Reading comprehension

Read the story. Use the information in the story to answer the questions below.

At Boarding School

I hated almost every day of my time at boarding school and, in my case; my first term was a disaster. I found it very difficult to settle down, and my unhappiness was made worse because I was also unhappy at home.

A happy home life gives you a base from which you can go into the world with confidence. But if life at home is difficult, life away at boarding school is almost impossible. Apart from having to keep to a great many rules and customs, many of which seemed to me stupid we were never allowed to be alone. You had to be with another boy at all times. I am extremely dependent on being alone part of every day, so daily life at school was very hard for me, though the other boys managed fairly well. In the middle of the first term I developed a cough. The school nurse said it was a 'stomach - cough', whatever that may be, and gave me some pills. However, playing football in a snowstorm, I suddenly could not breathe properly and was taken to the hospital ill with bronchitis and pneumonia. Almost at once I was put into a small room with another boy who was also very ill. He died and I nearly did. My main memory of my stay at the hospital was that the night-nurses used to get together in my room and play cards and chat. Keeping the light on and keeping me awake when I was seriously ill didn't bother them. When I had recovered I was sent home for a few weeks and missed a term. When I returned to school, I was sent to bed early because of my illness, and so managed to get a brief period alone every day. Later on, when I went into the senior part of the school I was allowed to go to the school library by myself, which was a great improvement.

The day I left the school, the headmaster said good bye and asked whether it was a sad day for me. I replied that it was the happiest day of my life. He said I would come to think of my time at the school very differently. I said that I was sure that I would not. Though I have had unhappy days since that day, I have found that my conclusions then – that nothing afterwards could ever be so bad as boarding school- have been proved true.

1. The boy’s… was a disaster.

At Boarding School

I hated almost every day of my time at boarding school and, in my case; my first term was a disaster. I found it very difficult to settle down, and my unhappiness was made worse because I was also unhappy at home.

A happy home life gives you a base from which you can go into the world with confidence. But if life at home is difficult, life away at boarding school is almost impossible. Apart from having to keep to a great many rules and customs, many of which seemed to me stupid we were never allowed to be alone. You had to be with another boy at all times. I am extremely dependent on being alone part of every day, so daily life at school was very hard for me, though the other boys managed fairly well. In the middle of the first term I developed a cough. The school nurse said it was a 'stomach - cough', whatever that may be, and gave me some pills. However, playing football in a snowstorm, I suddenly could not breathe properly and was taken to the hospital ill with bronchitis and pneumonia. Almost at once I was put into a small room with another boy who was also very ill. He died and I nearly did. My main memory of my stay at the hospital was that the night-nurses used to get together in my room and play cards and chat. Keeping the light on and keeping me awake when I was seriously ill didn't bother them. When I had recovered I was sent home for a few weeks and missed a term. When I returned to school, I was sent to bed early because of my illness, and so managed to get a brief period alone every day. Later on, when I went into the senior part of the school I was allowed to go to the school library by myself, which was a great improvement.

The day I left the school, the headmaster said good bye and asked whether it was a sad day for me. I replied that it was the happiest day of my life. He said I would come to think of my time at the school very differently. I said that I was sure that I would not. Though I have had unhappy days since that day, I have found that my conclusions then – that nothing afterwards could ever be so bad as boarding school- have been proved true.

Guess the meaning of the word 'a disaster' in line 2:

What happened to the boy in the middle of the first term?

Who was in the room of the hospital?

What did the night-nurses do?

When the boy had recovered he…

When the boy returned to school, he…

When he went into the senior part of the school he… 

What happened to the boy on the day he left school?

Give evidence to support the conclusion:

I hated almost every day of my time at the boarding school because…

Read the text and then do the tasks.

A Laconic Answer

The Lacons lived in that part of Southern Greece which was called Laconia. The people who lived there were very brave. They loved their Motherland and defended it from all the enemies. Everybody knew that their life was very simple. They tried to follow the laws of their country and never spoke long. "The shorter the better," was their rule. "Never use more words than you need," was another rule. And nowadays as you probably know a very short answer is often called a laconic answer, because the Lacons usually gave such short answers.

In Northern Greece there was a land called Macedonia. The King Philip ruled there. He was not very clever and he was not very brave, but he wanted to become the king of all Greece. So, he collected a great army and soon he became the master of all Greece. Only Laconia was not conquered. Then the King Philip wrote a letter and sent it to the brave Lacons. The letter said: "If I win the battle with your army, I will become your king and ruin your great city."

A few days later an answer was brought back to him. The King Philip found only one word in it. The word was very short, and that was "If".

1. Where was Laconia situated?

What kind of people lived there?

What were the rules of the people who lived in Laconia?

What kind of life did the Lacons have?

Who ruled Macedonia?

Where was Macedonia situated?

What kind of man was Philip?

What did the King Philip want?

What part of Greece was not conquered by Philip?

What did he write to the Lacons in his letter?

What answer did he get?

How do we call a very short answer nowadays?