English Topic: L-11 The Luncheon Class VIII

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Textual Exercises Answer Key

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 primarilyrequire teeth.

• The narrator’s heart sank at the mention of caviar because he hardly had themoney 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 toborrow 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 thenarrator to
come and sit by her during a play.

b. Even though Foyot’s was well beyond 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 heknew 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 glancingat the
meagre 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 recallonly with
difficulty, said these words to the narrator.

b. This expression means that time passes by so quickly that one feels like time hasflown 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 noteven 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 guesthad already
ordered and in a 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 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 fifteenfrancs. 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.

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 thanattractive 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.

6. 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 indeedthe sweetest revenge he could have wished for.

7. 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.

8. 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 bythe end of the luncheon. Quite evidently
he had not enjoyed himself.

Word wall (Page 157–158)

1. a. Just now I received another letter from her saying she was ill.
b. At present, people are used to working on computers.
c. Rohan has broken his hand. Reena, could you help him write his assignments for the time
being?
d. I went shopping but after a while I got restless.
e. At the same time I heard the door slam.
f. These are the courses presently available.
g. Last week she lost her key and had to stay at a friend’s house.
h. At the moment I am busy. I will definitely see you after a while.

2. a. sight: As soon as the eagle caught sight of the mouse, it made a dash towardsit.
b. interval: Romit decided to buy some popcorn during the interval of the film.
c. flattered: The director was flattered when he was showered with compliments by his fellow
directors.
d. imposing: She had an imposing personality and ended up intimidating her guests.
e. reassured: The doctor reassured the mother that her son was going to bealright.
f. anticipated: Reema had not anticipated such a pleasant surprise on her birthday.
g. unwise: King Lear made an unwise decision when he denounced his youngest daughter.
h. hospitable: The family was very hospitable and all the guests were very pleased with their stay
with them.
i. dramatic: The magician made a dramatic entry on stage, appearing from nowhere, with his
flowy clothes swishing, and flicking his wand.
j. humourist: One could tell that Jason was a humorist, from the plays he wrote.
k. absentmindedly: He absentmindedly knocked over the beautiful porcelainflower
vase, breaking it into millions of pieces.
l. inadequate: The crew soon realized that the food stored for them would prove to be
inadequate for the journey.

Grammar time (Page 158–162)

1. a. Having ploughed the field, Jack sowed the beans.
b. Besides harvesting rainwater, the farmers also plant trees.
c. Not only did Shiney run the relay but she also ran the marathon.
d. The fireman was brave and hence the mayor gave him a plaque.

2. a. My grandmother requested me to help her.

b. The man was so distracted that he could not work.
c. The cake was too large to fit in the box.
d. Being tired they went to bed early.

3. a. Although he faced many hardships, Lincoln educated himself.

b. If you smile, then the world will smile with you.
c. Though my grandmother is old, she is very active.
d. When the sun rose, we set out on the trek.

4. a. No sooner did we board the train, than it pulled out of the station.
b. Hardly had the actor delivered his lines, when the director called for a cut.
c. No sooner did the sun rise, than Hilary and Tenzing began their trek.
d. Hardly had they reached the summit, when a strong wind started.
5. a. Although he is going to New York, he had always wanted to go to Londonbecause
his grandfather stays there.

b. While the cat is away, the mice are at play.

c. He doesn’t know his mother tongue because he grew up in London.
d. Keep the leftover food inside the refrigerator, since it might go bad.
e. Although she doesn’t speak good French, she understands French verywell.

Spelling (Page 163)

1. a. argument e. grateful
b. committee f. weird
c. maintenance g. accidentally
d. separate h. pronunciation

Listen and speak well (Page 164)

a. ii. b. iii. c. ii. d. i. e. iii. f. iii. g. ii.