TNPSC Group 2 General English: Figures of Speech – The secret of the Machines
Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission Group 2 or Combined Civil Service Examination II has 3 tier examination for the selection process. For Preliminary Examination is an objective type (Written Examination) with a maximum of 300 marks. TNPSC Group 2 Prelims examination – General English/ General Tamil portion topic has 50% of total marks. Candidates who are preparing for the TNPSC Group 2 General English Part are more important and you can score maximum marks in this part.
The General English portion is of 3 Parts – Part A: Grammar, Part B: Poem, and Part C: Literature. Part B Poem topic study materials PDF are readily available and given below for those who preparing for TNPSC Group 2 Exam.
Group 2 General English – Poem The secret of the Machines Appreciation and Figure of Speech topic question and answers solutions PDF given below,
TNPSC Group 2 – Poetry Appreciation Questions:
Read the following lines and answer the following.
Answer the following questions briefly.
1. Who does ‘we’ refer to in the first stanza?
a.) Human beings b.) Machines Ans: b)
2. Who are the speakers and listeners of this poem?
The speakers are the machines and the listeners are the human beings.
3. What metals are obtained from ores and mines?
Iron is obtained from ores and mines.
4. Mention a few machines which are hammered to
Tractor, bulldozer, crane, truck, printer, etc.
5. Mention the names of a few machines that run on water, coal or
Underwater treadmills, trains, cars, trucks, airplanes, etc., are some of the machines that run on water, coal, and oil.
6. Mention a few machines used for pulling, pushing, lifting, driving, printing, ploughing, reading, writing, etc.
Tractor, bulldozer, crane, truck, printer, cars, Braille, etc, are used for the above-mentioned purposes.
7. Are machines humble to accept the evolution of the human brain? Why?
Yes, machines are humble to accept the evolution of the human brain because in the last stanza of the poem they confess that they are the children of the human brain.
8. What feelings are evoked in us by the machines in this poem?
Compassion, sympathy, humility, and vanity are the feelings evoked in us by the machines in this poem.
9. ‘And a thousandth of an inch to give us play:’
Which of the following do the machines want to prove from this line?
a. Once Machines are fed with fuel, they take a very long time to Start.
b. Once Machines are fed with fuel, they start
Ans: a)
10. And now, if you will set us to our task,
We will serve you four and twenty hours a day!
a. Who does the pronoun ‘you’ refer to here?
‘You’ refers to human beings here.
b. Whose task is referred to as ‘our task’ here?
The Machines’ task is referred to here.
c. Open conditional clause is used in the given line. Why is the future tense ‘will set’ and ‘will serve’ used both in the ‘if clause’ and in the ‘main clause’?
The open conditional clause usually refers to a future event that is conditional on another future event. The verb of the main clause is in the future tense with “will” and the if-clause also is in the future tense. Here it is used because if the condition is fulfilled, the consequent action will automatically happen without fail.
d. Do the machines serve us twenty-four hours a day?
Yes, the machines serve us twenty-four hours a day.
e. Rewrite the given lines with the ending ‘365 days a year’.
We will serve you three hundred and sixty-five days a year.
Answer the following questions.
1. We were cast and wrought and hammared to design,
We were cut and filed and troled and guaged to fit.
a. Who does ‘we’ refer to?
‘We’ refers to modern machines.
b. Who can design the machines?
Man can design the machines.
2. And now, if you will set us to our task,
We will serve you four and twenty hours a day!
a. Who will serve us for a whole day?
The machine will serve us for a whole day.
b. Will the machine do any task without human beings?
No, it will not do.
3. We can neither love nor pity nor forgive,
If you make a slip in handling us you die!
a. Do the machines have any feelings?
No, the machines don’t have any feelings or emotions.
b. What do you mean by the word ‘slip’ here?
It means handling the machines in the wrong way.
4. We can see, run and hear and count and read and write.
a. Name the figure of speech used here
Personification.
b. Identify the words in alliteration.
We, write; run, read.
5. We can pull and haul and push and lift and drive
We can print and plough and weave and heat and light.
We can run and race and swim and fly and dive.
We can see and hear and count and read and write!
a. Pick out the rhyming words in these lines.
drive, dive; light, write.
b. Pick out the rhyme scheme in these lines.
abab.
B. Write your favourite stanza from the poem and find the rhyming scheme.
But remember, please, the Law by which we live,
We are not built to comprehend a lie,
If you make a slip in handling us you die!
The rhyme scheme of this stanza is abab.
C. Read the poem and find the lines for the following poetic devices or write your own example.
Alliteration
pull, push; print, plough; run, race; stars, shine
Assonance
all weak
a thousand of an inch
Personification
We can run and race and swim and fly and dive
We can see and hear and count and read and write
We will serve you
Simile
He is as busy as a bee
I am as snug as a bug in a rug
You were as brave as a lion.
They fought like cats and dogs.
He is as funny as a barrel of monkeys.
Important links for TNPSC Group 2 General English Study Materials:
- Click Here For TNPSC Group 2 General English Part B Poem – The Ant and The Cricket
- For Complete Part B Poem Figures of Speech – TNPSC Gr 2 General English Study Materials