SELF-TEST 1
CARROTS
The Little haunted house in Ang Mo Kio was as cosy a home as a ghost could want. Carrots couldn’t remember when he had move in, but had been happy there than most humans can imagine. Until a day when a school moved into the neighbourhood.
Carrots liked children. He had been a small red-headed boy once, which is when he got the name Carrots. (He couldn’t even remember what his real name was).
Carrots problems began when a few of the children spotted the little house, and what was worse, spotted Carrots! He was just haunting the corner of the verandah one evening, watching the children go by, when suddenly one of them exclaimed, “Look, up there! It’s a ghost!”
“No, it’s not,” said a little girl with short hair. “It’s a red-haired boy.”
“It’s a ghost!” insisted the first child. “Look Margaret, you can see right through him!”
In a minute, the children were all running down the lane as though a ghost was after them. He wasn’t actually; Carrots was too surprised to move from his spot.
The next evening, the children were back. Margaret led a small group right up to the gate and pointed at the verandah. “Right there,” Carrots heard her tell her friends. “He was right there.”
“Just rubbish,” said Margaret. “Linda saw him fist. He was just there.
Carrots thought he would avoid the verandah for now. He went round to the back of the house and settled into a small tree. But the children had seen him. “There he is. There. See, I wasn’t kidding!” said Margaret, and they all raced round the side of the house for a better look. They didn’t leave until it was too dark to see.
The next evening was worse. “I dare you, Margaret,” Carrots heard. “I’am not scared, Robert.” Replied Margaret. In a minute , she had climbed over the gate and was in the garden. Then all the children warmed over the gate, with some trying the door of the house itself.
Carrots was miserable. He knew he would have to think of something, or they would come right in. He would have to scare them off. He really didn’t want to do it. It wasn’t neighbourly. It wasn’t nice. It wasn’t ghost friendly! Goodness me, it could give a ghost a bad reputation. But unless he wanted a noisy gaggle of children trashing his house, he would have to scare them off.
Luckily, the children found the door of the house locked, and starred to head for home.
The next evening, when the children came by once again, Carrots came by once again. Carrots was ready. He popped out from behind a bush and wailed eerily. He waved his arms and stood between the children and the lights on the street so they could see right through him. He shrieked loudly.
“Listen to that!” said Robert. “He sounds like my cat when my sister grabbed her tail.
“He sounds like he has a bad tummy ache.” Said Margaret. “My baby brother sounds like that when he has colic.”
“Maybe he wants us to leave?” suggested Linda. “No, why should he care? Look, you can see right through him,”
Carrots retired. Defeated. The children left.
A week later, it was even worse. He screams sometimes,” Robert told a group that included several new faces. “Maybe we should scream first.” Soon all the children were gathered in the front garden, screaming like enthusiastic banshees.
Carrots knew he’d have to take extreme measures. Fight fire with fire. This would be more dangerous than wailing. Someone might call the Fire Department. Still, he had no choice.
He made a small fireball and threw it across the garden. The children stopped shrieking and stepped back. Yes, that’s it, thought Carrrots. He threw a jagged line of ghost fire.
“Wow!” said Margaret. “ Fireworks!”
Carrots got a strange sinking feeling Fireworks?
By the end of the month, Carrots was desperate. His garden was littered with Coke cans and candy wrappers. It seemed as if Singapore’s ant-litter laws ended at his front gate. The children screamed every evening. They played with matches and lit candles to get him to repeat the “fireworks.”
Carrots began to realise that he would have to leave his nice home. But where could he go? Proper haunted houses were not easy to find. And most of them were already occupied.
If they keep coming to my place, I will go to theirs! He thought. And so the next night, Carrots floated out of his garden down the avenue, and over to the new school. He let himself in through a keyhole, and drifted over to a strange looking box with a little green light on it. Someone had left a computer turned on.” Carrots slid through the side and merged into the operating system.
He was dazzled. Suddenly he had a whole new world to play in.
The next day, when the children logged in, Carrots watched from inside the computed/ He made some words on the screen. The children were delighted.
“The computer said “Hello’!”
“It says, ‘I’ m Carrots.”
“Type in “Hello Carrots. I’m Jenny’ and see what happens.”
In a minute, Carrots was happily in conversation with the children. It took him a day or so to make friends with them, and then another to explain his problem.
Margaret, Robert,” and Linda were sorry.
“No more mess” Said Robert.
“Strict visiting hours,” said Margaret.
“Only five visitors at a time,” said Linda.
“Okay,” agreed Carrots. “Then I’ll do the fireworks once a month and wail on Wednesday s.”
STOP YOUR TIMER NOW!
Length of time: ____________ min
Next, calculate your reading speed in words per minute (wpm) by dividing the number of words in the passage (in this case, 937) by the time (in minutes) you took.
Words per minute (wpm) = number of words / time
When you have completed your calculation, enter the number in the wpm slot in the progress chart and also enter it on the progress graph.
Words per minute: ___________
CARROTS
The Little haunted house in Ang Mo Kio was as cosy a home as a ghost could want. Carrots couldn’t remember when he had move in, but had been happy there than most humans can imagine. Until a day when a school moved into the neighbourhood.
Carrots liked children. He had been a small red-headed boy once, which is when he got the name Carrots. (He couldn’t even remember what his real name was).
Carrots problems began when a few of the children spotted the little house, and what was worse, spotted Carrots! He was just haunting the corner of the verandah one evening, watching the children go by, when suddenly one of them exclaimed, “Look, up there! It’s a ghost!”
“No, it’s not,” said a little girl with short hair. “It’s a red-haired boy.”
“It’s a ghost!” insisted the first child. “Look Margaret, you can see right through him!”
In a minute, the children were all running down the lane as though a ghost was after them. He wasn’t actually; Carrots was too surprised to move from his spot.
The next evening, the children were back. Margaret led a small group right up to the gate and pointed at the verandah. “Right there,” Carrots heard her tell her friends. “He was right there.”
“Just rubbish,” said Margaret. “Linda saw him fist. He was just there.
Carrots thought he would avoid the verandah for now. He went round to the back of the house and settled into a small tree. But the children had seen him. “There he is. There. See, I wasn’t kidding!” said Margaret, and they all raced round the side of the house for a better look. They didn’t leave until it was too dark to see.
The next evening was worse. “I dare you, Margaret,” Carrots heard. “I’am not scared, Robert.” Replied Margaret. In a minute , she had climbed over the gate and was in the garden. Then all the children warmed over the gate, with some trying the door of the house itself.
Carrots was miserable. He knew he would have to think of something, or they would come right in. He would have to scare them off. He really didn’t want to do it. It wasn’t neighbourly. It wasn’t nice. It wasn’t ghost friendly! Goodness me, it could give a ghost a bad reputation. But unless he wanted a noisy gaggle of children trashing his house, he would have to scare them off.
Luckily, the children found the door of the house locked, and starred to head for home.
The next evening, when the children came by once again, Carrots came by once again. Carrots was ready. He popped out from behind a bush and wailed eerily. He waved his arms and stood between the children and the lights on the street so they could see right through him. He shrieked loudly.
“Listen to that!” said Robert. “He sounds like my cat when my sister grabbed her tail.
“He sounds like he has a bad tummy ache.” Said Margaret. “My baby brother sounds like that when he has colic.”
“Maybe he wants us to leave?” suggested Linda. “No, why should he care? Look, you can see right through him,”
Carrots retired. Defeated. The children left.
A week later, it was even worse. He screams sometimes,” Robert told a group that included several new faces. “Maybe we should scream first.” Soon all the children were gathered in the front garden, screaming like enthusiastic banshees.
Carrots knew he’d have to take extreme measures. Fight fire with fire. This would be more dangerous than wailing. Someone might call the Fire Department. Still, he had no choice.
He made a small fireball and threw it across the garden. The children stopped shrieking and stepped back. Yes, that’s it, thought Carrrots. He threw a jagged line of ghost fire.
“Wow!” said Margaret. “ Fireworks!”
Carrots got a strange sinking feeling Fireworks?
By the end of the month, Carrots was desperate. His garden was littered with Coke cans and candy wrappers. It seemed as if Singapore’s ant-litter laws ended at his front gate. The children screamed every evening. They played with matches and lit candles to get him to repeat the “fireworks.”
Carrots began to realise that he would have to leave his nice home. But where could he go? Proper haunted houses were not easy to find. And most of them were already occupied.
If they keep coming to my place, I will go to theirs! He thought. And so the next night, Carrots floated out of his garden down the avenue, and over to the new school. He let himself in through a keyhole, and drifted over to a strange looking box with a little green light on it. Someone had left a computer turned on.” Carrots slid through the side and merged into the operating system.
He was dazzled. Suddenly he had a whole new world to play in.
The next day, when the children logged in, Carrots watched from inside the computed/ He made some words on the screen. The children were delighted.
“The computer said “Hello’!”
“It says, ‘I’ m Carrots.”
“Type in “Hello Carrots. I’m Jenny’ and see what happens.”
In a minute, Carrots was happily in conversation with the children. It took him a day or so to make friends with them, and then another to explain his problem.
Margaret, Robert,” and Linda were sorry.
“No more mess” Said Robert.
“Strict visiting hours,” said Margaret.
“Only five visitors at a time,” said Linda.
“Okay,” agreed Carrots. “Then I’ll do the fireworks once a month and wail on Wednesday s.”
STOP YOUR TIMER NOW!
Length of time: ____________ min
Next, calculate your reading speed in words per minute (wpm) by dividing the number of words in the passage (in this case, 937) by the time (in minutes) you took.
Words per minute (wpm) = number of words / time
When you have completed your calculation, enter the number in the wpm slot in the progress chart and also enter it on the progress graph.
Words per minute: ___________
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