A Tiger in the Zoo – Important Questions

The poem gives a sharp contrast of a tiger. The poem provides a contrast in the mood and environment of a tiger, when he is in the zoo and when he is in the forest, when it is in its natural habitat and when it is imprisoned.

Important Question and Answers

Q. Read the following extract and answer the question that follow:

He stalks in his vivid stripes
The few steps of his cage
On pads of velvet quiet,
In his quiet rage.

1. Which animal has stripes and velvet pads?
   1. Zebra
   2. Tiger
   3. Lion
   4. Panther
2. Why does he move only a few steps, it is because of
   1. Zoo
   2. Room
   3. Jungle
   4. Cage
3. Pick out the word from the stanza that means the same as ‘clear‘.
   1. stripes
   2. velvet
   3. vivid
   4. age
4. Who has written the above lines?
   1. Leslie Norris
   2. Robert Frost
   3. Robin Klein
   4. Carolyn Wells

Answer

1. Tiger
2. Cage
3. vivid
4. Leslie Norris

Q. Read the following extract and answer the question that follow:

He should be lurking in shadow,
Sliding through long grass
Near the water hole
Where plump deer pass

1. The tiger is passing through _________________.
   1. grass
   2. trees
   3. mountains
   4. river
2. For whom is tiger waiting near the water hole?
   1. Fat elephant
   2. Fat hare
   3. Fat deer
   4. Fat ox
3. Find the word from the passage which means same as ‘fat’.
   1. lurking
   2. sliding
   3. rage
   4. plump
4. Who is ‘he’ here?
   1. The Lion
   2. The Tiger
   3. The Camel
   4. The Giraffe
5. The tiger should be lurking in shadow to stalk the ________________.
   1. horse
   2. deer
   3. cow
   4. zebra
6. Where is the tiger now?
   1. jungle
   2. natural habitat
   3. room
   4. zoo
7. Give the antonym of ‘long’.
   1. high
   2. small
   3. short
   4. length
8. The tiger is sliding through long ____________.
   1. stalks
   2. hay
   3. trees
   4. grass

Answer

1. grass
2. fat deer
3. plump
4. The Tiger
5. deer
6. zoo
7. short
8. grass

Q. Read the following extract and answer the question that follow:

He should be snarling around houses
At the jungle’s edge,
Baring his white fangs, his claws,
Terrorising the village!

1. Who is ‘he’ in the above extract?
   1. Tiger
   2. Lion
   3. Hippopotamus
   4. Dragon
2. ‘White fangs’ shows the _____________ of the animal.
   1. white pointed teeth
   2. white stripes
   3. white tail
   4. white legs
3. Find the word from the passage which means same as “showing the teeth and making fearful sound”.
   1. claws
   2. fangs
   3. terrorising
   4. snarling
4. Where is the tiger snarling?
   1. zoo corner
   2. jungle’s edge
   3. mountains
   4. on the tree

Answer

1. Tiger
2. white pointed teeth
3. snarling
4. jungle’s edge

Q. Read the following extract and answer the question that follow:

But he’s locked in a concrete cell,
His strength behind bars,
Stalking the length of his cage,
Ignoring visitors.

1. Who is locked in a concrete cell?
   1. an elephant
   2. a giraffe
   3. a tiger
   4. a lion
2. The tiger is ignoring visitors because he is _____________.
   1. sad
   2. excited
   3. happy
   4. angry
3. Find the word from the passage which means same as ‘pacing‘.
   1. stalking
   2. concrete
   3. strength
   4. ignoring
4. The cell is made of what?
   1. cement
   2. sandstone
   3. marble
   4. concrete

Answer

1. a tiger
2. angry
3. stalking
4. concrete

Q. Read the following extract and answer the question that follow:

He hears the last voice at night,
The patrolling cars,
And stares with his brilliant eyes
At the brilliant stars.

1. Who hears the last voice at night?
   1. Tiger
   2. Horse
   3. Wolf
   4. Rabbit
2. The last voice that he hears is that of ______________.
   1. trucks
   2. aeroplanes
   3. patrolling cars
   4. trains
3. At what does he stared with his brilliant eyes?
   1. sky
   2. sun
   3. moon
   4. stars
4. Which word means the same as ‘sparkling’ in the passage?
   1. patrolling
   2. stares
   3. brilliant
   4. concrete

Answer

1. Tiger
2. patrolling cars
3. stars
4. brilliant

Q. Describe some of the activities of the tiger as stated by the poet.

Ans. Some of the activities of the tiger as stated by the poet are – walking along the cage, hearing the patrolling of cars, ignoring visitors and staring at the brilliant stars of the sky.

Q. What is the next thought of the poet about the tiger?

Ans. The next thought of the poet is that the tiger should be in the open forest because forest is his natural habitat. There he would lurk in the shadow to hunt a deer.

Q. Why does the tiger express his anger quietly?

Ans. The tiger expresses his anger quietly, because he is helpless. He can do nothing from behind the bars. He is not free as he was in the forest. The tiger’s strength is locked behind the bars. Thus it can only show anger.

Q. How does the tiger feel locked in the concrete cell of the zoo? Why does he ignore the visitors?

Ans. The tiger is basically an animal of the wilds. He is a denizen of the forest. Being locked in a concrete cell of the zoo, he fells quite helpless. His immense strength is of no use to him as he is put behind the bars. He only stalks the length of his cage. He ignores the visitors who came to see him after buying their tickets. He doesn’t want to present himself as an object of entertaining others.

Q. What does the poet want to convey through the poem?

Ans. The poet exhibits the miserable life led by the animals in the zoo. He shows the two different lives i.e., in the zoo and the life at a natural habitat. According to the poet, animals should not be caged. They should be let free in the wild. Even they have a right to remain free. They should not be caged for our personal interests.

Q. Do you agree that wild animals should be caged? Comment ‘yes’ or ‘no’ giving reasons.

Ans. Wild animals should not be caged. This is a well known fact that tiger is a royal species which is on the verge of extinction. In ancient times, tigers moved around freely in the forests. But today, they are caged and left in the zoo for the entertainment of people. In fact, they are not meant for confinement. The result is that their off spring also do not learn to hunt, when they are caged. Caging wild animals also leads to disturbance of ecological balance. So, wild animals should be let free. They belong to the forest. Cages are not meant for a wild animal, specially a tiger. We should not cage them for our personal interests. Even animals love to live in their natural habitat along with their families. We should not separate them from their families.