The Girl Who Can Story Questions and Answers & MCQs

The Girl Who Can Story Questions and Answers & MCQs

A. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

They say that I was born in Hasodzi; and it is a very big village in the central region of our country, Ghana. They also say that when all of Africa is not choking under a drought, Hasodzi lies in a very fertile lowland in a district known for its good soil.

Maybe that is why any time I don’t finish eating my food, Nana says, “You Adjoa, you don’t know what life is about… you don’t know what problems there are in this life …” As far as I could see, there was only one problem. And it had nothing to do with what I knew Nana considered as “problems,” or what Maami thinks of as “the problem.” Maami is my mother.

Nana is my mother’s mother. And they say I am seven years old. And my problem is that at this seven years of age, there are things I can think in my head, but which, maybe, I do not have the proper language to speak them out with.

And that, I think, is a very serious problem because it is always difficult to decide whether to keep quiet and not say any of the things that come into my head, or say them and get laughed at. Not that it is easy to get any grown-up to listen to you, even when you decide to take the risk and say something serious to them.

Question 1.
Who is the speaker of the above text? Where was she born?
Answer:
The speaker of the above text is a little girl of seven years old. She was born in Hasodzi, a very big village in the central region of Ghana, Africa.

Question 2.
Who is Nana? Who is Maami?
Answer:
Nana is the grandmother of the speaker and Maami is the mother of the speaker. Though these two get along well, sometimes they argue about Adjoa and her thin legs.

Question 3.
What does Adjoa think to be a serious problem? Why?
Answer:
Adjoa is a little girl who has many thoughts buzzing in her head. She wants to find answers of these thoughts or wants to share her thoughts with someone but she does not have the proper language to speak them out with. To her, this is a serious problem because it is difficult to decide whether to keep quiet or say them and get laughed at.

Question 4.
“Not that is easy to get any grown-up to listen to you,”—Why?
Answer:
According to the speaker, grown-ups do not care much about what the kids are thinking or what they want to say. Kids’ mind thus keeps searching for answers to the questions which trouble them all the time. But they do not have any listener. That is why the speaker said those above mentioned words.

B. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

Take Nana. First, I have to struggle to catch her attention. Then I tell her something I had taken a long time to figure out. And then you know what ‘ always happens? She would at once stop whatever she is doing and, mouth open, stare at me for a very long time. Then, bending and turning her head slightly, so that one ear comes down towards me, she’ll say in that voice:

“Adjoa, you say what?”After I have repeated whatever I had said, she would either, still in that voice, ask me “never, never, but NEVER to repeat THAT,” or she would immediately burst out laughing. She would laugh and laugh and laugh, until tears run down her cheeks and she would stop whatever she is doing and wipe away the tears with the hanging edges of her cloth.

And she would continue laughing until she is completely tired. But then, as soon as another person comes by, just to make sure she doesn’t forget whatever it was I had said, she would repeat it to her. And then, of course, there would be two old people laughing and screaming with tears running down their faces.

Sometimes this show continues until there are three, four or even more of such laughing and screaming tear-faced grownups. And all that performance for whatever I’d said? I find something quite confusing in all this. That is, no one ever explains to me why sometimes I shouldn’t repeat some things I say; while at other times, some other things I say would not only be all right, but would be considered so funny they would be repeated so many times for so many people’s enjoyment.

Question 1.
“Adjoa, you say what?”—Who is the speaker here? Who is the person spoken to?
Answer:
Here the speaker is an old lady, Nana, who is the grandmother of the speaker. Here, the person spoken to his Adjoa, a little girl of seven years old.

Question 2.
Why does Nana “laugh and laugh and laugh”?
Answer:
Nana does not pay attention to what her granddaughter Adjoa has to say. And when somehow she listens to her, she thinks those to be baseless and thus laugh at her.

Question 3.
Why does the narrator have to struggle to catch Nana’s attention?
Answer:
The narrator is a kid and so she has various things in mind to which she wants to find answers. She wants to discuss things to her elders but neither Nana nor Maami listens much to those, especially Nana who does not pay heed to her words. That is why she has to struggle much.

Question 4.
What is the above mentioned passage about?
Answer:
The above mentioned passage is about Adjoa’s thoughts which do not get priority to Nana, her grandmother. She is a kid and so she has many unsolved queries in mind and when she expresses those to Nana, she is mocked at by her. Nana laughs at her and ignores her.

C. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

“Legs that have meat on them with good calves support solid hips…to be able to have children.” So I wished that one day I would see, for myself, the legs of any woman who had had children.

Question 1.
Why are legs important in this story?
Answer:
in the story, Adjoa’s legs are too thin. Legs are important because her grandma thinks that those legs are meant to raise a family. When Adjoa is selected to run for the junior athletes and she becomes the best junior athlete, she realizes that legs can be useful in so many other ways.

Question 2.
What is the role of women in the story?
Answer:
According to Nana, the role of women is to create a family and take care of the children. At the end of the story, it has been established that women can contribute to society in many ways.

Question 3.
Why does Nana criticize the narrator’s legs?
Answer:
Nana worries that the narrator’s legs are too thin, and that she doesn’t have good legs and hips to have children later. Clearly this is an example of the society values created for women to behave only like child-bearers.

Question 4.
What are the limitations of the narrator’s abilities?
Answer:
If anything the narrator’s abilities when it comes to running free the narrator from the traditional outlook that Nana has when it comes to the abilities of a woman to give birth. This might be impotent as Aidoo may be suggesting that the narrator may not necessarily carry on the traditions that Nana has lived her life by.

D. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

“Some people have no legs at all,” my mother would try again with all her small courage. “But Adoja has legs,” Nana would insist; “except that they are too thin. And also too long for a woman. Kaya listen, once in a while, but only once in a very long while somebody decides- nature, a child’s spirit mother, and accident happens, and somebody gets born without arms or legs or both sets of limbs…”

Question 1.
“Some people have no legs at ail,”—Who is the speaker here? Who is the person spoken to?
Answer:
Here, the speaker is Maami, whose another name is Kaya and she is the mother of Adjoa. The person spoken to is Nana, the grandmother of Adjoa.

Question 2.
According to Nana, what is an accident?
Answer:
According to Nana, when a child is born without arms or legs or both sets of limbs then that is an accident because the nature who is also called a child’s spirit mother, decides that disabilities to be the future of the unborn child.

Question 3.
Write a few words about the character of Maami.
Answer:
Maami has not much role to play in this story. She is a hesitant and speechless character who remains static in the whole story. She loves Adjoa and supports her dreams but when it comes to save her from, the disheartened comments of her own mother, she turns timid.

Question 4.
Why does Maami and Nana argue?
Answer:
Nana is not pleased with the thin legs of her granddaughter, Adjoa because she thinks that a woman should have strong legs that would help her when she would give birth to a child. But Maami supports her daughter and does not have any issues with her legs. That is why they argue to state each other’s point of view.

E. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

School is another thing Nana and my mother discussed often and appeared to have different ideas about. Nana thought it would be a waste of time. I never understood what she meant. My mother seemed to know and disagreed.

She kept telling Nana that she, that is, my mother— felt she was locked into some kind of darkness because she didn’t go to school. So that if I, her daughter, could learn to write and read my own name and a little besides- perhaps be able to calculate some things on paper- that would be good. I could always marry later and may be…

Question 1.
Why did Maami feel “locked into some kind of darkness”?
Answer:
Maami felt “locked into some kind of darkness” she never had the opportunity to go to school and explore the unknown. She felt sad about this and always feel regretted.

Question 2.
Did Maami want her daughter to go to school?
Answer:
Yes, Maami always wanted her daughter to attend school because she wanted her to leant and explore the unknown. She wanted Adjoa to have the freedom of choices which she did not have the opportunity to get.

Question 3.
Why, according to the story, the school was a waste of time for women?
Answer:
As per the social stigma existing in the society, women are meant only to create a family and take care of theme. Education is not important. African countries were under colonial rule for a long time and the colonizers did not take my effective step for their education. So after colonization, the women especially were stuck to their earlier condition.

Question 4.
Give a brief note on the character of Nana, after reading the story “The Girl Who Can.”
Answer:
Nana is the mother Maami and grandmother of Adjoa. She is an authoritative woman who loves to silence people around her, in her own exquisite style. She thinks that she is the most knowledgeable person in the house and often argues with Maami when it comes to Adjoa.

Adjoa’s thin legs displease her as thinks that this stresses their incapability to hold a solid figure for a woman giving birth. But Adjoa makes her realise that a woman’s body has more to do than just giving birth to babies. She appreciates Adjoa’s skill as a runner in the end of the story and changes her view of life.

The Girl Who Can Story MCQs

Choose the correct alternative to complete the following sentences:

Question 1.
In which village is ‘The Girl Who Can’ set?
a. Bobrapa
b. Hasodzi
c. Asempa
d. Domiaabra
Answer:
b. Hasodzi

Question 2.
What distinguishes Hasodzi from other villages in the story?
a. Its people
b. Its market
c. Its fertile soil
d. Its chiefs
Answer:
c. Its fertile soil

Question 3.
Who is the narrator of the story?
a. Adjoa
b. Nana
c. Maami
d. Ama Ata Aidoo
Answer:
a. Adjoa

Question 4.
How old is the narrator of the story?
a. 12
b. 8
c. 7
d. 6
Answer:
c. 7

Question 5.
Who is the mother of Adjoa?
a. Maami
b. Ama Ata Aidoo
c. Nana
d. None of them
Answer:
a. Maami

Question 6.
What is the other name of Maami in the story?
a. Pokua
b. Kaya
c. Rose
d. Adjoa
Answer:
b. Kaya

Question 7.
What is the relation between Nana and Maami?
a. Friends
b. Grandmother-mother
c. Mother-daughter
d. Sisters
Answer:
c. Mother-daughter

Question 8.
Which of these amuses Adjoa?
a. Nana’s ignorance
b. No one explains to her why she shouldn’t repeat certain things
c. Nana’s laughter
d. Her struggle to catch her grandmother’s attention
Answer:
b. No one explains to her why she shouldn’t repeat certain things

Question 9.
About what doNana and Kaya constanly argue?
a. Adjoa’s legs
b. Parental issues
c. Politics
d. Adjoa’s education
Answer:
a. Adjoa’s legs

Question 10.
Which of these set of characters are Adjoa’s favourite people?
a. Her mother and father
b. Maami and Esinam
c. Kaya and Nana
d. Maami and teacher
Answer:
c. Kaya and Nana

Question 11.
“The land of sweet, soft silence”- What does this literary device best exemplify?
a. Onomatopoeia
b. Personification
c. Oxymoron
d. Alliteration
Answer:
d. Alliteration

Question 12.
“Out of the land of sweet, soft silence” What is the meaning of this expression?
a. Competing in a race
b. Being born
c. Arriving at school
d. Playing in the school
Answer:
b. Being born

Question 13.
According to Adjoa what did Nana and Maami discuss when she was born?
a. Her beauty
b. Her head
c. Her skin colour
d. Her legs
Answer:
d. Her legs

Question 14.
Which of these characters are said to have many voices?
a. Adjoa
b. Ama Ata Aidoo
c. Nana
d. Kaya
Answer:
c. Nana

Question 15.
Why is Adjoa confused about what to say and what not to say?
a. She lacks the proper language to speak them out
b. She fears Nana’s reaction
c. Her mother will scold her
d. Everyone will laugh at her
Answer:
a. She lacks the proper language to speak them out

Question 16.
What kind of legs does Nana believe every woman should have?
a. This legs
b. Fat legs
c. Short legs
d. Legs that have meat on them
Answer:
d. Legs that have meat on them

Question 17.
Why was Nana worried about Adjoa’s legs?
a. She believes thin legs can easily break
b. She believes thin legs are for lazy people
c. Thin legs are for malnourished people
d. She believes that women with thin legs cannot give birth
Answer:
d. She believes that women with thin legs cannot give birth

Question 18.
What does Nana believe about thin legs?
a. Of no use
b. For lazy people
c. Good for running
d. Good for walking
Answer:
a. Of no use

Question 19.
Which of these does Nana use to shut Kaya up in their arguments?
a. Adjoa’s school
b. Adjoa’s legs
c. Issues of Adjoa’sfather
d. Kaya’s ignorance
Answer:
c. Issues of Adjoa’sfather

Question 20.
Why was it difficult for Adjoa’s to see the legs of the older women who had children?
a. It was a taboo for older women to expose their legs
b. They wore long-wrap around all the time
c. Older women don’t bath in the river
d. The village is always bushy
Answer:
b. They wore long-wrap around all the time

Question 21.
What were Nana’s initial thoughts about education?
a. School is a waste of time
b. School was profitable
c. School was very helpful
d. Education is for the rich
Answer:
a. School is a waste of time

Question 22.
What is Adjoa’s attitude towards school?
a. Indifference
b. Enthusiasm
c. Nonchalant
d. Melancholy
Answer:
b. Enthusiasm

Question 23.
Why does Kaya feel that she is locked into some kind of darkness?
a. Their lantern went off
b. Their village has no light
c. She didn’t go to school
d. She lost her husband
Answer:
c. She didn’t go to school

Question 24.
What was Nana’s reaction to Adjoa representing her school in the district games?
a. Blissfulness
b. Confusion
c. Contentment
d. Disbelieve
Answer:
d. Disbelieve

Question 25.
What did Nana borrow from Mr. Mensah’s house during the district sports?
a. A football
b. A charcoal pressing iron
c. Story books
d. Jerseys
Answer:
b. A charcoal pressing iron

Question 26.
“The big brass bowl”-What literary device is used here?
a. Alliteration
b. Consonance
c. Personification
d. Oxymoron
Answer:
a. Alliteration

Question 27.
What did Nana do when Adjoa won the best round junior athlete?
a. She encouraged her
b. She stopped discussing her legs
c. She bought her an ice cream
d. She carried the cup on her back
Answer:
d. She carried the cup on her back

Question 28.
Where does Adjoa come from?
a. The central region of Ghana
b. The greater Accra region of Ghana
c. The eastern region of Ghana
d. The Ashanti region of Ghana
Answer:
a. The central region of Ghana

Question 29.
“They are too that and I am not asking you!” Who made this statement?
a. Kaya
b. Nana
c. Abena
d. Adjoa
Answer:
b. Nana

Question 30.
“You can hear the cloth creak when she passes by”. What does the statement exemplify?
a. Metaphor
b. Onomatopoeia
c. Metaphor
d. Personification
Answer:
b. Onomatopoeia

Treasure Chest A Collection of ICSE Short Stories Workbook Answers