Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow:
1. They were selling wild strawberries. “Don’t buy,” warned Luigi, our cautious driver. “You will get fruit much better in Verona. Besides, these boys ” He shrugged his shoulders to convey his disapproval of their shabby appearance. (Page 4)
Questions
(a) Who were selling wild strawberries?
(b) Why does the narrator call Luigi a cautious driver?
(c) What is the antonym of the word `approval’ in the passage?
Answers
(a) Two brothers Nicola and Jacopo were selling wild strawberries.
(b) Luigi was quite cautious about what to buy and whom to buy fruit from.
(c) disapproval
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2. “We do many things, sir,” Nicola answered seriously. He glanced at us hopefully. “Often we show visitors through the town … to Juliet’s tomb … and other places of interest.” (Page 4)
Questions
(a) Who are ‘We’ mentioned in the first line?
(b) Why did Nicola glance at them hopefully?
(c) What is the synonym of `looked quickly’ in the passage?
Answers
(a) ‘We’ mentioned in the first line stands for the two young brothers Nicola and Jacopo.
(b) Nicola glanced at them hopefully to be engaged for a job or service by them. He was ready to do all odd jobs for them.
(c) glanced
3.They were childish enough, and in many ways quite artless. Jacopo was lively as a squirrel. Nicola’s smile was steady and engaging. Yet in both these boyish faces there was a seriousness which was far beyond their years.
Questions
(a) Why does the narrator call them ‘childish’ and ‘artless’?
(b) Contrast two different styles of Nicola and Jacopo.
(c) What is the antonym of the word ‘artful’ in the passage?
Answers
(a) The narrator calls Nicola and Jacopo ‘childish’ and ‘artless’ because they were free from cunningness and had ‘innocence’ of childhood in them.
(b) The younger brother Jacopo was full of life and energy and he was active like a squirrel. The elder brother Nicola was composed and constant.
(c) artless
4. What struck one most was their willingness to work. During these summer days, under the hot sun, they shined shoes, sold fruit, hawked newspapers, conducted tourists round the town, and ran errands.
Questions
(a) What was the thing that struck the narrator the most?
(b) Name three works that they often did to earn a living.
(c) Find the opposite of the word ‘bought’ in the passage.
Answers
(a) The young boys were ready to undertake any work and run errands. Their willingness to do so many things struck the narrator most.
(b) They often shined shoes, sold fruit and hawked newspapers to earn a living.
(c) sold
5. “Why are you out so late, Nicola?” “Waiting for the last bus from Padua. We shall sell all our paper when it comes in.” “Must you work so hard? You both look rather tired.” “We are not complaining, sir.”
Questions
(a) Where were the two boys out so late and why?
(b) What did the narrator guess about them and how?
(c) Find the opposite of the word ‘first’ in the passage.
Answers
(a) At midnight the two boys rested on the stone pavement in the public square to sell their unsold newspapers. They were waiting for the last bus from Padua to sell those newspapers to its passengers.
(b) The narrator guessed that they were quite fired because of working very hard.
(c) last
6. “You must be saving up to emigrate to America,” I suggested. He looked at me sideways, spoke with an effort. “We would greatly like to go to the States. But here, at present, we have other plans.” “What plans?” He smiled uncomfortably. “Just plans, sir,” he answered in a low voice.
Questions
(a) Why did the author think that the boys would emigrate to America?
(b) Who is ‘He’ in the second line and why did he smile uncomfortably?
(c) What is the word for ‘going to live in a foreign country’ in the passage?
Answers
(a) The boys worked very hard. They were earning and saving money. This made him think that they were saving money to emigrate to America.
(b) ‘He’ is Nicola, the elder of the two brothers. He smiled uncomfortably because he didn’t want to reveal the secrets of their family. They were saving money for the treatment of their sister Lucia.
(c) emigrate
7.There was a pause. Nicola was glaring at his younger brother in vexation. “We could not think of troubling you, sir.”
Questions
(a) Why was Nicola glaring at his younger brother in vexation?
(b) What favor did his younger brother ask from the narrator? .
(c) Find the synonym of the word ‘a short stop’ in the passage.
Answers
(a) Nicola was glaring at his younger brother in vexation because he was asking for a favor from a stranger which was against their self-respect.
(b) The younger brother Jacopo asked the narrator if he could drive them to Poleta. 30 kilometers from Verona in the car on Sunday.
(c) pause
8. She led me through a cool, tiled vestibule into the hospital … for the hospital the villa had become. At the door of a little cubicle the nurse paused, put her finger to her lips, and with a smile bade me look through the glass partition.
Questions
(a) Describe the hospital.
(b) Why did the nurse put her finger to her lips?
(c) What is the synonym of ‘separation’ in the passage?
Answers
(a) A large, red-roofed villa was converted into a hospital.
(b) The nurse put her finger to her lips to point out that the narrator should not make a noise there.
(c) partition
9. “Won’t you go in?” the nurse murmured. “Lucia will be pleased to see you.” I shook my head and turned away. I felt I could not bear to intrude upon this happy family party. But at the foot of the staircase I drew up and begged her to tell me all she knew about these boys.
Questions
(a) What did the nurse ask the narrator to do?
(b) Why did the narrator turn away and didn’t go inside?
(c) What is the word for ‘making a forced entry’ in the passage?
Answers
(a) The nurse asked the narrator to come inside the cubicle and meet the boys and their sister Lucia there.
(b) The narrator turned away as he didn’t want to intrude upon the party and privacy of the happy family.
(c) intrude
10. ‘Usually we hire bicycles but tomorrow since you are so kind you might send us in your car’.
(a) Who is the speaker here?
(b) Where did he want to go?
(c) Why did he visit the place frequently?
Ans. :
(a) Jacopo is the speaker here.
(b) He wanted to go to Poleta.
(c) He visited the place frequently to see his sister Lucia.
11. ‘We shall not be long, sir, perhaps only an hour. Maybe you’d like to go to the café in the village for a drink.’
(a) Where did the boys take the author?
(b) Why did the boys go there?
(c) Why did they suggest that the author go to the village cafe?
Ans. :
(a) The boys took the author to a hospital in Poleta.
(b) The boys went there to visit their sister.
(c) They suggested that the author go to the village cafe as they did not want him to know their problems.
12. ‘Nicola, the way you and Jacopo work, you must earn quite a bit. You spend nothing on clothes. You eat little enough….’
(a) Who said the above lines?
(b) Why did the speaker get the feeling that the boys were not spending any money?
(c) What do the above lines reflect about the two boys?
Ans. :
(a) These lines are spoken by the narrator.
(b) The boys were always seen wearing torn clothes and they seemed to hardly eat anything except black bread and fig.
(c) The selfless nature of the boys and how much they cared for their sister. Her well-being was their sole concern.
13. I had already told Luigi he might take the day off. However I answered, “I’ll drive you out myself.”
(a) Who was Luigi?
(b) Why did the speaker offer to drive himself?
(c) Where did the boys wish to go?
Ans. :
(a) He was the driver of the narrator.
(b) Luigi had been granted a holiday and the narrator did not wish to recall him and as a last gesture of good, he offered to drive the boys to Poleta himself.
(c) The boys wished to go to Poleta, 30 km away, to look for their sister.
14. ‘When the resistance movement began secretly to form they were among the first to join. When the war was over and we had peace at last, they came back to their beloved sister.’
(a) Who are ‘they’ referred to here?
(b) Why did they join the resistance movement?
(c) What had happened to their sister?
Ans. :
(a) Here ‘they’ refer to the two brothers. Nicola and Jacopo
(b) They joined the resistance movement because the war waged by Germany had killed their father, destroyed their house and had separated them from their sister.
(c) Their sister, Lucia, who wanted to be a singer, had contracted tuberculosis of the spine due to cold and starvation.
15. ‘Of course, everything is so difficult now, food so scarce and dear we could not keep going unless we charged a fee.’
(a) Who is the speaker and who is the listener?
(b) Why was food so expensive?
(c) For what purpose does the speaker need to charge a fee?
Ans. :
(a) The speaker is the nurse, and the listener is the narrator.
(b) Due to the war waged by Germany, starvation had resulted.
(c) Lucia had contracted TB, so money was needed for her medical expenses.
16. “They couldn’t do it better,” I agreed.
(a) Who is ‘I’ and who are ‘they’?
(b) What great thing had the above mentioned people done?
(c) Do you think the speaker is earnest in his saying?
Ans. :
(a) ‘I’ is the narrator, and ‘they’ refer to Nicola and Jacopo.
(b) The speaker is sincere and full of admiration for the boys.
(c) Yes. the speaker is earnest in his saying
17. “I thought you picked fruit for a living”, I said. “We do many things, Sir”. Nicola answered seriously.
(a) What were the boys doing when the author saw them ?
(b) Name the other boy.
(c) What were the other things that the boys did? Mention any two.
Ans. :
(a) They were polishing shoes.
(b) Jacopo was the other boy.
(c) They guided the visitors, showing the places of interest and selling fruits.
18. The two boys were seated at the bedside of a girl of about twenty who propped up on pillows, wearing a pretty lace jacket, was listening to their chatter, her eves soft and tender.
(a) Who was the girl?
(b) Where was she at the moment?
(c) What had happened to her?
Ans. :
(a) The girl was Lucia, their sister.
(b) She was in a hospital in Poleta.
(c) She was undergoing treatment for tuberculosis.
20. ‘Well’ I said, ‘we’re leaving on Monday, is there anything I can do for you before we go?
(a) Who is the speaker?
(b) What did the listener ask the author to do?
(c) Why did the speaker ask the boy if he could do anything?
Aus. :
(a) The speaker is the narrator.
(b) The listener asked the speaker to take them to Poleta, in his car.
(c) He was impressed by the help rendered to him by them and also appreciated their willingness to work. Ile wanted to help them.
21. ‘One boy had on a worn jersey and cut-off khaki pants; the other a shortened army tunic gathered in loose folds about his skinny frame. Yet, gazing at the two little figures, with their brown skins, tangled hair and dark earnest eyes, we felt strangely attracted.’
(a) What quality of the boys attracted the narrator?
(b) How did the narrator help the boys?
(c) How do we know that the boys were poor?
Answers:
(a) The narrator was attracted by the honesty in the boys’ eyes.
(b) The narrator helped the boys by buying the strawberries they were selling.
(c) We know that the boys were poor as they were wearing torn and oversized clothes.
22. ‘Next morning, coming out of our hotel, we saw our friends bent over shoeshine boxes beside the fountain in the public square, doing a brisk business. We watched for a few moments; then as trade slackened we went over. They greeted us with friendly faces.’
(a) Whom does the narrator refer to as ‘our friends?
(b) What were the ‘friends’ doing?
(c.) What does the phrase ‘trade slackened’ mean?
Answers:
(a) The narrator refers to Nicola and Jacopo as ‘our friends’.
(b) The boys were shining shoes in the town square.
(c) The phrase means that the boys’ business of shining shoes slowed down. They were not very busy.
23. ‘As we made the rounds, my interest was again provoked by their remarkable demeanour.’
(a) What does the phrase ‘making the rounds’ mean?
(b) What did the narrator notice about their ‘demeanour’?
(c) Why was it ‘remarkable’?
Answers:
(a) The phrase means to go around from one place to another. The narrator means he was sightseeing around the town of Verona.
(b) The narrator noticed that the boys were very serious.
(c) It was remarkable because the boys were rather young. The seriousness did not go well with their age.
24. ‘He coloured deeply under his sunburn, then grew pale. He looked to the ground.’
(a) Why did Nicola colour?
(b) What did the narrator presume about the boys?
(c) How was he proved wrong?
Answers:
(a) The narrator had commented on their frugal lifestyle despite the money they earned. The boy was embarrassed by this.
(b) The narrator presumed the boys were saving money to emigrate to the United States.
(c) The narrator eventually came to know the brothers were paying for their sister Lucia’s treatment in an expensive nursing home. Hence he was proved wrong.
25. ‘The following afternoon we drove to the tiny village set high upon the hillside.’
(a) Who all went on the trip to the tiny village?
(b) What was the village they had driven to?
(C) Why was the narrator surprised when Jacopo directed him to where he should stop;
Answers:
(a) The narrator and the two brothers, Nicola and Jacopo went on the trip.
(b) The narrator and the boys had driven to the village called Poleta.
(c) The narrator was surprised as he had thought they would stop at some humble dwelling, but Jacopo guided him to a large villa.
26. ‘The boys grew to hate the Germans. When the resistance movement began to form they were among the first to join.’
(a) Who are the ‘boys’?
(b) Why did the boys grow to hate the Germans?
(c) What did they do to get rid of the Germans?
Answers:
(a) The ‘boys’ are Nicola and Jacopo.
(b) The boys hated the Germans as not only they had lost their father early in the war but a German bomb had destroyed their beautiful home.
(c) The boys joined the resistance movement to fight the Germans.
27. One night, we came upon them in the windy and deserted square, resting on the stone pavement beneath the lights.
(a) Who is the speaker of these lines?
(b) Who are ‘them’ and why are they resting on the pavement at night?
(c) What does the phrase ‘came upon them’ here mean?
Ans.
(a) The speaker is the author, A.J. Cronin.
(b) In the extract, ‘them’ are the two brothers, Nicola and Jacopo. They were resting on the pavement to sell newspapers to the travellers of the last bus from Padua.
(c) It means that the writer met them by chance.
28. He coloured deeply under his sunburn, then grew pale. He looked to the ground. “You must be saving up to emigrate to America,” I suggested. He looked at me sideways, and spoke with an effort.
(a) Who is ‘he in this extract?
(b) Why does he look to the ground?
(c) Explain the expression ‘coloured deeply under his sunburn’.
Ans.
(a) In this extract, ‘he’ is Nicola.
(b) Nicola looked to the ground in shame because his secret of working at night was now open to the writer.
(c) It means to feel ashamed.
29. Nicola shook his head, but suddenly Jacopo said, “Sir” he burst out, “every Sunday we make a visit to the country, to Poleta, 30 kilometres from here. Usually we hire bicycles. But tomorrow, since you are so kind, you might send us in your car.”
(a) What was the question to which Nicola shakes his head?
(b) Why did the boys make a visit to Poleta every Sunday?
(c) What do you mean by the phrase ‘burst out’? .
Ans.
(a) When the writer asked Nicola if he could do something for them as he was leaving the next day, Nicola shook his head.
(b) The boys made a visit to Poleta to see their ailing sister.
(c) Suddenly start.
30. “Won’t you go in?” the nurse murmured. “Lucia will be pleased to see you. ”
(a)Who is Lucia? Does the narrator go to meet Lucia?
(b)What makes the writer decide to do so?
(c)What do you mean by the word ‘murmur’?
Ans.
(a) Lucia is the sister of the two boys, Nicola and Jacopo, whom the author meets. No, the writer does not go inside to meet Lucia.
(b) He did not want to intervene in the happy family discussion.
(c) Something said quietly.
31. “I don’t know what they do, I do not ask. Work is scarce in Verona. But whatever it is, I know they do it well.”
(a) Who is the speaker and who is he/she speaking to?
(b) What work was done by the boys to pay for their sister’s treatment?
(c) What do you mean by the word ‘scarce’?
Ans.
(a) The nurse at the hospital where the sister of the two boys is admitted is the speaker of these lines. She is speaking to the narrator.
(b) The boys did all kinds of little jobs to pay for their sister’s treatment. They sold fruits, newspapers, polished shoes and did whatever could suit their age.
(c) in short supply.
32. “He shrugged his shoulders to convey his disapproval of their shabby appearance.”
(a) Who is ‘he’ referred to here? What was the occasion?
(b) Whose shabby appearance did he disapprove of?
(c) What do you mean by the word ‘shabby’?
Ans.
(a) ‘He’ is the narrator’s driver Luigi. The occasion was the boys’ stopping the narrator’s car in an effort to sell wild strawberries.
(b) He disapproves of the shabby appearance of the two boys who had stopped the narrator’s car.
(c) ‘Shabby’ means dirty.
33. “She was eager to do so. They were, she explained, quite alone in the world, except for this sister, Lucia. Their father, a widower, a well-known singer, had been killed in the early part of the war.”
(a)Who is ‘she’ referred to here ?
(b)Who were alone in the world, and why ?
(c) What does the word ‘earger’ mean ?
Ans.
(a) ‘She’ is the nurse in the hospital visited by the boys.
(b)The two brothers, Nicola and Jacopo, were alone in the world, except for their sister Lucia.
(c)anxious.
34. “I had already told Luigi he might have the Sunday off.” However, I answered, “I’ll drive you out myself.”
(a) Whom did the author show his willingness to drive out ?
(b)Where were the boys going ?
(c) What does ‘off’ mean here ?
Ans:
(a)The author was willing to drive the boys out to their destination himself.
(b)The boys were to make a visit to the village Poleta, 30. Kilometers from Verona.
(c)away from duty/work.
