Practicing Success

Target Exam

CUET

Subject

English

Chapter

Comprehension - (Poetry / Literary)

Question:

Read the poem given below and answer the question by choosing the correct option:

"I cannot go to school today,"
Said little Peggy Ann McKay.
"I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,
I'm going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
I've counted sixteen chicken pox
And there's one more-that's seventeen,
And don't you think my face looks green?
My leg is cut-my eyes are blue-
It might be instamatic flu.
I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,
I'm sure that my left leg is broke-
My hip hurts when I move my chin,
My belly button's caving in,
My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained,
My 'pendix pains each time it rains.
My nose is cold, my toes are numb.
I have a sliver in my thumb.
My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,
I hardly whisper when I speak.
My tongue is filling up my mouth,
I think my hair is falling out.
My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight,
My temperature is one-eight.
My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,
There is a hole inside my ear.
I have a hangnail, and my heart is-what?
What's that? What's that you say?
You say today is... Saturday?
G'bye, I'm going out to play!"

The long and never-ending list of sicknesses given by little Peggy in the poem shows that she is _________.

Choose the correct option from the following:

Options:

desperate to miss school

genuinely unwell

an obstinate and headstrong child

a neglected child

Correct Answer:

desperate to miss school

Explanation:

The correct option is (1) desperate to miss school.

The poem humorously exaggerates the ailments little Peggy Ann McKay claims to have in order to avoid going to school. The absurd and comically long list of illnesses she mentions suggests that she is making excuses and is not genuinely unwell.