Reading Comprehension - Check Your Understanding

A. Choose the correct answers.

1. The dabbawallahs __________ .
A) make a person's lunch at home
B) cook food at a restaurant
C) pick up a person's lunch from their house

2. The dabbawallahs use colors and lines to show a person's name and address on their lunchbox. Why?
A) It's fast and easy.
B) They cannot read.
C) Their boss tells them to.

3. When the dabbawallahs deliver lunches, which problem do they NOT usually have?
A) traffic
B) long distances
C) wrong addresses

4. The dabbawallahs make __________ mistakes.
A) no
B) very few
C) a lot of

B. Read the sentences below. Write true (T) or false (F).

Critical Thinking

1. In your opinion, are the dabbawallahs remarkable people? Why or why not?
   Answer

   Example answer. The dabbawallahs do a difficult task very well, all the more remarkable since they cannot read or write.

2. Are there people like the dabbawallahs in your country? What do they do?

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Type your question here: Who are the dabbawallah of India

Dabbawallah: from Hindi¹ meaning lunchbox deliveryman. Dabbawallahs are sometimes also called Tiffin Men.

Description

It's lunchtime in Mumbai, India (population: 12 million),and students and businesspeople around the city have to make a choice. Should they go to a restaurant or eat a hot lunch from home? Today,many can choose the second option, thanks to² the dabbawallahs.

Every day,5,000 dabbawallahs deliver 200,000 lunches to people all over Mumbai. The dabbawallahs work together. They pick up a person's lunch from his or her house (or a restaurant). They put the hot lunch in a special box (called a tiffin). Then they bring the lunch to the person's office or school by lunch time. The men travel long distances (many kilometers a day) on bicycle, train, and foot to deliver the lunchboxes on time.

Many of the deliverymen are poor. Most cannot read. They use a special system of colors and lines to write a person's name and address on a lunchbox.
There are many challenges (traffic,³ bad weather, long distances), but the men are very organized. On average, for every 6 million lunches they deliver,they make fewer than one mistake! The dabbawallahs do so well that some teach classes at business schools around the world!

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