Question

Read the following passage and do the activities:    [5]

A1. Say whether true or false:     [2]

1. Mother was thankful that God spared her children.
2. The holy man was able to tame the poison with his medicines.

More candles, more lanterns, more neighbours, more insects, and the endless rain. My mother twisted through and through, groaning on a mat. My father, sceptic, rationalist, trying every curse and blessing, powder, mixture, herb and hybrid. He even poured a little paraffin upon the bitten toe and put a match to it. I watched the flame feeding on my mother. I watched the holy man perform his rites to tame the poison with an incantation. After twenty hours

A2. What efforts did the father undertake to ease the pain of scorpion sting?     [2]

A3. Name and explain the figure of speech:     [1]
‘My mother twisted through and through’

Answer 1

A1. 

1. This statement is true.
2. This statement is false.
   Explanation:
   He tried to tame it with an incantation or rituals, not medicines.

A2. The father, described as a sceptic and a rationalist, abandoned his usual logic and tried everything to help his wife. He used a variety of traditional and experimental methods, including:

• Using curses and blessings.
• Applying powders, mixtures, and herbs.
• Pouring paraffin on the bitten toe and setting it on fire in an attempt to burn out the poison.

A3. Figure of Speech: Repetition

Explanation: The phrase “through and through” is repeated to emphasise the intensity and continuous nature of the mother’s physical agony and restlessness as she writhed in pain on the mat.