The Drought

Beyond The Information

How did the drought affect the land?

The land was affected by the drought because it dried out the grass, vegetation and streams.

Explain the meaning of this sentence.

"The market and the trading and social life connected with it collapsed"
This sentence means that the drought affected the marketing, so people did not have money to
spend.

Why did no one panic?

No one panicked because they knew the drought would be over soon.

What expression explains the heat?

The mid-morning heat and humidity of one August day had climbed very nearly to suffocation
point.

What does the writer like about Mr. Pinnock and Miss Carpenter.
The writer likes how they stayed calm during the drought.

The people tried to "make ends meet." Explain the meaning of this sentence.
What was done to make ends meet?
This sentence means that the people tried to work together or put things in order.
In order to make ends meet Miss Carpenter and the parents began to cut their breakfast down
to one mug of bush tea and a slice of bread, and the two other meals were reduced to a bowl of
hot soup.

Why did the people give up hope at the end?

The people gave up hope because they were tired of suffering and because the drought still
continued after the summer.
Which sentence in the last paragraph conveys the same idea as the following sentence:
"the new month was going to make no difference at all."
September was promising to be as torrid and depressing as August had been.

Which two words or expressions in the last paragraph conveys how oppressively hot the
weather was.
Two expressions that explain the heat are: mid-summer blaze and furnace like heat

Select one simile in the passage and explain its meaning. Do you find it interesting and
effective? Say why.
The simile, as depressing as August had been, is talking about how bad the drought was in
the month of August.
I found it very interesting because it gives you a good idea as to how September would have
been.