11. THE LUNCHEON
Even though Foyot’s was well beyond
Warm up (Page 151)
soufflé: fifth image
croissant: third image
scone: fourth image
mousse: first image
fillet: second image
In-text questions
• The narrator was expected to remember
that the first and only time he had met the
woman who had written to him, he had
asked her to luncheon.
• By more teeth than necessary, the narrator
means that she had many more smiles for
him than their little acquaintance required.
• By practical purpose he refers to the function
of eating for which we primarily require
teeth.
• The narrator’s heart sank at the mention of
caviar because he hardly had the money to
afford it for his guest.
• The narrator ordered caviar for his guest.
• The narrator was suddenly seized with
panic because he had just ordered asparagus
for his guest and he barely had the money
to pay the bill and he was scared that he
may not only not have the money to pay
the bill, he may even have to borrow from
his guest.
• The writer uses the term faintly because
the narrator was indeed feeling faint at the
thought of falling short of money while
paying the bill his guest had run up.
Making connections (Page 156–157)
1. a. The narrator went over to meet the
lady because she had beckoned to the
narrator to come and sit by her during
a play.
b.
his means, the narrator went ahead with
the lady’s plan because he was flattered
that the lady wanted to have lunch with
him and he had been too young back
then to have learnt to say no to her.
c. The narrator’s heart sank a little because
the lady wanted to have caviar and he
knew that it was well beyond his means
to afford it.
d. The narrator was past caring because
the lady had already ordered too many
expensive items for lunch and he knew
that he did not have any money left to
sustain himself through the rest of the
month.
e. The narrator thinks that his guest
thought him mean because he saw her
glancing at the meager three francs tip
that he gave to the waiter after the meal
at the restaurant.
2. a. A lady, whom the narrator had met a
long time ago and whom he could recall
only with difficulty, said these words to
the narrator.
b. This expression means that time passes
by so quickly that one feels like time has
flown past. This expression is generally
used when people meet after a long time
or when one wishes to indicate that a
long time has passed but one has not
even realized it.
c. The lady and the narrator had first met
twenty years ago.
3. a. The item being referred to here is an
asparagus. The waiter to whom the
narrator was speaking was describing
it to the narrator’s guest.
b. The narrator was running short of
money due to the expensive items that
his guest had already ordered and in a
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 last attempt to save his pocket and his
self-respect, he hoped that the waiter
would somehow say no to her questions.
c. It was difficult for the narrator to afford
such expensive food items for even one
person and in a desperate attempt to
save some money he decided to have
none of the splendid items that were
being ordered.
4. a. The lady whom the narrator had taken
out to luncheon said this to the narrator.
b. When the lady advises the narrator to eat
just one item for lunch like her, despite
the fact that it was precisely due to the
number of expensive items that she
had ordered for herself at lunch, that
the narrator was left without a penny,
the narrator quietly agreed with her
and said that he would eat nothing for
dinner. The lady takes the narrator’s
comment as a joke and responds in this
way.
c. This line tells us that the narrator is a
creative person because he observes,
remembers and reproduces situations
and conversations with elan.
5. According to the narrator a modest lunch
should not have costed more than fifteen
francs.
The narrator had eighty francs with him
when he invited the lady to luncheon.
This was well within the limit of what he
believed a modest lunch should cost. He
had not imagined that the lady would
insist on ordering such lavish portions
of some of the most expensive dishes on
the menu.
6. The lady was not as young as the narrator
had thought she would be—she seemed
to be about forty years of age. She came
across as more imposing than attractive
and she smiled more than was needed. She
also came across as very talkative but since
she was inclined towards talking about the
narrator, he was prepared to listen to her
attentively.
7. The narrator felt complacent when he
met the lady many years later because
her dining habits had left him broke
and with barely any self-respect twenty
years ago and today she seemed to weigh
about twenty-one stone. It was indeed the
sweetest revenge he could have wished for.
8. The lady insisted that she hardly ever ate
anything for luncheon and yet she ordered
the most expensive food items on the menu
one after the other, so much so that she left
the narrator broke. Herein lies the irony of
the statement.
9. There are subtle indications in the story that
show that the narrator did not enjoy the
luncheon with the lady. For example, when
the bill of fare was brought the narrator saw
that the prices were much higher than he
had anticipated.
The narrator mentions that his heart sank
when the lady ordered caviar because he
knew he could ill-afford it and he ended up
ordering the cheapest dish on the menu for
himself.
The narrator turns a little pale when the
lady ends up ordering champagne and
asparagus which were terribly expensive.
He mentions that a terrible thing happened
when while waiting for coffee, his
companion opted for peaches. Thus, while
the narrator ate almost nothing, the lady
gorged on some of the most expensive
items on the menu. He was left penniless
by the end of the luncheon. Quite evidently
he had not enjoyed himself.
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Word wall (Page 157–158) j. humorist: One could tell that Jason was
1. a. Just now I received another letter from a humorist, from the plays he wrote.
her saying she was ill. k. absentmindedly: He absentmindedly
b. At present, people are used to working knocked over the beautiful porcelain
on computers. flower vase, breaking it into millions of
c. Rohan has broken his hand. Reena, could pieces.
you help him write his assignments for l. inadequate: The crew soon realized that
the time being? the food stored for them would prove to
d. I went shopping but after a while I got be inadequate for the journey.
restless. Grammar time (Page 158–162)
e. At the same time I heard the door slam.
1. a. Having ploughed the field, Jack sowed
f. These are the courses presently available.
the beans.
g. Last week she lost her key and had to
b. Besides harvesting rainwater, the
stay at a friend’s house.
farmers also plant trees.
h. At the moment I am busy. I will
c. Not only did Shiney run the relay but
definitely see you after a while.
she also ran the marathon.
2. a. sight: As soon as the eagle caught sight
d. The fireman was brave and hence the
of the mouse, it made a dash towards it.
mayor gave him a plaque.
b. interval: Romit decided to buy some
2. a. My grandmother requested me to help
popcorn during the interval of the film.
her.
c. flattered: The director was flattered when
b. The man was so distracted that he could
he was showered with compliments by
not work.
his fellow directors.
c. The cake was too large to fit in the box.
d. imposing: She had an imposing
d. Being tired they went to bed early.
personality and ended up intimidating
3. a. Although he faced many hardships,
her guests.
Lincoln educated himself.
e. reassured: The doctor reassured the
b. If you smile, then the world will smile
mother that her son was going to be
with you.
alright.
c. Though my grandmother is old, she is
f. anticipated: Reema had not anticipated
very active.
such a pleasant surprise on her birthday.
d. When the sun rose, we set out on the
g. unwise: King Lear made an unwise
trek.
decision when he denounced his
4. a. No sooner did we board the train, than
youngest daughter.
it pulled out of the station.
h. hospitable: The family was very
b. Hardly had the actor delivered his lines,
hospitable and all the guests were very
when the director called for a cut.
pleased with their stay with them.
c. No sooner did the sun rise, than Hilary
i. dramatic: The magician made a dramatic
and Tenzing began their trek.
entry on stage, appearing from nowhere,
d. Hardly had they reached the summit,
with his flowy clothes swishing, and
when a strong wind started.
flicking his wand.

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5. a. Although he is going to New York, he c. maintenance g. accidentally
had always wanted to go to London d. separate h. pronunciation
because his grandfather stays there.
b. While the cat is away, the mice are at Write well (Page 163)
play. Encourage students to think creatively and
c. He doesn’t know his mother tongue formulate their own answers using the
because he grew up in London. graphic organizer given in the book.
d. Keep the leftover food inside the
refrigerator, since it might go bad. Listen and speak well (Page 164)
e. Although she doesn’t speak good a. ii. b. iii.
French, she understands French very c. ii. d. i.
well. e. iii. f. iii.
g. ii.
Spelling (Page 163) 2. Encourage students to think creatively and
1. a. argument e. grateful formulate their own answers using the
b. committee f. weird photographs given in the book.

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