The Snake and the Mirror
Lesson 5 . The Snake and the Mirror
[ A ] Comprehension
Read the following passage and give the answers to the questions given below.
It was a hot summer …… was then wearing.
1.The narrator opened the door on returning home after having his meal at a restaurant.
2. Besides the narrator , rats were there in the room.
3.The narrator took out his box of matches and lighted the kerosene lamp on the table for light.
4. The narrator's belongings were sixty rupees in his suitcase along with some shirts and dhotis and one solitary black coat which he was then wearing.
2. I went back into ….. and neat .
1.The book that the doctor opened was titled ' Materia Medica '.
2.Besides the book the table had the lamp and a large mirror and a small comb lying on it.
3. The narrator was a great admirer of beauty and he believed in making himself look handsome.
4.He ran the comb through his hair and adjusted the parting so that it looked straight and neat.
3. I didn't jump …….. in the flesh .
1.He neither jumpd nor trembled nor cried out.
2. He didn't have time to do any such thing because the snake was coiled around his
left arm above the elbow and its hood was spread out close to his face.
3. ' Turned to stone ' indicates that the narrator was still and unable to move.
4.In the light of the lamp he looked like a stone image in the flesh.
4. I did not know …… I was worth.
1.No , the narrator didn't know for sure what sex the snake was .
2. After loosening its grip , the snake slowly
slithered into the narrator's lap. From there it crept onto the table and moved towards the mirror .
3. The snake reached the mirror perhaps because it wanted to enjoy its reflection at closer quarters.
4. The doctor ran for all he was worth .
5. The doctor replied …… a final insult !
1.After leaving his house and running , the narrator reached his friend's house.
2. On reaching his friend's house , he immediately smeared oil all over
himself and took a bath. He also changed into fresh clothes .
3.The next morning at about eight-thirty he took his friend and one or two others to his room to move his things from there.
4. But on reaching his room , he found his room empty .The room had been cleaned out! But the thief had left behind his dirty vest as a final insult .
[B] Short Answer Type Questions
A young man tells his story . He is a homeopath doctor by profession.
After having his meal at a restaurant , the doctor returned to his home at 10 o'clock on a summer night. The first thing he heard on reaching there was the sound of rats' movement.
The house was not electrified. The doctor lit a kerosene lamp for light.
The doctor's earnings were meager because he had just set up medical practice.
He took off his black coat, white shirt and vest and hung them up. He opened the two windows in the room , made his bed and lay down to sleep.
It was an outer room with one wall facing the open yard. It had a tiled roof
with long supporting gables that rested on the beam over the wall. There was no ceiling. There was a regular traffic
of rats to and from the beam .
7. The doctor could not sleep due to hot weather so he went out to the veranda for a little air . But there was no wind even there and he was disappointed.
8.When the doctor took a close look at his face in the mirror , he took an important decision of growing a thin moustache to look more handsome . He also decided to have a smile on his face .
9. He wanted to marry a rich woman doctor with an established medical practice who would bring him a lot of money . He also wanted her to be fat so that she could not catch him , if he made a silly mistake and ran away.
10. After slithering along the narrator's shoulder the snake coiled around his
left arm above the elbow. The hood was spread out and its head was hardly three or four inches from his face .
11. The narrator compared the snake coiling tightly around his left arm and causing excruciating pain with a thick leaden rod or a rod made of molten fire .
12. According to the author , the snake looking into the mirror might be admiring it's beauty or making an important decision about growing a moustache or using eyeshadow and mascara or wearing a vermilion spot on its forehead just like he himself did a few minutes before.
13. When someone asked about his wife he replied that his life companion was a thin reedy person with the gift of a sprinter.
14. On reaching his friend's house , the doctor immediately smeared oil all over
himself and took a bath. He also changed into fresh clothes .
15. But on reaching his room the next morning , he found his room empty .The room had been cleaned out! But the thief had left behind his dirty vest as a final insult .
16. The doctor heard the sound four times .
Long Answer Type Questions
1. There was a long mirror on the table. It caused a series of thoughts and actions in the doctor. When he saw the mirror, he was tempted to look into it. He combed his hair and adjusted its parting neatly . Then looking at his face , he made some important decisions to look more handsome such as shaving daily , keeping a thin moustache and an attractive smile on his face. He admired himself for being a young and handsome bachelor and on top of it for being a doctor .
He thought to marry a woman doctor with plenty of money and an established medical practice . He wanted her to be fat so that he could easily escape after making any silly mistake.
2. The snake fell down with a dull thud . It was a fat snake and it wriggled over the back of the chair and landed on the narrator's shoulder. Then it slithered along his shoulder and coiled around his left arm above the elbow. The hood was spread out and its head was hardly three or four inches from the narrator's face.
Then the snake turned its head. It looked into the mirror and saw its reflection. After that it unwound itself from his arm and slowly slithered into his lap. From there it crept onto the table and moved towards the mirror. Perhaps it wanted to enjoy its reflection at closer quarters.
3. When the doctor was in the snake's grip , he felt as if he was turned to a stone . He was too panicked and horrified to make any movement. He felt like dying any moment to see the snake's hood lurking just a few inches from his face.
When it coiled around his left arm above the elbow , he was writhing under pain . He felt as if a thick leaden rod or a rod made of molten fire was around his arm and crushing it.
Under its grip the doctor felt totally helpless . He felt ,ironically, that he was nothing but a poor,foolish and stupid doctor. He forgot his danger and smiled feebly at himself .
4. Freed from the snake , the doctor ran as fast as he was worth to his friend's house. He smeared oil all over his body , took bath and changed into fresh clothes . He stayed there at night .
The next morning at eight thirty , he went to his quarter with his friend and two or more people to move his articles. However he found that his room was almost cleaned by some thief . All of his articles were stolen except the dirty vest , which the doctor took as a sign of insult.
Comments
Post a Comment