Important MCQs with Answer : Strong Roots Class XII 3rd Semester English Suggestion 2026

1. Who is the narrator of this autobiographical text, “Strong Roots”?

A) Dr. Homi J. Bhabha

B) Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

C) Dr. Vikram Sarabhai

D) Dr. C.V. Raman

Answer: B) Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

2. Dr. Kalam was born into ----

A) An aristocratic royal family

B) A middleclass Tamil family

C) An affluent merchant family

D) A rural farming family

Answer: B) A middleclass Tamil family

3. In which island town was Kalam born?

A) Mandapam

B) Kanyakumari

C) Rameswaram

D) Port Blair

Answer: C) Rameswaram

4. Rameswaram was located in the erstwhile state of:

A) Madras

B) Mysore

C) Travancore

D) Bombay

Answer: A) Madras

5. What was the name of Kalam's father?

A) Samsuddin

B) Jainulabdeen

C) Jallaluddin

D) Ahmed Jalal

Answer: B) Jainulabdeen

6. Which two qualities did Kalam's father possess despite a lack of wealth and formal education?

A) Great innate wisdom and true generosity of spirit

B) Extreme strictness and political ambition

C) Modern scientific skills and artistic talent

D) Eloquent English speech and pride

Answer: A) Great innate wisdom and true generosity of spirit

7. What was the name of Kalam's mother?

A) Zohra

B) Fatima Begum

C) Ashiamma

D) Amina Bi

Answer: C) Ashiamma

8. How does Kalam describe his mother's role in relation to his father?

A) An authoritarian manager

B) An ideal helpmate

C) A passive observer

D) A strict disciplinarian

Answer: B) An ideal helpmate

9. How many people ate with Kalam’s family daily?

A) Only the immediate family members

B) A fixed group of ten neighbors

C) Far more outsiders than all family members combined

D) Only visiting pilgrims on special days

Answer: C) Far more outsiders than all family members combined

10. Kalam’s parents were widely regarded as:

A) An ideal couple

B) A wealthy couple

C) A royal pair

D) An aristocratic family

Answer: A) An ideal couple

11. Whose lineage was considered more distinguished in Kalam's family?

A) His father's lineage

B) His mother's lineage

C) His grandfather's lineage

D) His uncle's lineage

Answer: B) His mother's lineage

12. Which British title was conferred upon one of Kalam’s mother’s forebears?

A) Rai Bahadur

B) Khan Bahadur

C) Bahadur

D) Sir

Answer: C) Bahadur

13. How does Kalam describe his parents' physical appearance?

A) Short and frail

B) Tall and handsome

C) Stout and athletic

D) Ordinary and quiet

Answer: B) Tall and handsome

14. In contrast to his parents, Kalam describes himself as:

A) A tall and charming boy

B) A short boy with rather undistinguished looks

C) An athletic and fair young man

D) A frail boy with prominent features

Answer: B) A short boy with rather undistinguished looks

15. In which century was Kalam’s ancestral house built?

A) Middle of the 18th century

B) Middle of the 19th century

C) Late 17th century

D) Beginning of the 20th century

Answer: B) Middle of the 19th century

16. Kalam's ancestral house was made of:

A) Wood and mud plaster

B) Limestone and brick

C) Red sandstone and mortar

D) Concrete and marble

Answer: B) Limestone and brick

17. On which street in Rameswaram was Kalam's house located?

A) Temple Street

B) Mosque Street

C) Sea Shore Lane

D) North Car Street

Answer: B) Mosque Street

18. What adjective does Kalam use to describe his father’s lifestyle?

A) Lavish

B) Austere

C) Carefree

D) Extravagant

Answer: B) Austere

19. What kind of comforts did Kalam’s father intentionally avoid?

A) All essential healthcare

B) All inessential comforts and luxuries

C) Standard nutritious food

D) Basic cotton clothing

Answer: B) All inessential comforts and luxuries

20. In terms of essentials, Kalam's father provided adequate:

A) Books, instruments, and toys

B) Food, medicine, and clothing

C) Lands, jewels, and cash

D) Transport, vehicles, and luxuries

Answer: B) Food, medicine, and clothing

21. Kalam concluded that his childhood was very secure:

A) Materially and emotionally

B) Politically and legally

C) Technologically and academically

D) Financially and socially

Answer: A) Materially and emotionally

22. Where did young Kalam normally have his meals?

A) On the dining table with guests

B) On the floor of the kitchen with his mother

C) On the veranda with his brothers

D) In the courtyard alone

Answer: B) On the floor of the kitchen with his mother

23. What did Kalam's mother place before him to serve food?

A) A brass thali

B) A banana leaf

C) A wooden platter

D) A terracotta plate

Answer: B) A banana leaf

24. Which items made up Kalam’s typical lunch served by his mother?

A) Chapati, lentil soup, and sweet pudding

B) Rice, aromatic sambar, sharp homemade pickle, and fresh coconut chutney

C) Rice, fish curry, fried papad, and lime pickle

D) Millet porridge, boiled greens, and curd

Answer: B) Rice, aromatic sambar, sharp homemade pickle, and fresh coconut chutney

25. What notable landmark made Rameswaram famous to pilgrims?

A) The Shiva temple

B) The Mosque Street minaret

C) The Dhanushkodi beach

D) The local library

Answer: A) The Shiva temple

26. How far was the famous Shiva temple from Kalam’s house?

A) A halfhour walk

B) About a tenminute walk

C) A fifteenminute carriage ride

D) Right across the boundary wall

Answer: B) About a tenminute walk

27. Kalam’s residential locality was predominantly:

A) Hindu

B) Christian

C) Muslim

D) Jain

Answer: C) Muslim

28. How did the Hindu and Muslim families coexist in Kalam’s neighbourhood?

A) In continuous communal dispute

B) Completely segregated from each other

C) Amicably with each other

D) Strictly avoiding all interaction

Answer: C) Amicably with each other

29. Why did Kalam's father take him to the old mosque every evening?

A) For Arabic language grammar lessons

B) For evening prayers

C) To meet village traders

D) To distribute daily charity

Answer: B) For evening prayers

30. What was Kalam’s initial understanding of the Arabic prayers chanted?

A) He understood every word thoroughly

B) He had not the faintest idea of their meaning

C) He memorized the entire English translation

D) He doubted their spiritual effectiveness

Answer: B) He had not the faintest idea of their meaning

31. Despite not knowing the exact meaning of the Arabic prayers, Kalam was convinced that:

A) They were ancient poems

B) They reached God

C) They had medicinal properties

D) They were intended only for elders

Answer: B) They reached God

32. Who waited outside the mosque for Kalam's father after the prayers?

A) British colonial officers

B) People of different religions

C) Only wealthy traders from Madras

D) The temple priests exclusively

Answer: B) People of different religions

33. What did people hold out to Kalam’s father outside the mosque?

A) Coins and currency notes

B) Bowls of water

C) Sacred books

D) Floral garlands

Answer: B) Bowls of water

34. What did Kalam's father do with the bowls of water offered to him?

A) He drank from them

B) He dipped his fingertips in them and said a prayer

C) He poured the water onto the soil

D) He washed his feet before entering the house

Answer: B) He dipped his fingertips in them and said a prayer

35. For whom was the blessed water carried home?

A) For infants only

B) For invalids

C) For temple visitors

D) For foreign travelers

Answer: B) For invalids

36. When people returned to express gratitude after being cured, what was the father's reply?

A) He took credit for his spiritual powers

B) He demanded an offering for the mosque

C) He smiled and asked them to thank Allah the merciful

D) He advised them to consult a medical doctor

Answer: C) He smiled and asked them to thank Allah the merciful

37. Who was the high priest of the Rameswaram temple?

A) Sivasubramania Iyer

B) Pakshi Lakshmana Sastry

C) Ramanadha Sastry

D) Aravindan

Answer: B) Pakshi Lakshmana Sastry

38. What was the relationship between Kalam's father and the high priest?

A) They were formal trade partners

B) They were very close friends

C) They were distant acquaintances

D) They were political rivals

Answer: B) They were very close friends

39. What vivid childhood memory of the two elders stayed with Kalam?

A) Leading local protest marches

B) Traveling together on long pilgrimages

C) Discussing spiritual matters in traditional attire

D) Trading local agricultural produce

Answer: C) Discussing spiritual matters in traditional attire

40. When Kalam asked about the relevance of prayer, his father explained that prayer enables:

A) Direct material prosperity and wealth

B) A communion of the spirit between people

C) Instant immunity against diseases

D) Total exemption from physical labour

Answer: B) A communion of the spirit between people

41. According to Kalam’s father, what happens to a person when they pray?

A) They transcend the body and become part of the cosmos

B) They obtain superiority over other individuals

C) They detach permanently from all family duties

D) They foresee their immediate future

Answer: A) They transcend the body and become part of the cosmos

42. In the cosmos experienced during prayer, there is no division of:

A) Science, art, philosophy, or logic

B) Wealth, age, caste, or creed

C) Countries, oceans, continents, or skies

D) Past, present, or future

Answer: B) Wealth, age, caste, or creed

43. In what kind of language did Kalam’s father convey complex spiritual concepts?

A) Classical Sanskrit

B) Pure Arabic verses

C) Simple, downtoearth Tamil

D) Formal English prose

Answer: C) Simple, downtoearth Tamil

44. According to Kalam's father, every human being is a specific element within:

A) The whole of the manifest divine Being

B) A completely chaotic and random universe

C) An unchangeable cycle of suffering

D) A strictly material world

Answer: A) The whole of the manifest divine Being

45. What did Kalam’s father say adversity always presents?

A) An excuse for failure

B) Opportunities for introspection

C) Reasons to surrender to fate

D) Proof of cosmic indifference

Answer: B) Opportunities for introspection

46. When people face an impasse or difficulty, their natural human reaction is to:

A) Isolate themselves completely

B) Look for company or someone to show the way out

C) Accept defeat without action

D) Blame society entirely

Answer: B) Look for company or someone to show the way out

47. What role did Kalam's father believe he played for distressed people?

A) A miracle worker with magical remedies

B) Merely a gobetween in their effort to propitiate demonic forces

C) An absolute authority in spiritual law

D) A divine avatar sent to heal people

Answer: B) Merely a gobetween in their effort to propitiate demonic forces

48. At what time did Kalam's father start his daily routine?

A) At 3:00 AM by reading scriptures

B) At 4:00 AM by reading the namaz before dawn

C) At 5:30 AM by walking to the seashore

D) At 6:00 AM after having his morning tea

Answer: B) At 4:00 AM by reading the namaz before dawn

49. How far did Kalam's father walk each morning to reach their coconut grove?

A) About one mile

B) About two miles

C) About four miles

D) About six miles

Answer: C) About four miles

50. In which field did Kalam endeavour to emulate his father throughout his life?

A) Literature and poetry

B) Science and technology

C) Business and enterprise

D) Law and governance

Answer: B) Science and technology