Question:medium

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
Gandhi's great aim in life was to improve the condition of poor and suffering people, and to aid people in any way he could, but always without using force. He was against every sort of evil, no matter of what kind. When he tried to find out about the condition among poor farm workers, the people crowded around him by the hundreds. A friend had come among them, someone who wanted to help them and to them this was something new. When the police ordered Gandhi to leave the place, he refused and in the court he explained why he could not obey. Then he asked the court to punish him for breaking the law. The court did not know what verdict to give in such a case, and so let him go free. This was the first step in what came to be an important and common event in many parts of India to refuse to obey a law considered to be unjust and at the same time calmly to accept any punishment that might be given and never to retaliate.

a) What was Gandhi's great aim in life? (2)
b) How did Gandhi help the poor and suffering people? (2)
c) Why did the farm workers crowd around him? (2)
d) Why did the police order Gandhi to leave the place? (2)
e) i) Which word in the passage means 'quietly'? (2)
  ii) Write the opposite for 'punishment'. (2)
   iii) Rewrite the underlined segment after replacing 'verdict' with another similar meaning word. (3)

Show Hint

Locate each answer directly in the passage text.
Updated On: Oct 8, 2026
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Solution and Explanation

Step 1: Reading strategy:
Answer each part by locating the exact sentence in the passage that contains the required information, rather than summarising from memory.

Step 2: a)-d) Located answers:
a) 'Gandhi's great aim in life was to improve the condition of poor and suffering people... without using force.' b) 'to aid people in any way he could'; specifically he went among the poor farm workers to learn of their condition. c) The passage states a friend/helper had come among them for the first time — 'this was something new' — hence the crowd. d) His enquiry was viewed as a threat by the police, who wanted him removed from the area.

Step 3: e) Vocabulary items:
i) 'calmly' = quietly/peacefully. ii) 'reward' is the antonym of 'punishment'. iii) 'verdict' means 'judgment/decision' — substituting gives: "The court did not know what decision to give in such a case, and so let him go free."

Final Answer:
Same answers reached by direct textual location: a) improving the poor's condition; b) without force; c) a new friend/helper had arrived; d) seen as a challenge to authority; e) calmly / reward / "...what decision to give..."
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