Narrative short story

Text 1
Scott and his four companions were terribly disappointed when they got to the South Pole and found the Norwegians had beaten them in the race to be the first men ever to reach it. After planting the British flag at the Pole they took a photograph of themselves before they left, and then started the 950-mile journey back.

      The journey was painfully slow, and the joy and excitement had gone out of them. The sun hardly appeared, but the snow was soft, and snow storms often made it impossible to sight the stones they had set up to mark their way home. Then, to make thing worse, Evans, whom they had all thought the strongest of the five, showed signs of weakening, fell into a deep hole in the ice, and after struggling along for several days, suddenly collapsed and died.

      The four who were left pushed on at the best speed they could manage; they knew their strength was going and food was running short. The winds tired them out, so that each day the distance they travelled was shorter than previous days. If they had had warm food and dry sleeping-bags, they might have lived, but each time they reached one of the places where they had left oil for cooking and heat, they found that there was less than they had expected. They hadn’t known that oil creeps out from tins in very low temperatures.

      Captain Oats had been suffering for some time from frozen feet; at night his feet swelled so large that he could scarcely put his boots next morning, and he walked in great pain. He was very brave. He did not complain, but he knew his slowness was making it less likely that the others could save themselves. He asked them to leave him behind in his sleeping-bag, but they refused, and help him on a few more miles, until it was time to put up the tent for another night.

      The following morning, while the others were still in their sleeping-bags, he said, “’I am just going outside and may be gone for some time”. He was never seen again. He had walked out alone into the snow, hoping that his death would help his companions. It took nothing away from his brave act in the end it was in vain.

1)       The story is about ____.

a)      the race to the South Pole                    d)  the journey back from the South Pole

b)      the death of Captain Oats                    e)  the 950-mile journey to the South Pole

c)      the victory of the Norwegians

2)       The journey back from the South Pole was extremely slow because ____.

a)      Evans got an accident and finally died

b)      there was no more oil for cooking and heating

c)      food was running short and there were no sleeping-bags

d)      Captain Oats was terribly suffering from his frozen feet

e)      Extreme cold and hunger physically weakened Scott’s party

3)       For the British team, the race to the South was ____.

a)      a great experience        c)  an honor               e)  a mystery

b)      a tragedy                      d)  a victory

4)       Which of the following statements is TRUE about Captain Oats?

a)      Captain Oats sacrificed himself for the good of the other members of the party.

b)      The other team members did not know that Captain Oats had left the tent.

c)      Captain Oats refused to stay in the tent and took leave from his friends the same night.

d)      Although his feet were badly swollen, Captain Oats was able to keep pace with the others.

e)      Captain Oats left his friends because he could not stand his friends’ attitude toward him.

5)       “It took nothing away from his brave act in the end it was in vain.” (The last sentence)

In vain means ___.

a)      impractical                   c)  illegal                      e)  unavailable

b)      useless                         d)  imbalanced

6)       From the text we may conclude that ____.

a)      none of the British party survived

b)      Britain celebrated the return of its party

c)      three members of the British party were alive

d)      Captain Oats was rewarded because of his bravery

e)      Scott being the party leader, became well-known

7)       What type of text is the passage above?

a)      narrative          b)  anecdote     c)  exposition   d)  descriptive  e)  procedure

8)       The communicative purpose of the text is ____.

a)      to describe a particular thing

b)      to share with others an amusing event

c)      to critique an event for a public audience

d)      to retell an event for the purpose of entertaining

e)      to amuse, entertain and to deal with an actual or vicarious experience

9)      ‘Scott and his four companions were terribly disappointed when they got to the South Pole and found the Norwegians had beaten them in the race to be the first men ever to reach it.’ (The first sentence)

The word ‘they’ refers to ____.

a)      the Norwegians

b)      Scott’s four companions                                                                                 

c)      Scott and the Norwegians

d)      Scott and his four companions                                               

e)      The Norwegians and Scott’s four companions

Text 2

            Bosko was a Serb and Admira was a Bosnian. They had been sweethearts since high school, both died through the same mindless hatred that has doomed 138,000 Bosnians in the past years. But their final embrace goes further than perhaps any other image in capture the intimate, unutterable sadness of this war.

            When Bosko’s finally fled to Sarajevo for Serbia he chose to remain in the besieged city rather than abandon his lover. ‘He had no one here, just Admira,” explained Admira’s mother. “He stayed in Sarajevo because of her. And Admira wanted to repay him by travelling to Serbia.” After striking a deal with local commanders for safe passage across the battle lines, the couple started leaving them. They carried only two bags and their hope of living together in peace. Exposed to snipers from both sides, they passed in no man land near Verbena Bridge. And then, somebody mowed them down with a machine gun.

         When they were hit, Bosko died instantly. Mortally wounded, crawled over and, during her final second, succeeded in tenderly wrapping her arm around his body. Then she too passed away.

1)       When the people left Sarajevo Bosko ____.

a)      joined Admira, his lover, to flee Sarajevo for Serbia

b)      decided to stay in Sarajevo with Admira, his lover

c)      followed Admira leaving Sarajevo

d)      left Sarajevo with other people

e)      abandon his lover for Serbia

2)       What is the main idea of the paragraph?

a)      Admira die soon after Bosko did

b)      The death of Bosko and Admira, his lover

c)      Admira passed away after mortally wounded

d)      Bosko and Admira were killed by the snipers

e)      Bosko succeeded in wrapping his arms to Admira’s body before dying

Text 3 
             For three days Inspector Robinson had been completely in the dark. A man had been found unconscious in the car park of the Swan Hotel. He had been robbed and his car had been stolen. The police had no idea of his identity until at last the man was able to tell them who he was and what happened. He was also able to give them a description of the man, which the police sent to all the newspapers.

                 The nest day Inspector Robinson got a message to say the man had been seen in a small seaside town. Inspector Robinson immediately went there. When he reached the police station, the Inspector in charge had a second message for him. The owner of a small restaurant on the seafront had just telephoned. According to him, a person like the wanted man was having dinner in his restaurant.

            The police at once rushed to the restaurant. Two policemen stayed outside the front entrance while Inspector Robinson and another man entered through the kitchen. Very excited, the owner of the restaurant showed Inspector Robinson the man he had been watching. He was sitting at a corner table, reading a newspaper. Without doubt it was the right man.

                  Inspector Robinson did not want to disturb the other people in the restaurant. He let the man finish his meal. Then, as he left the restaurant, Inspector Robinson followed him into the street and arrested him.

1)      The text above is in the _____ form.

a)      anecdote          b)  descriptive  c)  narrative     d)  news item   e)  procedure

2)      The communicative purpose of the above text is ____.

a)      to describe a particular person

b)      to critique an event for a public audience

c)      to retell events for the purpose of informing and entertaining

d)      to share with others an account of an unusual and amusing incident

e)      to amuse, entertain and to deal with actual or vicarious experience in different ways

3)      Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

a)      The victim of the robbery lost only his car.

b)      The police knew immediately who the unconscious man was.

c)      It was the police who gave the first description of the robber.

d)      The robbery did not take place in one of the hotel rooms

e)      Inspector Robinson found an unconscious man at the Swan Hotel

4)      Inspector Robinson was able to find the robber after he was personally informed by ____.

a)      a local citizen               
b)  the restaurant owner                       
c)  the police of a small seaside town

d)      a newspaper man         
e)  a guest at the restaurant

5)      Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE according to the text?

a)      It was Inspector Robinson who arrested the criminal.

b)      Five policemen were in charge of arresting the robber.

c)      The criminal was caught when he was eating in a restaurant

d)      The police saw the robber reading a newspaper in the restaurant

e)      The robber was arrested without disturbing the other guests of the restaurant.

6)      ‘For three days Inspector Robinson had been completely in the dark.’ (The first sentence)

The sentence above means: ‘Inspector Robinson ___.’

a)      arrived at the Swan Hotel when it was already dark

b)      did not have any information all about the criminal

c)      stayed at the Swan Hotel until it got dark

d)      wanted to stay all by himself thinking about the robbery

e)      stood in the dark unnoticed by the hotel owner


Text 4

      When Tom decided to go on a holiday to England, he wrote a letter to his friend who was living in London and asked if he could meet him at the airport. The friend wrote back to say that he would be there. So Tom was surprised when he reached the airport to find out that his friend did not turn up.

      He walked around for a short while and then, because he had a slight headache, went into the restaurant and had a cup of strong, black coffee. After that he felt much better. He bought a couple of   magazines at the bookstall and went into the lounge to read them. He felt sure that his friend would come fairly soon, though he was beginning to get worried.

      He has just started to read his magazine when his friend arrived with a young lady. Tom’s friend apologized for being late and explained what had happened. Apparently he had arranged to meet the young lady at six o’clock, just outside the underground station not far from where he was living. The young lady, who had only travelled on the underground once before, had set out in good time but unfortunately she had got on a train going in the wrong direction. She travelled for several stops before she realized this, because the train was very crowded and she could not see the names of the stations. By the time she got to the right station, she was nearly three quarters of an hour late.

1)      What type of text is the passage above?

a)      Descriptive.     b)  Report.       c)  Narrative.    d)  Anecdote.   e)  Exposition

2)  The communicative purpose of the above text is ____.

a)      to describe a particular person

b)      to critique an event for a public audience

c)      to persuade the readers that something is the case

d)      to share with others an account of an unusual and amusing incident

e)      to entertain and to deal with actual or vicarious experience in different ways

3)  Why did Tom write a letter to his friend in London?

a)      To ask his friend to talk about his girlfriend.

b)      To get some information about how to travel to London.

c)      To see whether his friend could pick him up at the airport.

d)      To know whether it was worth spending his holidays in London.

e)      To know whether his friend could also take a holiday when he was there.

4)  When Tom arrived at the airport ____.

a)      he looked for his friend but did not see him

b)      he found out that his friend had already left

c)      he was immediately welcomed by his friend

d)      he began to read the magazine that he had bought

e)      he went straight to the restaurant and had some coffee

5)  Tom’s friend was supposed to meet the young lady ___.

a)      at the airport when Tom arrived

b)      after Tom had taken a good rest

c)      before he fetched Tom at the airport

d)      at a quarter to seven at Tom’s house

e)      at the underground station together with Tom

6)  The young lady was late in meeting Tom’s friend because ___.

a)      she had taken the wrong train

b)      she left almost 45 minutes late

c)      the train went into the wrong direction

d)      the names of the train station were not clear

e)      she had never taken the underground train before

7)  Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?

a)      Tom’s friend lived near an underground station.

b)      The young lady didn’t come at the appointed time.

c)      The young lady couldn’t get on the crowded train.

d)      Tom had something to drink before his friend arrived.

e)      Tom wanted a cup of black coffee to relieve his headache.

8)  He walked around for a short while and then, because he had a slight headache, went into the restaurant and had a cup of strong, black coffee. (Paragraph 2)

The opposite of slight is ____.

a)      weak                b)  severe         c)  moderate     d)  average       e)  light

9)  He bought a couple of   magazines at the bookstall and went into the lounge to read them. (Para.2)

The underline word means ___

a)      husband and wife        c)  several                    e) much

b)      a lot of                         d)  many

Text 5

      “Koko, where are you?” Hamid called softly to his cat.

      “He may have wandered to the harbour,” said Hamid’s friend Muchtar.

      Soon, the boys were at the habour’s gate, marked ‘Gate 6’, of Priok Harbour. Two policemen were guarding the gate. The boys moved quietly so that the policemen would not see them. The boys knew the policemen would chase them away if they saw them.

      The boys knew Koko was somewhere near the gate because they had heard him meowing. The sound seemed to have come from a taxi that was parked nearby. Hamid and Muchtar saw two men standing beside the taxi. The men were talking in low tones. Then, one of them opened the car-boot, and Hamid saw Koko crouching among some bags.

      Not long after that, the men left. Hamid quickly ran to the taxi. Finding the boot unlocked, Hamid lifted the lid. What a shock! There were bags of explosive! At the moment, Hamid heard the men come back. He swept Koko into his arms and ran back to where Muchtar was keeping watch.

      “Those men are smugglers trying to bring explosive into the harbour,” Hamid whispered to Muchtar.

      “What shall we do?” asked Muchtar fearfully.

      “We must alert the policemen at the gate,” Hamid said.

      The boys moved cautiously until they reached the gate. Hamid told the policemen what he had seen. The policemen did not really believe him, but they went with the boys to the taxi. The policemen were just in time to see the men taking the bags of explosive out of the boot.

      The policemen quickly stopped the men and handcuffed them.

1.  Where did the two boys see the smugglers?

a.       Somewhere near the harbour.

b.      At the guarded gate.

c.       At Priok Harbour.

d.      Near a taxi.

e.       At gate 6.

2.  The purpose of the text is to ____.

a.       tell past events

b.      entertain readers

c.       describe the smugglers

d.      report an event to the police

e.       inform readers about events of the day

3.  Hamid ___ when he saw bags of explosive inside the boot.

a.       ran back to Muchtar’s place

b.      swept Koko into his arms

c.       found the boot unlocked

d.      left the taxi quickly

e.       was very shocked

4.  “The policemen quickly stopped the men and handcuffed them.” (The last paragraph)

             This part of the text is called ____

a.       resolution

b.      orientation

c.       description

d.      reorientation

e.       complication

Text 6

The Purse of Gold

      A beggar found a leather purse that someone had dropped in a market place. Opening it, he discovered that it contained 100 pieces of gold. Then he heard a merchant shouted, "A reward! A reward to the one who find my leather purse!"

      Being an honest man, the beggar came forward and handed the purse to the merchant saying, "Here is your purse. Will you keep your word to give a reward now?"

      "Reward?" scoffed the merchant greedily counting the amount of gold. "The purse I dropped had 200 pieces of gold in it. You've already stolen more than the reward I'll give to you.! Go away or I'll tell you to the police."

      "I'm an honest man," said the beggar defiantly. "Let's take this matter to the court!" In the court, the judge patiently listened to both sides of the story and said, "I believe you both. Justice is possible!  Merchant, you stated that the purse you lost contained 200 pieces of gold. Well, that's a considerable cost. But the purse the beggar found had only 100 pieces of gold. Therefore, it couldn't be the one you lost."

1.       What is the orientation of the text?

A.      A beggar found a leather purse that someone had dropped in a market place

B.      Being an honest man, the beggar came forward and handed the purse to the merchant

C.      The merchant greedily counting the amount of gold

D.      Therefore, it couldn't be the one you lost

E.      The merchant had to release the purse of gold to the beggar

2.       Who are the characters of the story above?

A.      The beggar and the merchant

B.      The merchant and the judge

C.      The beggar, the merchant, and the judge

D.      The beggar was an honest one, and the merchant was the greedy one.

E.      The honest man, the greedy man, and the just man.

3.       What was the source of the conflict?

A.      100  pieces of gold

B.      200 pieces of gold

C.      300 pieces of gold

D.      A purse

E.      A leather purse

4.       How was the judge?

A.      He was an honest man

B.      He was alright

C.      He was possible man

D.      He was tall

E.      He was a just man

Text 7

The Three Sheiks and Queen of Arabia

     Maura, who liked to be thought of as the most beautiful and powerful queen of Arabia, had many suitors. One by one she discarded them, until her list was reduced to just three sheiks, all equally young and handsome, rich and strong. It was very hard to decide who would be the best of them.
One evening, Maura disguised herself and went to the camp of the three sheiks, as they were about to have dinner, and asked them for something to eat. 
     The first gave her some leftover food; the second gave her some unappetizing camel's tail; the third sheik, who was called Hakim, offered her some of the most tender and tasty meat. After dinner, the disguised queen left the sheiks' camp.
 The following day the queen invited the three sheiks to dinner at her palace. She ordered her servants to give each one exactly what they had given her the evening before.
    Hakim, who received a plate of delicious meat, refused to eat it if the other two could not share it with him, and this act finally convinced Queen Maura that he was the man for her.
"Without question, Hakim is the most generous of you," she announced her choice to the sheiks." So it is Hakim I will marry."

1.       The three sheiks were not ........
A. rich
B. young
C. strong
D. gloomy
E. handsome

2.       The Queen ordered her servants to give the sheiks the same kind of food she got from the evening before because ........
A. she wanted to entertain her guests
B. she wanted to test the sheiks's taste
C. she wanted to see the sheiks's reactions
D. she wanted to make a joke of the sheiks
E. she wanted to repay the sheik's kindness

3.       The main idea of paragraph six is ........
A. Hakim was an unselfish person.
B. Hakim was served with succulent meat.
C. Hakim was satisfied with the food served.
D. Hakim wanted to share the food with the sheiks.
E. Hakim had made the queen find the resolution of her problem

4.       What does the story teach us ?
A. If we want to give something to other people, we shall give the best.
B. Do not be cowards.
C. Be the cowards.
D. As a beggar.
E. Don’t be lazy.

5.       What does the word ‘sheik’ best replaced with?

A.      King

B.      Youngster

C.      Teenager

D.      Bandit

E.      Prince