Read the extract and answer the following questions.
Extract:
My grandmother and I were good friends. My parents left me with her when they went to live in the city and we were constantly together. She used to wake me up in the morning and get me ready for school. She said her morning prayer in a monotonous sing-song while she bathed and dressed me in the hope that I would listen and get to know it by heart; I listened because I loved her voice but never bothered to learn it. Then she would fetch my wooden slate which she had already washed and plastered with yellow chalk, a tiny earthen ink-pot and a red pen, tie them all in a bundle and hand it to me. After a breakfast of a thick, stale chapatti with a little butter and sugar spread on it, we went to school. She carried several stale chapattis with her for the village dogs.
(The Portrait of a Lady)
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Question (i)
What was the relationship between the narrator and his grandmother?
Answer:
Answer by the student:
The narrator and his grandmother were good friends.
Step-by-step explanation:
- To answer this question, we need to identify the words and phrases that the narrator uses to describe his relationship with his grandmother in the extract. We can use bullet points to list them:
good friends
constantly together
loved her voice
- We can then use these points to write a complete sentence that summarizes the narrator’s relationship with his grandmother. We can use simple words and connect them with conjunctions like “and” or “because”. We can also use bold formatting to highlight the key words. For example:
- The narrator and his grandmother were good friends because they were constantly together and he loved her voice .😊
Question (ii)
Why did the narrator never bother to learn his grandmother’s morning prayer?
- (a) He did not like her voice
- (b) He did not understand it
- (c) He was not interested in it
- (d) He was too busy for it
Answer:
Answer by the student:
(c) He was not interested in it
Step-by-step explanation:
- To answer this question, we need to recall what the narrator says about his grandmother’s morning prayer in the extract. We can use quotation marks to indicate the exact words that he says. For example:
- He says that he listened to her prayer “because I loved her voice but never bothered to learn it”.
- We then need to compare this statement with the four given options and choose the one that matches it best. We can use a process of elimination to rule out the options that are different from what he says. For example:
- Option A is different because he says that he loved her voice, not that he did not like it.
- Option B is different because he does not mention anything about not understanding her prayer.
- Option D is different because he does not mention anything about being too busy for her prayer.
- We can then conclude that option C is the correct answer because it implies that he did not care or pay attention to her prayer. We can use bold formatting to indicate our choice. For example:
- The correct answer is C. He was not interested in it .👍
Question (iii)
What did the narrator’s grandmother carry with her for the village dogs?
Answer:
Answer by the student:
The narrator’s grandmother carried several stale chapattis with her for the village dogs.
Step-by-step explanation:
- To answer this question, we need to locate the information that is directly given in the extract. We can use skimming and scanning skills to find the relevant part of the text quickly. For example:
- Skimming is reading quickly to get the main idea or gist of a text.
- We can skim the extract and see that it is about the narrator’s daily routine with his grandmother.
- Scanning is reading quickly to find specific details or facts in a text.
- We can scan the extract and look for keywords or phrases related to the question, such as “grandmother”, “carry”, or “village dogs”.
- We can then use these skills to find the answer in the last sentence of the extract. We can use quotation marks to indicate the exact words that are given in the text. For example:
- The answer is “She carried several stale chapattis with her for the village dogs”.🐶
Question (iv)
How does the narrator show his affection for his grandmother in the extract?
Answer:
Answer by the student:
The narrator shows his affection for his grandmother by listening to her voice and being constantly with her.
Step-by-step explanation:
- To answer this question, we need to infer how the narrator shows his affection or love for his grandmother from his actions and words in the extract. We can use clues such as verbs, adverbs, or expressions to help us. For example:
- The narrator says that he listened to her voice because he loved it.
- The narrator says that they were constantly together.
- We can then use these clues to write a complete sentence that explains how the narrator shows his affection for his grandmother in the extract. We can use simple words and connect them with conjunctions like “and” or “by”. We can also use bold formatting to highlight the key words. For example:
- The narrator shows his affection for his grandmother by listening to her voice and being constantly with her.😊
