Question

the ant
by oliver herford
1
my child, observe the useful ant,
how hard she works each day.
she has no time to gallivant;
she has no time to play.
5
let fido chase his tail all day;
let kitty play at tag:
she has no time to throw away,
she has no tail to wag.
9
she scurries round from morn till night;
she never, never sleeps;
she seizes everything in sight,
and drags it home with all her might,
and all she takes she keeps.

1. the reader can tell that the word seizes means —

a. walks
b. grabs
c. works
d. plays

1. when the poet says she, the poet is referring to —

a. fido, the dog
b. kitty
c. the ant
d. the speaker in the poem

1. the poet thinks —

a. fido works hard during the day
b. kitty has no time to play
c. the ant has no time to play
d. kitty drags things home each day

1. according to the poet, what does the ant do all day?

Explanation:

Question 1

To determine the meaning of "seizes", we analyze the context. The ant "seizes everything in sight, And drags it home...". "Grabs" fits this action of taking hold of things, while "walks", "works", or "plays" don't match the action of taking objects.

Looking at the lines "Let Fido chase his tail all day; Let Kitty play at tag: She has no time to throw away, She has no tail to wag." The "she" here is contrasted with Fido (dog) and Kitty (cat) who have time for play, so "she" refers to the Ant (from the poem's focus on the Ant's work).

The poem says "My child, observe the useful Ant, How hard she works each day... She never, never sleeps; She seizes everything in sight...". So the poet thinks the Ant has no time to play (option C). Option A is wrong (Fido plays, not works hard). Option B: Kitty plays, so she has time? No, the poem says the Ant has no time. Option D: the Ant seizes and drags, not Kitty.

Answer:

B. grabs

Question 2