A Letter to God
- Lencho spent the morning looking at the sky in the North-East.
- Where was Lencho’s home situated?
- Lencho’s home was situated on the crest of a low hill. From the height of Lencho’s home one could see the river and the field of ripe corn dotted with the flowers that always promised a good harvest.
Oral Comprehension Check (Part 1)
1. What did Lencho hope for?
Ans: Lencho hoped for a shower of rain. The only thing his field of ripe corn needed for a good harvest.
2. Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like ‘new coins’?
Ans: Lencho compared the raindrops to coins because they promised a good harvest, which would bring him money. He called the big drops ten cents pieces and the little ones fives.
3. How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho’s fields?
Ans: The rain suddenly changed into a heavy hailstorm with strong winds and large hailstones. As a result, his corn was totally destroyed, and the field looked white as if covered with salt.
4. What were Lencho’s feelings when the hail stopped?
Ans: Lencho’s soul was filled with deep sadness. He felt that all their hard work had been for nothing and feared his family would go hungry that year.
Oral Comprehension Check (Part 2)
1. Who or what did Lencho have faith in? What did he do?
Ans: Lencho had complete faith in God. He wrote a letter to God asking for 100 pesos to sow his field again and to help his family survive until the crops comes.
2. Who read the letter?
Ans: The postmaster read the letter.
3. What did the postmaster do then?
Ans: The postmaster decided to answer the letter so as not to shake Lencho’s faith in God. He collected money from his staff, friends, and his own salary to send to Lencho.
Oral Comprehension Check (Part 3)
1. Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?
Ans: No, he was not surprised at all. He had immense confidence in God’s help.
2. What made him angry?
Ans: Lencho became angry when he counted the money from the letter and found only seventy pesos instead of the hundred he had requested.
Thinking about the Text
1. Who does Lencho have complete faith in? Which sentence tell you this?
Ans: Lencho has faith in God. Sentences like, “God,” he wrote, “if you don’t help me, my family and I will go hungry this year.” and “God could not have made a mistake…” demonstrate this.
2. Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter ‘God’?
Ans: The postmaster sends the money to avoid shaking Lencho’s extraordinary faith in God. He signs it “God” so Lencho would believe the response came directly from the Almighty.
3. Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why/Why not?
Ans: No, he did not. He was so certain that God had sent the money that he never questioned its origin.
4. Who does Lencho think has taken the rest of the money? What is the irony?
Ans: He thinks the post office employees took it. The irony is that these employees were the ones who actually gave up their own money to help him, yet he calls them a “bunch of crooks”.
Additional Questions
1. What did Lencho compare the hailstones to?
Ans: He compared the hailstones to “new silver coins” and the boys called them “frozen pearls”.
2. How long did the hail rain on the valley?
Ans: The hail rained for one hour.
3. What did Lencho say a “plague of locusts” would have done?
Ans: He said that even a plague of locusts would have left more than what the hail left behind.
4. How is Lencho described as a worker?
Ans: The book describes Lencho as an “ox of a man”, meaning he was very hardworking and worked like an animal in the fields.
5. How did Lencho believe God sees the world?
Ans: Lencho believed that God eyes see everything, even what is deep in one’s conscience.
6. What does “conscience” mean?
Ans: Conscience means an inner sense of right or wrong.
7. How was the postmaster?
Ans: The postmaster was a fat and amiable (friendly and pleasant) person.
MCQ – Multiple Choice Questions
1. Where was Lencho’s house situated?
A) In a crowded city
B) On the crest of a low hill
C) At the foot of a massive mountain
D) Deep inside a dense forest
Ans: (B) On the crest of a low hill
2. What did the earth need for a good harvest?
A) Chemical fertilizers
B) New farming tools
C) A downpour or at least a shower
D) Better solar radiation
Ans: (B) A downpour or at least a shower
3. What did Lencho compare the big raindrops to?
A) Ten cent pieces
B) Five cent pieces
C) Silver pearls
D) Frozen drops
Ans: (A) Ten cent pieces
4. How long did the hail rain on the entire valley?
A) For thirty minutes
B) For an hour
C) For a whole day
D) For two hours
Ans: (B) For an hour
5. After the hailstorm, the field looked white as if covered with:
A) Snow
B) Sugar
C) Salt
D) Flour
Ans: (C) Salt
6. What metaphor does the author use to describe Lencho’s hard-working nature?
A) An ox of a man
B) A horse in the field
C) A roaring lion
D) A busy honeybee
Ans: (A) An ox of a man
7. How much money did Lencho originally ask God for?
A) Seventy pesos
B) One hundred pesos
C) Fifty pesos
D) One thousand pesos
Ans: (B) One hundred pesos
8. Why did the postmaster decide to collect money and reply to Lencho?
A) To make fun of Lencho’s simple handwriting
B) Because he wanted to steal the rest of the currency
C) In order not to shake the writer’s faith in God
D) To prove that the post office was incredibly wealthy
Ans: (C) In order not to shake the rest of the currency
9. How much money was the postmaster actually able to gather?
A) Exactly one hundred pesos
B) Only a little more than half
C) Less than thirty pesos
D) Double the amount requested
Ans: (B) Only a little more than half (Seventy Pesos)
10. What did Lencho call the post office employees in his second letter?
A) Kind souls
B) A bunch of crooks
C) Helpful angels
D) Smart officers
Ans: (B) A bunch of crooks
11. What is the synonym of the word ‘Crest’ as highlighted in the text?
A) Base
B) Center
C) Top of a hill
D) Inside
Ans: (C) Top of a hill
12. In the chapter, the cornfields were described as ‘draped’ in a curtain of rain. What does ‘draped’ mean?
A) Destroyed
B) Covered
C) Flooded
D) Dried up
Ans: (B) Covered
13. What is the meaning of the word ‘Amiable’ used to describe the postmaster?
A) Cruel and strict
B) Lazy and slow
C) Friendly and pleasant
D) Highly anxious
Ans: (C) Friendly and pleasant
14. Choose the correct antonym for the word ‘Solitary’.
A) Lonely
B) Crowded / Accompanied
C) Single
D) Quiet
Ans: (C) Crowded/Accompanied
15. Identify the synonym of ‘Contentment’ from the context of the postmaster watching Lencho.
A) Dissatisfaction
B) Anger
C) Satisfaction
D) Curiosity
Ans: (C) Satisfaction
16. “The house — the only one in the entire valley — sat on the crest of a low hill.” What part of speech is ‘entire’?
A) Noun
B) Adjective
C) Verb
D) Adverb
Ans: (B) Adjective
17. “The air was fresh and sweet.” Identify the tense of the sentence.
A) Present Continuous
B) Simple Present
C) Simple Past
D) Past Perfect
Ans: (C) Simple Past
18. “Lencho showed not ______ slightest surprise on seeing the money.” Fill in the blank with the correct article.
A) a
B) an
C) the
D) no article needed
Ans: (C) the
19. “He began to write a letter…” What is the nature of ‘to write’ in this sentence?
A) Gerund
B) Infinitive
C) Present Participle
D) Past Participle
Ans: (B) Infinitive
20. “If you don’t help me, my family and I will go hungry this year.” This sentence structure is an example of a:
A) Simple sentence
B) Compound sentence
C) Conditional sentence
D) Declarative phrase
Ans: (C) Conditional sentence