A Gift of Chappals – Questions and Answers
Comprehension Check
Question 1: What is the secret that Meena shares with Mridu in the backyard?
Answer: Meena shares the secret of the kitten they found in front of the house in the morning. They had kept it in the backyard behind a thick bush.
Question 2: How does Ravi get milk for the kitten?
Answer: Ravi cleverly gets milk for the kitten from the kitchen by pretending that he is hungry. To prove his hunger, he drinks most of the milk and leaves some in the tumbler, which he then empties into the coconut shell in the backyard.
Question 3: Who does he say the kitten’s ancestors are? Do you believe him?
Answer: Ravi says that the kitten’s ancestor was the Pallava Lion, emblem of the Pallava dynasty. No, I don’t believe him.
Question 4: Ravi has a lot to say about M.P. Poonai. This shows that
(i) he is merely trying to impress Mridu.
(ii) his knowledge of history is sound.
(iii) he has a rich imagination.
(iv) he is an intelligent child.
Which of these statements do you agree/disagree to?
Answer: I think that his knowledge of history is sound. Also, he has a rich imagination and he is an intelligent child.
Question 5: What was the noise that startled Mridu and frightened Mahendran?
Answer: The noise that startled Mridu and frightened Mahendran was the ‘kreeching’ sound of Lalli’s violin.
Comprehension Check
Question 1: The music master is making lovely music. Read aloud the sentence in the text that expresses this idea.
Answer: The text that expresses this idea is: “The music master’s notes seemed to float up and settle perfectly into the invisible tracks of the melody. It was like the wheels of a train fitting smoothly into the rails and whizzing along, as Ravi said.”
Question 2: Had the beggar come to Rukku Manni’s house for the first time? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer: No, the beggar had not come to Rukku Manni’s house for the first time. He had been visiting Rukku Manni’s house for the past week and had survived because of the generosity of the ladies of the house.
Question 3: “A sharp V-shaped line had formed between her eyebrows.†What does it suggest to you about Rukku Manni’s mood?
Answer: “A sharp V-shaped line had formed between her eyebrows.†This suggests that Rukku Manni was quite angry at the impishness of the children.
Working with the text
Question 1: Complete the following sentences:
(i) Ravi compares Lalli’s playing the violin to ___.
(ii) Trying to hide beneath the tray of chillies, Mahendran ___.
(iii) The teacher played a few notes on his violin, and Lalli ___.
(iv) The beggar said that the kind ladies of the household ___.
(v) After the lesson was over, the music teacher asked Lalli if ___.
Answer:
(i) Ravi compares Lalli’s playing the violin to derailing of a train.
(ii) Trying to hide beneath the tray of chillies, Mahendran tipped a few chillies over himself. “Mi-a-aw!â€, he howled miserably.
(iii) The teacher played a few notes on his violin, and Lalli stumbled behind him on her violin, which looked quite helpless and unhappy in her hands.
(iv) The beggar said that the kind ladies of the household had helped him survive the last week.
(v) After the lesson was over, the music teacher asked Lalli if she had seen his chappals.
Question 2: Describe the music teacher, as seen from the window.
Answer: The music teacher had a lean, bony personality. He was sitting with his back against the window of the room where he was teaching violin to Lalli. He was bald and had some oiled hair around his ears. He was wearing an old-fashioned tuft and had a gold chain around his neck. He also wore a diamond ring on his hand and was beating the floor with his thin, malnourished toe.
Question 3: (i) What makes Mridu conclude that the beggar has no money to buy chappals?
(ii) What does she suggest to show her concern?
Answer:
(i) When the beggar showed his feet to the children, they could see blisters on them. This made Mridu conclude that the beggar had no money to buy chappals.
(ii) She suggests that they give away a pair of chappals to the beggar.
Question 4: “Have you children…†she began, and then, seeing they were curiously quiet, went on more slowly, “seen anyone lurking around the verandah?â€
(i) What do you think Rukku Manni really wanted to ask?
(ii) Why did she change her question?
(iii) What did she think had happened?
Answer:
(i) Rukku Manni wanted to ask if the children were responsible for the theft of the chappals.
(ii) She changed her question because, seeing the children so serious and quiet, she understood that the children definitely had something to do with the missing chappals.
(iii) She thought that the children would have purposely hidden the pair of chappals.
Question 5: On getting Gopu Mama’s chappals, the music teacher tried not to look too happy. Why?
Answer: The music teacher tried not to look happy because he wanted to pretend that his chappals were valuable to him. Although in reality, he liked the new chappals of Gopu Mama.
Question 6: On getting a gift of chappals, the beggar vanished in a minute. Why was he in such a hurry to leave?
Answer: The beggar wanted to leave as early as possible because he did not want to lose the gift of chappals. He needed the chappals badly as his feet were full of blisters.
Question 7: Walking towards the kitchen with Mridu and Meena, Rukku Manni began to laugh. What made her laugh?
Answer: The thought about what she would say to Gopu Mama about the chappals when he would ask about them made her laugh. She wondered what his reaction would be when he gets to know that those chappals were given to the music master.
Working with language
Question 1: Read the following sentences.
(a) If she knows we have a cat, Paati will leave the house.
(b) She won’t be so upset if she knows about the poor beggar with sores on his feet.
(c) If the chappals do fit, will you really not mind?
Notice that each sentence consists of two parts. The first part begins with ‘if’. It is known as if-clause.
Rewrite each of the following pairs of sentences as a single sentence. Use ‘if’ at the beginning of the sentence.
E.g. (a) Walk fast. You’ll catch the bus.
If you walk fast, you’ll catch the bus.
E.g. (b) Don’t spit on the road. You’ll be fined.
If you spit on the road, you’ll be fined.
(i) Don’t tire yourself now. You won’t be able to work in the evening.
(ii) Study regularly. You’ll do well in the examination.
(iii) Work hard. You’ll pass the examination in the first division.
(iv) Be polite to people. They’ll also be polite to you.
(v) Don’t tease the dog. It’ll bite you.
Answer:
(i) If you tire yourself now, you won’t be able to work in the evening.
(ii) If you study regularly, you’ll do well in the examination.
(iii) If you work hard, you’ll pass the examination in the first division.
(iv) If you are polite to people, they’ll also be polite to you.
(v) If you tease the dog, it’ll bite you.
Question 2: Fill in the blanks in the following paragraph.
Today is Sunday. I’m wondering whether I should stay at home or go out. If I _ (go) out, I (miss) the lovely Sunday lunch at home. If I _ (stay) for lunch, I _ (miss) the Sunday film showing at Archana Theatre. I think I’ll go out and see the film, only to avoid getting too fat.
Answer:
gToday is Sunday. I’m wondering whether I should stay at home or go out. If I go out, I will miss the lovely Sunday lunch at home. If I stay for lunch, I will miss the Sunday film showing at Archana Theatre. I think I’ll go out and see the film, only to avoid getting too fat.
Question 3: Complete each sentence below by appropriately using any one of the following:
if you want to / if you don’t want to / if you want him to
(i) Don’t go to the theatre ____.
(ii) He’ll post your letter ____.
(iii) Please use my pen ____.
(iv) He’ll lend you his umbrella ____.
(v) My neighbor, Ramesh, will take you to the doctor ____.
(vi) Don’t eat it ____.
Answer:
(i) Don’t go to the theatre if you don’t want to.
(ii) He’ll post your letter