AN UNWELCOMED ADVENTURE

In November of last year, my brother and I were invited to spend a few days with an uncle who had just
returned from overseas. He had a cabin in the mountains, although he seldom spent much time there.
We understood the reason for this after our arrival. The cabin had no comfortable furniture in it, several
of the windows were broken and the roof leaked _ making the whole place damp and uninviting. On our
first evening, we sat around the fire after supper listening to stories our uncle had to tell of his many
adventures overseas. I was so tired after the long trip that I would have preferred to go to bed, but I did
not want to miss any of my uncle’s exciting stories. He was just in the middle of describing a terrifying
experience he once had in a small sailboat out on the ocean during a storm, when there was a loud
crash from the bedroom upstairs _ the one where my brother and I were going to sleep. “It sounds like
the roof caved in!” exclaimed my uncle, with a loud laugh. When we reached to the top of the stairs and
opened the bedroom door, we could not see anything at first because of the clouds of dust that filled
the room. When the dust began to settle, we saw a strange sight. Part of the roof had fallen in and
broken boards, shingles and huge chunks of plaster had come down on my bed. I was glad that I had
stayed up late to listen to my uncle’s stories; otherwise, I would have been seriously injured, or perhaps
even killed. That night we all slept on the floor in the big room downstairs, not wanting to risk our lives
sleeping upstairs under a roof that might collapse on our heads. We left for home next morning and my
uncle gave up his cabin in the mountains. This was not the kind of adventure he was looking for!

A. Choose the best answer.

1. The writer did not go to bed immediately after supper because

a. it was pleasant sitting around the fire.

b. his uncle terrified him with his stories.

c. he wanted to hear all of his uncle’s exciting stories.

d. his uncle made him listen to his stories.

2. It was certain that the ceiling had fallen in

a. when they opened the bedroom door.

b. after the dust had begun to clear.

c. as soon as they heard the crash.

d. when they reached the head of the stairs.

B. Answer the following questions in your own words. Answer each question with a single complete
sentence.

1. Why didn’t the writer’s uncle spend much time in his cabin?

2. Why were they afraid to sleep upstairs that night?

C. Answer these questions, using only short answers.

1. Was the writer’s uncle amused when he heard the loud crash?

2. Did the writer’s uncle continue living in his cabin?

D. Complete the following sentences. Your answers must be related to the ideas contained in the
reading.

1. The writer’s uncle did not spend much time in the cabin which _______.

2. Although the writer was tired, _________.

4. If the writer had gone to bed early, ________.

E. Choose the best explanation according to the story.

1. leaked (paragraph 1) means

a. was beginning to fall down

b. needed to be repaired

c. let the rain in

d. was in bad condition

2. injured (paragraph 5) means

a. badly hurt

b. struck

c. damaged

d. wounded

F. Composition: Imagine that you are the writer’s uncle. Write a short account of the experience you had
when your sailboat was carried out to sea in a storm. Limit your composition to 180 words.

G. Look at this sentence:

I was glad that I had stayed up late to listen to my uncle’s stories; otherwise, I would have been seriously
injured.

Here the conjunction ‘otherwise’ is replacing ‘If I hadn’t stayed up late’. You can avoid repetition by
using this conjunction. Here are some more examples:

Be quiet! Otherwise (if you are not quiet), I won’t tell you a story.

You’ll have to work harder; otherwise (if you don’t work harder), you won’t pass the examination.

Now combine the following pairs of sentences by using ‘otherwise’. Follow the models given above.

1. Be more careful. If you aren’t more careful, you’ll burn your fingers.
2. I grabbed her hand. If I hadn’t grabbed her hand, she would have slipped and fallen.

3. They must have gone out. If they weren’t out, they would open the door.

4. Tom wants a higher salary. If he doesn’t get a higher salary, he is going to resign.

5. Take an umbrella with you. If you don’t take an umbrella, you might get wet.

6. We must save more money. If we don’t save more money, we won’t be able to take a vacation
this year.

7. They had a map. If they hadn’t had a map, they would have gotten lost.

8. Look out! If you don’t look out, you’ll get run over.

9. The children must have been tired. If they hadn’t been tired, they wouldn’t have gone to sleep so
quickly.

10. You’ll have to get more exercise. If you don’t get more exercise, you’ll gain more weight quickly.