ACTIVITY 381: Quickly
read Milos Grapsas' story about his first experience of being away from
home. Choose the most appropriate title from the menu and then,
check the correct answer. Don't worry if there
are some words you don't know: you should be able to get the general
idea without needing to use your dictionary.
1
Now you want to
read about my ghost story. Well, in fact, I'm not consciously telling a story, I'm not embroidering anything,
I'll simply tell you how it happened. And it's not a story that I often
tell because I don't want people to think that I'm some kind of
spiritualist or medium or some kind of spooky person.
2
I was young. I was an undergraduate, probably about 20.
Now, the
college where I was studying had two residences, in fact they were
both in medieval castles. And I was living in one of these castles.
I had a room along one of the corridors.
3
Now I suppose this had been converted
into student accommodation. It was medieval so it must have been
some long gallery or something in the 14th century and I don't know what kind of
rooms they would be. But it was probably in the early hours of the morning,
must have been one o'clock, two o'clock in the morning and I woke up and I was
aware that the room was terribly cold. I can't remember if it was winter or not
but in any case the heating would be on so it shouldn't be cold.
4
And then I was
aware of a shape, a stooped figure, not far from my bed but standing or maybe
even sitting, maybe sitting with its head bent down, not moving, not far
from the end of my bed. And I didn't feel afraid although I was aware of a
presence there and I merely stared at it, looked at it for what seemed a long
time but may not have been more than a minute or two.
5
And, I mean certainly the
creature or whatever didn't speak or didn't sigh or it wasn't weeping or
anything, and then it rose and sort of glided out of the room, not
opening the door but just passing straight through the door. And I didn't feel
at all afraid because I didn't feel at all threatened.
6
And I hadn't known before then that there was a ghost associated
with that building and the story was that perhaps - now which century would it
be? -perhaps in the 16th century, perhaps at the time of the Dissolution of the
Monasteries and the adopting of the Anglican faith as opposed to the
Church of Rome.
7
And I heard that a young bride or wife who had married
into this noble family who had the castle at that time had refused to change her
faith, had refused to give up Catholicism and as a punishment or to make
her change her faith she had been walled up, immured.
8
I don't know
whether in fact they intended to get her out when they thought that
her time was up and she would have changed her faith. Anyway she was supposed to
have died and that is the story. So her ghost is supposed to
haunt that place ever after.
ACTIVITY 382:
Now, read carefully all over again. For questions
1-6, choose the answer (A, B, or C) which you think fits best
according to the story. Before looking up a word you don't
understand in your dictionary, decide if you really need to know
what it means. Then check your
answers.
1.
Milos
Grapsas saw the ghost when he was ...
A. living in college accommodation. B. staying overnight in a castle. C. sleeping in a converted hotel.
2.
What did he first notice when he woke
up?
A. the time B. the temperature C. a noise
3.
What was the ghost doing when he saw it?
A. bending over him B. sitting by the
door C. resting motionless
4.
How did
Milos react?
A. He didn't understand what was happening. B. He was too frightened to move. C. He watched the ghost.
5.
How did the ghost leave the room?
A. It rose through the ceiling. B. It moved
through the door. C. It suddenly vanished.
6.
According to
Milos, the ghost belonged to a woman who had been
...
A. murdered for changing her religion. B. cruelly punished by her family. C. married
to a violent husband.
ACTIVITY 383:
Finally, find the words in the story which express
the explanations below. Then check
your answers.
1.
mysterious or suggestive of the supernatural
(PARAGRAPH 1):
2.
belonging to the Middle Ages (PARAGRAPH 2):
3.
enclosed passageway with rooms usually opening
onto it (PARAGRAPH 3):
4.
utility system to warm a building (PARAGRAPH
3):
5.
having the back and shoulders rounded, not erect
(PARAGRAPH 4):
6.
becoming endangered (PARAGRAPH 5):
7.
locked up or confined as in a jail
(PARAGRAPH 7):
8.
pursue or follow constantly (PARAGRAPH 8):
Wow, qué historia misteriosa ha
contado Milos !!! En la página siguiente Mr. Grammar
explicará una gramática que suele complicarnos la vida a los
estudiantes hispano-parlantes: el IMPERSONAL "IT" ...
