MP Board Class 10th English The Rainbow Solutions Chapter 17 The Bet

September 18, 2021August 7, 2022

The Bet Summary in English

The old banker was walking in his study-room, one dark autumn night. He was worried. Fifteen years ago, he had entered into a bet with a young lawyer. He had promised to pay the lawyer two million roubles if There was a young lawyer also at the banker’s party. They discussed capital punishment. They called it immoral and against Christianity to take any body’s life. They were in favour of replacing it with life sentence. The banker argued that capital punishment was more humane because it caused instant death. During life imprisonment, one is killed by inches.

The young lawyer favoured life imprisonment to death sentence. He argued that it was better, to live somehow than not to live at all. The banker threw a challenge. The lawyer accepted it. He agreed to stay alone in a cell for fifteen years if the banker promised to pay him two million roubles. The banker agreed to stake his money and the lawyer staked his freedom. Both had the bet out of excitement. The agreement was drawn up.
The banker locked up the lawyer in the garden wing of his house. The lawyer was permitted to read books, write letters/drink and smoke during his confinement. He would neither receive letters nor hear any human voice. He would lose the money if he made any attempt to escape.

The lawyer felt quite lonely and bored during the first year of his imprisonment. He read books of light character and played on the piano. He asked for classics, the next year. He ate, drank and rested in the fifth year. He studied languages and philosophy in the sixth year. He finished six hundred volumes in the next four years. He read the Bible for one year. He studied poetry and sciences during the last two years of his imprisonment.

The banker had fallen short of money. He had undergone heavy losses in business. The next day was the day of the lawyer’s release. The banker could escape bankruptcy only if the lawyer died. At night he went near the lawyer’s room to kill him. The doubt would fall on the watchman who was not found there.

The banker entered the lawyer’s room. The prisoner was like a heap of bones. He was sitting motionless by the table. The banker could kill him with the pillow. It would be treated as a natural death. Just then, the banker caught sight of a note. It said that he (the lawyer) had lost all interest in freedom, life, health and worldy riches. Reading books had granted him wisdom. He had realized that the world was an illusion and death alone was a real thing. So he would escape five minutes before the fixed period of imprisonment. Thus he would forgo his claim of money.

The banker went out sobbing. He began to hate himself. The lawyer kept his word and escaped at night. The banker locked the lawyer’s note in his safe.

The Bet Summary in Hindi

पतझड़ की एक अंधेरी रात में बूढ़ा साहूकार अपने अध्ययन कक्ष में घूम रहा था। वह चिंतित था। पंद्रह वर्ष पहले उसने एक युवा वकील से शर्त लगाई थी। उसने वकील को दो मिलियन देने का वचन दिया था यदि वह पंद्रह वर्ष तक अकेला एक कमरे में ठहरा रहे। यह वकील के कारावास की अन्तिम रात थी। परन्तु उसे धनराशि देने के लिए साहूकार के पास पर्याप्त धन नहीं था। उसने उस पार्टी का ध्यान किया जहाँ शर्त लगाई गई थी

साहूकार की पार्टी में एक युवा वकील भी था। उन्होंने मृत्युदण्ड पर चर्चा की। किसी के जीवन लेने को उन्होंने अनैतिक और ईसाई धर्म के विरुद्ध कहा। वे उसे आजीवन कारावास में बदलने के पक्ष में थे। साहूकार ने तर्क दिया कि मृत्युदण्ड अधिक उदार है क्योंकि उसमें तत्काल मृत्यु हो जाती है। आजीवन कैद, धीरे-धीरे प्राण लेती

युवा वकील ने मृत्यु दण्ड से उम्र कैद को बढ़िया बताया। उसने तर्क दिया कि बिल्कुल जीवित नहीं रहने से किसी प्रकार जीवित रहना अधिक अच्छा है। साहूकार ने चुनौती दी। वकील ने उसे स्वीकार कर लिया। वह पंद्रह वर्ष तक एक कोठरी में अकेले रहने के लिए राजी हो गया यदि साहूकार उसे दो मिलियन देने का वचन देता है। साहूकार अपनी धनराशि को और वकील अपनी स्वतन्त्रता को दाव पर लगाने के लिए सहमत हो गए। दोनों ने जोश में शर्त लगा ली। शर्तनामा तैयार किया गया।

साहूकार ने वकील को अपने भवन के बगीचे में बनी हुई कोठरी में बंद कर दिया। अपने कारावास के दौरान वकील को पुस्तकें पढ़ने, पत्र लिखने, मद्यपान तथा धुम्रपान करने की अनुमति थी। उसे न तो पत्र प्राप्त होंगे और न ही कोई मानवीय आवाज़ सुनाई देगी। यदि उसने भागने का कोई प्रयत्न किया तो उसे पैसे से हाथ धोना पड़ेगा।

अपने कारावास के पहले वर्ष में वकील ने अकेलापन और बोरियत महसूस की। उसने हलकी-फलकी पुस्तकें पढ़ीं और प्यानो बजाता रहा। अगले वर्ष उसने शास्त्रीय ग्रंथों की मांग की। पाँचवें वर्ष वह खाता. पीता और आराम करता रहा। छठे वर्ष उसने भाषाएं और दर्शन शास्त्र पढ़े। अगले चार वर्षों में उसने छह सौ पोथियां पढ़ीं। एक वर्ष तक उसने बाइबिल पढ़ी। कारावास के अपने अन्तिम दो वर्षों में उसने कविता और विभिन्न वैज्ञानिक विषयों का अध्ययन किया।

साहूकार के पास धनराशि की कमी पड़ गई थी। व्यापार में उसे भारी नुकसान हो गया था। अगला दिन, नजरबंदी से वकील के छुटकारे का दिन था। साहूकार दीवालियापन से मुक्त हो सकता था यदि वकील की मृत्यु हो जाती। वकील की हत्या करने के लिए वह रात को उसके कमरे के पास गया। कैदी हड्डियों के ढेर की तरह था। वह मेज के पास सटा हुआ गतिहीन बैठा था। साहूकार उसे तकिया से दबाकर मार सकता था। वह स्वाभाविक मृत्यु मानी जाती।

तभी, वकील की नजर कागज के एक पुर्जे पर पड़ी। उसमें लिखा हुआ था कि वकील की स्वतन्त्रता, जीवन, स्वास्थ्य और सांसारिक वैभव में रुचि समाप्त हो गई है। पुस्तकों के अध्ययन से उसमें ज्ञान उपज गया है। उसे महसूस हो गया था कि संसार मायाजाल है और केवल मृत्यु ही वास्तविकता है। इसलिए वह नजरबंदी की निर्धारित अवधि से पांच मिनट पहले कमरे से बच निकलेगा। इस प्रकार वह अपने पैसों का दावा छोड़ देगा। साहकार सबकता हआ बाहर निकल आया। वह स्वयं से घणा करने लगा। वकील ने अपना वचन निभाया और रात को भाग निकला। साहूकार ने वकील के प्रपत्र (कागज के पुर्जे) को तिजोरी में रख दिया।

In this article, we will share MP Board Class 10th English Solutions The Rainbow Chapter 18 The Bridge Builder Pdf, These solutions are solved subject experts from the latest edition books.

MP Board Class 10th English The Rainbow Solutions Chapter 17 The Bet (Anton Chekhov Pavlovich)

The Bet Textbook Exercises

The Bet Vocabulary

I. The word BET Ibet/ has three sounds. The first and the last are consonant sounds and in the middle there is a vowel sound. Go on changing the vowel sound and make a list of meaningful words.
Answer:

II. Use the word ‘BET’ with different meanings in your own sentences.
Answer:
I cannot bet against his statement.
Let us have a bet.
I bet he arrives late.
I don’t believe in making bets.
He put a bet on a horse.
It seems like a fair bet.

III. Match the words given under A with the meanings given under B.
1. penalty — (a) not good or right
2. wisdom — (b) a total lack of respect
3. contempt — (c) feel extreme dislike and disrespect for
4. despise — (d) a punishment for breaking a law
5. immoral — (e) knowledge gained through learning or experience.
Ans. 1. (d), 2. (e), 3. (b), 4. (C), 5. (a).

Comprehension

A. Answer the following questions in about 25 words.

Question 1.
Why did the majority of the guests disapprove of the death penalty?
Answer:
There were many clever men in the bankers party. Majority of the guests disapproved of the death penalty. They found it out-dated, anti-Christian and immoral. It should be replaced by life imprisonment. It was better to live somehow than not to live at all.

Question 2.
Why did the banker argue that death penalty was more moral and more humane than imprisonment for life?
Answer:
The banker argued that death penalty was more moral and more humane than imprisonment for life. He was of the view that excecution kills instantly. It brings about the end of all vows. Life imprisonment kills a man by degrees (inches). It causes disgrace and humiliation.

Question 3.
On what ground did one of the guests, observe that both capital punishment and imprisonment for life were equally immoral?
Answer:
One of the guests observed that both capital punishment and imprisonment for life were equally immoral. His argument was that the purpose behind both of them was the same. Both of them took away life.

Question 4.
Why did the young lawyer support imprisonment for life?
Answer:
The young lawyer preferred life imprisonment to capital punishment. His argument was ‘It’s better to live somehow than not to live at all. Morever, the state has no right to take away what it cannot give.

Question 5.
Why did the banker feel that the bet was nonsensical and meaningless?
Answer:
The bet between the banker and the lawyers was made in excitement. It was both wild and ridiculous. The banker felt that the bet was nonsensical and meaningless. It was observed without thinking. It had no objective. It could not prove that the death penalty is better or worse than imprisonment for life. It was simply a caprice based on greed and ego.

Question 6.
What did the prisoner suffer from in the first year of his confinement? How do you know about it?
Answer:
In the first year of his confinement, the prisoner suffered severely from loneliness and depression. It is clear because the sounds of the piano could be heard from his lodge day and night. He refused wine and tobacco. He longed to see human faces and hear human voices.

Question 7.
Why did the prisoner refuse wine and tobacco?
Answer:
The prisoner refused wine since it excites desires which are the worst foes of a prisoner. It was most dreary to drink good wine without seeing human faces. He refused tobacco because it spoilt the air of his room.

Question 8.
What did the prisoner read in the last two years?
Answer:
During the last two years, the prisoner read an immense number of books on natural sciences, romantic poetry, chemistry, medicines, novels and treatises on philosophy and theology.

Question 9.
Why did the banker regret his action in the end of the period of agreement?
Answer:
The banker longed to kill the lawyer in order to save himself from bankruptcy. He went to the lawyer’s cell with intentions of killing him. He read the lawyer’s note. He felt a great contempt for himself for reducing the lawyer to a skeleton of bones. He started sobbing and regretted his action in the end of the period of agreement.

Question 10.
Why did the lawyer renounce the two millions of which he once dreamed as paradise?
Answer:
The lawyer considered the amount of two million roubles as paradise in his youth. He suffered a lot in prison. He read a large number of books. They gave him wisdom. He realised that all the worldly riches were worthless, fleeting, illusory and deceptive like a mirage. Therefore he renounced the two millions wilfully.

Question 11.
According to the lawyer, the banker ‘exchanged heaven for earth.’ Why did he think so?
Answer:
According to the lawyer, the banker was a man of ego, selfishness and greed. He had taken the wrong path. He had taken lies for truth and ugliness for beauty. In a nutshell, he had exchanged heaven for earth. He thought so because the banker lacked wisdom and had lost his reason.

Question 12.
What did the lawyer do at last?
Answer:
The lawyer realized that all the worldly riches were worthless, fleeting and deceptive. Therefore, he renounced the two million roubles willfully. He escaped at night five minutes before the fixed period of imprisonment to forgo his claim of money.

B. Answer the following questions in about 50 words.

Question 1.
What were the conditions of the agreement between the banker and the young lawyer? (M.P. Board 2012)
Answer:
The following were the conditions of the agreement between the banker and the young lawyer:

The lawyer would get two million roubles if he remained confined to the solitary cell.
The lawyer would lose his claim on money if he tried to escape even two minutes before the expiry of the agreed period.
He could write letters though (but) not receive them.
He could have books, tobacco, wine etc. as much as he needed.

Question 2.
Sum up some of the activities that the prisoner undertook in the prison.
(M.P. Board 2012)
Answer:
During the first year of imprisonment, the lawyer read books of light character. He also played on piano. During the fifth year he ate, drank and rested on his bed. He often talked angrily to himself. He wrote all notes and tore all the papers up in the morning. He also wept often. In the sixth year he read at random. Sometimes hie would read science but would quickly move to medicine and then to literature. He read the New Testament thoroughly.

Question 3.
Summarise the things that the lawyer learnt from books in prison. (M.P. Board 2009)
Answer:
The lawyer read a large number of books including the New Testament in prison. He learnt the following things from them:

Freedom, life, health and the other so-called blessings of the world are all worthless.
Everything is void, weak, fleeting, delusive and transitory like a mirage.
Life is not worth living. Only one thing remains certain. It is death. Death would soon wipe away everything.

Question 4.
’There is nothing more valuable than wisdom in this world.’ Examine this statement in the light of the message emerging from the story.
Answer:
Both the banker and the lawyer were victims of ego, greed and selfishness. They were not far sighted. They were ignorant of the happenings in future. The lawyer lost his youth and health and the banker became a bankrupt due to his taste for investment in stock exchanges. The lawyer’s dream for leading a heavenly life after winning the bet was sheerly his lack of wisdom. The banker’s desire to kill the lawyer was also based on his ignorance. It justifies the fact that ‘There is nothing more valuable than wisdom in this world.’ Wisdom is another word for forethought. If they had applied even the least wisdom, the result would not have been so tragic.

The Bet Grammar

Study the following sentences:

If I had to choose between the death penalty and imprisonment for life. I would certainly choose the second.
“If you mean that in earnest” said the young man, “I’ ll take a bet.”
If they find not one mistake. I implore you to fire a shot in the garden.
‘If I had the pluck to carry out my intention.’ thought the old man, ‘suspicion would fall first upon the watchman.’
You would marvel if. owing to strange events of some sorts, frogs and lizards grew on apple and orange trees instead of fruit. The underlined clauses are adverb clauses of condition. They are introduced by the subordinating conjunctions if, unless, whether.

Study the following table:

Dependent clauses	Main clauses
with ‘if
V¹	will + V¹
V²	would
had + V³	would have + V³

Fill in the blanks with the correct tenses of the verbs given in brackets.

1. If she gives me a brush I (paint) my door.
2. If you (come) I would help you.
3. If he (not work) he would fail.
4. He would have started living with you if you (agree).
5. If you (tell) a lie, the teacher would have punished you.
6. You will spoil your health if you (not give up) smoking.
7. If Radha (come) I would have helped her.
8. If a man (permit), he need not care who made the laws of a nation.
9. If I (can) be guilty of the absurdity for recommending to a young man, I should tell him that he could find no safer guide than Dryden.
10. If he worked hard, he (may) become rich.
Answer:

If she gives me a brush I shall paint (paint) my door.
If you come (came) I would help you.
If he does (will/did) not work he would fail.
He would have started living with you if you had agreed (agree).
If you had told (tell) a lie, the teacher would have punished you.
You will spoil your health if you do not give up (not give up) smoking.
If Radha had come (come) I would have helped her.
If a man permits (permit), he need not care who made the laws of a nation.
If I could (can) be guilty of the absurdity for recommending to a young man, I should tell him that he could find no safer guide than Dryden.
If he worked hard, he might (may) become rich.

Speaking Skill

1. During the fifteen years of imprisonment the lawyer emerged as a better human being. He realized that all the worldly wisdom and earthly blessings were hollow, illusive and unreal. He was sure to win two millions but he despised money. On the other hand the banker lost money in gambling and speculation. He became poor. For the sake of money he wanted to kill the lawyer. He proved to be mean and selfish.
Now enact the play in the class with the following characters:

the lawyer
the banker
Four journalists

Answer:
For self-attempt.

II. Enact a scene where the bet was made between the young lawyer and the banker.
Answer:
Classroom activity.

III. Enact a scene where the terms and conditions of the bet were made.
Answer:
Classroom activity.

Writing Skill

Question 1.
Write a letter to your penfriend about which profession would you like to choose as your career after the completion of your studies. (50 words)
Answer:
67/2 (Block C-19)
Rani Laxmibai Nagar
Bhopal
18th July 20xx
Dear Michael
Received your letter today. I have thought about the profession I would like to choose in future and want to tell you about the same. My ambition in life is to become a teacher. Teaching is a noble profession. Teachers are the builders of the nation. They serve the country by turning the students into good citizens. They sow the seeds of discipline and character among their students.
I hope you will appreciate my choice.
With love
Yours sincerely
Hardik Kaushik

Question 2.
Your grandfather always says ’Be wise while choosing what you want to get in your life otherwise you are forced to choose what you get.’ Elaborate this thought for a school magazine article. (150 words)
Answer:
Choice plays a key role at every stage in life. It starts quite early in life and matters throughout life. Those who have no choice are forced to get the items of others’ choice. The children have to wear faded and worn out clothes if they do not have their individual choice. The choice of clothes is the choice of personality and the choice of the stream of education determines one’s career.

It makes or mars one’s life and career. However, it is not easy to make a wise choice. One gets confused. One also finds oneself in dilemma. Choices are made in favour of one option and against a lot of other options. The choice of a career or a partner are important choices. One who makes a good choice leads a heavenly life. Every time, we are called upon to make a choice, a wrong choice may turn our life into a virtual hell. It is an ap>t saying, ‘If you are not wise while choosing what you want to get in your life, you are forced to choose what you get.

Think It Over

Question 1.
Human mind is like’a parachute, it works only when open. Books are the best means of knowing truth and experience of generations that brings about openness of mind. Think and say something about books in a two sentences.
Answer:
Books are the store houses of knowledge. The material comprised in them is most fruitful for us in our day-to-day life. They leave an everlasting effect on us. They mould one’s career. They contain philosophy of life. They convey to us the gospel of hard work and honesty. They inspire us to proceed towards our destination with single minded devotion. Their teachings enrich us and provide us with new directions. They instruct us not to waver or yield to temptations of the worldly attractions.

Question 2.
The geniuses of all the ages and of all lands speak different languages, but the same flame burns in them all. Think and express your view on this ‘flame’ that burns in all.
Answer:
The body is like an engine which is activated by the flame. It burns in all alike. We call it soul. This flame is eternal and immortal. Weapons can not cut it, fire cannot burn it, water can not dampen (moisten) it nor can the wind make it dry. It is beyond expression, thought and decay. It is a wonder that nobody can control this flame. In spite of difference in birthplaces and languages human hearts are alike all over the globe.

Things To Do

Go to a library and talk to the librarian. Try to find out how he classifies books and keeps them in a systematic way.
Collect names of the books of your choice under each classification.
Answer:
For self-attempt.

The Bet Additional Important Questions

A.Read the passages and answer the questions that follow:

1. There had been many clever men, there, and there had been interesting conversations. Among other things they had talked of capital punishment. The majority of the guests, among whom were many journalists and intellectual men, disapproved of the death penalty. They considered that form of punishment out of date, immoral and unsuitable for Christian States. In the opinion of some of them the death penalty ought to be replaced everywhere by imprisonment for life. (Page 140)

Questions:
(a)What was the major topic of talk there?
(b) What did majority of guests disapprove of?
(c) What did they consider?
(d) Find a word from the passage which means ‘punishment’.
Answer:
(a) The major topic of talk was what is better-capital punishment or life-imprisonment.
(b) Majority of guests disapproved of the death penalty.
(c) They considered ‘death penalty’ out of date.
(d) ‘Penalty’

2. And I despise your books, I despise wisdom and the blessings of this world. It is all worthless, fleeting, illusory, and deceptive, like a mirage. You may be proud, wise and fine, but death will wipe you off the face of the earth as though you were no more than mice burrowing under the floor, and your posterity, your history, your immortal geniuses will burn or freeze together with the earthly globe. (Page 145)

Questions:
(a) Find the word from the above passage which means same as ‘deep knowledge’.
(b) Give noun form of ‘proud’.
(c) Find the word which means opposite of ‘life’.
(d) What was the lawyer’s view about the world?
Answer:
(a) wisdom
(b) pride
(c) death
(d) In the lawyer’s view, the world is all worthless, fleeting, illusory and deceptive like a mirage.

I. Match the following:
1. The old banker was – (a) capital punishment
2. A young lawyer – (b) the lawyer in the garden wing of his house
3. They discussed – (c) life imprisonment to death sentence
4. The young lawyer favoured – (d) was also at the banker’s party
5. The banker locked up – (e) walking in his study-room.
Ans.
1. (e), 2. (d), 3. (a), 4. (c), 5. (b).

II. Pick up the correct choice:
(i) ‘The Bet’ is written by:
A. M.K. Gandhi
B. Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru
C. Rudyard Kipling
D. Anton Chekhov.
Answer:
D. Anton Chekhov

A. The old banker had given a party ……………… (five/fifteen) years before.
B. The banker said: the death penalty is more ………. (human/humane) than imprisonment for life.
C. To live ………. (somehow/anyhow) is better than not to live at all.
D. You have lost your …………….. (reason/reasoning) and taken the wrong path.
Answer:
A. fifteen
B. humane
C. anyhow
D. reason.

III. Write ‘True’ or ‘False’:
A. The majority of the guests disapproved of imprisonment for life.
B. Capital punishment kills a man at once, but lifelong imprisonment kills him slowly.
C. Both are equally immoral for they both have the same object to take away life.
D. Wine excites the desires and desires are the worst foes of the prisoner.
Answer:
A. False
B. True
C. True
D. True.

IV. Fill in the following blanks:
1. ‘I don’t agree with you’, said their …………… the banker.
2. The ……………. is not God.
3. ‘Think better of it, young man,………… there is still time.
4. Nothing could be more ………… than drinking good wine and seeing no one.
5. The one means of being saved from ………… and disgrace is the death of that man.
Answer:

host
state
while
dreary
bankruptcy.

B. Short Answer Type Questions (In about 25 words)

Question 1.
Why did the banker recall the party he gave fifteen years ago?
Answer:
The banker was mentally perturbed. He had hosted a grand party fifteen years ago. A young lawyer had made a bet with him in the party. The lawyer staked his freedom and he had staked two millions roubles. The banker recalled the party because the lawyer would gain his freedom the next day. He would lose two millions then.

Question 2.
How did the lawyer spend the second half of the sixth year?
Answer:
The lawyer (prisoner) began to study languages, philosophy and history in the second half of the sixth year. He wrote fluently and correctly in six languages. He wrote the lines to the banker to let the expert read them and confirm their accuracy.

Question 3.
What was the difference in the financial position of the banker in the beginning and end of the lesson?
Answer:
Two millions were a trifle for the banker in the beginning of the story. Gradually his business failed. Before the end of the lesson his financial condition was really very delicate. He had lost his fortune in gambling on the stock exchange. Payment of two million roubles would mean his ruin.

Question 4.
Which crime was the banker about to commit and why? Who would be blamed for it?
Answer:
The banker was short of money. He would become bankrupt if he paid two million roubles to the lawyer. Therefore he intended to kill the lawyer to escape bankruptcy and disgrace. He thought that the watchman would be blamed for the crime.

Question 5.
What did the banker do, the day before the lawyer’s release?
Answer:
The next day was the day of the lawyer’s release. The banker reached the lawyer’s room. He peeped through the window into the lawyer’s cell. He saw a candle burning in the room. He entered the room. He picked up a piece of paper and read its contents.

Question 6.
What did the lawyer look like at the end of fifteen years of imprisonment?
Answer:
The lawyer looked like a skeleton. His skin was drawn tight over his bones. He had long curls and a shaggy beard. His face had become pale. His cheeks were hollow. His back was long and narrow. His hands were thin and delicate. His aged-looking emaciated face was dreadful in looks. He looked quite old.

Question 7.
What were the lawyer’s views about worldly blessings? How did he plan to show his feeling/attitude?
Answer:
According to the lawyer, drinking wine, singing songs, hunting deer and loving women etc., were worldly blessings. The lawyer despised all such things after gaining wisdom. He escaped from the prison five minutes before the expiry of the term of the bet. Willing giving up the stake money shows his attitude/feelings.

Question 8.
Who emerges as a great human being-the lawyer or the banker?
Answer:
In the beginning, the banker was capricious and the lawyer was greedy. Deep studies made the lawyer a wiser and sadder man. He realises the worthlessness of money and gets over his greed. By the time the banker becomes poor. He plans to take the lawyer’s life to save himself from bankruptcy. Thus the lawyer emerges as a great human being.

C. Long Answer Type Questions (In about 50 words)

Question 1.
Capital punishment is more humane than life imprisonment. Discuss.
Answer:
Life has to be lived. We should celebrate life and live it happily and meaningfully. It should not become a perennial torture or burden. Capital punishment means an instant death. It is far more humane and relieving. It does not cause death by inches. Both the capital punishment and life imprisonment are immoral. Life imprisonment brings lifelong disgrace. Therefore, capital punishment is far more humane than life imprisonment. It removes woes, disgraces and disillusionments within a second. It does not prolong man’s sufferings indefinitely like life-imprisonment.

Question 2.
In ‘The Bet’, in fifteen years, the lawyer lost his health and two million roubles but he was a gainer. Do you agree? Explain.
Answer:
The lawyer lost both his health and wealth (two million roubles). In spite of all that we consider him a gainer. He gained ample knowledge. It created in him a sense of bitter disillusionment. He despised not only money, life, health and the other blessings of the world but also freedom. He rose from a greedy lawyer to a saintly figure. By escaping from the prison he saved his own life. The banker must have killed him. It was his biggest gain. Even the banker who had lost his conscience for the sake of money considered himself a loser.

The Bet Introduction

A bet is thrown by a banker. A lawyer accepts it. He agrees to stay alone in a cell for fifteen years and the banker promises to pay him two million roubles. Thus, the banker agrees to stake his money and the lawyer stakes his freedom. The lawyer reads all sorts of books to pass his time during his solitary confinement. He becomes disillusioned in the last. He loses all interest in money. He decides to renounce the lust and just five hours before the fixed time he escapes.

The Bet Word-Meanings