clashes with the horrifying content D The poem cannot be understood when read silently
Show answer & explanation

The brisk confident beat clashes with the horrifying content

A cheerful metre carrying news of being eaten.

Q61. What is the function of the phrase about a simple rule that may help you learn?

Advanced
A It shows that the poet is genuinely trying to help B It introduces the only accurate identification in the poem C It marks the end of the first half of the poem D It borrows the reassuring language of a teaching manual
Show answer & explanation

It borrows the reassuring language of a teaching manual

The rule in question is noticing whether a tiger eats you.

Q62. Why does the poem keep the exact form of a real field guide?

Advanced
A Parody works by keeping everything except the one thing that matters B The poet was copying a guide she owned C It was the only form that would rhyme D Field guides were popular reading at the time
Show answer & explanation

Parody works by keeping everything except the one thing that matters

The useful evidence is quietly swapped for fatal evidence.

Q63. How many words does the textbook gloss for this poem?

Advanced
A Two B Seven C Four D Twelve
Show answer & explanation

Seven

More than for any other poem in the book.

Q64. What should an answer about the lion and the tiger always add?

Advanced
A That both animals live in the same forest B That the identification can only be made when it is far too late to matter C That the poet had seen both in a zoo D That neither animal is actually dangerous
Show answer & explanation

That the identification can only be made when it is far too late to matter

The set question asks 'when can you do so?' as well as 'how?'

Q65. If the six stanzas were reordered so that the chameleon came first and the lion last, what would the poem lose?

Advanced
A Its ending, since the harmless and invisible creature is the point the other five build towards B Nothing at all, because the stanzas are entirely independent of one another C Its rhyme scheme, which depends on the order of the animals D The glossary words, which are printed in the order they appear
Show answer & explanation

Its ending, since the harmless and invisible creature is the point the other five build towards

Recognition too late, and then recognition that cannot come at all.

Q66. What shape do most of the stanzas share, and why does it matter?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q67. How does the poem tell a hyena from a crocodile, and why is even that rule useless?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q68. Why is the last stanza different from all the others?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q69. Comment on the poem's tone.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q70. How do the poem's euphemisms work?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q71. 'The poem is funny because it never admits to being funny.' Discuss.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: the absence of any signal that the poem is joking; the guidebook manner and the technical vocabulary; the borrowed conditional form of a field guide; the euphemisms with examples; the helpfulness pushed past sense in the two second-chance stanzas; the effec…

Q72. What does the chameleon stanza do for the poem, and would the poem be worse without it?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: the fixed pattern of the first five stanzas; the three ways the chameleon breaks it (harmless, absence, survivable); the change in the kind of humour from euphemism to nonsense logic; the argument that five stanzas alone would be a list rather than a shape;…

Q73. Looking at the way each stanza sets up a scene in four lines and then delivers its joke, what does the closing couplet do?

Advanced
A It repeats the opening two lines for emphasis B It introduces the next animal in the sequence C It explains the meaning of the difficult words D It springs the trap, so that the joke and the rhyme land together
Show answer & explanation

It springs the trap, so that the joke and the rhyme land together

Six stanzas, six couplets, six punchlines.

Q74. If you count the syllables in the six lines of any stanza of this poem, which pattern of long and short lines do you find?

Advanced
A Ten syllables in every line without exception B Four syllables throughout C Lines of completely random length D Roughly eight syllables, then six, alternating, with the couplet in eights
Show answer & explanation

Roughly eight syllables, then six, alternating, with the couplet in eights

Which is why it moves like a comic song.

Q75. The textbook asks whether 'dyin'' really rhymes with 'lion'. What is the best answer?

Advanced
A Yes, they are a perfect rhyme in every accent B Not strictly, but the two can be made to chime if both are drawled C No, and there is no way of making them chime D Only if 'lion' is pronounced as one syllable
Show answer & explanation

Not strictly, but the two can be made to chime if both are drawled

The dropped g is the poet's own help towards it.

Q76. Why has the poet written 'dyin'' rather than 'dying'?

Advanced
A Dropping the final g moves the sound closer to 'lion' B It was the ordinary spelling at the time she wrote C It saves a syllable in a line that was too long D It shows that the speaker is out of breath
Show answer & explanation

Dropping the final g moves the sound closer to 'lion'

Visible evidence of a rhyme being forced into place.

Q77. Why is a rhyme that has obviously been forced funnier than a neat one?

Advanced
A Forced rhymes are easier to remember B Neat rhymes are considered old-fashioned C The reader can see the poet working, and is meant to D It allows the poem to be shorter
Show answer & explanation

The reader can see the poet working, and is meant to

A liberty only works when the reader can tell the writer knew better.

Q78. Why does the poet spell them that way?

Advanced
A To show that the leopard moves very quickly B So the sound matches 'Leopard', which is pronounced LEP-ard C Because the words are spoken by a child D To make the line shorter than the others
Show answer & explanation

So the sound matches 'Leopard', which is pronounced LEP-ard

Not LEE-oh-pard, which would not rhyme at all.

Q79. Beyond the spelling, what else is odd about the line in which the leopard leaps again?

Advanced
A The line has three more syllables than the others B The invented word is used as though it were an ordinary verb C The leopard is referred to as 'she' D The line does not rhyme with anything
Show answer & explanation

The invented word is used as though it were an ordinary verb

A new word, and then it is conjugated.

Q80. Why can the verb not be used the way the poem uses it?

Advanced
A It is a noun rather than a verb in standard English B It can only be used about animals C It has no past tense D People are nonplussed by things; things do not nonplus
Show answer & explanation

People are nonplussed by things; things do not nonplus

Which is exactly why the poem's version stands out.

Q81. Which reason best explains why the poet's 'incorrect' line is better in the poem?

Advanced
A It is short, it scans, it rhymes with 'thus', and its confidence is the joke B It is easier for young readers to understand C It matches the spelling used elsewhere in the poem D It was the accepted form in older English
Show answer & explanation

It is short, it scans, it rhymes with 'thus', and its confidence is the joke

The grammar is behaving exactly like the advice.

Q82. In the bear stanza the poet places a word at the end of a line purely so that 'caress' can answer it two lines later: which word?

Advanced
A Yard B Hard C Guess D Bear
Show answer & explanation

Guess

In the bear stanza's closing couplet.

Q83. Two old-fashioned contractions appear in this poem, one in the leopard stanza and one in the chameleon stanza: what are they, and what do they contribute?

Advanced
A Regional spellings from the poet's part of the country B Printing errors that were never corrected C Old-fashioned contractions that keep up the pose of a serious old manual D Abbreviations invented for this poem
Show answer & explanation

Old-fashioned contractions that keep up the pose of a serious old manual

Solemn forms carrying advice that gets people killed.

Q84. Why are such liberties a technique rather than a failure?

Advanced
A They are permitted in poetry but not in prose B They only work when the reader can tell the writer knew better C They make a poem easier to translate D They were required by the verse forms of the period
Show answer & explanation

They only work when the reader can tell the writer knew better

A mistake is an accident; a liberty is a decision.

Q85. How do the poem's language and its subject agree with each other?

Advanced
A The advice is confidently wrong, and so is the grammar B Both are unusually formal and precise C The language is simple because the animals are dangerous D The grammar improves as the poem goes on
Show answer & explanation

The advice is confidently wrong, and so is the grammar

A guidebook that cannot be trusted, in English that cannot be trusted.

Q86. Assertion (A): The spelling mistakes in this poem are deliberate. Reason (R): 'Lept' and 'lep' are respelt so that their sound will match 'Leopard', which is pronounced LEP-ard.

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 textbook asks about them by name.

Q87. What is the effect of the unwavering regular beat?

Advanced
A It makes the poem difficult to read aloud B It slows the poem down towards the end C A brisk, confident, song-like rhythm carries news of being eaten D It marks the difference between the stanzas
Show answer & explanation

A brisk, confident, song-like rhythm carries news of being eaten

The metre keeps the poem's straight face.

Q88. Which two rhymes in the poem require a deliberate mispronunciation?

Advanced
A 'Guess' with 'caress', and 'thing' with 'wing' B 'Dyin'' with 'lion', and 'lept' or 'lep' with 'Leopard' C 'Yard' with 'hard', and 'prey' with 'may' D 'Round' with 'ground', and 'view' with 'you'
Show answer & explanation

'Dyin'' with 'lion', and 'lept' or 'lep' with 'Leopard'

Both ask the reader to say a word as written rather than as spoken.

Q89. Why does 'thing' rhyming with 'wing' count as a forced rhyme?

Advanced
A Neither word appears anywhere else in the poem B They belong to different parts of speech C Both are among the vaguest words available, chosen for their sound D They are the only rhyme in the last stanza
Show answer & explanation

Both are among the vaguest words available, chosen for their sound

A lizard sort of thing, and not a single wing.

Q90. Which is the strongest single sentence to make in an answer about this poem's language?

Advanced
A The poem contains several unusual words B The poet uses rhyme throughout the poem C The grammar behaves exactly like the advice — both confidently wrong D The spelling would not be accepted today
Show answer & explanation

The grammar behaves exactly like the advice — both confidently wrong

It ties the language to the meaning in one move.

Q91. What does the dropped g in 'dyin'' tell the reader?

Advanced
A That the speaker is a foreigner B That the rhyme has been deliberately bent, and we are meant to see it C That the word should be whispered D That the line is a quotation from somewhere else
Show answer & explanation

That the rhyme has been deliberately bent, and we are meant to see it

Visible evidence of the bullying, printed on the page.

Q92. Why does the poem use archaic contractions in particular?

Advanced
A They sustain the pose of an old, serious manual B They were the only way to fit the metre C They show that the poem is very old D They mark the lines that contain jokes
Show answer & explanation

They sustain the pose of an old, serious manual

'Twill do no good; 'Tis the chameleon you see.

Q93. What makes the leopard line the funniest in the poem, for many readers?

Advanced
A It is the only line without a rhyme B It contains the poem's longest word C It is the shortest line in the poem D A word is invented and then immediately used twice as a normal verb
Show answer & explanation

A word is invented and then immediately used twice as a normal verb

The reader must accept 'lep' and then watch it conjugated.

Q94. How does the closing couplet change the way a reader hears the stanza?

Advanced
A The rhyme snaps shut at the same moment as the joke B It slows the stanza down before the next begins C It repeats the rhyme sound of the first four lines D It removes the need for punctuation
Show answer & explanation

The rhyme snaps shut at the same moment as the joke

Sound and sense arrive together, six times.

Q95. What would be lost if the poem's grammar and spelling were corrected throughout?

Advanced
A The poem would become much longer B The animals would be harder to identify C The rhymes would collapse and the comic confidence would disappear D Nothing at all would change
Show answer & explanation

The rhymes would collapse and the comic confidence would disappear

'Nonplussed' will not rhyme with 'thus', and 'leapt' will not rhyme with 'Leopard'.

Q96. A reader who has never heard the word 'Leopard' spoken aloud might find the rhymes of the third stanza puzzling. Why?

Advanced
A Because the rhyme only works if the word is said LEP-ard rather than LEE-oh-pard B Because the word is printed with a capital letter C Because the stanza has one line more than the others D Because the animal is never actually named in the stanza
Show answer & explanation

Because the rhyme only works if the word is said LEP-ard rather than LEE-oh-pard

The respelling makes the rhyme audible instead of only visible.

Q97. Suppose a printer quietly corrected every spelling and every grammatical slip in this poem before setting it in type. What would a reader notice first?

Advanced
A That the poem had become considerably longer B That the animals were listed in a different order C That several stanzas no longer rhyme at their closing couplets D That the glossary no longer matched the poem
Show answer & explanation

That several stanzas no longer rhyme at their closing couplets

'Leapt' will not answer 'Leopard', and 'nonplussed' will not answer 'thus'.

Q98. Does 'dyin'' really rhyme with 'lion'? Can you make it do so?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q99. Are 'lept' and 'lep' spelt correctly? Why does the poet spell them like this?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q100. How would you write 'A novice might nonplus' correctly, and why is the poet's line better?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q101. Which other rhymes in the poem are obviously forced, and what does that tell us?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q102. How do the poem's language and its subject agree with each other?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q103. Much of the humour in this poem comes from the way language is used. Discuss, with examples.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: the observation that three set questions are about language; the ababcc scheme and the punchline couplet; the alternating metre and its comic effect; the 'dyin''/'lion' rhyme and the dropped g; 'lept' and 'lep' with the LEP-ard explanation; the invented wor…

Q104. 'A novice might nonplus.' Rewrite the line correctly and then argue for keeping the poet's version.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: the corrected sentence; an explanation that the verb is used only in the passive; the metrical reason; the rhyme with 'thus'; the effect on pace; and the argument that confident bad grammar suits a confident bad guidebook. Other relevant points acceptable.

Q105. The textbook asks for other examples of poets taking liberties with language. Answer that question, using this poem to explain what makes such a liberty work.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Accept any sensible further examples, in English or another language. Content should include: at least three of Wells's own liberties correctly described; the test that the reader is meant to notice; the distinction between a mistake and a liberty; two or more examples from elsewh…

Q106. People give one another bearhugs at airports without a second thought, yet the textbook's gloss mentions an attack: what is odd about the expression?

Advanced
A The phrase is affectionate while the animal behind it is not B It is used only about children C It has no connection with any animal D It means the opposite of a hug
Show answer & explanation

The phrase is affectionate while the animal behind it is not

Warmth and danger inside a single word.

Q107. The spotted hyena's call sounds to a human ear exactly like laughter, but the people who study the animal say otherwise: what does it actually signal?

Advanced
A Contentment after feeding B Stress or excitement C A warning to its young D The beginning of sleep
Show answer & explanation

Stress or excitement

Researchers can read an animal's age and rank from it.

Q108. Did the poet invent the ideas of the hyena's smile and the crocodile's tears?

Advanced
A Yes — both first appear in this poem B Only the hyena's smile is hers C Only the crocodile's tears are hers D No — she used two expressions her readers already knew
Show answer & explanation

No — she used two expressions her readers already knew

The joke depends on the reader knowing them already.

Q109. What do the three expressions in the fourth question have in common?

Advanced
A Each dresses something dangerous in warm, sociable language B Each was first recorded in the same century C Each describes an animal found only in Africa D Each refers to the way an animal moves
Show answer & explanation

Each dresses something dangerous in warm, sociable language

A hug, a laugh, tears — exactly what the poem does with caress and embrace.

Q110. When the textbook asks for similar expressions in the student's own languages, what is it really asking them to notice?

Advanced
A That English has more such phrases than other languages B That the expressions are usually zoologically accurate C That people everywhere borrow animals in order to talk about people D That such phrases are dying out
Show answer & explanation

That people everywhere borrow animals in order to talk about people

And that the animals rarely deserve what they are given.

Q111. The poem keeps the creatures, the distinguishing marks and the confident instructive voice of a real field guide: which feature of one does it deliberately leave out?

Advanced
A Distinguishing marks B A confident voice C Usefulness D Creatures taken one at a time
Show answer & explanation

Usefulness

Remove only that, and everything else looks absurd.

Q112. Considering when each identification in the poem becomes possible, what is the strongest serious point to make?

Advanced
A The animals are described in the wrong order B The poem leaves out the most dangerous animals C The advice would work if the reader moved faster D The knowledge always arrives during the attack, too late to help
Show answer & explanation

The knowledge always arrives during the attack, too late to help

Perfectly accurate and completely worthless.

Q113. Why is that idea more than a joke?

Advanced
A Because the animals in the poem are endangered B Because naming a danger is not the same as being safe from it C Because the poem was written as a warning to travellers D Because the poet had been attacked herself
Show answer & explanation

Because naming a danger is not the same as being safe from it

We often treat the two as though they were the same.

Q114. What is the third serious idea behind the poem's humour?

Advanced
A A plea for the protection of wild animals B A criticism of people who travel abroad C A mild scepticism about confident cataloguing of the world D An argument for learning several languages
Show answer & explanation

A mild scepticism about confident cataloguing of the world

Six stanzas of expert advice, none of which would save anybody.

Q115. How does the final stanza prove the poem's serious point?

Advanced
A It repeats the advice from the first stanza B It names the most dangerous animal of all C It admits that the poet has been joking D The one harmless creature is also the one that cannot be seen
Show answer & explanation

The one harmless creature is also the one that cannot be seen

Survivable and invisible at the same time.

Q116. Why does the poet deliver these ideas as jokes rather than plainly?

Advanced
A Because she was not certain the ideas were true B Because comic verse sold better at the time C Because the ideas are too simple to state directly D Because a plain statement would be gloomy, while the reader laughs and takes the point anyway
Show answer & explanation

Because a plain statement would be gloomy, while the reader laughs and takes the point anyway

That is what comic verse is for.

Q117. Assertion (A): The expressions named in the fourth question all libel the animals concerned. Reason (R): The poem was written by Carolyn Wells and runs to six 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 who wrote the poem and how long it is say nothing about the animals being libelled.

Q118. Which modern habit of language most closely resembles the poem's euphemisms?

Advanced
A The use of technical terms in science writing B Official wording that turns a charge into a small adjustment C The abbreviation of long words in speech D The borrowing of words from other languages
Show answer & explanation

Official wording that turns a charge into a small adjustment

Warm words wrapped round something unwelcome.

Q119. What is the common everyday experience that matches the poem's joke about timing?

Advanced
A Forgetting the name of an animal at a zoo B Reading a safety notice only after something has gone wrong C Learning a language too slowly to use it D Buying a guidebook that is out of date
Show answer & explanation

Reading a safety notice only after something has gone wrong

Accurate information, delivered too late.

Q120. Why does the poem's joke depend on the reader's existing knowledge?

Advanced
A Because the animals are described without being named B Because the rhymes are borrowed from another poet C Because the stanzas are printed out of order D Because the smile and the tears are already familiar expressions before the poem starts
Show answer & explanation

Because the smile and the tears are already familiar expressions before the poem starts

Wells is using what her readers brought with them.

Q121. What kind of scepticism does the poem express, and about what?

Advanced
A A fierce scepticism about scientific discovery B A scepticism about whether animals exist as described C A mild scepticism about the promise that the world can be sorted into tidy groups D A scepticism about the value of reading
Show answer & explanation

A mild scepticism about the promise that the world can be sorted into tidy groups

Mild, and delivered in a cheerful metre.

Q122. Which best explains why the animals in such expressions are usually libelled?

Advanced
A The animals were studied badly by early scientists B The phrases were invented by people who had never seen them C The phrases record what things look like to us, not what animals feel D Translations from other languages changed the meanings
Show answer & explanation

The phrases record what things look like to us, not what animals feel

A giggle sounds amused to a human ear and is nothing of the sort.

Q123. How does the poem's treatment of the crocodile differ from the way the expression 'crocodile tears' is normally used?

Advanced
A The poem denies that the crocodile weeps at all B The expression is about anger rather than grief C The poem attaches the phrase to the hyena instead D The expression describes insincere people, while the poem uses the weeping as a way of naming the animal
Show answer & explanation

The expression describes insincere people, while the poem uses the weeping as a way of naming the animal

A saying about human behaviour, pressed into service as a field mark.

Q124. Why is the chameleon stanza the best one to end an answer on?

Advanced
A It is the shortest stanza B It contains the poem's only correct spelling C It names the animal the poet liked most D It packs the poem's whole argument into one creature — harmless and unfindable
Show answer & explanation

It packs the poem's whole argument into one creature — harmless and unfindable

The one animal you could survive is the one you cannot find.

Q125. What does the poem suggest about the relationship between naming and safety?

Advanced
A That we treat them as the same thing, and they are not B That naming an animal frightens it away C That safety depends on knowing an animal's scientific name D That names are unnecessary in the wild
Show answer & explanation

That we treat them as the same thing, and they are not

Six stanzas quietly making the same objection.

Q126. A student asks why a poem full of deliberate mistakes should be set for study at all. What is the best reply?

Advanced
A Its mistakes are decisions, and the ideas underneath them are worth discussing B It is short and therefore easy to memorise C It teaches the names of six wild animals D It shows how English used to be written
Show answer & explanation

Its mistakes are decisions, and the ideas underneath them are worth discussing

The textbook itself asks for the serious ideas behind the humour.

Q127. If the chameleon stanza were removed and the poem ended with the hyena and the crocodile, what would be lost?

Advanced
A The poem's rhyme scheme, which changes in the last stanza B The only harmless creature, and with it the poem's sharpest point about identification C The glossary, which explains only words from that stanza D Nothing, since the fifth stanza already makes the same point
Show answer & explanation

The only harmless creature, and with it the poem's sharpest point about identification

Recognition too late would never become recognition that cannot come.

Q128. What do the expressions named in the textbook's fourth question have in common with the poem itself?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q129. What is the poem a parody of, and how do you know?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q130. What serious idea lies behind the poem's humour?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q131. How does the chameleon stanza carry the poem's argument?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q132. Why does the poet make her points through jokes rather than stating them?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q133. 'Much of what makes the poem funny comes out of the handling of the language itself, though the ideas are comic too.' Discuss the serious ideas that lie behind the humour.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: the parody of a field guide with usefulness removed; the central point that identification always arrives during the attack, with at least two examples; the statement that naming a danger is not the same as being safe from it; the scepticism about confident…

Q134. 'Bearhug', 'laughing hyena', 'crocodile tears.' Explain these expressions and say what they have to do with this poem.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Accept any sensible examples from the student's own languages. Content should include: the gloss of 'bearhug' and the clash inside it; the hyena's call and what it really signals; the meaning and origin of 'crocodile tears'; the link that all three dress danger in friendly words;…

Q135. Write a paragraph of your own in the spirit of this poem — comic advice that is confidently useless — and then explain what you have imitated.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Accept any subject. The written passage must be a genuine attempt at confident, useless instruction. Content should include: an explanation naming at least three devices imitated from the poem — the confident instructional voice, identification arriving too late, euphemism for som…

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