SHORT ANSWERS - SHORT STORIES

SHORT ANSWERS - SHORT STORIES

(Paper Tips are only available in the Hard Copy)

Answer the following questions. 
1. Why did Arthur disagree with his wife?

Ans. He disagreed because he considered it a murder to kill anyone for money.

2. What was the message Norma received on pushing the button?

Ans. She received the message of the death of her husband.

3. What had the doctors told the old man?

Ans. They warned him of his impending death due to his weak heart.

4. Why did the old man take the steep path?

Ans. He did so to show that he was still healthy.

5. Why did Harry want to go back to the Earth?

Ans. He wanted so because the climate of Mars was very strange and severe.

6. How dangerous can a Martian virus be?

Ans. It can be so dangerous that it can change to physical appearance of the people.

7. What happened to the boy when he tried to snatch the purse?

Ans. He fell down and the large woman caught him.

8. Why didn't the boy run from the house of the woman?

Ans. He didn't do so because he was impressed by her kind behaviour.

9. Why did George give the pocket-book to his employer?

Ans. He did so because he was unable to read its contents.

10. What made Hubert shameful?

Ans. To be called a liar made him shameful.

11. What was the subject discussed at the Club?

Ans. It was opportunity and determination.

12. What was the view-point of the parents of Gorgios?

Ans. They thought that opportunity and time were required for success.

13. Why did the doctor call the sick girl by her first name?

Ans. He did so to show affection and friendliness.

14. Why did the parents rebuke their sick daughter?

Ans. They rebuked her for her misbehaviour with the doctor.

15. What should be the role of a Qazi?

Ans. A Qazi should do justice to all.

16. Why did the king weep?

Ans. He wept in fear of God which the boy made him realize.

17. What was stuck in the camel's throat?

Ans. A melon was stuck in its throat.

18. What was the punishment inflicted upon the quack by the villagers?

Ans. They got the grave of the woman dug by him and then beat him.

19. Why did the farmers throw wet leaves on fire?

Ans. They did so to make the smoke acrid and black.

20. Why are the locusts compared with bad weather?

Ans. They are compared because both are unforeseen calamities for crops.

21. What is the dream of Martin Luther King Jr.?

Ans. Freedom, equality and brotherhood of his nation is his dream.

22. What should be the criterion of judgment for a person?

Ans. It should be the greatness of his character.

23. Why did Della sell her hair?

Ans. She sold her hair to buy a gift for Jim.

24. What was the wisdom in selling the most valuable things?

Ans. Selling of the most valuable things is a sacrifice which strengthens love.

25. Describe Maulvi Abul's appearance.

Ans. Turban, walking stick, rings and bulging eyes count his appearance.

26. Write the names of Maulvi Adul's daughters. 

Ans. These are Mehrunnisa, Shamsun and Zabda. 

27. Why did people come out on the Mall?

Ans. They came out to amuse themselves. 

28. What kind of music was played in one of the restaurants?

Ans. A foreign orchestra was being played. 

29. What does the author like about Christmas?

Ans. He like Christmas because it makes people good and generous. 

30. Why are the noble deeds always a great joy for the author?

Ans. It is because most people are instinctively boastful about their possessions. 

Notes Prepared By: Prof. Shahbaz Asghar

MCQ's (Synonyms) - Short Stories

(Solution is only available in the hard copy)

Choose the best answer. 

1. Mr. Steward looked embarrassed. (successful, delighted, mysterious, upset)

2. Impulsively, she dropped them into her purse. (fortunately, probably, knowingly, instinctively)

3. Norma made a scoffing sound. (harsh, musical, mocking, soft)

4. Arthur stared at her, appalled. (amazed, happily, emotionally, terrified)

5. Norma made a contemptuous noise. (scornful, beautiful, faint, careful) 

6. Norma walked into the kitchen numbly. (staggering, feelinglessly, calmly, fearfully)

7. I could not protest to him now. (oppose, hurt, recommend, offend)

8. "Look at this Jess!" he bragged. (challenged, said, boasted, swore)

9. The long boughs of pines were fondling the substance of a white cloud. (caressing, hiding, peeping, covering) 

10. I had never seen anything extraordinary upon this high point of rugged land. (hard, soft, fertile, uneven)

11. My curiosity was aroused. (despair, eagerness, anger, joy)

12. He answered me curtly. (politely, roughly, civilly, openly) 

13. The wind blew as if to flake away their identities. (break, recognize, remind, make out)

14. Harry asked his children if they had been prowling up in the ruins. (sleeping, digging, looking, roaming) 

15. Laura stumbled through the settlement. (staggered, passed happily, walked vividly, strolled)

16. He was drenched in the hotness of his fear. (soaked, pushed, found, escaped)

17. He looked with dismay at their house. (gloom, joy, success, triumph)

18. She shook him until his teeth rattled. (broke, clattered, shown, removed)

19. He looked as if he were fourteen or fifteen, frail and willow-wild. (tall, healthy, short, weak)

20. "I want a pair of blue suede shoes, "said the boy. (rubber, leather, canvas, plastic)

21. The woman did not ask anything that could embarrass him. (make to feel ashamed, put him to trouble, torture, punish) 

22. The mayor was a stout serious man. (ugly, handsome, heavy, thin)

23. Mr. Hubert furiously lifted his hand. (angrily, pleasantly, tactfully, foolishly)

24. People called Mr. Hubert old rascal. (leader, peasant, rouge, master)

25. The grave of Hubert withstood the havocs of the flood. (destruction, grief, waves, extremes)

26. It only remained then to inaugurate him. (end, close, open, initiate) 

27. His thin figure was made all the more melancholy by the tight-fitting uniform. (gloomy, graceful, healthy, active)

28. Gentle applause broke out from every hand for Gorgios. (curse, clapping, dislike, abuse)

29. I ground my teeth in disgust. (happiness, sadness, outrage, gloom)

30. She shrieked terrifyingly, hysterically. (over-excitedly, sheepishly, sorrowfully, dejectedly) 

31. She had fought valiantly to keep me from knowing her secret. (comically, bravely, cowardly, furiously)

32. Sheik Saadi is perpetually modern. (eternally, lazily, wrongly, swiftly)

33. The slave had never experienced any calamity. (pleasure, happiness, disaster, bitterness)

34. The foundation of oppression was small. (justice, cruelty, pressure, beggary)

35. The melon was easily swallowed. (eaten, expelled, vomited, thrown)

36. These camels are of prodigious size. (small, medium, ordinary, enormous)

37. She was a feeble old woman. (weak, meek, cheerful, beautiful)

38. The smoke was rising from myriads of fire. (acrid, heaps, flames, heat)

39. The sunlight was perverted. (diverted, fierce, lovely, burning)

40. The countryside was devastated and mangled. (beautified, ruined, planted, fertile)

41. Luther said that unearned suffering is redemptive. (redeeming, unjust, hard, mild)

42. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. (enjoy, see, stumble, sing)

43. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California. (having curves, lofty, low, high)

44. Love and large-hearted giving leave sad marks. (generous, trivial, significant, tiny)

45. Maulvi Abul had slightly bulging eyes. (narrow, big, swelling, tiny)

46. Chaudhry Fatehdad reprimanded him for a mistake. (remind, reproved, taunted, appreciated)

47. Chaudhry Fatehdad's censure was purely religious. (reaction, decision, disapproval, statement)

48. He was enjoying his promenade in the bitter cold. (pleasure walk, wandering, cat walk, evening walk)

49. The pavement was thronged with pedestrians. (dirty, void, empty, packed)

50. The author had a vexing dream one night. (troublesome, pleasing, long, lovely)

Notes Prepared By: Prof. Shahbaz Asghar