Improve Your Skills Of Reading With This Sbjct..!

Read The Text Carfully Then answer The Questions Below:
Mc Kercher was big and bony and grey and his eyes could cut . They were
that penetrating, as everybody agreed. "Been a long time since you came to
town. Sit down and have a talk," and his glance saw more about Joe Blount
than the homesteader (1) himself could ever tell.
"How's Christmas Creek?"
Blount settled in the chair. He said, "Why, just fine ," and laid his
hands over the hat in his lap. Weather had darkened him and work had thinned
him and gravity remained like a stain on his cheeks. He was, Mc Kercher
recalled, about thirty years old and had married a girl from a small ranch over
in the Yellows. Thirty wasn't so old, yet the country was having its way with
Joe Blount. When he dropped (his head) the skin around his neck formed a loose
crease (2) and his mouth had that half-severe expression which comes from too
much trouble. This was what Mc Kercher saw. This and the blue army shirt,
washed and mended until it was as thin as cotton, and the man's long hard hands
lying so loose before him.
Mc Kercher said, "A little dry over your way ?"
"Oh," said Blount, "a little. Yeah , a little bit dry."
The banker sat back and waited, and the silence ran on a long while. Blount
moved around in the chair and lifted his hand and reversed the hat on his lap.
His eyes touched Mc Kercher and passed quickly on to the ceiling. He stirred
again, not comfortable.
"Something on your mind, Joe?"

"Why," said Blount, "Hester and I have figured it out pretty
close. It would take about three hundred dollars until next crop. Don't see how
it could be less. There'd be seed and salt for stock and grub to put in and I
guess some clothes for the kids. Seems like a lot but we can't seem to (figure
it any smaller)."
"A loan ?" said Mc Kercher.
"Why, yes," said Blount, relieved that the explaining was over.
"Now let's see. You've got another year to go before you get title to your
place. So that's no security. How was your wheat ?"
"Burned out. No rain over there in April."
"How much stock ?"
"Well, not much. Just two cows. I sold off last fall. The graze was pretty
skinny." He looked at Mc Kercher and said in the briefest way, "I got
nothing to cover this loan. But I'm a pretty good worker. "

Mc Kercher turned his eyes toward the desk. There wasn't much to be seen behind
the cropped grey whiskers of his face. According to the country this was why he
wore them - so that a man could never tell what he figured. But his shoulders
rose and dropped and he spoke regretfully : "There's no show for you on
that ranch, Joe. Dry-farming (3) - it won't do. All you fellows are burned out.
This country was (never meant for it). It's cattle land and that's about
all."
He let it go like that, and waited for the homesteader to come back with a
better argument. Only, there was no argument. Joe Blount's lips changed a little
and his hands flattened on the peak of his hat. He said in a slow, mild voice.
"Well, I can see it your way all right," and got up. Mc Kercher,
looking straight into the man's eyes, saw an expression there hard to define.
The banker shook his head. Direct refusal was on his tongue and it wasn't like
him to postpone it, which he did. "I'll think it over. Come back about two
o'clock."


Ernest
HAYCOX, A Day In Town,1950 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



(1) Homesteader : farmer owning a piece of public land for cultivation
and improvement..


(2) Crease: a line or mark made by or as if by folding or
wrinkling


(3)
Dry-farming : method of
growing crops in arid regions.
_________________________________________________________________________
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Questions*





1 - What were the respective occupations of the
following characters :

* JOE BLOUNT : *Mc KERCHER :


2 - The two main characters know each other. YES or NO
?
- Justify.
---------------------------



3 - What was the purpose of Joe Blount's visit ?


1- He
wanted to buy cattle, because he had got only two cows.

2- He
needed to borrow money because he was facing difficulties.

3- He
was seeking a new job.
--------------------------------


4 - What cause (or causes) account for Blount's
problems ? (Underline one in the list, and justify your choice by quoting from
the text).

FIRE - DISEASE - COLD - SHORTAGE OF RAIN WATER - HIGH
RATES OF INTEREST
----------------------------------


5- What (or who) do the following words refer to ?


a) his ( in "his head" : 2^nd prgrph)
:


b) it ( in "figure it any smaller" : 3^rd prgrph) :

c)
for it ( in "never meant for it" : the b-last paragraph)
:
------------------------------


6 - Pick out three details in the passage showing Joe's poverty.

1)

2)

3)
-----------------------------------


7- Read the following lines taken from the text :


a) "His eyes could cut"b) "There wasn't much to be seen behind the cropped grey whiskers."c) "Direct refusal was on his tongue, and it wasn't like him to postpone
it."



* Write the correct letter (a, b, c or, nothing) in the appropriate box.

- It
was impossible to know what he had in mind.

- He
was used to making quick decisions.

- He knew his clients well.

- He was intimidating.


What sort of life was he leading, and how did he
affect his physical appearance ? (Give 2 examples).

1)

2)



9) Give a title to the TxT
Good Luck

WOW.... I like it..

Enjoy..!

Apparently no one gives a sh#t even after all this time.