Activity- 1

Tick the correct alternative :

i) Mortimer found the book

a. at a friend’s place

b. in a book fair

c. in his father’s library✔

ii) The illustration on the page showed

a. a vast sea

b. an empty railway platform✔

c. a dark library room

iii) Mortimer was able to read up to

a. page fifty of the book✔

b. the last page of the book

c. page fifty five of the book

iv) Here Midnight Express is

a. an express train

b. a railway station

c. a book✔

Activity- 2

Rearrange the following sentences in the correct order and put the numbers in the given boxes :

1. As a young man, Mortimer was waiting for a train in an empty junction. [vi]

2. Mortimer found a battered old book. [i]

3. He started to read the story by candle light. [ii]

4. Mortimer stopped at page fifty while reading the story. [v]

5. The illustration of the story frightened Mortimer every time. [iv]

6. Mortimer was fascinated by the battered old book. [iii]

Activity- 3

Answer the following question :

Why do you think Mortimer never read beyond page fifty of the book ?

Ans - Mortimer never read beyond page fifty of the book because he felt threatened by the illustration on that page for some unknown reason.

Activity- 4

Complete the following sentences with information from the text :

a) Mortimer noticed in the lamp light a dark and solitary figure which he knew.

b) The solitary figure faced the black mouth of a tunnel.

c) Walking towards the figure Mortimer looked into its face.

d) The shadowy figure stood with a candle.

Activity- 5

Answer the following questions :

a) When had Mortimer seen the ‘dark and solitary figure’ in his childhood ?

Ans- Mortimer had read a book called ‘Midnight Express’ in his childhood. At that time he had seen the ‘dark and solitary figure’ on page fifty of that book.

b) “Mortimer was shocked”- When was Mortimer shocked and why ?

Ans- Mortimer looked into the face of the dark and solitary figure standing on the platform. He realized that he was staring at his own face. Thus, he was shocked.

c) What was “steadily gaining” on Mortimer as he stumbled out of the platform ?

Ans- The echo of his own footsteps was ‘steadily gaining’ on Mortimer as he stumbled out of the platform.

Activity- 6

Write ‘T’ for true and ‘F’ for false statements in the given boxes. Give supporting statements for each of your answers :

a. Mortimer found the old battered book on the armchair. [F]

supporting statement : By the armchair was a small, oak table on which lay a battered old book bound in red leather.

b. Mortimer realized that the book was the same one which he had read in his childhood. [T]

supporting statement : With a shock he realized it was the same book from his childhood, the book which contained the story of ‘Midnight Express’.

c. Mortimer felt immensely afraid of the things happening around him. [T]

supporting statement : He was filled with acute dread.

d. In the flickering candlelight, the host was seen standing by the table. [F]

supporting statement : The shadowy figure stood before Mortimer.

Activity- 7

Answer the following questions :

a. To where did Mortimer follow the shadowy figure ?

Ans- Mortimer followed the shadowy figure to an upper room of the cottage where a bright fire was burning.

b. Why do you think Mortimer’s hands trembled when he turned the pages of the book ?

Ans- Mortimer was afraid when he found the same book he had read in his childhood in that strange house. Thus, his hands trembled when he turned the pages of the book.

c. “Mortimer tried to grasp the strange cycle of events he was going through”- what was the strange cycle of events ?

Ans- In his childhood, Mortimer had seen a picture in a book which had frightened him. The picture was of a solitary man standing in an empty platform, facing a tunnel. As an adult, he saw this in reality. He found the strange man looking like himself. Running away in terror, he entered a cottage and found the same book lying on a small, oak table. That was the strange cycle of events.

d. Do you think the strange incidents that happened to Mortimer would not have occurred if he had not read the book ?

Ans- I think the strange incidents would not have occurred if Mortimer had not read the book. The book, especially the illustration, left a deep impression in his mind. So he had a nightmare when he fell asleep. In his dream, the events he had read about happened to him even when he grew up.

Activity- 8(a)

In the following sentences, underline the verb forms which show that the person denoted by the Subject is doing something. Circle the verb forms which show that something is being done to the person denoted by the Subject:

i) I am writing a letter.

Ans- I am writing a letter.

ii) A letter is being written by me.

Ans- A letter is being written by me.

iii) The gatekeeper was opening the gate.

Ans- The gatekeeper was opening the gate.

iv. The gate was being opened by the gatekeeper.

Ans- The gate was being opened by the gatekeeper.

Activity- 8(b)

Identify the voice of the following sentences and fill in the chart given below :

i) The artist is painting a picture.

ii) A song is being sung by Shiela.

iii) The boy was flying a kite.

iv) Football was being played by the children.

Active voice	Passive voice
The artist is painting a picture.	A song is being sung by Shiela.
The boy was flying a kite.	Football was being played by the children.

Activity- 8(c)

Match column A with column B :

A	B
i) Mother is cooking food for us.	c) Food is being cooked by mother for us.
ii) Father is baking a cake.	d) A cake is being baked by father.
iii) The children were planting trees.	a) Trees were being planted by the children.
iv) The students were learning a lesson.	b) A lesson was being learnt by the students.

Activity- 8(d)

Change the voice of the following sentences :

a) The girl is watching a film.

Ans- A film is being watched by the girl.

b) Rahul is driving a car.

Ans- A car is being driven by Rahul.

c) The author was writing a novel.

Ans- A novel was being written by the author.

d. The man was buying vegetables.

Ans- Vegetables were being bought by the man.

Activity- 9

Find words in the passage which mean the following :

a) a passage built underground to allow a railway / bus to go through a hill.

Ans- tunnel

b) to be very afraid of something

Ans- shocked

c) shaking of the body

Ans-trembling

d) the sound that a door sometimes makes when we open it

Ans-creaking

Activity- 10(a)

Suppose you find yourself alone in a railway station at night. Write a paragraph in about eighty words describing your experience.

I was all alone at the railway station at night. It was spooky! The big, empty platforms seemed to whisper to each other. The old trains creaked and groaned, making me jump. I heard footsteps, but no one was there! I was scared, but then I saw a friendly stray dog wagging its tail. We waited together for my train, and I felt braver. What a relief when it finally arrived!

Activity- 10(b)

Write an imaginary conversation between you and your friend discussing the advantages of visiting a library regularly.

Friend: Hey __YOUR NAME__! How are you?

Me: I am fine. How about you?

Friend: I am also well but where are you going?

Me: I am going to the village - library. I visit there regularly. Do you?

Friend: No brother, I can’t as I have to help my father when I have free time.

Me: That’s fine but you should visit a library regularly. It will allow you to read different types of books to boost your knowledge.

Friend: But I don’t like to waste my time reading story books.

Me: I do not agree with you friend. Reading a storybook is not a waste of time. It also has certain benefits. It will help you to gain knowledge of history culture, religions, sciences, nature, etc.

Friend: Ok. Shall I get a reference book?

Me: Yes, you can get there a lot of reference books. You can also read newspapers, journals, and magazines to improve your general knowledge.

Friend: Okay, then I will surely go from Monday.

Me: Wow! That’s great! See you on Monday. Bye.

Friend: Bye.

Midnight Express Lesson 11 Question Answer

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