READING COMPREHENSION

REVISION
GRADE 8

Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.
Miss Aurlie possessed a good strong figure, ruddy cheeks, hair that was changing from
brown to gray and a determined eye. She wore a man's hat about the farm and an old blue
army overcoat when it was cold. She had never thought of marrying. At the age of twenty she
had received a proposal, which she had promptly declined, and at the age of fifty she had not
yet lived to regret it. So she was quite alone, except for her dog Ponto and the servants who
lived in her farm.
One morning when Aurlie stood upon her gallery, a band of very small children came into
her house all of a sudden and were so unwelcome. They were the children of Odile her
neighbour. Odile's face was red and disfigured from tears. She had been summoned to a
nearby parish by the dangerous illness of her mother. She requested Aurlie to look after her
children when she was away.
Aurlie stood contemplating about the children. She began by feeding them but little children
are not animals. They require attention which was wholly unexpected of Aurlie, and which
she was ill-prepared to give. She was indeed, very inapt in her management of Odile's
children during the first few days. Sticky fingers compelled her to unearth white aprons that
she had not worn and had to accustom herself to their moist kisses, the expressions of their
affectionate nature. She placed the sewing machine within easy reach to mend their torn slipss
and buttonless shirts. It took her some days to get accustomed to the laughing, the crying and
the chattering that echoed through the house. And it was not the first or the second night that
she could sleep comfortably with little Lodie close to her, with his warm breath beating her
cheek like the fanning of a bird's wing. By the end of two weeks, Aurlie had grown quite
used to such things and she no longer complained
It was then that Odile came back to Aurlie's house. Her arrival, unannounced and
unexpected, threw Aurlie into a flutter, that was almost an agitation. The excitement was all
over and the whole family was gone. How still the house was! Aurlie stood upon the gallery,
looking and listening, but she could still hear faintly the shrill, glad voices of the children.
There was much work awaiting her, for the children had left a sad disorder behind them. She
shadows were creeping and
gave one slow glance through the room, into which the evening
deepening around her solitaryfigure. For the first time she felt lonely in her house. She let
her head fall upon her bended arm and began to cry, not softly as most women do, but like a
man, with loud sobs that seemed to tear her very soul. She did not notice Ponto licking her
hand.
A. Give the meanings of the following words as used in the passage. One word answers
or short phrases will be accepted.

i. Proposal
 ii. Regret

ii. Unearth

B. Answer the following questions briefly in your own words.

i. Describe Aurlie's physical features and appearance? What do you know about her
personal life?

ii. Who were the band ofchildren, who came to Aurlie's house? Why did they
come?

What does the narrator mean by saying that 'little children are not animals'?
ii.

How did Aurlie take care of the children? Why was she not complaining by the
iv.
end of two weeks?
 V. What impact did the sudden arrival of Odile have on Aurlie? Why did she cry at
the end of the
passage?

C. Make meaningful sentences with the following.

i. summoned to

ii. accustom himself/herself