Grade 11, Corona Says, Exercises, Questions Answers

 Understanding the text

Answer the following questions.

a. Who is the speaker in the poem?

Ans: Coronavirus is the speaker in the poem.

b. Who claim that they are superior to all?

Ans: Humans claim that they are superior to all.

c. Why has the speaker come to the Earth?

Ans: The speaker has come to the Earth because it was compelled to come due to human activities against mother earth, and it wanted to teach humans a lesson.

d. What positive changes have occurred on Earth after the speaker's visit?

Ans: The positive changes that have occured on Earth after the speaker’s visit are:

i. The pollution level decreased, so we got to see how clean the blue sky looks without dust and smoke.

ii. Mother earth got a little rest as the human exploitation of nature halted for a while.

iii. Humans understood how the caged animals in a zoo feel and also that the earth is not their personal property.

iv. They understood that If they do not preserve nature, it will take them back to the stone age.

 Reference to the context

a. What does the speaker mean when he says:

But have you ever counted

How many have died so far

Because of you and your wars?

Ans: In the given lines from the poem “Corona Says” by Vishnu S. Rai, the speaker, Corona, justifies the devastation it has caused. It claims that the deaths caused by the COVID pandemic is nothing infront of the deaths caused by human crimes and wars. The speaker is sarcastic here to see people lamenting the deaths caused by COVID.  Therefore, it rhetorically asks human if they have ever counted how many have died because of them and their war.

b. Explain the following:

I will depart one day.

But remember

There’re many others like me.

They’ll come too.

If you don’t get rid of your inflated ego,

You’ll be back to your cave time

That you endured

Long, l o n g, l o n g ago …

Ans: In the given stanza of the poem “Corona Says” by Vishnu S. Rai, the speaker, Corona, asserts that it will depart one day from this earth. At the same time it warns humans to be careful and get rid of their inflated ego by saving nature and other creatures. Otherwise, mankind may face bigger catastrophe which may lead them to the stone age, which they already endured thousands of years ago.

c. What does the speaker mean in the following lines? Explain.

The earth is not your property alone -

It’s as much ours as yours.

Ans: In the given lines, the speaker, Corona, warns humans not to regard this earth as their property. According to it, it belongs to every living creature. Therefore, it asks them to handle nature with care.

 Reference beyond the text

a. What human behaviours are responsible for the suffering in people's lives?

Ans: The suffering in people's lives are the outcomes of their own deeds. Human activities are contributing to an increasing number of disasters. The major human behaviours that are responsible for the suffering in people’s lives are: exploitation of natural resources, pollution, overpopulation, deforestation, unnecessary use of nuclear weapons, unsustainable development, etc.

b. How does an epidemic differ from pandemic? Briefly explain the impact of Corona Virus on human life and environment.

Ans: Epidemic is a widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a particular time, whereas, widespread of an infectious disease over a whole country or the world is pandemic. The spread of dengue in Kathmandu is an example of the epidemic, while the spread of Coronavirus is a pandemic. The Corona pandemic has various sorts of impacts on human life and environment. It stopped the economic activities all over the world resulting in starvation in several parts of the world. More than 6.5 million people lost their lives due to it.

In the environmental aspect, the pollution all over the world decreased as the causing agents were locked inside their homes. It also gave an awareness to all human being regarding the significance of conservation of nature.