“I put the brown paper in my pocket along with the chalks, and possibly other…
2025
“I put the brown paper in my pocket along with the chalks, and possibly other things. I suppose every one must have reflected how primeval and how poetical are the things that one carries in one’s pocket: the pocket-knife, for instance the type of all human tools, the infant of the sword. Once I planned to write a book of poems entirely about the things in my pocket. But I found it would be too long: and the age of the great epics is past.”
(From G.K. Chesterton’s “A Piece of Chalk”)
Based only on the information provided in the above passage, which one of the following statements is true?
- A.
The author of the passage carries a mirror in his pocket to reflect upon things.
- B.
The author of the passage had decided to write a poem on epics.
- C.
The pocket-knife is described as the infant of the sword.
- D.
Epics are described as too inconvenient to write.
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Correct answer: C
Answer: The pocket-knife is described as the infant of the sword.
Explanation: The passage explicitly calls the pocket-knife "the infant of the sword," so the statement that the pocket-knife is described in that way is directly supported by the text.
The claim that the author carries a mirror to reflect upon things is not supported: the passage lists brown paper, chalks, and the pocket-knife and uses the verb "reflected" to mean people have thought about the pocket contents, not that a mirror is carried.
The claim that the author had decided to write a poem on epics is incorrect: the passage says he planned a book of poems about the things in his pocket, and separately notes that "the age of the great epics is past," so epics are not presented as his intended subject.
The claim that epics are described as too inconvenient to write is incorrect: the passage says the planned pocket-themed book "would be too long" and that the age of great epics is past, but it does not describe epics as inconvenient to write.
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