Hi Everyone!! This article will share Excuses Excuses Questions & Answers.
This poem is written by Gareth Owen. In my previous posts, I have shared the questions and answers of The Shopping List Mystery, We Are The Music Makers and Bob Dylan The Voice Of A Generation so, you can check these posts as well.
Excuses Excuses Questions & Answers
Question 1: Who are the two people talking in the poem?
Answer: The two people talking in the poem are – teacher and the student.
Question 2: Whom did the boy blame for his late arrival?
Answer: The boy blamed the death of his grandmother for being late to school.
Question 3: What is Grandma responsible for? How?
Answer: Grandma is responsible for not ironing Blenkinsopp’s PE kit. She has not ironed the kit because as Blenkinsopp says, she had died.
Question 4: ‘It’s very upsetting,’ Who says this and why?
Answer: It is Blenkinsop who says this. Every time he remains absent from school, he says he couldn’t come because of his grandmother’s death. The teacher reminds him that it was the fourth time he was saying the same thing. It meant he had four grandmothers and all had died on PE days. At this, Blenkinsop says that it was really very upsetting.
Question 5: What happens on PE days and why?
Answer: On every PE day, Blenkinsop remains absent from school. When the teacher asks him the reason, he makes up an excuse. He says he couldn’t come because of his grandmother’s death. For the fourth time, he makes up the same excuse.
Question 6: ‘You were absent yesterday.’ What does Blenkinsop say in reply to this?
Answer: He says this time he was absent because of his teeth, not because of his grandmother’s death. He had to go to the dentist and therefore, couldn’t come to school.
Question 7: What did Blenkinsop say when he was asked to line up for PE?
Answer: Blenkinsop said he did not have with him the kit for PE.
Question 8: Blenkinsop says, ‘Can’t sir.’ What does he mean by can’t?
Answer: He means to say that he can’t line up for PE since he doesn’t have the kit with him.
Question 9: What do you find funny about Blenkinsopp’s excuses?
Answer: The excuses Blenkinsop makes up for being absent from school are all very funny. Mostly, he makes up the excuse of his grandmother’s death. He forgets he has already made this excuse. When the teacher reminds him that it is the fourth time his grandmother is dead, Blenkinsop makes up another funny excuse. This funny chain of excuses goes on and on, to the great enjoyment of the reader.
Question 10: Why was Blenkinsop’s teacher tired of him?
Answer: Blenkinsop’s teacher was tired of him since he was constantly giving excuses for his absence from school, class or PE. He had even used the death of his grandmother as an excuse four times that term. The teacher was irritated at not being able to catch the clever boy, as he outwitted him always with his wild stories and excuses. The teacher fell like a fool at being unable to catch his lies.
Question 11: Why had the errant child missed the math test even though he was looking forward to it?
Answer: The errant child missed the math test the previous day though he admitted that he was looking forward to it. He informed his teacher that he had gone to the dentist for a check-up.
Question 12: What does the poem reveal about Blenkinsop’s character?
Answer: Blenkinsop was clever and witty and had a good sense of humour which served to save him every time he wished to be absent from his school or classes. His imaginative mind managed to invent all sorts of excuses to escape academic work although some of them were ridiculous.
However, he should not have used the death of his grandmother so casually. Also, he was an irresponsible child who failed to take his studies seriously and was too lethargic to partake in physical activities but his confidence and friendly manner wins over the reader.
So, these were Excuses Excuses Questions & Answers.