Comprehension (B)
She was so pretty and caring. She always had time for things like listening to new records and helping paste pictures in Minta's scrapbook.
She wasn't ever sick- except for the headaches and the operation last year which she had laughingly dismissed as a rest cure.
"I shouldn't have told you." Her father was speaking in a voice that Minta had never heard from him before. A voice that held loneliness and fear and a sort of angry pain. "I was afraid I couldn't make you understand, why you had to stay home... why you'd have to forget about Mary Hill for this year." His eyes begged her to forgive him and for some reason she wanted to put her arms around him, as if she were much older and stronger.
"Of course you had to tell me," she said steadily. "Of course I had to know."And then "Three months but Dad, that's Christmas."
He took her hand and tucked it under his arm and they started walking again.
It was like walking through a nightmare. The steady squish-squish of the wet sand and the little hollows their feet made filling up almost as soon as they passed.
He talked quietly, explaining, telling her everything the doctor had said, and Minta listened without tears, without tears, without comment.
She watched his face as though it were the face of a stranger. She thought about a thousand unrelated things.
She remembered all the times they had gone swimming this past summer. Minta and her father loved to swim but her mother had preferred to curl up on a beach blanket and watch them. "You have the disposition of a Siamese cat," Minta had accused her mother laughingly.
Questions:
i. Summarize each paragraph and suggest a title for each.
ii. Interpret the expressions "rest cure" and "disposition of a Siamese cat" as used in the passage.
iii. Analyze the emotions and thoughts conveyed through the father's voice and actions. How does the author portray the daughter's response to the news?
iv. What significance does the mention of Christmas have in the context of the father's revelation? Discuss its impact on the daughter's emotions.
v. Identify a theme related to family relationships and the challenges of conveying difficult news. Discuss how this theme is developed in the passage.
vi. How can the daughter's response, characterized by understanding and the absence of tears, be seen as an application of emotional maturity in the face of challenging situations? Discuss potential lessons for readers.
