Matilda by Roald Dahl Summary (Question and Answer)

Chapter Eleven (Matilda by Roald Dahl)

CHAPTER ELEVEN – Lavender.
76.	44	Why does Miss Honey tell the class to make sure that they are on their best behaviour every Thursday afternoon at two O’clock?	Miss Honey tells the class that it is customary for Trunchbull to take over each class for one lesson a week and that their slot would be two o’clock every Thursday. Miss Honey, knowing what Trunchbull is like, warns the class to be on their best behaviour if they want to avoid being punished.
77.	45	What important job is Lavender assigned each week before the Thursday afternoon lesson taken by Trunchbull?	Miss Honey tells the class that Trunchbull insists upon a jug of water and a glass being left on her desk before the start of the lesson. Lavender is assigned the task of making sure that this is done.
78.	45	Lavender is impressed by Hortensia’s stories of bravery and has also been impressed by Matilda who had taken her into confidence about the tricks she had played on her family. Lavender therefore decides that her new responsibility was an opportunity to achieve a similar victory. What does she look for in her garden to assist her in her plans, and what does these creatures look like?	Lavender searches her garden for a newt. Newts are about six inches long and very slimy. According to Dahl they look almost like a baby crocodile with a shorter head.
79.	45	Lavender uses her school hat as a net to capture the creature. What does she keep the animal in, and why is she careful not to chop off his tail?	Lavender transfers the newt from her school hat to her pencil case which she has prepared by lining it with pond-weed. She is extra careful not to trap the newt’s tail when she closes the lid of her pencil case because her next-door neighbour, Rupert Entwistle, had told her that if you chop off the tail of a newt then it will grow into another identical creature, only ten times the size.
80.	46	Lavender is desperate to tell Matilda about her plan but decides not to. Why is this?	Even though Lavender trusts Matilda, she decides that it is better that her plans remain a secret and then, even under torture, nobody would be able to tell Trunchbull who was the guilty party.
81.	47	Lavender, after concealing the creature in Trunchbull’s water jug which she then dutifully places in the classroom ahead of the lesson, rejoins the rest of her form. When Trunchbull enters the classroom, what does she demand every student does and why?	Trunchbull demands that each student stands with their hands out in front of them and then, as she walks past, rotate their hands so that she could check that they were clean on both sides.
82.	47	Miss Trunchbull soon becomes angry at a young boy called Nigel Hicks. When questioned by Trunchbull, what does Nigel tell her that his father does for a living?	After being accused of having dirty hands, Trunchbull asks Nigel what his father does as a living, asking if he is a sewage worker. Nigel tells Trunchbull that his father is a doctor, and a very good one at that.
83.	48	In addition to having dirty hands, what else convinces Trunchbull that Nigel is a ‘walking germ factory’?	In addition to having dirty hands when Trunchbull inspects them, Nigel has a baked bean stuck to the front of his shirt. It had ended up there during lunch, he tells his headmistress.
84.	48	As a punishment for being so dirty, Trunchbull decides to test Nigel’s spelling ability to see if he has managed to learn anything during the previous week. What does Trunchbull tell Nigel to do whilst she tests him?	Trunchbull tells Nigel to stand on one leg and face the wall whilst she tests his spelling.
85.	49	Complete the following sentence with one of the words below: ‘The softer Trunchbull’s voice became, the greater the ________ ’. a. Calm c. Danger b. Her anger d. Tranquillity	c. Danger
86.	49	When Nigel is proved right that the class has been taught how to spell ‘difficulty’, what does he tell Trunchbull is Miss Honey’s ‘magic method’?	Nigel tells Trunchbull that Miss Honey’s ‘magic method’ is teaching the class a ‘little song about each word’.
87.	50	What does Trunchbull do to a small boy called Rupert when he is unable to tell her what ‘two sevens equal’?	When Rupert is unable to answer her question correctly, Trunchbull picked him up by his hair and doesn’t put him down until he answered the question correctly.
88.	51	Trunchbull doesn’t believe one student when he tells her that his name is ‘Eric Ink’. Eventually, after Eric asks her to look his name up in the phonebook, Trunchbull seems to be convinced telling him that ‘you may be Ink, young man, but let me tell you something. You’re not indelible. I’ll very soon rub you out if you try getting clever with me’. What does Trunchbull mean by this?	Indelible ink is a type of ink which cannot be removed or erased and the expression ‘to rub someone out’ means to kill them. By telling Eric Ink that he isn’t indelible but can be rubbed out, Trunchbull means that she can kill him!
89.	52	When Eric fails to spell the word ‘what’, Trunchbull picks the poor boy up by his ears. When Miss Honey pleads with the headmistress to put the boy down, Trunchbull tells Miss Honey that boy’s ears never come off. What does she say they do instead?	Trunchbull tells Miss Honey that boy’s ears never come off, but they can stretch, just like Eric’s ears were doing.
90.	53	Why does Trunchbull tell Miss Honey that Eric will have ‘an interesting pixie look for the rest of his life’?	Trunchbull tells Miss Honey that Eric will have ‘an interesting pixie look for the rest of his life’ because his ears have stretched quite considerably whilst she was suspending him from them.
91	53	Trunchbull tells Miss Honey that she is a great fan of one of the characters in Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens. Which character was this and why did Trunchbull like him?	Trunchbull was a great fan of Mr Wackford Squeers, the headmaster of Dotheboys Hall, featured in Nicholas Nickleby. The reason for Trunchbull’s admiration was Squeers use of the birch: ‘He kept their backsides so warm you could have fried eggs and bacon on them’ she told the class
92	53	The day after Trunchbull bought a used car from Mr Wormwood, she thought that he was a very good man. What had now happened to change her mind?	Immediately after buying the used car, Trunchbull thought that Mr Wormwood was a very fair salesman as he had told her that the car was almost new and had very low mileage. Trunchbull had changed her mind after ‘the entire engine fell out on the road’ and she was amazed to discover that the entire thing was full of sawdust.
93	54	Trunchbull tells Matilda that she doesn’t like clever people. Why is this?	Trunchbull tells Matilda that she doesn’t like clever people because ‘They are all crooks’.