Answer the following questions by choosing the correct answer from the options given below: No one had ever seen Bonku Babu get cross. To tell the truth, it was difficult to imagine what he might say or do, if one day he did get angry. It was not as if there was never any reason for him to lose his temper. For the last twenty-two years, Bonku Babu had taught Geography and Bengali at the Primary School. Every year, a new batch of students replaced the old one, but old or new, the tradition of teasing poor Bonku Babu continued among all the students. Some drew his picture on the blackboard, others put glue on his chair or, on the night of Kali Puja, they lit a ‘chasing rocket’ and set it off to chase him. Bonku Babu did not get upset by any of this. Only sometimes, he cleared his throat and said, "Shame on you, boys!" One of the reasons for maintaining his calm was simply that he could not afford to do otherwise. If he did lose his temper and left his job in a fit of pique, he knew how difficult it would then be to find another, at his age. Another reason was that in every class, there were always a few good students, even if the rest of the class was full of pranksters. Teaching his handful of good boys was so rewarding to Bonku Babu, that alone made life as a teacher worth living. At times, he invited those boys to his house, offered them snacks and told them tales of foreign lands and exciting adventures. He told them about life in Africa, the discovery of the North Pole, the fish in Brazil that ate human flesh, and about Atlantis, the continent submerged under the sea. He was a good storyteller, and he had his audience enthralled. During the weekend, Bonku Babu went to the lawyer, Sripati Majumdar’s house, to spend the evenings with other regulars. On a number of occasions, he had come back thinking, "Enough, never again!" The reason was simply that he could put up with the pranks played by the boys in his school, but when grown, even middle-aged men started making fun of him, it became too much to bear. At these meetings that Sripati Babu hosted in the evenings, nearly everyone poked fun at Bonku Babu, sometimes bringing his endurance to breaking point. Only the other day, less than two months ago, they were talking about ghosts. Usually, Bonku Babu kept his mouth shut. That day, for some unknown reason, he opened it and declared that he was not afraid of ghosts. That was all. — From ‘Bonku Babu’s Friend’ by Satyajit Ray
What happened on the night of Kali Puja?
Topic: Comprehension — factual detail
Try it
Pick an option and check your answer. The full worked answer is below either way.
Answer
(c) The boys lit a chasing rocket and set it off to chase him..
The passage is precise: "on the night of Kali Puja, they lit a ‘chasing rocket’ and set it off to chase him."
Option (a) is the trap because it is PARTIALLY true — a chasing rocket is a firework — but it is too vague and leaves out the whole point, which is that the rocket was aimed at him. When two options are both defensible, choose the one that is more SPECIFIC and closer to the words of the passage.
Option (b) describes a different prank, done on ordinary days rather than at Kali Puja. Note how the question ties the event to a particular occasion.
The boys lit a chasing rocket and set it off to chase him..