Old Man at the bridge

Comprehension Passages

Passage 1
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
An old man with steel rimmed spectacles and very dusty clothes sat by the side of the road. There was a
pontoon bridge across the river and carts, trucks, and men, women and children were crossing it. The
mule-drawn carts staggered up the steep bank from the bridge with soldiers helping push against the
spokes of the wheels. The trucks ground up and away heading out of it all and the peasants plodded
along in the ankle deep dust. But the old man sat there without moving. He was too tired to go any
farther.
Question 1.
Who was sitting by the side of the road?
Answer:
An old man wearing steel rimmed glasses and very dusty clothes was sitting by the side of the road.
Question 2.
What does the term “pontoon bridge” mean?
Answer:
A pontoon bridge also known as a floating bridge, uses floats or shallow-draft boats to support a
continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the supports limits the maximum
load they can carry. Most pontoon bridges are temporary, used in wartime and civil emergencies.
Question 3.
Why were the soldiers “helping to push against the spokes of the wheels”?
Answer:
The soldiers were “helping to push against the spokes of the wheels” because there was a steep
elevation.
Question 4.
What does the reference to the old man in the beginning and the end of the passage indicate?
Answer:
The author through the reference to the old man in the beginning and the end of the passage intends to
bring the figure of the old man under a sharp focus.
Question 5.
Why did the old man continue to sit without moving with the other villagers?
Answer:
The old man continued to sit because he was too tired to walk further.
Passage 2
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
It was my business to cross the bridge, explore the bridge head 3 beyond and find out to what point the
enemy had advanced. I did this and returned over the bridge. There were not so many carts now and very
few people on foot, but the old man was still there.’’Where do you come from?” I asked him.
“From San Carlos,” he said, and smiled.
That was his native town and so it gave him pleasure to mention it and he smiled.
“I was taking care of animals,” he explained.
“Oh,” I said, not quite understanding.
“Yes,” he said, “I stayed, you see, taking care of animals. I was the last one to leave the town of San
Carlos.”
He did not look like a shepherd nor a herdsman and I looked at his black dusty clothes and his gray
dusty face and his steel rimmed spectacles and said, “What animals were they?”
“Various animals,” he said, and shook his head. “I had to leave them.”
Question 1.
What was the name of the old man’s native town?
Answer:
The name of the name of the old man’s native town was San Carlos.
Question 2.
What is the narrator’s job?
Answer:
The narrator’s job was to cross the bridge, explore the bridgehead beyond and find out to what point the
enemy had advanced.
Question 3.
Why did the old man leave his hometown? Why did he leave it reluctantly?
Answer:
The old man had to leave his hometown due to the war as the town was being evacuated .He left it
reluctantly because he had to take care of his animals and he did not want to abandon them.
Question 4.
What did the narrator see on the bridge when he returned?
Answer:
When the narrator returned he saw that there were only a few carts and very few people on foot, but the
old man was still there.
Question 5.
What gave the old man pleasure?
Answer:
When he said the name of his hometown aloud, it gave the old man pleasure.
Passage 3
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
“There were three animals altogether,” he explained. “There were two goats and a cat and then there
were four pairs of pigeons.”
“And you had to leave them?” I asked.
“Yes. Because of the artillery. The captain told me to go because of the artillery.” “And you have no
family?” I asked, watching the far end of the bridge where a few last carts were hurrying down the slope
of the bank.
“No,” he said, “only the animals I stated. The cat, of course, will be all right. A cat can look out for itself,
but I cannot think what will become of the others.”
“What politics have you?” I asked.
“I am without politics,” he said. “I am seventy-six years old. I have come twelve kilometers now and I
think now I can go no further.”
“This is not a good place to stop,” I said. “If you can make it, there are trucks up the road where it forks
for Tortosa.”
“I will wait a while,” he said, “ and then I will go. Where do the trucks go?” “Towards Barcelona,” I told him.
“I know no one in that direction,” he said, “but thank you very much.
Question 1.
Why cannot the old man walk further?
Answer:
He could not walk further as he was seventy-six years old and he had come twelve kilometers. He was
very tired.
Question 2.
Why did the old man have to leave his animals?
Answer:
The old man left the animals because the enemy artillery was advancing.
Question 3.
Does the old man have a family? What were the animals he was worried about?
Answer:
The old man had no family, only the animals. He had a cat which would “be all right as it could survive on
its own, but he was worried about the goat.
Question 4.
Why did the soldier tell the old man that it was not a good place to stop?
Answer:
The soldier told the old man that it was not a good place to stop because the enemy was advancing and
soon their planes would launch bombs on the bridge.
Question 5.
Where did the narrator want the old man to go?
Answer:
The narrator wanted the old man to go up the road to where it divided for Tortosa as there were trucks
there which would take the old man to Barcelona.
Passage 4
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
He looked at me very blankly and tiredly, and then said, having to share his worry with someone, “The cat
will be all right, I am sure. There is no need to be unquiet about the cat. But the others. Now what do you
think about the others?”
“Why they’ll probably come through it all right.”
“You think so?”
“Why not,” I said, watching the far bank where now there were no carts.
“But what will they do under the artillery when I was told to leave because of the artillery?”
“Did you leave the dove cage unlocked?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Then they’ll fly.”
“Yes, certainly they’ll fly. But the others. It’s better not to think about the others,” he said.
Question 1.
What does the old man worry about? Why?
Answer:
The old man is worried not about the cat or the doves but about the goat because they would come
under artillery fire and they could not escape like the cat or fly away like the doves.
Question 2.
How does the soldier console the old man? Does it affect the old man in a positive way?
Answer:
The soldier tells the old man that the animals would survive and the doves would fly away. But the old
man is not consoled as he continues to worry about the others, the goats.
Question 3.
Which animal is the old man least concerned about?
Answer:
The old man is least concerned about the cat as it is said the cat has nine lives and is a survivor.
Question 4.
Why is the old man not worried about the birds?
Answer:
He is not worried about the birds as he had left the cage door open and they would fly off.
Question 5.
Why is the old man worried about the goats?
Answer:
The old man is about the goats because they would come under artillery fire as they would not be able to
escape.
Passage 5
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
“If you are rested I would go,” I urged. “Get up and try to walk now.”
“Thank you,” he said and got to his feet, swayed from side to side and then sat down backwards in the
dust.
“I was taking care of animals,” he said dully, but no longer to me. “I was only taking care of animals.”
There was nothing to do about him. It was Easter Sunday and the Fascists were advancing toward the
Ebro. It was a grey overcast day with a low ceiling so their planes were not up. That and the fact that
cats know how to look after themselves was all the good luck that the old man would ever have.
Question 1.
When the narrator spoke to the old man about the pigeon cage, what does this reveal about him?
Answer:
When the narrator speaks to the old man about the pigeon cage it reveals that he cares for the old man.
Question 2.
Why might the old man need good luck at the end of the story?
Answer:
The old man needs good luck at the end of the story because he is not moving away from the war zone
and could die from artillery.
Question 3.
What is the theme of the story?
Answer:
The theme of the story is that we should make sacrifices for those things we love and that war is
destructive and dangerous.
Question 4.
Explain the line, ‘There was nothing to do about him.’
Answer:
This line expresses the sadness and pity that the soldier feels for the old man as he realises that if the
old man sits on the bridge he would surely die. He is loyal to the military system and has to obey orders
and do his duty. He can do nothing for the old man and knows that inevitable death is in his fate.
Question 5.
Why could the Fascists planes not fly?
Answer:
The planes could not fly because the sky was overcast and weather was bad.