READING COMPREHENSION PRACTICE 4

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Read the following poem carefully and then answer the questions set on it.
The Hawk
The hawk slipped out of the pine, and rose in the sunlit air:
Steady and still he poised: his shadow slept on the grass:
And the bird’s song sickened and sank: she cowered with furtive stare,
Dumb, till the quivering dimness should flicker and shift and pass.
Suddenly down he dropped: she heard the hiss of his wing,
Fled with a scream of terror: oh, would she had dared to rest.
For the hawk at eve was full, and there was no bird to sing,
And over the heather drifted the down from a bleeding breast.
A.C. BENSON
(a) Briefly state what happens in the poem. (2 marks)
(b) What does the following tell you about the bird? she cowered with furtive stare…(2 marks)
(c) Explain what is meant by ;the quivering dimness. (2 marks)
(d) Comment on the poet’s use of each of the following:
(i) slipped
(ii) drifted (4 marks)
(e) Name one sense to which this poem appeals and quote a word or phrase in support of your choice. (2 marks)
(f) Identify a figure of speech and comment on its effectiveness. (2 marks)

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