Question Answers For All Chapters – Balbharati English Class 6
The Merchant of Venice
POINTERS
1. Say whether the following statements are true or false.
Answer : (a) The merchant ships brought spices and other treasures from India and other
countries to Italy.(True)
(b) Antonio had gone on a long voyage.(False)
(c) Bassanio was very rich.(False)
(d) Portia had many brothers and sisters.(False)
(e) Portia’s suitors chose the gold and silver caskets.(True)
(f) Bassanio borrowed money from Shylock in Antonio’s name.(True)
(g) Shylock was not at all generous.(True)
(h) Shylock demanded a pound of Antonio’s flesh.(True)
(i) Portia saved Antonio in the court of law.(True)
(j) Antonio’s ships were lost at sea.(False)
2. Write a few lines about each character.
Answer : Antonio – A kind and wealthy merchant from Venice who helped his best friend Bassanio by borrowing money from Shylock.
Bassanio – A noble but poor young man who wanted to marry Portia. He borrowed money from Shylock in Antonio’s name.
Portia – A wise and beautiful woman who saved Antonio in court by disguising herself as a lawyer.
Shylock – A rich but cruel moneylender who wanted revenge on Antonio.
The Duke – A fair ruler of Venice who wanted to help Antonio but was bound by the law.
3. Write the following in short :
(1) The story of the three caskets.
Answer : Portia’s father set a test for her suitors. They had to choose between three caskets – gold, silver, and lead. The gold casket had the message “Whoever chooses me shall gain what many men desire.” The silver one said, “Whoever chooses me shall get as much as he deserves.” The lead casket said, “Whoever chooses me must give and hazard all he has.” The right choice was the lead casket, which Bassanio selected, and he won Portia’s hand.
(2) What the young lawyer pleaded.
Answer : The young lawyer (Portia in disguise) pleaded that Shylock should show mercy to Antonio. She said mercy is a great quality, and it is more valuable than a king’s crown. But Shylock refused to show mercy.
(3) The events at the court.
Answer : Shylock demanded Antonio’s flesh as per the bond.
Portia, disguised as a lawyer, pleaded for mercy, but Shylock refused.
Portia tricked Shylock by stating he could take a pound of flesh but not shed a drop of blood.
Shylock realized he could not do this and accepted defeat.
4. Write the conditions that Portia put down to warn Shylock.
Answer : He could take a pound of Antonio’s flesh but should not shed a single drop of blood.
He had to take exactly one pound, no more and no less.
5. Find four words ending with ‘-ous’ from the story.
Can you add three more words ending with ‘-ous’ to this list ?
Answer : Words Ending with ‘-ous’:
Generous
Dangerous
Adventurous
Precious
Three more words:
Curious
Mysterious
Famous
6. Read the following words. Write the words that are combined to make these words.
Answer : Faraway = far + away
Nobleman = noble + man
Whoever = who + ever
Moneylender = money + lender
Sometimes = some + times
Ten more examples:
- Classroom = class + room
- Bookstore = book + store
- Seashore = sea + shore
- Toothbrush = tooth + brush
- Football = foot + ball
- Newspaper = news + paper
- Doorbell = door + bell
- Sunlight = sun + light
- Waterfall = water + fall
- Airport = air + port
8. A letter or group of letters added to the front of a word to change its meaning and make a new word is called a prefix.
Answer : Kind → Unkind
Intelligent → Unintelligent
Advantage → Disadvantage
Happy → Unhappy
Allow → Disallow
Safe → Unsafe
9. Find at least three sentences in the story which have modal verbs.
Answer : “Antonio had to borrow money for Bassanio.”
“Shylock should show mercy to Antonio.”
“Bassanio must choose the correct casket to marry Portia.”
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