Answer key

A DISASTROUS DINNER

READ AND ANSWER (page 45)

1. There was no fire in the kitchen, no breakfast in the dining room, and no mother anywhere to be
seen.

2. She said that she was very tired, and was going to stay in her room all day.

3. The boiled tea was very bitter, the omelette scorched, and the biscuits burnt.
The mother thanked her little girls for the breakfast, but the girls had many complaints
against Meg's cooking.

4. Since the other girls knew nothing about cooking, they gladly accepted the offer when Jo
volunteered to cook dinner.

5. Jo had boiled the asparagus for an hour, making them perfectly inedible. The bread had burnt
black; the lobster was overcooked to a bright red colour; the potatoes had been left somewhat
raw in the hurry; the jelly had turned out lumpy, and the strawberries were sour because of
being unripe.

6. There was strawberries and cream for dessert which did not turn out well because there was
salt instead of sugar in it, and the cream was sour. Jo remembered that she had put the
powder hastily over the berries, and had not cared to put the milk in the refrigerator.

7. All of them had bread and butter instead of a proper dinner.

THINK AND ANSWER (page 45)

1. Sample answer: I think she wanted them to learn how difficult a task it was to manage the
household.

2. No, it is not easy to run the house. It requires hard work, care, the ability to multitask and a
sense of responsibility.

3. Miss Crocker was a thin lady, with a sharp nose and curious eyes. The girls were unhappy with
Miss Crocker's visit because she saw everything and gossiped about all she saw. Yes, she might
have talked to people about the dinner because she liked to gossip.

4. The girls learnt that it was not easy to run a household.

5. Put all the biscuits in a paper bag and use a rolling pin to break them. Heat a saucepan and
melt half the butter. Pour this into the crumbs and mix well. Put the mixture in a flat

bottomed pan and bake it. In another saucepan over low heat melt the rest of the butter. Add
sugar to the butter till it starts to caramelize. Take the biscuit base out. Add the tin of condensed
milk and stir continuously. You will see the mixture become sticky like toffee. Pour the sticky
toffee over the biscuit base so that the toffee covers the biscuit.

WORD POWER (pages 45 – 46)

1. upset
2. excited
3. caring
4. exhausted
5. embarrassed
6. jolly