E. Read a story. When Danny turned sixteen, his elder brother Peter gave him driving lessons. On their first day, Peter gave the keys to Danny and told him to start up the car.

Danny put the key into the ignition, turned it, pressed the gas pedal, and the car started.

“Well, that was easy!” Danny said happily.

“Don’t be so confident,” Peter warned. ‘Check your mirrors before you back up.”

After Danny looked in both the rearview mirror and the side mirror, he let up on the brake and let his car backward. After they were out of the driveway and onto the street, Peter told Danny to pull up to the curb and stop.

Danny pulled up to the curb. “How’s that?” he asked. “Well, it’s not bad for a first try, but you’re a foot from the curb. Try to pull up closer. You have to learn to judge distance.”

Danny tried again. This time the tires rubbed against the curb.

“Don’t worry. It takes some practice,” Peter assured his brother. ‘Pull away, but be sure you don’t cut anyone off.”

After Danny had driven a few miles, he noticed that they were running out of gas.

“Where’s the nearest gas station, Pete? We have to gas up.”

Peter told Danny to cut across Market Street and to make a left turn onto Kilroy Avenue.

“There’s a gas station on Kilroy,” said Pete.

“Are you sure?” Danny asked, “I think that station closed a month ago.”

“I hope you’re wrong,” said Peter. “There isn’t another gas station near here.”

Danny groaned as he pulled up to the gas station, “Look, Peter! It is closed. Now what do we do?”

Just then, Peter noticed an elderly man jacking up his car next to the gas station. “Let’s see if he needs help,” said Peter.

“We’re the ones who need help!” Danny exclaimed.

They got out of their car and walked over to the old man.

‘Need some help?” Peter asked.

The old man thanked them as he stepped aside to let them change the tire.

“How can I repay you?” the old man asked when they had finished.

“It was nothing. Don’t think anything of it,” Peter replied.

“Well, there is something you could do for us,” Danny began.

“What’s that, young man?” the old man asked curiously.

“You could tell us where we can find a gas station! I’m getting my first driving lesson today and I’ve run out of gas!”

The old man smiled, “You’re luck, son. I have two gallons of gas in the trunk of my car. That’ll be enough to get you across town to the Exscon Gas Station on Jackson Drive.

“Oh, great. Of course, We’ll pay you for the two gallons,” Danny said.

“No, no. I’m glad to help you. It seems that your stopping to help me killed two birds with one stone!” the old man laughed.

F. Put the following statements in chronological order as they happened in the story.

a. … Peter told Danny to pull away from the curb.

b. … Peter told Danny to cut across Market Street.

c. … Peter told Danny to check the mirrors before backing up.

d. … Peter saw the old man jacking up his car.

e. … After checking the mirrors, Danny let up on the brake.

f. … The old man had two gallons of gas in his trunk.

g. … Danny noticed that they were running out of gas.

h. … Peter told Danny to start the car up.

i. … Peter told Danny to pull up to the curb and stop.

j. … Danny said that they needed to gas up.

G. Test

1. The other driver cut me off when

a. he drove past me.

b. he tried to get in line ahead of me.

c. he drove behind me.

2. The store jacked up the prices, so

a. everything was more expensive.

b. everything was less expensive.

c. the customers would be happy.

3. If you back the car up you

a. go forward.

b. stall.

c. go backward.

4. He started the car up after

a. he stepped on the brake.

b. he drove down the hill.

c. he got in.

5. If we don’t gas up now, we might

a. be sick.

b. have an accident.

c. not have enough gas to get there.

6. Roger cut across the field because

a. the grass was too tall.

b. he was in a hurry.

c. he didn’t like the field.

H. Answer the following questions:

1. Have you ever been in an automobile accident? If not, have you ever seen one? What happened?

2. What are some difficult things to learn when you learn to drive a car?

3. In this story, Peter noticed that the old man was jacking his car up by himself so Peter stopped and offered to help. Is it common in your country for motorists to stop and help each other? Has anyone ever stopped to help you?

XX. A. Cars and stars. Which of the adjectives given below can describe people, which can describe cars, which can describe both? Fill in the table.

Lively, curious, spontaneous, efficient, nervous, comfortable, proud, independent, cautious, popular, creative, reliable, optimistic, passionate, irritating, moody, safe.

Date: 2015-12-24; view: 1036