A private Conversation

Last week I  went too the theatre. I had  very good seat. The play was very interesting. I did not enjoy it. A young man and young woman were sitting behind me. They were talking loudly. I got very angry. I could not hear the actors. I turned roun. I looked at the man and the woman angrily. They did not  any attention. In the end, I could not bear it. I turned round again. I can not hear a word! I said angrily.

It’s none of your business,’ the young man said rudely. ‘This is a private conversation!’

Comprehension Précis and Composition

Answer these questions in not kore than 55 words.

1. Where did the writer go last week?

2. Did he enjoy the play or not?

3. Who was sitting behind him?

4. Where they talking loudly, or where they talking quietly?

5. Could the writer hear the actors or not?

6. Did he turn round or not?

7. What did he say?

8. Did the young man say, ‘The play is not interesting.’ or did he say, ‘This is a private conversation!’?

Key structures

Word order in simple statements.

a. A statement tells us about something. All the sentences in the passage are statements.

Each of these statements contains one idea. Each statement tells us about one thing.

A statement that tells us about one thing is a simple statement.

b. The order of the words in a statement is very important. Look at these two statements. They both contain the same words but they do not mean the same thing:

The policeman arrested the thief.

The thief arrested the policeman.

A simple statement can have six parts, but it does not always have so many. Study the order of the words in the columns on page 14. Note that column 6 ( When? ) can be at the beginning ot at the end of a statement.

Exercises

A. Rule seven columns on a double sheet of paper. At the pop of each column, write the numbers and the words given in the Table. Copy out the rest of the passage. Put the words of each statement in the correct column in the way shown in the Table.

B. You will use the seven columns again for this exercise. There is a line under each word or group of words in the statements below. The words are not in the righ order. Arrage them correctly in the seven columns.

1. Yesterday I enjoyed the film.

2. I listened to the news carefully.

3. The man played the piano well.

4. Yesterday the children played games in their room quietly.

5. He opened the door quietly.

6. He left immediately.

7. He planted a tree in the corner of the garden.

8. Before lunch he read a letter quickly In his office.

9. The cook spoilt the soup.

10. This morning I borrowed a book from the library.

11. We stay at home on Sundays.

12. There are a lot of people at the bus-stop.

13. This morning the little boy ate an apple greedily in the kitchen.

14. She draws beautifully.

15. I like music very much.

16. Last year they built a new school in our village.

17. The match ended at four o’clock.

18. Last week she received a letter from her brother.