Seventeen Oranges
by Bill Naughton
TEXTUAL: IN – TEXT QUESTIONS:
A. Where did the narrator work?
Ans: The narrator worked at the Swift Delivery Company.
B. What was the narrator’s job in the docks?
Ans: The narrator’s job was to drive a little pony-and-cart in and out of the docks.
C. What was Clem Jones carrying in the box?
Ans: Clem Jones was carrying a cat in the box.
D. What happened when the box was opened?
Ans: When the box was opened, a ship’s cat jumped out and ran back into the docks.
E. Did the narrator believe Clem’s story?
Ans: The narrator believed Clem’s story.
F. What was the narrator carrying in his pockets?
Ans: The narrator was carrying seventeen oranges in his pockets.
G. Who is Pongo?
Ans: Pongo is a policeman.
H. Why did Pongo want to bring another policeman?
Ans: Pongo wanted to bring another policeman to get a witness for the case.
I. What did the voice in the narrator’s head tell him to do?
Ans: The voice in the head told him to eat all the seventeen oranges.
J. Why did the policemen arrive a little late to the cabin?
Ans: The policemen had seen some carts at the dock gate. They went and talked to the drivers.
K. What did the narrator do with the pips and peels?
Ans: He swallowed the pips and the peels.
TEXTUAL: BOOK-BACK QUESTIONS:
A. From your reading of the text, choose the correct answers from the options given below:
1. The narrator was very fond of _______.
(a) reading detective stories.
(b) driving a pony-and-cart.
(c) eating oranges
(d) munching away at something.
2. The narrator was searched by the policeman, because______.
(a) the oranges could be smelt.
(b) he was singing songs.
(c) he was carrying a box.
(d) his pockets were bulging.
3. The narrator kept his mouth shut when questioned by Pongo, because _____ .
(a) anything said would be held as evidence against him.
(b) the oranges would fall out.
(c) he did not steal the oranges
(d) he was scared of Pongo.
4. The voice in the narrator’s head advised him to ____ .
(a) confess the truth to Pongo.
(b) eat all the oranges.
(c) deny his guilt.
(d) hide all the oranges
5. Pongo found no trace of the oranges on the table, because_______.
(a) Pongo’s mate had stolen them.
(b) all the oranges were sold
(c) the narrator’s had eaten them all.
(d) they disappeared mysteriously.
ANSWER:
1. eating oranges.
2. his pockets were bulging.
3. anything said would be held as evidence against him.
4. eat all the oranges.
5. the narrator’s had eaten them all.
B. Answer the following questions briefly in one or two sentences:
1. Why did the narrator call Clem Jones a careful planner?
Ans: Clem Jones planned a theft carefully and executed it well.
2. What was Clem Jones carrying in the box during his second attempt?
Ans: Clem Jones was carrying a large Dutch cheese in the box during his second attempt.
3. Why did the policeman suspect the narrator?
Ans: The police man caught the narrator red-handed because the string of the narrator’s aporn broke and the cop noticed that the narrator’s pockets were bulging.
4. What did Pongo consider as evidence against the narrator?
Ans: The policeman considered the seventeen oranges as evidence against the narrator.
5. How did the narrator feel when he was alone in Pongo’s cabin?
Ans: When the narrator was locked in the cabin, he lost hope in life and felt afraid that he would lose his job.
6. What did the narrator do to get rid of the evidence?
Ans: The narrator ate all the oranges to get rid of the evidence.
7. What did Pongo do when he found no oranges on the table?
Ans: Pongo looked everywhere for oranges. He looked in the narrator’s pockets and in his apron. He became angry and shouted at the narrator.
8. Why were the policemen not able to bring any charges against the narrator?
Ans: As there was no evidence left against the narrator, the policemen were not able to bring any charges against the narrator.
9. How did the narrator feel after eating seventeen oranges?
Ans: The narrator felt sick for a week and the oranges kept working away in his stomach.
10. What happened to the narrator’s to love for oranges after the incident?
Ans: He was never crazy for oranges after that incident.
TEXTUAL: PARAGRAPH QUESTIONS:
C. Answer the following in about 80 – 100 words.
1. Narrate the clever strategy followed by Clem Jones to deceive Pongo?
Ans: Clem Jones was one of the narrator’s friends who worked with him at the dock. Clem was amazingly smart about stealing things from the docks and boats that he easily fooled the policemen with his great cunningness. Once, he carried a box and came out of the docks. The cop Pongo stopped him and investigated about the box. Clem told that it had a cat. The cop insisted on opening it. When Clem did so, a ship’s cat jumped off and escaped into the docks. When Clem Jones returned with the box of cheese, he looked angrily at the policeman Pongo to make the policeman feel guilty of his previous act of opening the box, in which the cat was kept inside. By making Pongo feel guilty, Clem was able to avoid any security check and thus was able to steal a large Dutch Cheese.
2. Describe the confrontation between the narrator and Pongo?
Ans: The narrator used to work at a shipyard, carrying fruits and other goods to the docks in his pony cart. The narrator loved oranges so much that he could eat a number of oranges without a break for hours. The narrator was once caught with his seventeen oranges because his apron string broke and a policeman looked into the narrator’s pockets and found there were seventeen oranges. Pongo wanted to set an example for the rest of the employees at the dock of the necessity of being honest and of the dire consequences of stealing anything from the dock. When the narrator was locked in the cabin, he lost hope in life, felt afraid that he would lose his job. The narrator ate all the oranges to get rid of the evidence. Pongo looked everywhere for the oranges. He looked in the narrator’s pockets and in his apron. As there was no evidence left against the narrator, the policemen were not able to bring any changes against the narrator. He felt sick for a week and those oranges kept working away his stomach.
VOCABULARY:
D. Find the Synonyms for the underlined words:
1. The voice in his head asked the narrator to eat the evidence.
(a) proof (b) contradict (c) disprove (d) refute
2. Clem looked at Pongo furiously.
(a) politely (b) gently (c) angrily (d) calmly
3. When Pongo caught the narrator with the oranges, he was very frightened.
(a) undaunted (b) afraid (c) valiant (d) brave
4. The narrator was quiet, when Pongo questioned him.
(a) calm (b) noisy (c) silent (d) agitated
5. The narrator was in trouble because he took the oranges.
(a) peace (b) difficulty (c) harmony (d) comfort
ANSWER:
1. proof
2. angrily
3. afraid
4. silent
5. difficulty
E. Find the antonyms for the underlined words in the following sentences:
1. Seventeen oranges were hidden in the narrator’s pockets.
(a) exposed (b) masked
(c) concealed (d) buried
2. Clem Jones was ordered to open the box.
(a) prepared (b) arranged
(c) forced (d) requested
3. Pongo locked the narrator inside the cabin.
(a) closed (b) sealed
(c) released (d) chocked
4. Pongo carefully searched the narrator’s pockets.
(a) attentively (b) carelessly
(c) cautiously (d) strictly
5. The narrator of the story felt very sick for a week.
(a) healthy (b) disordered
(c) feeble (d) unhealthy
ANSWER:
1. exposed
2. requested
3. re;eased
4. carelessly
5. healthy
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| Samacheer Kalvi 9th English Seventeen Oranges Unit 4 Prose Question and Answer |
