The Boy Who Broke the Bank – MCQs

1. Who is the protagonist of "The Boy Who Broke the Bank"?
   a) Sitaram
   b) Nathu, a sweeper boy working at Pipalnagar Bank
   c) Seth Govind Ram
   d) Kamal Kishore
2. Where is the bank located?
   a) Delhi
   b) Mumbai
   c) Pipalnagar, a small fictional town in India
   d) Calcutta
3. Who owns the Pipalnagar Bank?
   a) Sitaram
   b) Nathu
   c) Seth Govind Ram
   d) Deep Chand
4. Why was Nathu grumbling while sweeping the steps of the bank?
   a) The work was too hard
   b) He was abused by the manager
   c) He had not been paid his salary despite it being the twentieth of the month
   d) He was tired of his job
5. What had Nathu been promised nine months earlier?
   a) A promotion
   b) A raise of five rupees every six months
   c) A permanent position
   d) A bonus
6. Who is Sitaram?
   a) The bank manager
   b) The son of a washerman who carries freshly ironed clothes on his head
   c) Seth Govind Ram's relative
   d) A bank clerk
7. What does Sitaram tell Mrs. Srivastava about Nathu?
   a) That Nathu is lazy and incompetent
   b) That Nathu is leaving the bank and the bank cannot pay its employees
   c) That Nathu has stolen from the bank
   d) That Nathu is getting promoted
8. What does Mrs. Srivastava tell her friend Mrs. Bhushan?
   a) That the bank manager is dishonest
   b) That the bank is closed
   c) That the bank could not pay its employees and is short of money
   d) That Seth Govind Ram is very wealthy
9. Where does Mrs. Bhushan meet her husband?
   a) At home
   b) At the bank
   c) Chatting with Kamal Kishore, the photography shop owner
   d) At the market
10. What is Kamal Kishore's occupation?
    a) Bank manager
    b) Photography shop owner
    c) Barber
    d) Washerman
11. Why is Kamal Kishore not initially perturbed by the bank news?
    a) He doesn't believe the rumor
    b) He is friends with Seth Govind Ram
    c) He does not have money in the bank
    d) He is too busy with his shop
12. Who is Deep Chand?
    a) A barber with an account at the bank
    b) A photographer
    c) The bank manager
    d) Seth Govind Ram's friend
13. What does the elderly gentleman find out when he calls Seth Govind Ram?
    a) Seth is at the bank
    b) Seth has gone to Kashmir on a luxury vacation
    c) Seth is ill
    d) Seth is meeting with the bank manager
14. What is the elderly gentleman's reaction when he learns Seth is away?
    a) He remains calm
    b) He is unshaved on one side and announces "The bird has flown"
    c) He calls the police
    d) He goes home
15. What does the elderly gentleman do after announcing "The bird has flown"?
    a) Goes home
    b) Calls the police
    c) Rushes to his office to get his cheque book to withdraw money
    d) Meets with other customers
16. Who astonishes everyone by leaping to his feet and running?
    a) Deep Chand
    b) An elderly gentleman
    c) Old Ganpat, a beggar with crooked legs who had never been known to walk
    d) Kamal Kishore
17. How long had Ganpat been sitting on the pavement asking for alms?
    a) A few months
    b) A few years
    c) For years, carried away each evening by someone with a barrow
    d) A few weeks
18. What is the significance of Ganpat suddenly being able to run?
    a) He was healed by a miracle
    b) He had been lying about his condition and cheating people for years
    c) He was pretending the whole time
    d) He found courage
19. What rumors circulate about Seth Govind Ram's whereabouts?
    a) Only that he fled the state
    b) That he committed suicide by hanging from a tree
    c) Multiple rumors: he fled the state, fled the country, was hiding in town, or hanged himself
    d) That he was in the bank
20. What violent action occurs at the bank?
    a) The crowd breaks the bank door
    b) A brick is thrown through the window, shattering it
    c) The safe is broken into
    d) People set fires
21. What excuses does the bank manager make to the crowd?
    a) That there is no money
    b) That the bank has reserves but not ready cash, and urges them to return the next day
    c) That the bank is closed
    d) That Seth Govind Ram has stolen the money
22. What is ironic about Nathu's situation?
    a) He becomes rich from the bank's collapse
    b) He inadvertently caused the bank's collapse but remains unaware of his role
    c) He saves the bank from collapse
    d) He is promoted as a reward
23. What does Nathu see when he returns the next morning?
    a) The bank reopened normally
    b) Police guarding the bank
    c) Refugees of glass pieces and broken glass cluttering the steps
    d) A new manager
24. What does Nathu say when he surveys the damage?
    a) "I will help clean this up"
    b) "Who would have thought the bank would collapse!" and wonders how it could have happened
    c) "This is terrible"
    d) "I must have caused this"
25. What is the primary theme of the story?
    a) Wealth and greed
    b) The dangers of rumors and how gossip can cause chaos and harm to people and institutions
    c) Bank security
    d) The dishonesty of banks
26. How does Ruskin Bond use humor in this story?
    a) Through slapstick comedy
    b) Through subtle irony, situational humor, and witty observations as the situation escalates
    c) Through dark humor
    d) Through mockery of characters

Answers: 1-b, 2-c, 3-c, 4-c, 5-b, 6-b, 7-b, 8-c, 9-c, 10-b, 11-c, 12-a, 13-b, 14-b, 15-c, 16-c, 17-c, 18-b, 19-c, 20-b, 21-b, 22-b, 23-c, 24-b, 25-b, 26-b.