Whim: Sudden desire | सनक (Sanak) | ಚಪಲ / ದಿಢೀರ್ ಬಯಕೆ
Quaint: Fanciful/unusual attraction | अनोखा (Anokha) | ವಿಚಿತ್ರವಾದರೂ ಆಕರ್ಷಕ
Linger: Stay longer than expected | दे र तक रुकना (Der tak rukna) | ಸುಳಿದಾಡು / ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಕಾಲ ಉಳಿಯುವುದು
Ply: Read or study diligently | अध्ययन करना (Adhyayan karna) | ಶ್ರದ್ಧೆಯಿಂದ ಅಭ್ಯಾಸ ಮಾಡು
Moving Finger: Fate or destiny | भाग्य / नियति (Niyati) | ಹಣೆಬರಹ / ವಿಧಿ
Aerial messenger: God’s messenger | दे वदूत (Devdoot) | ದೇವದೂತ
Exalted: Feel delighted or elated | प्रफुल्लित (Prafullit) | ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಆನಂದಿತ
Jostle: Push roughly against | धक्का-मुक्की करना (Dhakka-mukki) | ತಳ್ಳಾಟ ಮಾಡು / ನೂಕುನುಗ್ಗಲು
Bustling: Moving in a hurried way | हलचल से भरा (Halchal se bhara) | ಗಿಜಿಗುಡುವ
Absently: Without concentrating | ध्यान दिए बिना (Dhyan diye bina) | ಪರಾಕಾಗಿ / ಗಮನವಿಲ್ಲದೆ
II. COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (PART A)
1. “The man indulged in mad whims.” Who considers the man’s work as “mad whims?”
Options: a) The man himself, b) the writer, c) the people in workers’ paradise
Answer: b) the writer
2. Explain the comparison in para 3.
Answer:
o a) “Some boys” compared to the idle man (the artist).
o b) “They are not studying” compared to the artist wasting his time on useless, non-productive tasks instead
of formal labor.
, o c) “Yet passing in the test” compared to the artist mistakenly entering heaven (Workers' Paradise).
3. When the men say “We haven’t a moment to spare” (paragraph 6) it means that
Options: a) they are over-burdened with their work, b) they are happy and proud to be so busy, c) they are
indifferent
Answer: b) they are happy and proud to be so busy
4. Why is the torrent in the workers' paradise silent?
Answer: The torrent is silent because it does not want to waste its energy singing or making unnecessary noise
when it could otherwise flow efficiently without distractions.
5. “The girl’s hair was carelessly done.” (paragraph 9) This indicates that
Options: a) she was interested only in her work, b) she did not like to dress her hair properly, c) she was
unaware of any sense of dressing
Answer: a) she was interested only in her work
6. Why did the “girl of the silent torrent” feel sorry for the man?
Answer: She felt sorry for him because she saw that he had no productive work to do and was standing around
completely idle, looking like a lonely beggar.
7. “The girl scanned the painted pot at home secretly.” (paragraph 27) This line indicates that
Options: a) the girl was impressed by art and beauty, b) the girl did not want the artist to know that she was
impressed by his work, c) the girl was afraid of the elders’ rebuke for wasting her time
Answer: b) the girl did not want the artist to know that she was impressed by his work.
8. “The hurrying feet” of the girl became “less hurried” because
Options: a. she became lazy like the man, b. she was attracted by art, c. she was trying to re-arrange priorities, d.
the meaningless was slowly becoming meaningful
Answer: d. the meaningless was slowly becoming meaningful
9. Why did the elders of the Workers’ Paradise become anxious?
Answer: They became anxious because the community's overall productivity began to drop. Active workers
were abandoning their regular tasks to copy the artist, spending hours on non-utilitarian pastimes like painting
and sculpture.
10. The girl follows the man out of the Workers’ Paradise. This suggests that the girl
Options: a. was bored with workers’ paradise, b. was fascinated with the man’s skill in painting, c. saw new
possibilities open-up before her
Answer: c. saw new possibilities open-up before her
11. What does the line “the man never believed in mere utility” mean?
Answer: It means the artist prioritized creative expression, mental joy, and natural beauty over things that
merely serve a functional or materialistic survival purpose.
12. What changes occur in the girl’s behaviour/attitude at the following stages in the story:
Answer:
o a. Before she agreed to give her pitcher: She was irritated, defensive, and dismissed him since she believed art
was a complete waste of precious working time.
o b. After she gave her pitcher: She was deeply puzzled by the abstract patterns and spent hours examining them
in secret, feeling a novel, purposeless joy.
o c. When the wrong man offered to make ribbons: She became highly distracted from her chores, willingly
spending a vast amount of time doing her hair and letting her actual work drop behind schedule.
o d. When she followed the wrong man out: She abandoned the rigid, labor-only mindset entirely, choosing a
life enriched by freedom and aesthetics over absolute societal conformity.
13. At the end of the story, there is a complete change in the girl’s attitude to life. Who should the credit go
to? (Is it to the idler–artist’s ability to impact others? or is it the girl’s readiness and the open–mindedness
to change?)
Quaint: Fanciful/unusual attraction | अनोखा (Anokha) | ವಿಚಿತ್ರವಾದರೂ ಆಕರ್ಷಕ
Linger: Stay longer than expected | दे र तक रुकना (Der tak rukna) | ಸುಳಿದಾಡು / ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಕಾಲ ಉಳಿಯುವುದು
Ply: Read or study diligently | अध्ययन करना (Adhyayan karna) | ಶ್ರದ್ಧೆಯಿಂದ ಅಭ್ಯಾಸ ಮಾಡು
Moving Finger: Fate or destiny | भाग्य / नियति (Niyati) | ಹಣೆಬರಹ / ವಿಧಿ
Aerial messenger: God’s messenger | दे वदूत (Devdoot) | ದೇವದೂತ
Exalted: Feel delighted or elated | प्रफुल्लित (Prafullit) | ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಆನಂದಿತ
Jostle: Push roughly against | धक्का-मुक्की करना (Dhakka-mukki) | ತಳ್ಳಾಟ ಮಾಡು / ನೂಕುನುಗ್ಗಲು
Bustling: Moving in a hurried way | हलचल से भरा (Halchal se bhara) | ಗಿಜಿಗುಡುವ
Absently: Without concentrating | ध्यान दिए बिना (Dhyan diye bina) | ಪರಾಕಾಗಿ / ಗಮನವಿಲ್ಲದೆ
II. COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (PART A)
1. “The man indulged in mad whims.” Who considers the man’s work as “mad whims?”
Options: a) The man himself, b) the writer, c) the people in workers’ paradise
Answer: b) the writer
2. Explain the comparison in para 3.
Answer:
o a) “Some boys” compared to the idle man (the artist).
o b) “They are not studying” compared to the artist wasting his time on useless, non-productive tasks instead
of formal labor.
, o c) “Yet passing in the test” compared to the artist mistakenly entering heaven (Workers' Paradise).
3. When the men say “We haven’t a moment to spare” (paragraph 6) it means that
Options: a) they are over-burdened with their work, b) they are happy and proud to be so busy, c) they are
indifferent
Answer: b) they are happy and proud to be so busy
4. Why is the torrent in the workers' paradise silent?
Answer: The torrent is silent because it does not want to waste its energy singing or making unnecessary noise
when it could otherwise flow efficiently without distractions.
5. “The girl’s hair was carelessly done.” (paragraph 9) This indicates that
Options: a) she was interested only in her work, b) she did not like to dress her hair properly, c) she was
unaware of any sense of dressing
Answer: a) she was interested only in her work
6. Why did the “girl of the silent torrent” feel sorry for the man?
Answer: She felt sorry for him because she saw that he had no productive work to do and was standing around
completely idle, looking like a lonely beggar.
7. “The girl scanned the painted pot at home secretly.” (paragraph 27) This line indicates that
Options: a) the girl was impressed by art and beauty, b) the girl did not want the artist to know that she was
impressed by his work, c) the girl was afraid of the elders’ rebuke for wasting her time
Answer: b) the girl did not want the artist to know that she was impressed by his work.
8. “The hurrying feet” of the girl became “less hurried” because
Options: a. she became lazy like the man, b. she was attracted by art, c. she was trying to re-arrange priorities, d.
the meaningless was slowly becoming meaningful
Answer: d. the meaningless was slowly becoming meaningful
9. Why did the elders of the Workers’ Paradise become anxious?
Answer: They became anxious because the community's overall productivity began to drop. Active workers
were abandoning their regular tasks to copy the artist, spending hours on non-utilitarian pastimes like painting
and sculpture.
10. The girl follows the man out of the Workers’ Paradise. This suggests that the girl
Options: a. was bored with workers’ paradise, b. was fascinated with the man’s skill in painting, c. saw new
possibilities open-up before her
Answer: c. saw new possibilities open-up before her
11. What does the line “the man never believed in mere utility” mean?
Answer: It means the artist prioritized creative expression, mental joy, and natural beauty over things that
merely serve a functional or materialistic survival purpose.
12. What changes occur in the girl’s behaviour/attitude at the following stages in the story:
Answer:
o a. Before she agreed to give her pitcher: She was irritated, defensive, and dismissed him since she believed art
was a complete waste of precious working time.
o b. After she gave her pitcher: She was deeply puzzled by the abstract patterns and spent hours examining them
in secret, feeling a novel, purposeless joy.
o c. When the wrong man offered to make ribbons: She became highly distracted from her chores, willingly
spending a vast amount of time doing her hair and letting her actual work drop behind schedule.
o d. When she followed the wrong man out: She abandoned the rigid, labor-only mindset entirely, choosing a
life enriched by freedom and aesthetics over absolute societal conformity.
13. At the end of the story, there is a complete change in the girl’s attitude to life. Who should the credit go
to? (Is it to the idler–artist’s ability to impact others? or is it the girl’s readiness and the open–mindedness
to change?)
