A Baker from Goa - Textual Comprehension

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A Baker from Goa - Reading Comprehension

 Reading Comprehension 1

OUR elders are often heard reminiscing nostalgically about those good old Portuguese days, the Portuguese and their famous loaves of bread. Those eaters of loaves might have vanished but the makers are still there. We still have amongst us the mixers, the moulders and those who bake the loaves. Those age-old, timetested furnaces still exist. The fire in the furnaces has not yet been extinguished. The thud and jingle of the traditional baker’s bamboo, heralding his arrival in the morning, can still be heard in some places. Maybe the father is not alive but the son still carries on the family profession. These bakers are, even today, known as pader in Goa.

1. What aspect of Portuguese culture is nostalgically remembered in the text?

A) The traditional dances

B) The famous loaves of bread

C) The famous explorers

D) The local music styles

2. What is the current status of the traditional bakers in Goa?

A) The bakers now focus on making pastries

B) The bakers have all moved to Portugal

C) The craft has completely disappeared

D) The bakers are still present and practicing their craft

3. Which sound is traditionally associated with the baker's arrival in the morning?

A) The whistle of the tea kettle

B) The ring of a church bell

C) The crow of a rooster

D) The thud and jingle of the baker's bamboo

4. The traditional baker's bamboo, which signifies the baker's arrival, can still be heard in some places. Say True or False.

5. In Goa, bakers are no longer known as 'pader'. Say True or False.

 Reading Comprehension 2

     During our childhood in Goa, the baker used to be our friend, companion and guide. He used to come at least twice a day. Once, when he set out in the morning on his selling round, and then again, when he returned after emptying his huge basket. The jingling thud of his bamboo woke us up from sleep and we ran to meet and greet him. Why was it so? Was it for the love of the loaf? Not at all. The loaves were bought by some Paskine or Bastine, the maid-servant of the house! What we longed for were those bread-bangles which we chose carefully. Sometimes it was sweet bread of a special kind.

      The baker made his musical entry on the scene with the ‘jhang, jhang—sound of his specially made bamboo staff. One hand supported the basket on his head and the other banged the bamboo on the ground. He would greet the lady of the house with a “Good morning” and then place his basket on the vertical bamboo. We kids would be pushed aside with a mild rebuke and the loaves would be delivered to the servant. But we would not give up. We would climb a bench or the parapet and peep into the basket, somehow. I can still recall the typical fragrance of those loaves; loaves for the elders and the bangles for the children. Then we did not even care to brush our teeth or wash our mouths properly. And why should we? Who would take the trouble of plucking the mango leaf for the toothbrush? And why was it necessary at all? The tiger never brushed his teeth. Hot tea could wash and clean up everything so nicely, after all!

1. What did the children in Goa long for from the baker?

  A. Loaves

  B. Bread-bangles

  C. Biscuits

  D. Cakes

2. Why did the children not care to brush their teeth after eating the bread-bangles?

   A. They were too lazy.

   B. They believed hot tea could clean their teeth.

   C. Their parents didn't allow them.

   D. They didn't have a toothbrush.

True or False:

3. The baker used to visit the house twice a day. 

4. The children preferred loaves to bread-bangles.

 Reading Comprehension 3

     Marriage gifts are meaningless without the sweet bread known as the bol, just as a party or a feast loses its charm without bread. Not enough can be said to show how important a baker can be for a village. The lady of the house must prepare sandwiches on the occasion of her daughter’s engagement. Cakes and bolinhas are a must for Christmas as well as other festivals. Thus, the presence of the baker’s furnace in the village is absolutely essential.

      The baker or bread-seller of those days had a peculiar dress known as the kabai. It was a singlepiece long frock reaching down to the knees. In our childhood we saw bakers wearing a shirt and trousers which were shorter than full-length ones and longer than half pants. Even today, anyone who wears a half pant which reaches just below the knees invites the comment that he is dressed like a pader!

 True or False:

1. The bol is a type of sweet bread.

2. Cakes and bolinhas are not essential for Christmas and other festivals.

3. The baker's furnace is not important for a village.

4. The baker's dress was known as the kabai.

 

 Reading Comprehension 4

     The baker usually collected his bills at the end of the month. Monthly accounts used to be recorded on some wall in pencil. Baking was indeed a profitable profession in the old days. The baker and his family never starved. He, his family and his servants always looked happy and prosperous. Their plump physique was an open testimony to this. Even today any person with a jackfruit-like physical appearance is easily compared to a baker.

 True or False:

1. The baker collected his bills at the beginning of the month.

    

2. Baking was a profitable profession in the old days.

    

3.The baker and his family often starved.