Direction- Read the following passage and answer the associated questions.

You are no beauty! Can't talk, can't dance!" With these words, Aunt Ruby would tease the unfortunate parakeet who stared sourly at everyone from his ornamental cage at one end of the long verandah of granny's bungalow in North India.

In those distant days, almost everyone, Indian or European, kept a pet parrot, parakeet, or lovebird, as some of the smaller ones were called.

Sometimes these birds become great talkers, or rather great imitators, and learn to recite mantras (religious chants) or scoldings to the children of the house, such as "Parho beta, Parho." (Study, child.) Or for the benefit of boys like me, "Don't be greedy."

These expressions were, of course, picked up by the parrot over a period of time, after many repelitions by whichever member of the household had taken on the task of teaching the bird to talk.

But our parrot refused to talk.

He'd been bought by Aunt Ruby from a bird-catcher who had visited all the houses on our road, selling caged birds ranging from colorful budgerigars to happy little mynas and even common sparrows that had been patted with paint and passed off as some rare species. Neither granny nor grandfather were keen on keeping caged birds as pets, but Aunt Ruby showed signs of throwing a tantrum if she did not get her way, and Aunt Ruby's tantrums were dreadful to watch.

Anyway, she insisted on keeping the parrot and teaching it to talk, but the bird took an instant dislike to my aunt and resisted all the pleasant things she said.