L-5 The Hundred Dresses 1

She always wore a faded blue dress that didn’t hang right. It

was clean, but it looked as though it had never been ironed properly.

She didn’t have any friends, but a lot of girls talked to her. Sometimes,

they surrounded her in the school yard as she stood watching the little

girls play hopscotch on the worn hard ground.

“Wanda,’’ Peggy would say in a most courteous manner, as though she

were talking to Miss Mason. “Wanda,” she’d say, giving one of her

friends a nudge, “tell us. How many dresses did you say you had

hanging up in your closet?”

The ‘most courteous manner’ here means that Peggy was

• on her best behaviour.

• teasing Wanda.

• trying to impress Wanda.

• respectful to Wanda.

She always wore a faded blue dress that didn’t hang right. It

was clean, but it looked as though it had never been ironed properly.

She didn’t have any friends, but a lot of girls talked to her. Sometimes,

they surrounded her in the school yard as she stood watching the little

girls play hopscotch on the worn hard ground.

“Wanda,’’ Peggy would say in a most courteous manner, as though she

were talking to Miss Mason. “Wanda,” she’d say, giving one of her

friends a nudge, “tell us. How many dresses did you say you had

hanging up in your closet?”

Peggy gave her friend a nudge because

• she wanted to push her away from the scene.

• she disliked her friend being distracted then.

• she was teasing Wanda and wanted her to make others pay attention.

• she was teasing Wanda and didn’t want anyone her miss the ‘fun’.

She always wore a faded blue dress that didn’t hang right. It

was clean, but it looked as though it had never been ironed properly.

She didn’t have any friends, but a lot of girls talked to her. Sometimes,

they surrounded her in the school yard as she stood watching the little

girls play hopscotch on the worn hard ground.

“Wanda,’’ Peggy would say in a most courteous manner, as though she

were talking to Miss Mason. “Wanda,” she’d say, giving one of her

friends a nudge, “tell us. How many dresses did you say you had

hanging up in your closet?”

Pick the option having the words that DO NOT loosely match the word,

‘closet’, from those given.

1) wardrobe 2) loft 3) cabinet 4) cupboard 5) porch 6) cellar

• 1, 3 and 4

• 3, 4 and 5

• 1, 2 and 6

• 2, 5 and 6

She always wore a faded blue dress that didn’t hang right. It

was clean, but it looked as though it had never been ironed properly.

She didn’t have any friends, but a lot of girls talked to her. Sometimes,

they surrounded her in the school yard as she stood watching the little

girls play hopscotch on the worn hard ground.

“Wanda,’’ Peggy would say in a most courteous manner, as though she

were talking to Miss Mason. “Wanda,” she’d say, giving one of her

friends a nudge, “tell us. How many dresses did you say you had

hanging up in your closet?”

Why was Wanda’s answer to Peggy’s question always the same? Pick the

LEAST probable reason.

This was so because she knew that

• she was being picked on and it was probably her defence.

• confessing the truth would probably worsen the situation.

• she didn’t know how else to get out of that situation.

• sticking to an unexpected answer would get her the attention she

  needed.

She always wore a faded blue dress that didn’t hang right. It

was clean, but it looked as though it had never been ironed properly.

She didn’t have any friends, but a lot of girls talked to her. Sometimes,

they surrounded her in the school yard as she stood watching the little

girls play hopscotch on the worn hard ground.

“Wanda,’’ Peggy would say in a most courteous manner, as though she

were talking to Miss Mason. “Wanda,” she’d say, giving one of her

friends a nudge, “tell us. How many dresses did you say you had

hanging up in your closet?”

Regarding Wanda being teased, Miss Mason was

• in denial that such behaviour was possible by her students.

• aware, but didn’t want to discuss it with the students.

• unaware that the students were frequently teasing Wanda.

• of the belief that such behaviour was a normal part of growing up.

She always wore a faded blue dress that didn’t hang right. It

was clean, but it looked as though it had never been ironed properly.

She didn’t have any friends, but a lot of girls talked to her. Sometimes,

they surrounded her in the school yard as she stood watching the little

girls play hopscotch on the worn hard ground.

“Wanda,’’ Peggy would say in a most courteous manner, as though she

were talking to Miss Mason. “Wanda,” she’d say, giving one of her

friends a nudge, “tell us. How many dresses did you say you had

hanging up in your closet?”

Which of the following images showcase ‘hopscotch’?

• 
• 
• 
• 

“In the opinion of the judges, any one of the drawings is worthy of

winning the prize. I am very happy to say that Wanda Petronski is the

winner of the girls’ medal. Unfortunately, Wanda has been absent from

school for some days and is not here to receive the applause that is

due to her. Let us hope she will be back tomorrow. Now class, you may

file around the room quietly and look at her exquisite drawings.”

Pick the statement that is TRUE, according to the information given in the

extract.

• Wanda won the prize because she had submitted a variety of entries.

• Wanda would have still won the prize even if she had submitted just one

  entry.

• Wanda won the prize because the majority of judges were women.

• Wanda would have still won the prize if she had drawn something else.

“In the opinion of the judges, any one of the drawings is worthy of

winning the prize. I am very happy to say that Wanda Petronski is the

winner of the girls’ medal. Unfortunately, Wanda has been absent from

school for some days and is not here to receive the applause that is

due to her. Let us hope she will be back tomorrow. Now class, you may

file around the room quietly and look at her exquisite drawings.”

Miss Mason says, “I am very happy to …”. Which phrase DOES NOT replace

the underlined phrase correctly from those given below?

• It gives me great pleasure to…

• I am sure you’ll be surprised to…

• I am delighted to…

• It fills me with joy to…

“In the opinion of the judges, any one of the drawings is worthy of

winning the prize. I am very happy to say that Wanda Petronski is the

winner of the girls’ medal. Unfortunately, Wanda has been absent from

school for some days and is not here to receive the applause that is

due to her. Let us hope she will be back tomorrow. Now class, you may

file around the room quietly and look at her exquisite drawings.”

When the teacher wants them to ‘file around’, she wants the students to

• put the files in their proper places.

• gather around her table to discuss the designs.

• file the designs properly in their folders.

• walk in a line to admire the designs.

“In the opinion of the judges, any one of the drawings is worthy of

winning the prize. I am very happy to say that Wanda Petronski is the

winner of the girls’ medal. Unfortunately, Wanda has been absent from

school for some days and is not here to receive the applause that is

due to her. Let us hope she will be back tomorrow. Now class, you may

file around the room quietly and look at her exquisite drawings.”

Pick the sentence that DOES NOT use ‘due to’ in the same sense as in the

given extract.

• She was disappointed due to their rude behaviour.

• We must give our colleagues the vacation due to them.

• I have some extra money due to me this month from my friend.

• You have an apology due to your parents.