The Lost Child - Reading Comprehension Passages

NCERT Board-Based Reading Comprehension Passages Grade 9 Supplementary Reader Moments 
Chapter 1 The Lost Child - Mulk Raj Anand

Reading Comprehension 1

     IT was the festival of spring. From the wintry shades of narrow lanes and alleys emerged a gaily clad humanity. Some walked, some rode on horses, others sat, being carried in bamboo and bullock carts. One little boy ran between his father’s legs, brimming over with life and laughter.

     “Come, child, come,” called his parents, as he lagged behind, fascinated by the toys in the shops that lined the way.

     He hurried towards his parents, his feet obedient to their call, his eyes still lingering on the receding toys. As he came to where they had stopped to wait for him, he could not suppress the desire of his heart, even though he well knew the old, cold stare of refusal in their eyes.

     “I want that toy,” he pleaded.

1. What festival is being celebrated in the story?

   a) Festival of Lights

   b) Festival of Spring

   c) Festival of Colors

   d) Festival of Harvest

2. How is the little boy feeling when he sees the toys in the shops?

   a) Sad

   b) Angry

   c) Fascinated

   d) Indifferent

3. How is the little boy transported in the beginning?

   a) On a horse

   b) In a bullock cart

   c) On foot

   d) In a bamboo cart

4. What do the parents do when the little boy asks for the toy?

   a) They buy the toy for him.

   b) They ignore him.

   c) They scold him.

   d) They refuse to buy the toy.

5. Say True or False:

The little boy's parents buy him the toy he wants.

   True / False

Reading Comprehension 2

     His father looked at him red-eyed, in his familiar tyrant’s way. His mother, melted by the free spirit of the day was tender and, giving him her finger to hold, said, “Look, child, what is before you!”

 

     It was a flowering mustard-field, pale like melting gold as it swept across miles and miles of even land.

 

    A group of dragonflies were bustling about on their gaudy purple wings, intercepting the flight of a lone black bee or butterfly in search of sweetness from the flowers. The child followed them in the air with his gaze, till one of them would still its wings and rest, and he would try to catch it. But it would go fluttering, flapping, up into the air, when he had almost caught it in his hands. Then his mother gave a cautionary call: “Come, child, come, come on to the footpath.”

1. How does the child's father look at him?

   a) Happy

   b) Tearful

   c) Angry

   d) Sympathetic

2. What is the color of the flowering mustard-field?

   a) Pale gold

   b) Melting blue

   c) Gaudy purple

   d) Even land

3. What insects were flying around in the mustard-field?

   a) Bees and butterflies

   b) Ladybugs and butterflies

   c) Dragonflies and bees

   d) Dragonflies and butterflies

4. What does the child try to do with the dragonflies?

   a) Catch them

   b) Feed them

   c) Run away from them

   d) Talk to them

5. Say True or False:

The child's mother wants him to stay in the mustard-field and catch dragonflies.

   True / False

Reading Comprehension 3

     He ran towards his parents gaily and walked abreast of them for a while, being, however, soon left behind, attracted by the little insects and worms along the footpath that were teeming out from their hiding places to enjoy the sunshine.

 

     “Come, child, come!” his parents called from the shade of a grove where they had seated themselves on the edge of a well. He ran towards them.

 

    A shower of young flowers fell upon the child as he entered the grove, and, forgetting his parents, he began to gather the raining petals in his hands. But lo! he heard the cooing of doves and ran towards his parents, shouting, “The dove! The dove!” The raining petals dropped from his forgotten hands.

 

     “Come, child, come!” they called to the child, who had now gone running in wild capers round the banyan tree, and gathering him up they took the narrow, winding footpath which led to the fair through the mustard fields.

1. What attracts the child's attention along the footpath?

   a) Toys in the shops

   b) Insects and worms

   c) Flowers in the grove

   d) Birds flying in the sky

2. Where do the child's parents call him to when he is gathering the raining petals?

   a) Under a grove

   b) In the mustard fields

   c) Beside a well

   d) Near a banyan tree

3. What does the child hear that makes him run towards his parents?

   a) The cooing of doves

   b) The chirping of crickets

   c) The buzzing of bees

   d) The rustling of leaves

4. What path do the child's parents take to go to the fair?

   a) The grove path

   b) The narrow, winding footpath

   c) The path through the mustard fields

   d) The banyan tree path

5. Say True or False:

The child's parents scold him for running around and playing instead of going to the fair.

True / False

Reading Comprehension 4

     As they neared the village the child could see many other footpaths full of throngs, converging to the whirlpool of the fair, and felt at once repelled and fascinated by the confusion of the world he was entering.

 

     A sweetmeat seller hawked, “gulab-jaman, rasagulla, burfi, jalebi,” at the corner of the entrance and a crowd pressed round his counter at the foot of an architecture of many coloured sweets, decorated with leaves of silver and gold. The child stared open-eyed and his mouth watered for the burfi that was his favourite sweet. “I want that burfi,” he slowly murmured. But he half knew as he begged that his plea would not be heeded because his parents would say he was greedy. So without waiting for an answer he moved on.

1. How does the child feel about the fair as they approach it?

   a) Excited

   b) Indifferent

   c) Repelled and fascinated

   d) Fearful

2. What does the sweetmeat seller hawk at the corner of the entrance?

   a) Fruits and vegetables

   b) Flowers and garlands

   c) Sweets like gulab-jaman and rasagulla

   d) Toys and games

3. What does the child want from the sweetmeat seller?

   a) Gulab-jaman

   b) Rasagulla

   c) Burfi

   d) Jalebi

4. Why does the child move on without waiting for an answer?

   a) He is in a hurry to see the fair.

   b) His parents tell him to move along.

   c) He knows his parents won't buy him the sweet.

   d) He finds the sweetmeat seller rude.

5. State True or False:

The child's parents buy him the burfi that he wants.

   True / False

Reading Comprehension 5

     A flower-seller hawked, “A garland of gulmohur, a garland of gulmohur!” The child seemed irresistibly drawn. He went towards the basket where the flowers lay heaped and half murmured, “I want that garland.” But he well knew his parents would refuse to buy him those flowers because they would say that they were cheap. So, without waiting for an answer, he moved on.

 

     A man stood holding a pole with yellow, red, green and purple balloons flying from it. The child was simply carried away by the rainbow glory of their silken colours and he was filled with an overwhelming desire to possess them all. But he well knew his parents would never buy him the balloons because they would say he was too old to play with such toys. So he walked on further.

 

     A snake-charmer stood playing a flute to a snake which coiled itself in a basket, its head raised in a graceful bend like the neck of a swan, while the music stole into its invisible ears like the gentle rippling of an invisible waterfall. The child went towards the snake-charmer. But, knowing his parents had forbidden him to hear such coarse music as the snake-charmer played, he proceeded farther.

1. What does the flower-seller hawk?

   a) Garlands of roses

   b) Garlands of jasmine

   c) Garlands of gulmohur

   d) Garlands of marigold

2. What does the man hold with yellow, red, green, and purple objects flying from it?

   a) A kite

   b) A flag

   c) A balloon pole

   d) A flower basket

3. What is the snake-charmer playing to the snake?

   a) A drum

   b) A guitar

   c) A flute

   d) A violin

4. Fill the given gap.

The child desired to possess all the balloons because he was filled with an overwhelming desire to ________ them all.

5. State True or False:

The child disobeyed his parents' orders and went to hear the snake-charmer's music.

   True / False

Reading Comprehension 6

     There was a roundabout in full swing. Men, women and children, carried away in a whirling motion, shrieked and cried with dizzy laughter. The child watched them intently and then he made a bold request: “I want to go on the roundabout, please, Father, Mother.”

 

     There was no reply. He turned to look at his parents. They were not there, ahead of him. He turned to look on either side. They were not there. He looked behind. There was no sign of them.

 

     A full, deep cry rose within his dry throat and with a sudden jerk of his body he ran from where he stood, crying in real fear, “Mother, Father.” Tears rolled down from his eyes, hot and fierce; his flushed face was convulsed with fear. Panic-stricken, he ran to one side first, then to the other, hither and thither in all directions, knowing not where to go. “Mother, Father,” he wailed. His yellow turban came untied and his clothes became muddy.

1. What was the child's bold request at the roundabout?

   a) He wanted a toy from the nearby shop.

   b) He wanted to go on the roundabout with his parents.

   c) He wanted some sweets from the sweetmeat seller.

   d) He wanted to watch the men and women on the roundabout.

2. What did the child do when he realized his parents were not there?

   a) He started playing with other children.

   b) He calmly waited for his parents to return.

   c) He began to cry and look for his parents.

   d) He went on the roundabout alone.

3. How did the child feel when he couldn't find his parents?

   a) Happy and carefree

   b) Confused and lost

   c) Excited and adventurous

   d) Angry and frustrated

4. Fill in the gap.

A full, deep cry rose within his ______________

5. Fill in  the gap

Tears rolled down from his eyes, hot and fierce; his flushed face was ____________with fear.

Reading Comprehension 7

    Having run to and fro in a rage of running for a while, he stood defeated, his cries suppressed into sobs. At little distances on the green grass he could see, through his filmy eyes, men and women talking. He tried to look intently among the patches of bright yellow clothes, but there was no sign of his father and mother among these people, who seemed to laugh and talk just for the sake of laughing and talking.

 

     He ran quickly again, this time to a shrine to which people seemed to be crowding. Every little inch of space here was congested with men, but he ran through people’s legs, his little sob lingering: “Mother, Father!” Near the entrance to the temple, however, the crowd became very thick: men jostled each other, heavy men, with flashing, murderous eyes and hefty shoulders. The poor child struggled to thrust a way between their feet but, knocked to and fro by their brutal movements, he might have been trampled underfoot, had he not shrieked at the highest pitch of his voice, “Father, Mother!” A man in the surging crowd heard his cry and, stooping with great difficulty, lifted him up in his arms.

1. What did the child do after running around in a rage of running?

   a) He sat down to rest on the green grass.

   b) He stood defeated, his cries turning into sobs.

   c) He continued to search for his parents among the people.

   d) He laughed and talked with the other children.

2. Where did the child run to this time, where people seemed to be crowding?

   a) A fairground with rides

   b) A temple or shrine

   c) A market with food stalls

   d) A playground with swings

3. Why did the child cry out "Father, Mother!" at the entrance to the temple?

   a) He wanted them to come to the temple with him.

   b) He was afraid of the crowd and needed their help.

   c) He wanted them to buy him something from the temple.

   d) He was excited to show them the shrine.

4. What does "congested" mean in the context of the passage?

   a) Peaceful and calm

   b) Crowded and packed

   c) Dark and gloomy

   d) Colorful and vibrant

5. State True or False:

The child was saved from being trampled underfoot by a man in the crowd who lifted him up in his arms.

   True / False

Reading Comprehension 8

     “How did you get here, child? Whose baby are you?” the man asked as he steered clear of the mass. The child wept more bitterly than ever now and only cried, “I want my mother, I want my father!”

 

     The man tried to soothe him by taking him to the roundabout. “Will you have a ride on the horse?” he gently asked as he approached the ring. The child’s throat tore into a thousand shrill sobs and he only shouted, “I want my mother, I want my father!”

 

     The man headed towards the place where the snake-charmer still played on the flute to the swaying cobra. “Listen to that nice music, child!” he pleaded. But the child shut his ears with his fingers and shouted his double-pitched strain: “I want my mother, I want my father!” The man took him near the balloons, thinking the bright colours of the balloons would distract the child’s attention and quieten him. “Would you like a rainbow coloured balloon?” he persuasively asked. The child turned his eyes from the flying balloons and just sobbed, “I want my mother, I want my father!”

1. What does the child repeatedly cry for?

   a) A ride on the horse

   b) To hear the snake-charmer's music

   c) His mother and father

   d) A rainbow colored balloon

2. Why does the man take the child to the roundabout, snake-charmer, and balloons?

   a) To distract the child from his cries

   b) To entertain the child

   c) To buy the child some toys

   d) To find the child's parents

3. How does the child react to the man's attempts to soothe him?

   a) He agrees to go on the roundabout.

   b) He listens to the snake-charmer's music.

   c) He enjoys watching the balloons.

   d) He continues to cry for his mother and father.

4. What does "persuasively" mean in the context of the passage?

   a) In a forceful and aggressive manner

   b) In a kind and gentle manner

   c) In a silent and secretive manner

   d) In a confused and uncertain manner

5. State True or False:

The child is easily distracted and stops crying when the man shows him the bright balloons.

   True / False

Reading Comprehension 9

     The man, still trying to make the child happy, bore him to the gate where the flower-seller sat. “Look! Can you smell those nice flowers, child! Would you like a garland to put round your neck?” The child turned his nose away from the basket and reiterated his sob, “I want my mother, I want my father!”

 

     Thinking to humour his disconsolate charge by a gift of sweets, the man took him to the counter of the sweet shop. “What sweets would you like, child?” he asked. The child turned his face from the sweet shop and only sobbed, “I want my mother, I want my father!”

1. The man takes the child to the flower-seller to offer him:

   a) A balloon

   b) A toy

   c) A garland of flowers

   d) A sweet

2. The child's response to the flower-seller and sweet shop owner is:

   a) He asks for a garland of flowers and sweets.

   b) He turns his nose away from the flowers and face from the sweet shop.

   c) He chooses a balloon and some chocolates.

   d) He is indifferent to their offerings.

3. The child's repeated sobs are about:

   a) Wanting to play on the roundabout.

   b) Wanting to listen to the snake-charmer's music.

   c) Missing his mother and father.

   d) Being afraid of the crowd at the fair.

4. State True or False:

The man successfully cheers up the child by offering him sweets from the sweet shop.

   True / False

5. Fill in the gap:

Thinking to humour his disconsolate charge by a gift of sweets, the man took him to the counter of the sweet _______________.