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2.Is bread-making still popular in Goa? How do you know? Ans: Yes, bread-making is still popular in Goa. The author has described about the existence of time-old furnaces and their still burning fire. The Goan society is still having moulders, bread mixers and bakers

4. When would the baker come everyday? Why did the children run to meet him? Ans: The baker would come twice every day, once when he set out in the morning on his selling round, and then again, when he returned after emptying his huge basket. The children ran to meet him not because of their love of the loaf, but because they actually longed for the bread-bangles which sometimes, was a sweet bread of special make.
2. What did the bakers wear: (i) in the Portuguese days? (ii) when the author was young? Ans: (i) In the Portuguese days, the bakers had a peculiar dress known as the kabai. It was a single-piece long frock reaching down to the knees. (ii) When the author was young, he saw the bakers wearing a shirt and trousers, which were shorter than full-length ones and longer than half pants.
3. Who invites the comment − “he is dressed like a pader”? Why? Ans: Anyone who wears a half-pant which reaches just below the knees invites the comment that “he is dressed like a pader”. This was so because the bakers were known as pader and they wore such half pants

5. What does a ‘jackfruit-like appearance’ mean? Ans: A ‘jackfruit-like appearance’ means a plump physique. Such a physique was linked to the bakers because they never starved. Baking was apparently a profitable profession. The baker, his family, and his servants always looked happy and prosperous and had a ‘jackfruitlike appearance’

2. Is bread an important part of Goan life? How do you know this?
Ans: Bread is an important part of Goan life.Marriage gifts are meaningless without the sweet bread known as the bol. For a party, bread is a must, while for Christmas, cakes and bolinhas are a must. Sandwiches must be prepared by the lady of the house on her daughter’s engagement. The author says that everybody loves the fragrance of loaves. The elders were given loaves and the children were given bread-bangles, which they longed for. Also, the fact that bakery is a profitable profession shows that the love for bread is enormous in Goa.
1. What ‘experiment’ did Maxwell think Camusfearna would be suitable for? Ans: Maxwell thought that he would keep an otter as a pet instead of a dog.This would be a new experiment for him,as people seldom keep them as pets.Camusfearna ,ringed by water a very short distance from door,would be a suitable spot for the experiment.
2. Why does he go to Basra? How long does he wait there, and why? Ans: He goes to Basra, to the Consulate General, to collect and answer his mail from Europe. He had had to wait there for five days for multiple reasons.Firstly, his mail didn’t reach on time. Then he tried to make a telephone call. This incident is of those days when one had to book an international call 24 hrs in advance. The telephone line was not working properly on the first day. Next day it was some public holiday so the exchange was closed.Then there was some other breakdown. Finally ,after a torturous wait of five days, his mail arrived.
3. How does he get the otter? Does he like it? Pick out the words that tell you this.

Ans: When he received his mail, he carried it to his bedroom to read. There, he saw two Arabs and beside them was a sack that twisted from time to time. They handed him a note from his friend saying that he had sent him an otter. Yes, he likes it. We know this because he uses the term ‘otter fixation’ to refer to his feeling towards the otter. He felt that this ‘otter fixation’ or this strong attachment towards otters was something that was shared by most other people who had ever owned one.

6. What happened when Maxwell took Mijbil to the bathroom? What did it do two days after that?

Ans: Otters live in water and it is their favorite playground. When Maxwell took Mijbil to the bathroom, it went wild with joy in the water for half an hour. It was plunging and rolling in it, shooting up and down the length of the bathtub underwater.Two days after that, it was confident enough to go to the bathroom on its on. By the time he got there, Mijbil was up on the end of the bathtub and fumbling at the chromium taps with its paws. In less than a minute, it had turned the tap far enough to produce some water and after a moment, achieved the full flow

4.Why does Maxwell say the air hostess was “the very queen of her kind”? Ans: Maxwell said that the air hostess was “the very queen of her kind” because she was extremely friendly and helpful. He took her into confidence about the incident with the box. She ,very generously, suggested him to put the otter on his knees. Hearing this, Maxwell developed a profound admiration for her as she understood the pain of both, the otter and its owner.
5. What happened when the box was opened? Ans: When the box was opened, Mij darted out of the box and vanished. There were cries all around.A woman stood up on her seat screaming. Maxwell saw Mij’s tail disappearing beneath the legs of an Indian passenger. He dived for it, but missed. The air hostess suggested him to be seated and that she would find the otter. After a while, Mij returned to him. It climbed on his knees and began to rub its nose on his face and neck.