SSC 2027 English Poems & Stories Suggestion | এসএসসি ইংরেজি কবিতা ও গল্প প্রশ্নোত্তর (Q8-9)

প্রশ্ন 1: Why does the poet call Time an ‘old gipsy man’?

উত্তর (Answer): The poet calls Time an ‘old gipsy man’ because like a nomadic gipsy who never settles in one place, Time is ancient, constantly wandering, and never pauses its journey for anyone.

প্রশ্ন 2: What precious gifts and honors does the speaker offer to tempt Time into staying?

উত্তর (Answer): The speaker offers silver bells for Time’s horse, a great golden ring, bowing peacocks, little boys singing melodious songs, and sweet village girls festooning Time with may-flowers.

প্রশ্ন 3: What is the central philosophical message of the poem?

উত্তর (Answer): The central message is that Time is absolute and unstoppable. No amount of worldly wealth, earthly power, or human pleading can halt the marching seconds of life.

প্রশ্ন 1: Why does the speaker pause his journey near the woods?

উত্তর (Answer): The speaker stops between the frozen lake and the quiet woods on the darkest evening of the year to watch the gentle, silent snowfall blanket the tranquil trees.

প্রশ্ন 2: Why does the little horse shake its harness bells?

উত্তর (Answer): The little horse shakes its harness bells because it thinks it is strange and mistaken to stop in the isolated, freezing woods without a farmhouse near.

প্রশ্ন 3: Explain the symbolic significance of the lines: ‘And miles to go before I sleep’.

উত্তর (Answer): Metaphorically, ‘sleep’ symbolizes eternal rest or death, while ‘miles to go’ symbolizes the extensive moral duties, social obligations, and promises a human being must fulfill throughout life before dying.

প্রশ্ন 1: What disturbing questions torment the poet’s mind in the first stanza?

উত্তর (Answer): The poet is tormented by endless human faithlessness, foolishness of crowds, selfish ambitions, and the agonizing feeling that life seems empty and fruitless.

প্রশ্ন 2: What luminous answer does the poet receive to his existential dilemma?

উত্তর (Answer): The answer is that human existence itself is a supreme miracle; the grand play of universal life continues, and each individual has the sacred opportunity to contribute their own unique verse.

প্রশ্ন 3: What does ‘the powerful play goes on’ metaphorically signify?

উত্তর (Answer): It signifies the ongoing, magnificent drama of human history and cosmic evolution, wherein every living soul is an active performer rather than a passive observer.

প্রশ্ন 1: Who was Mary, and why did she venture onto the sands of Dee?

উত্তর (Answer): Mary was a poor peasant girl who went out alone across the wide tidal sands of Dee to round up her grazing cattle and drive them safely home before dark.

প্রশ্ন 2: What natural disaster overcame Mary on the sands?

উত্তর (Answer): A dense, blinding western mist descended rapidly, accompanied by a wild, turbulent tide that rushed across the flats, trapping and drowning Mary in the treacherous sea foam.

প্রশ্ন 3: What eerie legend do the local boatmen and fishermen believe about Mary?

উত্তর (Answer): Fishermen believe that her spirit still haunts the lonely estuary, and on stormy evenings, they can still hear her sweet, sorrowful voice calling the cattle home across the rolling waves.

প্রশ্ন 1: What two distinct versions of a mother does the poem depict?

উত্তর (Answer): The poem contrasts the energetic, protective young mother who sheltered her infant with the elderly, frail mother who now relies on her grown child for patience, dignity, and tender care.

প্রশ্ন 2: Why is it the sacred duty of children to love both versions of their mother?

উত্তর (Answer): Because every sacrifice made in her youth laid the foundation for the child’s existence, and when she grows weak in old age, reciprocating that love with devotion is our highest moral debt.

প্রশ্ন 3: What emotional impact does the poem create on the reader?

উত্তর (Answer): It evokes deep empathy, reverence, and gratitude, reminding students never to neglect or abandon their aging parents in their hour of vulnerability.

প্রশ্ন 1: What does the poet describe as an undeniable calling in ‘Sea-Fever’?

উত্তর (Answer): The poet describes the wild, urgent call of the running oceanic tide as an irresistible force that pierces his heart and cannot be denied or ignored.

প্রশ্ন 2: What simple maritime elements does the sailor ask for on his voyage?

উত্তর (Answer): He asks for a tall, sturdy ship, a clear night star for navigation, a brisk wind, flying white clouds, salty sea spray, and the wild cries of flying seagulls.

প্রশ্ন 3: What kind of companions and ending does the mariner desire after the voyage?

উত্তর (Answer): He desires a merry yarn from a cheerful fellow rover, followed by quiet sleep and sweet dreams when the long trick (voyage of life) is completed.

প্রশ্ন 1: Why is a book compared to a ‘magic box’?

উত্তর (Answer): A book is compared to a magic box because within its humble covers lie hidden realms, historical treasures, thrilling adventures, and boundless knowledge waiting to be unlocked by the reader’s curious mind.

প্রশ্ন 2: How can a reader ‘unlock’ this magical treasure?

উত্তর (Answer): A reader unlocks it not with a physical metal key, but through the power of thoughtful reading, focused imagination, and intellectual curiosity.

প্রশ্ন 3: What lasting benefits does regular reading bestow upon students?

উত্তর (Answer): It enriches vocabulary, sharpens creative thinking, builds empathy with different cultures, and provides lifelong guidance and moral wisdom.

প্রশ্ন 1: Why did Antonio borrow money from his bitter enemy Shylock?

উত্তর (Answer): Antonio’s own merchant ships were at sea, but he loved his intimate friend Bassanio so deeply that he agreed to borrow 3,000 ducats from Shylock to finance Bassanio’s voyage to Belmont.

প্রশ্ন 2: What fatal penalty was written into Shylock’s bond?

উত্তর (Answer): The bond stated that if Antonio failed to repay the loan within three months, Shylock would have the legal right to cut a pound of flesh from nearest Antonio’s heart.

প্রশ্ন 3: How did Portia outsmart Shylock and save Antonio’s life in court?

উত্তর (Answer): Portia ruled that the contract permitted flesh, but not blood. If Shylock shed even one drop of blood or cut more or less than exactly one pound, he would be executed for plotting against a citizen’s life.

প্রশ্ন 1: Why were relatives extremely careful when breaking the news to Mrs. Mallard?

উত্তর (Answer): Because Mrs. Mallard suffered from a severe heart condition, and sudden emotional shock could trigger a fatal cardiac attack.

প্রশ্ন 2: What startling revelation did Louise experience while sitting alone by the open window?

উত্তর (Answer): She realized that beneath her initial grief lay an intoxicating sense of liberation: she was now free to live exclusively for herself without marital subjugation.

প্রশ্ন 3: What is the bitter irony behind the doctor’s diagnosis: ‘a joy that kills’?

উত্তর (Answer): The doctors assumed she died of overwhelming joy upon seeing her husband alive, whereas in reality, she died of catastrophic despair at the sudden death of her newfound freedom.

প্রশ্ন 1: Why was Rosamond so desperately captivated by the purple jar?

উত্তর (Answer): She was dazzled by the brilliant purple luminescence illuminated by the chemist’s lamp, impulsively imagining it to be a magical, solid purple ornament.

প্রশ্ন 2: What bitter disappointment greeted Rosamond when she emptied the jar?

উত্তর (Answer): She found that the glass was completely plain and transparent; the enchanting purple glow was caused solely by dirty, foul-smelling chemical dye.

প্রশ্ন 3: What painful consequence did Rosamond suffer due to her ripped shoes?

উত্তর (Answer): Because her worn shoes had gaping holes and flapping soles, she was unable to accompany her father and mother on an enjoyable excursion to see fascinating historical monuments.

প্রশ্ন 1: What were the two proudest earthly possessions of Jim and Della?

উত্তর (Answer): The two treasures were Jim’s ancestral gold watch, inherited from his father and grandfather, and Della’s long, radiant hair that rippled like a cascade of brown waters.

প্রশ্ন 2: What supreme sacrifice did each make for Christmas gifts?

উত্তর (Answer): Della cut and sold her magnificent hair to purchase a platinum fob chain for Jim’s watch, while Jim sold his gold watch to buy jeweled tortoiseshell combs for Della’s hair.

প্রশ্ন 3: Why does O. Henry declare Jim and Della to be the wisest of all magi?

উত্তর (Answer): Because unlike the ancient wise men who gave from their surplus, Jim and Della sacrificed their most sacred treasures for love, proving that selfless devotion is the greatest gift of all.

প্রশ্ন 1: What morbid conviction held young Johnsy in its grip during her illness?

উত্তর (Answer): Johnsy believed that when the very last ivy leaf fell from the vine outside her window, her life would slip away and she would die.

প্রশ্ন 2: How did the sight of the enduring last leaf change Johnsy’s mind?

উত্তর (Answer): Seeing the brave leaf cling stubbornly to the vine after a night of ferocious wind and cold rain made her realize that wanting to die was a sin, reviving her will to live.

প্রশ্ন 3: Why is Behrman’s painted leaf hailed as his supreme masterpiece?

উত্তর (Answer): Because he spent twenty years dreaming of painting a masterpiece, and he finally achieved it by braving a lethal blizzard to paint a leaf that gave up his own life to save an innocent young girl.

প্রশ্ন 1: Why was Mathilde Loisel perpetually unhappy with her life?

উত্তর (Answer): She felt she was born for aristocratic luxury, jewels, and palace banquets, and suffered bitterly from the modest apartment, plain curtains, and clerical salary of her husband.

প্রশ্ন 2: How did the loss of the necklace utterly transform the lives of the Loisels?

উত্তর (Answer): They dismissed their maid, rented a garret, and worked exhausting extra jobs for ten years to repay astronomical debts, turning Mathilde into a coarse, prematurely aged working woman.

প্রশ্ন 3: What shocking truth did Madame Forestier reveal at the story’s end?

উত্তর (Answer): Madame Forestier revealed that her original borrowed necklace was made of cheap imitation paste and was worth at most five hundred francs, rendering their ten years of agonizing labor completely futile.

প্রশ্ন 1: Why was the young writer terrified when the lady chose Foyot’s for their meeting?

উত্তর (Answer): Foyot’s was an elite restaurant frequented by French senators, so expensive that the writer had never dreamed of dining there, possessing only eighty francs to last the entire month.

প্রশ্ন 2: Describe the hilarious contrast between the lady’s words and her actions.

উত্তর (Answer): She continually insisted she never ate luncheon, yet successively devoured the most exorbitant delicacies on the menu: expensive salmon, caviare, rare giant asparagus, and out-of-season peaches.

প্রশ্ন 3: How did the author finally get his sweet, subtle revenge twenty years later?

উত্তর (Answer): Twenty years later, the author saw her at the theatre and observed with grim satisfaction that she had grown extraordinarily obese, weighing twenty-one stone (nearly three hundred pounds).

প্রশ্ন 1: Why does the narrator describe Jerry’s character as possessing ‘integrity’?

উত্তর (Answer): Because he does his work thoroughly without supervision, never makes excuses, fixes broken axe handles at his own cost, and performs tasks from a pure sense of duty.

প্রশ্ন 2: What fantasy does Jerry create about having a mother in Mannville?

উত্তর (Answer): He fabricates an imaginary mother who lives in Mannville, claiming she sends him expensive presents and a roller-bearing suit, in order to mask his agonizing loneliness.

প্রশ্ন 3: What heartbreaking truth does the orphanage directress disclose to the writer?

উত্তর (Answer): She reveals that Jerry has no mother in Mannville or anywhere else, has no gifts sent to him, and has lived as a forgotten orphan at the institution since he was four years old.

প্রশ্ন 1: Why was the 76-year-old man sitting exhausted beside the pontoon bridge?

উত্তর (Answer): He had walked twelve kilometers from his home village of San Carlos, was covered in road dust, and was too physically frail and exhausted to proceed any further toward Barcelona.

প্রশ্ন 2: What was the old man’s sole worry and concern amidst the chaos of war?

উত্তর (Answer): He cared nothing about politics or battle lines; his heart ached entirely for the animals he was forced to leave behind: two goats, a cat, and four pairs of pigeons.

প্রশ্ন 3: What was the only ‘good luck’ the old man possessed on that overcast Easter Sunday?

উত্তর (Answer): The only good luck was that cats can look after themselves, and the cloudy, overcast sky prevented enemy planes from bombing the bridge at that precise hour.

প্রশ্ন 1: Why did Spring and Summer refuse to visit the Giant’s garden?

উত্তর (Answer): Because the Giant had built a high wall and posted a notice forbidding children from entering, prompting Spring to say the garden was too selfish for flowers and songs.

প্রশ্ন 2: What miraculous transformation occurred when the children crept back inside?

উত্তর (Answer): Through a hole in the wall, the children entered and climbed the trees; instantly, the frost melted, trees blossomed with pink and white flowers, and birds sang sweetly.

প্রশ্ন 3: Who was the tiny boy with wounds on his hands and feet?

উত্তর (Answer): He was the Christ child, who bore the wounds of love and returned to welcome the redeemed Giant into his heavenly garden of Paradise.

প্রশ্ন 1: Why was the statue called ‘The Happy Prince’ when he wept constantly?

উত্তর (Answer): In life, he lived in the Palace of Sans-Souci where sorrow was forbidden, but placed high on a column in death, he wept seeing all the misery and ugliness of his city.

প্রশ্ন 2: What charitable deeds did the swallow perform on the Prince’s instructions?

উত্তর (Answer): The swallow delivered the ruby to a seamstress with a feverish boy, a sapphire to a freezing student writer, another sapphire to a weeping match-girl, and gold leaves to starving street children.

প্রশ্ন 3: What judgment did God pass upon the dead swallow and the Prince’s leaden heart?

উত্তর (Answer): God declared them the two most precious things in the city, decreeing that the little bird shall sing forever in Paradise and the Prince shall praise God in his city of gold.

প্রশ্ন 1: Why did Framton Nuttel visit the rural countryside and Mrs. Sappleton’s home?

উত্তর (Answer): He was undergoing a medical rest cure for severe nervous exhaustion and had letters of introduction from his sister to meet respectable local families.

প্রশ্ন 2: What macabre tragedy did Vera fabricate about the open French window?

উত্তর (Answer): She claimed that exactly three years ago, her aunt’s husband and two brothers went snipe shooting, were engulfed in a treacherous bog, and their bodies were never recovered.

প্রশ্ন 3: What witty phrase does Saki use to summarize Vera’s brilliant personality?

উত্তর (Answer): Saki concludes with the famous sentence: ‘Romance at short notice was her specialty,’ highlighting her uncanny ability to fabricate convincing tales on the spot.

প্রশ্ন 1: Who was Elzéard Bouffier and what was his daily mission?

উত্তর (Answer): He was a quiet, widowed shepherd who dedicated his life to healing the dying earth by carefully planting one hundred healthy acorns every day in the barren highlands.

প্রশ্ন 2: What miraculous change occurred in the region over three decades?

উত্তর (Answer): The barren, windy desert was transformed into an immense forest of oaks and beeches, dry springs flowed with fresh water, and over ten thousand happy villagers resettled there.

প্রশ্ন 3: What vital moral lesson does the story impart about human potential?

উত্তর (Answer): It proves that an individual working with quiet patience, unselfish devotion, and harmony with nature can achieve work worthy of God.

প্রশ্ন 1: What debate triggered the two-million-ruble bet between the banker and the lawyer?

উত্তর (Answer): An argument at a party over whether capital punishment or life imprisonment is more moral; the lawyer asserted that living in isolation is far better than dying immediately.

প্রশ্ন 2: How did the lawyer spend his fifteen years in solitary confinement?

উত্তর (Answer): He played music, read classics, mastered six foreign languages, studied medicine, theology, and philosophy, and read the Gospels thoroughly.

প্রশ্ন 3: Why did the lawyer deliberately forfeit the two million rubles five minutes before expiration?

উত্তর (Answer): Because spiritual reading showed him that earthly wealth, health, and glory are fleeting illusions; to demonstrate his contempt for worldly goods, he walked out early.

প্রশ্ন 1: Why was Hughie Erskine unable to marry his beloved Laura Merton?

উত্তর (Answer): Because Laura’s father, a retired colonel, forbade the marriage until Hughie could demonstrate financial security by possessing ten thousand pounds of his own.

প্রশ্ন 2: What generous act did Hughie perform in Alan Trevor’s studio?

উত্তর (Answer): Moved by the haggard appearance of the old beggar model, Hughie reached into his pocket and gave him his very last sovereign coin, leaving himself with nothing.

প্রশ্ন 3: How did Baron Hausberg reward Hughie’s genuine kindness?

উত্তর (Answer): He sent a sealed envelope containing a cheque for ten thousand pounds as a wedding present, inscribed ‘From an old beggar to Hughie Erskine and Laura Merton’.

প্রশ্ন 1: What kind of personality did Rip Van Winkle possess?

উত্তর (Answer): He was a simple, genial, popular man who loved helping neighbors and playing with children, but had an incurable aversion to profitable labor on his own farm.

প্রশ্ন 2: What magical event occurred to Rip in the Kaatskill Mountains?

উত্তর (Answer): He helped a strange Dutchman carry a keg of liquor, drank from the flagon, fell into a deep enchanted slumber, and slept continuously for twenty years.

প্রশ্ন 3: What astonished Rip most when he returned to his village?

উত্তর (Answer): He found his house in ruins, his old friends dead, his beard a foot long, and the portrait of King George III on the inn sign replaced by General George Washington.

প্রশ্ন 1: What moral failing prevented the Loisels from avoiding ten years of destitution?

উত্তর (Answer): Their false pride and fear of shame prevented them from simply telling Madame Forestier the truth that the necklace had been lost at the ball.

প্রশ্ন 2: How did Monsieur Loisel show exceptional marital devotion?

উত্তর (Answer): He sacrificed his entire eighteen thousand franc inheritance and signed ruinous loans with usurers to protect his wife’s reputation without a single word of reproach.

প্রশ্ন 3: What lesson does the story convey regarding social status and contentment?

উত্তর (Answer): It teaches that envying the glamorous lifestyles of the wealthy leads to debt, anxiety, and catastrophic ruin; true peace lies in living within one’s honest means.

প্রশ্ন 1: What were the three questions the King desperately wanted answered?

উত্তর (Answer): The King wanted to know: (1) What is the right time to begin everything? (2) Who are the most necessary people to listen to? (3) What is the most important thing to do at all times?

প্রশ্ন 2: How did the King reconcile with his sworn enemy?

উত্তর (Answer): The King washed and bandaged the severe abdominal wound of the bearded man who had plotted to kill him, saving his life through compassionate nursing through the night.

প্রশ্ন 3: What were the final answers given by the wise hermit?

উত্তর (Answer): The most important time is NOW (the only time we have power); the most important person is the one you are with at the moment; and the most important pursuit is to do that person good.

প্রশ্ন 1: Why was little Mini initially terrified of the Cabuliwallah?

উত্তর (Answer): Because neighborhood children believed the rumor that tall Cabuliwallahs carried several stolen children inside their huge cloth sacks.

প্রশ্ন 2: What precious memento did Rahmat carry close to his heart?

উত্তর (Answer): He carried a small, crumpled piece of paper bearing the ink handprint of his little daughter Parvati, left behind in the rugged mountains of Kabul.

প্রশ্ন 3: What noble act did Mini’s father perform on his daughter’s wedding night?

উত্তর (Answer): He cut down on wedding decorations and military band expenses to hand Rahmat a hundred-taka note so the poor Afghan father could return home to his daughter.

প্রশ্ন 1: How did the astrologer create an impressive professional aura without knowing astrology?

উত্তর (Answer): He smeared his forehead with sacred ash and vermilion, wore a saffron turban, sat beneath a tamarind tree in flickering flare light, and listened carefully to clients before speaking.

প্রশ্ন 2: Why was the astrologer terrified when he lit a cheroot match to see the client’s face?

উত্তর (Answer): Because the flickering flame revealed the face of Guru Nayak, whom the astrologer had stabbed in a drunken brawl in his village years ago and left for dead in a well.

প্রশ্ন 3: What shocking secret did the astrologer confess to his wife that night?

উত্তর (Answer): He confessed that a heavy burden had been lifted from his heart because the man he believed he had murdered in his reckless youth was alive and well.

প্রশ্ন 1: How did Ivan and Masha react upon seeing series 9499 in the winning list?

উত্তর (Answer): Their hearts raced with euphoria; they dropped the paper, paralyzed by the wild prospect of winning seventy-five thousand rubles without even verifying the ticket number.

প্রশ্ন 2: How did their blissful daydreams rapidly transform into mutual hatred?

উত্তর (Answer): Ivan began viewing his wife as an aging, stingy obstacle who would restrict his travels, while Masha viewed Ivan with greedy eyes, fearing he would snatch her fortune.

প্রশ্ন 3: What happened when Ivan finally looked at the winning ticket number 26?

উত্তর (Answer): His ticket was number 46, not 26. The illusion vanished instantly, leaving them sitting in a dreary, hateful room filled with bitter resentment and ruined peace.

প্রশ্ন 1: Why was the postmaster completely out of place in the remote village of Ulapur?

উত্তর (Answer): He was a cultivated youth born and bred in the bustling metropolis of Calcutta, feeling like a stranded fish out of water amidst the rustic indigo factory village.

প্রশ্ন 2: What tender relationship blossomed between the postmaster and little Ratan?

উত্তর (Answer): Ratan cooked for him, nursed him through severe malaria, learned the Bengali alphabet from him, and began regarding him as her beloved elder brother and sole family.

প্রশ্ন 3: What heartbreaking reaction did Ratan have when the postmaster offered her his farewell salary?

উত্তর (Answer): Bursting into tears, she ran away crying, ‘Dada, I beg you, do not give me any money! Please, nobody needs to worry about me!’ longing only for his love, not his coins.

প্রশ্ন 1: Why had the convict become a ferocious, hardened beast of a man?

উত্তর (Answer): Because he had stolen bread to feed his starving, dying wife, was sentenced to nineteen years of brutal hell on prison hulks, starved, beaten, and stripped of all human dignity.

প্রশ্ন 2: What did the Bishop tell the police sergeants when they dragged the arrested convict back with the candlesticks?

উত্তর (Answer): The Bishop smiled warmly and told the police that the gentleman was his guest, and that he had personally given him the silver candlesticks as a parting gift.

প্রশ্ন 3: What transformative words did the Bishop whisper to the weeping convict as he sent him safely to Paris?

উত্তর (Answer): He gave him the candlesticks and said: ‘Always remember, my son, that this poor body belongs to you, but your soul belongs to God. I have bought your soul from evil, and given it to Almighty God.’