MY BANK ACCOUNT

- “STEPHEN LEACOCK”

BY: - KARTIK PATEL

: - ANKIT SINGH RAJPOOT

QUESTION-ANSWERS

I. Answer the given questions in one or two sentences each:

Q.1. According to the author, what is the effect upon him on entering into a bank to do business?
A. According to the author, everything in the bank frightens him or makes him nervous. The
working staff frightens him, even the inanimate objects like the furniture and the money in the
bank frightens him. In short, the whole atmosphere of the bank makes him nervous and tense.

Q.2. Why did the author decide to open an account?

A. There was a monthly increment of fifty dollars to the salary of author and bank was the only
place to keep his savings safe. Therefore he decided to open a bank account.

Q.3. How much money did the author want to save?

A. The author was very much certain to deposit 56 dollars in the bank right at the time of
opening the account and intended to save 50 dollars a month regularly.

Q.4. What was the manager’s reaction when the author told him that he would like to see him
alone?
A. The manager go surprised when the author wished to see him alone. He thought the author
had some terrible secret or he belonged to ‘Pinkerton’s detectives’ or some rival agency. It made
him strained and nervous.
Q.5. What mistake did the author make when he wrote the cheque?
A. The author wanted to withdraw six dollars for his present use but in his nervousness he
mistakenly wrote fifty-six dollars in numeral instead of six, the whole amount he had deposited a
little earlier.

II. Answer the given questions in 100 words each:

Q.1. Why was there a roar of laughter when the author left the bank?
A. When the author entered the bank fear gripped him. He lost confidence and became nervous.
He displayed a series of foolish acts and irresponsible behaviors. He gets a lot of attention in the
bank premises and becomes self-conscious and confused. Confusion made him do more foolish
things in front of each and every one present in the bank. The staff and the customers in the bank
kept watching his thoughtless and mindless decisions with full attention. But as soon as the
author left the bank, the staff and the customers burst into a roar of laughter which they kept
under control for the past experiences. Now that the author was gone everyone laughed on the
foolish behavior and confused nature of the author.

Q.2. Explain the meaning of the clerk’s question, “How will you have it”?
A. The clerk questioned the author in a bit of sarcastic tone. From the time author entered the
bank, he made serious mistakes and did some foolish acts which made him suspicious in the eyes
of the staff and the customers in the bank. The clerk would have given the author the money he
wrote in the cheque but because the author wrote wrong digits in the cheque, the clerk got
surprised that the author is willing to withdraw all of his money that he just deposited in the
bank. Therefore the clerk wanted to know that in what form the author would like to withdraw
his amount of full fifty-six dollars, whether in the form of notes or in coins shape.

Q.3. Why did the manager look relieved when he knew the purpose of the author’s visit?
A. The manager got a little bit shocked when the author asked him to meet him in private, he
looked at him with some anxiety. The author asked the manager in a very serious note. He felt
that the author had a terrible secret to tell. The manager further mistook him to be a detective
from Pinkerton’s Agency who had come to discover some secrets of the bank policies. But then
the manager felt relieved and satisfied to hear that the author had come to him to open an
account. Getting relief from the tension, he again mistook the author to be a millionaire.
III. Choose the correct options.
Q.1. The writer says that when he enters into bank he gets-
(a) worried (b) ill
(c) frightened (d) nervous
A. (d) nervous

Q.2. The writer says that when he enters into a bank he looks like a-
(a) wise man (b) fool
(c) businessman (d) hero
A. (b) fool

Q.3. The salary of the writer has been raised to-

(a) thirty dollars (b) forty dollars
(c) fifty-six dollars (d) sixty dollars
A. (c) fifty-six dollars

Q.4. The writer thought if a person wanted to open an account he should consult with a/an-
(a) clerk (b) gatekeeper
(c) accountant (d) manager
A. (d) manager

Q.5. The manager was a calm and-

(a) an idiot (b) educated man
(c) talkative man (d) serious man
A. (d) serious man
IV. Vocabulary
Q.1. Write down the meanings of the following words:
(a) Evolution (b) Inter-breed
(c) Isolated (d) Discrete
(e) Clue
A. (a) Evolution: - Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations
over successive generations.
: - Gradual development
: - The appearance or presentation of events etc. in due succession.
(b) Inter-breed: - Breed or cause to breed with members of a different stock, race or species
to produce a hybrid.
(c) Isolated: - Far away from other places, buildings, or people; remote.
: - Having minimal contact or little in common with others.
: - Lonely, Single, Exceptional
(d) Discrete: - Individually separate and distinct.
: - Discontinuous
(e) Clue: - A piece of evidence or information used in the detection of a crime.
: - A fact or idea that serves to reveal something or solve a problem.

Q.2. Use the following phrasal verbs in your own sentences:

(a) Cope with (b) Split off
(c) Adapt to (d) Stamp out
A. (a) Cope with
Sentence: Earlier this year, the Indian government increased the number of staff in its
passport office to cope with the rise in the number of applications.
(b) Split off
Sentence: The iceberg split off when the Titanic collided with it.
(c) Adapt to
Sentence: When Tanmay moved to Mumbai, he struggled to adapt to his new
surroundings.
(d) Stamp out
Sentence: Jabalpur Police are determined to stamp out gamblers and betters from the
town.