BOOK CLUB - Reading Comprehension - New Year's Readings (1)

A Happy New Year! ☺

For those who want to get some extra points in reading comprehension, here is a new text:

"I was still smiling as I walked home, enjoying the fresh, vibrant feel of the late-April breezes and the wonderful silence of the untravelled road. My house stood waiting to welcome me home, looking already a little less neglected to my biased eyes.

‘Hullo, Greywethers,’ I greeted it, as I came up the drive.

At least I had learnt the proper name for my house. And that I had a ghost. What had the men at the Red Lion called her? The Green Lady. Somewhere in the garden.

The question was, I asked myself, just where had the garden been? There certainly wasn’t any trace of one now, at least not at the front of the house. Curious, I walked round to the back yard and had a look.

Not the dovecote, I decided. That garden was new. By the kitchen, perhaps, alongside the drive? The ground there certainly looked more level, but…

No. Not there. I turned my attention to the other side of the yard. There, I thought with certainty. One could even see the faint rises in the ground where the flower beds had been built up by loving hands. I crossed the yard and stood on the spot in triumph.

The sun had sunk lower in the sky, and the breeze that skimmed over me was decidedly chill. Hunching further into my sweater, I hugged myself for warmth, turning to face the distant line of trees.

The man on the grey horse was there, under the sheltering oak, watching me.

I raised my chin defiantly, and could have sworn that he smiled, although he was too far away for me to see his features clearly, let alone judge his expression. After a long moment, he wheeled his horse around and headed back in the direction of Crofton Hall, his dark outline swallowed by the shadows of the ancient trees.

The Green Lady forgotten, I went inside the house, taking particular care to bolt the kitchen door behind me."                                                                                         (Susanna Kearsley, Mariana)

                                                  (Source: www.pinterest.com)

Exercises: 

I. Answer the following questions: 1. What was the name of the house?

                                                         2. What had the men at the Red Lion called the ghost?

                                                         3. Who was watching the protagonist?

                                                         4. What colour was the horse?

                                                         5. What did the protagonist after going back inside?

II. Correct the following sentences according to the text:

1. At least I had learnt the wrong name for my house.

2. I hugged myself for cold, turning to face the distant line of trees.

3. The sun had sunk higher in the sky.

4. I raised my nose defiantly.

5. After a short moment, he wheeled his horse around.