2022 P5_English exam paper Taonan (0114) Q29-Q38

Birbal was a wise and knowledgeable minister who served Akbar, Emperor of India. He was close to Akbar and informed him of all that was happening around the kingdom. (29) ________ Akbar cared about his people, Birbal advised him that one way to find out if they were truly happy was to visit them in disguise and see how they lived.

Akbar liked the idea of an adventure. (30) ________, he dressed up as an ordinary villager and decided to visit a faraway village.

Accompanying Akbar were four ministers who had to carry some boxes (31) ________ their backs.

Birbal selected an enormous box (32) ________ contained food. The other ministers laughed at him for choosing the largest box.

Unlike Birbal, they chose boxes which were (33) ________ as large or heavy as Birbal's box.

Birbal kept quiet and did not react to (34) ________ mocking. The journey started and they made their way to the village.

After some hours, Akbar and his men stopped under a shady tree for lunch. Birbal distributed the food from his box. This lightened his burden (35) ________ half. After a satisfying meal, the men continued their journey to the village.

The village was so far away that they had to stop for dinner after hours of walking. Birbal gave out the remaining food to everybody. That emptied (36) ________ box.

For the rest of the journey, the wise minister (37) ________ nothing to carry but the empty box!

However, the (38) ________ men's loads seemed to get heavier and heavier with every step they took. Only then did they feel ashamed of making fun of Birbal.