A Remarkable Adventure

Jack Prelutsky, born in 1940, is best known for his humorous and imaginative poems. He has written more than fifty poetry collections and has also set his poems to music. In 2006, Prelutsky won the Children's Poet Laureate award by the Poetry Foundation. Prelutsky's The New Kid On the Block was made into an interactive story book.

I was at my bedroom table

with a notebook open wide,

when a giant anaconda started winding up my side,

I was filled with apprehension

and retreated down the stairs,

to be greeted at the bottom

by a dozen grizzly bears.

We tumultuously tussled

till I managed to get free,

then I saw, with trepidation,

there were tigers after me,

I could feel them growing close,

I was quivering with fear,

then I blundered into quicksand

and began to disappear.

I was rescued by an eagle

that descended from the skies

to embrace me with its talons,

to my terror and surprise,

but that raptor lost its purchase,

when a blizzard made me sneeze,

and it dropped me in a thicket

where I battered both my knees.

I was suddenly surrounded

by a troop of savage trolls.

who maliciously informed me

they would toast me over coals.

I was lucky to elude them

when they briefly looked away-

that's the reason why my homework

isn't here with me today.

1.
Complete the sentences by choosing the correct options.
1. The poem revolves around the adventure of a
  1. wildlife photographer.
  2. amateur hunter.
  3. young student.
  4. young photographer.
2. The giant anaconda made the poet feel
  1. malicious.
  2. anxious.
  3. worried.
  4. fearful.
3. The poet was able to escape from the fearsome creatures because
  1. there were busy with lighting the fire.
  2. they looked away for a while.
  3. they were gathered coals.
  4. they were sharpening their tools.
4. The poem leaves a sense of ___________ in the mind of the reader.
  1. amazement
  2. anxiety
  3. amusement
  4. apprehension
2.
Why did the eagle need to rescue the poet? What happened to the poet after he was rescued?
3.
Identify the hyperboles used in stanza 3 & 4. What effect does this poetic device have on the reader?
4.
You have learnt that alliteration is a poetic device, Where the sound of the first consonant is heard in a series of words.
Identify alliteration used in the poem. Why do you think alliteration have been used by the poet?

Match the following words from the poem with their meanings.

Words	Meanings
1. apprehension	a. spiteful
2. retreated	b. bird of prey
3. tussled	c. escape
4. trepidation	d. fall downwards
5. quivering	e. ugly creatures
6. descend	f. fear
7. raptor	g. struggled
8. trolls	h. trembling
9. malicious	i. nervousness
10. elude	j. to draw back

6.
'A Remarkable Adventure' is a poem about a little boy's excuses for not doing his homework. Do you think you should be given homework? Write a short paragraph giving your views why you should or should not be given homework.

1 more answer(s) available.

Skywalk Coursebook 6

Sraboni Das, Wordworth

Chapters

A Remarkable Adventure

Available Answers