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WBCHSE HS Persian study materials
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WBCHSE HS Persian practice questions

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Question 1Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

In the WBCHSE HS Persian Nasr (prose) syllabus, a lesson written in simple narrative Persian that recounts an event in the author's life is best classified as which prose form?

  1. Qasīda
  2. Dāstān-i wāqiʿī (realistic narrative prose) Correct answer.
  3. Rubāʿī
  4. Mathnawī

Explanation

Nasr lessons are prose, and an autobiographical account of real events belongs to realistic narrative prose. Qasīda, rubāʿī and mathnawī are all verse forms and therefore cannot describe a prose lesson.

Question 2Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

Which term is used in Persian literary criticism for the central idea or message that a Nasr lesson conveys through its whole narrative?

  1. Rukn
  2. Wazn
  3. Mażmūn-i aslī (central theme) Correct answer.
  4. Qāfiya

Explanation

The central idea of a prose text is called its mażmūn-i aslī, the main thought the reader is meant to take away. Wazn, qāfiya and rukn are prosodic terms belonging to poetry, so they cannot name the theme of a prose lesson.

Question 3Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

A Nasr lesson presents a single named person whose speech, actions and motives drive the whole narrative. In prose criticism this person is called:

  1. Qahramān (the protagonist) Correct answer.
  2. Rāwī
  3. Nāẓim
  4. Mutarjim

Explanation

The protagonist, or qahramān, is the character around whom the plot is organised. Rāwī is the narrator or transmitter, nāẓim is a poet, and mutarjim is a translator, so none of them names the central actor of the story.

Question 4Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

When a Nasr lesson is narrated in the first person by a character who took part in the events, which narrative point of view is being used?

  1. Guftimān-i mustaqīm (direct speech only)
  2. Tawṣīf-i ṣirf (pure description)
  3. Riwāyat-i dānish-i kull (omniscient third person)
  4. Riwāyat az zabān-i khud-i rāwī (first-person narration) Correct answer.

Explanation

First-person narration is marked by the narrator speaking as a participant, using forms such as man raftam. Omniscient narration stands outside the events, direct speech is only a technique within narration, and pure description lacks a narrating self.

Question 5Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

Which sentence correctly uses a Persian word meaning 'lesson' when referring to a prose text prescribed in the Nasr section?

  1. In dars az nasr-i muʿāṣir-hā intikhāb shuda ast.
  2. In dars-hā az nasr-i muʿāṣir intikhāb shuda ast.
  3. In dars az nasr-i muʿāṣir intikhāb shuda ast. Correct answer.
  4. In dars az nasr-i muʿāṣir intikhāb shudand.

Explanation

The subject dars is singular, so the verb intikhāb shuda ast must also be singular and the plural marker belongs to the subject if plurality is intended. The other versions break subject-verb agreement or attach the plural marker to the wrong noun.

Question 6Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

A Nasr lesson opens by describing a village at dawn, then introduces the narrator's grandfather. Which element of prose fiction has the lesson established first?

  1. Denouement (ḥall-i maṣʾala)
  2. Climax (nuqṭa-yi awj)
  3. Dialogue (guftugū)
  4. Setting (zamīnih) Correct answer.

Explanation

The opening description of place and time establishes the setting before characters and action are introduced. Climax and denouement are later structural points, and dialogue has not yet appeared in the passage described.

Question 7Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

Which of these is a defining stylistic feature of simple didactic prose (nasr-i taʿlīmī) as found in the Nasr section?

  1. Exclusive use of rare Arabic vocabulary without explanation
  2. Heavy rhyme and a fixed metre throughout
  3. Clear sentences and an explicit moral stated by the narrator Correct answer.
  4. Deliberate ambiguity that hides the moral

Explanation

Didactic prose aims to instruct, so it favours transparent sentences and states its moral openly. Rhyme and metre belong to verse, deliberate obscurity defeats instruction, and unexplained rare vocabulary would obstruct the reader rather than teach.

Question 8Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

In the Nasr prose lessons, the author's attitude towards a character is often revealed through the adjectives chosen to describe that character. This technique is called:

  1. Qāfiya-bandī
  2. Radīf
  3. Tawṣīf-i ghayr-i mustaqīm (indirect characterisation through description) Correct answer.
  4. Wazn-i shiʿrī

Explanation

Indirect characterisation lets descriptive choices reveal the author's judgement without explicit statement. The other three options are prosodic terms of poetry and cannot describe a technique of prose characterisation.

Question 9Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

A Nasr lesson describes a poor fisherman who shares his catch with a stranger and later prospers. Which statement best expresses the lesson's central theme?

  1. Generosity is rewarded and selfishness isolates a person. Correct answer.
  2. Hard work alone guarantees success without any moral conduct.
  3. Strangers should always be distrusted.
  4. Wealth is the only measure of a person's worth.

Explanation

The sequence of generosity followed by reward, contrasted with selfishness, points to a moral theme about generosity. The other statements contradict the outcome of the plot or reduce the lesson to a single material cause.

Question 10Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

A prose lesson in the Nasr section uses a long formal sentence with paired Arabic loanwords and balanced clauses. Which stylistic register does this indicate?

  1. Nasr-i sādih (plain prose)
  2. Guftār-i rūzmurra (everyday speech)
  3. Shiʿr-i naw (new poetry)
  4. Nasr-i musajjaʿ (ornate, rhythmical prose) Correct answer.

Explanation

Balanced clauses and paired elevated vocabulary are the marks of musajjaʿ, ornate rhythmical prose. Plain prose avoids such pairing, everyday speech is colloquial, and new poetry is verse rather than prose.

Question 11Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

In a Nasr narrative, a character's words are reported as 'He said that he would return before nightfall.' Which mode of speech presentation is this?

  1. Guftimān-i mustaqīm (direct speech)
  2. Tawṣīf (description)
  3. Munāẓara (debate)
  4. Riwāyat-i ghayr-i mustaqīm (indirect speech) Correct answer.

Explanation

Indirect speech reports a character's words through a reporting verb and adjusts pronouns and tense. Direct speech would quote the words verbatim, debate is a genre of argument, and description does not report speech at all.

Question 12Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

A Nasr lesson builds tension by withholding the reason for a character's sudden departure until the final paragraph. Which structural device is the author using?

  1. Khuṭba (sermon)
  2. Taʿwīq (suspenseful delay of information) Correct answer.
  3. Tadhkira (biographical notice)
  4. Maqāla (essay)

Explanation

Delaying a crucial explanation to sustain tension is taʿwīq, the deliberate withholding of information. Tadhkira, maqāla and khuṭba are prose genres, not structural devices for creating suspense.

Question 13Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

Which Persian sentence correctly reports a character's speech in indirect form, keeping the sequence of tenses?

  1. Ū guft ki fardā bāz khwāhad gasht. Correct answer.
  2. Ū guft ki fardā bāz gasht.
  3. Ū guft ki fardā bāz gashtand.
  4. Ū guft ki fardā bāz gashtam.

Explanation

In indirect speech the reported future is expressed with khwāhad gasht in the third person, agreeing with the subject ū. The other versions use a past form that loses the future reference or attach a first- or third-person plural ending that does not fit the subject.

Question 14Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

In prose criticism of the Nasr lessons, the term ḥall-i girih (untying the knot) refers to which part of the narrative?

  1. The opening description of setting
  2. The first line of dialogue
  3. The introduction of the main character
  4. The resolution in which the complication is settled Correct answer.

Explanation

The knot is the complication, and its untying is the resolution that settles the conflict. Setting, character introduction and first dialogue all belong to the earlier stages of the narrative.

Question 15Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

A Nasr lesson contrasts a hard-working farmer with a lazy brother, and the narrator explicitly praises the farmer. How is the author's viewpoint conveyed here?

  1. Through a debate in which neither side is judged
  2. Through rhyme and metre
  3. Through explicit narrator commentary combined with contrast between characters Correct answer.
  4. Through an unreliable narrator who contradicts himself

Explanation

The narrator's explicit praise, reinforced by the contrast between the two brothers, conveys the author's viewpoint directly. Rhyme and metre are poetic, unreliability would undermine the praise, and an unresolved debate would not include judgement.

Question 16Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

Which feature most clearly distinguishes a maqāla (essay) from a dāstān in the Nasr section?

  1. The maqāla uses dialogue, while the dāstān never does
  2. The maqāla argues a position, while the dāstān narrates events Correct answer.
  3. The maqāla has a plot, while the dāstān has none
  4. The maqāla is written in verse, while the dāstān is written in prose

Explanation

An essay develops an argument or opinion, whereas a story narrates a sequence of events with characters. Both are prose, and the claim that the story lacks plot or that the essay alone uses dialogue reverses the actual distinction.

Question 17Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

A Nasr lesson uses the phrase mard-i dast-u-dil-bāz. Which rendering best captures the characterisation conveyed by this compound?

  1. A timid and hesitant man
  2. A wealthy merchant
  3. A generous, open-handed man Correct answer.
  4. A stern teacher

Explanation

The compound dast-u-dil-bāz literally joins 'hand' and 'heart' with 'open', giving the sense of open-handed generosity. It describes a moral quality rather than timidity, wealth or sternness.

Question 18Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

Which statement about the role of dialogue in the Nasr prose lessons is most accurate?

  1. Dialogue in prose must always be rhymed.
  2. Dialogue exists only to fill space between descriptive passages.
  3. Dialogue replaces the need for any narrator.
  4. Dialogue advances the plot and reveals character through what speakers choose to say. Correct answer.

Explanation

In narrative prose, dialogue carries the action forward and discloses character through speech. It is not mere filler, it is not rhymed in prose, and a narrator remains even when characters speak.

Question 19Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

A lesson in the Nasr section ends with the narrator stating, 'From that day I understood that patience is the key to every difficulty.' Which function does this closing sentence perform?

  1. It states the moral explicitly, closing the didactic frame Correct answer.
  2. It introduces a new complication
  3. It replaces the protagonist with a new character
  4. It shifts the narrative to a new setting

Explanation

A closing general statement drawn from the events states the lesson's moral and completes the didactic frame. It does not open a new complication, change location, or introduce a replacement protagonist.

Question 20Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

In a Nasr narrative, a minor character appears only once, delivers a warning, and is never mentioned again. What is the most precise critical description of this figure?

  1. The protagonist of the lesson
  2. The antagonist of the lesson
  3. The narrator of the lesson
  4. A functional secondary character who serves the plot Correct answer.

Explanation

A single-appearance figure whose warning moves the plot forward is a functional secondary character. The protagonist and antagonist are central to the conflict, and the narrator is the voice telling the story.

Question 21Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

Which sentence uses a correct Persian construction to express a cause-and-effect relation typical of explanatory Nasr prose?

  1. Chūn bārān nabūd, zamīn-hā khushk mānd.
  2. Chūn bārān nabūdand, zamīn khushk mānd.
  3. Chūn bārān nabūd, zamīn khushk mānd. Correct answer.
  4. Chūn bārān nabūd, zamīn khushk māndand.

Explanation

The conjunction chūn introduces the cause, and both the verb of the cause clause and the main verb must agree with their singular subjects bārān and zamīn. The other versions attach plural endings to elements that are singular in the sentence.

Question 22Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

Two Nasr lessons both describe a journey, but one dwells on inner reflection while the other lists places and distances. Which contrast in prose style does this illustrate?

  1. Direct speech versus indirect speech
  2. Ornate prose versus rhymed prose
  3. Introspective narration versus external descriptive narration Correct answer.
  4. Essay versus sermon

Explanation

The contrast is between inward reflection and outward description of places, both being modes of narration. Ornate and rhymed prose are both ornamental, essay and sermon are genres, and direct versus indirect speech concerns reported speech only.

Question 23Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

A critic says a Nasr lesson's narrator is 'limited' rather than omniscient. Which evidence would best support that judgement?

  1. The narrator comments on the moral of every episode
  2. The narrator describes every character's private thoughts in detail
  3. The narrator quotes long speeches by several characters
  4. The narrator reports only what he himself witnessed and admits ignorance of others' motives Correct answer.

Explanation

A limited narrator is restricted to his own experience and openly cannot enter other minds. Describing everyone's private thoughts would prove omniscience, while moral commentary and quoted speeches are compatible with either kind of narrator.

Question 24Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

In the Nasr lessons, a character who is described with the epithet nāmard serves what function in the moral scheme of the narrative?

  1. He provides comic relief unrelated to the moral
  2. He serves as the narrator of the events
  3. He represents the author's own viewpoint
  4. He embodies the vice that the lesson's moral implicitly condemns Correct answer.

Explanation

The epithet nāmard, meaning base or unmanly, marks a figure whose conduct the lesson condemns, so he embodies the opposing vice. He does not voice the author, narrate, or stand outside the moral design.

Question 25Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

Which statement best explains why didactic Nasr lessons often place two contrasting characters side by side?

  1. The contrast is required by the rules of Persian metre
  2. The contrast proves that both characters are equally right
  3. The contrast allows the author to avoid describing any setting
  4. The contrast makes the moral judgement clear without lengthy abstract argument Correct answer.

Explanation

Placing virtue beside vice lets the reader draw the moral from concrete example rather than abstract reasoning, which suits didactic prose. Metre is irrelevant to prose, equal validity would destroy the moral, and contrast does not remove the need for setting.

Question 26Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

In the Nasr section, a prose lesson presents an event, then pauses to draw a general moral lesson from it. Which term best describes this kind of prose?

  1. Nasr-i taʿlīmī (didactic prose) Correct answer.
  2. Nasr-i ʿilmī (scientific prose)
  3. Nasr-i munshaʾ (ornate epistolary prose)
  4. Nasr-i tārīkhī (chronicle prose)

Explanation

Didactic prose (nasr-i taʿlīmī) exists to instruct: the narrative incident is followed by an explicit moral conclusion drawn from it. Scientific prose aims at transmitting technical information, ornate prose at rhetorical display, and chronicle prose at recording events in sequence.

Question 27Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

A Nasr lesson uses the Persian pair ẓāhir and bāṭin about a character. Which reading of the pair fits the moral design of such lessons?

  1. Daytime versus night-time in the story
  2. Direct speech versus reported speech in the text
  3. The city setting versus the village setting
  4. Outward appearance versus inner reality of the person Correct answer.

Explanation

Ẓāhir denotes what is visible or outward, bāṭin what is hidden or inward; didactic prose uses the pair to show that a person's true worth lies in inner qualities rather than surface appearance. The other options attach the pair to settings or to grammatical categories, which the words do not denote.

Question 28Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

A Nasr lesson opens with a short scene, then the narrator comments, 'In truth, this was the lesson of that day.' What does this closing comment chiefly accomplish?

  1. It introduces a new character into the narrative
  2. It changes the narrative from past to future events
  3. It shifts the story to a different place and time
  4. It converts the narrated incident into an explicit ethical conclusion Correct answer.

Explanation

A concluding reflective statement is the signature move of didactic prose: the incident is turned into a lesson the reader can carry away. It does not add characters, relocate the scene, or move the timeline forward.

Question 29Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

In a Nasr prose lesson, a character is called ʿāqil while another is called nādān. What contrast is the author drawing?

  1. Prudence and good judgement against foolishness Correct answer.
  2. Kindness against cruelty
  3. Old age against youth
  4. Wealth against poverty

Explanation

ʿĀqil means wise or prudent, nādān means ignorant or foolish; the pairing sets sound judgement against folly in the moral scheme. The words say nothing about money, age, or kindness, so those contrasts belong to other vocabulary.

Question 30Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

A Nasr lesson describes a man of ʿilm and ʿamal together. What quality is being praised?

  1. Action combined with physical strength
  2. Knowledge combined with high birth
  3. Knowledge joined with practical action Correct answer.
  4. Learning combined with wealth

Explanation

ʿIlm is knowledge and ʿamal is action or practice; the pairing praises a person whose learning is matched by conduct. Wealth, strength, and lineage are separate concepts expressed by other words.

Question 31Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

A Nasr lesson ends with the words ʿibrat-gīrī. What does this term name in the structure of the lesson?

  1. The introduction of the main characters
  2. The description of the physical setting
  3. The taking of a moral lesson from the story Correct answer.
  4. The climax of the conflict

Explanation

ʿIbrat-gīrī literally means taking a warning or lesson; in didactic prose it names the final extraction of moral meaning. Setting description, character introduction, and climax are different structural moments with their own designations.

Question 32Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

A prose lesson in the Nasr section is described as having a sādhah uslūb. What does this say about the writing?

  1. The style is entirely in verse
  2. The style is highly ornamental
  3. The style is simple and unadorned Correct answer.
  4. The style is archaic and difficult

Explanation

Sādhah means simple or plain, and uslūb means style; the phrase therefore describes clear, unornamented prose suited to instruction. Ornate, archaic, and verse styles are described by other terms altogether.

Question 33Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

In a Nasr lesson, a father advises his son before a journey. Which feature marks this passage as hikmat (wisdom) literature?

  1. The journey is described with exact distances
  2. The passage is written in rhymed prose throughout
  3. General maxims are placed in the mouth of an experienced elder Correct answer.
  4. The son argues with the father at length

Explanation

Wisdom literature conveys general maxims through a trusted elder figure whose experience lends authority to the advice. Lengthy argument, precise itineraries, and sustained rhyme are features of other prose modes and do not define hikmat.

Question 34Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

A Nasr lesson uses the word dāstān for one part and maqāla for another. Which distinction is correct?

  1. Both terms refer to collections of letters
  2. Both terms refer only to poetry
  3. Dāstān is a discursive piece; maqāla is a narrative with characters
  4. Dāstān is a narrative with events and characters; maqāla is a discursive piece on a topic Correct answer.

Explanation

Dāstān denotes a story with plot and characters, while maqāla denotes a treatise or essay that discusses a subject discursively. Neither term designates poetry or letter collections, which have their own names.

Question 35Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

In a Nasr narrative, the narrator says, 'I did not know then what I learned later.' What effect does this retrospective voice create?

  1. It converts the narrative into direct speech
  2. It removes the narrator from the story entirely
  3. It separates the experiencing self from the wiser narrating self Correct answer.
  4. It shows that the narrator is unreliable about facts

Explanation

A narrator who distinguishes present understanding from past ignorance speaks from a later, wiser standpoint, so the story carries the lesson the narrator has since learned. This convention signals growth rather than factual unreliability, and the narrator remains inside the story.

Question 36Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

A Nasr lesson shows a rich merchant ignoring a beggar, then losing his fortune, while the beggar later helps him. Which device is at work?

  1. A digression unrelated to the main theme
  2. A dialogue used only for comic effect
  3. Reversal of fortune that enforces the moral lesson Correct answer.
  4. A description of setting for atmosphere

Explanation

The exchange of positions between the two characters is a reversal of fortune, a standard didactic device that makes the ethical point vivid. It is integral to the theme rather than a digression, and it carries serious moral weight.

Question 37Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

A Nasr lesson repeatedly uses the word chūnānkih to introduce an illustration. What function does this word serve in the argument?

  1. It marks a change of scene in the story
  2. It introduces an example or clarification of the preceding statement Correct answer.
  3. It negates the preceding statement
  4. It signals a quotation from another author

Explanation

Chūnānkih means 'just as' or 'in the manner that' and commonly ushers in an illustration that clarifies what precedes it. It does not mark a change of scene, introduce a quotation, or negate anything.

Question 38Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

In a Nasr prose lesson the author writes, 'The village was silent, as though it too were waiting.' Which quality does this sentence display?

  1. Direct quotation of a character
  2. A logical proof of the lesson
  3. Statistical precision about the setting
  4. Personification used to create mood Correct answer.

Explanation

The village is credited with waiting, a human attitude, which is personification and serves to build atmosphere. The sentence offers no figures or data, quotes no one, and argues nothing logically.

Question 39Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

A Nasr lesson describes a character with the phrase dast-u-dil-bāz. How should this be understood?

  1. Physically strong and tall
  2. Generous and open-hearted Correct answer.
  3. Skilled with the hands
  4. Quick-tempered and impatient

Explanation

The idiom combines dast (hand) and dil (heart) with bāz (open), giving the sense of open-handedness and generosity of spirit. It is not a comment on manual skill, physique, or temper.

Question 40Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

In a Nasr lesson, an old woman appears briefly, speaks a single sentence of warning, and vanishes from the story. What is her most likely narrative function?

  1. She is the central protagonist of the story
  2. She supplies comic relief without purpose
  3. She marks a change of geographical setting
  4. She voices the lesson the protagonist must later learn Correct answer.

Explanation

A minor figure who appears once to deliver a warning typically carries the moral message that the main character has yet to absorb. Such a figure is by definition not the protagonist, and the warning is purposeful rather than comic filler or a scene marker.

Question 41Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

A Nasr lesson says of a character: 'Har chand tanhā būd, dilash garm būd.' What does this tell the reader about him?

  1. He was ill and needed warmth
  2. He was physically warm because he was alone
  3. He remained hopeful and warm-hearted despite being alone Correct answer.
  4. He disliked company and preferred solitude

Explanation

Har chand means 'although' and dilash garm būd literally 'his heart was warm', an idiom for cheerfulness and hope. The sentence therefore contrasts outward solitude with inner warmth, and it says nothing about illness or a preference for being alone.

Question 42Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

A Nasr lesson alternates between describing a character's actions and commenting on their meaning. What is this alternation called in prose analysis?

  1. Narration interwoven with commentary Correct answer.
  2. Rhymed prose
  3. Sustained monologue
  4. Epistolary form

Explanation

When a narrator reports events and then comments on their significance, the text moves between narration and commentary, a pattern typical of didactic prose. Monologue, rhymed prose, and epistolary form describe quite different structures.

Question 43Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

A Nasr lesson uses the expression dar īn miyān to move the argument along. What does this phrase do?

  1. It marks a transition to a related point within the discussion Correct answer.
  2. It introduces a direct quotation
  3. It concludes the entire lesson
  4. It negates the previous sentence

Explanation

Dar īn miyān means 'in the meantime' or 'in this connection' and serves as a transitional connector between related points. It neither quotes anyone, closes the whole lesson, nor reverses the preceding statement.

Question 44Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

In a Nasr lesson the narrator remarks that a miser's gold 'slept in the chest while hunger walked the street'. Which two devices are combined here?

  1. Rhyme and refrain
  2. Alliteration and onomatopoeia
  3. Personification and antithesis Correct answer.
  4. Hyperbole and direct address

Explanation

Gold is said to sleep and hunger to walk, which personifies both, while the hoarded wealth and the starving street are set in sharp antithesis. Alliteration, onomatopoeia, direct address, and refrain are not what the sentence displays.

Question 45Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

A Nasr lesson presents a dialogue in which each speaker's lines are short and the narrator adds almost nothing. What is the chief effect of this technique?

  1. The scene moves quickly and character is revealed through speech Correct answer.
  2. The passage becomes a scholarly essay
  3. The moral lesson is stated explicitly by the narrator
  4. The setting is described in fine detail

Explanation

Brisk exchange with minimal narratorial intervention quickens the pace and lets characters reveal themselves through what they say. An explicit moral would require narratorial comment, detailed setting would require description, and an essay would abandon dialogue for exposition.

Question 46Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

A Nasr lesson describes a man as khud-pasand. How does this epithet shape the reader's judgement of him?

  1. It presents him as timid and cautious
  2. It presents him as learned and respected
  3. It presents him as generous and admired
  4. It presents him as self-satisfied and therefore unattractive Correct answer.

Explanation

Khud-pasand means 'self-pleasing' or self-satisfied, an epithet that disposes the reader against the character. Generosity, learning, and timidity are carried by quite different words, so the epithet cannot be read in those ways.

Question 47Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

A Nasr lesson contains a sentence with a long string of parallel clauses each beginning with agar. What does this structure achieve?

  1. It shortens the sentence and speeds the narrative
  2. It converts the passage into dialogue
  3. It builds cumulative emphasis by heaping up conditions Correct answer.
  4. It introduces a change of narrator

Explanation

Repeated conditional clauses with agar accumulate one condition upon another, producing rhetorical emphasis and a sense of inevitability. Such a structure lengthens rather than shortens the sentence, and it changes neither the narrator nor the mode of speech.

Question 48Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

Two Nasr lessons treat the same theme of hospitality, but one praises the host and the other quietly exposes his pride. What does this comparison best illustrate?

  1. Hospitality is treated only in didactic prose
  2. The second lesson is necessarily the later composition
  3. The two lessons must be by the same author
  4. A shared theme can carry different moral evaluations depending on narrative stance Correct answer.

Explanation

The same subject can be evaluated differently according to how the narrator positions the character, whether with praise or with ironic exposure. Nothing in the comparison establishes common authorship, an exclusive genre, or the order of composition.

Question 49Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

A critic claims a Nasr lesson's narrator is 'limited' rather than omniscient. Which evidence would best support the claim?

  1. The narrator quotes long passages of Arabic poetry
  2. The narrator addresses the reader directly with moral maxims
  3. The narrator describes every character's private motives in detail
  4. The narrator reports only what he witnessed and admits ignorance of others' thoughts Correct answer.

Explanation

A limited narrator stays within the bounds of what one participant could know and concedes ignorance of other minds. Detailed access to every character's motives would indicate omniscience, while direct address and quotation are separate stylistic matters.

Question 50Prose (Nasr) - prescribed texts: comprehension, theme, character and style

In a Nasr lesson, a character described as nāmard betrays a trust. What role does this figure play in the moral scheme?

  1. He embodies the vice the lesson warns against, set against a faithful foil Correct answer.
  2. He represents the narrator's own past self
  3. He provides comic relief with no moral weight
  4. He serves as the author's spokesman for the lesson

Explanation

Nāmard means unmanly or base, and such a figure embodies the vice under attack, usually sharpened by contrast with a loyal character. He does not voice the author's lesson, carry merely comic weight, or stand for the narrator unless the text says so.