Tom Sawyer – Part Twenty-two
Before you read the text, read the following comprehension questions.
Now read the text and answer the questions.
"Say, Hucky, when you going to try the cat?"
"Tonight. I reckon they'll come after old Hoss Williams tonight."
"But they buried him Saturday. Didn't they get him Saturday night?"
"Don’t be silly! How could their spells work until midnight? - and THEN it's
Sunday. Devils don't hang around much on a Sunday, I don't reckon."
"I never thought of that. That's right. Let me go with you?"
"Of course. If you’re not afraid."
"Afraid! Don’t be silly. Will you make a ‘meow’ noise?"
"Yes, and you ‘meow’ back, if you get a chance. Last time, you had me meowing
around until old Hays started throwing rocks at me and he said 'Damn that cat!'
and so I threw a brick through his window, but don't you dare tell on me."
"I won't. I couldn't ‘meow’ that night, because auntie was watching me, but I'll
‘meow’ this time. Hey, what's that?"
"Nothing. Only a tick."
"Where'd you get him?"
"Out in the forest."
"What’ll you take for him?"
"I don't know. I don't want to sell him."
"All right. It's a very small tick, anyway."
"Oh, anybody can run a tick down that doesn't belong to them. I'm satisfied with
it. It's a good enough tick for me."
"Oh, there's loads of ticks. I could have a thousand of them if I wanted to."
"Well, why don't you? Because you know very well you can't. This is a pretty
early tick, I reckon. It's the first one I've seen this year."
"Hey, Huck, I'll give you my tooth for him."
"Less see it."
Tom got out a bit of paper and carefully unrolled it. Huckleberry looked at it
enviously. The temptation was very strong. At last he said:
"Is it genuine?"
Tom lifted up his lip and showed the gap.
"Well, all right," said Huckleberry, "it's a trade."
Tom put the tick in the little box that had recently been the pinchbug's prison,
and the boys separated, each feeling wealthier than before.
... to be continued!
* The text has been adapted from the Adventures
of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain
Download the
original book for free
*Consulta
un PDF con la información y resumen de 100 libros en inglés
que puedes descargar en 1 único archivo.
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Now read the text and answer the questions.
When Tom arrived at the little isolated
schoolhouse, he walked in quickly, giving the impression that he had come as
fast as he could.
He hung his hat on a peg and threw himself into his seat with businesslike
enthusiasm. The teacher, sitting high up on his large arm-chair, was sleeping.
The interruption disturbed him.
"Thomas Sawyer!"
Tom knew that when his name was pronounced in full, it meant trouble.
"Sir!"
"Come up here. Now, why are you late again, as usual?"
Tom was about to lie, when he saw two long tails of yellow hair hanging down a
back that he recognized with a feeling of love. It was THE ONLY VACANT PLACE on
the girls' side of the schoolhouse. He instantly said:
"I STOPPED TO TALK WITH HUCKLEBERRY FINN!"
The master's pulse stood still, and he stared helplessly. The buzz of study
stopped. The pupils wondered if this silly boy had lost his mind. The master
said:
"You……you did what?"
"Stopped to talk with Huckleberry Finn."
There was no mistaking the words.
"Thomas Sawyer, this is the most amazing confession I have ever listened to. You
will pay for this offence. Take off your jacket."
The teacher's arm came down on Tom until it was tired and the number of hits
gradually decreased. Then came the order:
"Now, sir, go and sit with the girls! And let this be a warning to you."
The laughter that spread around the room appeared to embarrass Tom, but in
reality that result was caused more by his complete admiration of the unknown
girl and the frightening pleasure that this piece of good luck promised.
He sat down on the end of the bench and the girl moved herself away from him
with a toss of her head.
Nudges and winks and whispers ran around the room, but Tom sat still, with his
arms on the long, low desk in front of him, and seemed to study his book.
Eventually, attention moved away from Tom, and familiar classroom sounds filled
the air once more.
Soon the boy began to look over at the girl. She noticed it, "made a mouth" at
him and showed him the back of her head for the space of a minute.
When she cautiously turned around again, a peach was in front of her. She pushed
it away. Tom gently put it back. She pushed it away again, but with less
animosity.
Tom patiently returned it to its place. Then she let it remain. Tom wrote
quickly in his book, "Please take it. I’ve got more."
The girl looked at the words, but made no sign. Now the boy began to draw
something, hiding his work with his left hand. For a time the girl refused to
notice, but her human curiosity soon got the better of her.
The boy continued working. The girl made a sort of noncommittal attempt to see,
but the boy did not show that he was aware of it.
At last she gave in and hesitatingly whispered: "Let me see it."
Tom partly uncovered a bad cartoon of a house with a corkscrew of smoke coming
from the chimney. Then the girl's interest began to focus itself on the work and
she forgot everything else.
When it was finished, she looked for a moment, then whispered: "It's nice, make
a man."
The artist put a man in the front garden, that looked like an oil rig. He could
have stepped over the house, but the girl was not critical. She was satisfied
with the monster, and whispered:
"It's a beautiful man. Now make me coming along."
Tom drew a matchstick figure with a moon-shaped head and put a fan in its
fingers. The girl said: "It's ever so nice, I wish I could draw."
"It's easy," whispered Tom, "I'll teach you."
"Oh, will you? When?"
"At noon. Do you go home to dinner?"
"I'll stay if you will."
"Good! that's a deal. What's your name?"
"Becky Thatcher. What's yours? Oh, I know. It's Thomas Sawyer."
"That's the name they call me by. I'm Tom when I'm good. You call me Tom, will
you?"
"Yes."
Now Tom began to write something on the paper, hiding the words from the girl.
But she was not shy this time. She begged to see. Tom said: "Oh, it’s nothing
really."
"Yes it is."
"No it’s not. You don't want to see."
"Yes I do, indeed I do. Please let me."
"You'll tell."
"No I won't. I promise. Honestly I won’t"
"You won't tell anybody at all? Ever, as long as you live?"
"No, I won't ever tell ANYbody. Now let me see."
"Oh, YOU don't want to see!"
"If you behave like that, I WILL see." And she put her small hand upon his and a
little fight followed. Tom pretending to resist but letting his hand move slowly
until these words were revealed:
"I LOVE YOU."
"Oh, you bad thing!" And she hit his hand, but blushed and looked pleased,
nevertheless.
Suddenly, the boy felt a slow, fateful grip closing on his ear, and a steady
lifting motion. He was pulled across the room in this position and placed in his
own seat, under a wave of laughter from the whole class.
Then the teacher stood over him during a few awful moments, and finally moved
away to his huge chair without saying a word.
But although Tom's ear hurt, his heart was happy.
As the class quieted down Tom made an honest effort to study, but the feelings
inside him was too great.
Later, he took his place in the reading class and made a mess of it. Then in the
geography class and turned lakes into mountains, mountains into rivers, and
rivers into continents, until chaos was back again.
Then in the spelling class, and got fooled by a succession of baby words.
Eventually, he had to give up the medal which he had worn with such pride for
months.
... to be continued!
* The text has been adapted from the Adventures
of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain
Download the
original book for free
*Consulta
un PDF con la información y resumen de 100 libros en inglés
que puedes descargar en 1 único archivo.
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|
|
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