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Name: __________________________ Grade: VI ___

Reading Comprehension 8
Read the text below carefully and answer the following questions.
The text below is a personal recount of a girl named Loung, who has been evacuated from her
hometown of Phnom Penh by the Khmer Rouge, the political party in power after the Civil War
ended in April 1975. Read it carefully and answer the following questions.

1 Seven months after the Khmer Rouge forcefully evacuated us from our home in Phnom
Penh we arrive in the village of Ro Leap. Looking up at the sky, I smile and thank the gods
for giving me a safe arrival. This is our third relocation in seven months. I hope we will stay
for a while.

2 The town square is a place where people gather to hear announcements, instructions, work 5
assignments, or, in our case, wait for the village chief. Behind the town square, villagers live
in the same kind of thatched-roof huts that sit on raised stilts, all lined up in neat rows about
fifty feet from each other at the edge of the forest.

3 The truck driver orders the new arrivals to get out and wait for instructions from the village
chief. My family quickly jumps off the truck, leaving me behind. Standing at the edge of the 10
truck, I fight the impulse to run and hide in the far corner. These villagers are all dressed in
the familiar loose-fitting black pyjama pants and shirts with a red-and white checkered scarf
wrapped across their shoulders or around their head.

4 “Capitalists1 should be shot and killed,” someone yells from the crowd, glaring at us.
Pa’s shoulders droop low as he holds his palms together in a gesture of greeting. I cower at 15
the edge of the truck, my heart beating wildly, afraid to get off. They look very mean, like
hungry tigers ready to pounce on us. Their black eyes stare at me, full of contempt.

5 The Khmer Rouge government says the ownership of cars and electronics such as
watches, clocks, and televisions created a deep class division between the rich and the
poor. This allowed the urban rich to flaunt their wealth while the rural poor struggled to feed 20
and clothe their families. So now these goods are abolished. Only trucks are allowed to op-
erate, to relocate people and carry weapons to silence any voices of dissent against the
Angkar.

6 The chief finally makes his appearance to the new crowd of people. With a flick of his wrist,
one soldier walks up to a family. He reaches out and takes a bag from a woman. He rum- 25
mages through the bag and looks in disgust at the colourful clothes inside. He dumps the
contents of the bag in the middle of the circle of people. One by one this is repeated. Bags
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upon bags of clothes belonging to all the families in the square are dumped into a pile. Be-
fore the soldier even approaches, Ma has gathered all our bags and put them in a small pile
in front of our family. The soldier picks up our bags and begins to throw our clothes onto the 30
pile. His hand reaches into one bag and pulls out something red—my breath quickens. My
first red dress, the one Ma made for me for the New Year’s celebration. My hands clench in
fists; I continue to stare at my dress. The next thing I know the pile of clothes bursts into
flames and my red dress melts like plastic in the fire.

(Adapted from First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung)

1 Which 3-word phrase in the first paragraph tells you that the author was a religious person?

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2 In paragraph 1, the writer says, “I hope we stay here for a while.”

Why does the writer say that?

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3 In the second paragraph, what is the purpose of the town square for the locals?

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4 Paragraph 2 states that “villagers live in the same kind of thatched-roof huts that sit on raised
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stilts…”

What does this tell you about the villagers of Ro Leap?

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5 Paragraph 3 begins ‘The truck driver orders the new arrivals to get out…’

Who do you think the phrase “new arrivals” refer to?

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6 In paragraph 3, the writer says, “My family quickly jumps off the truck, leaving me behind.”

Why do you think the writer did not jump off the truck?

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7 In paragraph 4, the writer’s father shows a sign of respect to the villagers of Ro Leap.

How does he exhibit this sign of respect?

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8 Paragraph 5 ends ‘carry weapons to silence any voices of dissent against the Angkar’.
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Identify the meaning of the phrase “to silence any voices of dissent” with the help of the table be-
low.

Phrase Meaning
'to silence’
'voices of dissent'

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9 Quote a phrase from the paragraph 6 that tells you that the chief is superior to the rest of the vil-
lage.

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10 Paragraph 6 ends, ‘The next thing I know the pile of clothes burst into flames and my red dress
melts like plastic in the fire.’

How do you think the writer felt when this happened? Give evidence to support your answer.

Writer’s Feeling Evidence from the passage

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11 The graphic organiser below summarises the main events of the author’s journey.

Show your understanding of the passage by putting one word of your own or from the passage in
each of the blanks.

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