Short Question Answers from Book -1 (Short Stories) (2017)
Q. 2. Write short answers to any six (in 3-5 lines) questions in words of your own 
from Book-1 (Short-Stories) 
1. What did Mr. Steward tell them about the push Button? 
Ans.    Mr.    Steward    told    Mr.    and    Mrs.    Arthur    Lewis    if  they    pushed    the    button, somewhere   in   the   world   someone   they   did   not   know   would   die. In   return   they would get fifty thousand dollars. 
2. What is the significance of the title of the story "Clearing in the Sky"? 
Ans: The title is  the key  world in the whole story. The father and son go up to this clearing,  talk  about it,  come  down  again  and  the  story  ends.  The  story  revolves around it. 
3. What  was  the  effect  of  the  king  behavior  of  the  woman  on  the  boy  (Thank  you, M'am)? 
Ans: He was  impressed by  her. He offered his  help to bring something from the store. When the woman made him eat the supper, he was  satisfied. Then the woman gave him ten dollars and let him go. 

4. Why did the woman not punish the boy? (Thank you M'am) 
Ans:  The  woman  wanted  to  teach  him  that  evil ideas  might  come  to  everybody's  mind. But he should try to shun this evil thinking and try to behave gently. 
5. What did the lady tell the boy about her youth? 
Ans: She told the boy  that she had also done things  in youth which she could not tell anybody. Everybody  had something in common with others  but she did riot steal anybody's purse. 
6. Why did people call Hubert an old rascal? 
Ans: People made fun of his innocence. They did not believe his story of string. They began to doubt his statement saying that he was a laid, "You old rascal! Get out of here." 
7. Why did the Mayor not believe the innocence of Mr. Hubert. 
The   Mayor   did   not   accept   Hubert's   vision   of   the   incident.   He   declared   that   Mr. Manriana was a worthy person and he had stated was nothing but the truth. 
8. Why did Jorken utter a quiet sigh at the end? 
Ans: He looked sad because that was the end of his struggle. Now there was no mission ahead. There was nothing to do for him. 
9. What is the moral lesson of the story, "The Reward"? 
Ans:  The  story  teaches  the  lesson  that  we  should  be  hard  working  and  sincere  to  our aim. We should stick to it and devote all our energies and time to it. 
10. Why did Gorgios go into politics? 
Ans: Gorgios  joined politics. He made speeches  on various  topics. He convinced the public  and the rulers  that a court acrobat was  necessary  to make the country strong. At last, the post of the court acrobat was created. 
11. Why did the parents keep the sick child in the kitchen? (The Use of Force) 
Ans: The parents  were over-anxious  about their daughter. The child was  running high temperature   and   might   be   feeling   cold.   Hence, they   were   keeping   her in   the kitchen to keep her warm 
12. Why was the mouth of the girl bleeding? 
Ans: It was  because she opened her mouth, she closed it again and broke the wooden blade into pieces. The child's  mouth was  bleeding. Her tongue was  cut and she was screaming wildly. 
13. Why did the sergeant order the slave to be thrown into the water? 
Ans: T he slave had not experienced any calamity. When the boat began to toss, he began to tremble and create trouble for others. The sergeant ordered to throw him into water so that he might experience the true danger of life.