Read the excerpt and answer the questions that follow. A Journal of the Plague Year It was about the beginning of September, 1664, that I, among the rest of my neighbours, heard in ordinary discourse that the plague was returned again in Holland; for it had been very violent there, and particularly at Amsterdam and Rotterdam, in the year 1663, whither, they say, it was brought, some said from Italy, others from the Levant, among some goods which were brought home by their Turkey fleet; others said it was brought from Candia; others from Cyprus. It mattered not from whence it came; but all agreed it was come into Holland again. We had no such thing as printed newspapers in those days to spread rumours and reports of things, and to improve them by the invention of men, as I have lived to see practiced since. But such things as these were gathered from the letters of merchants and others who corresponded abroad, and from them were handed about by word of mouth only; so that things did not spread instantly over the whole nation, as they do now. But it seems that the Government had a true account of it, and several councils were held about ways to prevent its coming over; but all was kept very private. Hence, it was that this rumour died off again, and people began to forget it as a thing we were very little concerned in, and that we hoped was not true; till the latter end of November or the beginning of December 1664 when two men, said to be Frenchmen, died of the plague in Long Acre, or rather at the upper end of Drury Lane. The family they were in endeavoured to conceal it as much as possible, but as it had gotten some vent in the discourse of the neighbourhood, the Secretaries of State got knowledge of it; and concerning themselves to inquire about it, in order to be certain of the truth, two physicians and a surgeon were ordered to go to the house and make inspection. This they did; and finding evident tokens of the sickness upon both the bodies that were dead, they gave their opinions publicly that they died of the plague. Whereupon, it was given in to the parish clerk, and he also returned them to the Hall; and it was printed in the weekly bill of mortality in the usual manner, thus — Plague 2. Parishes infected 1. Q.1. The above passage is written in the English that was prevalent in the eighteenth century. Find some words and phrases from the text which seem different as compared to the English language usage at present. List them and find an appropriate substitute for each. Look at the example given below: Example: whence—when Q.2. Answer the following questions: (a) What is being talked about in the first paragraph of Daniel Defoe’s journal? (b) How was news about important events circulated during those days? (c) Why did the rumour about the plague die off? (d) How was the news about the plague confirmed? Q.3. Tick the correct answer. ‘… the weekly bill of mortality’ means: (a) The weekly payment of dues (b) The weekly news about the deaths (c) The statement about the hospital expenditure issued every week (d) The list which was issued weekly, of persons who died due to plague
Answers
Reading Comprehension
1. Archaic words are words that are almost obsolete in their usage in the current terms. In the given passage some of the archaic words are :
discourse, currently it is replaced by conversation
gotten-got
whither-whereto
whence-where
2.a) In the first paragraph the return of plague in Holland is being discussed.
b) News about important events were circulated during those days through the letters of the merchants and all those who traded abroad.
It was from them that the news were handed about by word of mouth.
c) The rumours died off as there were no newspapers in those days to spread the rumour. Further, the Government had a true account of it, and several councils were held about ways to prevent its coming over; but all was kept very private.
d) The truth of the death through Plague was confirmed by the Secretaries of State. To be certain of the truth, two physicians and a surgeon were ordered to go to the house and make an inspection. Based on their confirmation the parish clerk was informed who returned them to the Hall and it was printed in the weekly bill of mortality.
3. (d) The list which was issued weekly, of persons who died due to plague.
Bills of mortality were special issuances that were produced intermittently in the several parishes of the City of London during the outbreaks of plague.
Answer:
1. Archaic words are words that are almost obsolete in their usage in the current terms. In the given passage some of the archaic words are :
discourse, currently it is replaced by conversation
gotten-got
whither-whereto
whence-where
2.a) In the first paragraph the return of plague in Holland is being discussed.
b) News about important events were circulated during those days through the letters of the merchants and all those who traded abroad.
It was from them that the news were handed about by word of mouth.
c) The rumours died off as there were no newspapers in those days to spread the rumour. Further, the Government had a true account of it, and several councils were held about ways to prevent its coming over; but all was kept very private.
d) The truth of the death through Plague was confirmed by the Secretaries of State. To be certain of the truth, two physicians and a surgeon were ordered to go to the house and make an inspection. Based on their confirmation the parish clerk was informed who returned them to the Hall and it was printed in the weekly bill of mortality.
3. (d) The list which was issued weekly, of persons who died due to plague.
Bills of mortality were special issuances that were produced intermittently in the several parishes of the City of London during the outbreaks of plague