Question 68
MediumOriginal questionFor thirty-one years, Ramu Kaka rang the bell at the government school in our village. He rang it at nine for , every forty minutes for the next lesson, and at four for home. He rang it through rain and heat, and once, the story goes, with a fever so high that the headmaster sent him home straight after.
He never needed a clock. The children said he could feel the time in his arms.
On his last day, the headmaster announced that a new electric bell would be fitted. It would ring on its own, at exactly the right moments, forever.
At four o'clock, everyone waited for the new bell. It rang, loud and perfect. Nobody moved.
Then, from the end of the , came the old sound: the brass bell in Ramu Kaka's hand, slightly late, as it always was on Fridays, because he liked to give the smallest children time to finish their drawings.
The whole school came out to the yard to clap for him. He went pink, rang the bell once more, and then handed it to the headmaster.
The electric bell still rings at our school. But on Fridays, the teachers say, it always seems to ring a minute too early.
"Nobody moved" when the new electric bell rang. What does this suggest?
Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: D
Explanation
The bell rang "loud and perfect", but everyone stayed still.
Then Ramu Kaka's bell sounded, and the whole school came out. They had been waiting for his.
Worth noting
The story says the bell was perfect, so it was not broken.
- Concept
- Inferring meaning from characters' actions
- Typical timeTypical
- 45 s
- Your timeYours
- —
Ten questions from Narrative passages, at your own pace.