Readers.Digest.India-April.2022

Reader’s Digest

Lessons in English

By Alexander Woollcott

NOVEMBER 1939

TWO OR THREE years ago, a The excessive use of ‘very’ does
youngish and brilliant impart to any text an accent of girlish
maestro of the theatre was gush. Some fanatics insist there never
manifesting all the dis- was a sentence which would not have
tressing symptoms of one been the better for its omission and
about to be delivered of a premature anyone would agree that a neophyte
autobiography. Catching me on my writer might do worse than swear off
way to Chicago, he pressed on me the using ‘very’ for a year. Such a regimen
rough draft of his opening chapters is close kin to cutting out sweets and
and, himself stopping off between the Spartan who undertakes it will
trains two days later to collect his find it almost as painful at first. The
manuscript, he asked for my opinion. motto over his desk should read:
“Reach for the mot juste [The exact,
There was time only for me to tell appropriate word] instead of a ‘very’.”
him that I had ventured to under-
score his every use of the word ‘very’ For total abstinence in this matter
where, if it had been left out, the sen- often compels the practitioner to
tence would have been all the stron- think (in order to say) precisely what
ger. In many instances he must have he means. Sometimes words owe their
agreed with me for, en route to vogue to the fact that they can be
California, he weeded out 18. I know airily tossed about by a writer too lazy
the number because the roguish to do either.
spendthrift sent them all to me.
The ‘Town Crier’ of his time, Alexander
His telegram from Albuquerque Woollcott was an American literary
read as follows: “I am very, very, very, critic, author, actor and radio perso-
very, very, very, very, very, very, very, nality known for his sharp, incisive
very, very, very, very, very, very, very, commentary and acerbic wit.
very grateful to you.”

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Laughter

1970s complicated?” she asked the sales-
man. “That, madam,” replied the
AFTER GIVING WHAT he consid- sales man, “is an educational toy de-
ered a stirring, fact-filled campaign signed to prepare the child for life in
speech, the candidate looked out at today’s world. Anyway he puts it to-
his audience and confidently asked, gether is wrong.”
“Now, are there any questions?”
“Yes,” came a voice from the rear. GENE BROWN IN NEWSTIMES,
“Who else is running?” DECEMBER 1975

JOSEPH C. SALAK IN CURRENT COMEDY, THE POLICE OFFICER asked the
NOVEMBER 1970 bank teller, who had been robbed
for the third time by the same man,
AFTER A WEALTHY Texas oilman if he had noticed anything special
had cashed a huge personal check, about the robber.
it came back from the bank stamped
‘Insufficient Funds.’ Beneath these “Yes,” replied the teller. “He was
words appeared the handwritten better dressed each time.”
notation: Not you—us.
FRANCES BENSON IN CAPPER’S WEEKLY,
GOOD LIVING, NOVEMBER 1970 MARCH 1977

A WOMAN, bragging about how USED CAR DEALER: “We stand
her husband plays handball and ten- behind every car we sell.”
nis, swims and indulges in all forms Prospective buyer: “Yes, but will
of exercise, inquired if her friend’s you help push?”
husband did likewise. “You could
say so,” the second woman replied. CLARENCE W. LANCASTER, JULY 1978
“Just last week he was out seven
nights running.” THE WOMAN was telling her
troubles to the judge in domestic
GEORGE BERGMAN IN THE SATURDAY relations court.
EVENING POST, OCTOBER 1975
“The only time my husband
A YOUNG mother was looking at a ever brought a ray of sunshine
toy for her child. “Isn’t this awfully into my life,” she said, “was when
he came home at dawn, slammed

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Reader’s Digest

the door and the Venetian blind the day after, another eight points.
fell off the window.” The CEO was delighted. “How did
you do it, Wilson?” he asked.
MODERN MATURITY, MARCH 1977
“I started a rumour Wall Street
1980s obviously liked.”

DIETER to friend: “This morning “What was that?”
I telephoned to sign up for an exer- “I told them you were resigning.”
cise class and the instructor told me
to wear loose clothing. I said, ‘If I JOHN PIZZUTO, THE GREAT WALL STREET
had any loose clothing, I wouldn’t
need the class.’” JOKE BOOK (LONG SHADOW), FEBRUARY 1990

ORBEN’S CURRENT COMEDY, JUNE 1982 AND THEN THERE was the duck that
walked into a drugstore and asked for a
QUESTION: What did the robot say tube of lip balm. When asked to pay, the
when somebody pulled his plug? duck replied, “Just put it on my bill.”
Answer: AC come, AC go.
TORONTO SUN, JANUARY 1993
JOHN WILLIS IN BOYS’ LIFE, JUNE 1982
MY HUSBAND, a professor of medi-
1990s cine, has had several books publis-
hed. When he finished writing his
“WHAT POSSIBLE EXCUSE latest book, I stopped at the super-
can you give for acquitting this market to pick up some ice cream
defendant? “ the judge shouted and champagne. “Celebrating some-
at the jury thing?” asked the clerk as she bagged
“Insanity, Your Honor,” replied my items.
the foreman.
“All 12 of you?” “Yes,” I replied. “My husband just
finished a book.” The clerk paused a
MARTHA J. BCCKMAN IN MODERN moment. “Slow reader?”
MATURITY, FEBRUARY 1990
BARBARA YOUNG, JANUARY 1993

THE CHIEF executive officer of A RANCHER asked a veterinarian
an electronics company called in for some free advice. “I have a horse”,
his public relations director. “Lis- he said, “that walks normally some-
ten, Wilson. Someone is trying to times and limps sometimes. What
buy us out. It’s your job to get the shall I do?”
price of our stock up so it’ll be too
expensive for them. I don’t care The veterinarian replied,
how you do it, just do it!” “The next time he walks normally,
sell him”.
The next day the price of the
stock rose five points and then, AL SCHOCK, JOKES FOR ALL OCCASIONS,

JANUARY 1993

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MARCH 1980

THE GREAT

BALLOON

ESCAPE

A family dares to ride the winds to freedom

By Jürgen Petschull
Condensed from Der Stern

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Reader’s Digest

illustrations by Mark Smith rreeaaddeerrssddigigeesstt.i.nin 110033

Reader’s Digest

WHEREVER PEOPLE ARE CAGED, some will always make a

break for freedom. Over the years thousands risked death and
imprisonment to flee the oppressive conditions of communist
East Germany. They climbed the hated Berlin Wall, tunnelled
beneath border barriers and dived underwater at night to swim
to asylum in the West. Many of them never made it. Some paid
the ultimate penalty and died in the minefields or strung out on
the wires of the ‘death strip’ along the border. But still they tried.

This is the remarkable story of two East German families,

Wwho, 10 years before the Wall would come down, built a hot-air
balloon—and dared to ride the wind to freedom.
Settled among cornfields and sat with his friend Günter Wetzel, a
green valleys with pine forests 22-year-old bricklayer and truck driver.
marching towards the horizon, the
towns of Pössneck and Naila seemed For years the men—each married
identical in the 1970s. Geographically with two kids—had been trying to come
they were only 64 kilometres apart. Yet up with a way to escape with their fami-
politically their inhabitants were not lies to the West. They couldn’t walk over
even on the same planet. the border because of the ‘death strip’
of electronically controlled machine
Naila was in West Germany, and guns set up to kill escapees, and swim-
its 9,700 residents were free. But ming across even a small river was too
Pössneck, with 20,000 people, was dangerous because of the many watch-
in East Germany. Television aeri- towers, not to mention the mined river
als on the rooftops of houses there banks. Until now, neither had thought
faced toward Naila; it was through of another way: by air.
TV that people in Pössneck were con-
stantly reminded of how much better “I have it!” Peter suddenly shouted,
off people were on the other side of leaping up and slapping his friend on
the Iron Curtain. the back. “We’ll go by balloon”.

On 7 March 1978, in his home on Günter looked at him in amazement.
the outskirts of Pössneck, 35-year- “And where do we find a balloon?”
old electrical engineer Peter Strelzyk
“We don’t,” said Strelzyk. “We build
our own.”

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The Great Balloon Escape

First Failure had bought the wrong material.
Bitterly disappointed, they took the
Why not? It was such a crazy, impos-
sible way to freedom that nobody—not balloon home and cut it up into small
even the police—would think that any- pieces, meticulously burning each one
one would attempt it. The next morn- in the boiler of the Strelzyks’ central
ing Peter and Günter began combing heating system.
the bookshops and libraries in Pöss-
neck. But they could find nothing on Crash Landing
ballooning techniques. So they settled
for a book called The Technology of Gas During the next several months the
Fitting and a physics encyclopaedia. men tested various types of fabric for
air and heat resistance, and finally
The next day they drove to the settled on a thick taffeta. This time, to
nearby small city of Gera. In the coop- avoid arousing suspicion, they drove to
erative store they spotted a big roll of Leipzig to make their major cloth pur-
brown cotton fabric. The salesperson chase. When buying the 800 metres of
looked at them oddly when they asked taffeta, they told the salesperson that
to buy 800 metres of it, so they told they belonged to a sailing club.
her they were making tents for an East
German youth camp. Stitching the taffeta together went
more quickly than their initial attempt
The two of them lugged the mate- with the cotton. But one night Peter’s
rial to the fourth floor of the Wetzels’ wife, Doris, almost let slip their secret.
house. Günter and his wife, Petra, Visitors were at the Strelzyk home and
blacked out the attic’s windows. Next, together they watched a film on West
Günter cut the cloth into long triangles German television about hot-air bal-
and began the massive job of stitching loons. During the programme, Doris
the panels together on a 40-year-old, unthinkingly boasted: “We have a bal-
pedal-powered sewing machine. loon in the attic that’s 500 cubic me-
tres bigger than that.” Her husband
Within two weeks a balloon about almost fainted. Beads of sweat ran
15 metres in diameter and 20 metres down his neck. Fortunately, the guests
tall began to take shape. Then Günter did not catch on.
and Peter built a little platform in a
makeshift workshop in the Strelzyks’ Meanwhile, however, Günter was
house, and a month later the balloon having second thoughts. One night
was ready for a test. The two men drove after a long talk with the Strelzyks,
to a secluded clearing 24 kilometres he decided he and his family would
north of the West German border. But not attempt the balloon escape. His
when they tried to inflate the balloon, wife had become doubtful that it
the air escaped through the cotton and would ever work, and besides, Günter
the fabric lay limp on the grass; they knew that the balloon would have a

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better chance of flying with just the into the undergrowth and hid in a
four Strelzyks aboard. clump of bushes while Peter recon-
noitered the area. He spotted, almost
Peter continued to work on the bal- 200 metres away, two wire fences
loon. After several tests with a burner, more than three metres high with a
he accidentally discovered an effective strip of ploughed land between them
system. By using propane gas in liquid It was the dreaded death strip—and
form, he found that he could produce they were on the wrong side!
a durable, efficient flame. In June 1979,
the homemade balloon was finally At any moment they expected to
ready for liftoff. Now all they needed see soldiers and snarling dogs crash-
was the right weather. ing through the undergrowth. But the
forest was silent. Huddling against one
On Tuesday, 3 July, the weather vane another, trembling with cold and fear,
on top of the town hall swung its black they hid until dawn.
arm to point south—towards the West

PETER PACED THE LIVING ROOM, WHICH
NOW SEEMED TO BE A PRISON CELL.

German border. That night at 11:30 At first light, the four began to pick
the Strelzyks drove 19 kilometres until their way out of the area. The ground
they reached a lonely spot about 10 ki- alongside the border was covered with
lometres north of the death strip along coils of wire, each only a few meters
the East–West border. It took only five from the next, each leading to alarm de-
minutes to inflate the balloon. “Come vices that were connected to the near-
on, come on, let’s go!” shouted Peter. est watch tower. Backs bent, constantly
And the balloon lifted into the sky with casting glances in all directions, the
the Strelzyk family perched on its tiny four would-be refugees worked their
platform. It was now 2 a.m. way farther back into East Germany.

For 34 minutes the balloon was Eight hours after starting their abor-
airborne. Then it happened. Thick tive flight they finally reached the
fog enveloped them, and within sec- clearing where they had left their car.
onds the added weight from the water It was undisturbed, and they drove
on the balloon cover was sending it back to Pössneck without incident. No
plummeting towards the earth. They agents from the state security service
came down in the middle of a small were waiting at their house. There was
pine wood. The trees shredded the only their black-and-white cat Purzel,
balloon but softened their landing. who emerged from the garden purr-
ing with joy to rub against Peter’s
Doris and the children crawled

106 april 2022

soiled trouser legs. Though it was still for a while, then Günter asked directly:
morning, they were all exhausted and “Were you the ones in the balloon
decided to go to bed. But Peter was un- near Lobenstein?”
able to sleep. He paced the floor in the
living room, which now seemed to be “Yes,” replied Peter.
a prison cell. Then he sat down in his “A fine mess!” said Günter.
gold lounge chair and burst into tears. Peter told him what had happened.
“It can be done, Günter, with the new
“We’ll Come” gas system,” he said. “But we can’t do
it without you. Please come with us.”
Later that month Peter Strelzyk A week later, Günter gave his reply:
went to see Günter Wetzel, the first “We’ll come.”
such visit for some time. Günter had For the third time within 17 months,
been expecting Peter to call. A friend the Strelzyks and Wetzels started to
had told him that a balloon had been build an escape balloon. The task
found near Lobenstein, close to the was more difficult than ever before.
border, and that the state security The balloon had to be both larger and
agents were looking everywhere for stronger, and consequently, more air
the balloonists. had to be heated. Moreover, since the
discovery of the last balloon near the
The two men sat in the living room

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Reader’s Digest

border, the men feared that all shops “Well, that’s it,” Peter said, as he
selling fabric in the southern part of put the newspaper down with trem-
East Germany had been warned to bling hands. “They are hunting us
report anyone asking for more than a properly now.”
few metres of closely woven, air-resis-
tant cloth. Even so, during the next few From then on Günter Wetzel scarcely
weeks the families covered more than left his seat at the sewing machine.
3,800 kilometres by car and visited al- 20-hour working days were common.
most 100 towns and villages trying to Withdrawing their entire savings,
purchase nylon rope, taffeta and other Peter, Doris and Petra continued their
items. Günter joined his partner for the search of the shops for suitable fabric.
first few shopping trips, then withdrew In Magdeburg they acquired 20 metres
to the Strelzyks’ cellar and started to of nylon rope, in Halle a bumper crop
of 150 metres of nylon material. Their

SEARCHLIGHTS PROBED THE SKY. “THEY’RE
LOOKING FOR US!” PETRA WETZEL CRIED.

sew the meagre bits of multicoloured stockpile grew, in all the colours of the
material together. rainbow. On 14 September, in a Jena
department store, they managed to
On 14 August, Peter Strelzyk purchase the final 30 metres of mate-
drove home tired and irritable. rial. Inflated, their balloon would have
Doris greeted him and murmured, a diameter of 19 metres and a height
“I’ve put the newspaper in the living of 25 metres—about the same size and
room cupboard. You had better look shape as an eight-story building! They
at page two …” had patched together one of the largest
hot-air balloons ever built in Europe.
He saw a small photo showing a
barometer, a clock, a pocket knife and Meanwhile, Peter Strelzyk had con-
a pair of pliers. The headline stated: structed a larger burner system and
“The People’s Police Request Your built a platform, adding a clothes line
Help.” Peter read on in increasing that served as a safety rail. The floor,
panic. “After being used in a serious which was to support the eight escap-
crime, the articles illustrated here ees, was sheet metal less than a milli-
were abandoned by the criminals.” The metre thick. Petra Wetzel was terrified
detailed description of the objects was when she saw this light-weight floor
followed by an appeal: “Any readers panel: “We will burst through it and fall
able to provide information on persons out!” To reassure her, Peter put blocks
formerly in possession of these articles beneath the panel’s corners and had
should contact the People’s Police.”

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The Great Balloon Escape

the four adults and 15-year-old Frank Peter Strelzyk screamed across the
Strelzyk climb aboard and jump up clearing. “Get in! Quick, quick! We’re
and down. The metal vibrated—but off!” They clambered aboard. Sud-
supported them. At long last the third denly, the fabric at the neck of the
balloon was ready to take to the air. balloon caught fire as the strong wind
tilted the craft dangerously.
Night Flight
They knew from their reading what
On Saturday, 15 September 1979, an happens when a balloon skin burns.
afternoon thunderstorm burst over the The vast hot-air pressure drives the
surrounding forests. Later the cloud balloon upwards, sometimes for
cover broke up. It became a cold night hundreds of metres; only when the
with a star-filled sky and a floating skin is burned completely does the
moon. The wind was blowing in the gondola—and its occupants—plunge
direction of the West German border. to earth. Günter quickly put out the
Tonight was the night. flame with a fire extinguisher, and he
and Frank whipped out their knives
The two families left Pössneck and cut two ropes. A third anchor
shortly before midnight and drove stake was catapulted out of the ground,
to a wooded clearing in Thuringia. injuring Frank Strelzyk and two-year-
Slowly the blower pumped cold air old Andreas Wetzel. Günter then cut
into the slack balloon skin that lay like the last connecting rope. At once the
a deflated dinosaur on the grass. Then platform righted itself, and the flame
Günter, and Doris and Frank Strelzyk, again pointed safely upwards. Its
held the neck of the balloon open while red glow lit up the faces of the eight
Peter turned the flame thrower full on. fugitives as the 750-kilogram balloon
Helped by the blower, a 15-metre-long lifted skywards. The platform was
tongue of orange flame darted into the quiet, the only sound the hiss of the gas
skin, singeing Peter’s hair. jet as the balloon drifted on the wind.

At the edge of the clearing Petra A Toast to Freedom
Wetzel and the three small children
watched apprehensively. After 15 some 2,000 metres beneath them lay
minutes the balloon towered above the landmines, the ferocious dogs, the
them. Ropes from the balloon mouth barbed-wire-topped wall of the death
were stretched taut to the rickety strip. Then fingers of light suddenly
gondola. Günter ignited the burner stabbed upwards through the dark-
standing with the four propane ness as communist border guards
bottles, and Peter gave it a 30-second probed the night with searchlights.
burst with the flame thrower. But it Petra Wetzel cried, “Damn, they’re
was too much. Heated by two flames, looking for us!”
the balloon strained skywards.

readersdigest.in 109

Following their hot-air balloon
escape from East Germany, the
Wetzel and Strelzyk families pose
with West German border guards.

Beams from three searchlights flight the gas burner nearly stopped. PHOTO: ©PICTURE ALLIANCE/GETTY IMAGES
merged into one thick finger of light Peter and Günter frantically tried to
groping up towards them. For several produce a larger flame, but failed. The
heart-stopping moments the balloon 44 kilograms of propane gas had been
was almost caught in the beams. To all been used, and the balloon was now
leave the probing white lights behind, descending. Though it was dark there
Peter turned up the burner flame and was a moon, and as the ground came
the craft climbed to the bitter cold ever closer, they were able to pick out
of 2,600 metres. details in the hills, woods, and farms
below them. Then with a shudder the
Petra Wetzel knelt down on the balloon hit, bending a young acacia tree
metal floor and gathered the shivering and then landing with a spine-jarring
Andreas in her arms as she waited for crash. The 28-minute flight was over—
the tracer bullets that would surely rip and the families still did not know for
into the belly of the balloon and end certain whether they were safe.
all their lives. She softly sang a lullaby:
“There’s a small teddy bear strolling “Come, we’ll walk in the direction of
from toy land and his fur is cuddly soft. the moon,” said Günter. And together
“At once call all the children …” But they scuttled along the edge of a newly
though she knew the song by heart, harvested cornfield until they reached
she couldn’t remember any more the cover of a thicket. Leaving the
of the words. women and children hiding in the
bushes, Peter and Günter reached
Twenty-three minutes into the

110 april 2022

The Great Balloon Escape

a barn. Inside was a wagon with the The Wetzel and Strelzyk families fell

farmer’s name on it—something out shortly after their successful escape.

unknown in the East. Why? Peter Strelzyk gave the initial me-

At that moment, a Naila police dia interviews while Günter Wetzel re-

patrol car, alerted by reports from local covered in hospital from a leg injury he

residents of a flying saucer, pulled up. suffered during the landing. According

“Are we in the West?” Peter shouted. to Wetzel, Strelzyk took sole credit in the

“Yes,” answered the police. Peter media for the escape idea and construc-

and Günter threw their tion of the balloon. After

arms around the officers, reaching freedom, Wet-

shouting, “We’ve done it! zel and his family settled

We’ve done it!” in Hof, a town not far

Günter lit a red flare from where the balloon

as an all-clear signal, came down. They stayed

and the men’s wives there for some 40 years,

and children ran across where Wetzel worked as

the corn stubble to a master mechanic. He

embrace them. Then has since retired.

Frank Strelzyk, tears Peter Strelzyk opened

streaming down his face, an electrical shop in Bad

went back to the balloon Kissingen, some 120 ki-

and picked up the bottle FROM 1980 lometres from where the
of sparkling wine his families landed. With

mother had smuggled aboard. the reunification of Germany in 1989,

At the Naila police station, with its the Strelzyks returned to their old home

flower-filled boxes and its cheerful in Pössneck. Peter Strelzyk died there in

policemen, they raised their glasses. 2017, at the age of 74.

The toast was poignant in its simplicity: In 1982, Night Crossing, a Disney

“To freedom.” film depicting the escape, was released;

and in 2018 in Germany, nearly

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED AS DAS HMMELFAHRTSKOM- 40 years after the feat, the German-
MANDO, IN STERN (40/1979), REPRINTED BY PERMIS- language film Ballon came to cinemas.
SION OF PICTURE PRESS

How’s That Again?

DECEMBER 1987

Announcement in a church bulletin: ‘Peacemaking meeting
scheduled for today cancelled due to a conflict.’

south salem church bulletin

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Reader’s Digest

Keep Up With the World

1960s and rocket you into space. Your loved
ones will be able to see you whizzing
THROUGH CENTURIES of event- around 3,500 km overhead, because
ful history and war, the people of the satellite mausoleum will be gold-
Finland have preserved their Finnish plated and visible through a telescope.
language, while Swedish is the official The first space-hearse launch has been
second language. When a new post scheduled for early 1987.
office was built in Helsinki, the city
argued whether its sign should read —LIFE, OCTOBER 1986
Posti (Finnish) or Post (Swedish).
A peacemaker suggested that, since 1990s
roughly 10 times more Finns speak
Finnish than Swedish, the sign should RUSSIA’S TUMULTUOUS transition
read Posti but in neon lights timed to to a market economy has left an indeli-
turn out the ‘i’ once every 10 seconds. ble image: the super-rich careering in
their Jeeps past grandmothers trying
—NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC NEWS BULLETIN, to sell sausages. But the crucial change
APRIL 1966 may be the surprising number of Rus-
sians who, despite high inflation and
1980s a weak currency, are working harder,
earning more and living better. They
WORKERS AT A CAR assembly plant buy consumer goods and bolster Rus-
in Melbourne, Australia, walked off sia’s political stability. With millions
the job in protest when one of them of people still seeking their economic
was thrown to the floor by a colleague. place in the new Russia, the middle
The culprit was a robot in the spray- class is hard to define in numbers or
painting section. Management agreed makeup. About 20 per cent—a popula-
to keep the robots away until they had tion larger than Australia’s—may qual-
been fitted with fail-safe devices. ify. And while many still look ahead
with trepidation, and surveys show
—THE AGE, AUGUST 1988 that most believe the country is under-
mined by crime and corruption, they
FOR JUST $3,900 you, too, can go into hope their own lives will be stable.
orbit! The only catch is, you’ve got to
be dead first. The Celestis Group of —STEVE LIESMAN IN THE WALL STREET
Melbuorne, Florida, will pack your
condensed ashes in a lipstick-size JOURNAL, OCTOBER 1995
capsule with 10,300 other astro-urns,

112 april 2022

IT PAYS TO ENRICH YOUR

Word Power

OUR COLUMN FROM DECEMBER 1975

BY PETER FUNK

The English poet William Cowper thought of word-lovers as huntsmen “... who
chase a panting syllable through time and space, start it at home and hunt it in

the dark; To Gaul, to Greece and into Noah’s ark.” In the test below, you need
not range quite that far back into antiquity. Yet each of these words, if chased
to its origin, will prove to have sprung from the name or a characteristic of a

person, animal or place—real or imaginary. Check the word or phrase you
believe is nearest in meaning to the key word. Answers are on page 114.

1. tawdry (taw'dry)— A: extreme partiality. B: conceit.
A: dilatory. B: offensive. C: fair mindedness. D: piety.
C: sandy-coloured. D: gaudily cheap. 9. forum (for'um )—A: recess.
2. amazon (am‘azon)— B: place of public discussion.
A: mythological god. B: wild animal. C: dispersion. D: small chamber.
C: tall, strong woman. D: skeptic. 10. babel (ba'b'l)—A: weightlifting
3. Pollyanna (polean'a)—one who is: device. B: confusion of voices.
A: old-fashioned. B: cranky. C: clear message. D: small gem.
C: invincibly optimistic. 11. hackneyed (hak'ned)—
D: extremely cautious. A: fragmented. B: trite.
C: unfashionable. D: compelling.
4. draconian (drako'nean)— 12. protean (pro'tean)—
A: orderly. B: frightening. A: nutritious. B: fascinating.
C: harsh. D: benign. C: changeable. D: deceitful.
5. Machiavellian (makeavel'ean)— 13. spartan (spar't'n)—
A: wicked. B: practical. A: austere. B: hardheaded.
C: straightforward. D: crafty. C: energetic. D: forbidding.
6. boycott (boy'kot)—A: to accuse 14. panacea (panase'a)—
of wrongdoing. B: withdraw from. A: uproar. B: praise. C: cureall.
C: refuse to deal with. D: keep silence. D: overall view.
7. meandering (mean'dering)— 15. crestfallen , (krest'fawlen)—
A: complaining. B: murmuring. A: jubilant. B: impecunious.
C: cascading. D: winding or turning. C: dejected. D: fearful.
8. chauvinism (sho'vinizm)—

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Reader’s Digest

Word Power partiality; blind patriotism.
From Nicolas Chauvin, a soldier
ANSWERS who worshiped Napoleon as a
hero without fault .
1. tawdry—D: Anything tawdry 9. forum—B: Place of gathering
is cheap and gaudy. Lace neckpieces, for public discussion. After the
named after St. Audrey, were sold at market place in Roman cities
an annual medieval fair. In time, the that were used for judicial and
quality of lace became inferior and public business .
the saint’s name was shortened . 10. babel—B: Confusion of voices,
2. amazon—C: Any tall, strong sounds, languages. From the city
woman. In Greek mythology and tower of Babel in the Bible
the Amazons were a race of (Genesis 11:49).
female warriors. 11. hackneyed—B: Trite; stale; as,
3. Pollyanna—C: One who is a hackneyed slogan. Named for
invincibly optimistic. After Polly- the workaday riding horses from
anna, young heroine of a novel Hackney, a London borough .
by Eleanor H. Porter. 12. protean—C: Changeable;
4. draconian—C: Harsh; assuming different forms; as,
rigorous; severe; as, draconian a protean actor. From Proteus,
punishment. After Draco, a strict Greek sea god who was always
Greek lawgiver in the 7th century changing form .
B.C., who prescribed death for 13. spartan—A: Austere; as, a
almost every offense. spartan existence. From the extreme
5. Machiavellian—D: Crafty; plainness of Sparta, a Greek city-state.
deceitful; politically unscrupulous; 14. panacea— C: cure-all; remedy
as, Machiavellian schemes. From for all ills and difficulties. Asclepius,
Niccolo Machiavelli, 16th-century the Greek god of medicine, named
Italian diplomat . one of his daughters Panaeia (the all
6. boycott—C: To unite in refusing healing); hence our word today.
to have anything to do with the 15. crestfallen—C: Dejected;
products or services of a person or dispirited; downcast. From a
group. From Captain Charles Boy- rooster’s crest, which literally
cott, an Irish land agent ostracized droops when he loses a fight.
by tenants when he raised rents .
7. meandering—D: Winding or turn- Vocabulary Ratings
ing; as, a meandering stream. From
Maiandros, an ancient Greek river 12–15 correct: Exceptional
famous for its winding course . 9–11 correct: Excellent
8. chauvinism—A: Extreme 6–8 correct: Good

114 april 2022

Quiz

How Well Do You Know
The Mahabharata?

OUR COLUMN FROM DECEMBER 1985

by V. Gangadhar

1. Using the 10 names given below, down a revolving target on the ceiling.
form five famous Mahabharata couples:
•Pandu • Uttara • Satyavati • Arjuna 3. The Pandava princes and Draupadi
• Abhimanyu • Madri • Shantanu spent the last year of their exile in disguise
• Gandhari • Subhadra • Dhritarashtra at the Court of King Virata. Match each
person with their occupation at the court:
2. Match the prominent personalities I. cook II. cowherd III. maid
with the statements about them: IV. companion to the king V. stablehand
a. Ekalavya, b. Shakuni, c. Draupadi, VI. music and dance teacher
d. Shalya, e. Urvashi, f. Shikhandi a. Yudhishthira b. Bheema c. Arjuna
I. He was Karna’s charioteer on the day d. Nakula e. Sahadeva f. Draupadi
Karna was killed in battle
II. Frustrated in love, she cursed the 4. Match the heroes with the people
great Pandava hero to lose his manhood they killed in the Great War:
III. He offered his thumb as dakshina a. Dhrishtadyumna b. Bheema.
to his guru c. Karna d. Arjuna e. Sahadeva
IV. A skilled gambler, he defeated I. Ghatotkacha II. Jayadratha
Yudhishthira at dice III. Shakuni IV. Drona V. Duhshasana
V. Bheeshma would not fight him
because he had been a woman 5. Arjuna’s bow was called … (chose one):
VI. At her swayamvara, the suitors had to a. Kodanda b. Panchajanya
bend and string a mighty bow, and shoot c. Gandiva d. Devadatta

3. a—IV ; b—I ; c—VI ; d—V ; e—II ; f—III Answers:
Two marks for each correct answer
4. a—IV ; b—V ; c—I ; d—II ; e—III 1. Pandu—Madri, Abhimanyu—Uttara,
One mark for each correct match Shantanu—Satyavati, Arjuna—Subhadra,
5. Gandiva. ‘Panchajanya’ and ‘Devadatta’ Dhritarashtra—Gandhari
were Krishna’s and Arjuna’s conches while Give yourself one mark for each couple
‘Kodanda’ was Rama’s bow. Two marks you got right
if you got it right. 2. a—III; b—IV ; c—VI ; d—I ; e—II ; f—V
Two marks for each correct answer

readersdigest.in 115

Reader’s Digest

Quotable Quotes

Suspect each moment, for it
is a thief, tiptoeing away with
more than it brings.

JOHN UPDIKE, A MONTH OF SUNDAYS (KNOPF), July 1978

It has been my experience that folks who
have no vices have very few virtues.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN, December 1975

Most ignorance is vincible ignorance. We don’t know,
because we don’t want to know.

ALDOUS HUXLEY, Jan 1966

The trouble with putting armour on
is that, while it protects you from pain,
it also protects you from pleasure.

CELESTE HOLM, ACTOR, May 1974

If you risk nothing, then you
risk everything.

GEENA DAVIS, QUOTED BY KEVIN SESSUMS
IN VANITY FAIR, Jan 1993

The best mind altering drug photo: alamy (3)
is the truth.

LILY TOMLIN, July 2005

116 april 2022