Comprehension Passage- In The Dark Tower (Taken from 'Kidnapped' by R.L.Stevenson)
IN THE DARK TOWER (Adapted from KIDNAPPED by R.L. Stevenson)
“Bring me the chest that’s at the top of the stairs,” he said.
“Can I have a light, Sir?” said I.
“No,” said he, very cunningly. “ There will be no lights in my house.”
Out I went into the night. It had become darker than ever. I was glad to feel along the wall till I came to the door at the far end of the unfinished wing. I opened the door and stepped into the tower.
It was so dark inside, it seemed I could hardly breathe.
I began to feel my way in the dark. The steps were steep and narrow, but regular and solid. I kept close to the tower side and felt my way in the pitch darkness with a beating heart.
The house of Shaws stood full five storeys high. As I advanced, it seemed to me the stair grew airier. A sudden streak of lightning showed me that the steps were of unequal length. I got down on my hands and knees. As slowly as a snail, feeling every inch before me, and testing every stone, I continued to climb the stair.
Soon I came to a turn in the tower. When I felt forward as usual, my hand slipped on an edge and found only emptiness beyond it.
The stair had not been completed.
To set a stranger climbing it in the darkness was to send him straight to his death.
I was sure that my uncle was trying to kill me.
Thanks to the lightning and my own carefulness, I was safe.
Questions:
1. Who said these words, “Bring me the chest that’s at the top of the stairs,?"
2. Where was the narrator living at this time?
3. Why did the narrator get down on his hands and knees?
4. Was the narrator careful? How do you know?
5. How did the narrator find out that his uncle was trying to kill him?
6. What kept the narrator safe?
Answers
1. The narrator's uncle said the words.
2. the narrator was living in the house of Shaws.
3. The narrator got down on his hands and knees to keep himself safe as a streak of lightning had shown him that the stairs were on unequal length.
4. The narrator was careful. The line 'As slowly as a snail, feeling every inch before me, and testing every stone, I continued to climb the stair.' tells us so.
5. The narrator's uncle had sent him climbing up a high stairway that had not been completed and had refused to give him a light. The narrator realized this only when he reached the empty space at the top of the stairs.
6. It was the lightning and the narrator's carefulness that kept him safe.
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