THE WORLD IN A WALL--extra questions

THE WORLD IN A WALL

1.What was a rich hunting ground for the writer?

the crumbling wall that surrounded the sunken garden alongside the house was a rich hunting ground for the writer.

2.Which plants grew at the base of the wall?

cyclamen, crocus, asphodel.

3.Describe the blackberry hung.

The blackberry hung guarded the strip of the plants. During its season it had fruit

that was plump and juicy and black as ebony.

4.Describe the inhabitants of the wall.

The inhabitants of the wall were divided into day and night workers, the hunters

and the hunted. At night the hunters were the toads that lived among the

brambles, and the geckos, pale, translucent with bulging eyes that lived in the

cracks higher up the wall. Their prey was the population of stupid, absent-minded

crane-flies that zoomed and barged their way among the leaves; moths of all sizes

and shapes; the beetles, hurrying with portly efficiency about their night’s work. It

was difficult to differentiate between the prey and the predators amongst the day

animals, for everything seemed to feed indiscriminately off everything else. Thus

the hunting wasps searched out caterpillars and spiders; the spiders hunted for

flies; the dragon-flies fed off the spiders and the flies; and the wall lizards fed off

everything.

5.Which is the most dangerous of all wall inhabitants?

the scorpion.

6.What was a rich hunting ground for the writer?

the crumbling wall that surrounded the sunken garden alongside the house.

7.Which plants grew at the base of the wall?

cyclamen, crocus, asphodel.

8.Describe the blackberry hung.

The blackberry hung guarded the strip of the plants. During its season it had fruit

that was plump and juicy and black as ebony.

9.What happened if you breathed too hard on the scorpion?

The scorpion would raise his tail in an almost apologetic gesture of warning.

10.What would happen if you kept the scorpion in the sun for too long?

If you kept him in the sun too long he would simply turn his back on you and walk

away, and then slide slowly but firmly under another section of plaster.

11.What did the scorpions eat?

bluebottles, grass –hoppers, moths, lacewing flies and other scorpions.

12.What activities of the scorpions did the writer see during the night?

By crouching under the wall at night with a torch, the writer managed to catch

some brief glimpses of the scorpions’ wonderful courtship dances. He saw them

standing, claws clasped, their bodies raised to the skies, their tails lovingly

entwined; he saw them waltzing slowly in circles among the moss cushions, claw in

claw.

13.What was the fat female scorpion carrying?

a mass of tiny babies

14.How did the writer smuggle the fat female scorpion into the villa?

With infinite care he manoeuvred the mother and family into a matchbox, and

then hurried to the villa.