Alice

Life in a minute become meaningless when Alice came to know that she will not be able to
leave the office as her boss orders her to complete the entire paper work before the day
ends and on the other hand she needs to be at the airport by 7 a.m. sharp as her daughter
was coming from the university to spend her long vacations. Alice’s boss was adamant that
she should do the extra task, as the paperwork had to be completed that evening in time for
the next morning’s meeting.
Alice rushed to the car park after completing the work and then she jumped into her car. It
was already dark, the rain was pouring down, the high wind buffeted Alice’s car, as if it were
trying to get her car off the road. She decided to take the motorway which can lead her to
airport without any problem. Alice’s shoulders hunched up to her ears with tension, her
heart raced with the effort of driving in such problematic conditions, but then she quickly
started to think about the vacation plans which she will be having with her daughter: their
visits to family members; their invitations to friends to share lunch or dinner with them;
their shopping trips … Alice relaxed a little.
Suddenly the brake lights of the car in front glowed red as its driver slowed down, and Alice
had no alternative but to do the same. Signs by the side of the motorway describing
matchstick-figure workmen warned of roadwork ahead. Alice sighed in irritation, while
understanding that patience and good humour were her best options. ‘Maybe it won’t take
much longer,’ she thought, but after half a kilometre, she switched on the car radio to listen
to some calming music. But, when the radio announcer gave a time check, Alice’s anxiety
increased and then she chose silence again.
Sooner than Alice had expected, a cluster of huge hotels, like shiny white teeth, rose
against the skyline, indicating that she was approaching the airport. Alice then took the
suitable exit from the motorway and headed for the airport car park. It appeared to be full.
The arrivals hall was busy. Alice made her way through a group of taxi-drivers who were
trying to attract passengers, and some drivers of hotel cars holding up displayed cards of
arriving guests. An extended family of at least 12 people, was gathered under the electronic
board which displayed flight arrivals details. Alice wove through this group, She half-walked,
half-ran, in the direction of international arrivals. To her relief, the new arrivals board told
her daughter’s plane, having been delayed by an hour, had just landed.
Alice picked a spot from which she can clearly see the automatic doors from where her
daughter would emerge. The doors were opening more frequently and suddenly, at last,
there she was – her daughter!
‘Are you all right, Mama?’ she asked anxiously, noticing her mother’s agitated expression.
‘How was your journey?’ ‘Oh, perfectly fine,’ laughed Alice.
New words: hunched, anxiety, adamant.

1-Read Passage and answer all the questions below.

1
(a) Why Alice was upset that she was ‘late getting away from the office’? With what mood
Alice was working in the office?
Alice had to pick up her daughter from the airport but her boss was adamant that she leave
after finishing the work entirely and that is why she was being late. Owing ti this situation
Alice was depressed.

(b) What kind of person is Alice? What are the words used in the passage to describe her
character?

Alice is a haggard, worried-anxious sort of a person described by words and phrases like
irritated, agitated and tension in her shoulders.

(c) Explain in your own words why Alice’s boss was adamant that she should do her extra
task.

Alice’s boss had a meeting next morning and he wanted to be prepared for it that’s why he
wanted Alice to finish the work before leaving.

(d) ‘Alice anxiety increased, when radio announcer gave a time check’ Describe a moment
when you faced such ‘anxiety’ and how did you deal with that?
I faced such anxiety in the last term when I got up late on an exam day.
(e) Shoulders hunched… In tension and heart racing. Write two other ways to imply
the same (via body) - to show tension.
(i) Shaking legs involuntarily
(ii) Continuously clicking a ball point nervously
(f) Alice was driving ‘in such difficult conditions’, was she forced to drive in such difficult
conditions? Will you be able to drive in such difficult conditions?

Alice was forced to drive in such difficult conditions because she was late. I may not be able
to drive in such difficult conditions.

(g)What does the idiom ‘when it rains it pours’ mean? How is it applicable to the story?
How is it not applicable to the story?
The idiom means that when one bad thing happen a string of bad incidents take place. The
idiom is perfectly applicable to the story.

(h) ‘Alice sighed in irritation, while realising that endurance and good humour were her
best options.’ Explain in your own words what Alice’s ‘best options’ were. And why do you
think it was an effective way to overcome her irritation?
Endurance and good humour were Alice’s only chances to fight the odds as there was no
other way. If she had chosen otherwise then maybe her health was to be affected.

2
(I) What does this phrase means, ‘a cluster of huge hotels, like shiny white teeth, rose
against the skyline’. What is cluster and how it works?
It means a bunch of grand looking buildings that shined like stars impressed Alice. A cluster
here means a group of stars in the sky giving lights and showing the path to the traveller.

(j) Why does Alice reply with a laugh- ‘Oh, perfectly fine’ when her daughter asks her
about the trip
She didn’t want her daughter to worry about her and ruin her daughter’s vacation.

(k) What do you think are some things they will discuss on their car journey back home?

They can discuss her daughter’s flight, Alice’s drive to the airport and also their plans for the
long vacation.

2- Write down the meaning of the given words and make a sentence in your own words.
i) Word meanings:

(a) Adamant: unyielding

(b) Pouring: rain cats and dogs
(c) Anxiety: worry

ii) Sentences:
(a) adamant: My football coach is very adamant about completing our daily
drills.
(b) pouring: It kept on pouring the entire night.
(c) anxiety: My mother is likely to have anxiety attacks even in minor situations.

3-Give one antonym for the new words, ADAMANT and HUNCHED.
Antonyms yielding, straightened
4-Answer the following sentence with reference to context:
(i) As the paperwork had to be completed that evening in time for the next
morning’s meeting.

Who said: Alice’s boss

To whom: Alice

(ii) She asked anxiously, noticing her mother’s agitated expression. ‘How was your
journey?’

Who said: Alice’s daughter

3
 To whom: Alice
When: they met at the airport
Why: because Alice looked tensed

5- Write down a summary of the above given passage. (Word limit 80-100)
NOTE: Use your own words as far as possible

This passage is about a lady named Alice who had to pick her daughter up from the airport but was
being late as she had extra work to do in the office. When she finally left she met a few more hurdles
on her way to the airport. The weather was stormy and the traffic flow was very slow. When she
heard the time check on the radio she grew more anxious even when she tried hard to calm herself
since she left the office. The airport was also very busy but she managed to find her way in and
finally met her daughter who became worried immediately after looking at Alice’s fatigued face.