Question 188
HardOriginal questionThe ball went higher than any ball Sameer had ever hit. For one second the whole lane watched it climb. Then it came down, as balls do, straight into Mrs Fernandes's balcony, and they heard the crash of a clay pot.
The other boys . It was a skill they had, like bowling. Sameer stood alone in the lane with the bat in his hand.
He could have run too. The bat was his, but nobody had seen who was holding it. Instead he climbed the stairs, very slowly, and knocked.
Mrs Fernandes opened the door with the ball in one hand and a broken piece of pot in the other. Behind her, on the balcony, soil and a small green plant lay across the tiles.
"I'm sorry," said Sameer. "It was me. I will pay for the pot."
She looked at him for a long moment. Then she held out the ball. "The pot was twenty rupees," she said. "The plant is a curry leaf. It will live if you help me it."
So he spent the evening on her balcony with his hands in the soil, while she told him about the village in Goa where the plant's mother had grown. When he went home, she gave him a bag of curry leaves for his mother.
The next Sunday, the ball went into her balcony again. This time Mrs Fernandes threw it back herself.
Why is it important that "nobody had seen who was holding it"?
Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: D
Explanation
No one could have proved that Sameer hit the ball.
So when he climbs the stairs and says "It was me", he is choosing honesty freely.
Worth noting
The passage says the bat was his, which rules out the idea that it belonged to someone else.
- Concept
- Understanding why a detail matters
- Typical timeTypical
- 55 s
- Your timeYours
- —
Ten questions from Narrative passages, at your own pace.