Comprehension

Read the extract and complete the activities given below:
At length Soapy reached one of the avenues to the east where the glitter and turmoil was but faint. He dragged himself toward Madison Square, for the homing instinct survives even when the home is a park bench.
But, on an unusually quiet corner, Soapy came to a standstill. Here was an old church, quaint and rambling and gabled. Through one violet-stained window a soft light glowed, where, no doubt, the organist loitered over the keys, making sure of his mastery of the coming Sabbath Anthem. For there drifted out to Soapy’s ears sweet music that caught and held him transfixed against the convolutions of the iron fence.
The moon was above, full and radiant; vehicles and pedestrians were few; sparrows twittered sleepily in the eaves or a little while the scene might have been a country churchyard. And the anthem that the organist played cemented Soapy to the iron fence, for he had known it well in the days when his life contained such things as mothers and roses and ambitions and friends and immaculate thoughts and collars.
The conjunction of Soapy’s receptive state of mind and the influences about the old church brought a sudden and wonderful change in his soul. He viewed with rising horror the pit into which he had tumbled, the degraded days,
unworthy desires, dead hopes, wrecked faculties and base motives that made up his existence. And also in a moment his heart responded thrillingly to this strange mood. A strong impulse moved him to battle with his desperate fate. He would pull himself out of the mire and would make a man of himself again; he would conquer the evil that had enslaved him. There was time; he was young yet; he would resurrect his old eager ambitions and pursue them without faltering. Those solemn but sweet organ notes had set up a revolution in him. Tomorrow he would go into the roaring downtown district and find work. A fur importer had once offered him a place as driver. He would be somebody in the world. He would .....
Soapy felt a hand laid on his arm. He looked quickly around into the impassive face of a policeman.
“What are you doin’ here?” asked the officer.
“Nothin’,” said Soapy.
“Then come along,” said the policeman.
“Three months on the island,” said the Magistrate in the Police Court the next morning.

Question: 1

Complete the given diagram expressing Soapy’s journey:

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In "The Cop and the Anthem", the turning point of the story occurs when Soapy listens to the church anthem, which inspires him to reform his life.
Updated On: Feb 14, 2026
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Question: 2

Soapy’s earlier life was much different from his present life. Highlight the difference in the given table:

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While comparing a character’s past and present life, focus on changes in status, emotions, ambitions, and social condition.
Updated On: Feb 14, 2026
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Question: 3

Complete the given web highlighting the change in Soapy after listening to the sweet and solemn organ notes:

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In “The Cop and the Anthem”, the church music acts as a turning point in the story and leads to Soapy’s moral transformation.
Updated On: Feb 14, 2026
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Question: 4

Write about any of your decisions which made you repent later.

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When writing about regret, clearly mention the decision, its consequences, what you learned from it, and how it changed you for the better.
Updated On: Feb 14, 2026
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Question: 5

A fur importer had offered him a place as driver.
(Choose the correct alternative to get past continuous tense as the answer of the given sentence.)

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Past Continuous tense always follows the structure: was/were + verb + ing. Be careful not to confuse it with Perfect Continuous forms.
Updated On: Feb 14, 2026
  • A fur importer had been offering him a place as driver.
  • A fur importer will be offering him a place as driver.
  • A fur importer was offering him a place as driver.
  • A fur importer has been offering him a place as driver.
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The Correct Option is C

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Question: 6

He would be somebody in the world.
(Choose the correct alternative from the given sentences showing ‘certainty’.)
(a) He must be somebody in the world.
(b) He will be somebody in the world.
(c) He should be somebody in the world.
(d) He might be somebody in the world.

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In modal verbs, \textbf{must} shows strong certainty, \textbf{might} shows weak possibility, and \textbf{should} shows expectation or advice.
Updated On: Feb 14, 2026
  • He must be somebody in the world
  • He will be somebody in the world
  • He should be somebody in the world.
  • He might be somebody in the world.
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The Correct Option is A

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Question: 7

Vocabulary: Find the antonym of the following words from the extract:
(i) defeat
(ii) moving

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While finding antonyms from an extract, look for words used in contrast within the same passage.
Updated On: Feb 14, 2026
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