Q8 of 15 Page 144

"This is your big surprise."

(i) Where has this been said in the play?


(ii) What is the surprise?

(i) This line has been spoken twice in the play. On the very first occasion, it was spoken by the intruder as he planned to reveal his idea of killing Gerrard and then taking over his identity to escape the cops. However, on the second occasion, it was spoken by Gerrard himself as he thought of revealing his cooked up criminal story for saving himself from being shot by the intruder.

(ii) The surprise on the first occasion was the plan of the intruder of killing Gerrard and then taking over his identity to escape from the sight of the cops. In the second instance, Gerrard’s surprise was his cooked up criminal story and false identity which he thought of for saving himself from the situation.


More from this chapter

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6

"They can't hang me twice".

(i) Who says this?


(ii) Why does the speaker say it?

 7

“A mystery I propose to explain." What is the mystery the speaker proposes to explain?

 1

Consult your dictionary and choose the correct word from the pairs given in brackets.

(1) The (site, cite) of the accident was (ghastly/ ghostly).


(2) Our college (principle/ principal) is very strict.


(3) I studied (continuously/ continually) for eight hours.


(4) The fog had an adverse (affect/ effect) on the traffic.


(5) Cezanne, the famous French painter, was a brilliant (artist/ artiste).


(6) The book that you gave me yesterday is an extraordinary (collage/ college) of science fiction and mystery.


(7) Our school will (host/hoist) an exhibition on cruelty to animals and wildlife conservation.


(8) Screw the lid tightly onto the top of the bottle and (shake/shape) well before using the contents.

 2

Irony is when we say one thing but mean another, usually the opposite of what we say. When someone makes a mistake and you say, "Oh! that was clever!" that is irony. You're saying "clever" to mean "not clever."






Expressions we often use in an ironic fashion are:


-Oh, wasn't that clever! /Oh that was clever!


-You have been a great help, I must say!


-You've got yourself into a lovely mess, haven't you?


- Oh, very funny! / How funny!



We use a slightly different tone of voice when we use these words ironically.


Read the play carefully and find words and expressions Gerrard uses in an ironic way. Then say what these expressions really mean. Two examples have been given below. Write down three more such expressions along with what they really mean.












What the author says



What he means



Why, this is a surprise, Mr. -er-


At last a sympathetic audience!



He pretends that the intruder is a social visitor whom he is welcoming. In this way he hides his fear.


He pretends that the intruder wants to listen to him, whereas the intruder wants to find out information for his own use.