His letter became the gospel of the family. It was read on the slightest pretext and it was
shown to everybody. Thousands of schemes were planned on the strength of his expected return.
One day, following the wedding of one of my sisters, all of us took a trip to America.
At a distance on the deck, an old ragged sailor was opening oysters with his knife and
passing them to some gentlemen. He was dirty, wrinkled and didn’t lift his eyes from his work.
Both my sister and my brother-in-law, gathered around the old man to buy some oysters. My
father suddenly appeared to be worried and said in a low voice, “It’s strange that the man opening
the oysters look like Jules.”
My father enquired from the captain, who confirmed that it was indeed Jules, my Uncle
Jules. My father murmured: “What a catastrophe!” My parents were visibly upset and it was
decided that in my brother-in-law’s presence none of us would acknowledge Uncle Jules as our
family member. It would be such a shame if we did. I was given five francs to pay for the oysters
my sisters had bought. As Jules returned the change, I gave him a generous tip, carefully
observing him all the time.
As we approached the harbour, a violent desire seized me to see my legendary uncle who
had fallen from grace. I wanted to say something consoling him, something tender but by then no
one was eating any more oysters and he had disappeared.
(a) Give the meaning of each of the passage. One word answers or short phrases will be
accepted.
(i) Subsidised (line no. 2)
(ii) Swallowed (line no. 6)
(iii) Seized (line no. 26)
(b) Answer the following questions briefly in your own words.
(i) What kind of life did the narrator’s family lead?
(ii) What damage did Uncle Jules do to the family?
(iii) How did the family react to the expected return of Uncle Jules?
(iv) State the circumstances that led to the recognition of Uncle Jules on the ship?
(v) How did the narrator’s parents react after recognizing Jules? Why?
(vi) How can you conclude from the passage that the narrator had sympathy for Uncle
Jules?
(c) In not more than 60 words narrate how the great hopes of the family were shattered at the
end.
Answers
Answer:
His letter became the gospel of the family. It was read on the slightest pretext and it was
shown to everybody. Thousands of schemes were planned on the strength of his expected return.
One day, following the wedding of one of my sisters, all of us took a trip to America.
At a distance on the deck, an old ragged sailor was opening oysters with his knife and
passing them to some gentlemen. He was dirty, wrinkled and didn’t lift his eyes from his work.
Both my sister and my brother-in-law, gathered around the old man to buy some oysters. My
father suddenly appeared to be worried and said in a low voice, “It’s strange that the man opening
the oysters look like Jules.”
My father enquired from the captain, who confirmed that it was indeed Jules, my Uncle
Jules. My father murmured: “What a catastrophe!” My parents were visibly upset and it was
decided that in my brother-in-law’s presence none of us would acknowledge Uncle Jules as our
family member. It would be such a shame if we did. I was given five francs to pay for the oysters
my sisters had bought. As Jules returned the change, I gave him a generous tip, carefully
observing him all the time.
As we approached the harbour, a violent desire seized me to see my legendary uncle who
had fallen from grace. I wanted to say something consoling him, something tender but by then no
one was eating any more oysters and he had disappeared.
(a) Give the meaning of each of the passage. One word answers or short phrases will be
accepted.
(i) Subsidised (line no. 2)
(ii) Swallowed (line no. 6)
(iii) Seized (line no. 26)
(b) Answer the following questions briefly in your own words.
(i) What kind of life did the narrator’s family lead?
(ii) What damage did Uncle Jules do to the family?
(iii) How did the family react to the expected return of Uncle Jules?
(iv) State the circumstances that led to the recognition of Uncle Jules on the ship?
(v) How did the narrator’s parents react after recognizing Jules? Why?
(vi) How can you conclude from the passage that the narrator had sympathy for Uncle
Jules?
(c) In not more than 60 words narrate how the great hopes of the family were shattered at the
end.