What can be inferred from the fact that Dev does not open the note?
The toolbox was heavier than Dev remembered. Grandad had carried it as if it weighed nothing, swinging it from one hand while he whistled, but now it dragged at Dev's arm and bumped his knee on every step. Inside, each spanner lay in its own outline of faded felt, like a patient in a bed. The chisels were wrapped in a cloth that smelled of oil and pipe smoke, and for a moment Dev was seven again, perched on an upturned crate in the shed, handing over screws one at a time. 'Right tool, right job,' Grandad used to say. At the bottom Dev found a folded sheet of paper in careful capital letters: FOR WHEN YOU ARE READY. He did not open it. He pushed it back beneath the cloth, closed the lid and sat down on the box, listening to the quiet of a shed that no longer whistled.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. He does not yet feel ready to face what it says
- Step 1: The note says 'FOR WHEN YOU ARE READY' and Dev pushes it back beneath the cloth.
- Step 2: His action suggests that he does not feel ready to deal with his grief or with what Grandad left him.
Answer
He does not yet feel ready to face what it says.
Why not the others: He cannot read the capital letters: The letters are described as careful, so he can read them. He thinks the note belongs to somebody else: The note is clearly meant for him by its words. He is angry with his grandfather for leaving it: There is no sign of anger; the mood is quiet and sad.
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More Reading Comprehension questions
- What does the contrast between how Grandad carried the toolbox and how Dev carries it suggest?
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- Which sense does the writer use to describe the cloth around the chisels?
- What does the phrase 'a shed that no longer whistled' suggest?
- Which technique is used in 'the marrows sprawled across the path as if they owned it'?
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