Question 86
MediumOriginal questionMs Dsouza: Rahul, your assignment was on Monday.
Rahul: Yes, ma'am. I know, ma'am. I was going to talk to you about that.
Ms Dsouza: It's Thursday.
Rahul: The thing is, ma'am, our internet was down. And then my cousin's wedding. And then the printer ran out of ink.
Ms Dsouza: That's three reasons.
Rahul: They all happened, ma'am.
Ms Dsouza: I don't it. I've been teaching for eighteen years, Rahul. In that time I have heard of more broken printers than there are printers in this city. Let me ask you something else. Have you started it?
Rahul: (pause) Not exactly started, ma'am.
Ms Dsouza: Thank you. That's the first thing you've told me that helps. If you'd said that on Monday, we could have worked something out.
Rahul: Can we still work something out?
Ms Dsouza: We can. Bring me one page by tomorrow, any page, and the rest by Tuesday. And Rahul? Next time, the true part.
What does Ms Dsouza mean by "That's three reasons"?
Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
Rahul lists the internet, a wedding and a printer, one after another.
By simply counting them, she hints that so many excuses sound less convincing than one honest answer.
Worth noting
She later says "I don't doubt it", so she is not calling him a liar, only pointing out that the excuses are not the real issue.
- Concept
- Understanding an understated remark
- Typical timeTypical
- 45 s
- Your timeYours
- —
Ten questions from Poems and conversations, at your own pace.