Hi Everyone!! This article will share Mrs Beck Drives a Hard Bargain Questions & Answers.
In my previous posts, I have shared the questions and answers of The Merchant, Happy Endings and Breaking Barriers so, you can check these posts as well.
Mrs Beck Drives a Hard Bargain Questions & Answers
Question 1: Pick out the sentences from the text which mean the following.
1. Mrs Beck did not look needy.
Answer: She owns a lot of property.
2. The speaker felt there was no point in negotiating with Mrs Beck any further.
Answer: It was becoming increasingly clear that I wasn’t going to win this argument.
3. The speaker regretted agreeing to operate on the cat for ten shillings.
Answer: I felt physically and emotionally tired. I regretted my selfness.
4. The speaker was not amused to hear that the cat was being mischievous.
Answer: I wish she’d show herself. I really don’t have much……
5. Mrs Beck was not bothered about the speaker being injured.
Answer: From below, Mrs Beck gave a tinkling laugh.
6. The speaker felt nervous about taking the restless cat to the clinic.
Answer: Tristan and I were sweating by the time she finally went under.
Question 2: Read these lines from the text and answer the questions:
1. “It’s all a tale, Mr Herriot. She tries it on everybody, but I’ll tell you— she owns a lot of property”.
(a) Who said these words?
Answer: Mrs. Beck’s next-door neighbour in Rayton village said these words.
(b) What is the ‘tale’ the speaker refers to?
Answer: The ‘tale’ was about her being a ‘poor window’.
(c) Did this information help Mr Herriot?
Answer: No, even after he insisted, Mrs Beck was able to convince him that she was unable to pay the amount he had asked for.
2. “And now…l suppose you’ll want your money?”
(a) When were these words spoken?
Answer: Mrs Beck said these words when the cat had been operated upon successfully.
(b) What reasons did Mrs Beck give for not paying the speaker?
Answer: She gave the reason that the stitches were not yet out and that she felt it was unlucky to pay before the task had been totally finished.
Question 3: What reason did Mrs Beck give the speaker for requesting him to charge only ten shillings?
Answer: Mrs Beck requested Mr Herriot, a veterinary surgeon to operate on her pet cat, charging her only ten shillings. She insisted that it would be heartless on his part to not to reduce the price from one pound to ten shillings as she being a poor widow was unable to afford it.
Question 4: How do we know that the speaker did not believe what Mrs Beck said?
Answer: The speaker had regarded her thoughtfully and her small, neat figure with healthy cheeks and a helmet of grey hair showed that she was really a poor widow. Moreover, a neighbour of Mrs Beck had also told him that she pretended to be poor even though she owned a lot of property.
Question 5: Why did the speaker agree to Mrs Beck’s conditions?
Answer: He agreed to operate the cat on Mrs Beck’s conditions because she insisted that she was poor and helpless. When he tried to put forward his point, her smile faded and he took pity on her.
Question 6: What happened when the speaker went to Mrs Beck’s house to collect the cat?
Answer: When Mr. Herriot reached Mr Beck’s house, he saw that her comfortable house showed no sign of poverty. Then, the mischievous pet, Georgina, was not to be found. He had to climb a tree to catch her and, in the process, he got scratched across the back of his hand. Even Triston got bitten by the cat. Finally, they were able to trap her in the floppy cardboard box and Mr Merriot felt a bit insecure as he took her in the car.
Question 7: Why was the speaker exhausted after doing the operation?
Answer: He was exhausted as Georgina was a mischievous, pampered and a restless cat. She held her breath while the anaesthesia mask was on her face, then jumped up when they thought she was asleep. So, it was a tough task to keep her in control.
Question 8: Will the speaker go back to remove the stitches? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer: Yes, the speaker must have gone back to remove the stitches not for the money, but for the fact that he was a kind-hearted person. He could not have been irresponsible enough to leave the cat unattended.
Question 9: Is the title apt for the story? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer: Yes, this is an apt title because Mrs Beck was expecting a lot in what she was paying. She had taken advantage of Mr Herriot’s kind-heartedness and made an agreement to her advantage. She almost forced him to pick up the cat from her house and finally argued to not pay until the stitches were removed. She had been good at negotiating a beneficial arrangement.
So, these were Mrs Beck Drives a Hard Bargain Questions & Answers.