- Read the poem carefully and answer the questions that follow Subjective.
When I sailed out of Baltimore,
With twice a thousand head of sheep,
They would not eat, they would not drink,
But bleated over the deep.
Inside the pens we crawled each day, 5
To sort the living from the dead;
And when we reached the Mersey’s mouth,
Had lost five hundred head,
That had no fear of man or sea,
Struck through the bars its pleading face, 10
And I stroked it.
And to the sheep-men standing near,
“You see”, I said, “this one tame sheep ?“
It seems a child has lost her pet,
“And cried herself to sleep.” 15
And every time we passed it by,
Sailing to England’s Slaughter-house;
Eight ragged sheep – men – tramps
training and thieves
Would stroke that sheep’s black nose. 20
— William H. Davis
- Given below is a summary of the poem. Complete it by writing the missing words/phrases against the correct blank numbers in your answer sheet: (4 marks)
When the narrator started from Baltimore with (a) ___________thousand sheep, they would neither (b) ___________nor drink. When they (c) ___________the Mersey’s mouth, five hundred sheep had died. There was one wailing sheep that had (d) ___________its little one.
- Complete the following statements: (2 marks)
(a) ___________ that had no fear of man or sea.
(b) The narrator stroked _____________
III. Find words/phrases from the extract which mean the same as the following: (2 marks)
(a) a place where sheep are kept (line 5) (b) shepherds (line 12)
Answer1
- (a) two (b) eat (c) reached (d) lost
- (a) There was one sheep (b) it fondly
III. (a) pen (b) sheep-men