Hi Everyone!! This article will share The Strawberry Pink Villa Questions & Answers.
In my previous posts, I have shared the questions & answers of The Last Leaf, In the Bazaars of Hyderabad and The Tempest so, you can check these posts as well.
The Strawberry Pink Villa Questions & Answers
Question 1: Choose the correct option:
(a) The hedges of the garden comprised______
i. fuchsia
ii. roses
iii. sweet peas
(b) Spiro took charge of the Durrell family______
i. so he could become a part of the family.
ii. so that no one could swindle them.
iii. so that he could swindle them
(c) Spiro stuck to the Durrell family______
i. made a burring sound.
ii. was always out to cheat him.
iii. did not leave them alone.
(d) Leslie practiced shooting with______
i. an old tin can outside his bedroom window.
ii. an old tin can from his bedroom window.
iii. old tin cans hanging from trees in the garden.
(e) Mother’s favourite spot was the______
i. garden
ii. balcony
iii. kitchen
(f) The peasant girls would give the narrator______
i. fruits they plucked from their trees.
ii. toys from the market
iii. wild flowers they plucked on their way.
Question 2: How do we know that Spiro was much loved by the people of Corfu?
Answer: Spiro knew everyone in Corfu, and everyone knew him. Wherever his car stopped, half a dozen voices would shout out his name, and beckon him to sit at their tables under the trees and drink coffee with them. Policemen, peasants, and priests waved and smiled as he passed; fishermen, grocers, and cafe-owners greeted him like a brother. Everyone respected and adored Spiro. This shows that Spiro was much loved by the people of Corfu.
Question 3: In your own words, describe the villa and its garden.
Answer: The villa was small, square, and pink. Its shutters were cracked at some places, and were faded by the sun to a creamy green colour. The villa had a tiny garden which was surrounded by tall fuchsia hedges. Its flower beds had complicated geometrical patterns which were marked with smooth white stones. Many flowers, like roses, pansies, marigolds etc., grew in the garden. The villa had a tiny balcony over which the bougainvillea sprawled luxuriously.
Question 4: Read and answer the questions:
As soon as we saw it, we wanted to live there.
(a) Who does ‘we’ and ‘it’ refer to in the above line?
Answer: In the above line, ‘we’ refers to the Durrell family, and ‘it’ refers to the strawberry-pink villa.
(b) What did ‘it’ seem to be doing standing there?
Answer: The strawberry-pink villa seemed to be standing there as if it had been waiting for the family to come and live in it.
(c) Why did they want to live there?
Answer: They wanted to live there because they felt at home at the place.
The Strawberry Pink Villa Questions & Answers
Question 5: How did Spiro take control of the Durrell family’s affairs? Give instances.
Answer: Spiro took complete control of the Durrell family’s affairs. He did all sorts of things for the family. He would take them for shopping and help them to get the price of articles reduced on their behalf. When the family’s money was taking time to arrive from England, Spiro scolded the bank manager about his lack of organisation. He paid the hotel bill and arranged a cart to carry their luggage to the Villa. He bought groceries for them and drove them to the villa himself. Spiro made sure that the family was not swindled.
Question 6: How would mother spend her time in kitchen?
Answer: Mother spent her time in the kitchen by cooking up different dishes. The scent of herbs and garlic and onion would fill the house. She would consult a pile of books for recipes, and move around pots with her spectacles askew, muttering to herself.
Question 7: Why did Larry appear in a highly irritable frame of mind? How was his problem resolved?
Answer: Larry appeared in a highly irritable frame of mind becausea peasant had tethered his donkey just over the hedge of the villa. The donkey brayed loudly and dolefully at regular intervals. This was disturbing Larry with his writing.
The problem was resolved by mother and the narrator, who untied the donkey and moved him further down the hill.
Question 8: What did the narrator and Roger learn in the garden?
Answer: The narrator and Roger learnt a lot of new things in the garden. The narrator learnt about different creatures who lived in the garden. He also learnt about the plump peasant girls who passed the garden every morning and evening. He learnt their names, who was related to whom, who was married and who hoped to be and other details. Roger learnt that it was unwise to smell hornets, and that the peasant dogs were scared of him and would run screaming at his sight.
Question 9: Read and answer the questions:
Larry said it didn’t sound like practice, but more like the Indian Mutiny.
(a) To whom did Larry say these words?
Answer: Larry said these words to his brother, Leslie.
(b) What did not sound like practice? Explain this simile.
Answer: Leslie was shooting at an old tin can from his window to practice with his revolvers. According to Larry, this did not sound like practice. He compared the practice with the Indian Munity as the gunshots were loud and startling. It felt like the villa was going to be rocked to its foundation.
(c) Was the problem resolved? How?
Answer: The problem was resolved when Leslie reluctantly took his tin a little farther from the window.
The Strawberry Pink Villa Questions & Answers
Question 10: The narrator refers to the garden of the house as a ‘magic land’. Do you think this was an apt description? Justify.
Answer: It is apt to describe the garden of the strawberry-pink villa as a ‘magic land’. The garden was full of flowers and creatures that the narrator hadn’t seen before. Among the thick, silky petals of rose-bloom lived tiny, crab-like spiders. Blue carpenter bees, humming birds, hawk moths, large black ants also lived in the garden. The garden was alive and buzzing with these marvellous creatures. Each day had a tranquility, a timelessness, about it which made the garden magical.
Question 11: Bring out the friendly nature of the local people with reference to
(a) The peasant girls
Answer: The narrator developed friendship with some peasant girls who passed his garden every morning and evening. In the mornings, the girls would smile at the narrator and shout greetings. In the evenings they would give him fresh fruits as gifts.
(b) The reaction of the local people when they saw the narrator and Roger.
Answer: The local people were also very friendly to the narrator. They were delighted by his efforts to learn their language and clapped their hands when he uttered the newly learnt words. Whenever the narrator and Roger passed by their houses, the entire family of the locals would come out and greet them, loudly and pleasantly.
Question 12: Read and answer the questions:
I won’t have any criminal talkings to me about duty.
(a) Who said these words and to whom?
Answer: Spiro said these words to the Customs official, Christaki.
(b) Why were these words spoken?
Answer: These words were spoken because Christaki wanted to examine the contents of the Durrell family’s luggage. When Spiro tried to stop him, Christaki said that it was his duty to do so. Spiro was aware of Christaki’s criminal deeds. This is why Spiro said the given words to him.
(c) What criminal act was the speaker referring to?
Answer: Spiro was referring to the illegal practice of dynamiting fish, for which Christaki was once fined twelve thousand drachmas.
So, these were The Strawberry Pink Villa Questions & Answers.