Question 124
HardOriginal questionThe water arrived at the school a day before it was expected, which was the only reason anyone was still there to see it. Mrs Baruah had come in on the Sunday to move the library books to the upper floor, and she had brought her son Dipen to carry the heavy boxes.
By noon the playground was a brown lake. By two, it was at the second step. Dipen, who was fourteen and had spent the morning complaining about the boxes, stopped complaining.
They carried everything they could reach: the books, the new computer, the that held forty years of names. When the stairs to the ground floor had disappeared under the water, they sat on the upper landing and watched it , slowly and quite calmly, into the classroom where Dipen had learnt to read.
"We saved the books," his mother said. It was not quite a question.
"Not the benches," said Dipen. "Not the blackboards." He was quiet for a while. "Not the drawings on the wall."
The rescue boat came at . Dipen climbed in last. From the water he looked back at the upper windows, where rows of books stood safe and dry behind the glass, and found that he was not sure whether he wanted to laugh or to cry.
A month later, when the school opened again in borrowed rooms, the library was the first thing to be unpacked.
Why was Dipen "not sure whether he wanted to laugh or to cry"?
Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: D
Explanation
He sees the books "safe and dry behind the glass", which is a relief, while the classroom where he learnt to read is under water.
Mixed feelings, relief and grief together, are what make him unsure whether to laugh or cry.
Worth noting
Nothing suggests he was frightened of the boat or angry with his mother. The feeling comes from what he is looking at.
- Concept
- Interpreting a character's mixed feelings
- Typical timeTypical
- 60 s
- Your timeYours
- —
Ten questions from Narrative passages, at your own pace.