The Little Girl - Reading Comprehension

 AP/ NCERT Board-Based Reading Comprehension Passages Grade 9 Beehive 

Chapter 3 The Little Girl

Reading Comprehension 1

 TO the little girl he was a figure to be feared and avoided. Every morning before going to work he came into her room and gave her a casual kiss, to which she responded with “Goodbye, Father”. And oh, there was a glad sense of relief when she heard the noise of the carriage growing fainter and fainter down the long road!

     In the evening when he came home she stood near the staircase and heard his loud voice in the hall. “Bring my tea into the drawing-room... Hasn’t the paper come yet? Mother, go and see if my paper’s out there — and bring me my slippers.”

 

 “Kezia,” Mother would call to her, “if you’re a good girl you can come down and take off father’s boots.” Slowly the girl would slip down the stairs, more slowly still across the hall, and push open the drawing-room door.

     By that time he had his spectacles on and looked at her over them in a way that was terrifying to the little girl.

     “Well, Kezia, hurry up and pull off these boots and take them outside. Have you been a good girl today?”

     “I d-d-don’t know, Father.”

     “You d-d-don’t know? If you stutter like that Mother will have to take you to the doctor.”

1. How does the little girl feel about her father's morning routine?

   

   a) She looks forward to it with excitement.

   b) She is indifferent to it.

   c) She is afraid of it and relieved when he leaves.

   d) She eagerly waits for his return.

 2. What does the little girl do when her father comes home in the evening?

   

   a) She greets him with enthusiasm.

   b) She rushes to take off his boots.

   c) She hides from him.

   d) She ignores him.

3. How does the father react when the little girl stutters while talking to him?

   

   a) He laughs and pats her on the back.

   b) He scolds her and threatens to take her to the doctor.

   c) He doesn't pay attention to her stutter.

   d) He becomes more patient and understanding.

 4. What is the little girl's attitude towards her father's presence?

   

   a) She adores him.

   b) She fears him and avoids him.

   c) She eagerly seeks his attention.

   d) She is always excited to see him.

  5. How does the father interact with his daughter when he arrives home?

   

   a) He warmly embraces her.

   b) He asks her about her day.

   c) He gives her instructions and questions her.

   d) He ignores her presence.

Reading Comprehension 2

 On Sunday afternoons Grandmother sent her down to the drawing-room to have a “nice talk with Father and Mother”. But the little girl always found Mother reading and Father stretched out on the sofa, his handkerchief on his face, his feet on one of the best cushions, sleeping soundly and snoring.

     She sat on a stool, gravely watched him until he woke and stretched, and asked the time — then looked at her.

     “Don’t stare so, Kezia. You look like a little brown owl.”

     One day, when she was kept indoors with a cold, her grandmother told her that father’s birthday was next week, and suggested she should make him a pin-cushion for a gift out of a beautiful piece of yellow silk.

1. What is the little girl's usual task on Sunday afternoons?

   a) Playing in the garden.

   b) Having a conversation with her parents.

   c) Attending church.

   d) Reading a book.

2. How does the father usually spend his time during these Sunday afternoons?

   a) Reading a book.

   b) Engaging in a "nice talk" with the little girl.

   c) Napping on the sofa.

   d) Going for a walk in the garden.

3. How does the little girl react when her father wakes up and notices her staring at him?

   a) She giggles and continues staring.

   b) She feels embarrassed and looks away.

   c) She starts a conversation with him.

   d) She offers him a snack.

4. What comment does the father make about the little girl's appearance during these moments?

   a) He compliments her on her dress.

   b) He compares her to an owl.

   c) He calls her a little angel.

   d) He tells her she looks like her mother.

5. What craft project is suggested by the grandmother for the father's upcoming birthday?

   a) Baking a cake.

   b) Making a pin-cushion out of yellow silk.

   c) Creating a photo album.

   d) Painting a portrait.

Reading Comprehension 3

 Laboriously, with a double cotton, the little girl stitched three sides. But what to fill it with? That was the question. The grandmother was out in the garden, and she wandered into Mother’s bedroom to look for scraps. On the bed-table she discovered a great many sheets of fine paper, gathered them up, tore them into tiny pieces, and stuffed her case, then sewed up the fourth side.

     That night there was a hue and cry in the house. Father’s great speech for the Port Authority had been lost. Rooms were searched; servants questioned. Finally Mother came into Kezia’s room.

     “Kezia, I suppose you didn’t see some papers on a table in our room?”

     “Oh yes,” she said, “I tore them up for my surprise.”

     “What!” screamed Mother. “Come straight down to the dining-room this instant.”

 

 And she was dragged down to where Father was pacing to and fro, hands behind his back.

     “Well?” he said sharply.

     Mother explained.

     He stopped and stared at the child.

     “Did you do that?”

     “N-n-no”, she whispered.

     “Mother, go up to her room and fetch down the damned thing — see that the child’s put to bed this instant.”

1. What did the little girl use to stitch three sides of her handmade case?

   a) Thread and needle

   b) Double cotton

   c) Colored yarn

   d) Glue

  2. How did the little girl fill her handmade case?

   a) With candy

   b) With fine paper

   c) With flowers

   d) With feathers

3. What important document was lost, causing a commotion in the house?

   a) A shopping list

   b) Father's great speech for the Port Authority

   c) A recipe book

   d) Mother's jewelry

4. How did Mother react when she found out that the little girl had torn up the papers?

   a) She laughed and hugged the little girl.

   b) She scolded the little girl and took her to Father.

   c) She didn't believe the little girl did it.

   d) She praised the little girl's creativity.

5. How did Father react when he learned about the torn papers?

   a) He was amused and forgave the little girl.

   b) He stared at the child without saying anything.

   c) He scolded the little girl harshly.

   d) He asked Mother to retrieve the torn papers.

Reading Comprehension 4

 The Macdonalds lived next door. They had five children. Looking through a gap in the fence the little girl saw them playing ‘tag’ in the evening. The father with the baby, Mao, on his shoulders, two little girls hanging on to his coat pockets ran round and round the flower-beds, shaking with laughter. Once she saw the boys turn the hose on him—and he tried to catch them laughing all the time.

     Then it was she decided there were different sorts of fathers.

     Suddenly, one day, Mother became ill, and she and Grandmother went to hospital.

     The little girl was left alone in the house with Alice, the cook. That was all right in the daytime, but while Alice was putting her to bed she grew suddenly afraid.

1. How many children did the Macdonalds, the neighbors, have?

   a) Three

   b) Four

   c) Five

   d) Six

 2. What game were the Macdonald children playing in the evening when the little girl observed them through the fence?

   a) Chess

   b) Tag

   c) Hide and seek

   d) Soccer

3. Who was carrying the baby, Mao, on their shoulders while playing 'tag'?

   a) The mother

   b) The little girl

   c) One of the Macdonald children

   d) The father

4. How did the boys play a prank on the father in the story?

   a) They turned the hose on him.

   b) They played a game of chess.

   c) They offered him a gift.

   d) They challenged him to a race.

 5. What realization did the little girl come to while observing the Macdonald family?

   a) She realized that all fathers were the same.

   b) She decided there were different sorts of fathers.

   c) She felt lonely without her own family.

   d) She became friends with the Macdonald children.

Reading Comprehension 5

“What’ll I do if I have a nightmare?” she asked. “I often have nightmares and then Grannie takes me into her bed—I can’t stay in the dark—it all gets ‘whispery’...”

     “You just go to sleep, child,” said Alice, pulling off her socks, “and don’t you scream and wake your poor Pa.”

     But the same old nightmare came — the butcher with a knife and a rope, who came nearer and nearer, smiling that dreadful smile, while she could not move, could only stand still, crying out, “Grandma! Grandma!” She woke shivering to see Father beside her bed, a candle in his hand.

     “What’s the matter?” he said.

 

 “Oh, a butcher — a knife — I want Grannie.” He blew out the candle, bent down and caught up the child in his arms, carrying her along the passage to the big bedroom. A newspaper was on the bed. He put away the paper, then carefully tucked up the child. He lay down beside her. Half asleep still, still with the butcher’s smile all about her it seemed, she crept close to him, snuggled her head under his arm, held tightly to his shirt.

     Then the dark did not matter; she lay still.

     “Here, rub your feet against my legs and get them warm,” said Father.

 

Tired out, he slept before the little girl. A funny feeling came over her. Poor Father, not so big, after all — and with no one to look after him. He was harder than Grandmother, but it was a nice hardness. And every day he had to work and was too tired to be a Mr Macdonald... She had torn up all his beautiful writing... She stirred suddenly, and sighed.

     “What’s the matter?” asked her father. “Another dream?”

     “Oh,” said the little girl, “my head’s on your heart. I can hear it going. What a big heart you’ve got, Father dear.”

1. What does the little girl often have, which makes her unable to stay in the dark?

   a) Nightmares

   b) Visitors

   c) Headaches

   d) Laughter

 2. Who does the little girl usually seek comfort from when she has a nightmare?

   a) Her father

   b) Alice, the cook

   c) Grannie

   d) The butcher

3. What does the little girl dream about in her recurring nightmare?

   a) A friendly baker

   b) A smiling butcher with a knife and a rope

   c) Her father playing with her

   d) Her favorite toys

4. How does the little girl react when she wakes up from her nightmare and sees her father beside her bed?

   a) She screams

   b) She laughs

   c) She snuggles close to him

   d) She runs to find Grannie

5. What realization does the little girl have about her father as she lies beside him?

   a) He is too strict

   b) He has a big heart

   c) He is a writer

   d) He doesn't care about her