Question

why the old woman limps poem read it Do you know why the old woman sings? She is sixy years old with six grandchildren to look after While her sons and their wives are gone south to dig gold. Each day she milks the goat, sells the milk to buy soap, Feeds and washes the children, tethers the goat. In the evening she tells all stories of old at the fireside: I know why the old woman sings. Do you know when the old woman sleeps? She rests with the dark, at night she thinks of Tomorrow: she's to feed the children and graze the goat. She's to weed the garden, water the seedling beans, The thatch has to be mended, the barnyard cleared. Maize pounded, chaff winnowed, millet ground, fire lit ... I do not know when the old woman sleeps. Do you know why the old woman limps? She goes to fetch water in the morning and the well is five miles away,Goes to fetch firewood with her axe and the forest is five miles the other way, Goes to the fields to look for pumpkin leaves leaving the goat tethered to the well tree And hurries home to the children to cook: I know why the old woman limps. Lupenga Mphande this is the question 1. Make a list of all the jobs the old woman has to do. 2. Explain why the old woman has to look after her son's children. 3. List the types of food mentioned in the poem. 4. List the places mentioned in the poem. 5. Find words in the poem that mean the following: (A) to tie an animal to a tree or post so that it can't escape (B) the eating of living grass by cows, sheep etc. (C) to repair (D) the outer part of a seed (e.g. maize or rice) which has separated before it is used (E) to go and get something (F) a deep hole in the ground where you can find water

Answer 1

1. The old woman's jobs include: milking the goat, selling the milk, feeding and washing the children, tethering the goat, telling stories, weeding the garden, watering the seedling beans, mending the thatch, clearing the barnyard, pounding maize, winnowing chaff, grinding millet, and lighting fire.

2. It is not specified in the poem why the old woman has to look after her son's children, but it can be inferred that they have gone south to dig for gold and left the children in her care.

3. The types of food mentioned in the poem include: soap, pumpkin leaves, maize, and millet.

4. The places mentioned in the poem include: the well, the forest, and the fields.

5. (A) Tether (B) grazing (C) repair (D) chaff (E) fetch (F) well