Besieged Paris was in the throes of famine. Even the sparrows on the roofs and the rats in the sewers were growing scarce. People were eating anything they could get.
As Monsieur Morissot, watchmaker by profession and idler for the nonce, was strolling along the boulevard one bright January morning, his hands in his trousers pockets and stomach empty, he suddenly came face to face with an acquaintance—Monsieur Sauvage, a fishing chum.
Before the war broke out Morissot had been in the habit, every Sunday morning, of setting forth with a bamboo rod in his hand and a tin box on his back. He took the Argenteuil train, got out at Colombes, and walked thence to the Ile Marante. The moment he arrived at this place of his dreams he began fishing, and fished till nightfall.
Every Sunday he met in this very spot Monsieur Sauvage, a stout, jolly, little man, a draper in the Rue Notre Dame de Lorette, and also an ardent fisherman. They often spent half the day side by side, rod in hand and feet dangling over the water, and a warm friendship had sprung up between the two.
Some days they did not speak; at other times they chatted; but they understood each other perfectly without the aid of words, having similar tastes and feelings.
From the passage, what do you understand about the situation in Paris?
Paris was reeling from the after-effects of a war, and there was a famine.
Paris was flooded because of heavy rains.
An earthquake had reduced most of Paris to a pile of rubble.
Paris was besieged by an icy snowstorm.
1 answer
From the passage, it is clear that the situation in Paris was one of hardship and desperation due to famine resulting from a war. The mention of people eating anything they could get, as well as the scarcity of even sparrows and rats, highlights the dire conditions faced by the inhabitants. Therefore, the correct answer is:
Paris was reeling from the after-effects of a war, and there was a famine.
