Explicit and Inferred
RL.4.1
Read the text, then answer the questions.
The Water Came Up (told by Nell)
I was the one who said it was nothing. The river had been over the path before. Twice that winter. Both times it went down by morning, so when Dad started moving the boxes upstairs I told him he was making a fuss. I went to bed. At two o'clock I woke because my slippers were floating. Everything after that is in pieces. Dad on the stairs with the cat. Water the colour of tea. The sound the fridge made when it went over. We sat on the landing until it got light. Nobody said anything about the boxes. That was worse than if they had.
- 1. Why was the silence about the boxes worse than blame?
- 2. How many times had the river been over the path that winter?
- 3. Where did the family sit until it got light?
Low Water
Stanza one: Twice a day the sea walks out and leaves the harbour standing, the boats set down on their own keels like birds that have stopped landing. Stanza two: The mud shines. Old anchors show, a bicycle, a broken chain, the whole forgotten underneath made briefly plain. Stanza three: Then, without a sound at all, it turns and starts to come. The bicycle goes under first. The harbour lifts. The boats go dumb.
- 1. Why does the bicycle go under first?
- 2. How often does the sea go out?
- 3. What goes under first when the tide turns?
LessonPrint · RL.4.1 · Set 22 · free to copy for classroom use