Listening Comprehension

Name: ______Gr. 7 __

Your educator will read a story to the class. Listen very carefully and answer the questions below:

1.  CHOOSE THE CORRECT ANSWER.

1.1  This scene took place:

A. in the park C. at home

B. at the beach D. in the moat

1.2 The man wearing the navy blue short is:
A. a policeman C. the white children’s father

B. a life-guard D. the story-teller’s father

1.3 How many children are involved in this story?
A. 1 C. 3

B. 2 D. 4

1.4 When did this story take place in South Africa?
A. 2004 C. 2000

B. 2002 D. 1985

2.  DECIDE WHETHER THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS ARE TRUE OR FALSE.

2.1  The children were happy together, building their castle.

2.2  The little girl wasn’t afraid when she saw the man running towards them.

2.3  The man was rude to the children.

2.4  The man was angry because they were building a sandcastle.

2.5  The story-teller was white.

2.6  The little girl was glad when the man came to fetch her.


Reading Passage

No matter how many times the little boy filled the moat with water, by the time he was back with the next bucket, the water had disappeared.

The little girl and I patted the bottom of the moat as if we could make it watertight. We were laughing and talking happily about our castle when the little girl stiffened and sat upright.

I followed her gaze and saw a man in the distance, running towards us. He was wearing navy blue shorts and seemed to be all shoulders.

“Get away from those coloured children!” he bellowed, and he began kicking our castle down, burying our precious shells underneath the wet sand.

I looked up into his face for some explanation, but there was no answer in his steel-blue eyes.

“…And you children get away from here,” he roared, glaring directly at me. “You coloureds have your own beach. Go on! Shoo!” he said, and gave me a shove with his foot.

The big girl had turned on her heel. I watched her scrambling back over the stormwater drain. The man now dragging the little girl and boy away from me. The little girl was crying and trying to free her arm.

She came running after me.

“The bucket!” she gasped. “My father says we can’t play with you because you’re coloured.”

She took the bucket from me and ran back to where the man was waiting for her.

I looked at the ruins of our castle and wondered what it was that made that man destroy something so beautiful.