English Homework

Reading 1: A son writes...

Last week I asked my Mum if I could go to a rock festival. `No', she said, `the music will be too loud ... there'll be crowds of people ... you won't know anybody ...’ These excuses were so lame I decided there was some other secret reason why she didn't want me to go. After all, this is the first time my mum has ever shown any concern about the dangers of loud music.

I think the real reason Mum is worried about my going to the festival is that my friends and I will have to survive by ourselves for a couple of days. This might not sound like much of a challenge, but surviving means preparing food as well as eating it, putting tents up as well as sleeping in them...

Mum has obviously realized that if I went to the festival I would soon find out how totally dependent on her I am. And once I realized how incapable I am of surviving on my own, I would never leave home again. Then Mum would have a pathetic teenager / adult under her feet for the rest of her life.

QUESTIONS

1. Answer the following questions using your own words. (2 points: 1 point each)

a) Why did the son find it difficult to believe the excuses that his mum gave him?

Because He believes those excuses were so lame; for example, It was the first time his mum has ever shown any concern about the dangers of loud music.

b) What does he think she is really worried about?

He thinks the real reason his mum is worried about his going to the festival is that his friends and He will have to survive by themselves for a couple of days.

2. Are the following statements true (T) or false (F)? (1 point: 0.5 each)

a) The mother doesn't like music festivals. (F)

b) If the son had gone to the festival, he would have slept in a youth hostel. (V)

3. Find a word or phrase in the text which, in context, is similar in meaning to: (1 point: 0.5 each)

a) Continue to live or exist: Survive.

b) Difficult task: Challenge.

4. Choose a, b, or c, in each question below. Only one choice is correct. (2 points: 0.5 each)

1. According to the writer, his mother refused to let him go to the festival because...

a) She knew something secret about the festival.

b) She wanted to go with him but she couldn't.

c) She imagined the future consequences of letting him go.

2. The son wanted to go to the festival for...

a) two days with his friends.

b) two days alone.

c) a couple of weekends.

3. The mother realized that...

a) She was very dependent on her son.

b) Her son would leave home.

c) Her son would realize how difficult life without her would be.

4. The mother seems not to want...

a) Her son to leave home.

b) Her son to become a pathetic person forever.

...