Explanation
It happened one day when a fisherman went out to sea in a boat and was just about to cast a net, when right in front of him he saw a man on the point of drowning. Being a stout-hearted and at the same time an agile man, he jumped up and, seizing a boathook, thrust it towards the man’s face. It caught him right in the eye and pierced it. The fisherman hauled the man into the boat and made for the shore without casting any of his nets. He had the man carried to his house and given the best possible attention and treatment until he had got over his ordeal. For a long time, that man thought about the loss of his eye, considering it a great misfortune.
“That wretched fellow put my eye out, but I didn’t do him any harm. I’ll go and lodge a complaint against him, I’ll make things really hot for him!” Accordingly, he went and complained to the magistrate, who fixed a day for the hearing. They both waited till the day came round, and then went to the court. The one who had lost an eye spoke first, as was appropriate. “Gentlemen,” he said, “I’m bringing a complaint against this
worthy, who, only the other day, savagely struck me with a boathook and knocked my eye out. Now I’m handicapped. Give me justice, that‘s all I ask. I’ve nothing more to say.” The other promptly spoke up and said, “Gentlemen, I cannot deny that I knocked his eye out, but if what I did was wrong, I’d like to explain how it all happened. This man was in mortal danger in the sea, in fact he was on the point o f drowning. I went to his aid. I won’t deny I struck him with my boat hook, but I did it for his own good: I saved his life on that occasion.
I don’t know what more I can say. For God’s sake, give me justice!” The court was quite at a loss when it came to deciding the right s of the case, but a fool who was present at the time said to them, “Why this hesitation? Let the first speaker be thrown back into the sea on the spot where the other man hit him in the face, and if he can get out again, the defendant shall compensate him for the loss of his eye. That I think fair judgment.” Then they all cried out as one man, “You’re absolutely right! That’s exactly what we’ll do!” Judgment was then pronounced to that effect. When the man heard that he was to be thrown into the sea, just where he had endured all that cold water before, he wouldn’t have gone back there for the entire world. He released the Goodman from any liability, and his earlier attitude came in for much criticism. In the light of this incident, you can take it from me that it’s a waste of time to help a scoundrel. Release guilty thief from the gallows, and he will never like you for it. A wicked man will never be grateful to anyone who does him a good turn: He’ll forget all about it; it will mean nothing to him. On the contrary, he would be only too glad to make trouble for his benefactor if he ever saw him at a disadvantage.
Paragraph 3 concerns
A) The narrator’s beliefs
B) The court’s wishes
C) The one-eyed man’s complaint
D) The fisherman’s plea
E) The magistrate’s judgment
Question:
The fool’s suggested solution to the case was
A) Pitiless and spiteful
B) Absurd but lawful
C) Harsh but fair
D) Just and merciful
E) Sensible but unjust
Question:
“In the light of this incident” means
A) Thanks to that event B) Because of this tale
C) Without further ado D) As darkness falls
E) As you can see from this story
Question:
The narrator clearly believes that the one-eyed man
A) Showed good sense
B) Had bad luck
C) Deserved better
D) Was a scoundrel
E) Did the right thing
Question:
The moral of this story might be
A) Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
B) A wicked man is never satisfied
C) You can only be good for so long
D) There is no such thing as justice
E) The one – eyed man is king
