Q. “As I wrestled with the clauses and sections his voice rose like a gale.” (2015/2016)
i) Who says this? (1mark)
-> A fellow passenger who boarded the train at the next station.
ii) Where was the speaker and what was he trying to do? (2marks)
iii) What were the topics being discussed? (4marks)
-> The speaker was discussing international politics criticizing France and Germany.
Q. Narrate the incident of the old lady walking down the middle of the road in Petrograd. (2marks) (2016)
-> In Petrograd, a stout old lady was walking with her basket down the middle of a street creating great confusion to the traffic and with no small peril to herself. She pointed that the pavement was the place for foot passengers. She had the notion that she could walk where she liked because she had the liberty to do so. She is called “liberty drunk” by the author.
Q. What is a blue book? Why does the writer read it? (2marks) (2017/2018)
-> A blue book is a book that contains government records. He read them for his professional purpose and for earning money.
Q. What were the topics discussed by the men who boarded the railway carriage that the writer was travelling in? (3marks) (2016/2017)
-> The speaker was discussing his family history and the deeds of his sons in the war. He also criticized the generals and politicians and discussed international politics criticizing France and Germany.
Q. What is a blue book? Describe very briefly the incident that occurs inside the railway carriage. (3marks) (2017/2018)
-> A blue book is a book that contains government records. He read them for his professional purpose and for earning money.
When another got into a railway carriage, he tried to read a blue book in the railway carriage. But he could not read because at the next station a couple men entered the carriage. They kept talking in a loud and pompous voice till the rest of journey. The man believed that nobody could have anything better to do than to listen to him. He was convinced that everybody in the carriage thanked him for having an illuminating journey.
Q. Describe in your own words the incident about the stout old lady of Petrograd. What is Gardiner conveying through this example? (5marks) (2019)
-> In Petrograd, a stout old lady was walking with her basket down the middle of a street creating great confusion to the traffic and with no small peril to herself. She pointed that the pavement was the place for foot passengers. She had the notion that she could walk where she liked because she had the liberty to do so; she is called as “liberty drunk” by the author.
