Textbook Comprehension I (with answers)
1. 'Exquisitely well-mannered people' refers to: a. Indians b. Japanese c. Americans Answer: b. Japanese.
2. What behaviour substitutes privacy in Japan? Courtesy. People politely ignore what is not their business - for example, nobody listens in to calls on the open public telephones.
3. The reference to the public telephone suggests: a. how overcrowded Japan is b. how Japanese respect privacy c. how busy Japanese are Answer: b. The phones are in the open because the country is crowded (a), but the point of the example is that nobody listens in - the Japanese respect privacy.
4. Hierarchy in bowing demands: a. youngsters bow to their elders b. wife bows to her husband c. sisters bow to their brothers Answer: All three are rules of the hierarchy given in the text - the wife bows to her husband, the child to his father, younger brothers to elder brothers, and the sister to all brothers.
5. How does one show appreciation while eating soup? By making a fearful noise while eating it.
6. How are pavements in Brazil decorated? What does it tell us about the people? The grey pavements of Copacabana are decorated with beautiful black mosaics. It shows the people are alive to beauty in their surroundings and have plenty of leisure for relaxed walks.
7. What happens when leisurely people in Brazil get a steering wheel in their hands? No speed is fast enough for them; they drive as if gaining a tenth of a second were a matter of grave importance.
8. Who do the drivers look out for when they are driving? Why? They look out for pedestrians - as targets. When a pedestrian steps off the pavement, the driver treats him as fair game, takes aim and accelerates.
9. What remarkable attitude is seen in the war between drivers? It is murderous but good-tempered. They cut in and overtake on both sides, yet they smile; there is no anger, hostility or mad hooting.
Textbook Comprehension II and III (model answers)
Q. Why is bowing in Japan a complicated process? (II-1) There is a hierarchy that decides who bows to whom, how deeply and for how long. Neither person may straighten up before the other, and even the smallest difference in rank, age or social position is shown by a split second's difference in the bow. Inside the family, the wife bows to her husband, the child to his father, younger brothers to elder brothers, and the sister to all brothers.
Q. Why does bowing, natural in Japan, look so 'quaint' and puzzling to the author? (II-2) Because it is unfamiliar to a European. Mikes finds it more formal and more oriental than shaking hands. When he tries it, he bows too deeply or not deeply enough, to the wrong man at the wrong time, and never knows whether to clasp his hands. The unwritten rules are invisible to an outsider.
Q. Is the author finding fault with or making fun of the cultures of Japan and Brazil? (II-3) He is making gentle fun, not finding fault. His humour is affectionate: he admires the Japanese for their grace and the Brazilians for their love of beauty and good temper. He exaggerates what looks strange to a foreigner and laughs at himself too - bowing wrongly, being robbed by a deer, trapped by soup etiquette. Yet, as the textbook note suggests, travel writing does show another culture through the writer's own eyes.
Q. 'Bowing in Japan is quainter, more formal, more oriental.' Do you agree? (III-1) Yes. A handshake is quick and equal, but the Japanese bow varies in depth and length according to rank, age and relationship. It is performed by everyone - babies, bowing girls, train conductors - with ceremony and grace. To a Western visitor it seems charming and old-fashioned (quaint), strictly regulated (formal) and typical of East Asian culture (oriental).
Q. Describe how traffic in Brazil leads to humorous observations. (III-2) Mikes finds comedy in contradictions. Easy-going Brazilians become speed-mad at the wheel. Cars are too expensive to afford, yet their number grows by leaps and bounds. Drivers "care" about pedestrians by hunting them, and hunter and prey smile at each other. Drivers commit every road crime but stay good-tempered. On the Avenida Vargas, crawling traffic moves at terrifying speed, and a man asks his friend how he crossed - only to be told, "I was born on this side!"
Q. What aspects of our social life might appear quaint and odd to a foreign tourist? (III-3) (Open answer - sample points.) Touching elders' feet; eating with the hand; head-wobbling to mean "yes"; honking constantly in traffic; cows walking on busy roads; guests being urged again and again to eat more; removing footwear before entering homes and temples; large crowds at weddings; and the habit of asking strangers personal questions such as salary or marriage plans.
Exam-Pattern Questions and Answers
Two-mark questions
Q1. What is the double function of courtesy in Japan? Courtesy is both courtesy and a substitute for privacy. On an overcrowded island, people respect privacy by ignoring others' affairs.
Q2. Why did the author call the deer 'a true Japanese'? The deer bowed deeply and politely, then snatched the food-bag. Similarly, gentlemen who bow at bus-stops push like savages when the bus arrives.
Three-mark question (about 60 words)
Q3. Describe briefly the complicated bowing hierarchy followed by the Japanese. (asked in the 2025 board paper) The Japanese follow rules about who bows to whom, how deeply and for how long. Neither person straightens up before the other, and even small differences in rank, age or position show in the length of a bow. In the family, the wife bows to her husband, the child to his father, younger brothers to elder brothers, and the sister to all brothers.
Four-mark question (about 100 words)
Q4. How does George Mikes describe the relationship between drivers and pedestrians in Brazil? Mikes says drivers do care about pedestrians - they are on the look-out for them. As soon as a pedestrian steps off the pavement, he becomes fair game: the driver takes aim and accelerates, and the pedestrian must jump and run for dear life. Yet nobody is angry. Hunter and prey smile amicably at each other, as if saying, "I win today - you will win tomorrow." Drivers also fight one another in a murderous but good-tempered way, cutting in and overtaking on both sides, but always smiling. Crossing the Avenida Vargas is almost impossible.
[Exam Tip] — The statement-reason question in 2025 was on Brazil's expensive cars. Both parts were true: cars are extremely expensive because import duties are crippling and murderous.