Question 168
MediumOriginal questionWhen Diya's little brother got a new bicycle for his birthday, Diya decided to hate it.
It was red, with a bell and a basket and on the handles, and it had been bought new, from the shop. Diya's own bicycle had belonged to a cousin, and before that to another cousin, and before that, her father claimed, to somebody in the Mughal army. Its bell had been silent for years.
For a week she did not look at the red bicycle. She did not say it was nice. When Kabir rode it round the , ringing the bell, she went inside and shut the door.
On the eighth day, Kabir came to find her. He had fallen off twice that morning, and his knee was .
"It goes too fast," he said, near tears. "And it . Yours doesn't wobble."
Diya looked at him. She thought of all the things she could say. Then she went out to the courtyard, held the back of his seat, and ran beside him up and down until her legs hurt and he stopped wobbling.
That evening her father found the two of them oiling the chain of the old bicycle together.
"I thought you hated his bicycle," he said.
"I did," said Diya. "It's hard to hate something when you're holding it up."
What did Diya decide to do when Kabir came to her crying?
Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
"She thought of all the things she could say", but instead she held the back of his seat and ran beside him until he stopped wobbling.
Worth noting
The story suggests she thought of unkind things to say, and chose not to say them.
- Concept
- Understanding a character's choice
- Typical timeTypical
- 50 s
- Your timeYours
- —
Ten questions from Narrative passages, at your own pace.