Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow:

When I casually mentioned this to a friend, the casually replied that I had better get one in the Tigris marshes, for there they were as common as mosquitoes, and were often tamed by the Arabs. We were going to Basra to the Consulate – General to collect and answer our mail from Europe. At the Consulate – General we found that my friend’s mail had arrived but that mine had not.

Questions:

(a) What was ‘they’?

(b) Where could the author get ‘one’?

(c) Find the exact word from the extract which means ‘domesticated.’

(d) What did the author find at the Consulate-General?

OR

(There is a languid, emerald sea,

Where the sole inhabitant is me-

A mermaid drifting blissfully.)

Questions:

(a) Who does ‘me’ stand for?

(b) How does ‘me’ feel?

(c) Who is ‘me’ compared to?

(d) Which word in the extract means opposite of ‘’Sorrowfully’?

(a) Here ‘they’ refers to Camusfearna. The author was looking for a suitable spot to carry out his experiment. He found Camusfearna to be the best spot because it was circled by water at a short distance from the door.

(b) The author could get one in the Tigris marshes. The one they are talking about is an otter which were easily found in the Tigris Marshes as they were very common there just as common as mosquitoes.

(c) The exact word from the extract which means ‘domesticated’ is ‘tamed’. It means same as ‘controlling’.

(d) The author found that his mail had not arrived whereas his friend’s mail had arrived at the Consulate-General. The author went all the way to Basra to receive and answer his mails from Europe at the Consulate-General. Since he didn’t receive his mail, he sent a message to England which was unanswered therefore he placed a call to England. After some discrepancy his mail finally arrived after 5 days.

OR

(a) Here, ‘me’ stands for Amanda. Amanda is about 9-10 year old school going girl. She is constantly instructed about the do’s and don’ts specially by her mother. This makes her a dreamer of a life completely different where she would be free to do anything.

(b) Amanda feels very joyous at the thought of being a mermaid. The mermaid would be the sole inhabitant of the emerald sea and would drift happily in the languid sea. This thought is a representation of the longing of a world where she can live her life in her way.

(c) Here ‘me’ i.e. Amanda is compared to a mermaid. She is inattentive towards the instructions that she constantly keeps receiving and longs for a world where she would do anything she wants to. This makes her imagine herself as a mermaid in the sea.

(d) The word in the extract which means opposite to ‘sorrowfully’ is ‘blissfully’. The word blissfully means extremely joyful and happy which is an opposite of sorrowfully meaning sad.