Read the following passage and answer
the questions given below it.
Dad
had a favourite carpet snake that he called Old Tom. Now Old Tom was big and
had taken up residence in a large, burnt – out stump near the packing shed. I
could climb onto a fallen banana stool and peer into the stump while Dad
reached in and fed the snake.
When
we unloaded the banana bunches from the jeep, field mice often scurried out,
and sometimes Dad would stand close by and endeavour to stun the mice with the
back of his cane knife. Triumphantly, he could then take his offering to Old
Tom and watch with great satisfaction as the snake swallowed the mouse whole.
After
several months, Dad and Old Tom got to know each other quite well. So well, in
fact, that he could tentatively stroke Old Tom, who seemed to like it. Dad
proudly showed Old Tom to passing banana growers and they marveled at the size
of the snake and Dad’s ability to stroke it. Dad, of course, did not miss the
opportunity to remark on the number of mice Old Tom ate, which raised
appropriate envy in the growers and made Dad’s day.
1. Where had Old Tom taken up residence?
Old
Tom had taken up residence in a large, burnt – out stump near the packing shed.
2. What would Dad watch with great
satisfaction/
Dad
would watch the snake swallow the mouse whole with great satisfaction.
3. What liberty could Dad take after he
got to know Old Tom quite well?
After
Dad got to know Old Tom quite well, he could stroke Old Tom.
4. a. Dad reached in and fed the
snake. (Rewrite the sentence using the present participle form of the verb
underlined)
On
reaching in, Dad fed the snake.
b.
he could then take his offering to Old Tom. (Pick out the preposition)
to –
preposition.
5. Use the following phrases in
meaningful sentences of your own.
a.
make
one’s day
My father made my day when he
announced that he was taking me on a world trip.
b. To get to know
We got to know about his illness from
his uncle.
6. Why are snakes called “the friends of
farmers”?
Snakes are
called ‘the friends of farmers’ because they feed on rats and mice which would
otherwise destroy the crops thus causing shortage and scarcity of food crops.
