10/12/2020
Card 7: reading
I. 1. Read
the story and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.
The Condemned Room1
Dear
Mom,
I
am working very hard on cleaning my room. But I want to go to Katy’s this
afternoon to work on our Halloween costumes. Can I finish tomorrow? I would get
up early and do it before breakfast and I’ll do a good job. Please, write back.
Love, The Prisoner in Tower # 3
Dear Prisoner, No.
Love, Mom.
For
days Sam’s mother never came up to her room. And then one day Sam came home
from school and found the Condemned sign on her door. Her mother had made the
sign. It said: “The room is condemned. Its owner may not go anywhere or do
anything until the area is restored”. In other words, Sam was to stay in until
she cleaned her room.
It
wasn’t fair. She was always getting the Condemned sign. Her brother hardly ever
did. And his room was really disgusting, with posters of rock stars and
basketball stars and movie stars wearing tiny bikinis covering every inch of
his walls. But, her mother pointed out, his floor was clean and his desk as
well. That was all she cared about.
Sam had been in her room for three hours now. She sat
on the floor, looking at everything she was supposed to be putting away. It was
possible she might be there all day. There were her clothes, lying high on her
chair and overflowing onto the floor. Dirty shoes. An umbrella from when it
rained on Tuesday. Library books. Magazines with pictures of cool teenmovie
stars that Rebecca had given her. Her piano music from yesterday’s lesson. And
different little things: nail polish remover, cotton balls, a tennisball, a
note pad from Katy, rocks from rock collection they were making for science,
pencils, chewing gum. And about twelve dirty handkerchiefs.
The
thing to do, Sam decided, was sort everything into piles. A pile of dirty
laundry, a pile of her dresser drawers, a pile to throw away. That was how her
father, the organization man, would do it. She sighed. It was impossible to
imagine she couldn’t leave her room all weekend. She decided to paint her finger
nails instead.
1
a condemned room [kənˈdemd ˈruːm] комната, признанная небезопасной для проживания
2. The author tells us about her brother’s room. Find this
extract and read it aloud.
3. What made Sam’s Mum write a message?
4. Is Sam going to clean the room? Why do you think so?
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