Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
Bitrus, a middle-aged man, was speeding along the hot tarmac one afternoon, oblivious of the countryside. By his side, reading a magazine was his first son, a twenty-year old university computer science student. On the man’s mind was the contract he was pursuing in the capital city. It was worth several million dollars. Although he had handled bigger contracts before, Bitrus was preoccupied with this new challenge, his mind far away from the road before him. His son was also buried in the magazine he was reading. So neither saw the goat crossing the road early enough. Like automation, Bitrus jammed on the brakes. In a flash, there was a skid and a somersault. The villagers worked for almost an hour on the huge Mercedes before rescuing the two.
There, in the casualty ward, the duo lay on the stretchers. Bitrus was soon in a fairly stable, but anybody would know that the son needed prompt specialist medical attention. The doctor was sent for, a surgeon who regularly handled such cases. Soon enough, the doctor came. The nurses heaved a sigh of relief. But then... “Oh no, I can’t handle this case. He’s my son!” Everyone was shocked. One of the nurses pleaded. “But doctor, you must do something otherwise,... “No, he’s my son. I’ll have to transfer this case.” And so tearfully, more agitated than anybody around, the doctor hurried away to call a colleague.
Here was Bitrus, with multiple injuries, but not in danger. In the adjoining room was his son, still comatose. How then could a doctor come in and say, “This is my son”? Wasn’t Bitrus the father after all? Most people would reason that the doctor was truly the secret biological father. Others, reasoning hard, would conclude that the doctor was Bitrus’s father and thus was right in describing him as his son. But for how long would people continue to think that all doctors must be male? Couldn’t the doctor have simply been Mrs. Bitrus?
(a) (i) What was the remote cause of the accident? (ii) What was the immediate cause?
(b) What does the passage suggest about doctors’ attitude to the cases they handle?
(c) Describe the conditions of Mr. Bitrus and his son at the hospital.
(d) What assumption about doctors does the passage illustrate?
(e) His son was also buried in the magazine he was reading.
(i) What type of figurative expression is this? (ii) What is its function as it is used in the sentence?
(f) ...that the doctor was truly the secret biological father.
(i) What grammatical name is given to this expression? (ii) What is its function as it is used in the sentence?
(g) For each of the following, find a word or phrase that means the same and can replace it as it is used in the passage: (i) oblivious (ii) prompt (iii) regularly (iv) pleaded (v) agitated (vi) adjoining
Comprehension answers: The Bitrus accident passage.
(a)(i) The remote cause of the accident: The remote cause was the inattention of the two occupants of the car: Bitrus was preoccupied with the multi-million dollar contract he was pursuing, his mind far from the road, while his son was buried in the magazine he was reading, so that neither was watching the road.
(a)(ii) The immediate cause: The immediate cause was the sudden appearance of a goat crossing the road, which neither of them saw in time, causing Bitrus to jam on the brakes so that the car skidded and somersaulted.
(b) What the passage suggests about doctors' attitude to the cases they handle: It suggests that doctors are expected to be, and normally are, calm and objective, but that they may become too emotionally involved to operate when the patient is a close relation; a doctor is reluctant to handle a case in which personal feelings could impair professional judgement.
(c) The conditions of Mr. Bitrus and his son at the hospital: Mr. Bitrus, though he had multiple injuries, was in a fairly stable condition and was not in danger. His son, on the other hand, was in a critical state, still comatose (unconscious), and clearly needed prompt specialist medical attention.
(d) The assumption about doctors that the passage illustrates: It illustrates the wrong assumption that all doctors are male, so that people could not imagine that the surgeon who called the injured youth 'my son' might in fact be his mother, Mrs. Bitrus.
(e)(i) Type of figurative expression in 'His son was also buried in the magazine he was reading': It is a metaphor (the son is figuratively spoken of as being 'buried' in the magazine).
(e)(ii) Its function as used in the sentence: It vividly emphasises how deeply absorbed and engrossed the son was in the magazine, so that he paid no attention to the road, thereby helping to explain the cause of the accident.
(f)(i) Grammatical name for 'that the doctor was truly the secret biological father': It is a noun clause (a subordinate/dependent clause).
(f)(ii) Its function as used in the sentence: It functions as the object of the verb 'reason' (it is the direct object stating what most people would reason/conclude).
(g) Words and their replacements as used in the passage:
- (i) oblivious: unaware / unmindful / heedless
- (ii) prompt: immediate / quick / swift
- (iii) regularly: frequently / routinely / often
- (iv) pleaded: begged / appealed / entreated
- (v) agitated: disturbed / distressed / troubled
- (vi) adjoining: neighbouring / adjacent / next
Comprehension answers: The Bitrus accident passage.
(a)(i) The remote cause of the accident: The remote cause was the inattention of the two occupants of the car: Bitrus was preoccupied with the multi-million dollar contract he was pursuing, his mind far from the road, while his son was buried in the magazine he was reading, so that neither was watching the road.
(a)(ii) The immediate cause: The immediate cause was the sudden appearance of a goat crossing the road, which neither of them saw in time, causing Bitrus to jam on the brakes so that the car skidded and somersaulted.
(b) What the passage suggests about doctors' attitude to the cases they handle: It suggests that doctors are expected to be, and normally are, calm and objective, but that they may become too emotionally involved to operate when the patient is a close relation; a doctor is reluctant to handle a case in which personal feelings could impair professional judgement.
(c) The conditions of Mr. Bitrus and his son at the hospital: Mr. Bitrus, though he had multiple injuries, was in a fairly stable condition and was not in danger. His son, on the other hand, was in a critical state, still comatose (unconscious), and clearly needed prompt specialist medical attention.
(d) The assumption about doctors that the passage illustrates: It illustrates the wrong assumption that all doctors are male, so that people could not imagine that the surgeon who called the injured youth 'my son' might in fact be his mother, Mrs. Bitrus.
(e)(i) Type of figurative expression in 'His son was also buried in the magazine he was reading': It is a metaphor (the son is figuratively spoken of as being 'buried' in the magazine).
(e)(ii) Its function as used in the sentence: It vividly emphasises how deeply absorbed and engrossed the son was in the magazine, so that he paid no attention to the road, thereby helping to explain the cause of the accident.
(f)(i) Grammatical name for 'that the doctor was truly the secret biological father': It is a noun clause (a subordinate/dependent clause).
(f)(ii) Its function as used in the sentence: It functions as the object of the verb 'reason' (it is the direct object stating what most people would reason/conclude).
(g) Words and their replacements as used in the passage:
- (i) oblivious: unaware / unmindful / heedless
- (ii) prompt: immediate / quick / swift
- (iii) regularly: frequently / routinely / often
- (iv) pleaded: begged / appealed / entreated
- (v) agitated: disturbed / distressed / troubled
- (vi) adjoining: neighbouring / adjacent / next
