On the Grasshopper and Cricket - Reading Comprehension

AP/ NCERT Board-Based Reading Comprehension 

Grade 8 Honeydew 

Poem On the Grasshopper and Cricket 

Reading Comprehension 1

The poetry of earth is never dead:

When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,

And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run

From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead,

That is the grasshopper’s — he takes the lead

In summer luxury — he has never done

With his delights, for when tired out with fun

He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.

1. What is the central theme of the poem?

a) Winter landscapes

b) The beauty of birdsong

c) The vitality of nature in summer

d) The tranquility of cooling trees

2. In the line "And hide in cooling trees," what does the word "cooling" most likely mean?

a) Decreasing in temperature

b) Providing shade and relief

c) Becoming calm and collected

d) Concealing from view

3. What figure of speech is used in the line "a voice will run"?

a) Metaphor

b) Personification

c) Simile

d) Alliteration

4. What does the grasshopper represent in the poem?

a) Summer luxury

b) Winter solitude

c) The beauty of birds

d) The changing seasons

5. In the line "he rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed," what does "weed" most likely refer to?

a) A harmful plant

b) An unwanted growth

c) Any plant in general

d) A fragrant flower

6. What figure of speech is present in the line "he has never done with his delights"?

a) Hyperbole

b) Irony

c) Oxymoron

d) Alliteration

Reading Comprehension 2

The poetry of earth is ceasing never:

On a lone winter evening when the frost

Has wrought a silence, from the stone there shrills

The cricket’s song, in warmth increasing ever,

And seems to one in drowsiness half lost;

The grasshopper’s among some grassy hills.

1. What is the central theme of the poem?

a) The beauty of winter landscapes

b) The persistence of nature's poetry

c) The solitude of a winter evening

d) The quietness of stone structures

2. In the line "On a lone winter evening when the frost," what does the word "lone" most likely mean?

a) Isolated

b) Cold

c) Silent

d) Dark

3. What figure of speech is used in the line "the cricket’s song, in warmth increasing ever"?

a) Hyperbole

b) Simile

c) Alliteration

d) Personification

4. What effect does frost have on the environment in the poem?

a) It creates a lively atmosphere

b) It brings warmth and comfort

c) It induces silence

d) It enhances the beauty of grassy hills

5. In the line "And seems to one in drowsiness half lost," what does "drowsiness" most likely refer to?

a) Deep sleep

b) Tiredness

c) Daydreaming

d) Laziness

6. What figure of speech is present in the line "The grasshopper’s among some grassy hills"?

a) Metaphor

b) Simile

c) Personification

d) Alliteration