Question

passage 1
enigmas
adapted from folklore of the santal parganas
long ago, a man and his son went to visit the sons
future father - in - law. they were joyfully welcomed, but the
father - in - law, who had been busy, had nothing prepared
for his guests. he said to his daughter,
ow, fill the little
river and the big river, and polish the big axe and the little
axe, and bar them into the cow house. i will be back with a
pot full of the water of dry land, then we will finish off these
friends.\
the two visitors heard this strange talk, and they began
to wonder if their host meant to toss them into the river bed;
rich men had been known to do such things. with this
thought in their minds, they made haste to leave, but the
young woman called them back.
they reluctantly stopped, and when she came up they
reproached her for not having warned them of their fate.
she laughed at their folly and explained that what her
father meant was she should give them a seat in the cow
house, and then make pots of tea in the big and little
pitchers after she polished them. he would bring back
some coffee, and they would all have a drink. upon
hearing this, they laughed heartily and returned to the
house.
passage 2
students were asked to write details from passage 1 that help identify the theme. which notes best represent the
theme?
-joyfully welcomed
-nothing prepared
-woman called them
back
-went to visit
-finish off these
friends
-not having warned
them
-heard this strange
talk
-made haste to leave
-laughed at their folly
-cow house
-reluctantly stopped
-would all have a
drink

Explanation:

To determine which notes best represent the theme, we analyze the passage's key events and the purpose of the details:

1. The theme likely relates to misinterpretation (the visitors mishear the host’s instructions as a threat) and resolution (the daughter clarifies, and they laugh).
2. Analyze each group:

• Yellow (top - left): “joyfully welcomed” (initial hospitality), “nothing prepared” (host’s predicament), “woman called them back” (daughter’s role) – these are context but not core to the theme of misinterpretation.
• Red (top - right): “went to visit” (background), “finish off these friends” (misinterpreted threat, but taken out of context), “not having warned them” (visitors’ complaint) – incomplete.
• Green (bottom - left): “heard this strange talk” (misinterpretation starts), “made haste to leave” (reaction to misinterpretation), “laughed at their folly” (resolution, realizing their mistake) – these directly show the misinterpretation and its resolution, which is central to the theme.
• Blue (bottom - right): “cow house” (setting), “reluctantly stopped” (reaction to being called back), “would all have a drink” (resolution detail) – lacks the misinterpretation element.

Answer:

The notes on the green - pinned (bottom - left) paper: “-heard this strange talk”, “-made haste to leave”, “-laughed at their folly”