Q1. Who is the author of the story 'The Hack Driver'?
a) Sinclair Lewis
b) Guy de Maupassant
c) H.G. Wells
d) Robert Arthur
Answer a
Sol. The story 'The Hack Driver' is written by Sinclair Lewis, an American novelist and short-
story writer.
Q2. What was the narrator's job after graduating with honours in law?
a) A senior lawyer
b) A junior assistant clerk in a law firm
c) A policeman
d) A private detective
Answer b
Sol. He was a junior assistant clerk whose job was to serve summons, rather than preparing
legal briefs.
Q3. Why did the narrator hate his work?
a) He was not paid well
b) He had to go to dirty and shadowy corners of the city to serve summons
c) He wanted to be a farmer
d) He didn't like his boss
Answer b
Sol. He disliked his work because it exposed him to the unpleasant side of city life, and he
was sometimes beaten up.
Q4. Where was the narrator sent to serve a summons?
a) New Mullion
b) Iping
c) London
d) Shotover Grange
Answer a
Sol. He was sent to a small town called New Mullion, forty miles away from the city.
Q5. Who was the narrator looking for in New Mullion?
a) Bill Magnuson
b) Oliver Lutkins
c) Fritz
d) Gustaf
Answer b
Sol. He needed Oliver Lutkins as a witness in a law case.
Q6. How did the narrator describe New Mullion upon his arrival?
a) A beautiful town with paved streets
b) Severe disappointment with rivers of mud and wooden shops
c) A busy industrial city
d) A coastal village
Answer b
Sol. His expectations of a "sweet and simple country village" were crushed by its muddy
streets and dull appearance.
Q7. Who was the only "agreeable sight" at the station?
a) The station master
b) The delivery man (the hack driver)
c) Oliver Lutkins
d) A young lady
Answer b
Sol. The delivery man, who was about forty, red-faced, and cheerful, was the only pleasant
person he saw.
Q8. What was the name the hack driver gave to the narrator?
a) Oliver
b) Bill
c) Fritz
d) Joe
Answer b
Sol. The hack driver introduced himself as Bill or Magnuson.
Q9. How much did the hack driver charge per hour for his carriage?
a) One dollar
b) Two dollars
c) Five dollars
d) Ten dollars
Answer b
Sol. He bargained the price down to two dollars an hour.
Q10. Where did Bill first take the narrator to look for Lutkins?
a) To the poolroom
b) To Fritz’s shop
c) To the post office
d) To his mother’s farm
Answer b
Sol. Bill suggested they first try Fritz’s shop, where Lutkins often played poker.
Q11. Why did Bill tell the narrator to stay behind him when entering shops?
a) Because the narrator was shy
b) So that Lutkins wouldn't get suspicious of the narrator's city clothes
c) To protect the narrator
d) Because the narrator was tired
Answer b
Sol. Bill claimed that if Lutkins saw a man dressed like a lawyer, he would suspect
something and flee.
Q12. According to Bill, what was Oliver Lutkins’ main talent?
a) Singing
b) Farming
c) Borrowing money and never paying it back
d) Driving a hack
Answer c
Sol. Bill described Lutkins as a hard person to catch who owed money to many people.
Q13. Where did Fritz say Lutkins had gone?
a) To the barber shop
b) To the cinema
c) To Gustaf’s barber shop
d) To the library
Answer c
Sol. Fritz told them that Lutkins had gone to Gustaf’s for a shave.
Q14. What did the narrator and Bill do for lunch?
a) They went to a restaurant
b) They bought food from Bill's wife and ate it at Wade’s Hill
c) They went to the narrator's home
d) They skipped lunch
Answer b
Sol. Bill suggested buying lunch from his wife for half a dollar to save money and enjoy the
view at Wade’s Hill.
+1
Q15. How did the narrator feel about Bill during the trip?
a) He thought Bill was a thief
b) He was charmed by Bill's kindness and simple wisdom
c) He found Bill boring
d) He was suspicious of Bill
Answer b
Sol. The narrator was so impressed by Bill’s personality that he even considered moving to
New Mullion to practice law.
Q16. Who was the last person they visited in search of Lutkins?
a) Lutkins' wife
b) Lutkins' mother
c) The mayor
d) The school teacher
Answer b
Sol. Bill took him to Lutkins' mother's farm, describing her as a "real terror."
Q17. What did Lutkins' mother do when they arrived?
a) She welcomed them with tea
b) She chased them with an iron from an old stove
c) She told them where Oliver was
d) She started crying
Answer b
Sol. She seized an iron from the stove and marched on them, threatening to burn them.
Q18. Why was the narrator sent back to New Mullion a second time?
a) To go on a holiday
b) Because he failed to serve the summons and the case was coming up
c) To arrest Bill
d) To visit the farm again
Answer b
Sol. His law firm was angry that he failed to find Lutkins, so they sent him back the next
morning.
Q19. Who was sent with the narrator on the second trip?
a) His boss
b) A man who had worked with Oliver Lutkins
c) A policeman
d) His brother
Answer b
Sol. The firm sent a companion who knew Lutkins personally to ensure he was identified.
Q20. When the train arrived, whom did the narrator see on the platform?
a) Oliver Lutkins
b) Bill and Lutkins' mother laughing together
c) The mayor
d) No one
Answer b
Sol. He saw Bill standing next to the "terrible" mother, and they were laughing and talking.
Q21. What did the narrator tell his companion about Bill?
a) That Bill was a thief
b) That Bill was a "fine fellow" who helped him all day
c) That Bill was his cousin
d) That Bill was Oliver Lutkins
Answer b
Sol. The narrator pointed Bill out as a very helpful man who spent the whole day searching
for Lutkins with him.
Q22. What was the companion’s reaction to seeing Bill?
a) He was happy
b) He revealed that "Bill" was actually Oliver Lutkins
c) He was confused
d) He arrested Bill immediately
Answer b
Sol. The companion told the narrator that the man who helped him was Oliver Lutkins
himself.
Q23. What did Lutkins and his mother do when the summons was served?
a) They were terrified
b) They laughed at the narrator like he was a seven-year-old boy
c) They ran away
d) They apologized
Answer b
Sol. They laughed heartily and invited him for a cup of coffee at a neighbor's house.
Q24. Why did Lutkins want the narrator to go to his neighbor's house for coffee?
a) To show off his house
b) Because the neighbors were the only ones who hadn't seen the "city boy" being fooled
c) Because they were out of milk
d) To hide from the police
Answer b
Sol. Lutkins jokingly said the neighbors were anxious to see the narrator after hearing about
how he was tricked.
Q25. How did the narrator feel at the end of the story?
a) Proud
b) Foolish and humiliated
c) Relieved
d) Angry at his companion
Answer b
Sol. He felt like a "bright boy" who had been completely outsmarted by a country hack driver.
Q26. What does the word 'hack' mean?
a) A computer expert
b) A horse-drawn carriage for hire
c) A forest
d) A secret agent
Answer b
Sol. A hack is a carriage or car that can be hired for transport.
Q27. Bill's description of the people of New Mullion made the narrator:
a) Fearful
b) Love the town and its people
c) Want to leave immediately
d) Suspicious
Answer b
Sol. Bill’s vivid and friendly descriptions of his neighbors made the narrator feel a deep
connection to the town.
Q28. What was the narrator's "romantic" idea of a country village?
a) That it was full of mud
b) That it was sweet, simple, and honest
c) That it was dangerous
d) That it was empty
Answer b
Sol. He expected a peaceful and honest environment, which made him an easy target for
Lutkins’ trick.
Q29. What was the main irony in the story?
a) The narrator found Lutkins immediately.
b) The man who was helping search for Lutkins was Lutkins himself.
c) The city was cleaner than the village.
d) The narrator became a hack driver.
Answer b
Sol. The irony is that the person the narrator was hunting was the one "leading" the hunt.
Q30. Which of these describes the narrator's character?
a) Very clever and experienced
b) Gullible and inexperienced
c) Rude and arrogant
d) Brave and strong
Answer b
Sol. The narrator was easily fooled (gullible) because he was young and unfamiliar with the
world outside his law firm.