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A Tiger in the Zoo · Class 10 English · First Flight Poetry: 132 MCQs with answers

All 132 multiple-choice questions from this kit, free and with no sign-up.

Full kit · everything Flashcards · 60 Quick Revision · 36

Warm-up · 8 questions

Q1. This poem is printed at the end of the second prose chapter of First Flight, beside a lesson about Nelson Mandela. Who wrote it?

Beginner
A Robert Frost B Leslie Norris C Rainer Maria Rilke D Peter Niblett
Show answer & explanation

Leslie Norris

Rilke and Niblett wrote the two poems printed beside it.

Q2. Counting the whole poem from the tiger's first steps to his stare at the night sky, how many stanzas are there?

Beginner
A Four B Five C Three D Six
Show answer & explanation

Five

Four lines in each of them.

Q3. Only one word in the whole of this poem is explained in the textbook's glossary, and it belongs to the imagined jungle. What does 'snarls' mean?

Beginner
A Moving silently through undergrowth B Showing the teeth in a wide yawn C Making an angry, warning sound D Pacing back and forth in distress
Show answer & explanation

Making an angry, warning sound

The only word glossed for the whole poem.

Q4. The fourth stanza replaces the grass and water of the jungle with a single hard material. What is the tiger's cell made of?

Beginner
A Concrete B Wood C Glass D Earth
Show answer & explanation

Concrete

Where the jungle had grass and water.

Q5. Having heard the last human voice and the cars going round outside, what does the tiger look at in the final line of the poem?

Beginner
A The bars of his cage B The visitors leaving C The stars D The patrolling cars
Show answer & explanation

The stars

With his brilliant eyes.

Q6. Which pair correctly matches a word with its column?

Beginner
A Bars — the jungle B Lurking — the cage C Visitors — the jungle D Water hole — the jungle
Show answer & explanation

Water hole — the jungle

Bars and visitors belong to the zoo; lurking to the wild.

Q7. One of the poem's two repeated words travels inwards, from the softness of the animal's feet to the fury inside him. Which word is it?

Beginner
A Velvet B Quiet C Vivid D Brilliant
Show answer & explanation

Quiet

Velvet quiet, and then quiet rage.

Q8. The other repeated word travels outwards, from the animal to the furthest thing the poem could have chosen. Which word is it?

Beginner
A Bright B Vivid C White D Brilliant
Show answer & explanation

Brilliant

Brilliant eyes, and the brilliant stars.

Building up · 46 questions

Q9. The textbook's headnote describes the shape of this poem before the reader begins. What shape does it give?

Intermediate
A It travels out to the jungle in the middle and then comes back to the cage B From the jungle to the zoo and no further C From night to morning in a single place D From the tiger's birth to his capture
Show answer & explanation

It travels out to the jungle in the middle and then comes back to the cage

And it asks students to identify which stanzas are which.

Q10. Which stanzas of the poem describe the zoo?

Intermediate
A The first and the second only B The third, the fourth and the fifth C Only the last stanza D The first, the fourth and the fifth
Show answer & explanation

The first, the fourth and the fifth

The jungle occupies stanzas two and three.

Q11. In the opening stanza, how does the tiger move?

Intermediate
A He hurls himself repeatedly against the bars B He stalks on pads of velvet quiet, in his quiet rage C He lies still and refuses to move at all D He roars at the people watching him
Show answer & explanation

He stalks on pads of velvet quiet, in his quiet rage

Beautiful, silent and furious, all at once.

Q12. Both of the poem's jungle stanzas open with the same two words, and those two words are the reason the jungle never actually happens. What phrase is it?

Intermediate
A He remembers B He should be C He dreams of D He once was
Show answer & explanation

He should be

So the jungle never actually happens in the poem.

Q13. What is the tiger imagined doing in the second stanza of the poem?

Intermediate
A Sleeping in the sun beside a river B Hunting a deer he has already caught C Fighting another tiger for territory D Lurking in shadow and sliding through long grass near a water hole
Show answer & explanation

Lurking in shadow and sliding through long grass near a water hole

Where plump deer pass.

Q14. What is the tiger imagined doing in the third stanza?

Intermediate
A Drinking quietly at the water hole B Snarling at houses on the jungle's edge and terrorising the village C Teaching its young to hunt D Hiding from human beings in the forest
Show answer & explanation

Snarling at houses on the jungle's edge and terrorising the village

Baring his white fangs and his claws.

Q15. Which single word at the start of the fourth stanza brings the poem back from the jungle to the cage?

Intermediate
A And B So C But D Then
Show answer & explanation

But

One word, and the gate shuts.

Q16. How does the tiger treat the people who come to look at him?

Intermediate
A He roars at them through the bars B He hides from them at the back of the cage C He begs them for food D He ignores them completely
Show answer & explanation

He ignores them completely

Indifference is the one power he has left.

Q17. What two sounds does the tiger hear in the final stanza of the poem?

Intermediate
A The roaring of other animals and the wind B The last voice at night and the patrolling cars C Children shouting and a gate closing D Rain on the concrete and a distant train
Show answer & explanation

The last voice at night and the patrolling cars

A zoo at night is a guarded building.

Q18. Which statements about the poem's structure are correct? 1. It has five stanzas. 2. The jungle occupies stanzas two and three. 3. The tiger escapes in the fourth stanza.

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

1 and 2 only

He never leaves the cage at any point.

Q19. A student writes that the tiger escapes into the jungle in the middle of the poem. How should this be corrected?

Intermediate
A He never leaves the cage; the jungle stanzas say only what he should be doing B He escapes in the third stanza and is recaptured in the fourth C He is moved to a larger enclosure halfway through D The poem never mentions a jungle at all
Show answer & explanation

He never leaves the cage; the jungle stanzas say only what he should be doing

Both jungle stanzas are built on 'he should be'.

Q20. How many stanzas of captivity surround the two stanzas of imagined freedom?

Intermediate
A Two B Three C One D Four
Show answer & explanation

Three

One before and two after — the arithmetic is deliberate.

Q21. Which is the best summary of the whole poem?

Intermediate
A A caged tiger paces while the poem imagines the life he should be living B A tiger escapes from a zoo and terrorises a nearby village C A poet argues that all zoos should be closed immediately D A tiger is captured in the jungle and taken to a city
Show answer & explanation

A caged tiger paces while the poem imagines the life he should be living

And then it returns him to the cage.

Q22. Which pair correctly matches a stanza with its setting?

Intermediate
A The first stanza — the water hole B The fifth stanza — long grass at night C The second stanza — a concrete cell D The third stanza — the jungle's edge and the village
Show answer & explanation

The third stanza — the jungle's edge and the village

The concrete cell belongs to the fourth stanza.

Q23. What does the poem do instead of arguing about zoos?

Intermediate
A It states its case in the final stanza B It quotes the opinions of zoo keepers C It describes, imagines and returns — and leaves the reader to judge D It compares several zoos with one another
Show answer & explanation

It describes, imagines and returns — and leaves the reader to judge

The textbook saves the argument for its own questions.

Q24. Which stanzas of the poem speak about the tiger in the zoo, and which about the tiger in the jungle?

Intermediate
Show answer & explanation

—

Q25. What does the tiger do in the first stanza, and what does it tell us?

Intermediate
Show answer & explanation

—

Q26. Describe the movement of 'A Tiger in the Zoo' from stanza to stanza.

Intermediate
Show answer & explanation

—

Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include at least six of: the headnote's zoo-jungle-zoo shape; the allocation of stanzas one, four and five to the zoo and two and three to the jungle; the pacing, vivid stripes, velvet pads and quiet rage; the measurement in few steps; 'he should be' and what it imp…

Q27. The textbook sets two sorting tasks after this poem and then asks a third question. What is that third question?

Intermediate
A Whether the student has ever visited a zoo B In what ways the poet's choice of words sets the two lives against each other C What the rhyme scheme of the poem is D Which stanza the student likes best
Show answer & explanation

In what ways the poet's choice of words sets the two lives against each other

The sorting is only the first half of the task.

Q28. Which set of verbs belongs to the tiger in the cage?

Intermediate
A Lurking, sliding, snarling, baring, terrorising B Running, leaping, hunting, killing, feeding C Stalks, locked, ignoring, hears, stares D Sleeping, dreaming, waking, calling, waiting
Show answer & explanation

Stalks, locked, ignoring, hears, stares

Not one of them acts on anything.

Q29. Which set of verbs belongs to the tiger in the wild?

Intermediate
A Stalks, locked, ignoring, hears, stares B Pacing, watching, waiting, resting, listening C Lurking, sliding, snarling, baring, terrorising D Climbing, swimming, digging, calling, hiding
Show answer & explanation

Lurking, sliding, snarling, baring, terrorising

Every one of them needs a world to act on.

Q30. Which list gives the words describing the zoo as a place?

Intermediate
A Shadow, long grass, water hole, plump deer, village B Stripes, pads, fangs, claws, eyes C Cage, a few steps, concrete cell, bars, visitors, patrolling cars D Night, stars, voice, cars, cell
Show answer & explanation

Cage, a few steps, concrete cell, bars, visitors, patrolling cars

All of them hard, man-made and countable.

Q31. Which list gives the words describing the jungle as a place?

Intermediate
A Cage, bars, concrete cell, visitors, cars B Shadow, long grass, water hole, plump deer, the jungle's edge, the village C Vivid, velvet, quiet, brilliant, white D Stalks, lurking, sliding, snarling, baring
Show answer & explanation

Shadow, long grass, water hole, plump deer, the jungle's edge, the village

All of them soft, living and uncounted.

Q32. Which adjectives keep the tiger's beauty intact despite his captivity?

Intermediate
A Vivid, for his stripes, and brilliant, for his eyes B Long and plump, for the grass and the deer C Concrete and quiet, for his cell D White and bared, for his fangs
Show answer & explanation

Vivid, for his stripes, and brilliant, for his eyes

Nothing has been taken from his appearance.

Q33. How is sound divided between the two settings of the poem?

Intermediate
A Both settings are described as completely silent B The cage is noisy and the jungle is still C Sound is never mentioned in the poem D The jungle is loud with snarling; the cage is silent
Show answer & explanation

The jungle is loud with snarling; the cage is silent

Velvet quiet, quiet rage, ignoring.

Q34. Which statements about the sorting are correct? 1. 'Snarling' belongs to the wild column. 2. 'Ignoring' belongs to the cage column. 3. 'Concrete' belongs to the jungle column.

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

Concrete is the one adjective the cage is given.

Q35. A student puts 'snarling' in the cage column. Why is that wrong?

Intermediate
A Snarling is not a verb of movement B The tiger makes no sound at all in the zoo C The word appears only in the glossary D Tigers cannot snarl in captivity
Show answer & explanation

The tiger makes no sound at all in the zoo

Snarling, baring and terrorising are all imagined.

Q36. What is the weakness of an answer that gives only the two lists?

Intermediate
A Lists are not allowed in English examinations B The lists are too long to write out in full C The set question also asks what the lists show about the contrast D The words in them are not from the poem
Show answer & explanation

The set question also asks what the lists show about the contrast

Sorting earns one mark; the explanation earns the rest.

Q37. Which is the best statement of how Norris creates the contrast?

Intermediate
A By repeatedly telling the reader that zoos are cruel B By describing the tiger's thoughts in detail C By putting two vocabularies side by side and adding no comment D By quoting the opinions of visitors and keepers
Show answer & explanation

By putting two vocabularies side by side and adding no comment

The judgement is left entirely to the reader.

Q38. Which is the best summary of this topic?

Intermediate
A The poem uses unusually difficult words throughout B The poem describes the zoo in more detail than the jungle C The poem's vocabulary does all the work its argument would otherwise need D The poem's adjectives are its least important feature
Show answer & explanation

The poem's vocabulary does all the work its argument would otherwise need

Sort the words and the contrast is already made.

Q39. Arrange the words describing the tiger's movements in two columns, and say what the columns show.

Intermediate
Show answer & explanation

—

Q40. Arrange the words describing the two places in two columns, and comment on them.

Intermediate
Show answer & explanation

—

Q41. Sort the poem's vocabulary into columns and explain how the contrast is made.

Intermediate
Show answer & explanation

—

Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: the cage verbs and the wild verbs listed correctly; the observation that the wild verbs take objects and the cage verbs do not; the point about stalking; the two lists of place words; the characterisation of each list as man-made/countable and living/uncoun…

Q42. The textbook prints two pairs of lines from this poem and asks a single question about them. What does it ask?

Intermediate
A What the rhyme scheme of each pair is B Which of the two pairs is more beautiful C How many syllables each line contains D What the effect of the repeated word is
Show answer & explanation

What the effect of the repeated word is

'For emphasis' is the wrong answer.

Q43. Looking at the way the second and fourth lines of each stanza chime while the first and third do not, what is the rhyme scheme?

Intermediate
A abab B aabb C abcb D abba
Show answer & explanation

abcb

Only the second and fourth lines rhyme.

Q44. Which pair is one of the poem's full rhymes?

Intermediate
A Cage and rage B Edge and village C Bars and visitors D Stripes and steps
Show answer & explanation

Cage and rage

Grass with pass and cars with stars are the other two.

Q45. Immediately after this poem the textbook widens the subject before asking students to take a side. What does it print there?

Intermediate
A A biography of Leslie Norris B A glossary of forty difficult words C Three further poems and a set of questions about zoos D A grammar exercise on relative clauses
Show answer & explanation

Three further poems and a set of questions about zoos

About a tiger, a panther and the greater cats.

Q46. What three questions about zoos does the textbook ask?

Intermediate
A Who owns them, who funds them, and who visits them B How large they are, how old they are, and how many animals they hold C Are they necessary for conservation, useful for education, and are there alternatives D Whether the poet ever visited one
Show answer & explanation

Are they necessary for conservation, useful for education, and are there alternatives

And then it asks students to take a side.

Q47. Which statements about the poem's form are correct? 1. The rhyme scheme is abcb. 2. Two stanzas use half-rhyme. 3. The poem is in strict metre.

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

1 and 2 only

There is no regular beat anywhere in it.

Q48. A student says the repetition is 'just for emphasis'. What is the better answer?

Intermediate
A Each second use alters the first — inwards for 'quiet', outwards for 'brilliant' B The repetition fills out the rhythm of the lines C The poet had run out of other adjectives D It makes the poem easier to remember
Show answer & explanation

Each second use alters the first — inwards for 'quiet', outwards for 'brilliant'

The textbook asks for the effect, not the fact.

Q49. How should a three-mark answer on the repetition be organised?

Intermediate
A Describe the whole poem stanza by stanza B Take the two pairs separately and say what changes in each C Give the rhyme scheme and the poet's name D Argue for or against the existence of zoos
Show answer & explanation

Take the two pairs separately and say what changes in each

Two pairs, two changes.

Q50. What should a six-mark answer add to that?

Intermediate
A A summary of the poet's life and other works B The rhyme, the plain language, and the point about what captivity leaves C A list of every animal mentioned in the poem D A comparison with a poem from another book
Show answer & explanation

The rhyme, the plain language, and the point about what captivity leaves

Three additions, each provable from the text.

Q51. Which pair correctly matches a repetition with its direction?

Intermediate
A 'Brilliant' — from the sky to his eyes B 'Quiet' — from the visitors to the keepers C 'Brilliant' — from his stripes to his fangs D 'Quiet' — from outside the tiger to inside him
Show answer & explanation

'Quiet' — from outside the tiger to inside him

'Brilliant' moves outwards, from his eyes to the stars.

Q52. What is the best single sentence on the poem's theme?

Intermediate
A Zoos should be closed as soon as possible B Tigers are dangerous and must be confined C Captivity leaves the animal whole and takes away everything he is for D The poem describes a beautiful animal in a beautiful place
Show answer & explanation

Captivity leaves the animal whole and takes away everything he is for

Which is why the rage is quiet rather than loud.

Q53. State the rhyme scheme of the poem and comment on it.

Intermediate
Show answer & explanation

—

Q54. The textbook asks whether zoos are necessary. Write a reasoned answer that takes the poem into account.

Intermediate
Show answer & explanation

—

Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Accept either side, provided the case is argued. Content should include: recognition of the conservation argument; recognition of the educational argument; the distinction between conserving and merely keeping; evidence from the poem (concrete cell, few steps, bars, visitors, patr…

Topper level · 78 questions

Q55. The poem gives the size of the tiger's world in an unusual unit of measurement rather than describing it with an adjective. What unit is used?

Advanced
A Metres, counted from wall to wall B Hours spent walking from end to end C The number of bars in the cage D Steps — and there are only a few of them
Show answer & explanation

Steps — and there are only a few of them

A wild tiger ranges over many square kilometres.

Q56. Why does the phrase 'he should be' matter so much to a reading of this poem?

Advanced
A It proves the tiger was born in the wild B It tells us the tiger will be released one day C It suggests the tiger is asleep and dreaming D It shows the jungle is what ought to be, not what is happening
Show answer & explanation

It shows the jungle is what ought to be, not what is happening

The poem's anger lives in that one word 'should'.

Q57. Why is the detail about terrorising the village a bold choice by the poet?

Advanced
A It proves that tigers regularly attack villages B It shows the tiger has already escaped once C The free tiger is shown as genuinely frightening rather than picturesque D It explains why the tiger was captured
Show answer & explanation

The free tiger is shown as genuinely frightening rather than picturesque

Norris refuses to sentimentalise what freedom would look like.

Q58. The fourth stanza says the tiger's strength is behind bars. What does that phrase convey?

Advanced
A The tiger has grown weaker in captivity B The bars themselves are unusually strong C The tiger is stronger than the bars D The power is entirely present and entirely useless
Show answer & explanation

The power is entirely present and entirely useless

Nothing has been taken from him except the use of it.

Q59. Why is 'ignoring visitors' the poem's sharpest line about human beings?

Advanced
A It shows the visitors were cruel to him B It proves that he has gone blind in captivity C Everything in a zoo is arranged so people can see him, and he refuses to see them D It suggests the zoo had very few visitors
Show answer & explanation

Everything in a zoo is arranged so people can see him, and he refuses to see them

No roaring, no charging — just nothing.

Q60. What does the detail of the patrolling cars quietly establish?

Advanced
A That the tiger is about to be moved elsewhere B That visitors are allowed to stay overnight C That the zoo is a guarded building even after everyone has gone D That the cage is close to a public road
Show answer & explanation

That the zoo is a guarded building even after everyone has gone

The poem says it without a word of comment.

Q61. Why is it fitting that the poem ends with the tiger staring at the night sky?

Advanced
A The stars suggest that he will soon be freed B It shows that he has stopped caring about the jungle C The stars are the one thing the bars cannot shut out — and are out of reach D It proves that the zoo is in the countryside
Show answer & explanation

The stars are the one thing the bars cannot shut out — and are out of reach

The poem's last gift to him is a view, and nothing else.

Q62. Assertion (A): The poem never uses the word 'cruel'. Reason (R): It describes a cage, imagines a jungle and returns to the cage, leaving every judgement for the reader to make.

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

It never argues, blames or asks for anything.

Q63. Why does the poem return to the cage instead of ending in the jungle?

Advanced
A Ending in the cage makes the jungle a measure of what has been lost B The poet forgot to finish the jungle section C It shows that the tiger prefers the zoo D It was a requirement of the verse form
Show answer & explanation

Ending in the cage makes the jungle a measure of what has been lost

A poem ending at stanza three would be a fantasy of escape.

Q64. What is repeated between the first stanza and the fourth?

Advanced
A The reference to the stars B The word 'snarling' C The pacing — he stalks his cage in both D The description of the deer
Show answer & explanation

The pacing — he stalks his cage in both

Nothing has changed except that we have now seen the alternative.

Q65. Which detail shows that the tiger's beauty has not been damaged by captivity?

Advanced
A He is said to be larger than other tigers B The visitors admire him openly C He is described as young and healthy D His stripes are described as vivid and his eyes as brilliant
Show answer & explanation

His stripes are described as vivid and his eyes as brilliant

What has been taken from him is not his beauty.

Q66. What has actually been taken from the tiger, according to the poem?

Advanced
A His beauty and the brightness of his eyes B His ability to make any sound at all C His memory of the jungle D The use of his strength, and the space to use it in
Show answer & explanation

The use of his strength, and the space to use it in

His strength is present — it is simply behind bars.

Q67. Reading the poem aloud, what is the effect of placing the two jungle stanzas in the middle rather than at the beginning or the end?

Advanced
A Freedom is framed by captivity on both sides and cannot escape it B The poem becomes easier to memorise C It hides the fact that the tiger is caged D It allows the rhyme scheme to change halfway
Show answer & explanation

Freedom is framed by captivity on both sides and cannot escape it

Two stanzas out, three stanzas in.

Q68. The poem gives the tiger a great deal and takes almost nothing away in physical terms. Which statement best expresses this?

Advanced
A He has lost his stripes and his strength in captivity B He keeps his stripes, his pads, his fangs, his strength and his eyes — and has nowhere to use them C He has been injured by the bars of his cage D He is described as old and worn out
Show answer & explanation

He keeps his stripes, his pads, his fangs, his strength and his eyes — and has nowhere to use them

Which is exactly what makes the poem painful.

Q69. Which word best describes the tone of the poem's voice?

Advanced
A Furious and accusing throughout B Level — it never raises itself, although its subject is fury C Cheerful and admiring D Frightened of the animal it describes
Show answer & explanation

Level — it never raises itself, although its subject is fury

The rage in the poem belongs to the tiger, and it is quiet.

Q70. Why is the third stanza's picture of the free tiger a bold one?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q71. Why is 'ignoring visitors' such an effective line?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q72. Why does the poem end with the tiger staring at the stars?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q73. Why does the poem return to the cage instead of ending in the jungle?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q74. 'Everything in this poem is done by placing things side by side, and nothing by argument.' Discuss.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: the absence of the word 'cruel' and of any argument; the two sets of images placed side by side, with examples from each; the use of plain fact rather than adjectives (few steps, concrete cell); the tiger's undamaged beauty and unused strength; the single m…

Q75. What is the effect of building both jungle stanzas on the words 'he should be'?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: the identification of 'he should be' in both jungle stanzas; the alternatives Norris did not use (past tense, dream) and what each would have changed; the modal as the poem's only expressed opinion; the effect of the repetition; the turn at 'but' and the im…

Q76. Laying the two verb columns side by side reveals something that no adjective in the poem ever states. What is it?

Advanced
A The cage verbs are longer words than the wild ones B The wild verbs all act on a world; the cage verbs act on nothing C The wild verbs are all in the past tense D The cage verbs are repeated more often
Show answer & explanation

The wild verbs all act on a world; the cage verbs act on nothing

The verbs make the poem's case by themselves.

Q77. Why is the word 'stalking' particularly painful in the cage stanzas?

Advanced
A It suggests the tiger is limping B It shows he is frightened of the visitors C It is a hunter's walk performed where there is nothing to hunt D It means he is moving very slowly
Show answer & explanation

It is a hunter's walk performed where there is nothing to hunt

The action survives; the purpose does not.

Q78. What does the word 'locked' contribute to the cage column?

Advanced
A It shows he could escape if he wished B It describes the sound of the cage door C It suggests the keepers are careless D It is the one verb that is done to him rather than by him
Show answer & explanation

It is the one verb that is done to him rather than by him

Every other cage verb is at least his own.

Q79. Why can none of the wild verbs be spoken without naming a place as well?

Advanced
A Lurking needs shadow, sliding needs grass, terrorising needs a village B They are all irregular verbs in English C They all describe sounds rather than movements D They were invented by the poet for this poem
Show answer & explanation

Lurking needs shadow, sliding needs grass, terrorising needs a village

Freedom in this poem is having something to act on.

Q80. What quality do all the zoo words share?

Advanced
A They are all borrowed from other languages B They all describe sounds C They are all used twice in the poem D They are hard, man-made and countable
Show answer & explanation

They are hard, man-made and countable

Concrete, bars, cars — even the movement belongs to a machine.

Q81. What quality do all the jungle words share?

Advanced
A They are all two syllables long B They are soft, living and uncounted C They all appear in the first stanza D They are all abstract nouns
Show answer & explanation

They are soft, living and uncounted

Even the houses there are on the edge of something growing.

Q82. Which pair of words forms the poem's sharpest single contrast?

Advanced
A Vivid and brilliant B Velvet and concrete C Shadow and night D Deer and visitors
Show answer & explanation

Velvet and concrete

One describes the tiger; the other describes what was built around him.

Q83. Why is that particular contrast so effective?

Advanced
A Both words appear in the same line of the poem B Both are unusual words that students must look up C Nothing in the zoo could be velvet and nothing in the jungle could be concrete D They are the only two adjectives in the poem
Show answer & explanation

Nothing in the zoo could be velvet and nothing in the jungle could be concrete

A texture does the work of an argument.

Q84. The poem describes the deer outside the cage with a single adjective that most readers walk straight past. What is it, and what does it do?

Advanced
A 'Wild' — it shows the deer are hard to catch B 'Swift' — it shows the tiger would have to work for his food C 'Many' — it shows the herd is large D 'Plump' — it shows the outside world is well fed as well as open
Show answer & explanation

'Plump' — it shows the outside world is well fed as well as open

And the poem never mentions the tiger being fed in the zoo.

Q85. How does the poem set abundance against measurement?

Advanced
A The jungle is described in uncounted quantities; the cage in a few steps B The jungle is measured in kilometres and the cage in metres C The poem counts the deer but not the bars D The poem gives the tiger's age and weight
Show answer & explanation

The jungle is described in uncounted quantities; the cage in a few steps

You can measure the zoo; you cannot measure the jungle.

Q86. When sound finally reaches the zoo in the last stanza, whose sound is it?

Advanced
A The tiger's own, roaring at last B Other animals calling across the zoo C Human — the last voice at night and the patrolling cars D Rain falling on the concrete
Show answer & explanation

Human — the last voice at night and the patrolling cars

The only noises in his world are made by the people who put him there.

Q87. How does the direction of attention reverse between the jungle stanzas and the zoo stanzas?

Advanced
A In the jungle he hides; in the zoo he displays himself B In the jungle he frightens; in the zoo he is watched C In the jungle he is hunted; in the zoo he hunts D In both settings he is ignored completely
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In the jungle he frightens; in the zoo he is watched

The poem marks it in two words: terrorising, and visitors.

Q88. Assertion (A): The poem makes its case without a single word of judgement. Reason (R): The poem is arranged in five short stanzas of four lines each.

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

Both are true. The stanza count is not what keeps the judgement out of the poem.

Q89. Which single word is the only adjective the poem gives to the cage?

Advanced
A Narrow B Dark C Cold D Concrete
Show answer & explanation

Concrete

And it does the work of a whole paragraph.

Q90. Which thing in the zoo moves as freely as the tiger ought to?

Advanced
A The visitors B The patrolling cars C The tiger himself D Nothing in the zoo moves at all
Show answer & explanation

The patrolling cars

The only free movement in his world has wheels.

Q91. Why does the poem mention the water hole rather than simply saying 'water'?

Advanced
A It is easier to rhyme than 'water' B It shows the jungle is dry for most of the year C It tells us the season of the year D A water hole is a place other animals come to, so it implies a whole ecosystem
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A water hole is a place other animals come to, so it implies a whole ecosystem

The plump deer pass it, which is why he should be lurking there.

Q92. What does the phrase 'his strength behind bars' add to the cage column?

Advanced
A The power is present and unusable, which is worse than losing it B The bars are stronger than the tiger C The tiger has become physically weaker D The keepers are afraid of his strength
Show answer & explanation

The power is present and unusable, which is worse than losing it

Nothing has been taken from him except the use of it.

Q93. Why does the poem describe the grass as 'long'?

Advanced
A It supplies cover, so the adjective is about hunting as well as abundance B It shows the jungle is untended C It rhymes with another word in the stanza D It tells us how tall the tiger is
Show answer & explanation

It supplies cover, so the adjective is about hunting as well as abundance

He should be sliding through it towards the water hole.

Q94. What is the effect of describing the cell as 'concrete' rather than 'small'?

Advanced
A It tells the reader exactly how large the cage is B It suggests the cage was recently built C It implies the tiger could break out of it D It names a material rather than a dimension, and so feels permanent
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It names a material rather than a dimension, and so feels permanent

A fact does more here than an adjective of judgement would.

Q95. Which five points should follow the sorting in a full answer?

Advanced
A Title, poet, date, stanza count, rhyme scheme B Objects, materials, velvet against concrete, abundance against measurement, silence against human noise C A paraphrase of each stanza in turn D An opinion about whether zoos should exist
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Objects, materials, velvet against concrete, abundance against measurement, silence against human noise

Sorting earns one mark; these earn the rest.

Q96. How does this poem's method resemble the work of a journalist or a lawyer?

Advanced
A It quotes several witnesses at length B It states a conclusion and then defends it C It uses technical language throughout D Two sets of vocabulary are laid side by side and the case appears by itself
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Two sets of vocabulary are laid side by side and the case appears by itself

Nobody has to state the argument for it to be made.

Q97. What would be lost if the poem described the free tiger only in gentle terms?

Advanced
A The honesty of the contrast — freedom includes the fangs and the village B The rhyme scheme of the third stanza C The connection between the first and fourth stanzas D The reader's ability to sort the words into columns
Show answer & explanation

The honesty of the contrast — freedom includes the fangs and the village

Baring and terrorising belong in the wild column too.

Q98. How does Norris use words and images to contrast the two situations?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q99. Why is 'plump deer' a detail worth writing about?

Advanced
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Q100. How does sound work in this poem?

Advanced
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Q101. Why is the contrast between 'velvet' and 'concrete' the poem's sharpest?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q102. 'In this poem the vocabulary does the work that argument would otherwise have to do.' Discuss.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: the absence of any stated judgement; the verbs in both columns with the point about objects; the nouns in both columns as living against built; the adjectives, with 'concrete' singled out; the contrast of abundance with measurement; the division of sound; a…

Q103. Choose three individual words from the poem and show how much work each is doing.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Accept any three words from the poem, provided the analysis is genuine. Content should include: a precise account of what each word describes; the effect of each on the reader's sense of the tiger or the setting; at least one observation about what a word implies rather than state…

Q104. What is the effect of repeating that word one line later?

Advanced
A It moves from the outside of the tiger to the inside, making softness and fury one thing B It shows that the tiger has fallen asleep C It tells us the zoo is a silent place D It emphasises how carefully the tiger walks
Show answer & explanation

It moves from the outside of the tiger to the inside, making softness and fury one thing

The calm turns out not to be calm at all.

Q105. Why does that repetition explain the tiger's behaviour in the zoo?

Advanced
A It proves that he has been trained not to roar B It shows the quietness a visitor sees is the quietness of suppressed rage C It suggests he is too weak to make a sound D It shows that he is frightened of the keepers
Show answer & explanation

It shows the quietness a visitor sees is the quietness of suppressed rage

He paces quietly and ignores people, and now we know why.

Q106. What does that second repetition achieve?

Advanced
A It shows his brightness is undamaged and ties him to the one free thing left B It suggests that he can see in the dark C It shows that the zoo is well lit at night D It proves that the poem is set in summer
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It shows his brightness is undamaged and ties him to the one free thing left

The stars are the one thing the bars cannot shut out.

Q107. The poem could have compared the tiger's eyes to almost anything. What does choosing the stars in particular measure?

Advanced
A The number of hours he spends awake B The height of the bars around him C The distance between what he is and where he is D The brightness of the zoo's lighting
Show answer & explanation

The distance between what he is and where he is

The furthest thing a poem could have chosen.

Q108. Why does each repeated word appear again just one line later?

Advanced
A It makes the poem easier to memorise B It was required by the rhyme scheme C It fills out the length of the stanza D The echo arrives while the first use is still in the reader's head
Show answer & explanation

The echo arrives while the first use is still in the reader's head

The comparison is made by sound rather than by statement.

Q109. Which pairs in the poem are half-rhymes rather than full ones?

Advanced
A Cage with rage, and grass with pass B Cars with stars, and eyes with skies C Edge with village, and bars with visitors D Quiet with quiet, and brilliant with brilliant
Show answer & explanation

Edge with village, and bars with visitors

Both are near misses, and deliberately so.

Q110. What is the effect of those half-rhymes?

Advanced
A The reader cannot follow the rhyme scheme B The poem never settles into neatness C The stanzas feel longer than they are D The poem sounds like a nursery rhyme
Show answer & explanation

The poem never settles into neatness

Three stanzas chime cleanly and two do not.

Q111. What does the poem do about metre?

Advanced
A Every line is in strict iambic pentameter B There is no regular beat — the lines are short, plain and close to speech C The metre changes between the zoo and the jungle D The poem is written entirely in three-syllable lines
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There is no regular beat — the lines are short, plain and close to speech

Which is why it reads as observation rather than performance.

Q112. Listing everything the tiger still possesses in his cage, what has captivity actually left him?

Advanced
A Nothing but his memory of the jungle B Only his eyes, which the poem calls brilliant C His strength, but not his beauty D His stripes, pads, fangs, strength, eyes and even the instinct to stalk
Show answer & explanation

His stripes, pads, fangs, strength, eyes and even the instinct to stalk

Almost everything, in fact.

Q113. What single thing has captivity taken from him?

Advanced
A His ability to make any sound B The brightness of his eyes C His interest in hunting D The world in which any of his qualities could be used
Show answer & explanation

The world in which any of his qualities could be used

He is perfect, and has nowhere to be perfect in.

Q114. Why would a damaged or broken animal be easier for a reader to look at?

Advanced
A Readers prefer stories with injuries in them B It would justify the zoo's existence C Damage explains itself; an undamaged and useless animal does not D It would make the poem shorter
Show answer & explanation

Damage explains itself; an undamaged and useless animal does not

It is that combination the poem finds unbearable.

Q115. What is the strongest argument in favour of zoos that an answer should meet?

Advanced
A Zoos are popular with families at weekends B Zoos employ a large number of people C Zoos are cheaper than wildlife documentaries D Some species now exist only because zoos bred them
Show answer & explanation

Some species now exist only because zoos bred them

An honest answer does not ignore the other side.

Q116. Which distinction lets a student answer the zoo question without a flat yes or no?

Advanced
A The difference between wild animals and domestic ones B The difference between old zoos and new ones in the same city C The difference between poetry and prose D The difference between keeping an animal and conserving a species
Show answer & explanation

The difference between keeping an animal and conserving a species

Norris's tiger is being kept, not conserved.

Q117. Assertion (A): The repetition in this poem is not simply emphasis. Reason (R): The poem repeats no word at all, every line drawing on entirely fresh vocabulary.

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 poem repeats a good deal, 'brilliant' and 'quiet' among it. The assertion holds; the reason is false.

Q118. How does the light rhyme scheme suit this poem?

Advanced
A It holds each stanza together without making the poem sound arranged B It makes the poem sound like a song C It marks the difference between the zoo and the jungle D It draws attention away from the meaning
Show answer & explanation

It holds each stanza together without making the poem sound arranged

Only two of four lines rhyme, and twice not even those.

Q119. Which reading of the poem's theme is the strongest?

Advanced
A Zoos damage the health of the animals they keep B Tigers are more beautiful than other animals C Wild animals are always happier than captive ones D Captivity removes nothing but the use of what an animal is
Show answer & explanation

Captivity removes nothing but the use of what an animal is

His stripes, strength and eyes are all intact.

Q120. Which other poem printed beside this one ends on a similar image?

Advanced
A The one about the panther pacing in cramped circles B The one in which a tiger growls, snarls and roars C The one about the greater cats, staring out between bars at different stars D None of them ends in a similar way
Show answer & explanation

The one about the greater cats, staring out between bars at different stars

Eyes, bars and a different sky.

Q121. Why is 'bars' rhymed with 'visitors' rather than with a clean rhyme?

Advanced
A The near miss keeps the stanza from sounding tidy or resolved B No English word rhymes with 'bars' C The poet wanted the stanza to sound cheerful D It was a printing error in the textbook
Show answer & explanation

The near miss keeps the stanza from sounding tidy or resolved

Two of the five stanzas refuse to rhyme properly.

Q122. What does the plainness of the language contribute?

Advanced
A It makes the poem suitable only for young children B The poem reads as observation rather than performance C It hides the poem's opinion about zoos D It allows more rhymes to be used
Show answer & explanation

The poem reads as observation rather than performance

Somebody watching an animal and saying what is there.

Q123. Which modern development in zoos does this poem help explain?

Advanced
A Zoos now charge higher entrance fees B Concrete cells have been replaced by planted enclosures with space C Zoos have stopped keeping large cats entirely D Zoos open only during the summer months
Show answer & explanation

Concrete cells have been replaced by planted enclosures with space

Animals with nothing to act on pace, and ignore.

Q124. Why does the poem's ending feel gentle and bleak at the same time?

Advanced
A The stars are the only beautiful thing left to him, and they are unreachable B The tiger falls asleep peacefully at last C The visitors return the following morning D The poem does not describe the night at all
Show answer & explanation

The stars are the only beautiful thing left to him, and they are unreachable

His brilliance and theirs are the same word, and worlds apart.

Q125. What makes a zoo answer strong rather than merely opinionated?

Advanced
A It quotes the whole poem from memory B It concedes conservation and education before making its own case C It says that all zoos everywhere are cruel D It avoids mentioning the poem at all
Show answer & explanation

It concedes conservation and education before making its own case

Meeting the strongest point on the other side is what argument means.

Q126. What is the effect of the repeated word in 'pads of velvet quiet' and 'in his quiet rage'?

Advanced
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Q127. What is the effect of the repeated word in 'brilliant eyes' and 'brilliant stars'?

Advanced
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Q128. Why is 'for emphasis' a weak answer to the question about repetition?

Advanced
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Q129. What does captivity take from this tiger, and what does it leave?

Advanced
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Q130. How would you answer the textbook's question about whether zoos are necessary?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Q131. What is the effect of the repetition in this poem? Answer with reference to both pairs of lines.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: identification of both repeated words; 'quiet' moving from physical softness to emotional rage and the effect of that; the link to his silent behaviour in the zoo; 'brilliant' moving from his eyes to the stars; the two effects of that link (undamaged bright…

Q132. 'What this poem describes is not damage but waste.' Discuss.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: a list of the tiger's intact qualities with textual detail; the absence of injury, illness or cruelty in the poem; the argument that what is missing is the world rather than anything in the animal; the jungle stanzas as an inventory of what is absent; the c…

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