Question 144
HardOriginal questionThe radio said the weather would be fine. It said so in two languages, and then played a film song, as if to prove it.
Old Janaki, who had been mending nets on the beach since before the radio was invented, looked at the sky and did not agree. The sea was too flat. The gulls had gone . There was a in the air that she could feel in her knees.
"Tell the boys not to go far out," she said to her grandson.
"The radio says it's fine, Aaji."
"The radio lives in a box in Mumbai. I live here."
The boys went out anyway, but not far. Most of them stayed within sight of the shore, , and came back early with a poor catch and a good deal of bad temper.
At four o'clock the wind came. It came all at once, the way a slap comes, and turned the flat sea into a field of white. The boats that had stayed near the shore were pulled up on the sand in twenty minutes. The radio, a little later, announced that there might be strong winds along the coast.
That evening the boys brought Janaki the best fish from their poor catch, and did not grumble at all.
Why is the radio's later announcement mentioned?
Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: D
Explanation
The radio warns of strong winds only "a little later", after the wind has already come and the boats are safe.
The detail is ironic: the official warning arrives after it is needed.
Worth noting
The story shows Janaki was right and the radio was wrong, so it does not suggest the radio was more reliable.
- Concept
- Recognising irony in a detail
- Typical timeTypical
- 55 s
- Your timeYours
- —
Ten questions from Narrative passages, at your own pace.