A short story extract

A short story extract

Read a section from a short story to practise and improve your reading skills.

Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and do the exercises.

Preparation

Reading text

Sam squinted against the sun at the distant dust trail raked up by the car on its way up to the Big House. The horses kicked and flicked their tails at flies, not caring about their owner's first visit in ten months. Sam waited. Mr Carter didn't come out here unless he had to, which was just fine by Sam. The more he kept out of his boss's way, the longer he'd have a job.

Carter came by later while Sam was chopping wood. Carter lifted his hat as if he were waiting for an appointment with the town priest, and then removed it completely as if he were talking to his mother. He pulled out a pile of paper from his back pocket and held it out.

'Don't pick up your mail often, do you?'

Sam took it without a glance and dropped the envelopes onto the bench.

'Never,' he replied and waited for Carter to say why he was here. The fact it was Carter's house was no explanation and they both knew it. Carter twisted his hat round and round, licking his lips and clearing his throat.

'Nice work fixing those fences,' he said finally.

'I'll be back to the beginning soon,' Sam said. It wasn't a complaint. A fence that took a year to repair meant another year's work to the man who did it well.

'Don't you ever want to take a holiday?'

'And go where?' A holiday meant being back out in the real world, a place even people like Carter travelled to escape from. Sam's escape was his reality and he wasn't going back.

Mr Carter wiped the sweat from the back of his neck. The damp patches on his shirt drew together like shapes in an atlas. His skin was already turning ruddy in the June sun. Otherwise he had the indoor tan of a man that made money while other people did the work.

'I've brought my son with me on this trip. He's had some trouble at school.' Mr Carter's eyes flicked up, blinked rapidly and then shifted back to the hat occupying his hands. 'Not much trouble out here for a young boy.' He attempted a laugh but it came out like a dog's bark.

The two men looked towards the northern end of the property. It stretched as far as the eye could see. Even the fences were barely visible from where they stood. However bored and rebellious a teenage boy might get, it wasn't possible to escape on foot. Sam looked at the biggest of the horses, kicking at the ground with its heavy hooves. Could the boy ride? he wondered. There was a whole load of trouble a good rider could get into out here, miles away from anyone. But maybe there was even more trouble for someone who knew nothing about horses and wanted to get away from his father.

Task 1

Task 2

Discussion

Download
Worksheet84.91 KB

Language level

Average: 4 (133 votes)
Do you need to improve your English reading skills?
Join thousands of learners from around the world who are improving their English reading skills with our online courses.

Hello Rachelle Underwood

I'm afraid I don't have that information. Sorry!

Best wishes

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Ali Alsari on Thu, 16/04/2020 - 14:34

Permalink
Carter twisted his hat round and round, licking his lips and clearing his throat What this meaning

Hello Ali Alsari,

The sentence describes Carter's actions. He has the hat in his hands and is turning it around, perhaps because he is nervous. He licks his lips because they are dry - another sign of nervousness. Finally, he clears his throat as a way of getting attention before speaking.


Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by jazmin marquez on Sat, 11/04/2020 - 14:35

Permalink
First, I thought that Mr. Carter had brought his son to the farm to teach him a lesson, because life in the country is very difficult and perhaps this would help the young man to be a better person. But, after thinking it over, I belive that Mr. Carter wants to hide and protect his son for something very bad he did.

Submitted by shahhoseini on Fri, 13/03/2020 - 16:59

Permalink
This reading text was very difficult for me. I have to make more effort!
Profile picture for user Smiley1

Submitted by Smiley1 on Sat, 07/03/2020 - 06:18

Permalink
Love this kind of writing with an appropriate length to run through. Hope to read further. ;) By the way, can anyone tell me the meaning of “like shapes in an atlas”?

Hello Smiley1,

Like shapes in an atlas tells us that the damp patches on the man's shirt reminded the speaker of the shapes of countries or continents on a map.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by alsayed on Wed, 04/03/2020 - 18:41

Permalink
The more he kept out of his boss's way, the longer he'd have a job. This style of word order ,what is called ?

Hello alsayed,

The structure has no name that I'm aware of. It's generally referred to as a 'the... the... structure', with an example to clarify.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

I think it's a structure using The+ 2nd degree adjective Eg, in here,more and longer. I suppose you will get more clear if I come up with examples. The longer I stay in the sun, the darker my skin turns. The brighter the sun, the hotter the day. The more books I read, the broader knowledge I get. I am not good at writing or vocabulary or collocates, so sorry If I wrote things wrong.