The Night Mail – MCQs (20 Questions)

1. The Night Mail is a train that travels from:
   a) Scotland to England
   b) London to Glasgow
   c) Edinburgh to Aberdeen
   d) Glasgow to Edinburgh
2. The train carries which of the following?
   a) Only letters
   b) Only cheques and postal orders
   c) Cheques, postal orders, letters and parcels
   d) Passengers and mail
3. The border mentioned in the opening line refers to:
   a) The border between Wales and England
   b) The border between England and Scotland
   c) The border between Scotland and France
   d) The border of the industrial zone
4. Why does the Night Mail climb uphill despite obstacles?
   a) To reach a faster speed
   b) She is determined to be on time
   c) The track is built that way
   d) To avoid the countryside
5. What does "cotton-grass" and "moorland boulders" represent in the poem?
   a) Industrial machinery
   b) City landscape
   c) Remote, natural countryside
   d) Urban development
6. The Night Mail is personified as:
   a) A male figure
   b) A female figure (referred to as "she" and "her")
   c) A neutral object
   d) Multiple characters
7. What does the train do as it passes through the moorland?
   a) Stops to rest
   b) Shoves white steam over her shoulder
   c) Slows down for safety
   d) Collects more mail
8. The birds and sheep-dogs' reaction to the train shows:
   a) They are afraid of the train
   b) They try to stop the train
   c) They notice the train but cannot stop it
   d) They ignore the train completely
9. When the train passes a farm:
   a) Everyone wakes up
   b) No one hears it pass
   c) No one wakes but a jug gently shakes
   d) The farmer comes out to see it
10. What happens when "dawn freshens"?
    a) The train stops
    b) The climb is done and the train descends toward Glasgow
    c) The train reaches London
    d) The train begins its journey
11. The "steam tugs yelping down the glade of cranes" symbolizes:
    a) Rural farmland
    b) Industrial Glasgow with factories and machinery
    c) Natural water bodies
    d) Remote mountains
12. "Fields of apparatus" and "furnaces / Set on the dark plain like gigantic chessmen" refer to:
    a) Agricultural land
    b) Industrial machinery and factories
    c) Residential areas
    d) Natural forests
13. Which Scottish cities are mentioned as sleeping and waiting for the mail?
    a) Glasgow and Edinburgh
    b) Edinburgh and Aberdeen
    c) Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen
    d) Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee
14. "Dark glens" and "pale-green sea lochs" represent:
    a) Industrial areas
    b) Remote, natural regions of Scotland
    c) Urban centers
    d) Agricultural farmland
15. The men in the dark glens and sea lochs are described as:
    a) Content and satisfied
    b) Longing for news
    c) Working all night
    d) Uninterested in the train
16. What does the poem suggest about the importance of the Night Mail?
    a) It is just a regular train
    b) It connects people across distances and unites the nation
    c) It is only useful for rich people
    d) It is not important to daily life
17. The phrase "quickening of the heart" when hearing the postman's knock means:
    a) Fear and anxiety
    b) Excitement, anticipation and joy at receiving letters
    c) Physical exercise
    d) A medical condition
18. The final rhetorical question "Who can bear to feel himself forgotten?" emphasizes:
    a) The danger of the train journey
    b) Human need for connection and fear of isolation
    c) The strength of machinery
    d) The hardship of the postman
19. The rhyme scheme of the opening lines is:
    a) ABAB
    b) AABB (couplets)
    c) ABCB
    d) Free verse with no rhyme
20. The central theme of "The Night Mail" is:
    a) The dangers of railway travel
    b) Industrial progress and machinery
    c) Human connection, communication and unity through the postal service
    d) The beauty of the Scottish landscape

Answers: 1-b, 2-c, 3-b, 4-b, 5-c, 6-b, 7-b, 8-c, 9-b, 10-c, 11-b, 12-b, 13-c, 14-b, 15-b, 16-b, 17-b, 18-b, 19-b, 20-c.