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Karnataka 2nd PUC English Springs Textbook Answers Chapter 2 Too Dear!
Too Dear! Questions and Answers, Notes, Summary
Too Dear! Comprehension I.
Question 1.
Why was ‘Monaco’ called a ‘toy Kingdom’?
Answer:
Monaco was called a toy Kingdom because it was a tiny little Kingdom with a population of only seven thousand people.
Question 2.
Name the commodities taxed in Monaco.
Answer:
The commodities taxed in Monaco were tobacco, wine, and spirits and there was also a poll-tax.
Question 3.
What was the source of the King’s special revenue? Who were its beneficiaries?
Answer:
The source of the King’s special revenue was from a gaming house, The King also called as the Prince of Monaco, his courtiers and officials were the beneficiaries.
Question 4.
Why did the Germans stop gaming houses in their country and how did it benefit Monaco?
Answer:
The Germans stopped gaming houses in their country because the gaming houses encouraged people to gamble and try their luck. This way people lost their money, and sometimes some of them drowned or shot themselves in despair. In Monaco, the money received from the gaming house served as a special source of revenue and benefitted the king.
Question 5.
What was the punishment given to the murderer?
Answer:
Initially a death sentence and later life imprisonment.
Question 6.
The death sentence was converted into life imprisonment because
(a) Monaco had abolished the death penalty.
(b) Carrying out the death sentences was expensive.
(c) Monaco wanted to show mercy on the criminal.
Answer:
(b) Carrying out the death sentences was expensive.
Question 7.
How much did the King spend on the criminal annually?
Answer:
600 Francs.
Question 8.
On what condition did the criminal agree to go away from prison? Why was his demand fulfilled?
Answer:
The Criminal agreed to go away if he were paid 600 francs annually to be paid regularly. It was fulfilled to get rid of burdening the King’s treasury.
Too Dear! Comprehension II.
Question 1.
Though gambling is a dirty business, why does the King of Monaco resort to it?
Answer:
As gambling was a source of special revenue to feed himself, his courtiers and officials and there was no other way to get so much money.
Question 2.
Why did the King of Monaco keep changing his mind in dealing with the criminal?
Answer:
The King was thinking that both the death sentences and life imprisonment were expensive to deal with the criminal.
Question 3.
Why was the criminal reluctant to go out of the prison?
Answer:
The criminal was unwilling to go out of the prison because his name was ruined by the punishment. If he goes out no one would give him work, so he wished to be in prison, because of the free food available and his inherent laziness.
Question 4.
How did the criminal lead his life after his release?
Answer:
After the release, the criminal received one-third of his annuity in advance and bought a bit of land at a place just across the border. He started market gardening and lived comfortably.
Too Dear! Comprehension III.
Question 1.
‘You can’t earn stone palaces by honest labour.’ In what context is this statement made?
Answer:
The statement “you can’t earn stone palaces by honest labour” is very apt to Monaco’s King as his regular earning was very little by way of tax on wine, spirits, and tobacco. But what he earned on gaining house was bigger and enough to feed his officials and courtiers apart from himself. If he had to earn only honestly, it would have been difficult to live comfortably in palaces.
So, by honest labour one cannot become rich as they could earn only small wages. The sentence suggests that one would not become rich with money earned by honest labour.
Question 2.
Though the trial and imprisonment of the criminal is depicted in a comic mode in this story, it does give rise to serious questions. What are they?
Answer:
Can a. criminal could be released with a sum of 600 francs annually if the Government cannot bear his life imprisonment expences? Is it right to encourage bad activities, like gambling for the sake of tax and the extra income?
Question 3.
Were there other ways of dealing with crime and the criminal? Discuss in the light of the story.
Answer:
Yes, Crime and criminals could be controlled if they can be given work to do to earn a living and allowed to live happily as other citizens. The only thing to avoid is bad habits like drinking, gambling, and using tobacco.
Too Dear! Vocabulary:
When a word is spelled and pronounced like the same but has a different meaning, it is called a homonym, e.g. watch, watch. The difference in meaning becomes clear only when you understand the context in which the words are used.
For e.g.,
(a) The King of Monaco found it too dear to maintain the prisoner.
(b) When King Midas touched his dear daughter, she changed into a statue of gold.
In the first sentence, the word ‘dear’ means ‘expensive’.
In the second sentence, it means ‘beloved’ or ‘precious’.
A. Now, look at the following sets of sentences. The possible meanings of the homonyms used are given in brackets. Match them.
1. (a) The valedictory address of the Chief guest impressed everyone.
(b) She made a mistake in the address while posting the letter, (b – location) (a – speech)
2. (a) The poor man’s mind was full of worry.
(b) Do you mind passing the jam?
(b – have an objection to) (a – thoughts,)
3. (a) The soldier gave a complete account of the prisoner’s escape.
(b) The officer checked the ledger account.
(b – financial record) (a – description)
4. (a) He went to the ATM to draw some money.
(b) The teachers draw pictures on the blackboard.
(c) Don’t draw hasty conclusions without ample proof.
(d) The offer of free balloons draws children to the park.
(d – attract, b – sketch, c – infer, a – take out.)
Too Dear! Additional Questions and Answers
Question 1.
What is the population of the Monaco Kingdom?”
Answer:
About seven thousand people.
Question 2.
Where was Monaco situated?
Answer:
Monaco was situated on the coast of the Mediterranean sea between France and Italy.
Question 3.
Why did people from other countries go to Monaco?
Answer:
All the other countries in Europe had banned gambling and Monaco was the only place to run a gaming house. So they all went to Monaco to gamble.
Question 4.
What was the cost of the guillotine and an executioner from France?
Answer:
The cost of the guillotine and an executioner from France was 16,000 francs.
Question 5.
The French government is of the rule.
(a) communist
(b) republican
(c) monarch
Answer:
(b) republican
Too Dear! Summary in English
– Leo Tolstoy
This story is by the famous writer Leo Tolstoy. He is well known for his epic novels ‘War and Peace’ and “Anna Karenina”.
The story begins with the description of the Monaco Kingdom. It was a small Kingdom with a small population of about seven thousand and if the land was to be shared, each would get hardly an acre. As in other countries, it too had a King, a palace, ministers, army, etc.
The Army had only sixty soldiers. The Prince collected taxes on tobacco, spirits, and the poll tax. Apart from these, he also maintained a gaming house, which would be a special revenue source. In gambling, whether a person loses or wins, he must pay a percentage to the keeper who had to pay a large sum to the Prince. So the Prince of Monaco got a good source of income to maintain his ministers, courtiers, and officials.
The Germans had banned gambling as many losers had either drowned are shot themselves. This had benefitted the Monaco Prince as all who wanted to gamble came to Monaco’s gaming house.
A few years ago, a murder was committed in MonacoflThe people were happy and peaceful and this had not happened before. All the prosecutors and judges assembled and after the trial, the murderer was given a death sentence. When they went to the Prince to inform, he also confirmed it. But then began the real problem. As it was a very small Kingdom, there were no men to cut tho criminal’s head off and there was no guillotine. The ministers agreed to ask the French Government to lend a machine and a man. French Government replied that the cost would be 16,000 francs. But the Monaco Prince was not willing to pay such a huge amount. They approached the Italian Government and they offered the machine with a man for 12,000 francs.
It was cheaper than the french offer but still expensive. Again a meeting was held and the death sentence was converted to life imprisonment. They have no proper prison to hold him. They searched and found an ideal place and locked up the criminal and appointed a guard to look after him. Again the Prince found this as an extra expenditure costing 600 francs annually. The Prince could not allow it and asked his ministers to do it in a cheaper way. They gathered and found a solution to take away the guard so that the criminal can run away. But the criminal did not run away even though the guard was not there.
When he was questioned by the ministers, he replied that he would not go anywhere as they had ruined his name, and nowhere could he get a job and asked for 600 francs annually. They freed him from prison. The criminal went away with one-third of the pension in advance and bought a bit of land and started market gardening and lived happily.
It was a good thing that he never committed any such crime in a country, where the Government does not grudge expenses to cut a man’s head off or to keep him in prison for life.
Too Dear! Summary in Kannada
