FROM A RAILWAY CARRIAGE CLASS 8 ENGLISH LESSON 6

FROM A RAILWAY CARRIAGE CLASS 8 ENGLISH LESSON 6

This poem vividly captures the thrilling experience of travelling by train, portraying the rapidly changing scenery from the window. The poet compares the speed of the train to fairies and witches, emphasizing its swiftness. The imagery of bridges, houses, hedges, and meadows paints a vivid picture of rural landscapes. Scenes of daily life—children gathering brambles, tramps gazing, and carts moving—flash by fleetingly. The poem concludes with glimpses of a mill and a river, evoking a sense of the transient beauty of life. Through rhythmic verses and vivid imagery, the poet conveys the mesmerizing and fleeting nature of a train journey.

20 Multiple Choice Questions with Answers

1. What is the poem primarily about?
   a) A battle scene
   b) A train journey
   c) A walk in the woods
   d) A fairytale story
   Answer: b) A train journey
2. The poet compares the train’s speed to which of the following?
   a) Wind and storms
   b) Fairies and witches
   c) Horses and cattle
   d) Birds and clouds
   Answer: b) Fairies and witches
3. What do ‘troops in a battle’ refer to in the poem?
   a) Soldiers marching on the ground
   b) The charging motion of the train
   c) Children playing in a field
   d) Horses and cattle running
   Answer: b) The charging motion of the train
4. What does the poet compare the sights to?
   a) Shooting stars
   b) Driving rain
   c) Flashing lights
   d) Gentle breezes
   Answer: b) Driving rain
5. What happens ‘in the wink of an eye’?
   a) The train halts abruptly
   b) The scenes pass quickly
   c) A storm arrives
   d) The sun sets
   Answer: b) The scenes pass quickly
6. Who is gathering brambles in the poem?
   a) A farmer
   b) A tramp
   c) A child
   d) A traveller
   Answer: c) A child
7. What is the tramp doing?
   a) Running alongside the train
   b) Standing and gazing
   c) Sleeping under a tree
   d) Climbing a hill
   Answer: b) Standing and gazing
8. What does the poet describe as ‘gone forever’?
   a) The train journey
   b) The sights from the window
   c) The passengers on the train
   d) The sound of the whistle
   Answer: b) The sights from the window
9. What is being strung in the green?
   a) Flowers for a garland
   b) Daisies for a chain
   c) Brambles for a basket
   d) Threads for a cloth
   Answer: b) Daisies for a chain
10. What is ‘lumping along’ in the road?
    a) A horse-drawn cart
    b) A runaway train
    c) A marching band
    d) A group of children
    Answer: a) A horse-drawn cart
11. What sound is mentioned in the poem?
    a) Birds chirping
    b) Station whistles
    c) Wind howling
    d) Cattle mooing
    Answer: b) Station whistles
12. What natural feature does the poet mention toward the end?
    a) A forest
    b) A mountain
    c) A river
    d) A valley
    Answer: c) A river
13. Which poetic device is predominantly used in the poem?
    a) Simile
    b) Alliteration
    c) Hyperbole
    d) Personification
    Answer: b) Alliteration
14. What emotion does the poem evoke about train journeys?
    a) Fear and anxiety
    b) Wonder and excitement
    c) Sadness and melancholy
    d) Nostalgia and longing
    Answer: b) Wonder and excitement
15. What happens to the scenes as the train moves?
    a) They appear more vivid
    b) They are seen only briefly
    c) They stay fixed in the memory
    d) They blur into darkness
    Answer: b) They are seen only briefly
16. What type of poem is “From a Railway Carriage”?
    a) Narrative
    b) Lyric
    c) Epic
    d) Sonnet
    Answer: b) Lyric
17. What does the phrase ‘gone forever’ symbolize?
    a) Loss of innocence
    b) Passing moments in life
    c) The end of a journey
    d) The fading of dreams
    Answer: b) Passing moments in life
18. Which season is indirectly hinted at in the poem?
    a) Spring
    b) Summer
    c) Autumn
    d) Winter
    Answer: a) Spring
19. What does the train symbolize in the poem?
    a) Progress and innovation
    b) The fleeting nature of life
    c) Escape from reality
    d) A journey toward self-discovery
    Answer: b) The fleeting nature of life
20. What is the main theme of the poem?
    a) The beauty of rural life
    b) The speed and transience of modern travel
    c) Nostalgia for childhood
    d) The importance of human connection
    Answer: b) The speed and transience of modern travel

Reading Comprehension

A. Answer the following questions:

1. What does the railway carriage (train) move faster than?

Ans. The railway carriage moves faster than fairies and witches.

2. How do the fast-moving bogies look like?

Ans. The fast-moving bogies look like troops in a battle.

3. What does the train pass through?

Ans. The train passes through the meadows.

4. What do the sights of the hill and plain look like from the fast-moving train?

Ans. From the fast-moving train the sights of hills and plain look as if they are flying thick.

5. Have you ever been on a fast-moving train? Make a list of things that you see on the train.

Ans. Yes, I have been on a fast-moving train several times.

Following is the list of things I have seen on the train.

1. People, 2. Trees, 3. Cattle, 4. Pond, 5. River, 6. Bridge, 7. Hills, 8. Valleys, 9. Tunnel.

B. Write true or false in brackets:

(1) The train is faster than fairies and witches. (True)

(2) There is no bridge or river on its way. (False )

(3) The child clambers and scrambles. (True)