5.3 Understanding the Text
Answer each question yourself first, then check the model answer.
A. Reading for details
1. Why was the old woman afraid to cross the street?
It was a cold winter day and the street was wet and slippery with snow. The old woman was frail and the road was busy with a hurrying crowd, so she was afraid she might fall or be unable to cross safely.
2. How did the crowd and the schoolboys treat her at first?
They ignored her. The crowd hurried past, busy with their own concerns, and even the happy group of schoolboys romping in the snow passed her by without offering any help.
3. What did the one kind boy do?
He stopped, spoke kindly to her, took her hand, and carefully helped her across the busy street, supporting her trembling steps until she reached the other side safely.
4. How did the old woman respond to the boy’s help?
She was grateful and blessed him, praying that God would be kind to such a noble boy, who must be some mother’s “pride and joy.”
B. Reading between the lines
5. Explain the line “Alone, uncared for, amid the throng.”
Although the old woman was surrounded by many people (“the throng”), no one cared for her or helped her. The line highlights the sad irony of feeling completely alone even in the middle of a crowd.
6. Why did the boy help the old woman?
He thought of his own mother, who was old and grey and lived far away. He helped this woman as he would want someone to help his own mother, hoping that kindness shown to a stranger would one day return to his loved ones.
7. What is ironic about the cheerful schoolboys passing her by?
The boys were happy, full of life, and carefree, yet their very cheerfulness made them blind to the suffering old woman beside them. Their innocent joy is contrasted with the one boy’s thoughtful kindness, reminding us that being happy is no excuse for being careless of others.
C. Thinking about values
8. What qualities does the kind boy show?
He shows kindness, compassion, courtesy, responsibility, and thoughtfulness. He also shows love for his own mother, which inspires his care for a stranger.
9. What lesson does the poem teach us?
It teaches us to be kind, compassionate, and respectful towards the elderly and the helpless. We should help those in need by remembering that every such person is somebody’s loved one, and that kindness given returns in kind.