A Triumph of Surgery · Class 10 English · Footprints Without Feet: 135 MCQs with answers

Mr Herriot, a veterinary surgeon, who tells the story himself

The whole story is told in the first person by the vet.

So fat that the vet compares him to a swollen sausage standing on four short legs

His eyes were bloodshot and rheumy and his tongue lolled from his jaws.

He was listless and seemed to have no energy

She concluded that he must be suffering from malnutrition.

Greed

He had never once turned food down, whatever the hour.

Tricki would eat nothing, was vomiting, and lay all day on a rug panting

He refused even his favourite dishes and did not want to go for walks.

She almost swooned, sure he would pine and die without her

Herriot had to take a firm line and act without delay.

An armful of the little coats

She did it 'with a despairing cry' as the car moved off.

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No food, but plenty of water

The narrator simply kept an eye on him during that time.

He started whimpering at the sound of the dogs outside

When the door was opened, he trotted out to join them.

Tristan

He slopped it into the bowls, and there was the usual headlong rush.

An extra bowl was put out and Tricki jostled his way towards it

Herriot says he was pleased to see it — it is the turning point of the story.

None at all

'He was given no medicine of any sort at all' — the ground of the title's irony.

A dozen times a day

She hovered anxiously in the background throughout the fortnight.

The narrator and his partners consumed every one of them

Two eggs each at breakfast, wine at lunch and brandy round the fire.

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About thirty feet of gleaming black metal

She herself was almost lost in the interior.

A mass of dogs hurtling round the lawn with Tricki in their midst

Ears flapping and tail waving — the little golden figure of Tricki.

Flexible

The glossary gives it as flexible.

He took off in a tremendous leap and sailed into her lap

Then he swarmed over her, licking her face and barking.

None of which had been used

Six words, placed without comment, that contain the argument of the story.

That she can never thank him enough, and that it is a triumph of surgery

Tears shone in her eyes and her lips trembled.

He saw Tricki in the street and was shocked at his appearance

Everything in the first section grows out of that accidental sighting.

Having a watery discharge

The glossary gives it as a watery discharge from a mucous membrane, especially of nose or eyes.

That he must be suffering from malnutrition

Her remedy for a fat dog was therefore more food.

Malt, cod-liver oil and a bowl of Horlicks at night

The Horlicks was to make him sleep — and she called it all 'nothing much really'.

She relented because he seemed weak, and could not bear to refuse him

She could not bring herself to refuse him the cream cakes and chocolates he loved.

Hodgkin, the gardener, had been laid up with lumbago

Lumbago is muscular pain in the lower part of the back.

Cut the food right down, give more exercise, and keep to a very strict diet

He also told her to harden her heart, which is the hardest part of the advice.

She agreed that he was right, but said it was so difficult

She set off head down, as if determined to begin the new regime immediately.

Tricki tottering in his tweed coat and drooping in his harness

He watched their progress 'with growing concern' and expected a telephone call.

To get him out of the house and keep him under observation for a fortnight

He says he had made his plans in advance — before the call ever came.

He carried him out wrapped in a blanket, followed by wailings

He thought it best to take him without delay.

Two beds, cushions, toys, rubber rings and three separate bowls

A day bed, a night bed, a breakfast bowl, a lunch bowl and a supper bowl.

Everybody in tears

The scene is played entirely straight, which is what makes it comic.

That there is no kick left in him, but that the vet knows a cure

The line closes the section and promises the second half of the story.

1 and 2 only

No operation is ever performed, in this section or any other.

Devoted and generous, but foolishly indulgent

She accepts every word of Herriot's advice and cannot act on any of it.

Observant, honest and firm when firmness is needed

He diagnoses the case in the street, warns her clearly, and acts decisively when it fails.

He was overfed: the vet says his only fault was greed and calls him hugely fat

Malnutrition was Mrs Pumphrey's guess, and the story shows it to be wrong.

Listless — lacking energy and enthusiasm

Distraught means extremely worried; a regime is a prescribed course of exercise and diet; and to loll is to hang loosely.

A dog is being loved into an illness, and only the vet can see it

A good opening names the paradox the whole section depends on.

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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include at least six of: the vet stopping his car and being shocked; the bloated sausage description; the bloodshot, rheumy eyes and lolling tongue; Mrs Pumphrey's belief in malnutrition; the malt, cod-liver oil and Horlicks; 'nothing much really'; the cream cakes a…

They sniffed him briefly, found him uninteresting and ignored him

Tricki, meanwhile, lay motionless on the carpet, looking at them with dull eyes.

In a warm loose box beside the one the other dogs used

A loose box is a stall in which an animal can move about freely.

At the end of the second day he began to take an interest in his surroundings

Recovery begins as curiosity, not as appetite.

Joe the greyhound and his friends engulfed him, rolled him over and inspected him

Then they moved off down the garden, and he followed, rolling slightly with his surplus fat.

A dog that fell behind risked competition for the last of his meal

That competitive atmosphere is what restores Tricki's appetite.

He went round the emptied bowls, licking casually inside one or two

Nothing was offered to him; he simply began to be interested.

Ran about with the dogs, joined their scrimmages and hunted rats at night

He also he found out how good it is to be knocked over, trodden on and flattened every few minutes.

An unlikely, silky little object among the shaggy crew

He had become an accepted member of the gang.

'He had never enjoyed himself so much'

It is the story's judgement on the life he had been living at home.

Whether the cushions were turned regularly and the right coat worn

None of those things had been used at all — they were still in the car boot.

Convalescing

'The word convalescing seemed to do something to Mrs Pumphrey.'

Fresh eggs by the two dozen, sent to build the dog up

For a happy period the partners had two eggs each for breakfast.

To enrich Tricki's blood

Lunch became a ceremonial occasion with two glasses before and several during the meal.

Put a final edge on Tricki's constitution

For several nights it was warmed in the glass, breathed in and drunk with great solemnity.

Because the eggs, the wine and the brandy would have gone on arriving

The temptation is stated immediately after the account of the gifts.

Because he knew she was suffering and felt compelled to tell her

The honesty costs him his breakfast eggs, and he makes the call anyway.

1 and 2 only

'He was given no medicine of any sort at all.'

No operation takes place; he had no medicinal treatment of any kind

The title's 'surgery' refers to the place where a vet treats patients, not to an operation.

Tricki was cured by being given nothing at all: no medicine, and for two days no food

A good opening names the paradox that the section is built on.

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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include at least six of: being ignored by the household dogs; the warm loose box; two days of water and no food; interest returning at the end of the second day; whimpering on the third; Joe the greyhound and the rolling over; following, rolling with his surplus fat…

'Do tell me the truth. Is he really better?'

Her hands were tightly clasped and her lips trembled.

Into a lithe, hard-muscled animal stretching out in great bounds

His chest almost brushed the ground as he kept up with the pack.

That he was delighted to go home, with no reluctance at all

He had had the best fortnight of his life and was still devoted to her.

A startled 'Ooh!', before she had to defend herself against him

And then she had to defend herself as he licked her face and barked.

The beds, toys, cushions, coats and bowls

Herriot helped the chauffeur with them.

She believes the vet's skill and treatment cured her dog

She has no idea that he was given no medicine at all.

There was no operation and no medicinal treatment of any kind

Two days of water, competitive meals, company and exercise were the whole treatment.

The place where a doctor, dentist or vet treats patients

Which makes Mrs Pumphrey's phrase doubly wrong, and doubly funny.

Tact

The textbook asks directly whether he is tactful as well as full of common sense.

Loneliness

It shows a wealthy woman behaving absurdly and spoiling her dog past all sense, 'perhaps because she is lonely'.

1 and 2 only

He says nothing at all, and lets her keep her triumph of surgery.

Irony — a gap between what is said and what is true

Lithe means flexible, a surgery is the place where a vet treats patients, and a chauffeur drives a car.

No operation was performed; the dog had no medicinal treatment of any kind

The title comes from Mrs Pumphrey's mistaken gratitude, not from an event in the story.

Mrs Pumphrey thanks Mr Herriot for an operation that never happened

A good opening puts the gap between her words and the facts in a single sentence.

He identifies the cause of the illness and removes it instead of prescribing

Two days of water, then an ordinary dog's life — and no medicine at all.

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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: a definition of irony; the closing line and the fact that no operation took place; the early diagnosis of greed and the plan of removal; the actual treatment, with 'no medicinal treatment of any kind'; the transformation described before her line; 'none of…

That she does not see the extras as a cause of anything

The phrase comes at the end of a list that would overfeed a much larger animal.

She sees weakness and adds food; he sees overfeeding and no exercise

The whole plot follows from that gap between owner and professional.

That being stern with Mrs Pumphrey was difficult even for him

The honesty of the phrase is part of what makes the narrator likeable.

It shows he had diagnosed the case correctly in the street

He knew what was wrong and what would cure it long before the emergency.

Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A

The story is careful never to suggest that she is unkind or neglectful.

That his whole life was arranged around comfort rather than activity

Two beds, three bowls and a wardrobe of coats — and none of it used during the fortnight.

It signals at once that the dog's condition is serious as well as comic

The word 'this time' also implies that he has had trouble with Tricki before.

It shows his tact — the truth is told to us, not thrown at her

'The dog's one fault was greed' is a private observation; what she hears is practical advice.

That indulgence is not the same as care, and may do real harm

Herriot's whole remedy is to remove the dog from a kindness that is damaging him.

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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: evidence of her wealth from the dog's possessions; evidence of her devotion — the worry, the telephone calls, the fear he will pine and die, the tears and the thrown coats; evidence of poor judgement — the diagnosis of malnutrition, the extras, the relentin…

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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: the private diagnosis kept from the client; the practical, actable advice given instead; 'I tried to sound severe' and 'harden your heart'; his accurate prediction and plan made in advance; the firmness at the moment of taking the dog; and the private kindn…

It shows he is still a fat dog struggling to keep up

The affection and the accuracy of the observation are characteristic of the narrator.

That his appetite has returned because food must now be earned

At home he had refused even his favourite dishes.

The narrator's own life during Tricki's stay, thanks to the gifts

Extra egg in the morning, wine at midday, brandy round the fire at night.

It is described with complete seriousness — rolled around, inhaled, reverently drunk

Nobody in the scene thinks he is being funny, which is why it is.

No — two eggs at breakfast and a glass of wine are treats for his household

The wine and brandy are so unusual that they make lunch 'a ceremonial occasion'.

Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A

Both are true, but the length of the stay is not why no medicine was needed.

He treats the animal, not the owner's anxiety, and is confident enough to do nothing

Doing nothing, in this case, required more judgement than prescribing would have.

One dog is cured by having everything taken away while three men are spoiled by what is sent for him

The two threads run side by side and make the point without stating any moral.

That nothing there is arranged for the comfort of any individual dog

It is the exact opposite of a household with a day bed, a night bed and three separate bowls.

That what it needs is an ordinary life rather than more attention

Water, company, competition and exercise are all Tricki ever receives.

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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: the word 'convalescing' and its effect; the eggs, their stated purpose and the two eggs each at breakfast; the wine, its stated purpose, the 'real possibilities' line and the ceremonial lunch; the brandy, its stated purpose and the reverent drinking; the 'd…

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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should cover at least four qualities with evidence: professional confidence in giving no medicine; close observation of the stages of recovery; tact with Mrs Pumphrey's questions; honesty about enjoying the gifts and about the temptation; and decency in telephoning when he…

That her anxiety was never touched by anything he told her

She had been ringing a dozen times a day and still feared the worst.

The bloated sausage of the opening has become a running dog

The proof of the cure is placed in front of us before Mrs Pumphrey's last line.

It proves without comment that everything Tricki 'needed' was unnecessary

The absence of those comforts was the cure.

Correcting her would humiliate her and help nobody, and the dog is well

He has kept the whole truth from her all along, out of the same tact.

Treating the cause of the illness and prescribing no medicine at all

Doing nothing took more judgement than prescribing would have.

Tricki will probably be overfed again, since nothing at home has changed

The unused coats and bowls travel home in the same car he does.

The dog is cured but the cause of the illness is untouched

Nothing about the household has changed, which is why the textbook asks what will happen now.

Most probably a mixture — real material shaped by a writer

James Herriot was a working Yorkshire vet, but the two-week arc and the closing line are clearly shaped.

The loose box, the feeding rush, the bulletins and the unused luggage

They are the kind of detail an outsider would not think to invent.

No — she is comic, but the harm was real: the dog nearly died

The story holds both halves together: twelve calls a day, and a dog that stopped eating.

A is false, but R is true

No operation takes place at all, so the assertion is false. The reason explains where the irony lies.

The reader is left holding a truth the speaker does not know

Dramatic irony of exactly this kind is what gives the story its title.

That giving is not the same as caring, and may do real harm

The textbook's last discussion question — are there parents like Mrs Pumphrey? — points the same way.

Because the unused luggage and the last line make the point without help

The reader is shown everything and told nothing, which is why the ending lands.

The harm is real even though the behaviour is funny

Twelve calls a day are funny; a dog that will not eat and vomits is not.

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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should cover at least four qualities with evidence: observation (the street diagnosis, the staged recovery); common sense (treating the cause, prescribing nothing); firmness (taking the dog away); tact (dodged questions, incomplete bulletins, the uncorrected last line); ho…

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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: evidence of the silliness, with at least three examples; the suggestion of loneliness and support for it; evidence of the real harm, with the dog's symptoms and the vet's judgement; the fact that nothing changes by the end; and a clear personal judgement th…