Q1. [5]
Tricki was tottering along in his little tweed coat.... He struggled on, drooping in his harness. I thought it wouldn't be long before I heard from Mrs. Pumphrey. The expected call came within a few days. Mrs. Pumphrey was distraught. Tricki would eat nothing. Refused even his favourite dishes; and besides, he had bouts of vomiting. He spent all his time lying on a rug, panting. Didn't want to go for walks, didn't want to do anything. I had made my plans in advance. The only way was to get Tricki out of the house for a period. I suggested that he be hospitalized for about a fortnight to be kept under observation. The poor lady almost swooned. She was sure he would pine and die if he did not see her every day. But I took a firm line. Tricki was very ill and this was the only way to save him.
Read the following extracts and answer the questions for any one of the given two, (a) or (b):
- (i) Why had the author made his plans in advance? [1]
- (A) Mrs. Pumphrey was worried that Tricki would pine and die without her.
- (B) The author was aware of the severity of Tricki's medical condition.
- (C) The author knew about Mrs. Pumphrey's financial condition.
- (D) The author had planned his own vacation.
- (ii) The author firmly proposed the need to remove Tricki from the house for a specified period. Elaborate the reason for doing so in about 40 words. [2]
- (iii) Fill in the blank with the correct word from the brackets.
The word 'swooned' in the following sentence indicates almost ________ (tripped/fainted). [1]
- (iv) "Mrs. Pumphrey was distraught." What does this suggest about her character? Mention any one reason. [1]
Previously asked in CBSE board exam
2025 2/2/1 Q6 (b)
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-15 07:09 · grounding stimulus+chapter
Model Answer
(i) (B) The author was aware of the severity of Tricki's medical condition.
(ii) The author could see that Tricki was already in poor health — he was drooping, vomiting, refusing food, and lying panting all day. He knew that Mrs. Pumphrey's excessive pampering was the root cause, so removing Tricki from that environment was the only way to help him recover properly.
(iii) The word 'swooned' indicates almost fainted.
(iv) "Mrs. Pumphrey was distraught" suggests that she was an extremely over-protective and emotionally dependent owner. She was so deeply attached to Tricki that even his refusal to eat caused her intense distress, showing her excessive, almost irrational concern for the dog.
Source: A Triumph of Surgery, Chapter 1
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Explanation
- (i) The extract says the author had already anticipated the call and planned accordingly, based on observing Tricki's deteriorating condition — not financial or personal reasons.
- (ii) 2-mark answers need cause + justification. Link Mrs. Pumphrey's pampering to Tricki's illness, then state why removal was necessary.
- (iii) 'Swooned' = fainted. It's a direct vocabulary question; pick from the bracket.
- (iv) 1-mark = one clear character trait with one supporting reason. Don't over-explain.
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