Page 159 - English Grammar - 8

D. Read the following extract carefully.
The room in which the boys were fed was a large stone hall, with a copper pot at one end:
out of which the master, dressed in an apron for the purpose, and assisted by one or two
women, ladled the gruel at mealtimes. Of this festive composition, each boy had one bowl and
no more—except on occasions, like an inspector’s visit. On such occasions two ounces and a
quarter of bread was added.
The bowls never wanted washing. The boys polished them with their spoons till they shone
again; and when they had performed this operation (which never took very long, the spoons
being nearly as large as the bowls), they would sit staring at the copper, with such eager eyes, as
if they could have devoured the very bricks of which it was composed; employing themselves,
meanwhile, in sucking their fingers most persistently, with the view of catching up any stray
splashes of gruel that might have been cast thereon.
Oliver Twist and his companions suffered the tortures of slow starvation for three months: at
last they got so voracious and wild with hunger, that one boy, who was tall for his age, hinted
darkly to his companions, that unless he was given another bowl of gruel every day, he might
some night eat the boy who slept next to him. His wild, hungry look made others implicitly
believe him. They held a meeting about who should go up and ask for more; lots were cast; it
fell to Oliver Twist.
The evening arrived; the boys took their places. The master stationed himself at the copper;
the gruel was served; it quickly disappeared. Desperate with hunger and reckless with misery,
Oliver rose from his seat, and walked up with his bowl and spoon. Before he could be surprised
at his own temerity he said in a feeble voice, ‘Please, sir, I want some more.’

Answer the following questions on the basis of your reading of the passage.
1. Find synonyms of the following words in the passage.
a. enormous b. celebratory
c. audacity/boldness d. miserable

e. vanished f. tirelessly
g. gulped h. associates
2. Answer briefly.

a. Why do you think the bowls did not need washing?
b. Why did the gruel always disappear so quickly?
c. Oliver asking for more was considered an act of boldness. Explain why. Comprehension

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