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Read the passage and answer the following questions.
When we came out of the cafe it had started to rain. ‘We must get a ´ taxi,’ my mother said. We were wearing ordinary hats and coats, and it was raining quite hard. ‘Why don’t we go back into the cafe and wait for it to stop?’ I said. I ´ wanted another of those banana splits. They were gorgeous. ‘It isn’t going to stop,’ my mother said. ‘We must get home.’ We stood on the pavement in the rain, looking for a taxi. Lots of them came by but they all had passengers inside them. ‘I wish we had a car with a chauffeur,’ my mother said. Just then a man came up to us. He was a small man and he was pretty old, probably seventy or more. He raised his hat politely and said to my mother, ‘Excuse me, I do hope you will excuse me . . . ’He was sheltering under an umbrella which he held high over his head. ‘Yes?’ my mother said, very cool and distant. ‘I wonder if I could ask a small favour of you,’ he said. ‘It is only a very small favour.’ I saw my mother looking at him suspiciously. With strange men, she has a golden rule which says, ‘The nicer the man seems to be, the more suspicious you must become.’ This little old man was particularly nice. He was polite. He was well-spoken. The little man shifted his umbrella from one hand to the other. ‘I’ve never forgotten it before,’ he said. ‘You’ve never forgotten what?’ my mother asked sternly. ‘My wallet,’ he said. ‘I must have left it in my other jacket. Isn’t that the silliest thing to do?’ ‘Are you asking me to give you money?’ my mother said. ‘Oh, good gracious me, not!’ he cried. ‘Heaven forbid I should ever do that!’ ‘Then what are you asking?’ my mother said. ‘Do hurry up. We’re getting soaked to the skin here.’ ‘I know you are,’ he said. ‘And that is why I’m offering you this umbrella of mine to protect you, and to keep forever, if . . . if only . . . ’ ‘If only what?’ my mother said. ‘If only you would give me in return a pound for my taxi-fare just to get me home.’ My mother was still suspicious. ‘If you had no money in the first place,’ she said, ‘then how did you get here?’ ‘I walked,’ he answered. ‘Every day I go for a lovely long walk and then I summon a taxi to get me home. I do it every day of the year.’ ’Why don’t you walk home now?’ my mother asked. ’Oh, I wish I could,’ he said. ’I do wish I could. But I don’t think I could manage it on these silly old legs of mine. I’ve gone too far already.’ My mother stood there chewing her lower lip. She was beginning to melt a bit, I could see that. And the idea of getting an umbrella to shelter under must have tempted her a good deal. ‘It’s a lovely umbrella,’ the little man said. ‘So I’ve noticed,’ my mother said. ‘It’s silk,’ he said. ‘I can see that.’ ‘Then why don’t you take it, madam,’ he said. ‘It cost me over twenty pounds, I promise you. But now it’s of no importance so long as I can get home and rest these old legs of mine.’ I saw my mother’s hand feeling for the clasp of her purse. She saw me watching her. I was giving her one of my own frosty-nosed looks this time and she knew exactly what I was telling her. Now listen, mummy, I was telling her, you simply mustn’t take advantage of a tired old man in this way. It’s a rotten thing to do. My mother paused and looked back at me. Then she said to the little man, ‘I don’t think it’s quite right that I should take an umbrella from you worth twenty pounds. I think I’d better just give you the taxi-fare and be done with it.’
Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
When we came out of the cafe it had started to rain. ‘We must get a ´ taxi,’ my mother said. We were wearing ordinary hats and coats, and it was raining quite hard. ‘Why don’t we go back into the cafe and wait for it to stop?’ I said. I ´ wanted another of those banana splits. They were gorgeous. ‘It isn’t going to stop,’ my mother said. ‘We must get home.’ We stood on the pavement in the rain, looking for a taxi. Lots of them came by but they all had passengers inside them. ‘I wish we had a car with a chauffeur,’ my mother said. Just then a man came up to us. He was a small man and he was pretty old, probably seventy or more. He raised his hat politely and said to my mother, ‘Excuse me, I do hope you will excuse me . . . ’He was sheltering under an umbrella which he held high over his head. ‘Yes?’ my mother said, very cool and distant. ‘I wonder if I could ask a small favour of you,’ he said. ‘It is only a very small favour.’ I saw my mother looking at him suspiciously. With strange men, she has a golden rule which says, ‘The nicer the man seems to be, the more suspicious you must become.’ This little old man was particularly nice. He was polite. He was well-spoken. The little man shifted his umbrella from one hand to the other. ‘I’ve never forgotten it before,’ he said. ‘You’ve never forgotten what?’ my mother asked sternly. ‘My wallet,’ he said. ‘I must have left it in my other jacket. Isn’t that the silliest thing to do?’ ‘Are you asking me to give you money?’ my mother said. ‘Oh, good gracious me, not!’ he cried. ‘Heaven forbid I should ever do that!’ ‘Then what are you asking?’ my mother said. ‘Do hurry up. We’re getting soaked to the skin here.’ ‘I know you are,’ he said. ‘And that is why I’m offering you this umbrella of mine to protect you, and to keep forever, if . . . if only . . . ’ ‘If only what?’ my mother said. ‘If only you would give me in return a pound for my taxi-fare just to get me home.’ My mother was still suspicious. ‘If you had no money in the first place,’ she said, ‘then how did you get here?’ ‘I walked,’ he answered. ‘Every day I go for a lovely long walk and then I summon a taxi to get me home. I do it every day of the year.’ ’Why don’t you walk home now?’ my mother asked. ’Oh, I wish I could,’ he said. ’I do wish I could. But I don’t think I could manage it on these silly old legs of mine. I’ve gone too far already.’ My mother stood there chewing her lower lip. She was beginning to melt a bit, I could see that. And the idea of getting an umbrella to shelter under must have tempted her a good deal. ‘It’s a lovely umbrella,’ the little man said. ‘So I’ve noticed,’ my mother said. ‘It’s silk,’ he said. ‘I can see that.’ ‘Then why don’t you take it, madam,’ he said. ‘It cost me over twenty pounds, I promise you. But now it’s of no importance so long as I can get home and rest these old legs of mine.’ I saw my mother’s hand feeling for the clasp of her purse. She saw me watching her. I was giving her one of my own frosty-nosed looks this time and she knew exactly what I was telling her. Now listen, mummy, I was telling her, you simply mustn’t take advantage of a tired old man in this way. It’s a rotten thing to do. My mother paused and looked back at me. Then she said to the little man, ‘I don’t think it’s quite right that I should take an umbrella from you worth twenty pounds. I think I’d better just give you the taxi-fare and be done with it.’
Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
- AThe girl hated to get wet in the rain and was eager to get inside the cafe.
- BThe people mentioned here were not from an extravagant background.
- CThe mother was tensed due to some reason but was trying to hide it from her daughter.
- DThe old man was very suspicious of the ladies and he wanted to get rid of them as soon as he got money.
Answer not set