Question 42
MediumOriginal questionVarun had four hundred words for the district spelling bee. He could spell "rhythm" without thinking, "necessary" in his sleep, and "onomatopoeia" faster than his teacher could say it.
On the day, he stood at the microphone, and the judge smiled at him. "Before we begin," she said, "please spell your name for the ."
Varun opened his mouth. Nothing came out. For one terrible moment, the only thing in his head was the sound of four hundred words all shouting at once.
"V," he said at last. "A. R." He stopped. Somewhere in the hall, someone . "U," he said. "N." He paused again, as if waiting for more letters to arrive, and then added, very quietly, "I think."
The whole hall laughed, the judges too, and something strange happened: Varun laughed as well. The laughing something in his chest. By the time the judge gave him his first real word, "chrysanthemum", his hands had stopped shaking.
He spelt it perfectly. He spelt the next eleven words perfectly too, and came second in the whole district.
For years afterwards, his family introduced him at weddings as "Varun, V-A-R-U-N, I think."
Why could Varun not answer at first?
Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The story says the only thing in his head was "the sound of four hundred words all shouting at once".
His nerves filled his mind so completely that even his own name would not come.
Worth noting
He does know how to spell his name; he spells it correctly, just slowly.
- Concept
- Inferring a character's state of mind
- Typical timeTypical
- 45 s
- Your timeYours
- —
Ten questions from Narrative passages, at your own pace.