Q.1
Which of the following sentences indicates a dramatic shift of mood?
  • "Ralph spread his arms. 'All ours'”
  • "They paused and examined the bushes around them curiously"
  • "The bushes were dark evergreen and aromatic and the many buds were waxen green and folded up against the light"
  • "Jack slashed at one with his knife and the scent spilled over them"
Q.2
What is meant by the "enormity" of the "downward stroke"?
  • The taking of life is irrevocable
  • The other boys do not believe that Jack is physically strong enough to kill the piglet
  • The other boys are afraid of Jack in that moment
  • Killing a piglet is a natural act
Q.3
What causes the boys to "laugh ashamedly"?
  • Ralph and Simon are ashamed because they are now afraid of Jack; Jack is ashamed because he does not want to be feared
  • They are ashamed because they were originally afraid of the piglet and are laughing in relief
  • They are ashamed at the suddenness of the complex emotions caused by their own hesitation and laugh to return to their previous enjoyment of exploration
  • They are ashamed to have enjoyed time spent together exploring and laugh to hide their irritation with one another
Q.4
The ashamed laughter of the boys contrasts most neatly with which of the following?
  • Their earnest discussion of the correct way to slaughter a pig
  • Their joyous laughter when they realise that the island is theirs to explore
  • Jack's contemptuous dismissal of the shrubs as inedible
  • Simon's quiet awe at the candle-shaped buds
Q.5
"You should stick a pig," said Ralph fiercely. "They always talk about sticking a pig." Which of the following is NOT correct?
  • Ralph's fierce response hints at his own potential for violence
  • Ralph's response demonstrates his concern with emulating adults, learning how things ought to be done
  • Ralph's response is the first example of the strong disagreement between the boys about who is in charge
  • Ralph placates Jack to some extent by covering up his embarrassment at not being able to go through with the kill
Q.6
The piglet is terrified of the boys; it throws itself "at the elastic traces in all the madness of extreme terror". A short while later, the boys observe the "place of terror". What makes them see it this way?
  • The piglet experiences its entrapment as a moment of terror; when the boys observe the place where the pig was trapped, the description refers to their own terror, too
  • The place of terror is only experienced this way by the piglet
  • The boys are afraid they will be trapped in the creepers in the same way the piglet was
  • All of the above
Q.7
Which of the following implies that the boys have claimed the island like colonial explorers?
  • "Ralph spread his arms. 'All ours'”
  • "They laughed and tumbled and shouted on the mountain"
  • “'Come on,' said Ralph. 'We’ve found out what we wanted to know'”
  • "They scrambled down a rock slope, dropped among flowers and made their way under the trees"
Q.8
"There came a pause, a hiatus, the pig continued to scream and the creepers to jerk, and the blade continued to flash at the end of a bony arm." What is contrasted here?
  • The pause is contrasted with the boniness of the arm
  • The flashing of the knife is contrasted with the violent motions of the piglet
  • The still pause is contrasted with the violent motions of the piglet and with the flashing of the knife
  • The entangling creepers are contrasted with the squealing of the piglet
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