NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 5 The Snake and the Mirror(Extract Based Questions)

Extract Based Questions (3 marks each)

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:

Question 1:
It seemed as if God appreciated that. The snake turned its head. It looked into the mirror and saw its reflection. I do not claim that it was the first snake that ever looked into the mirror. But it was certain » that the snake was looking into the mirror. Was it admiring its own beauty? Was it trying to make an important decision about growing a mustache or using eye shadow and mascara or wearing a vermilion spot on its forehead?

1. Where did the snake move its head?
2. Why did the narrator call it the “first snake”?
3. Find a word in the passage that means ‘look at with pleasure and satisfaction’.
   (Board Term 1,2012, ELI-013)

Answer:

1. The snake moved its head towards the mirror.
2. The narrator calls it the “first snake” because this was the first snake he had seen which enjoyed looking into the mirror.
3. Admiring.

Question 2:
“I took my friend and one or two others to my room to move my things from there. But we found we had little to carry.”

1. Why did the narrator want to remove his things?
2. Why was there little to carry?
3. Write the opposite of “friend”.

Answer:

1. The narrator wanted to remove his things as he wanted to leave his house because of fear of the snake.
2. There was little to carry because thieves had stolen his things.
3. Foe.

Question 3:
I didn’t jump. I didn’t tremble. I didn’t cry out. There was no time to do any such thing. The snake slithered along my shoulder and coiled around my left arm above the elbow. The hood was spread out and its head was hardly three or four-inch from my face!
It would not be correct to say merely that I sat there holding my breath I was turned to stone.

1. Why did the author not jump, tremble and cry?
2. Did the snake bit the speaker? What was his reaction?
3. What does the word “tremble” from the above lines mean? (Board Term 1,2012, ELI-038)

Answer:

1. The author did not jump, tremble and cry because a snake had fallen on his shoulders.
2. No, the snake did not bite the speaker. He said, “Oh!” He had a relief as he was not bitten by the snake.
3. Shiver.

Question 4:
The snake unwound itself from my arm and slowly slithered into my lap. From there it crept onto the table and moved towards the mirror. Perhaps it wanted to enjoy its reflection at closer quarters.

1. Where did the snake settle after uncoiling from the writer’s arm?
2. Why did the snake move towards the mirror?
3. What does the word “slithered” mean? (Board Term 1,2012, ELI-041)

Answer:

1. The snake settled in the writer’s lap after uncoiling from the writer’s arm.
2. The snake moved towards the mirror to have a closer look at its image.
3. Crept.

Question 5:
I did not tremble. I didn’t cry out. There was no time to do any such thing. The snake slithered along my shoulder and coiled around my left arm above the elbow. The hood was spread out and its head was hardly three or four inches from my facet.

1. What did the snake do to him (doctor)?
2. How far was death from him?
3. Find a word from th$ passage which means the same as “stretched”.
   (Board Term 1,2012, ELI-023)

Answer:

1. The snake coiled around his left arm above the elbow and spread out its hood’
2. Death was just three or four inches away from him.
3. Spread.

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