CLASS 12 · KALIEDOSCOPE · CHAPTER 5
Original clear answers for the story's comprehension, discussion, appreciation and language activities.
18 worked answers · short steps first, explanations when you need them
Textbook pages
Question Stop and Think 1.1
State how the conductor's behaviour affects her choice.
She pays when the conductor seems responsible, but may skip the fare if he seems careless.
Question Stop and Think 1.2
Explain that the ticket matters to Xiao Ye's pride.
She buys it because having his own ticket makes Xiao Ye feel proud and respected.
Question Stop and Think 2.1
Apply the height rule as Tao Ying understood it.
No. She believed Xiao Ye was below the height limit and did not need a ticket.
Question Stop and Think 2.2
Mention the guard's challenge and her wish to avoid a public argument.
She buys it under pressure to avoid a scene and protect her son's view of her.
Question Stop and Think 3.1
Explain that the scales were deliberately flattering.
No. She adjusted them to make people appear lighter and taller so they would feel happy.
Question Stop and Think 3.2
State Xiao Ye's suspicion and its effect on their trust.
He thinks she calls him short to avoid buying a ticket, so he stops trusting her.
Question Understanding the Text 1
Explain that Xiao Ye copies her, so she tries to model good behaviour.
She tries to set a good example because Xiao Ye watches and imitates her.
Question Understanding the Text 2
Contrast the guard's disputed measurement with the later official recheck.
The guard's quick measurement is treated as final, but a later check shows it was wrong.
Question Understanding the Text 3
Explain why emotional harm matters more than the small payment.
The money cannot repair the humiliation or the loss of trust, so she refuses it.
Question Understanding the Text 4
Connect the official correction to Xiao Ye's lost trust.
It proves to Xiao Ye that his mother had told the truth about his height.
Question Talking about the Text 1
Contrast Xiao Ye's pride in the ticket with Tao Ying's adult concerns.
Xiao Ye sees the ticket as a sign of growing up; Tao Ying also weighs rules, money, and responsibility.
Question Talking about the Text 2
Use the flattering scales and Tao Ying's effort to be an ideal mother.
The scales create a flattering image, while Tao Ying tries to appear perfectly responsible before her son.
Question Appreciation 1
Connect the opening's ticket habit with the story's later questions about honesty.
It introduces Tao Ying's imperfect but thoughtful choices, preparing the story's debate about honesty and judgement.
Question Appreciation 2
Give a balanced view using both her care and her contradictions.
She is shown realistically and sympathetically: loving and careful, but imperfect and anxious.
Question Appreciation 3
List examples where good intentions and questionable actions overlap.
Tao Ying's fare choices, the flattering scales, and the temple's mistaken measurement all complicate ideas of right and wrong.
Question Appreciation 4
Show how recurring concerns about honesty, motherhood, and trust connect the episodes.
Tao Ying's thoughts connect each episode to the same concerns: honesty, motherhood, pride, and trust.
Question Language Work A: Simile and Metaphor
Name each comparison and explain the feeling it creates.
Xiao Ye's face is like a half-open blossom (innocent hope); the tape is a poisonous viper (his fear and mistrust).
Question Language Work B: Pronunciation
Capital letters mark the main stress; check noun and verb meanings.
Nouns: CON-duct, PRO-test, PER-mit, PRO-gress, DES-ert. Verbs: con-DUCT, pro-TEST, per-MIT, pro-GRESS, de-SERT.