Exercises
Q 1. Choose the correct answer.
1. Who is 'I'in the story?
(a) the father
(b) the doctor
(c) the mother
(d) the sick child
2. The parents were nervous because
(a) they did not want to tell the doctor anything.
(b) they did not know what to say.
(c) they wanted the doctor to tell them everything.
(d) the child did not tell anything.
3. The doctor was impressed
(a) by the beauty of the child.
(b) by the patience of the child.
(c) by the patience of the parents.
(d) by the picture of the child he had seen in Sunday's paper.
4. The doctor took a 'trial shot at it' means
(a) he made a wild guess to begin with
(b) he gave her a shot
(c) he took parents to talk
(d) he examined the girl carefully
5. The doctor feared that the child might be suffering from diphtheria.
(a) from the appearance of the child
(b) the parents told him so
(c) from the examination of the child
(d) he guessed because there had been such cases in a local school
6.The child did not respond to the doctor's instructions because
(a) she was afraid of the doctor
(b) she was a stubborn child
(c) her parents had tried to open the mouth
(d) she was angry
7. The doctor ground his teeth in anger because
(a) the child did not respond
(b) the mother told the girl,"He would not hurt you."
(c) the parents did not let him handle the child.
(d) the child had knocked his glasses.
8. The doctor had almost succeeded in opening the mouth of the girl but failed to see because
(a) the child resisted strongly.
(b) the parental love made the father to release her at the last moment.
(c) the rough handling hurt the child.
(d) the mother stopped him.
Q 2. Mark the sentences true or false.
Answer:
1) True
2) False
3) True
7) True
8) True
9) True
4) True
5) True
Q 3. Answer the following questions.
1. What was the condition of the parents on the arrival of the doctor?
6) True
Ans. The parents were very nervous. They were looking at the doctor distrustfully.
2. What was the behavior of the child with the doctor?
Ans. It was very cold initially and she did not respond at all. Then she became aggressive and knocked
his glasses down. She remained violent during her throat examination.
3. She had a fever for three days, hadn't she?
Ans. Yes, she had a fever for three days.
4. Did the girl change her expression when the doctor said,"Does your throat hurt you"?
Ans. She did not change her expression at all.
5.Why did the doctor call the sick girl by her first name?
Ans. The doctor wanted to get friendly with the girl in his professional manner.
6. Did the sick child promptly respond to the instruction of the doctor?
Ans. The sick girl did not respond promptly to the instruction of the doctor. She remained noncooperative and stubborn.
7. Why did the parents rebuke her?
Ans. The parents rebuked her on knocking the doctor's glasses down.
8. What was the threat of the doctor to the child for not showing her throat?
Ans. The doctor threatened the child that if she did not open her mouth herself, they would open it
themselves for her.
9. Why did she break the wooden blade?
Ans. She broke the wooden blade because the doctor had forcefully inserted this blade into her mouth
to open it. She was frightened from the throat examination.
10. What was the condition of the tonsils of the sick girl?
Ans. Her tonsils were covered with membrane. It showed that she was suffering from diphtheria.
Q 4. Answer the following questions in 50-100 words.
1.How did the child look by appearance?
Ans. When the doctor had a glance of the child she was fully dressed. She was sitting on her father's lap
near the kitchen table. The child had cold and steady eyes. She had expressionless face. She was
motionless and seemed inwardly quite. She was an unusually attractive little girl but as strong as a heifer
in appearance. Her face was flushed and she was breathing rapidly. She was in high fever. She had
magnificent blonde hair, in profusion. She was like one of those picture children often reproduced in
advertising leaflets and specific sections of the Sunday papers.
2. Why did the parents keep the sick child in the kitchen?
Ans. The parents had kept the sick child in the kitchen because it was warm there. The mother told the
doctor that sometimes there was dampness in the atmosphere. Therefore they thought it better to keep
the child away from damp air. She was suffering from fever. It is normally advised by the doctors that
children should be protected against chill and cold when they get fever.There is always a chance of
pneomonia or severe chest congestion. They also wanted to save her from epidemic.
3.How did the doctor succeed in examining her throat?
Ans. When the doctor found that the child was not willing to examined in a normal congenial manner he
had to apply force for that. She had also reduced the wooden tongue depressor to pieces by gripping it
when he was able to insert it in her mouth.
The doctor demanded a silver spoon, overpowered the child's neck and jaws and forced the heavy
spoon back of her teeth and down her throat till she gagged. That was how he saw her tonsils covered
with membrane.
4. Describe the feelings of the doctor in his struggle to diagnose the disease.
Ans. The doctor behaved in a professional manner smilingly but the girl was unwilling. When the mother
told her that the doctor would not hurt her the doctor ground his teeth at that because it alarmed the
child much more.
When the girl knocked his glasses he became irritated and threatened the child. He inserted the wooden
spatula in her throat but she broke it into pieces. The doctor felt that he could tear the child apart in his
fury and enjoyed it. He felt pleasure to attack her. His face was burning with rage. Finally he succeeded
in diagnosing the disease by the use of force.
5. Compare and contrast the conduct of a healthy child and a sick child.
Ans. It is said that child is healthy when he takes active part in life. If a child is passive and does not
respond or react to the voices or gestures we must consult a doctor. Parents should observe their
children very minutely. If they are doing unusual things or behaving differently they should take them to
the doctor. A sick child always remain dull and he do not take part in lively things whereas a healthy
child always take part in games and other activities.
6. Under what circumstances the use of force can be justified?
Ans. Sometimes children betray their parents to get their unnecessary demands fulfilled. Mothers have
more tender feelings towards kids. Normally they spoil the kids by giving them undue favour and
shelter. If they feel that they do not pay heed to their instructions they should use force to save their
children from becoming culprit.
Anything that a child say is not necessarily true. They should not be trusted blindly. Parents must be very
keen about their activities. They should save their children from developing incurable habits in future.
When love spoils, force improves.
Q 5. ANSWERS:
1. When I arrived I met my mother.
2. I motioned for him not to bother.
3. I moved my chair a little nearer.
4. She knocked my glasses flying and they fell.
5.I explained the danger.
6. They grew more and more crushing.
7.Then she shrieked terrifyingly.
8.Then I gasped the child's head with my left hand.
9. She opened up her mouth for an instant.
10. She reduced it to splinters before I could get it out again.
Q 6. Punctuate the following lines.
does your throat hurt you added the mother to the child but the little girls expressions did not change
nor did she move her eyes from my face.
Answer:
"Does your throat hurt you?" added the mother to the child. But the little girl's expressions didn't
change nor did she move her eyes from my face.
Q 7. Use the following words in your sentences.
Words
Sentences
Start
He started going to library.
Motion
I motioned him to stay there.
Trust
She did not trust him.
Magnificent
Leaflet
Q 8.
Answers:
1) to
2) up
3) at
4) of
5) in
We saw a magnificent building in the village.
I receive different leaflets daily.
Q 9. Use the following phrasal verbs in your own sentences.
Phrasal verbs
Sentences
Sit on
He has been sitting on my application for a month now.
Sit in
I was allowed to sit in on an executive meeting.
Come from
Come off
Where do you come from?
That mark will not come off
Q 10. Answer the questions given at the end of the paragraph.
Then I grasped the child's head with my left hand and tried to get the wooden tongue depressor
between her teeth. She fought,with clenched teeth, desperately!
But now I also had grown furious - at a child. I tried to hold myself down but I couldn't. I know how to
expose a throat for inspection. And I did my best. When finally I got the wooden spatula behind the last
teeth and just the point of it into the mouth cavity, she opened up for an instant but before I could see
anything she came down again and gripped the wooden blade between her molars. She reduced it to
splinters before I could get it out again.
1. Why did the doctor become furious?
Ans. The girl resisted violently against her throat examination. It was quite necessary so the doctor
became furious to have a look at her tonsils.
2. What instrument did the doctor use to open her mouth?
Ans. He used the wooden spatula to open her mouth.
3. Why did she grip the wooden blade between her molars?
Ans. She gripped the wooden blade between her molars and reduced it to pieces because she was
angry. She did not want her throat to be examined.
4. Write down the main idea of the paragraph.
Ans. The sick girl did not want her throat to be examined by the doctor. She was suffering a lot so it was
necessary for the doctor to have a look at her throat. He used force to examine her and she reacted
violently by breaking the wooden spatula.