Read the poem and answer the questions given below it.
The Dog on the School Steps
He is there before the gates swing wide,
before the watchman finds his keys,
curled on the top step like a doormat,
one ear twitching in the morning breeze.
The little ones step round him gently,
the big boys jump him two at a time.
He will not move for the Principal’s car,
but wakes at the lunch bell’s first chime.
At prayer he lies at the end of a row,
eyes half shut, so still, so good,
till he lets out a long and noisy yawn
and Class Five giggles, as children would.
At lunch he makes his rounds of the benches,
half a roti here, a biscuit there,
thanks each giver with a thump of his tail,
then sleeps it off in the warm noon air.
At four the school spills out of the gates.
He sees the smallest girl to her bus,
then climbs back up to his own top step,
nobody’s dog, and one of us.
What does the word “rounds” mean in the line “At lunch he makes his rounds of the benches”?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → a set of visits to one place after another
Here rounds means a regular set of visits made to one place after another, as a doctor visits each patient in a ward.
- At lunch the dog goes from bench to bench: “half a roti here, a biscuit there”. He visits each child in turn and collects something at every stop. Example: Every morning the postman makes his rounds of our colony.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: stages of a game or contest — Incorrect. Wrong meaning: This sense is used for quizzes and matches. Example: Our team reached the final round of the quiz.
Option 2: circular shapes — Incorrect. Wrong meaning: This sense is about the shape of a circle. Example: She cut the carrots into thin rounds.
Option 4: servings of drinks for each person in a group — Incorrect. Wrong meaning: This sense is used when one person orders for everyone. Example: Uncle ordered a round of tea for the whole office.