Poem

1. MOUNT ZION INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, CBSE
GRADE: VI ENGLISH- QUESTION BANK
UNIT-3 INVENTIONS AND DISCOVERIES
POEM -3 THE SECRET OF THE MACHINES
I. Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow:
i) “Some water, coal, and oil is all we ask,
And a thousandth of an inch to give us play:
And now, if you will set us to our task,
We will serve you four and twenty hours a day!”
a) Are machines more efficient than human beings?
Yes, machines are more efficient compared with human beings. One machine can
do several men’s task very fast.
b) What do they mean by the phrase ‘to give us play’?
‘To give us play’ means to run the machines.
c) What is the figure of speech employed in the last line?
‘Hyperbole’ is the figure of speech employed in the last line.
ii) “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) What works can the machines do?
The machines can pull, haul, push, lift, drive, print, plough, weave, heat, light, run,
race, swim, fly, dive, see, hear, count, read and write.
b) What feelings do machines evoke in us according to this poem?
The machines evoke the emotions like love and care.
c) Identify the figures of speech employed in the above lines.
Anaphora, Imagery and Personification are the figures of speech used in the above
lines.
II. Answer the following questions in 30-40 words.
1. According to the excerpt from the poem ‘The Secret of the Machines’, how have
machines helped people communicate more easily?

2. The poem throws light on communication technology. The poem talks about the invention
of the telephone and ships, which have enabled people to contact their friends and family
and travel longer distances. It also throws light on the interconnectedness among people
because of machines.
2. Who or what is narrating this poem? How can you tell?
The poem is written from a machines’ perspective therefore, the machine is narrating the
poem. This is evident from the lines ‘We were taken from the ore -bed and the mine, we
were melted in the furnace and the pit—’.
3. Why do you think the words seventy thousand horses have been used to talk
about a ship?
A ship requires a lot of power to move in the ocean. This power is deemed equivalent to the
power of a thousand horses and is termed as ‘horsepower’. Therefore, seventy thousand
horses have been used to talk about the ship.
III. Answer the following question in 80-100 words.
1. The poem ‘The Secret of the Machines’ highlights how machines and tools have
brought ease and convenience to our lives. Justify this statement with examples from
the poem.
Every tool that makes our work easier and more convenient is called a machine. We are
surrounded by machines that make our daily job more manageable, e.g., fans, washing
machines, mobile phones, iron, hair dryer, screwdriver, hammer, etc. These tools and
machines have provided us with so much convenience that now we cannot imagine our
lives without them. Before telephones, people used to write letters to connect with friends
and family, which used to take months to reach the other person. But with the invention of
the telephone, people could connect with their closed ones instantly.
The poem also talks about the features of a machine in making our lives comfortable.
Machines have also allowed us to travel long distances with ease and comfort. Before the
invention of railways and airplanes, ships made of different machinery could transport
people over long distances. Thanks to these benefits of machines, it won’t be wrong to say
that they have empowered us in our day-to-day tasks.