DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL, ELECTRONIC CITY

SUBJECT: ENGLISH

NAME: __________________________ DATE: ______________________

CLASS: V SEC: ______ TOPIC: Mama and Big Business

Word Meanings

1. contented: feeling or showing satisfaction with one’s possessions, status or situation

2. conceded: admit or agree that something is true after first denying or resisting it

3. insurance: is a method by which you can protect yourself and your loved ones from facing a financial
crisis

4. dresser: a person employed to create attractive displays in store windows

5. cubbyhole: a small enclosed space or room

6.moaned: make a low sound, because you are unhappy or in pain

7. sneaking: a slight or vague feeling, especially one that you are unwilling to accept

8. sinned: to violate a religious or moral law

9. frosting: a sweet substance made from powdered sugar that is used to cover and decorate cakes

Question & Answer

1. What would Carmelita do when a customer came into the drugstore?

Ans. Carmelita would pretend to be buying a magazine whenever a customer came into the drugstore.

2. What would Katrin do if she had a coin? What does this tell us about her?

Ans. If Katrin had a coin, she would buy a Hoeffler’s Centennials and put the coin in the cash register.
This tells us that she was an honest person and had a conscience.

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3. What was the girl’s problem? How did they solve it?

A. The girl’s didn’t have a place to store all the empty candy boxes. They finally decided to toss the empty
boxes in the dark recess above the big street window.

4. What did Mrs Schiller think about the candy-eating?

A. Mrs Schiller was very unhappy with Katrin for stealing the candy. She called her a “ dirty, rotten,
sneaking, low-down thief”. She said that Katrin should be sent to prison and no one should ever trust her
again.

5. Why did Katrin carry all the empty chocolate boxes home?

A. Mrs Schiller ordered Katrin to take all the empty chocolate boxes home so that Katrin’s mother would
know what she had done.

Explain with Reference to Context:

1. “What are you collecting these empty Hoeffler boxes for?”

a. Identify the story and the author.

A. The above extract has been taken from the story “Mama and Big Business” written by the author,
Kathryn Forbes.

b. Identify the speaker and the listener.

A. The speaker is the window dresser and he is speaking to Mr Schiller.

c. Where did the window dresser find this empty Hoeffler boxes?

A. The window dresser found these empty Hoeffler boxes in the dark recess over the big street window.

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