Part 5

You are going to read a story that took place in a park. For questions 31-36, choose the answer (А, В, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.

The pencil feels good in my hand again; an old friend. The recent weeks in hospital disappear as I move it across the blank page. I’m feeling content and in my element; one of those rare moments when you just feel pure joy at being where you are. I can hear the twins squabbling behind the bench, on the grass. ‘I won!’ Melia. Triumphant. ‘No, you didn’t! I did.’ Katie. Cross. ‘You can’t do that!’ ‘I just did!’ Then the inevitable, ‘That’s so not fair! Mummee…’ I can see without looking – the cards thrown down in anger on the grass, and I can feel the air tremble with Katie’s growing bad temper.

But my mind is distracted for a moment as a shadow falls over my sketchbook. A tall, slim woman in a white dress seats herself beside me on the bench and I give an apology, quickly sweeping some empty sticky chocolate bar wrappers from the twins’ picnic into my bag. She says nothing, but sits, erect, staring straight in front of her at the tree I’m sketching. It’s difficult to assess her age behind the dark glasses. About 55? I carry on sketching, trying to ignore the battle going on between my children. The lady in white will soon discover that she’s chosen the wrong park bench to sit on this sunny, Sunday afternoon.

And it kicks off. A screech from Katie. I don’t need to turn. ‘Melia – give Katie back her cards! Play nicely. Or NO ICE CREAM.’ Silence and I turn to the woman, to offer an apology for my children doing what children do, but she’s still staring at my tree. Then I notice something that gives me a little shock. Her fifty-or-so year-old fingers are curling tightly around a white leather bag on her lap and the ring on her third finger flashes briefly in the sunshine. It’s large, multi-coloured. I remember that ring. It flashed in front of me every time she ripped a page from my sketchbook in Year 10 art class. I used to focus on it as she humiliated my artistic attempts in front of the group, hoping that my burning cheeks would cool before I had to turn to face my classmates again.

We all have our trials as a teenager, and mine was that I blushed far more easily than anyone else. Anything could set me off, not understanding a joke, a comment about my hair, everyone looking at me when I was asked a question. I just got hot and went deep pink. And of course, my classmates played on it – they thought I was hilarious. Teachers, for the most part, were sympathetic. The woman in white wasn’t one of them.

‘Miss Davenport?’ I say in a small voice. The head turns and I see my reflection in the glasses, still pale from my illness. The ring flashes again as she removes them, and I’m looking directly into the cold, blue eyes I remember so well. They drop very briefly to my sketchbook and then look back at me. ‘Susan Grant,’ she states and her lips twist as though my name tastes nasty. ‘I should have known. No talent then and no talent now. It looks like a pineapple.’ And I can’t help it. I’m back in art class and my cheeks are on fire. I automatically cover my sketchbook so that she can’t rip the page out. But, of course, she doesn’t. She stands and turns to find another bench, one without squabbling toddlers or untalented ex-students. As she turns, I notice, with a naughty pleasure, that I’d missed a chocolate wrapper and her perfectly white skirt has a dark brown mark on the back. My cheeks cool immediately.

‘That’s a pretty tree mummy,’ Katie clambers onto the bench. Then she sees Miss Davenport’s retreating back. Then she states in that loud voice that four-year-olds have, ‘That lady’s got a dirty skirt!’ Miss Davenport turns, surprised. So do the people on the opposite bench. I see two pink spots appear on her cheeks and I think, ‘Yes!’

31 In the first paragraph the writer is
A unaware of her children’s disagreement.
B frustrated by a medical problem.
C engaged in a familiar activity.
D angry that she cannot concentrate.

32 What does the writer suggest about the woman on the bench?
A She shouldn’t wear white in a park.
B She may regret choosing to rest there.
C She is angry about the twins’ behaviour.
D She looks young for her age.

33 What is the significance of the ring on the woman’s hand?
A The writer admires its beauty.
B It brings back bad memories for the writer.
C The writer drew it when she was in art class.
D It looks too small for the woman’s finger.

34 What does underlined ‘it’ refer to in paragraph 4?
A telling jokes about the writer
B the way the writer styles her hair
C laughing at the writer’s discomfort
D seeing the writer blush

35 What do we learn about Miss Davenport in paragraph 5?
A she regrets how she treated the writer at school
B she doesn’t appreciate the writer’s effort at drawing
C she has no interest in the past
D she has no time for art these days

36 How does the writer feel at the end of the extract?
A pleased that Miss Davenport is embarrassed
B proud of her sketch of the tree
C glad that she’s conquered her habit of blushing
D relieved that Miss Davenport is leaving the park

Click to download this FCE Reading and Use of English worksheet in PDF