|
Comprehension
continued
Dahlia
Bartley, Contributor
I
will begin today with the answers
to the comprehension passage in last
week's lesson.
a)
Your choice could come from the following:
noisy, crowded, congested, busy
b)
Traffic is moving; donkey carts are
rattling along; children are playing;
dogs are fighting
c)
The writer appeals to the sense of
smell. Also used, is the sense of
hearing.
d)
The phrase suggests that this was
not a frequent occurrence.
e)
The writer is describing nightfall
in the yard.
f)
Again, there are several examples
from which to choose - slab of darkness,
like a block of black ice, night-wrapped
city, the light from lantern posts
falls into yellow pools on dust and
pebbles, the night is like a door,
locking everything into a black room.
g)
He is tired, sleepy, unaware of his
state.
Of
course, one exercise is never going
to give you sufficient practice, so
here is another passage for you. Read
it carefully. Perhaps, you will need
to read it more than once.
Read
the following carefully and answer
the questions set on it.
|
Quiet
and the night came early and
Leonard sat there feeling a
flicker of restlessness. He
needed his books, a radio perhaps,
he wasn't sure why he had been
delaying going into Kingston
to fetch his things. The pattern
he had established of working
on the house had completely
absorbed him, but, he thought,
stretching lazily, it was time
to make the trip into town.
He would go there the next day,
get it over with. If he went
like that, mid-week, there would
be nobody there. He could simply
pick up his two boxes and leave
the key with the next-door neighbour.
He would not have to face his
parents and their angry comments,
the small guilt-making jabs,
'after all they had done', giving
up his job, 'such good prospects',
to hide himself away 'in the
depths of beyond', as they put
it. And, of course, he could
not explain. He could not say
that the prospect of working
to buy things did not interest
him, of drifting into a marriage,
much like theirs, did not interest
him. It was all sound, solid,
and it frightened him, the years
stretching ahead, known even
before they had happened. He
wanted to make something very
simple, very different, for
himself. He could not explain
because they were so proud of
having lived out Grandma Miriam's
dream, to be educated, professionals,
a far remove from Grandpa Sam,
travelling in on the country
bus with his country talk and
his bag of yams.
|
a)
Why was Leonard feeling a "flicker
of restlessness" (line 2)? (2
marks)
b) What does the phrase "get
it over with" (line 12) tell
us about Leonard's reaction to the
idea of the trip into town? (2
marks)
c) How did Leonard decide to avoid
his parents? (2 marks)
d) How did Leonard's parents feel
about his chosen lifestyle? (2
marks)
e) What was Grandma Miriam's ambition
for her children? (1 mark)
f) What does the last sentence suggest
about Grandma Miriam's' reaction to
the lifestyle of Grandpa Sam? (2
marks)
Total:
11 marks
Next week, we will do some work on
figurative language. Until then, think
about the following words from John
Dewey:
| Education
is not preparation for life; education
is life itself.
|
 |
|
Lurlene
Bryan-Davis explains the piece
'Earth Pollution' to Gareth
Williams during an art and craft
exhibition at Bridgeport High
School on Monday, January 28.
- Anthony Minott/Freelance Photographer
|
Dahlia
Bartley teaches at Glenmuir High School.
|
