MCQs and case-based questions based on the lesson ‘A Baker from Goa’ from the class 10 English Literature book ‘First Flight’ are given here to help students prepare for their Class X Board Exams. First attempt and then see answers given in the last of every extract.
I. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
“The baker usually collected his bills at the end of the month. Monthly accounts used to be recorded on some wall in pencil. Baking was indeed a profitable profession in the old days. The baker and his family never starved. He, his family and his servants always looked happy and prosperous. Their plump physique was an open testimony to this. Even today any person with a jackfruit-like physical appearance is easily compared to a baker.”
1. Which word from the passage means the same as ‘proof’
- A) Trouble
- B) Testimony
- C) Physique
- D) Fragrance
2. Identify the tone of the extract.
- A) Ignorant
- B) Wise
- C) Impatient
- D) Informative
3. Which title best suits this extract?
- A) The Stingy Baker
- B) The Charming Baker
- C) The Jealous Baker
- D) The Prosperous Baker
4. What can we conclude based on the extract?
- A) The baker was indifferent towards his servants.
- B) The baker took good care of his servants.
- C) The baker provided shelter to his servants.
- D) The baker didn’t pay his servants well.
5. Which sentence is not true in the context of the extract?
- A) The baker collected his earnings at the end of the month.
- B) The baker’s account was recorded on a wall.
- C) The baker’s family was well-fed.
- D) The baker’s business was thriving.
Answers:
1. B) Testimony
‘Testimony’ means proof or evidence. Here, the good health of the baker’s family and workers was proof of his profitable business.
2. D) Informative
‘Informative’ refers to something that is educational or factual. Here, the author informs readers about the baker’s earnings and family life during the old days.
3. D) The Prosperous Baker
The baker’s income enabled him and his family to live happy and ‘prosperous’ lives.
4. B) The baker took good care of his servants.
The author notes that in addition to his family, the baker’s ‘servants’ also looked ‘happy’ and well-fed. This implies that the baker cared for his servants.
5. A) The baker collected his earnings at the end of the month.
II. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
“Those eaters of loaves might have vanished but the makers are still here. We still have amongst us the mixers, the moulders and those who bake the loaves. Those age-old, time-tested furnaces still exist. The fire in the furnaces has not yet been extinguished. The thud and jingle of the traditional baker’s bamboo, heralding his arrival in the morning, can still be heard in some places. Maybe the father is not alive but the son still carries on the family profession.”
1. Who does the author refer to as ‘those eaters of loaves’?
- A) The Spanish
- B) The Dutch
- C) The English
- D) The Portuguese
2. What is the author’s tone in these lines?
- A) Dissatisfied
- B) Nostalgic
- C) Anxious
- D) Regretful
3. What does the author mean by the line, ‘the fire in the furnaces has not yet been extinguished’?
- A) The baker’s role in the Goan community is not important.
- B) The baker’s role in the Goan community has changed.
- C) The baker’s role in the Goan community has become irrelevant.
- D) The baker’s role in the Goan community is still essential.
4. Which of these words is a synonym of ‘heralding’?
- A) Announcing
- B) Hearing
- C) Hiding
- D) Showing
5. Which sentence is true in the context of this extract?
- A) The profession of baking is not well-respected.
- B) The profession of baking is unprofitable.
- C) The profession of baking is losing its appeal.
- D) The profession of baking is passed down from generation to generation.
Answers:
1. D) The Portuguese
Here, the author is talking about the Portuguese settlers who previously inhabited Goa.
2. B) Nostalgic
Nostalgic means being sentimental about the past. Here, the author fondly reminisces about the role of the baker in the Goan community.
3. D) The baker’s role in the Goan community is still essential.
This line implies that baking traditions have sustained over generations. For example, even today, the sound of the baker’s bamboo signals his arrival in some places.
4. A) Announcing
To ‘herald’ is to announce the arrival of something. Thus, the ‘thud’ of the baker’s bamboo announced his arrival every morning.
5. D) The profession of baking is passed down from generation to generation.
The author notes that the baker may not be alive but his son ‘carries on’ or continues the ‘family profession’, that is, his father’s legacy of baking.
III. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
“During our childhood in Goa, the baker used to be our friend, companion and guide. He used to come at least twice a day. One hand supported the basket on his head and the other banged the bamboo on the ground. He would greet the lady of the house with “Good morning” and then place his basket on the vertical bamboo. We kids would be pushed aside with a mild rebuke and the loaves would be delivered to the servant. But we would not give up.”
1. How does the author remember the baker from his childhood?
- A) As a companion, enemy and guardian
- B) As a friend, companion and guide
- C) As a brother, enemy and guardian
- D) As a friend, brother and confidante
2. Which of these words is a synonym of ‘rebuke’?
- A) Pamper
- B) Instruct
- C) Coddle
- D) Scold
3. What would the kids do after being ‘pushed aside’?
- A) Climb a tree
- B) Climb a fence
- C) Climb a bench
- D) Climb a ladder
4. What bread does the author say he liked as a kid?
- A) Bread-pockets
- B) Bread-bangles
- C) Bread twists
- D) Bread slices
5. Which word defines the kids in the context of this extract?
- A) Morose
- B) Obedient
- C) Disinterested
- D) Undaunted
Answers:
1. B) As a friend, companion and guide
During his childhood, the author viewed the baker as a ‘friend, companion and guide’.
2. D) Scold
The word ‘rebuke’ means to scold or reprimand. Here, the author describes how the adults would scold the kids for scrambling around the baker when he arrived.
3. C) Climb a bench
After being ‘pushed aside’, the kids would climb a bench or parapet to peek inside the baker’s basket.
4. B) Bread-bangles
As a child, the author longed for ‘bread-bangles’, a traditional Goan bread shaped like rings.
5. D) Undaunted
‘Undaunted’ refers to someone who isn’t easily discouraged or scared. Here, despite being ‘rebuked’, the kids would not ‘give up’ or back down.
IV. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
“Not enough can be said to show how important a baker can be for a village. The lady of the house must prepare sandwiches on the occasion of her daughter’s engagement. Cakes and bolinhas are a must for Christmas as well as other festivals. Thus, the presence of the baker’s furnace in the village is absolutely essential.”
1. Choose two ways in which the baker is essential to the Goan community.
- A) For festivals like Christmas
- B) For marriage gifts
- C) For monthly necessities
- D) For children’s events
2. What was the term for a baker in the Goan community?
- A) Kabai
- B) Pader
- C) Bol
- D) Bolinhas
3. In the story, how does the author say one invites comparison to the pader?
- A) By wearing half pants
- B) By making a lot of money
- C) By baking really well
- D) By carrying a basket and a bamboo stick
4. Which of these words is a synonym for ‘essential’?
- A) Important
- B) Foremost
- C) Trivial
- D) Voluntary
5. Which statement is true in the context of this extract?
- A) Cakes are distributed as wedding gifts in Goa.
- B) Bread is a necessity in Goan engagement ceremonies.
- C) The baker’s role is insignificant in the Goan community.
- D) The baker’s furnace is irrelevant in Goan villages.
Answers:
1. A) For festivals like Christmas; B) For marriage gifts
The author says that cakes and bolinhas are ‘a must’ or a requirement for Christmas and other festivals in Goa. Marriage gifts in the Goan community were ‘meaningless’ or incomplete without the sweet bread known as bol.
2. B) Pader
3. A) By wearing half pants
When the author was a child, the baker wore half-pants that reached just below his knees. So, even today, anyone wearing half pants invites the comment that he is dressed like a pader.
4. A) Important
‘Essential’ means something that is extremely important. This extract highlights how bread and baked treats are a huge part of Goan festivals and customs. Thus, it is important to have a baker’s furnace in Goan villages.
5. B) Bread is a necessity in Goan engagement ceremonies.
As per the extract, the ‘lady of the house’ must make ‘sandwiches’ for her daughter’s engagement. So, bread is needed in Goan engagement ceremonies.
