The Pedestrian Story Questions and Answers & MCQs
A. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
To enter out into that silence that was the city at eight o’clock of a misty evening in November, to put your feet upon that buckling concrete walk, to step over grassy seams and make your way, hands in pockets, through the silences, that was what Mr. Leonard Mead most dearly loved to do.
He would stand upon the comer of an intersection and peer down long moonlit avenues of sidewalk in four directions, deciding which way to go, but it really made no difference; he was alone in this world of A.D. 2053, or as good as alone, and with a final decision made, a path selected, he would stride off, sending patterns of frosty air before him like the smoke of a cigar. Sometimes he would walk for hours and miles and return only at midnight to his house.
And on his way he would see the cottages and homes with their dark windows, and it was not unequal to walking through a graveyard where only the faintest glimmers of firefly light appeared in flickers behind the windows. Sudden gray phantoms seemed to manifest upon inner room walls where a curtain was still undrawn against the night, or there were whisperings and murmurs where a window in a tomblike building was still open.
Question 1.
Who was the pedestrian?
Answer:
The pedestrian was a simple and usual person named Leonard Mead who loves to have his evening walk at the roads of a city, which remains silent every evening, years after years.
Question 2.
What did Leonard love?
Answer:
Leonard loved to walk in the misty evenings in November, putting his feet upon the buckling concrete walk, stepping over the grassy seams, making his way through the silences.
Question 3.
Which year is mentioned in the story? Why was Leonard alone?
Answer:
The year 2053 is mentioned here. Leonard was alone because there was no one outside to enjoy the beauty of the evening. People were inside as they were busy in their own meaningless habit and so the streets were empty. Therefore, while walking, he sometimes spent hours and walked for miles and returned only at midnight to his house.
Question 4.
What did Leonard use to see on his way?
Answer:
On his way, while walking, Leonard used to see cottages and homes with their dark windows behind which people used to stay busy in their own world. The writer here used the imagery of the ‘gray phantoms’ to express how lifeless lives these inside- people used to live.
B. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
Mr. Leonard Mead would pause, cock his head, listen, look, and march on, his feet making no noise on the lumpy walk. For long ago he had wisely changed to sneakers when strolling at night, because the dogs in intermittent squads would parallel his journey with barkings if he wore hard heels, and lights might click on and faces appear and an entire street be startled by the passing of a lone figure, himself, in the early November evening.
On this particular evening he began his journey in a westerly direction, toward the hidden sea. There was a good crystal frost in the air; it cut the nose and made the lungs blaze like a Christmas tree inside; you could feel the cold light going on and off, all the branches filled with invisible snow.
He listened to the faint push of his soft shoes through autumn leaves with satisfaction, and whistled a cold quiet whistle between his teeth, occasionally picking up a leaf as he passed, examining its skeletal pattern in the infrequent lamplights as he went on, smelling its rusty smell.
Question 1.
… “he had wisely changed to sneakers when strolling at night”—Why?
Answer:
As the street of the city were of no people, the dogs used to roam around freely without fear. Therefore he had to walk very quietly at night to avoid the dogs’ squad. Due to this, he could not even wear – hard heels.
Question 2.
Why was Leonard the lone figure in the streets of early November evening?
Answer:
In the beautiful November evenings, people were busy inside their houses with their television. Therefore, no one was outside to enjoy the beauty of the environment except Leonard. So, he was the lone figure in the streets.
Question 3.
… “There was a good crystal frost in the air” – Why?
Answer:
As it was the month of November, winter had crept into the city and made the environment cold and freezing. The wintry air carried chills in it and so it felt like “there was a good crystal frost in the air” that “cut the nose” making the lungs blaze, as if there was a Christmas tree inside.
Question 4.
What is talked about in the above passage?
Answer:
In the above passage, the loneliness of Leonard is depicted. As there was no one at the streets, he had to stroll alone every evening. The beauty of the cold November evenings is beautifully painted with the description of the cold air, branches of the trees with “invisible snow”, the falling of the autumn leaves, and so on.
C. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
“Hello, in there,” he whispered to every house on every side as he moved. “What’s up tonight on Channel 4, Channel 7, Channel 9? Where are the cowboys rushing, and do I see the United States Cavalry over the next hill to the rescue?” The street was silent and long and empty, with only his shadow moving like the shadow of a hawk in midcountry.
If he closed his eyes and stood very still, frozen, he could imagine himself upon the center of a plain, a wintry, windless Arizona desert with no house in a thousand miles, and only dry river beds, the streets, for company. “What is it now?” he asked the houses, noticing his wrist watch. “Eight-thirty P.M.? Time for a dozen assorted murders? A quiz? A revue? A comedian falling off the stage?”
Question 1.
“Hello, in there,” – Who is the speaker here? To whom did he speak?
Answer:
Here, the speaker is Leonard Mead, the lone stroller of the night. As he was the lone stroller in the streets of the city, he had no one to keep him company. So, he spoke to every house on every side as he moved, imagining those to be his listeners.
Question 2.
“What’s up tonight on Channel 4, Channel 7, Channel 9?”- Why did the speaker say so?
Answer:
The speaker Mr Leonard said so because everyone in each house was busy in watching television every evening and so they had no intention to go outside. Leonard knew this. So, imagining each house as his companion, he said so.
Question 3.
Why was Leonard’s shadow compared with the “shadow of a hawk”?
Answer:
Leonard was the only person who was taking a walk at the evening in the streets. There was no one outside and that is why the streets were “silent and long and empty.” As he was the lone figure, his shadow was compared with the shadow of a hawk. Like a hawk, he used to stand alone and looked at the houses, seeking for company.
Question 4.
… “Eight-thirty P.M.? Time for a dozen assorted murders?”- Why did the speaker say so?
Answer:
The speaker, Leonard, was a lone stroller in the streets. He used to spend his evenings, walking alone for hours, enjoying the beauty of the surroundings. He longed for company but he could not get any as everyone was busy in watching television. He wanted to know what contents they used to see every day, avoiding everything around them. So, guessing what could be the contents, he said so.
D. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
“Was that a murmur of laughter from within a moon- white house?” He hesitated, but went on when nothing more happened. He stumbled over a particularly uneven section of sidewalk. The cement was vanishing under flowers and grass. In ten years of walking by night or day, for thousands of miles, he had never met another person walking, not once in all that time.
He came to a cloverleaf intersection which stood silent where two main highways crossed the town. During the day it was a thunderous surge of cars, the gas stations open, a great insect rustling and a ceaseless jockeying for position as the scarab beetles, a faint incense puttering from their exhausts, skimmed homeward to the far directions.
But now these highways, too, were like streams in a dry season, all stone and bed and moon radiance. He turned back on a side street, circling around toward his home. He was within a block of his destination when the lone car turned a corner quite suddenly and flashed a fierce white cone of light upon him. He stood entranced, not unlike a night moth, stunned by the illumination, and then drawn toward it.
Question 1.
… “Was that a murmur of laughter from within a moon-white house?”- Why did the speaker say so?
Answer:
As the speaker, Leonard, was the lone stroller, he used to seek company every evening but unfortunately, he could not get any because there was no one outside. Everyone was busy in watching television and he had been experiencing this for years. So, in mind, he sometimes hallucinated voices of people. That is why he said so.
Question 2.
For how many years was Leonard walking? How many miles did he cover?
Answer:
Leonard had been walking for ten years alone, without a single company to keep. He covered thousands of miles like this, with a hope that he might find someone at the road, someday.
Question 3.
What would happen during the days?
Answer:
During the days, number of cars used to roam in the streets, honking. The gas stations were open and there were lots of activities happening outside. Unlike the evenings, there was not a single hint of silence. It seems, that everyone had their own work to do, own duties to perform.
Question 4.
According to you, how did the speaker feel, being alone?
Answer:
No one in this world, liked to stay alone all the time. According to me, Leonard though enjoyed his walks, in mind he felt somewhat miserable being the lone stroller. He longed for company and as he did not get any, he used to talk to the houses, considering the houses to be his listeners.
E. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
A metallic voice called to him: “Stand still. Stay where you are! Don’t move!” He halted. “Put up your hands!” “But-” he said. “Your hands up! Or we’ll shoot!” The police, of course, but what a rare, incredible thing; in a city of three million, there was only one police car left, wasn’t that correct?
Ever since a year ago, 2052, the election year, the force had been cut down from three cars to one. Crime was ebbing; there was no need now for the police, save for this one lone car wandering and wandering the empty streets.
“Your name?” said the police car in a metallic whisper. He couldn’t see the men in it for the bright light in his eyes. “Leonard Mead,” he said. “Speak up!” “Leonard Mead!” “Business or profession?” “I guess you’d call me a writer.” “No profession,” said the police car, as if talking to itself.
The light held him fixed, like a museum specimen, needle thrust through chest. “You might say that,” said Mr. Mead. He hadn’t written in years. Magazines and books didn’t sell any more. Everything went on in the tomblike houses at night now, he thought, continuing his fancy. The tombs, ill-lit by television light, where the people sat like the dead, the gray or multicolored lights touching their faces, but never really touching them.
Question 1.
… “Stand still. Stay where you are!”—Who is the speaker here? Who is the person spoken to?
Answer:
Here, the speaker is a metallic voice that called to Leonard. The person spoken to is Leonard Mead, who enjoys his walk alone every evening, without any company.
Question 2.
… “Leonard Mead!” “Business or profession?” – Why did the speaker say so?
Answer:
The speaker here is a metallic voice that stopped Leonard when he was enjoying his evening walk. As there was no one on the street, the metallic voice doubted Leonard’s intention. The metallic voice was coming from a police car. So, out of suspicion, the speaker wanted to know his whereabouts.
Question 3.
… “I guess you’d call me a writer.”—Who is the speaker? Why did he say so?
Answer:
Here the speaker is Leonard Mead. When Leonard was stopped by a police car and was asked about his profession, he said so. Though he could have been called a writer, he had not written in years and his magazines and books did not sell anymore. It was as if, he had no such profession.
Question 4.
… “Your hands up! Or we’ll shoot!” Why did the speaker say so?
Answer:
Here, the speaker is a metallic voice coming from a police car. The voice, seeing Leonard alone at night, doubted his intentions. As there was no one outside, the voice considered him to be an anti-social or a person with an evil intention. That is why, the speaker said so to know about his whereabouts.
The Pedestrian Story MCQs
Choose the correct alternative to complete the following sentences:
Question 1.
Where does Mr Leonard Mead like to stand?
a. Top of the hills
b. In the market
c. Comer of an intersection
d. Any other place
Answer:
c. Comer of an intersection
Question 2.
When was he alone?
a. A.D. 2053
b. A.D. 2054
c. A.D. 2052
d. A.D. 2043
Answer:
a. A.D. 2053
Question 3.
When was Mr Leonard Mead going for a walk?
a. At morning
b. At night
c. At day
d. At evening
Answer:
d. At evening
Question 4.
On a particular evening, to which way Mr Leonard Mead began his journey?
a. South direction
b. South direction towards the hidden sea
c. Westerly direction, towards the hidden sea
d. Towards graveyard
Answer:
c. Westerly direction, towards the hidden sea
Question 5.
“Hello, in there” – Who is the speaker here?
a. The writer
b. Mr. Leonard Mead
c. Every house on every side of the road
d. None of them
Answer:
b. Mr. Leonard Mead
Question 6.
“If he closed his eyes and stood very still”- Where could he imagine himself?
a. He imagined himself at Arizona desert
b. He imagined himself at Thar Desert
c. He imagined himself at play ground
d. He imagined himself at home
Answer:
a. He imagined himself at Arizona desert
Question 7.
What with was the narrator’s shadow compared?
a. Tiger
b. Unicom
c. Hawk
d. Crow
Answer:
c. Hawk
Question 8.
“What is it now?”—To whom did Mr Leonard Mead ask this?
a. To the street
b. To the houses
c. To the tree
d. To the hawk
Answer:
b. To the houses
Question 9.
What was the time when Mr Leonard Mead noticed his watch?
a. Eight-twenty P.M
b. Seven P.M
c. Eight-thirty five P.M
d. Eight-thirty P.M
Answer:
d. Eight-thirty P.M
Question 10.
From which house did the murmur of laughter come?
a. Moon-white house
b. White house
c. Black house
d. Red house
Answer:
a. Moon-white house
Question 11.
For how long was Mr Leonard Mead walking?
a. Five years
b. Nine years
c. Ten years
d. Eleven Years
Answer:
c. Ten years
Question 12.
“Stand still. Stay where you are! Don’t move!”— Who said this?
a. Mr Leonard Mead
b. The narrator
c. The writer
d. The police
Answer:
d. The police
Question 13.
How many people lived in the city?
a. Three million
b. Two million
c. Five million
d. Ten million
Answer:
a. Three million
Question 14.
How many police cars. was/were left in the city?
a. Ten
b. One
c. Twenty
d. Five
Answer:
b. One
Question 15.
In which year was the election conducted?
a. 2018
b. 2023
c. 2050
d. 2052
Answer:
d. 2052
Question 16.
Why couldn’t he see the men?
a. Because of snow
b. Because he was blind
c. Because of the bright light in his eyes
d. Because of the sunlight
Answer:
c. Because of the bright light in his eyes
Question 17.
“No profession”—Who said this?
a. Mr Leonard Mead
b. The police
c. The writer
d. None of them
Answer:
b. The police
Question 18.
From where did the gray or multicolored lights come?
a. From the television
b. From the sky
c. From the lamppost
d. From the bulb
Answer:
a. From the television
Question 19.
“I protest!”—Who said this?
a. The Police
b. The Writer
c. Mr Mead
d. None of them
Answer:
c. Mr Mead
Question 20.
What is Mr Mead’s house number?
a. Ten
b. Twelve
c. Nine
d. Eleven
Answer:
d. Eleven
Question 21.
Why was Mr Mead walking?
a. For air
b. For a person to meet
c. For food
d. For his office
Answer:
a. For air
Question 22.
Where did the people sit like the dead?
a. In front of doctor
b. In front of television
c. In front of police
d. In front of people
Answer:
b. In front of television
Question 23.
“That’s my house”—Who said this?
a. Mr Mead
b. The police
c. The writer
d. None of them
Answer:
a. Mr Mead
Question 24.
Who wrote the story “The Pedestrian”?
a. Rabindranath Tagore
b. Satyajit Ray
c. Ray Bradbury
d. Oscar Wilde
Answer:
c. Ray Bradbury
Question 25.
In which month is the story set?
a. January
b. November
c. December
d. March
Answer:
b. November
Question 26.
What time is mentioned at the beginning of the story?
a. Nine O’clock
b. Ten O’clock
c. Seven O’clock
d. Eight O’clock
Answer:
d. Eight O’clock
Question 27.
When did Mr Leonard Mead use to return his house?
a. At evening
b. At midnight
c. At morning
d. At afternoon
Answer:
b. At midnight
Question 28.
How was the voice that was coming from the police car?
a. Sweet
b. Loud
c. Metallic
d. Rough
Answer:
c. Metallic
Question 29.
In which year was Ray Bradbury born?
a. 1920
b. 1820
c. 1930
d. 1910
Answer:
a. 1920
Question 30.
In which year Ray Bradbury died?
a. 2014
b. 2012
c. 2011
d. 2015
Answer:
b. 2012