2nd PU English - Too Dear Questions & Answers

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MCQs

1. One of the commodities that was not taxed by the prince of Monaco was on _______.

a) Gaming House b) Wine and spirit c) Income Tax d) Poll tax

2. ________is the special source of revenue in the Kingdom of Monaco.

a) Poll-tax b) Roulette c) Tobacco d) Wine

3. The tiny little kingdom called Monaco lies near the borders of _______.

a) France and Russia b) Italy and Germany

c) France and Italy d) Russia and Germany

4. In the kingdom called Monaco, there were about _______ people.

a) seven thousand b) six thousand and eight hundred

c) eight thousand d) eight thousand and five hundred

5. The tiny little kingdom called Monaco had an army comprising _____

men.

a) seven thousand b) sixty thousand

c) sixty d) sixteen thousand

6. The only gambling establishment in entire Europe was in _______.

a) Russia b) France c) Italy d) Monaco

7. The ________ forbade their rulers to make money through gambling.

a) Russians b) French c) Italians d) Germans

8. The monopoly of the business of gambling was with ______.

a) Russia b) France c) Italy d) Monaco

9. Complete the proverb. “You can’t earn stone palaces by ______.

a) by gambling b) by honest labour

c) by drinking and smoking d) by winning money

10. Monaco lies near the borders of France and Italy and on the shores of the_____.

a) Arabian Sea b) Indian Ocean c) Pacific Ocean d) Mediterranean Sea

11. The initial punishment given to the criminal by the council was ______.

a) life imprisonment b) death sentence

c) by giving him pension d) by putting him in prison

12. One of the reasons for altering the death sentence to life imprisonment was _____.

a) they sympathized with the murderer  

b) they did not have an executioner

c) they did not have a guillotine

d) they neither had a guillotine nor did they have an executioner

13. The king had spent _______on the criminal after a year.

a) 200 francs b) 600 francs c) 16000 francs d. 12000 francs

14. A guillotine and an executioner would cost ________ if supplied from

France.

a) 200 francs b) 600 francs c) 16000 francs d) 12000 francs

15. The people of Monaco mentioned in ‘Too Dear!’ were _______.

a) sociable b) peaceable c) fashionable d) irritable

16. The criminal received _______as advance before leaving Monaco.

a) one third of his pension b) two third of his pension

c) half his pension d) his full pension

17. The criminal’s food was initially fetched by _______.

a) himself b) a courtier c) a guard d) a soldier

18. The criminal was offered a pension amount of _______ francs.

a) 7000 b) 600 c) 16000 d) 12000

19. The criminal’s food was fetched from ____________.

a) the soldiers’ kitchen b) the prince’s kitchen

c) the gaming house d) the criminal’s kitchen

20. The criminal was in the prison for ______.

a) six months b) a year c) a month d) 15 days

21. If all the land in Monaco were divided, each inhabitant would get _____.

a) about one acre b) 600 acres c) less than half an acre d) two acres

22. The king had to find a special source of revenue because ______.

a) the income from the taxes was insufficient

b) his people drank and smoked less.

c) the people of Monaco gambled a lot.

d) the people wanted more revenue

23. The death sentence in ‘Too Dear!’ was altered because _______.

a) the king wanted to show mercy to the criminal

b) doing so would not be expensive

c) no one was willing to execute the criminal

d) the people of Monaco wanted him to be pardoned

24. When the guard was dismissed, the criminal in ‘Too Dear!’ ______.

a) was happy and tried to run away

b) worried about the guard’s family

c) did not show any sign of running away

d) demanded protection

25. The criminal in ‘Too Dear!’ agreed to go away from the prison after_____.

a) he was offered a pension b) he was allowed to emigrate

c) the guard was dismissed d) he was offered a job

26. No soldier came forward to execute the murderer because ______.

a) they wanted him to be pardoned

b) they had not been taught in that art

c) the guard was dismissed d) the guard was offered a job

27. The special source of revenue in Monaco came from _________.

a) tobacco b) Poll Tax c) a gaming house d) Taxes on wine and spirits

28. The criminal was awarded the death sentence for _________.

a) indulging in gambling b) committing murder

c) robbing a person d) he refused to pay taxes

29. The criminal finally received __________ his annuity in advance.

a) one-third of b) half of c) one-fourth of d) three-fourth of

30. The guard was dismissed ______

a) to save money over his salary b) as he was not efficient

c) to let the criminal run-away d) to make the criminal repent

Comprehension I

1.   Why was ‘Monaco’ called a ‘toy kingdom’?
Ans: It had just about seven thousand people and if all land in kingdom were divided, there would not be an acre for each inhabitant.

2.  Name the commodities taxed in Monaco.

Ans: They were tobacco, wine and spirits.

3.  What was the source of the King’s special revenue? Who were its beneficiaries?

Ans: Gaming house or the profit from the gaming house wear the source of special revenue. The King, the gamekeeper, the officials and his people were the beneficiaries.

4. Why did the Germans stop gaming houses in their country and how did it benefit Monaco?

Ans: The gaming houses caused more harm.        Monaco was benefited as it was the only             place in Europe that allowed this game.

5. What was the punishment given to the murderer?

Ans: Death sentence / Capital Punishment / Execution

6.  The death sentence was converted into life imprisonment because

Ans: (b) Carrying out death sentence was expensive.

7.  How much did the king spend on the criminal, annually?

Ans: 600 francs a year.

8. On what condition did the criminal agree to go away from the prison? How was his demand fulfilled?

Ans: That he would be paid his annual pension regularly. By paying one-third of his annuity as advance his demand was fulfilled. 

Comprehension II

1.    Though gambling is a dirty business, why does the king of Monaco resort to it?

OR

‘You can’t earn stone palaces by honest labour’. In what context is this statement made?

Ans: This is from the story “Too Dear” written by Count Leo Tolstoy who is a master of realistic fiction and widely considered one of the world’s greatest novelists. This story is a parody of one of the modern systems of governance. The king of Monaco ruled a tiny kingdom with a small population of about seven thousand. In that kingdom he was a real kinglet. He had a palace, courtiers, ministers, a bishop, generals and an army to take care of. However, he had very limited sources of income: a tax on tobacco, wine, spirits and a poll-tax. These sources were insufficient. So, he found a new source of special income; a gaming house where people played roulette. This was the only place in the whole of Europe where people would come to play. Whether they would win or lose, the Prince gained by it. It is like, ‘You can’t earn stone palaces by honest labour’. This statement is true with reference to the context the king of Monaco lived in. He knew it very well that gambling is a dirty business. He also understood that by levying taxes on drink and tobacco for revenue was not a good idea. But, he had to resort to it for the survival and sustenance of his kingdom.

2.   Why did the king of Monaco keep changing his mind in dealing with the criminal?

Ans: This is from the story “Too Dear” written by Count Leo Tolstoy who is a master of realistic fiction and widely considered one of the world’s greatest novelists. This story is a parody of one of the modern systems of governance. When the criminal was sentenced to death, there was only one hitch in the matter; they had neither a guillotine nor an executioner. The ministers then sought the French Government for assistance. They said that they could arrange for the same with a cost of 16000 francs. Finding the cost more expensive, the Council decided to write a letter to the King of Italy. Though the cost quoted stood at 12000 francs, it still seemed too much. Even the suggestion of asking one of their soldiers to execute the criminal did not yield results. Later, it was decided to alter the death sentence to one of imprisonment for life. The Prince agreed to this. But exactly after a year when he looked over the account, he noticed a new item of expenditure for the keep of the criminal. It came to more than 600 francs a year. So, they dismissed the guard so that the criminal might run away. But this did not happen as he remained inside. When brought before the Prince to explain why he did not run away, he complained that they had spoilt his character by their sentence. Finally, a Council was called and it considered offering him a pension of 600 francs to get rid of him. Thus the matter was settled. This is how the King of Monaco kept changing his mind dealing with the criminal.  

3.  Why was the criminal reluctant to go out of the prison?

Ans: The criminal was reluctant to go out of the prison because he had nowhere to go. He complained that by their death sentence, they had ruined his character. He was afraid that people would turn their backs on him. Besides, he had lost touch with the way of working. He said he had been treated badly which was not fair. After he was sentenced, he should have been executed. Instead, they changed it to life imprisonment, put a guard on him and then took him away again. He had to fetch his own food. Though he agreed to all these changes without complaining, he was not willing to go away from prison as he thought he would be rejected by society as a normal citizen. He would not earn any respect. So, he declined to go out of the prison.

4.   How did the criminal lead his life after his release?

Ans: After the criminal was released, he received one-third of his annuity in advance, and left the King’s territories. He emigrated and settled just across the border where he bought a bit of land, started market-gardening and lived comfortably. He always went at the proper time to draw his pension. After collecting, he would go to the gaming tables and stake two or three francs. Sometimes he would win and at times, he would lose and return home. Thus, he lived happily.

Comprehension III

1.  Though the trial and imprisonment of the criminal is depicted in a comic mode in this story, it does give rise to serious questions. What are they?

Ans: This is from the story “Too Dear” written by Count Leo Tolstoy who is a master of realistic fiction and widely considered one of the world’s greatest novelists. This story is a parody of one of the modern systems of governance. Though the writer presents the trial and punishment of the criminal in a comic manner, he raises very serious questions. The very method of trial is attacked: how can the jury ignore the practical aspect of judgement while awarding death sentence to the criminal when it does not have the required machinery and man power? Both the crime and punishment are interlinked here to mock at society and its legal and administrative system. For example, in the story crime takes place because of gambling. Ironically, the tiny kingdom does not support crime, but allows gambling. This is very true even with modern governments and with their law and administration. In this context, how can a criminal who is sentenced to life imprisonment reform or face society again because of lapses in legal system? Finally, when the story ends, the criminal after his release, leads a happy life and often visits the gaming house. Isn’t there a possibility of the freed man turning criminal owing to gaming again?

2.  Were there other ways of dealing with crime and the criminal? Discuss in the light of the story?

Ans: The Prince of Monaco could have dealt with crime and the criminal in other ways also. First of all, when he found out that gaming houses were forbidden in the entire Europe, he could very well have banned one in Monaco too. It was his risk with the monopoly over the game. Then, when the crime took place in his domains, the criminal was sentenced to death. Here, at this point, he could have used his wisdom and come up with a practical solution to deal with the punishment. Life imprisonment would have been a much better option giving an opportunity for the criminal to reform in the process. Instead of releasing him with an assured pension, the King could have employed him suitably.