Veda AI Learning & Classroom
Get the app
For teachers Teacher overview Answer key generator Quiz generator Question paper generator Attendance app Student reports All free tools
For students Student overview Solve a question paper NCERT syllabus Flashcard maker Important questions Play a challenge Daily GK quiz
For schools Schools overview Start a pilot Tuition & coaching Teaching diary
Library NCERT syllabus Study kits by subject Browse every topic Previous year papers Board paper solutions Blog
Your account Log in — teachers, students & schools About Veda Get the app — free

The Ball Poem · 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 · 7 questions

Q1. Who is the poet, and in which book of the Class 10 course does this poem appear?

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

John Berryman, in First Flight

An American poet, in the poetry section.

Q2. Somebody in the poem offers the most obvious comfort available. What is it?

Beginner
A That the water is shallow B That the ball can be bought again tomorrow C That there are other balls D That the boy should not have been playing there
Show answer & explanation

That there are other balls

And the poem refuses it in the same breath.

Q3. One of the glossed expressions in this poem names what takes hold of the boy at the water's edge. What does the glossary say it means?

Beginner
A Sadness that soon passes B Sadness which greatly affects the boy C Anger mixed with fear D A trembling caused by cold
Show answer & explanation

Sadness which greatly affects the boy

The poem calls it an ultimate shaking grief.

Q4. After bouncing down the street and then over an edge, where does the ball finally come to rest according to the poem?

Beginner
A In a river B In a pond C In a drain D In a harbour
Show answer & explanation

In a harbour

The word is chosen with care.

Q5. One of the glossed expressions in this poem explains the speaker's decision to keep his distance. What does the textbook say it means?

Beginner
A To interrupt somebody who is speaking B To enter a situation where one is not welcome C To enter a house without knocking D To ask an unwelcome question
Show answer & explanation

To enter a situation where one is not welcome

A judgement about the boy, not about the speaker.

Q6. The poem names an American coin that the textbook has to explain for Indian readers. What is it, and why is a note needed?

Beginner
A Ten cents in American currency, a coin not used in India B A small American toy C An old word for a marble D A coin used only for buying sweets
Show answer & explanation

Ten cents in American currency, a coin not used in India

Roughly the price of a ball.

Q7. What does the glossary give as the meaning of 'desperate'?

Beginner
A Violent B Hopeless C Reckless D Exhausted
Show answer & explanation

Hopeless

No expectation of being comforted.

Building up · 39 questions

Q8. The textbook's introduction points out that a ball costs little and another is easily bought. What question does it then ask?

Intermediate
A Why the boy is so upset B Where the ball was bought C Whether the boy will find it again D Who was responsible for the loss
Show answer & explanation

Why the boy is so upset

The whole poem is the answer.

Q9. Which description of the poem's form is correct?

Intermediate
A Six stanzas of three lines each, rhyming aba B Free verse — eighteen unbroken lines, no rhyme scheme and no fixed metre C A sonnet of fourteen lines D Four quatrains with a regular beat
Show answer & explanation

Free verse — eighteen unbroken lines, no rhyme scheme and no fixed metre

A common error is to describe stanzas that are not there.

Q10. The poem makes a point of telling us that the loss was witnessed. According to the speaker, who saw the ball go?

Intermediate
A Nobody at all B Only the boy C He did, himself D A crowd in the street
Show answer & explanation

He did, himself

Which is what puts him in a position to decide whether to intervene.

Q11. Put the four stages of the loss in the right order.

Intermediate
A Into the water, down the street, over the edge, the boy stops moving B Bouncing down the street, over the edge, into the water, the boy stops moving C The boy stops moving, down the street, into the water, over the edge D Over the edge, down the street, the boy stops moving, into the water
Show answer & explanation

Bouncing down the street, over the edge, into the water, the boy stops moving

And then nothing happens for ten lines.

Q12. The textbook prints a note explaining the line in which somebody says there are other balls. What does that note say?

Intermediate
A As a promise to buy the boy a new ball B As saying, in effect, that the loss is too small to be worth this much feeling C As the boy's own thought D As an old saying about children
Show answer & explanation

As saying, in effect, that the loss is too small to be worth this much feeling

A glossed phrase, and worth quoting.

Q13. What does the poem say the grief does to the boy?

Intermediate
A It sends him running home B It makes him shout for help C It fixes him — holds him where he stands D It sends him into the water after the ball
Show answer & explanation

It fixes him — holds him where he stands

Nothing moves for the rest of the poem.

Q14. A student writes that the boy bursts into tears at the edge of the water. What is wrong with that?

Intermediate
A Nothing — the poem describes him weeping B The boy is not at the edge of the water C It was another child who lost the ball D The poem never mentions tears; the grief is held and behind his eyes
Show answer & explanation

The poem never mentions tears; the grief is held and behind his eyes

A common and avoidable error.

Q15. What does the poem suggest about how long the boy had owned the ball?

Intermediate
A He had been given it that morning B He had borrowed it from a friend C It was not new — it had been with him through his young days D The poem gives no indication either way
Show answer & explanation

It was not new — it had been with him through his young days

And those days go into the water with it.

Q16. While the boy stands motionless at the water's edge and the grief takes hold of him, what does the watching speaker decide to do?

Intermediate
A Nothing at all — he will not intrude B Call the boy's parents C Fetch the ball himself D Buy the boy a replacement
Show answer & explanation

Nothing at all — he will not intrude

He watches, and lets the boy have the grief.

Q17. Which statements about the poem are correct? 1. It is written in free verse. 2. The word 'merrily' is used twice. 3. The boy weeps openly.

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 are no tears in the poem.

Q18. Which pairing of glossed expression and meaning is correct?

Intermediate
A Shaking grief — a passing sadness B O there are other balls — the poet's own advice C Rigid — stiff D Harbour — a shallow pond
Show answer & explanation

Rigid — stiff

The others each misstate what the textbook says.

Q19. If you had to describe the first fourteen lines of this poem in a single sentence, which of these would serve best?

Intermediate
A An account of how children should look after their possessions B A tiny incident, watched closely, in which years go into the water with a ball C A description of a harbour in an American city D A comic poem about a boy and a ball
Show answer & explanation

A tiny incident, watched closely, in which years go into the water with a ball

Small event, large subject.

Q20. Describe the form of the poem and say how it suits the subject.

Intermediate
Show answer & explanation

—

Q21. Discuss the way this poem is written — its form, its questions and its choice of words — and show how each choice serves the subject.

Intermediate
Show answer & explanation

—

Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: free verse and the absence of stanzas or rhyme, with enjambment; the two unanswered opening questions and the stumble; the repeated 'merrily' and its placing; rigid and trembling together, plus the absence of tears; the choice of a harbour; and a closing st…

Q22. The speaker, having watched the whole thing happen, states a decision about himself in the middle of the poem. What is it?

Intermediate
A That he will fetch the ball from the water B That he will find the boy's parents C That he will buy the boy a new ball D That he would not intrude on the boy
Show answer & explanation

That he would not intrude on the boy

Doing nothing is the poem's one deliberate action.

Q23. The speaker applies the word 'worthless' to more than one thing in the same breath. Besides the coin, what else does he call worthless?

Intermediate
A The harbour B The boy's memories C The advice about other balls D Another ball
Show answer & explanation

Another ball

Which is why the amount of money is irrelevant.

Q24. At the point where the poem stops describing grief and begins describing understanding, it says the boy now senses something for the first time. What?

Intermediate
A Fear of deep water B Anger with the people around him C Responsibility, in a world of possessions D The need to earn money
Show answer & explanation

Responsibility, in a world of possessions

And the word 'first' is doing a great deal of work.

Q25. Students are asked to decide, on the evidence of the poem itself, whether the boy has ever lost anything before this afternoon. What is the answer?

Intermediate
A No B Yes, several things C Yes, but only small things D The poem does not say
Show answer & explanation

No

And the poem supplies the evidence.

Q26. Why must an answer to that set question include the actual word from the poem?

Intermediate
A Because quotations are always compulsory B Because the word is difficult to spell C Because the question tells students to quote the words that settle it D Because the glossary explains it
Show answer & explanation

Because the question tells students to quote the words that settle it

Without it, the answer is only an opinion.

Q27. At the one point where the poem stops describing the boy and speaks to him instead, what does the speaker actually tell him?

Intermediate
A That the ball can be found at low tide B That he should go home to his family C That he will feel better tomorrow D That people will take balls and balls will always be lost
Show answer & explanation

That people will take balls and balls will always be lost

Not comfort. The truth.

Q28. Which four-word sentence carries the argument of this part of the poem?

Intermediate
A Balls will be lost. B I would not intrude. C Money is external. D A dime is worthless.
Show answer & explanation

Money is external.

Perfectly flat, and the pivot of the whole piece.

Q29. Which statements about this part of the poem are correct? 1. The speaker refuses to intrude. 2. He calls a dime worthless. 3. He eventually buys the boy another ball.

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

Nothing is bought anywhere in the poem.

Q30. In what order should the three reasons for the refusal be given in an answer?

Intermediate
A Money is small; the boy is stubborn; the harbour is deep B The speaker is a stranger; the ball is cheap; the boy is young C The lesson matters; the speaker is busy; the water is cold D The grief is private; money cannot buy the ball back; a rescue would prevent the lesson
Show answer & explanation

The grief is private; money cannot buy the ball back; a rescue would prevent the lesson

Weakest to strongest, finishing on the lesson.

Q31. Which is the best sentence with which to end an answer on this section?

Intermediate
A That a dime is only ten cents B That the speaker stayed silent C That money is external, and the loss is not D That the ball was in a harbour
Show answer & explanation

That money is external, and the loss is not

Short, plain and unanswerable.

Q32. A classmate asks what the middle section of the poem is really doing. Which reply would be best?

Intermediate
A A man refuses three kinds of help, because nothing external can mend what has been lost B A man is too mean to buy a child a new ball C A poem about the price of toys in America D An argument that children should look after their possessions
Show answer & explanation

A man refuses three kinds of help, because nothing external can mend what has been lost

Private grief, impossible purchase, necessary lesson.

Q33. The poem places the boy's learning somewhere very specific. Where does it say the learning is happening?

Intermediate
A In the words he is muttering B In his hands, which will not stop shaking C In the water he is looking at D Well behind his desperate eyes
Show answer & explanation

Well behind his desperate eyes

Not in the face at all.

Q34. From which language and root does the word 'epistemology' come?

Intermediate
A The Greek episteme, meaning knowledge B The Latin epistola, meaning letter C The Greek epitaphios, meaning burial D The Latin episcopus, meaning overseer
Show answer & explanation

The Greek episteme, meaning knowledge

From a word meaning to understand, to know.

Q35. What is epistemology?

Intermediate
A A particular kind of deep sadness B The study of the nature of knowledge itself C The study of memory in children D The branch of grammar dealing with abstract nouns
Show answer & explanation

The study of the nature of knowledge itself

A term from philosophy.

Q36. How does the textbook explain the phrase 'the epistemology of loss'?

Intermediate
A The habit of losing things repeatedly B The sadness that follows any loss C The refusal to accept that something is gone D Understanding the nature of loss — what it means to lose something
Show answer & explanation

Understanding the nature of loss — what it means to lose something

Understanding, not feeling.

Q37. Which three words close the poem?

Intermediate
A Money is external B How to stand up C The epistemology of loss D Balls will be lost
Show answer & explanation

How to stand up

And it is their second appearance in three lines.

Q38. How many times does the phrase 'how to stand up' appear in the poem?

Intermediate
A Once B Twice C Three times D Four times
Show answer & explanation

Twice

The second use is the poem's last line.

Q39. Why can a student not simply copy the glossary when answering the fifth set question?

Intermediate
A The question asks for an explanation in the student's own words B The glossary is not printed in the examination C The glossary entry is too long D Quotations are forbidden in that section
Show answer & explanation

The question asks for an explanation in the student's own words

Read the wording of the question.

Q40. Which statements about the poem's ending are correct? 1. It repeats a three-word phrase. 2. It uses a term borrowed from philosophy. 3. It tells the reader what the boy finally did.

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 poem never says what he does next.

Q41. Which pairing of word and meaning is correct?

Intermediate
A Epistemology — a deep sadness B Desperate — reckless C Episteme — knowledge D Epistemology of loss — the habit of losing things
Show answer & explanation

Episteme — knowledge

The other three all shift the sense the textbook gives.

Q42. Which is the strongest way to end an answer on this poem?

Intermediate
A On the price of a dime B On the description of the harbour C On standing up, taken both literally and figuratively D On the poet's nationality
Show answer & explanation

On standing up, taken both literally and figuratively

Finish where the poem finishes.

Q43. In what order should the five moves of an answer on this section come?

Intermediate
A Standing up, the Greek root, the harbour, the dime, the mismatch B The universal turn, the poet's life, the phrase, the ending C Greek root, the phrase, the mismatch, the universal turn, standing up D The mismatch, the glossary list, the rhyme scheme, the ending
Show answer & explanation

Greek root, the phrase, the mismatch, the universal turn, standing up

Definition first, the poem's own ending last.

Q44. Which single sentence best captures what happens across the poem's last four lines?

Intermediate
A A feeling becomes knowledge, one boy becomes everybody, and the poem ends on a skill B A boy is comforted by a stranger and goes home C A philosophical essay interrupts a poem about a ball D A poem about the price of children's toys
Show answer & explanation

A feeling becomes knowledge, one boy becomes everybody, and the poem ends on a skill

Three movements in four lines.

Q45. What does 'epistemology' mean, and where does the word come from?

Intermediate
Show answer & explanation

—

Q46. Write about something you valued and lost: how it felt at the time, and whether you came to terms with it and how. About 120–150 words.

Intermediate
Show answer & explanation

—

Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Accept any genuine personal account. Content should include: the object and why it mattered beyond its price; a description of the feeling at the time; some account of how the loss was or was not resolved; and, for the highest marks, a reflection that shows the poem's argument und…

Topper level · 89 questions

Q47. Instead of opening with the loss itself, what does the poem's first line and a half actually give the reader?

Advanced
A A description of the street B The poet's memory of his own childhood C An account of how the ball was bought D Two questions about the boy, one of them repeated in a stumble
Show answer & explanation

Two questions about the boy, one of them repeated in a stumble

What the boy is now, and what he is to do.

Q48. Which of the poem's two opening questions is never answered anywhere in the eighteen lines?

Advanced
A Where the ball has gone B Who the boy is C What the boy is to do D Whether anybody saw the loss
Show answer & explanation

What the boy is to do

The poem watches him instead.

Q49. Why does the poet leave that question open rather than supplying an answer at the end?

Advanced
A Because the poem was left unfinished B Because the answer appears in the glossary instead C To allow the boy to answer it himself in the last line D So that the reader is left standing inside the same question as the boy
Show answer & explanation

So that the reader is left standing inside the same question as the boy

Construction, not a gap.

Q50. How does the poem's loose, unbroken form suit what it is describing?

Advanced
A It makes the poem easier to memorise B Nothing about the moment is orderly, so the reading never settles either C It shows that the poet wrote quickly D It matches the regular bouncing of the ball
Show answer & explanation

Nothing about the moment is orderly, so the reading never settles either

Sentences spill over the line endings throughout.

Q51. The word 'merrily' is used twice within two lines of the poem. Where does the second use fall?

Advanced
A In the first line of the poem B At the moment the ball goes over and is lost C When the boy begins to grieve D When the speaker decides not to intrude
Show answer & explanation

At the moment the ball goes over and is lost

Cheerfulness placed exactly on the disaster.

Q52. What is the effect of describing a ball as merry at the very moment it is being lost forever?

Advanced
A It makes the reader believe the ball will be recovered B It shows that the boy is not really upset C It suggests the poem is meant to be comic D It is quietly brutal — the object is happy while the boy's world comes apart
Show answer & explanation

It is quietly brutal — the object is happy while the boy's world comes apart

Nothing in the poem is crueller.

Q53. Why does that piece of comfort fail so completely?

Advanced
A It is spoken too loudly for the boy to hear B The boy does not understand the words C It tells a grieving person that the grief is out of proportion D It comes too late in the poem
Show answer & explanation

It tells a grieving person that the grief is out of proportion

And the thing lost was never the object.

Q54. The glossary explains 'rigid' as stiff. What makes the poet's use of the word striking?

Advanced
A The word is used of the ball rather than the boy B It appears in the very first line C It is the only word the poem repeats D The boy is rigid and trembling in the same line — locked and shivering at once
Show answer & explanation

The boy is rigid and trembling in the same line — locked and shivering at once

Exactly what a first shock does to a body.

Q55. Why is it important that the water is a harbour rather than something shallower?

Advanced
A It is deep and busy, so nobody will climb down after a ball and the loss is final B It shows that the boy lives by the sea C It explains why the ball floated away D It tells the reader which country the poem is set in
Show answer & explanation

It is deep and busy, so nobody will climb down after a ball and the loss is final

The detail closes the door.

Q56. The poem says the boy is staring down. Down at what, exactly?

Advanced
A All his young days, into the harbour where the ball went B At his own feet C At the empty street D At the hands that dropped the ball
Show answer & explanation

All his young days, into the harbour where the ball went

The line the whole poem turns on.

Q57. Which set question does that phrase about young days answer directly?

Advanced
A Why the poet will not offer money B What the world of possessions means C What the boy is learning from the loss D Whether the boy had had the ball a long time, and whether it is tied to memories
Show answer & explanation

Whether the boy had had the ball a long time, and whether it is tied to memories

Quote it and the answer writes itself.

Q58. Explain why a replacement ball would not repair the loss.

Advanced
A What was lost is everything the ball had absorbed, and a new one has none of it inside B The boy would not be allowed another ball C A new ball would cost more than he could pay D The shops in the poem are closed
Show answer & explanation

What was lost is everything the ball had absorbed, and a new one has none of it inside

Price and value have nothing to do with each other here.

Q59. Assertion (A): The poem's form suits its subject. Reason (R): The poem is the work of the American poet John Berryman.

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. Naming the poet does not explain why the form suits the subject.

Q60. Considering how little actually happens in these eighteen lines, what is remarkable about the poem's action?

Advanced
A Several people search the harbour for the ball B The boy runs home and returns with money C A ball rolls, a boy stands still, and a man decides not to act D A crowd gathers and offers advice
Show answer & explanation

A ball rolls, a boy stands still, and a man decides not to act

Nothing is done by anybody.

Q61. At one point in the middle of the poem the speaker turns and addresses somebody directly. Who?

Advanced
A The reader B The boy, as little boy C The ball D Another adult in the street
Show answer & explanation

The boy, as little boy

The only moment of direct address in the poem.

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

Advanced
A Losing an expensive item that is insured B Breaking something that belonged to somebody else C Forgetting where a possession was put D Losing an object worth nothing that holds years of memory
Show answer & explanation

Losing an object worth nothing that holds years of memory

Market price and value have nothing to do with each other.

Q63. Why does the poem's speaker watch instead of stepping in to comfort the boy?

Advanced
A Because he does not notice what has happened B Because the grief is real and private, and the boy has to be allowed to have it C Because he is in a hurry D Because he dislikes the boy
Show answer & explanation

Because the grief is real and private, and the boy has to be allowed to have it

The full reasoning comes a few lines later.

Q64. Which is the strongest single observation to make about this part of the poem?

Advanced
A That the ball bounced down a street B That the poem has eighteen lines C That the boy is staring years, not water, into the harbour D That the poet is American
Show answer & explanation

That the boy is staring years, not water, into the harbour

It is what turns a lost toy into a poem about loss.

Q65. How would the poem change if the ball had been bought that morning?

Advanced
A The poem would become longer B The speaker would have offered money C Nothing at all would change D The grief would have nothing behind it, and the poem would have no subject
Show answer & explanation

The grief would have nothing behind it, and the poem would have no subject

Everything depends on what the object had absorbed.

Q66. Why does the poem stumble over the second question, repeating a word before finishing it?

Advanced
A It shows a speaker who cannot get past the question either B It marks the place where a line was lost in printing C It imitates the bouncing of the ball D It is the poem's only rhyme
Show answer & explanation

It shows a speaker who cannot get past the question either

What, what is he to do.

Q67. How does the poem open, and why does that opening matter?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q68. What is the effect of the repeated word 'merrily'?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q69. Why is the comfort offered in the poem no use?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q70. What does the poem tell us about the boy's body while he grieves?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q71. 'Staring down all his young days into the harbour.' What does this line tell us?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q72. 'A ball costs almost nothing, and another can be bought at once.' Why, then, is the boy so upset? Answer with reference to the first half of the poem.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: the introduction's own question; the ball's route into a harbour and why the water matters; the repeated 'merrily' and where the second falls; the rejected comfort with the glossed meaning; the grief that fixes him, rigid and trembling, and the absence of t…

Q73. Imagine the boy in the poem, twenty years later, telling somebody about the day he lost his ball. Write his account in about 120–150 words, keeping to what the poem gives you.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Accept any reasonable first-person telling. Content should include: the ball's cheerful route into the harbour; the boy's inability to move, stiff and trembling; the useless comfort; the sense of looking at his own past rather than at water; and the watcher who deliberately did no…

Q74. Which is the first reason the speaker gives, in effect, for staying where he is?

Advanced
A He is not related to the boy B He does not want to be seen C The grief is real and it belongs to the boy D He has somewhere else to be
Show answer & explanation

The grief is real and it belongs to the boy

An ultimate shaking grief is not a small nuisance to be tidied away.

Q75. A student writes that the dime is worthless because ten cents is too little money. Why is that wrong?

Advanced
A The poem calls the replacement ball worthless too, so no sum would do B A dime was worth a great deal at the time C The boy had money of his own D The poem never mentions a dime
Show answer & explanation

The poem calls the replacement ball worthless too, so no sum would do

The transaction is impossible in principle, not in price.

Q76. In one sentence, why can money not repair this loss?

Advanced
A There are no shops near the harbour B The boy would refuse to take it C A coin can buy a ball, but not the ball that had years in it D The ball was a gift and cannot be bought
Show answer & explanation

A coin can buy a ball, but not the ball that had years in it

Money does not reach years.

Q77. Suppose the man in the poem had produced a coin and bought the boy another ball. What would the boy have learned?

Advanced
A That adults are generous B That a loss is a small inconvenience which an adult can undo C That he should be more careful in future D That balls are cheap to replace
Show answer & explanation

That a loss is a small inconvenience which an adult can undo

And he would have learned it instead of something far more useful.

Q78. Which reason for the refusal is the strongest, and why?

Advanced
A That the speaker cannot afford a new ball B That the boy would not have wanted one C That the ball cannot be reached in the water D That a rescue would prevent the lesson the boy is about to learn
Show answer & explanation

That a rescue would prevent the lesson the boy is about to learn

The most helpful thing available is to be unhelpful.

Q79. A student describes the speaker as cold and uncaring. What is the better reading?

Advanced
A He is cold, and the poem says so B He has not noticed the boy at all C He is afraid of speaking to children D He is watching closely enough to know exactly what the boy feels; the restraint is respect
Show answer & explanation

He is watching closely enough to know exactly what the boy feels; the restraint is respect

Attention, not neglect.

Q80. What does the phrase 'in a world of possessions' actually mean?

Advanced
A A wealthy society where people buy too much B The ordinary world in which people own things — and therefore lose them C A world in which nothing can be owned D The imaginary world of a child's games
Show answer & explanation

The ordinary world in which people own things — and therefore lose them

Ownership has loss folded into it.

Q81. Why is it a mistake to read that phrase as a criticism of greed?

Advanced
A The poem is set in a poor neighbourhood B The boy owns nothing at all C The poem is describing ordinary ownership, not excess D The phrase is spoken by another character
Show answer & explanation

The poem is describing ordinary ownership, not excess

To have something is to be capable of losing it.

Q82. What exactly is the boy's 'first responsibility'?

Advanced
A The duty to look after his belongings better B The obligation to earn the money for a new ball C The job of telling his parents what happened D The discovery that what is yours is yours to lose
Show answer & explanation

The discovery that what is yours is yours to lose

Nobody else carries that for him.

Q83. Which word in the poem is the evidence for that answer?

Advanced
A First B Ultimate C Worthless D External
Show answer & explanation

First

He senses his first responsibility.

Q84. At one point the poem stops describing and turns to speak to somebody. To whom, and in what words?

Advanced
A To the reader, calling us friends B To the child, calling him little boy C To the ball, calling it merry D To the person who offered comfort
Show answer & explanation

To the child, calling him little boy

The only direct address in eighteen lines.

Q85. How would you describe the tone of that direct address?

Advanced
A Angry and impatient B Cheerful and dismissive C Tender and unsparing at the same time D Formal and distant
Show answer & explanation

Tender and unsparing at the same time

Both halves are needed.

Q86. The poem says that nobody buys a ball back. What is the deeper meaning of that line?

Advanced
A Shops will not take returns B A purchase is not a recovery — you can acquire a ball but not regain the lost one C The boy has no money of his own D Balls are too cheap to be worth selling
Show answer & explanation

A purchase is not a recovery — you can acquire a ball but not regain the lost one

The gap between two verbs is the whole difficulty.

Q87. Explain what that sentence means.

Advanced
A Money is unimportant to everybody B Money is outside a person, while what the boy has lost is inside him C Money should not be given to children D Money comes from outside the family
Show answer & explanation

Money is outside a person, while what the boy has lost is inside him

Nothing external reaches something internal.

Q88. Why is that sentence so short and plain compared with the lines around it?

Advanced
A Because it is meant to be unanswerable B Because the poet ran out of space in the line C Because it is a quotation from somebody else D Because it is the poem's only rhyme
Show answer & explanation

Because it is meant to be unanswerable

Every refusal in the poem rests on it.

Q89. Which everyday practice best illustrates the idea that money is external?

Advanced
A Saving money in a bank B Compensation paid for harm, which everybody knows is not repair C Buying insurance for valuable goods D Lending money to a friend
Show answer & explanation

Compensation paid for harm, which everybody knows is not repair

The poem is stating what adults already know and rarely say.

Q90. Why do teachers and parents sometimes deliberately leave a problem unsolved?

Advanced
A Because solving it would remove the learning B Because they are too busy to help C Because children prefer to be left alone D Because the problem will solve itself
Show answer & explanation

Because solving it would remove the learning

Exactly what the poem's speaker is doing.

Q91. Assertion (A): The speaker's refusal to help is an act of kindness. Reason (R): Buying the boy a replacement would have taught him that losses can be undone, and prevented him from learning what a loss is.

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

Kindness that looks like coldness.

Q92. Which pairing of phrase and meaning is correct?

Advanced
A First responsibility — the duty to look after belongings B Money is external — money comes from outside the family C To intrude on — to comfort somebody in distress D A world of possessions — the ordinary world of owning, and therefore losing
Show answer & explanation

A world of possessions — the ordinary world of owning, and therefore losing

The other three each shift the sense.

Q93. How does this part of the poem change the reader's view of the opening?

Advanced
A It reveals that the ball was never really lost B The unanswered question about what the boy should do turns out to be his to answer alone C It shows that the speaker caused the accident D It explains that the boy is dreaming
Show answer & explanation

The unanswered question about what the boy should do turns out to be his to answer alone

Nobody is going to answer it for him.

Q94. What does the poem imply about the relationship between owning and losing?

Advanced
A That careful people never lose what they own B That losing is a punishment for carelessness C That the two have nothing to do with each other D They are two halves of one fact — to have is to be able to lose
Show answer & explanation

They are two halves of one fact — to have is to be able to lose

The meaning of a world of possessions.

Q95. What would be lost from the poem if the speaker had spoken kindly to the boy?

Advanced
A The poem would be shorter B The rhyme scheme would be broken C The boy's grief would be reduced to a problem, and the learning would stop D Nothing at all would change
Show answer & explanation

The boy's grief would be reduced to a problem, and the learning would stop

Interruption makes a grief smaller.

Q96. Why does the poem use the word 'senses' rather than 'learns' about the boy's first responsibility?

Advanced
A Because he has been told it by an adult B Because he feels it before he could put it into words C Because he is only partly paying attention D Because he will forget it by the next day
Show answer & explanation

Because he feels it before he could put it into words

Understanding arriving physically, ahead of language.

Q97. Why does the poet say he would not intrude on the boy?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q98. Why does he not offer the boy money to buy another ball?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q99. What does 'in a world of possessions' mean?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q100. Has the boy lost anything before this afternoon? Give the words in the poem that settle it.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q101. Explain the sentence 'Money is external'.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q102. What is the effect of the poem's one moment of direct address?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q103. Why will the speaker not intrude on the boy, and why does he not offer money for another ball? Answer fully.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: the glossed meaning of 'to intrude on'; the grief as private and severe; the dime explained and the point that no sum would do; the distinction between a ball and the ball; 'no one buys a ball back' as purchase versus recovery; the lesson that a rescue woul…

Q104. Discuss what the poem means by a 'world of possessions' and by the boy's 'first responsibility'.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: 'world of possessions' as ordinary ownership rather than wealth or greed; the point that owning entails losing, supported from the poem; 'first responsibility' as the discovery that what is yours is yours to lose, not a rebuke for carelessness; the signific…

Q105. An adult friend tells you that the man in this poem is heartless for watching a child grieve and doing nothing. Reply to that in about 120–150 words.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: evidence that the speaker is attentive rather than indifferent; the failure of verbal comfort, linked to the earlier rejected line; the objection to money, including that it teaches a falsehood; and a conclusion that the restraint is deliberate and respectf…

Q106. Why does the phrase 'well behind his eyes' matter so much to the poem's argument?

Advanced
A It shows the boy is closing his eyes B It proves the boy is older than he appears C It explains why the speaker cannot see the harbour D It shows the work is happening where no onlooker could reach it, which justifies the refusal to intervene
Show answer & explanation

It shows the work is happening where no onlooker could reach it, which justifies the refusal to intervene

Nothing said from outside would get to it.

Q107. A student defines epistemology as a very great sorrow. What is wrong with that?

Advanced
A It is about memory rather than sorrow B It refers only to religious knowledge C It is about knowing, not about feeling D It is a modern word with no fixed meaning
Show answer & explanation

It is about knowing, not about feeling

The textbook glosses it twice, and both entries are about knowledge.

Q108. Why is saying the boy is learning the epistemology of loss a bigger claim than saying he is sad?

Advanced
A It says a feeling is turning into knowledge in front of the reader B It says the sadness will last longer C It says he has been sad before D It says an adult has explained it to him
Show answer & explanation

It says a feeling is turning into knowledge in front of the reader

Coming to know, rather than merely feeling.

Q109. Why does the poet put an enormous philosophical term into a poem about a child and a rubber ball?

Advanced
A He wanted to make the poem difficult B The word was in common use at the time C The mismatch shows that the small event is not small at all D It is the only word that rhymes in the poem
Show answer & explanation

The mismatch shows that the small event is not small at all

Biggest available word beside smallest possible event.

Q110. Could the boy in the poem put any of this into words himself?

Advanced
A No — the poem supplies the vocabulary he does not have B Yes, and he does so in the last line C Yes, he explains it to the speaker D The poem says he writes it down later
Show answer & explanation

No — the poem supplies the vocabulary he does not have

Which is why the learning is placed behind his eyes.

Q111. What is wrong with writing that the boy sits and reflects on the nature of loss?

Advanced
A The boy is not sitting but lying down B The poem says he is thinking about the harbour C Nothing — the poem describes him reflecting D The poem's word is 'learning', and it happens where nobody can see; the understanding arrives rather than being reasoned out
Show answer & explanation

The poem's word is 'learning', and it happens where nobody can see; the understanding arrives rather than being reasoned out

A misreading that costs marks.

Q112. In its last lines the poem stops being about one child. What does it say about the knowledge the boy is acquiring?

Advanced
A That only children can learn it B That very few people ever learn it C That every person must one day know it, and most know it many days D That it must be taught by an adult
Show answer & explanation

That every person must one day know it, and most know it many days

One child becomes everybody in a line and a half.

Q113. What is the difference between 'one day' and 'many days' in that turn?

Advanced
A Some people learn it in a day and others take longer B Children learn it once and adults many times C It refers to the number of days the grief lasts D Everybody learns it at least once; most people learn it over and over
Show answer & explanation

Everybody learns it at least once; most people learn it over and over

Nobody gets through a life without losing something for good.

Q114. How does that widening protect the poem from becoming sentimental?

Advanced
A It makes the poem shorter B It introduces a second character C It changes the setting to a harbour D The ball becomes every lost thing and the boy becomes anybody who has understood that something is gone
Show answer & explanation

The ball becomes every lost thing and the boy becomes anybody who has understood that something is gone

No longer a sad little story about a child.

Q115. Taken literally, what does the boy have to do when the poem speaks of standing up?

Advanced
A Climb down to the water B Get to his feet, since he has been fixed where he stands since the ball went in C Walk home and tell his family D Stand on something to see further
Show answer & explanation

Get to his feet, since he has been fixed where he stands since the ball went in

Rigid and trembling, and unable to move.

Q116. What does 'how to stand up' mean beyond the literal sense?

Advanced
A To argue with adults who offer help B To face a loss and go on — to carry it and keep living C To become independent of his parents D To hide his feelings from strangers
Show answer & explanation

To face a loss and go on — to carry it and keep living

Named as a skill, not a feeling.

Q117. Why is it significant that the poem calls it learning HOW to stand up rather than simply standing up?

Advanced
A It shows the boy is physically injured B It suggests an adult will teach him C It treats recovery as a skill that has to be acquired, not a mood that passes D It means he has done it before
Show answer & explanation

It treats recovery as a skill that has to be acquired, not a mood that passes

Something the boy is learning how to do.

Q118. What does the repetition of that phrase at the very end achieve?

Advanced
A It turns an observation into the point of the whole poem B It fills out the last line to the right length C It creates the poem's only rhyme D It shows the speaker is uncertain
Show answer & explanation

It turns an observation into the point of the whole poem

The repetition is the argument.

Q119. Set in plain words, which list best describes what the boy is learning?

Advanced
A That he should be more careful with his belongings B That his things can be lost for good, that money cannot bring them back, that it will happen again, and how to carry on C That adults cannot be relied upon for help D That harbours are dangerous places to play beside
Show answer & explanation

That his things can be lost for good, that money cannot bring them back, that it will happen again, and how to carry on

Four things, and the last is the most important.

Q120. Assertion (A): The last four lines widen the poem from a boy to everybody. Reason (R): They turn away from the boy altogether and describe the harbour water where the ball was lost.

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

The closing lines stay with the boy and generalise from him. The assertion is sound; the reason is not.

Q121. Considering that the poem never once uses the word 'sad', what does that tell you about its method?

Advanced
A It suggests the boy is not really unhappy B It shows the poem was written for adults only C It indicates that the poet disliked simple words D It prefers to show the body and name the knowledge rather than label the feeling
Show answer & explanation

It prefers to show the body and name the knowledge rather than label the feeling

Rigid, trembling, desperate eyes — and then epistemology.

Q122. Which everyday comparison best fits what the boy is undergoing?

Advanced
A The difference between reading about a place and visiting it B The difference between being told that people are lost and knowing it because it has happened C The difference between failing an examination and passing one D The difference between owning a thing and borrowing it
Show answer & explanation

The difference between being told that people are lost and knowing it because it has happened

Knowing versus being told.

Q123. How does this last section answer the poem's opening question about what the boy is to do?

Advanced
A Directly — it says he goes home B Indirectly — it names the skill he must acquire without saying what he does next C It does not refer to the opening at all D It says another child gives him a ball
Show answer & explanation

Indirectly — it names the skill he must acquire without saying what he does next

How to stand up is as close to an answer as the poem comes.

Q124. What would be lost if the poem ended one line earlier, before the final repetition?

Advanced
A The poem would lose its rhyme B The reader would not know the boy's age C Nothing at all D The point of the whole poem would become a passing remark
Show answer & explanation

The point of the whole poem would become a passing remark

Repetition is what turns the phrase into the subject.

Q125. Why does the poem describe recovery as something learned rather than something that simply happens with time?

Advanced
A Because it treats going on after loss as an ability people acquire, which is more demanding and more hopeful B Because time does not pass in the poem C Because the boy has a teacher D Because the poet distrusts hope
Show answer & explanation

Because it treats going on after loss as an ability people acquire, which is more demanding and more hopeful

A skill, not a mood.

Q126. Which phrase in this section most directly connects back to the earlier refusal to offer money?

Advanced
A Every man must one day know B How to stand up C Well behind his desperate eyes D The epistemology of loss
Show answer & explanation

Well behind his desperate eyes

Nothing offered from outside reaches what is happening behind them.

Q127. A reader complains that the word 'epistemology' spoils the poem. What is the best reply?

Advanced
A The word was added by the textbook, not the poet B The reader is right, and most editions remove it C The word means the same as sadness, so nothing is lost D It is exactly the point: the enormous word measures how large the small event is
Show answer & explanation

It is exactly the point: the enormous word measures how large the small event is

The mismatch is deliberate.

Q128. Which single sentence best states what the poem finally says about loss?

Advanced
A That children should be protected from it B That money can soften it if there is enough C That everybody must learn it, and that learning it means learning how to go on D That it can be avoided by careful people
Show answer & explanation

That everybody must learn it, and that learning it means learning how to go on

Knowledge, and then the skill that follows it.

Q129. Explain 'the epistemology of loss'.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q130. Why does the poet use so large a word about so small an event?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q131. Why does the poem say the learning happens 'well behind his desperate eyes'?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q132. How does the poem move from one boy to everybody?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q133. What does 'how to stand up' mean, and why is it repeated?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q134. The textbook asks what the boy is learning from losing his ball, and insists on your own words rather than the glossary's. Answer it.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: epistemology defined from the Greek root; the phrase explained as understanding what loss is; the distinction between feeling and knowing; the four plain things he learns (the thing is gone for good, money cannot undo it, this is the ordinary condition of o…

Q135. Examine the last four lines of the poem and show how they change everything that has come before.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: the inward movement, with 'desperate' glossed and the force of 'behind'; the link back to the refusal to intervene; the abstract movement, with epistemology defined and the mismatch explained; the point that the boy lacks the vocabulary; the outward movemen…

Open the full The Ball Poem · Class 10 English · First Flight Poetry kit Flashcards · 60 Quick Revision · 36
Make your own

Your notes can be a kit like these

Every kit here was made from real study material. Point Veda at a chapter, a PDF, a photo or a link and get notes, flashcards, practice MCQs, games and a scored test — free, in 42 languages.

  • Chapter notes
  • Flashcards
  • Practice MCQs
  • Scored tests
  • Exam prep

Get Veda free See what students get

Free to start · No ads · Works in 42 languages