English II Quiz 1: 26 October 2025 (September 2025 term)

Read the speech segment given below and fill in the blanks with the appropriate discourse markers. Observe the tone and the punctuation of the passage and choose only the most fitting answer for every blank.
David Foster Wallace on Entertainment
Every year, the culture gets more and more hostile. Hostile, [i] _____, angry– just [that] it becomes more and more difficult to ask people to read or to look at a piece of art for an hour, or to listen to a piece of music that’s complicated and that takes work to understand because, [ii] _____, there are a lot of reasons, but [iii] _____ now, in computer and internet culture, everything is so fast and the faster things go, the more we feed that part of ourselves, but don’t feed the part of ourselves that likes…that likes quiet. It seems significant that we don’t want things to be quiet ever anymore. And that seems to me to have something to do with the fact that we feel like the purpose of our life is to gratify ourselves and to get things for ourselves and to be on the go all the time, [but] there’s this other part of us– a part that is [iv] _____ hungry for silence and quiet and thinking really hard about the same thing for [v] _____ half an hour instead of 30 seconds that doesn’t get fed at all. And it makes itself felt in the body in a kind of dread in here (touches chest).
Transcribed from: “David Foster Wallace on Entertainment.” YouTube, uploaded by
zoombockerman, 8 Dec. 2022.
Based on the above data, answer the given subquestions.

Fill in blank [i] with the most fitting discourse marker among the options given below.

Read the speech segment given below and fill in the blanks with the appropriate discourse markers. Observe the tone and the punctuation of the passage and choose only the most fitting answer for every blank.
David Foster Wallace on Entertainment
Every year, the culture gets more and more hostile. Hostile, [i] _____, angry– just [that] it becomes more and more difficult to ask people to read or to look at a piece of art for an hour, or to listen to a piece of music that’s complicated and that takes work to understand because, [ii] _____, there are a lot of reasons, but [iii] _____ now, in computer and internet culture, everything is so fast and the faster things go, the more we feed that part of ourselves, but don’t feed the part of ourselves that likes…that likes quiet. It seems significant that we don’t want things to be quiet ever anymore. And that seems to me to have something to do with the fact that we feel like the purpose of our life is to gratify ourselves and to get things for ourselves and to be on the go all the time, [but] there’s this other part of us– a part that is [iv] _____ hungry for silence and quiet and thinking really hard about the same thing for [v] _____ half an hour instead of 30 seconds that doesn’t get fed at all. And it makes itself felt in the body in a kind of dread in here (touches chest).
Transcribed from: “David Foster Wallace on Entertainment.” YouTube, uploaded by
zoombockerman, 8 Dec. 2022.
Based on the above data, answer the given subquestions.

Fill in blank [ii] with the most fitting discourse marker among the options given below.

Read the speech segment given below and fill in the blanks with the appropriate discourse markers. Observe the tone and the punctuation of the passage and choose only the most fitting answer for every blank.
David Foster Wallace on Entertainment
Every year, the culture gets more and more hostile. Hostile, [i] _____, angry– just [that] it becomes more and more difficult to ask people to read or to look at a piece of art for an hour, or to listen to a piece of music that’s complicated and that takes work to understand because, [ii] _____, there are a lot of reasons, but [iii] _____ now, in computer and internet culture, everything is so fast and the faster things go, the more we feed that part of ourselves, but don’t feed the part of ourselves that likes…that likes quiet. It seems significant that we don’t want things to be quiet ever anymore. And that seems to me to have something to do with the fact that we feel like the purpose of our life is to gratify ourselves and to get things for ourselves and to be on the go all the time, [but] there’s this other part of us– a part that is [iv] _____ hungry for silence and quiet and thinking really hard about the same thing for [v] _____ half an hour instead of 30 seconds that doesn’t get fed at all. And it makes itself felt in the body in a kind of dread in here (touches chest).
Transcribed from: “David Foster Wallace on Entertainment.” YouTube, uploaded by
zoombockerman, 8 Dec. 2022.
Based on the above data, answer the given subquestions.

Fill in blank [iii] with the most fitting discourse marker among the options given below.

Read the speech segment given below and fill in the blanks with the appropriate discourse markers. Observe the tone and the punctuation of the passage and choose only the most fitting answer for every blank.
David Foster Wallace on Entertainment
Every year, the culture gets more and more hostile. Hostile, [i] _____, angry– just [that] it becomes more and more difficult to ask people to read or to look at a piece of art for an hour, or to listen to a piece of music that’s complicated and that takes work to understand because, [ii] _____, there are a lot of reasons, but [iii] _____ now, in computer and internet culture, everything is so fast and the faster things go, the more we feed that part of ourselves, but don’t feed the part of ourselves that likes…that likes quiet. It seems significant that we don’t want things to be quiet ever anymore. And that seems to me to have something to do with the fact that we feel like the purpose of our life is to gratify ourselves and to get things for ourselves and to be on the go all the time, [but] there’s this other part of us– a part that is [iv] _____ hungry for silence and quiet and thinking really hard about the same thing for [v] _____ half an hour instead of 30 seconds that doesn’t get fed at all. And it makes itself felt in the body in a kind of dread in here (touches chest).
Transcribed from: “David Foster Wallace on Entertainment.” YouTube, uploaded by
zoombockerman, 8 Dec. 2022.
Based on the above data, answer the given subquestions.

Fill in blank [iv] with the most fitting discourse marker among the options given below.

Read the speech segment given below and fill in the blanks with the appropriate discourse markers. Observe the tone and the punctuation of the passage and choose only the most fitting answer for every blank.
David Foster Wallace on Entertainment
Every year, the culture gets more and more hostile. Hostile, [i] _____, angry– just [that] it becomes more and more difficult to ask people to read or to look at a piece of art for an hour, or to listen to a piece of music that’s complicated and that takes work to understand because, [ii] _____, there are a lot of reasons, but [iii] _____ now, in computer and internet culture, everything is so fast and the faster things go, the more we feed that part of ourselves, but don’t feed the part of ourselves that likes…that likes quiet. It seems significant that we don’t want things to be quiet ever anymore. And that seems to me to have something to do with the fact that we feel like the purpose of our life is to gratify ourselves and to get things for ourselves and to be on the go all the time, [but] there’s this other part of us– a part that is [iv] _____ hungry for silence and quiet and thinking really hard about the same thing for [v] _____ half an hour instead of 30 seconds that doesn’t get fed at all. And it makes itself felt in the body in a kind of dread in here (touches chest).
Transcribed from: “David Foster Wallace on Entertainment.” YouTube, uploaded by
zoombockerman, 8 Dec. 2022.
Based on the above data, answer the given subquestions.

Fill in blank [v] with the most fitting discourse marker among the options given below.

Given below is an excerpt from the essay “Gifts”, written by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Study the essay and answer the given subquestions.
He is a good man, who can receive a gift well. We are either glad or sorry at a gift, and both emotions are unbecoming. Some violence, I think, is done, some degradation borne, when I rejoice or grieve at a gift. I am sorry when my independence is invaded, or when a gift comes from such as do not know my spirit, and so the act is not supported; and if the gift pleases me overmuch, then I should be ashamed that the donor should read my heart, and see that I love his commodity, and not him. The gift, to be true, must be the flowing of the giver unto me, correspondent to my flowing unto him. When the waters are at level, then my goods pass to him, and his to me. All his are mine, all mine his. I say to him, How can you give me this pot of oil, or this flagon of wine, when all your oil and wine is mine, which belief of mine this gift seems to deny? Hence the fitness of beautiful, not useful things for gifts. This giving is flat usurpation, and therefore when the beneficiary is ungrateful, as all beneficiaries hate all Timons, not at all considering the value of the gift, but looking back to the greater store it was taken from, I rather sympathize with the beneficiary, than with the anger of my lord Timon. For, the expectation of gratitude is mean, and is continually punished by the total insensibility of the obliged person. It is a great happiness to get off without injury and heart-burning, from one who has had the ill luck to be served by you. It is a very onerous business, this of being served, and the debtor naturally wishes to give you a slap. A golden text for these gentlemen is that which I so admire in the Buddhist, who never thanks, and who says, "Do not flatter your benefactors."
The reason of these discords I conceive to be that there is no commensurability between a man and any gift. You cannot give anything to a magnanimous person. After you have served him, he at once puts you in debt by his magnanimity. The service a man renders his friend is trivial and selfish, compared with the service he knows his friend stood in readiness to yield him, alike before he had begun to serve his friend, and now also. Compared with that good-will I bear my friend, the benefit it is in my power to render him seems small. When I have attempted to join myself to others by services, it proved an intellectual trick-- no more. They eat your service like apples, and leave you out. But love them, and they feel you, and delight in you all the time.

Arrange the given hints in the correct order to form a synopsis of the essay.
i. The unpleasantness of being obligated
ii. Love as the most delightful gift
iii. The reason why beautiful things make the best gifts
iv. The conflict between the beneficiary and the benefactor with an allusion to Timon of Athens v. The thoughts we have upon receiving a gift
vi. Comparison between goodwill and gifts
vii. The true meaning of a gift

Given below is an excerpt from the essay “Gifts”, written by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Study the essay and answer the given subquestions.
He is a good man, who can receive a gift well. We are either glad or sorry at a gift, and both emotions are unbecoming. Some violence, I think, is done, some degradation borne, when I rejoice or grieve at a gift. I am sorry when my independence is invaded, or when a gift comes from such as do not know my spirit, and so the act is not supported; and if the gift pleases me overmuch, then I should be ashamed that the donor should read my heart, and see that I love his commodity, and not him. The gift, to be true, must be the flowing of the giver unto me, correspondent to my flowing unto him. When the waters are at level, then my goods pass to him, and his to me. All his are mine, all mine his. I say to him, How can you give me this pot of oil, or this flagon of wine, when all your oil and wine is mine, which belief of mine this gift seems to deny? Hence the fitness of beautiful, not useful things for gifts. This giving is flat usurpation, and therefore when the beneficiary is ungrateful, as all beneficiaries hate all Timons, not at all considering the value of the gift, but looking back to the greater store it was taken from, I rather sympathize with the beneficiary, than with the anger of my lord Timon. For, the expectation of gratitude is mean, and is continually punished by the total insensibility of the obliged person. It is a great happiness to get off without injury and heart-burning, from one who has had the ill luck to be served by you. It is a very onerous business, this of being served, and the debtor naturally wishes to give you a slap. A golden text for these gentlemen is that which I so admire in the Buddhist, who never thanks, and who says, "Do not flatter your benefactors."
The reason of these discords I conceive to be that there is no commensurability between a man and any gift. You cannot give anything to a magnanimous person. After you have served him, he at once puts you in debt by his magnanimity. The service a man renders his friend is trivial and selfish, compared with the service he knows his friend stood in readiness to yield him, alike before he had begun to serve his friend, and now also. Compared with that good-will I bear my friend, the benefit it is in my power to render him seems small. When I have attempted to join myself to others by services, it proved an intellectual trick-- no more. They eat your service like apples, and leave you out. But love them, and they feel you, and delight in you all the time.

Why does the essayist refer to lord Timon?

Given below is an excerpt from the essay “Gifts”, written by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Study the essay and answer the given subquestions.
He is a good man, who can receive a gift well. We are either glad or sorry at a gift, and both emotions are unbecoming. Some violence, I think, is done, some degradation borne, when I rejoice or grieve at a gift. I am sorry when my independence is invaded, or when a gift comes from such as do not know my spirit, and so the act is not supported; and if the gift pleases me overmuch, then I should be ashamed that the donor should read my heart, and see that I love his commodity, and not him. The gift, to be true, must be the flowing of the giver unto me, correspondent to my flowing unto him. When the waters are at level, then my goods pass to him, and his to me. All his are mine, all mine his. I say to him, How can you give me this pot of oil, or this flagon of wine, when all your oil and wine is mine, which belief of mine this gift seems to deny? Hence the fitness of beautiful, not useful things for gifts. This giving is flat usurpation, and therefore when the beneficiary is ungrateful, as all beneficiaries hate all Timons, not at all considering the value of the gift, but looking back to the greater store it was taken from, I rather sympathize with the beneficiary, than with the anger of my lord Timon. For, the expectation of gratitude is mean, and is continually punished by the total insensibility of the obliged person. It is a great happiness to get off without injury and heart-burning, from one who has had the ill luck to be served by you. It is a very onerous business, this of being served, and the debtor naturally wishes to give you a slap. A golden text for these gentlemen is that which I so admire in the Buddhist, who never thanks, and who says, "Do not flatter your benefactors."
The reason of these discords I conceive to be that there is no commensurability between a man and any gift. You cannot give anything to a magnanimous person. After you have served him, he at once puts you in debt by his magnanimity. The service a man renders his friend is trivial and selfish, compared with the service he knows his friend stood in readiness to yield him, alike before he had begun to serve his friend, and now also. Compared with that good-will I bear my friend, the benefit it is in my power to render him seems small. When I have attempted to join myself to others by services, it proved an intellectual trick-- no more. They eat your service like apples, and leave you out. But love them, and they feel you, and delight in you all the time.

Which of the following is NOT true?

Given below is an excerpt from the essay “Gifts”, written by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Study the essay and answer the given subquestions.
He is a good man, who can receive a gift well. We are either glad or sorry at a gift, and both emotions are unbecoming. Some violence, I think, is done, some degradation borne, when I rejoice or grieve at a gift. I am sorry when my independence is invaded, or when a gift comes from such as do not know my spirit, and so the act is not supported; and if the gift pleases me overmuch, then I should be ashamed that the donor should read my heart, and see that I love his commodity, and not him. The gift, to be true, must be the flowing of the giver unto me, correspondent to my flowing unto him. When the waters are at level, then my goods pass to him, and his to me. All his are mine, all mine his. I say to him, How can you give me this pot of oil, or this flagon of wine, when all your oil and wine is mine, which belief of mine this gift seems to deny? Hence the fitness of beautiful, not useful things for gifts. This giving is flat usurpation, and therefore when the beneficiary is ungrateful, as all beneficiaries hate all Timons, not at all considering the value of the gift, but looking back to the greater store it was taken from, I rather sympathize with the beneficiary, than with the anger of my lord Timon. For, the expectation of gratitude is mean, and is continually punished by the total insensibility of the obliged person. It is a great happiness to get off without injury and heart-burning, from one who has had the ill luck to be served by you. It is a very onerous business, this of being served, and the debtor naturally wishes to give you a slap. A golden text for these gentlemen is that which I so admire in the Buddhist, who never thanks, and who says, "Do not flatter your benefactors."
The reason of these discords I conceive to be that there is no commensurability between a man and any gift. You cannot give anything to a magnanimous person. After you have served him, he at once puts you in debt by his magnanimity. The service a man renders his friend is trivial and selfish, compared with the service he knows his friend stood in readiness to yield him, alike before he had begun to serve his friend, and now also. Compared with that good-will I bear my friend, the benefit it is in my power to render him seems small. When I have attempted to join myself to others by services, it proved an intellectual trick-- no more. They eat your service like apples, and leave you out. But love them, and they feel you, and delight in you all the time.

Study the nouns given below. On the basis of your reading of the passage, choose the option that correctly matches the noun to its fitting adjective.
i. Usurpation
ii. Person
iii. Business
iv. Trick

Given below is an excerpt from the essay “Gifts”, written by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Study the essay and answer the given subquestions.
He is a good man, who can receive a gift well. We are either glad or sorry at a gift, and both emotions are unbecoming. Some violence, I think, is done, some degradation borne, when I rejoice or grieve at a gift. I am sorry when my independence is invaded, or when a gift comes from such as do not know my spirit, and so the act is not supported; and if the gift pleases me overmuch, then I should be ashamed that the donor should read my heart, and see that I love his commodity, and not him. The gift, to be true, must be the flowing of the giver unto me, correspondent to my flowing unto him. When the waters are at level, then my goods pass to him, and his to me. All his are mine, all mine his. I say to him, How can you give me this pot of oil, or this flagon of wine, when all your oil and wine is mine, which belief of mine this gift seems to deny? Hence the fitness of beautiful, not useful things for gifts. This giving is flat usurpation, and therefore when the beneficiary is ungrateful, as all beneficiaries hate all Timons, not at all considering the value of the gift, but looking back to the greater store it was taken from, I rather sympathize with the beneficiary, than with the anger of my lord Timon. For, the expectation of gratitude is mean, and is continually punished by the total insensibility of the obliged person. It is a great happiness to get off without injury and heart-burning, from one who has had the ill luck to be served by you. It is a very onerous business, this of being served, and the debtor naturally wishes to give you a slap. A golden text for these gentlemen is that which I so admire in the Buddhist, who never thanks, and who says, "Do not flatter your benefactors."
The reason of these discords I conceive to be that there is no commensurability between a man and any gift. You cannot give anything to a magnanimous person. After you have served him, he at once puts you in debt by his magnanimity. The service a man renders his friend is trivial and selfish, compared with the service he knows his friend stood in readiness to yield him, alike before he had begun to serve his friend, and now also. Compared with that good-will I bear my friend, the benefit it is in my power to render him seems small. When I have attempted to join myself to others by services, it proved an intellectual trick-- no more. They eat your service like apples, and leave you out. But love them, and they feel you, and delight in you all the time.

He is a good man, who can receive a gift well.
Which of the following options can replace the word in italics without greatly altering the sense of the statement?

“Waking dream” is an example of oxymoron. This statement is ____.

“Cool as a cucumber” is an example of ____.

“Time is money” is an example of a metaphor. This statement is _____.

Which of the following discourse markers is used to emphasis a stronger ‘yes’?

'The city never sleeps' is an example of personification. This statement is

Spot the viewpoint adverb in the given sentence.
“Historically, the great Indian patriarchy, or the paradigm of gendered labour woven into the country’s socio-cultural DNA, has demanded women’s unpaid domestic labour and caregiving duties.”

“He is definitely a peculiar character.”
The word in italics in the given sentence is:

Consider the italicised phrases in the following sentences:
i. Put the book there.
ii. Order the carriage around.
iii. She often talks to me.
They are adverbs of _____, _____, and _____ respectively.

Identify the adverbs/adverbial phrases in the given sentence.
Ram’s daughter is never early to class in the morning.

Identify the adverbs/adverbial phrases in the given sentence.
My cousin has been my friend since childhood.

Sekhar slept early yesterday. Here, the adverb appears in the ____.

Identify the degree adverb in the given sentence.
“The cellar is nearly filled up, never having been either wide or deep, and the fruit of a few mossy apple−trees drops ungathered to the ground.”

‘Very’ and ‘very much’ can be used interchangeably. This statement is ___.

In the following sentences, which one has the word "care" in the role of an adjective?

In the following sentence, identify the nature of the adjective. The adjectives are underlined. Racewalking is faster than normal walking.

Identify the adjectival clause in the following sentence and the noun it modifies.
After finishing her homework, which took several hours, she rewarded herself with a relaxing bubble bath.

In the sentence The dress looks expensive, ‘expensive’ is a predicative adjective.

They are playing football. The passive form will be ___.

Identify the agent in the sentence “Adult mantises eat more or less everything that breathes and is small enough to capture.”

Choose the correct passive form of the following sentence.
“My friends saved an apple for me.”

Identify the adjunct in the following sentence.
In the afternoons, we have a tea break.

John’s teacher is the person whom we spoke to at the PTA meeting. Here the subordinate clause is ___ in nature.

The magic show that mesmerized people will be staged here next week. Here the relative pronoun is ____.

"He studied hard for the test, so he scored well."
This sentence is of the type:

The sky, which is generally blue, is grey now. The independent clause is _______.

State true or false. There is no dependent clause in the sentence “Since the cat is meowing, the dog is barking.”

Choose the correct modal verb to fill in the blank. See the hint or context provided and choose only the most appropriate option to fill the blank.
Why _____ I concede my seat to her?
Hint: A wh-question that denies the relevance of a social requirement

In the following sentence, fill in the blank with the most appropriate modal verb.
The land is so dry, there _________ have been a drought.

Choose the correct modal verb to fill in the blank. See the hint or context provided and choose only the most appropriate option to fill the blank.
If the candidates or their agents have any specific complaint or problem regarding the conduct of elections they _____ bring the same to the notice of the Observer appointed by the Election Commission at the polling booth.
Hint: To show that an authoritative body is granting formal permission to someone to do something

Choose the most appropriate form of asking for permission in a formal situation from the following.